Revolver? Die on the vine?

[-JCN-]

2 hours ago, perttime said:

Elsewhere, in a discussion on the Alien, this comment came up:

 

"My friend has shot 3k rounds out of his without cleaning, it can handle dirtyness. Although you should use more oil than the manual suggests."

 

No idea why experiences are so different. I think he was referring to an "original" style Alien.

 

My thoughts:

 

It’s similar to the gas operated MPX.

 

Pretty reliable when using hotter ammo, but runs out of margin when using gamer ammo that’s barely over minimum power factor.

 

I knew going into this endeavor that it’d be closer to the edge of margin setting the gun up the way I wanted to.

 

I’m getting comfortable with the gun now. It just takes the discipline to keep up with the maintenance.

 

The piston system of the original Alien is the same as the current LO model. One of the differences is the reciprocating optic that made the debut on the “Retro” model.

 

The slide mounted optic does rob the system of margin though.

 

Gamer ammo is basically 380 ACP power and the mechanics of 9mm systems can rapidly run out of margin.

 

It also highlights the differences between characteristics inherent in a gun versus the differences in a gun / spring / ammo / shooter combination.

 

My gun is finicky [at the low power ammo and weak spring combination I prefer for accurate rapid split timing].

 

Someone else with heavy springs and hot ammo could undoubtedly go longer between intervals.

 

But I’d rather shoot a Shadow 2 with gamer ammo rather than an Alien with hot ammo.

 

There are people who prefer to shoot factory recoil springs on Glocks and Sigs but then are stuck using hotter ammo to make it run “as designed.”

 

But gaming isn’t in the normal performance envelope of duty guns.

 

There was a local guy who asked me for help because his well loved Glock 17 with the original recoil spring shot “so much better” than his new one that he bought as a back up.

 

I had him swap his old recoil spring in to his new gun and his eyes got really wide after he did and shot it.

 

Then I told him to go get an aftermarket 13 pound spring…

 

My experiences with the Alien are with the asterisk that it’s in the context of my particular spring and ammo setup.

 

I’m getting pretty comfortable with the timing and tracking of the gun now and I really like the way the setup is.

 

I do need to stick to my maintenance regimen though.

 

[-JCN-]

The 2x2 wall bases don’t fit 2x2s…

 

 

Set the saw to 45 degrees and shaved corners. 
 

 

Experimenting with wall construction. 

 

 

Used 3” deck screws and 8mm T50 staples for the wood joints. 
 

My range is really windy and I’m not sure it’s going to stay standing without extra support. 
 

I’m wondering if the 7 foot T posts with zip ties are going to be the better option. 
 

Or some combination. 

[perttime]

Looks like you have 2" diameter round holes in the bases. No wonder a 2x2 does not fit.

 

No way they are going to stand up in much wind. Our club range isn't all that windy, and our match solution is to stake the bases to the ground. The holes in your bases must be for that.

[-JCN-]

7 hours ago, perttime said:

Looks like you have 2" diameter round holes in the bases. No wonder a 2x2 does not fit.

 

No way they are going to stand up in much wind. Our club range isn't all that windy, and our match solution is to stake the bases to the ground. The holes in your bases must be for that.

I’m going to try and be nice to you…

 

The bases are specifically for square 2x2s for action pistol wall formation. 
 

 

And of course I’m talking about even with triple staking the base down. 
 

Remember, the gravel is still freshly laid. 
 

I’m talking about it not holding even being triple staked. 
 

My goal is to set things up at the range and leave them for weeks at a time to maximize training time. 
 

I might have to look at seeing if I can get really, really long stakes… but at that point it’s probably easier to just use the T posts. 
 

Even the light duty T posts bend so I went for the heavier ones. 

 

[-JCN-]

I currently have 7” straight spikes which is typical for our matches. 
 

I just ordered some of these 12” twisty ones thinking that maybe they’d resist pulling out better. 
 

[-JCN-]

Apparently I need a robot heart transplant. 
 

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll have pain medicine…. Let me get the knife…”

 

Wish me luck!

[-JCN-]

Set up some IDPA guns to have an easier auto forward. 
 

Usually it’s a combination of changing the geometry on the slide engagement and the slide stop. 
 

 

 

These days I polish the surfaces so they don’t change much as they wear in. 
 

As always, I have opinions on things. They are my opinions for my specific situation.
 

My opinion, for my own application:

 

I think slide lock reloads are silly as a civilian. Data suggests that reloads in self defense scenarios are exceedingly rare, but inexplicably it remains a mainstay of tactical self-defense type tests and standards.

 

Can we agree that a well-worn slide lock on a well used Glock wears in to the point where it auto forwards off slide lock?

 

So if we have somebody who has shot their G17 for years and years, there is a performance advantage inherent in their gun setup for a slide lock reload test compared to somebody with a brand new gun.

 

The slide lock engagement on some guns like a brand new P365 is extremely positive. To the point where I have to move my strong hand off in order to get enough leverage to push down and release the slide from the lever. 
 

In terms of what that compromises, it takes time to depress the lever and also time to reestablish grip, plus it adds wobble into the muzzle and grip. 
 

You could say, “you are supposed to slingshot it.” But then that should be specifically dictated in the course of fire to make it an apples to apples comparison, IMO. 

 

It also doesn’t hold water to me saying that a broken in gun is fine, but performing that same breaking in with a grinding wheel isn’t kosher.

 

That kind of pre-accelerated wear is what a gunsmith often does polishing internal mating surfaces.

 

So the inconsistency, I’m not a fan.
 

Without going too far into the weeds, I’m not a fan of tactical training (for myself) where you are supposed to shoot with your actual carry gun 1000 rounds in a weekend with multiple slide lock reload drills.

 

I think it’s a good idea for people who otherwise would not train and for people in different scenarios like military or law enforcement. But for me as a civilian, I think it’s silly.
 

I carry a pocket revolver most of the time. 
 

But I am kind of excited if IDPA makes a BUG optics division with 10 round capacity. 
 

Gamers are still going to game, but it is more like what I would actually carry if I carried a semi auto. 

That is part of the reason why I am doing BUG now. All I have to do is unscrew the rear iron plate and mount an optic if that division becomes a reality.

 

 

 

.

 

Edited July 4 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

Dry firing IDPA irons today. 
 

It’s really interesting learning and focusing and switching variable eye input with regard to target vs. front sight focusing and adjusting the percent contribution.

[-JCN-]

A local loud C class shooter is reasonably nice, but he does not shut up. Blah blah blah blah blah. He makes sure everyone knows his opinions on things even though his judgment is terrible.

 

But to go back to the Walt Whitman quote.... he's not curious. He has his mind made up and has half baked conclusions based on incomplete and superficial assumptions.

 

Instead of asking "how would you..." he states how he would do them and looks for praise and acknowledgement. 

 

I was in the middle of a course walk and visualization and he started talking to me and making statements to engage. I wasn't even facing him, I was intent on the targets and he was oblivious (and self centered enough) to have no regard for what I was doing and just wanted what he wanted when he wanted it.

 

I ignored him and continued my walk through.

 

On the next stage he wanted to run his plan by me (instead of asking) and said "Call me crazy but..."

 

I ignored him, so he doubled down and said louder "On this stage, call me crazy..."

 

So I smiled at him, and said "You're crazy" and left for the next stage.

 

When it came time to actually execute the stage, he ran this complicated zig zag multiple transition pattern that of course he didn't have the skills to execute and failed miserably as he hunted for each target. It was a dumpster fire.

 

If he had asked nicely for my stage plan or wanted me to explain my plan, I would have gladly done that.

 

But that's the hallmark of one type of Terminal C.

 

Can't get out of their own way and want help the way they want it when they want it. Are more interested in feeling good than being good. But never really feel good, ironically.

 

I was talking with V the other day about people we try and not be around. Whether at a match or at work or whatever.

 

Learning to smile and deal with selfish people is part of shared experiences. Doing it in such a way that doesn't cause you heartburn or grief is even better.

 

It is one of the lovely things about having my own range though. Sometimes because of work, I don't have much emotional reserve left and dealing with certain types of people leaves me a little raw. I run the risk of being unkind and I don't want to be unkind. Having my own skills lab means I can go to the range even if my mental tank is on empty.

 

V is such a supportive and good friend that she adds mental reserve to my bucket, which only my most cherished family and friends can do.

 

 

Edited July 4 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

It reminds me of the time I was at the indoor range and the selfish BMW driving woman tried to interrupt me while I was running drills to ask what my draw time was. I wasn't facing her and she was just talking at the side of my head while I was mid-drill.

 

So I ignored her. She asked again, louder. I still ignored her. She bitterly huffed to her friend "he can't hear me" and had a salty Karen pout (I was videoing runs). 

 

But she wasn't curious. 

 

She didn't ask herself "is he busy doing something?" "Is this a good time for him?" 

 

Not a considerate person.

 

It was also amusing to me to observe her ego come up with the only possible explanation for my not responding to her... "Obviously he can't hear me."

 

Maybe if she was curious, she would have thought "That's strange, he can hear his timer beeping and react to that... but he can't hear me yelling in his ear... maybe my assumption that he can't hear me is wrong... what other possible reason could be there for his non-response? Oh, maybe because I'm being inconsiderate and he's busy doing what he set out to do and I didn't wait my turn?"

 

Nope. She didn't learn from the interaction and I didn't expect her to. I'm not out to educate the selfish because most of the time they're uneducable and their ego defense will vigorously defend their insecurity and take you down with it.

 

It's best to just not be a target, smile and walk away. IMO. When you can.

 

Edited July 4 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

Wife told me this morning that the dimmer switch for her vanity broke at the plastic tab. 
 

It’s original to the 1980s house I think. 
 

It slivered off and I tried epoxy but it didn’t seem like it would hold the lateral load. 
 

So I got a bright idea. 
 

Stippletec soldering iron attachments. 
 

I used the flat dash and the chisel tip to fuse the pieces and build up support for the back of the tab. 
 

 

Super ugly but it’s on the backside. 
 

More to the point, it gets my wife up and running before I leave for the range. 
 

We are having a whole home remodel done in the next year so band aid patches are just fine for now. 
 

Tools FTW!

[-JCN-]

 

 

Check this s#!t out. It’s like a real range!

 

Skills lab!

[-JCN-]

V shot the IDPA CO 5x5 twice and made MA on both runs. 
 

I shot ESP twice and BUG once and made MA on all three runs. 
 

 

[-JCN-]

I miss that kind of clarity. CM 18-09

 

 

This is the perfect kind of Skills Lab short course. 
 

Do you take things from the back, do you take them on the move. Do you pivot or do you back out on second string. 
 

It’s skill and context dependent as well. 
 

I think this particular classifier highlights some of the key weaknesses that V has. 
 

Namely recoil control trigger timing at speed and with movement.  
 

I estimate GM static recoil control is standing 0.16s, 4” wobble at 7 yards. 
 

With movement, it slows down or spreads out. 
 

Right now because of less muscle mass, it’s still the weakest part of her game. 
 

0.18s as her max static recoil timing and that slows down to 0.21-23 with movement. 
 

Something like this classifier will give her some feedback on that part of her game. 

[Farmer]

2 hours ago, -JCN- said:

 

 

Check this s#!t out. It’s like a real range!

 

Skills lab!

You better be careful, the USPSA association will want to lease that from you! 
Most excellent job you’ve done there! 

[-JCN-]

19 minutes ago, Farmer said:

Most excellent job you’ve done there! 

Thanks! I really wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for V. It’s so much more meaningful, sharing it with somebody rather than sitting there by myself for no good reason.

[Farmer]

3 hours ago, -JCN- said:

Thanks! I really wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for V. It’s so much more meaningful, sharing it with somebody rather than sitting there by myself for no good reason.

Yes! I should have said the both of you! Friends like her are golden. 

[-JCN-]

Today was a fun day. Not much going on so we did an outlaw match that had people we knew. 
 

It was the match / club / range that we had met each other almost a year ago. 
 

I shot a small iron gun and she shot an SP01. 
 

She won out of the pistols and her growth was striking to the people there who knew her shooting from before we started together. 
 

It was great to have her get a lot of healthy respect and camaraderie from the other shooters. She has put in the work. 
 

V gives me a lot of credit, but I’m just happy that she makes it so easy to work with her. She listens, processes and implements. 

 

Hallmarks of a great student. Plus she’s a great and supportive friend that’s always looking out for me and my well being too.

 

Deeply satisfying for us both to have the growth realized clearly for others to see. 

[-JCN-]

Back to classifier work. 
 

Deconstructing some of the movement classifiers is interesting. Especially since they were nationals stages. 
 

For classifier work I tend to like using 15 rounds in a mag. I had gotten away from that doing field course practice with full weight mags. 

 

I’m pretty sensitive to the weight distribution in a magazine because it affects the rotation speed on reloading from a pouch. 
 

I work with enough different guns that I have enough programs built in my brain for different mags and weights, but for maximum speed and efficiency benchmarks I want my training mags faithful. 
 

 

Two training mags, close in weight to my competition ammo. Will put the heaviest bullets in positions 1-5 and 11-15 so that the rotation is similar to competition. 
 

Actually thinking about it now, I probably should have put one of the 124 next to one of the 147s at the end but I think close enough. 

[-JCN-]

Had a few NDs today…

 

With the staple gun. That thing has a hair trigger lol. It’s sub-1 pound for sure. 
 

Built walls for THS short course since next weekend is supposed to be scorching hot. 
 

 

Ordered more wall bases. Getting the bottoms to fit is easy now that I’ve refined my saw shaving technique. 

 

I also have streamlined my wall building.

 

 

 

Clamps FTW.

 

Baby grass on berms also growing!

 

Set up a solar bug zapper for the range. 
 

And after the work was done, a little play time. 
 

I had calculated what I’d need for times to make GM on 18-09 with pretty good hits. 
 

Field courses have traditionally been hard for me to figure out maximum efficiencies. The movement classifiers have been a blessing but every little angle and fault line matters for fidelity so I never really worked them… until now. 
 

I’m still working through some ergonomics and risk / benefit calculations. 
 

But it’s feasible at the times I would like. 
 

 

 

The hits are trashy and I’m having difficulty with the pace and mechanics of the far target. 
 

I’d like to experiment with drawing onto the far target to not have to stop on a transition from the left. 
 

If I drew to the deep target, I could also start drifting movement forward one target earlier. 
 

I’ve seen videos of people running it at M pace and most of them shoot left to center and then move out on right. 
 

But I think I want to try drawing to center and moving out on left and full move on right. 
 

For the second string I might try blitzing the center on reverse walk and jamming the reload quickly so I can take the other center on the move before I get to the wings. 
 

I’m excited to do some experimentation. 
 

It’ll also shave a s#!t ton of time of V’s development to have a skills lab rather than having to learn piecemeal here and there at matches. 
 

 

.

 

Edited July 7 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

On S2000s and GT3s

 

My first RWD normally aspirated sports car was a 2002 Honda S2000 with the 9k redline. 
 

I’m daily driving the 2018 GT3 to put miles on it but I expect trading it in someday on something electric when the charging infrastructure catches up. 
 

 

It’s a nice vehicle but with the electronic shocks “off” it’s underdampened across bumpier joints on curves. 
 

There’s just no point in having a real sports car in normal driving. I would not have purchased it for normal driving. 
 

I still dislike the non manual throttle interface. Even though it’s a good double clutch transmission, you still have to tell the transmission what to do with your throttle pedal. Jabs to downshift… basically the opposite of what I would do with the throttle otherwise but I’m having to use it as a transmission communication device. 
 

That’s why I’m saving the 2010 in the garage. Last of the real manual no nanny  911s. It reminds me of the S2000. The throttle pedal input is proportional to the engine output. Sure it’s electronic (drive by wire) but less of a middle man than a turbo or transmission linked throttle that can have any number of differing output scenarios depending on spool or pedal velocity. 
 

With California and similar states having no new ICE sales within 10 years, it’s going to be a rare thing to have a manual transmission normally aspirated screamer. 
 

.

 

Edited July 8 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

What about dem splitz yo. 
 

Single oscillation accurate kinesthetic ability trigger timing (0.15s splits) is absolutely a core high level skill. 
 

As applicable to the 18-09 classifier, if you can’t accurately split sub 20 on demand, it fundamentally changes what you can (and cannot) do with your footwork. 
 

It’s essentially the movement equivalent of shooting a swinger with a single shot per pass versus being able to double it on one pass. 
 

Same thing with double on one step versus having to plant or take one shot per step. 
 

That’s why I love the classifier system. If you can’t achieve A level classifiers, you probably don’t have A class skills no matter what it says on your paper card. 

 

You can pick different classifiers to test different component parts of your skill sets. 
 

I’m loving 18-09 as a skills test for something I could use sharpening on. 
 

I think it’ll be very valuable for V’s training as well since recoil control to trigger timing at sub-20s is her remaining weak area. 
 

For her to make A class times she’s going to have to be able to hit the wing targets rapidly without planting. I think it’d be almost impossible to make A class times and hits without good recoil control to trigger timing at sub-20s. 
 

 

.

Edited July 8 by -JCN-

[Farmer]

Just curious, if a person shot the two distant targets first, left & right close targets then while backing up, reload and get the two on the outside if that would change time or accuracy. I would want to be as close as possible to the distant targets as I could be but that’s just me armchair quarterbacking and visually doing things in order. 

Edited July 8 by Farmer

[-JCN-]

29 minutes ago, Farmer said:

Just curious, if a person shot the two distant targets first, left & right close targets then while backing up, reload and get the two on the outside if that would change time or accuracy. I would want to be as close as possible to the distant targets as I could be but that’s just me armchair quarterbacking and visually doing things in order. 

I’m glad you are curious rather than judgmental!

 

In this case it’s a classifier that prescribes a mandatory reload after three targets. But you’re right that if there wasn’t that requirement you bet I’d engage four up close. 
 

[Farmer]

15 minutes ago, -JCN- said:

I’m glad you are curious rather than judgmental!

 

In this case it’s a classifier that prescribes a mandatory reload after three targets. But you’re right that if there wasn’t that requirement you bet I’d engage four up close. 
 

 Gotcha! That’s what I get for not reading the directions!