Revolver? Die on the vine?

[-JCN-]

507comp versus SRO. 

 

I switched from SRO to 507comp to get a lower deck height on the Alien because the barrel is so low in the frame. 
 

Im noticing a lot more sun glare in the 507comp. It’s more vertical of a lens and less hooded. 
 

I don’t think it affects shooting at speed, but it’s noticeable. 
 

I guess I would take that over the low sun angle false dot of the SRO. 
 

We shall see. I still have my SROs sitting in a box, just in case. 

[-JCN-]

Okay. That was the answer. 
 

The gun wasn’t moving enough to track and time 0.15 splits. 
 

It was “too flat” because of the thumb rest position. 
 

It is way more predictable and “easier” to shoot fast now. 
 

Too little movement is too little. Same as compensators. “Flat” isn’t the only goal. 
 

It’s a very close analogy to swaybar (anti-roll bar) tuning on race cars. 
 

You can make something corner extremely flat… but you might be losing grip because you’re not utilizing the mechanical properties of the tires and suspension. 
 

Slaloming is the closest approximation to sustained recoil management in pistol. 
 

Basically you are trying to sort out what is inherent in the chassis versus what you can modify with suspension parts and tires. Suspension would be springs and your grip / stance and tires might be the properties of your ammo. 
 

Some people say a particular car is junk… but it’s just not set up. Alignment, suspension, tires, sway bars. And the setup changes depending on the course / race track.
 

Thankfully for shooting sports, most of the time I can set up a gun and if I keep the ammo consistent, I don’t have to change the setup very much if at all. 
 

A good driver can drive any car pretty well (and better than a goober), but that doesn’t mean the car doesn’t matter. 
 

Tuning a car (or gun) so it’s more forgiving and “easier to drive” means a lot. 
 

It’s also part of the fun and frustration for me. But the more I learn, the quicker it is for me to set things up. 
 

Doing transition doubles, I’m back to comfortable splitting at 0.16-17 with the new thumb rest position. 
 

I WANT the gun to move some in my hands for rhythm and predictability. 
 

 

Then kind of an El Pres without the turn draw. 
 

 

The gun and I are gelling more. 
 

1200 rounds. Still haven’t cleaned the gas system. I’m just chamber scrubbing and oiling barrel. 
 

When I took off the top rail to adjust the thumb rest position, I did find that the top retaining shelf had seized because of carbon and lack of oiling. So I did have to CLP that and work it loose in order to reassemble. 
 

You can see how “clean the entire gun” advice is overkill and a waste of time though. 10 seconds of brushing and oiling every few hundred rounds and I think I’m good for now. 

[-JCN-]

Also, the Taylor Freelance +7 (P09/P10) extensions would work with a little nose clearance. 
 

 

I didn’t test capacity but maybe 20 rounds I’d guess. 
 

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Edited March 10 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

I still wonder if IDPA Revo classifier might be feasible. 
 

20.15 is the time to breakdown. 
 

I might see if those times jive in dry and if so, then maybe it might still be feasible. 
 

Allows for three misses. 

[-JCN-]

This is a reasonable dry run. 
 

[-JCN-]

 

 

Angle grinder…

 

 

[-JCN-]

I know, I know. I keep going back and forth. 
 

It’s a fine line between opportunity cost and opportunity wasted. 
 

I have different sub segments budgeted for dry and live. 
 

With figuring out the Alien setup, its not going to take me as long to adjust as I initially thought. 
 

So I might have some extra bandwidth to do some other stuff. 
 

And… without goals, would I just sit on my butt and not do any practice?

 

It’s a tough balance. 
 

.

Edited March 10 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

V’s reload practice. 
 

A combination of recommended drills, video review, external feedback, self-assessment, dedication to practice:

 

 

Less than a month of work and there has been a noticeable improvement in efficiency and reproducibility. 
 

We took her weakest area and eliminated it as a weakness. 
 

That’s what it looks like to train without ego. 

[-JCN-]

On ego:

 

It’s a difficult thing. Concept of self and self image. 
 

We all have it to some extent. But when does it become prohibitive of getting better and turn into a defense mechanism to avoid feeling badly?

 

That’s why I like objective benchmarks and chasing efficiency. Regardless of who else shows up, I can judge my performance to a consistent standard. 
 

I’ve seen a lot of gnashing of teeth and mental anguish when people chase inconsistent goals (based on others’ performance). And when their mind’s eyes see themselves as something they achieved previously in years past. 
 

I like shooting sports in a similar way to non-professional golf. You’re managing your own game and you can judge your own performance independently of others (for the most part). 
 

When I took 6 months off pistol for injury, I came back rusty. I was a full 1.5 classifications lower than I was at my peak. 
 

When I started rehabbing, I didn’t practice reloads much. So that part of my game was weak. 
 

And that’s okay. It was what it was. If I didn’t acknowledge that deficit, how could I address it?

 

In this journal, I’m specifically trying not to compare myself to myself at my peak. Because it’s not relevant save for knowing what I might be capable of again. But with aging, who knows if it really is possible. We just are who we are today and what you did yesterday doesn’t really matter (IMO). 
 

Comparing myself to something else or somebody else or even my previous self… it saps energy and wastes time (IMO). 
 

I’m super happy right now and enjoying the sport and enjoying the journey. That’s what it’s all about, right?

 

Pillar of salt and all that. 

[-JCN-]

FAVOR TO ASK FOR PEOPLE READING:

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9WNTV9N

 

Anonymous multiple select choice survey for people reading to help me provide more or less posts in an area. And if nobody reads, then I’ll continue to do what I’m doing. Haha. But if people want a little more detail in specific things I can flesh it out a little more. 
 

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Edited March 11 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

Hahaha. Nopenopenope. 
 

I shot the 625… ouchee. 
 

I’m not gonna do that haha. 
 

I think sticking to 9mm to prevent aggravating injury is the ticket. 

[-JCN-]

To that end. Dremel chamfer the cylinder to prevent reload hang up. 
 

 

I might try and see what kind of ergos and vision I need for the 986. I might have to do something with the front sight though. 

[-JCN-]

Most of my live time with the Alien (and for shooting in general) is recoil management. Everything else IMO is confirmation of dry fire and just needs a few rounds. 
 

I’m going to try and run CYC (Can You Count) cold every single session until I’m comfortable with the recoil characteristics and trigger reset. 
 

I’m still a little slow on the draw and I botched the second reload. 
 

Splits and timing are inconsistent. Did log an 0.11s split, but overall the timing isn’t solid yet. 
 

Pushed through the botched reload and was still able to make an 85% LO HF. 

 

Just trying to be at least 85% on demand even with errors. 

[-JCN-]

 

[-JCN-]

1325 rounds on the Alien. 
 

Haven’t cleaned it. Just CLP brushing chamber and oiling barrel. 
 

100% reliable after break in. 
 

The recoil / trigger timing will still take work. Maybe 10k rounds to get locked in the way I want it. 

[-JCN-]

Still trying to settle on a thumb rest position that gives me consistency and localization… but not too much leverage. 

[-JCN-]

Spent a little time working holster position ergos this morning. 

[-JCN-]

Also.

 

I cheaped out when setting up my dry belt. Got the $26 DAA ratchet buckle. 
 

Compared to the GX one I have on my primary belt, it’s a chintzy POS. 
 

 

The slot to feed the strap through is really narrow and hard to find behind my back. The release latch is small and finicky. 
 

For $60 shipped, the GX one is well worth it. It’s worth the money in saved time to strap in and unstrap daily. 
 

The lower the barrier to dry fire, the more likely I am to do it. 

[-JCN-]

Square nose mags. 
 

They’re significantly less forgiving to reload than the small frame CZ mags and waaaaaay less forgiving than 2011 mags. I can’t just crash them in there. 
 

Equipment matters. 
 

Manufacturers often don’t have gaming considerations anywhere on the radar, but it’s a real thing. 
 

The mag catch notch is pretty close to the top of the magazine which limits what I can do to modify the magazine. 
 

For my small frame CZ mags I had done some modification on the front lips to reduce binding and add forgiveness. 
 

I think there’s a limit to what can be done with the square nose mags. 
 

Maybe more internal hogging of the frame would be the best option. 
 

.

Edited March 13 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

Look at what Brown Santa brought me…

 

[-JCN-]

Electronic hearing pro

 

 

I loved the original Walker silencer.
 

But they’re disintegrating. 
 

Tried out the Axil…

 

Convenient but the sound cutoffs are cheap. It just muffles everything. Including timer beeps. Like a cheap set of muffs. 
 

Instead of blanking just the loud sounds, it blanks everything. 
 

It also has a lot of feedback and interference with other electronics. There’s always clicking in the background. 
 

Trying out the Walkers disruptor and they are pretty good. But they are kind of like an AirPod form factor and don’t double up with muffs very well. 
 

I just got my Ottos delivered. I had ordered them demo model inadvertently off Optics planet gunbroker and they arrived with one bud nonfunctional. 
 

They gave me $50 further off and Otto took them back under warranty. 
 

Otto was great and sent me a new set that I haven’t tried yet. 

[-JCN-]

 

More hogging. 
 

I can crash reloads in a little easier now. Not quite CZ75 easy, but better. 

[-JCN-]

 

 

 

 

[-JCN-]

The Ottos are the best. Really clear sound and no interference with the muffs physically or electronically. 
 

Also, found the must clean interval of the Alien. At 1400 rounds the build up on the piston caused failures. 
 

 

 

I have extra recoil assemblies. 
 

 

Hot swapped in and back in business. 
 

I might keep going to see how far I can stretch the total cleaning interval. 
 

I have a spare RSA and enough Aliens that I can scavenge parts. 
 

It’d be easy enough to toss a bunch of them in the ultrasonic cleaner to do at the same time if I don’t need to clean the chamber. 
 

If I could make it 2800 rounds without cleaning the gas system, that’d probably be fine with me. 
 

Swapping pistons is trivial. Right now I’m swapping the recoil spring and rod over but if I tuned another spring I could just swap the whole assembly and it’d be even easier and faster. 

[-JCN-]

Worked on timing and grip with the new thumb rest placement. 
 

Not sure what I think at this point. 
 

It’s a little faster than my recoil control and trigger timing is able to do reliably. 
 

My happy vision place is around 0.15s…

 

I haven’t decided if I should try and train up to do faster… or if I should slow the gun and grip down to match where I’m at now. 
 

I usually set my guns up to be resonant frequency cycling of 0.15s. 
 

But I might give it a couple thousand rounds to see if I can get faster. 
 

Might be a good learning opportunity.