Dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Thanks Dave, these could've been listed as goals or just a list of identified deficiencies that needed work. That's how I have always addressed practice of any kind, take a weakness and make it a strength.

[PaulW]

#3 You already know how, now just do it. Nothing extra special here just believe that you can do it and allow yourself to do it.

#8 'Bout Damn time!!

[dirtypool40]

Been about a week since I posted. Two weeks since I last shot.

We had a MONSTER local match at CFRPC this past weekend, something like 85 shooters. I squeaked by in limited and was 4th overall at 91%, by having another one of those up and down roller coaster thrill rides for a match. I was on a good squad, and had fun, but I was still about 15% of a normal match.

I had times where I would start to "hook up" and burn something down, only to have the brain slip out of gear. On one stage, I shot crisply and moved well but didn't shoot a target. No vision barrier, no real confusion, just left it.

I had mikes and let the points get loose on several, but oddly I was encouraged by the match. It's the same kind as the three or four back in January when I wasn't practicing, but I was having so much fun I was putting up 100% classifiers and winning matches on no practice.

There is definietly something to that whole "have fun" thing.

I did some of the pieces parts well, movement was pretty good, and I didn't miss a load all day despite lack of practice.

On the down side I still crashed on the first stage we shot. That's still an area begging for improvement.

Overall though a lot better than the last time I shot two weeks ago at Malabar / Frostproof.

[XRe]

One thought about the "Crash on first stage" phenomenon...

See if you can alter your thinking to perceiving your whole season as one big frickin' match - for everything, penalties, percent of points shot, etc. You shot your first stage way back in early January... I find that that point of view really relieved the 1st stage jitters for me, and also (because points and penalties are cumulative throughout the year) helps me focus on that first stage to shoot a nice, solid run, so that I don't screw up the whole match (ie, the whole year)....

Just a thought...

[dirtypool40]

Good idea Dave, and more on that later.

Before I lose track, a quick "after action" on FL State 07.

Eric Stanley L2443

2007 FLA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

POLK COUNTY PRACTICAL SHOOTERS

4/1/2007

Pistol_match Limited, 78 competitors

Stage Place Time Hit Factor Points Percent

Stage 1 WALLS & DOORS 7 21.62 6.198 130.6823 87.12%

Stage 2 CRASH LANDING 2 19.18 7.299 144.2302 96.15%

Stage 3 DOWN ON THE FARM 14 22.63 5.082 116.1478 77.43%

Stage 4 RACE AWAY 4 22.07 6.434 132.5455 85.51%

Stage 5 VISITING DR. PAINLESS 17 23.05 4.989 107.6186 71.75%

Stage 6 ROBBERY IN PROGRES 4 13.81 10.282 133.4475 88.96%

Stage 7 ALL STOPPED UP 3 21.51 6.183 118.6481 81.83%

Stage 8 EASY COUNTING 5 11.67 12.682 151.0583 94.41%

Stage 9 HOUSE OF COLORS 2 21.04 7.082 141.0135 90.98%

Stage 10 BURNT COOKIES 19 21.29 5.355 94.0636 62.71%

<edited to add: see how many times I use some variation of the phrase "didn't really have a plan / make a decision..... yes, provacative. Hmmmm>

No real expectations for factors beyond my control, but hey I admit it, I am a competitive guy. If we're keeping score, I want my name up top. It's hard to go and compete when you KNOW you have not prepared. You really haven't set yourself up for success, and it effects your confidence and execution.

I won't make any more excuses about how or why, I did the best I could at the beep, it..... just...... wasn't very good.

Things are tight right now, so I volunteered to RO. I don't think that effected the outcome or my performance at all, I had as much chance as anyone. I was on a good squad and everyone worked. I got to shoot with Smitty, Sharyn and the Tampa area crew, and GM Sam Conway joined us as well. I am sorry I didn't get to shoot with Ted Puente.

Stage by stage, before I get into overall....

Stage 1: Started here, a little slow, but a good plan. Our squad conspired to plan everything together, and I think we found good ones. I was a little slow and loose on points here, but not terrible. About 1.5 seconds slow, and down 16, which is only 89% of the points. "Last target lazy" Deltas here, a couple of them. Again a rough start, but not the end of the world.

Stage 2: I didn't really nail down a plan here, and that was a theme throughout the match. All weekend I shot a lot more on "discover" than I did on "playback".

I made a "mid course correction" in the second position, meaning I missed my spot, couldn't see a target, knew I had enough to pick it up and rather than waste time "wiggling" I elected to shoot the missed target later. Decent recovery, a better performance than #1 and a 2nd place finish @ 96%. Hey!!.....maybe in spite of my situation I am waking up....

Here's a thought; Pick a damned plan, hit your spot, and you "woulda coulda" won this stage. I was about a second off a "good" time, but I held onto 93% of the points.

Stage 3: I ran past a target. That being said, I can't get too pissed at myself. It's odd, yes this was probably a missed stage win and a definite momentum swing, but I was oddly encouraged by "what could have been".

I shot this a little slow, maybe a second off the pace, but I was only down 5 Charlies, on some tough, longer range shots. I moved well, I hit my spots, I just left a target blasting out of a position. Chalk it up to "lack of practice brain fade". (You only get one of those per match).

Stage 4: Nothing special here, and I still need to make a decision, believe in that decision and then commit to executing it well. I shot this stage with no real plan in two of four ports except to hit them at 100 mph. That lack of decisivness left me slow on time, rushing on points. End result 4th at 2+ seconds back and sloppy 92% of points. Still it wasn't the end of the world.

Stage 5: YUK!! First real crash. Not sure why. I had THE plan, I took pieces from everyone's plans and came up with a way to save TWO stops. I was looking for a stage win here. Instead points got loose, I missed an entry badly and dropped a "last target lazy" mike. I'm still convinced I had the stage planned right, just blew some kind of fuse at the beep.

Stage 6: Decent recovery, but about 2 seconds slow. I need to shake off a bad stage better. One bad stage doesn't need to become two for regrets. Again, for whatever reason I didn't really have a plan for the last target sequence and just shot them "however". Dropped a "D" I didn't call which always irks me a little.

Thus ended a mediocre day 1.

Stage 7: Started day 2 on the plumber stage from the Open. Looking back and writing this critique it's easy to see my "give-a-damn" is still intermittently "inop". I never really made a decision here and when it was time to shoot I just kinda wondered through the stage, using a plan left over from the other three times I've run a similar stage on this bay. Not terrible, just lethargic, no real drive.

Stage 8: a NorCo style "crambo". Just fun, and I was gonna rip it, but like Shannon, I flubbed the reload and ended up with a mid-11 instead of a low 10.

Stage 9: It's the one on Sharyn's montage. I picked a very conservative plan, and except for lack of explosiveness and an extra shot on steel, I did just what I wanted to and just stroked through it with the points.

I did drop a "last target lazy" Delta I'm still pissed about, coming into the position on the left, but other than that it was a careful, conservative run with the points. I'd have taken ten in a row like this one to be sure.

Ted put two seconds on me going "the fast way" and if I were practiced up I might have tried it. But coming off the hosefest that was stage 8, I chose to stand still and shoot "A's". Down three Charlies and that friggin Delta.

I gotta find some "wheels" and explosiveness", this is really evident in Sharyn's video. I move like there is no timer Smooth is fine, but get a move on man!!!

Stage 10: I had the plan from Ted and PaulW here, I understood it, and I was coming off a solid run on 9. I have no idea why, but I DOGGED this stage.

I don't like starting rough but I HATE ending rough. Stage 10 was by far my worst stage, real Bush league stuff; mikes, deltas, missed positions, missed sequence. YUK!!!

Overall, as I said, I had no expectations. I started to shoot well a couple of times, but either I was relaxing too soon, or getting excited about the possibilities, but whatever the reason, as soon as I would get going, the wheels would fall off. It bums me out a little that the two stages I was primed to really smoke, coming off a solid run, and with a good plan in hand, I really dogged.

Here's what really stings, the "woulda couldas" .... Conservatively figuring 90% stage scores for 3,5, and 10 the crashes cost me over 100 match points and a more respectable 3rd place finish at roughly 95%. Instead I stumble across the line in 6th place, at a frustrating 88% and 2nd M.

[Tim James]

How can you say that ROing didn't affect your match when you said you didn't have a plan for a lot of stages?

Maybe next match you should just paste targets and not talk to anyone (except maybe after a run to ease out the adrenaline). Just focus on the shooting and stages and see what happens. Of course, you might explode if you tried this.

Obviously I'm no expert, but I thought I'd offer my non-mystical, fundamentals perspective.

[dirtypool40]

Damnit Tim, I hate it when I learn stuff from new shooters!!!

No, I don't think helping made any significant difference. But you are right, I do need to take stage prep more seriously, pick it and stick to it.

As to Dave's comments about how to view the whole season vs. first stage; it's an interesting idea. But just like identifying weak areas within a stage to work on (like being "last target lazy", or that I don't end well, I have identified that starting well is tough for me, and therefore needs work.

This past weekend was one of the only last stage crashes I've had in a LONG time, so I won't get all wound up about it yet. Yes, everyone has a good or bad stage, and you ride the waves. I'm talking about a higher percentage of on "out of norm" poor performances. I used to end poorly too often, and now I start poorly too often.

I used to get all jacked up on Cpt. Crunch and Mountain Dew and rip through the first stage. I was like John Belushi; "Team Little Chocolate Doughnuts" In 2002 when I got my "M" card I won the first stage I shot, both days in our state match, against guys like Frank Garcia, Armondo and Jeff Gambrell. Hell, the one we started on that Sunday was the toughest, most complex stage of the match. I also CRASHED on the last stage I shot both days.

Now five years later I start slow and build momentum. I'd say my first stages now are better than my last stages used to be, if that makes any sense.

Still, I need to find the "presciption" that let's me put up a competitive stage 1 so I am not playing catch up the rest of the match. That puts too much pressure on me thinking I NEED to catch up. I don't need to win stage #1, but I don't want to be 20% back either.

Just before I moved and blew my whole routine, I had started getting up early, was able to practice early, and on match days was doing a light 20 min cardio routine to wake up and get the mind working. It seemed to help, but the "data sample" is too small to be conclusive.

I may try to work in some dry fire, or movement drills, but I do not want to swing for the fence speed wise on stage #1.

The best match I have shot recently was CFRPC back at the end of Jan, and I showed BOTH problems to a minor extent. First stage I was slow on time, mostly because I went for plates on the move, cold and fired three extra shots. Last stage I got "get home itus" and dumped an entry target Delta on "Times Two", but was still solid enough to put up a 99%.

Still, overall I felt pretty solid that day and did begin with the early rise / 20 min cardio.

I think a lot of the "last stage" crashes came from letting blood sugar get all out of whack, I basically would not eat once a match started, wrongly believing I needed to "shoot hungry".

Now I know better. But without going back to Red Bull on Cpt. Crunch for breakfast, I want to find a way to "be there" for stage #1.

Once things simmah down for me, I am going to get back into the morning workout habit and I'll have better data on whether that's helping.

[XRe]

As to Dave's comments about how to view the whole season vs. first stage; it's an interesting idea. But just like identifying weak areas within a stage to work on (like being "last target lazy", or that I don't end well, I have identified that starting well is tough for me, and therefore needs work.

Dammit, man... I was trying to give you one way to help work on it, mentally...

Now I know better. But without going back to Red Bull on Cpt. Crunch for breakfast, I want to find a way to "be there" for stage #1.

Once things simmah down for me, I am going to get back into the morning workout habit and I'll have better data on whether that's helping.

Aside from being physically awake - which I fix by altering my sleep schedule so that I'm wide the heck awake for the match - its all in your head. How do you get to the right spot, mentally, so that you're sharp and frosty. Try different things - for me, this sort of thing is usually a lack of focus. For you, it might be something different.

I like the idea of putting in some physical effort in the morning - that seems to help me, too (I do abs, and some stretching, typically). Of course, I get jacked up on coffee, still, so... (black, no sugar... ).

[dirtypool40]

Odd local match yesterday. I slid sideways into HOA Limited with three mikes.

Some observations:

We started on a three string, stand and shoot. And while I didn't smoke it I won it in Limited and would be a solid 2nd or 3rd including the dot gunners.

The next stage I had a really solid run on and shot all the tough targets well, including the dreaded "zebras" in the last position, but.... pulled a "last target lazy" mike on an open target going into the reload.

Next stage was the classifier, 99-56 Upper Pad II, and I shot a decent 90% score. An extra shot, and poor lauch out of the box left me with a 7.19 instead of a mid-6 I needed for a 100%. I think if I shot this one ten times I'd put up a better score 8 times.

Spoiler:

IF I do the math right, and there's no reason to believe I did, then that 90 should knock off an 84 and should "do it". I'll believe it when they post. Till then, mum's the word. mum.

Next stage was a tight little maybe 15 round field course, very international IPSC style. I shot pretty solid but threw a delta coming into a position, and one extra shot on steel. Still pretty solid.

Next stage, very conservative, but solid.

LAST STAGE. I still don't know what happened. I picked a pretty simple, convservative plan, and threw two AIMED mikes. I HATE THAT!!!! I was shooting through the head of another target to get to this target, and I don't think it would effect things that much, but I aime two boring, slow alphas, and.... NOTHING!!!! No idea what happened.

Overall it was a tough match at Titusville, they run the best local match in the state. Lots of options, partials, distance, movement. Good courses. Except for the "mystery mikes" on the last stage, I shot alright for zero practice and had a lot of fun with friends out in the sun.

[Tim James]

Damnit Tim, I hate it when I learn stuff from new shooters!!!

I am also available to help you with "mikes, deltas, missed positions, missed sequences."

Looking forward to the PMRPC match this Saturday. I've only shot one time in the last 2 months. Got my first new computer in almost 8 years, so I've been having fun shooting fake guns.

[XRe]

Wait a second.... Tell me about that first stage again?????????????????

[glock17w]

I don't know if I am qualified to offer any advice. I have read through your posts and I see a trend.

1. Your mind is pre-programed before you shoot every match. You already have in your mind that you will start off slow, speed up in the middle, and either finish strong or finish rough. My advice is don't pre-program the flow of your matches in your head. I would say learn from the things you want to correct. Sustain the things you did well. After the matches, discard the rough parts after you learn from them. Don't keep the baggage. The baggage is holding you back.

2. There is too much cause and effect. My Soldiers told me at the range the other day that if they wore their elbow pads at the qualification range, it would mess up their shooting. I told them as long as they look through the reer peep hole and line up the front sight on the target, it doesn't matter.

Bottom line - you are very close to becoming a Grand Master. You know what it takes to win and you obviously know how to shoot fast and accurately. You just have to go out with a plan and do what you know how to do. Don't carry the added stress.

My opinion only. I may be out completely wrong and in left field.

glock17w

[dirtypool40]

Tim, we'll see you there, and yes, I will be asking YOU questions all day!!!

glock17w good stuff bud, thank you. You're right, I don't want to create a pattern where there doesn't need to be one. I need to re-look the old self image, and programmed expectations section of some books, eh? I want to RE-program as an EVERY stage shooter, not a starter or a finisher, but being "there" for every one.

Wait a second.... Tell me about that first stage again?????????????????

I know, right?

Three arrays, three starts, cool little stage actually, we don’t see these much any more. 1st was four partials. 2nd was three partials and two mini poppers. 3rd was 8 steel, 3 mini poppers and 5 plates. I had RO’d about half the squad, and saw a LOT of extra shots, mikes and a few no-shoots. So I walked up cold and said to myself “self, it’s a three stringer, take your time, smooth draw, conservative 1st shot to cinch the grip, get the points, call every shot”.

While I am happy I had a good first stage, I won’t draw to many conclusions from it yet. It was not a field course, and the shots, while tight, were close up. Hitting a 4-5 position, spread out field course with longer shots and shooting on the move, that has been my weak area. I think it’s just tough to get moving fast right away and tough to settle for the longer shots.

Also of note, I included the open scores, and Timmy that fast freak, had an identical hf with a friggin’ mike!!!

Stage: 6 Stage 6

Place Name No. Class Division Pts Pen Time Hit Fact Stg Pts Stg %

1 Stanley, Eric 62 M Limited 116 0 9.86 11.7647 120.0000 100.00%

2 Bonham, Jonathan 1 A Limited 119 0 12.36 9.6278 98.2036 81.84%

3 Smith, Shannon 60 GM Limited 118 0 12.44 9.4855 96.7521 80.63%

4 Redmond, Tom 53 B Limited 116 0 14.04 8.2621 84.2735 70.23%

5 Donaldson, Bob 14 M Limited 109 10 12.13 8.1616 83.2484 69.37%

Stage: 6 Stage 6

Place Name No. Class Division Pts Pen Time Hit Fact Stg Pts Stg %

1 Meanor, Tim 42 M Open 110 10 8.50 11.7647 120.0000 100.00%

2 Friedman, Greg 20 M Open 113 0 9.65 11.7098 119.4400 99.53%

3 Whitacre, Paul 66 GM Open 116 0 10.30 11.2621 114.8735 95.73%

4 Collier, James 6 M Open 115 0 11.01 10.4450 106.5391 88.78%

5 Jones, Matt 32 A Open 117 0 11.39 10.2722 104.7765 87.31%

Stage 3 was the only other one that went “normal”. Quick little 15 rounder, of the style I like. Kinda international feeling, simple, quick, start plus two positions, hit your spots one target on the move, shoot the points, no reload required. I felt very controlled, but I dropped a lazy delta rolling into the first position, and wiffed one extra shot on the small plate in position one. Other than that it felt pretty solid. (Actually Shannon and I both admitted the shot on the first plate was kind of a “hoper” as we backed out). The plate was visible again in the last position, and we both picked it up there, so no real penalty, but would’ve been a smoker had we connected in pos 1. So I can’t be pissed about that, but I am about the entry “D”.

The “B” shooter who is scored with a 7 second run in the open division, is a nice guy, but I would have to see him do this in 7 to believe it. Meaning no disrespect, if Shannon, PaulW, Tim and I take more than a second extra, I get skeptical, especially when no one is raving about how he “hooked up” on it. PaulW and Tim are the open squads normal “quick like a bunny” representatives, so if you beat them, especially on a course with no real options, I gotta wonder or hear a witness.

Stage: 3 Stage 3

Place Name No. Class Division Pts Pen Time Hit Fact Stg Pts Stg %

1 Stanley, Eric 62 M Limited 71 0 8.68 8.1797 75.0000 100.00%

2 Smith, Shannon 60 GM Limited 71 0 9.64 7.3651 67.5309 90.04%

3 Kirby, Ken 35 A Limited 70 0 9.71 7.2091 66.1005 88.13%

4 Donaldson, Bob 14 M Limited 63 0 9.73 6.4748 59.3677 79.16%

Stage: 3 Stage 3

Place Name No. Class Division Pts Pen Time Hit Fact Stg Pts Stg %

1 Shim, Paul 59 B Open 68 0 7.84 8.6735 75.0000 100.00%

2 Whitacre, Paul 66 GM Open 69 0 8.83 7.8143 67.5705 90.09%

3 Meanor, Tim 42 M Open 73 10 8.84 7.1267 61.6248 82.17%

I’ve said I was going to “take a break” but damn it I had a lot of fun, and maybe I’ll just go to matches no practice “hee haw” style for a while when I can find ammo until I can get back to real practice. I like the feel of performing more smoothly with tight points when I have put the time in, but this is a fun game, and so long as I keep my mind active, I’m still learning every time I go out, even cold.

As to my two areas of concern being “last target lazy” and rough on stage one;

Last target lazy is a matter of getting everything synched up and adding a little discipline, like calling shots on steel. I worked so hard on entering properly, when I get a chance to practice again, I’ll spend some time on leaving properly. For now I can focus on that extra heartbeat, really calling the last shot.

The rough first stages are going to be tougher to fix when I am not practicing, simply because they ARE my practice at local matches. By the time I get halfway through a local match I am usually a little warmed up, the blood is flowing and I shoot closer to normal.

I think I will, when possible, try to squad where I will have to shoot a longer field course as my first stage. That way I “turn into” the problem rather than baby-ing the weak area. I’m also going to try and incorporate an earlier wake up and even a light work out when I can.

Things should stabilize soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

[dirtypool40]

Local match cold Sat 4/14. HOA Limited, but poor performance. I am at the stage where I can't really practice and I go out to enjoy our sport and time with friends without gritting my teeth and really burning anything down.

I'm like an out of practice golfer, where one or two good shots a day keep you coming back. Never mind that is was a double bogey, I made the green in two and was putting for Eagle.

I had one stage like that. Three boxes, three arrays. 8 large poppers, 8 plates, 8 targets. The two open hot rods (PaulW and Hacksaw) ran this thing in a blistering 22.xx. I just tried to do what I could, forgot to reload, fired one extra shot on paper and.... with two plates left at about 12 yards, I was sitting at 22.18.

Then the wheels fell off and I fired maybe 10 shots at those two plates. Total time 30 sec. I coulda been sumbody!!!

The only other "highlite" for the day was the same stage where a guy came back after taping my run, shaking his head, surprised I had a delta on a "last target" going into a reload. I agreed, knowing I had already dropped a mike on one and a delta on another for the same bad habit. He said, nope I'm just amazed because that gun was back in front of your face and the mag was coming out before the slide was even back in battery.

So, I guess the moral is; if you're going to have a bad habit that costs you deltas and mikes, at least do something that looks macho cool with it.

[dirtypool40]

I got my boooo-lets I got my booo-lets.

USPS delivered my MG's today.

SUHWEETUH.

Couple more weeks rest, then I come screaming back in dramatic fashion!!

(at least that's the plan).

The “B” shooter who is scored with a 7 second run in the open division, is a nice guy, but I would have to see him do this in 7 to believe it. Meaning no disrespect, if Shannon, PaulW, Tim and I take more than a second extra, I get skeptical, especially when no one is raving about how he “hooked up” on it. PaulW and Tim are the open squads normal “quick like a bunny” representatives, so if you beat them, especially on a course with no real options, I gotta wonder or hear a witness.

Stage: 3 Stage 3

Place Name No. Class Division Pts Pen Time Hit Fact Stg Pts Stg %

1 Stanley, Eric 62 M Limited 71 0 8.68 8.1797 75.0000 100.00%

2 Smith, Shannon 60 GM Limited 71 0 9.64 7.3651 67.5309 90.04%

3 Kirby, Ken 35 A Limited 70 0 9.71 7.2091 66.1005 88.13%

4 Donaldson, Bob 14 M Limited 63 0 9.73 6.4748 59.3677 79.16%

Stage: 3 Stage 3

Place Name No. Class Division Pts Pen Time Hit Fact Stg Pts Stg %

1 Shim, Paul 59 B Open 68 0 7.84 8.6735 75.0000 100.00%

2 Whitacre, Paul 66 GM Open 69 0 8.83 7.8143 67.5705 90.09%

3 Meanor, Tim 42 M Open 73 10 8.84 7.1267 61.6248 82.17%

Turns out they transposed Shim's time with his run on the classifier, so I did have a solid run here, and should have won the stage overall. Local match, stuff happens. No biggee.

Edited April 19, 2007 by dirtypool40

[zhunter]

Ghoot, Dat means I got mine too!!

[dirtypool40]

Shot a monster local / one day this past weekend. Every year CFRPC hosts the "Sunshine State Games", it's sort of our amatuer olympics, and there are four or five shooting disciplines represented. The SSG for USPSA if generally the biggest one day local of the year for us.

That being said CFRPC has a great, central location and they have topped 80 shooters for the last three months.

PaulW shot a really solid match to put almost 10% on the field, 20% on me. I only got into the match at the last minute off the waiting list and shot a pretty poor match to back into HOA Limited.

A fun long day, but I never put up even one solid stage. I started kinda lethargic, but clean, and then just shot like a pig on roller skates all day, tallying four mikes in six stages. ALL FOUR WERE LAST TARGET PULL OFF MIKES, so that $hit is getting old. (In order they were: last target before moving, last target in an array, last target before a reload and last target before jumping to a swinger.)

Every time I would get going and put up something halfway decent there'd be an "ALPHA / MIKE" when they scored it. At one point I shot four targets MOVING across my body to the left, ALL TWO ALPHAS, smashed a load and stepped into the last position to drop a mike on a four yarder standing still.

Yooogly match, REALLY looking forward to getting my stuff, and getting back to practice.

Edited May 2, 2007 by dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Had a blast at the Titusville local this past weekend.

Squadded up with BlackBird, Dan Cook, Hardball, PaulW. Titusville is always great, and there are a bunch of Open masters, so the courses are always well thought out, challenging and use cool props. As far as stages go, best local match in the state. Malabar is my other favorite, and that's next weekend.

Paul and Jim (Hacksaw) were teasing me a little, abou thow I keep saying "when I come back" but I keep making matches. I guess I need to explain that. Right now I am enjoying the hell out of shooting. It's not quite searing hot, and we have a lot of shooters out. I am out with my buddies, having fun, but I am not practicing (I even had to borrow ammo from PaulW to shoot this time) . Because of that matches are more a social event than a performance. I have very little consistency and there's no telling which "me" will take any given beep.

For instance, this particular match was a LOt better than last weekend. I started alright, finished well and didn't really crash on anything. I finished HOA Limited, #2 overal, behind PaulW, and ahead of 6 Open Masters. I can't be pissed about the finish, but I really only shot one stage well, so I see things to improve, which are hard to work on when you can't practice. It's a viscious cycle.

I had one weird thing happen, I"m not pissed about, just unsure. The first stage we started on I dumped two mikes, about an inch from each other, deep into the black hard cover. The target was only about 5y away, and the thing that makes it weird is there was a stick from another target with two holes in it, and I am left wondering if it "got in the way". Otherwise it would have been a really solid run. I missed a reload (you can see it in the video) but otherwise it felt very controlled, well timed with the swingers and overall a solid start about a second off PaulW's Open pace, about 3 seconds ahead of the Limited field. So, because of the weirdness I didn't get pissed or count it as a bad start, and just went on with my day, getting better and better until the end.

Funny thing is they got that first run on tape, and I guess hoping to highlite the reload slowed it down. I actuallyhad to go to the second pouch, so they only highlited my mistake!!!

The last stage of the day I wanted to see on vid. It felt aggressive but controlled and pretty solid except for two D's on easy targets. I shot good point the rest of the stage and again was less than a second off an Open GM's winning run so it was not a bad way to end the day. Also started that one with a .84 draw Alpha DELTA (I was pulling off to get moving so the sights were there.... I just moved them ).

Other than the two mystery mikes on our first stage, I shot clean, if a litlte up and down.

It's one of those where I ended well so I left motivated and looking forward to the next match.

Edited May 8, 2007 by dirtypool40

[PaulW]

DP,

You were there Saturday? I thought you were on break? hahaha

You got what you got when the beep goes off. Practice or not, slept good or not, hot or not, new bullets or not....see what I'm sayin?

We ALL could be better with some practice and an unlimited budget. But no one gives a shit about that when it comes to match day. They all want to kick your ass. So you have two choices; a) use that lame ass excuss or Tell them to come get some and make them work hard as hell to beat you.

You beat a solid field Saturday, how many open masters? You have it, just believe it.

[dirtypool40]

DP,

You were there Saturday? I thought you were on break? hahaha

You got what you got when the beep goes off.

They all want to kick your ass. So you have two choices; a) use that lame ass excuss or Tell them to come get some and make them work hard as hell to beat you.

That's just the attitude I am trying to develope. I'm telling you, between your help and watching "Ricky Bobby" every night, I may just get there.

Shake & Bake, baby!!! Get some!!!

Yeah, but I didn't beat your ass, there's the Everest that begs climbin'. (No that's not Fruedian, and no I don't have a man-crush) . You are the one that set that mark for me, HOA for the match. You're easily 3x the shooter you were back when Joe was doing it. When I break 90% of you, when you shoot clean, and beat that motley crue of Open M's then I shot a solid match.

(OK, small excuse making, without those two "stick mikes" ? I come in around 93%, so it was a decent day. I was just happy to end well).

How good do you friggin' shoot. You put 12%+ on us and still had a mike. But you're right, I ain't makin' no more excuses, especially when I win.

Sounds <again> like we may have a deal to get my press et al back this weekend... So, what are you doing Sunday?

[PaulW]

If I hear anymore Ricky Bobby I may just eat a bullet. :-)

[dirtypool40]

Better local match yesterday at Malabar.

I was 2nd overall to PaulW at 93%+, and won limited by 13%. Clean match, started ok a little tentative but acceptable.

Next stage was a little standards I shot pretty solid on, fastest time of the field and I only dropped two points.

The next stage was a 24 piece all steel stage. This is the first time I've goen one for one ona an all steel stage that wasn't a short 6 shot rack or classifier. 24 shots, 24 hits. Very controlled, but good enough to win limited. <By the way, PaulW is a prick and still put 3+ seconds on me with his "seeing eye gun">.

Here's where it got weird. I forgot to eat. Really, I have paid so much attention to keeping blood sugar right and my head / motivation at a decent level, and I just forgot to eat. I shot a sloppy last two stages, but stayed clean. Not the end of the world, and still a solid performance overall, but I kinda "gassed" on the last two stages and just didn't finish strong.

My position entries all day were rough, and sloppy, but overall I stayed pretty patient and well, a clean match is a good thing.

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In unrelated news, a buddy from Melbourne called me bright and early to say classifications posted, and I made GM!!! I've been chasing that one since I made master five years ago. I feel like a dog chasing cars..... what do I do when I catch one?

Now the real work begins.

Edited May 14, 2007 by dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Drove up to St. Augustine with the boys this past weekend for the benefit match. Something like 92 shooters and the nicest weather I have ever seen at that range, mid 70's and breezy.

Long day, got to see a lot of buddies from N. FL and GA. I don't get to shoot against very often.

I finished HOA Limited and about 28 points out of HOA for the match. Overall I shot clean, if a little conservative. <Reading this over, I realize that's what I want to say after EVERY match.>

I shot smooth and conservative on #5, 1 and 3, all stand and shoots. I was only down a total of 6 points for those three stages!! <This too!!!>

Stage 2 and 4 I am not happy with.

On the big 40 rounder (#2) I had a good plan and was really looking for a solid run. Iron sights be damned , I was looking to flow aggressively and win this one over the dot gunnners! It was the biggest stage of the match, 200 of the 545 points for the match, so if you're going to win one, this is it. I had a bit of a brain fade here, did the "popper dance" and forgot to reload moving to the next position. Then rather than "take my medicine" and slow down, hanging onto the points, I tried to make up the lost time like a rookie. End result: standing reload, four extra shots, 3 D's and a time 2+ seconds behind PaulW's winning run.

Then a smooth boring run on 3 and ended on 4.

Stage 4 was a quick little lateral wall course you basically "pied" across. I set up and moved well, and went one for one on steel, but I could not get the friggin' sites to settle in the notch and I SPRAYED points. I literally wanted to reach up and see if the rear was loose.

Anyhoo, all in all I posted my third clean match in a row, and for the first time in a long time won all five stages.

ERIC STANLEY L2443

MAY (CARL'S ) 2007

St Augustine P.S.A.

5/19/2007

Pistol_match Limited, 30 competitors

Stage Place Time Hit Factor Points Percent

Stage 1 IN THE CORNER 1 8.27 8.343 70 100.00%

Stage 2 TIME ON THE PLATE MACHINE 1 22.36 8.005 200 100.00%

Stage 3 WINDMILLS OF THE MIND 1 8.14 10.074 85 100.00%

Stage 4 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL 1 14.19 8.527 135 100.00%

Stage 5 LIFE IN THE FAST LANE 1 10.85 4.885 55 100.00%

Edited May 22, 2007 by dirtypool40

[PaulW]

Congrats on your first match win as a GM. Other than the "tango" with the popper all looked good.

[dirtypool40]

Thanks Bud.

I am glad I got that one out of the way, before I thought about it.

You're sick and STILL kick my ass? I've said it before. How friggin' good would you shoot if I could drag you out to practice???

Edited May 21, 2007 by dirtypool40