Calamity Jane

[Steve Moneypenny]

Since you don't seem like you want tips yet. i'm not going to say anything. there are a couple of little things you'll learn when you get an open gun. they took me about 2 months to figure out. but if you want to learn on your own... your on your own

You have improved tremendously since we shot together at the targeting ed. I hope the rest of the students in the class were as dedicated and improve as much as you have.

Your draw stroke and fundamentals are very solid. soon you'll be ready for the fun stuff hehe

[Calamity Jane]

The "tip jar" is on the counter.

My range diary is about me trying to learn what you guys already know. I'd be foolish not to listen to what you have to say. Bring it. I'm open to suggestions.

[XRe]

The "left foot hits, sights bounce" thing on the turning draw? Usually that's because you're off balance, or out of control as you turn. You should be able to turn and gently lay that foot on the ground, while supporting your weight on the other leg.

That may require work on balance and/or strength in the legs. You look like you've got your legs bent enough - it might just be a mental approach. I like to feel like my right quad (strong side quad) has my weight on it and I smoothly float onto my left foot. I also have a mental image of getting shorter through the turn - though I basically stay the same height, it keeps me from standing up or getting jerky.

I turn with a different technique (I load up on my weak foot, turn hips w/ my eyes and plant the strong foot towards the target, shift weight to it, and then lift the weak foot and finish the turn - as opposed to the military marching style turn that Max does). However, playing with your technique, it seems like the same mental images work for me there, too, so...

FWIW

[j1b]

Not having shot in ages it is hardly my place to give solid words of advice. That said . . .

I've read your whole diary though and watched your video - I'd offer two very small pieces of advice.

First, you are smooth. I mean VERY smooth. That's the hardest part of the speed game and you've got it down. Have confidence in that. Looking at the video you do so many things right it isn't even funny. To me, that means good foundation and a good platform for continued growth.

Second, all things are designed to distract from the shooting. Your left foot settling down issue feels kind of like one of those things. It's a distraction. I haven't met you nor have I seen you shoot but I'd be willing to gamble that you've squeezed off a few shots in more difficult situations. Focus on driving the gun into the target and focus on the shooting. What ever else is going on - be it a windy day, leaning over, crouched down like a contortionist (asking why am I doing this), or riding a rollercoast cart down the rail. All are designed to get you to somehow stop focusing on lining up two little sights and squeezing the trigger. Don't let it. You've noticed the left foot thing and now it's a distraction. I'd advise turning as smooth as you can - planting your feet the same way you have since you were 2 - and just focus on the shooting.

If you are mechanical by nature then the way I think won't work so hot. If you are more of a feel and see shooter - it might help. I always tried VERY hard not to get caught up in the mechanics of any given situation. Inherently I knew that once the foundation was set up (which you have) that the rest was just distraction. And it was how I handled that distraction that allowed me to either succeed or fail.

I like the video deal. If I were you, looking at that video, I'd lean more towards feeling good than I would be critical. Your fundamentals are really very good.

J

[Calamity Jane]

The "left foot hits, sights bounce" thing on the turning draw? Usually that's because you're off balance, or out of control as you turn. You should be able to turn and gently lay that foot on the ground, while supporting your weight on the other leg.

I've been thinking about this and it brought my Grandma to mind. When I was little my Mother would take me to Grandma's house. At Grandma's there were only two things to do: eat lemon drops and spin home made tops on her dining room table. She made the tops out of old spools of thread. She placed a pencil through the spool to make a top. My brother and I spent hours spinning these tops on her table. Here's what I remembered from spinning tops at Grandma's....as long as the pencil stayed upright the top would spin and spin....when the pencil became off balance...or started to lean....it would topple.

I agree with you Dave. Balance is the key to getting around. I'm finding that if I avoid leaning or taking too big of a step with my left foot, I have better balance. I'm also beginning to accept that there is more than one way to get around. Spinning around like Saul does in the 3 GM DVD has value for some stages but for some stages Max's technique might be better. Which brings me to Jack's point. GET TO THE SHOOTING! He is also absolutely right!!! Forget all the distraction and get to the shooting.

Thank you both for your input. I really do appreciate you.

I shot in a match today. A friend of mine let me shoot his brand new 40 cal open gun. I enjoyed it. I got a taste of what is to come. How did I do? Well you would have to subtract the amount of time it takes to say "Where's the dot?" from each of my runs to accurately assess how I did. Needless to say I didn't "rock it". However, I'm not discouraged. I pick up MY OPEN GUN tomorrow!!!!! I'm going to be full of questions real soon.

[Nik Habicht]

I'm also beginning to accept that there is more than one way to get around. Which brings me to Jack's point. GET TO THE SHOOTING! He is also absolutely right!!! Forget all the distraction and get to the shooting.

I think this connection's pretty cool: More tools in the toolbox = the opportunity to select the right one to get to the shooting soonest.....

[Calamity Jane]

The baby has arrived. It's a 38 super comp built by Matt Mclearn of M2I. I'm floored by the weight and balance of this gun!! I thought it was going to be nose heavy and it's not! It weighs only 1/4 pound more than my limited gun. I really like how the gun balances in my hand. It's like the perfect balance for me. How did he know?? Anyway, my two favorite features so far are the C-more with the "click" when you turn the dot on, and the long flat trigger which I think fits my finger PERFECTLY!! The rest of the features you can check out on Matt's web page. (www.mattmclearn.com) It's a basic open gun build. I'm in love.

I dry fired her tonight and was very encouraged. However, did you know that 40 cal dry fire bullets don't fit into 38 super comp mags I'm feeling really optimistic this evening....my optimism is bordering on confidence. I think I've met the gun to get me to a higher level.

More later....

[Caspian_45]

WOW. Jane thats one NICE HEATER.

Since the weather is so nice right now, Dave is going to stay home an work up loads for you to try out?

You may want to ask for a KISS bullet feeder for Easter. Cause I am sure that heater is gonna be hungry.

[blue edge]

NICE!!!!!!! But lets talk about this win at Silver Creek? or better yet just BRING IT!!!

Jane Im sure you will do great !!! now David needs one

Kevin

[jasmap]

Nice blaster Jane. You knew I live in AZ so you shoulda called me and had me pick it up for you and I could've shot it for a year or two to make sure it's running. Please keep us updated. Hopefully I'll see you and David in MI again this year.

[XRe]

Lookin' nice, Jane! Glad you were able to pick the new toy up today!

I know you're jazzed!

[BigDave]

Very nice!!! Now I know who to give my 38 SC foo-foo Bianchi loads to!

[Calamity Jane]

Thanks for gooing and cooing over my new baby. You are good friends.

I'm as green as spring grass when it comes to this open gun thing. The first thing that I want to figure out is the C-more scope. I'm going to list some questions that I have. I just did a search and read some stuff I didn't understand. Why can't people name their threads in such a way that it makes the search system work better???? It also would be nice if the Cmore came with an owners manual!!! Is there a web site that I could go to to answer some of these questions??

1. How do you sight in a Cmore?

2. How do you clean the lense?

3. How do you change the battery?

4. Does dot size really matter? What's wrong with big and bright at all times?

5. What is a parallax? Why is it important?

6. What is the Jo Jo trick with the tape on the Cmore lense??

7. Can the round ring of the Cmore be used in anyway at anytime as a reference point? (I'm thinking if I lose the dot because I didn't turn it on or the battery went dead)

I plan on live fire this weekend. I can hardly wait to pull that long flat trigger straight back!

[XRe]

1. Carefully!!! (no, seriously!) In general, pick a direction you want to adjust (up/down, left/right), loosen the lock screw, make an adjustment, tighten the lock screw, check sight in, repeat as necessary. The lock screw can actually change POI, so if you leave it loosened, make all your adjustments, then tighten it up.... you might go mad Theoretically, the left/right lock screw isn't required, but I still use mine.

2. In the "field", I use a cotton towel to wipe it clean, and then a LensPen (Bushnell, Leupold, Nikon, etc, make them) to finish it up. For a complete cleaning at home, a little windex and a paper towel gets whatever residue is left....

3. In front of the dot module is a cover w/ two allen head screws holding it down. Remove that. Note the battery position (there's a + symbol under there). Use an allen wrench to pull the battery out - press a new one in. Put the cover back on.

4. Yes, but only to a point. Too small, and its hard to pick up quick and can wash out in the sun. Too big, and it feels imprecise on long/tight shots. Its mainly a personal preference, though. I'm running an 8 MOA dot, now...

5. Set your gun on a solid object (your bag, sandbags, whatever), and arrange it so that the dot is on something specific. Now, leave the gun sitting there, and look through the lens. Move your head up and down, left and right, and watch how the dot moves in relation to the object you originally placed it on. That is parallax in a practical sense - the gun is still hitting where you originally aimed it, but the dot is somewhere else. This is important to know that for long shots, and for sighting in purposes, you want the dot centered in the scope. Most of the modern C-Mores I've played with don't exhibit much or any parallax - they've gotten a lot better through the years...

6. Use some cardboard and tape to block off the front of the lens.

7. You can generally lineup the top of the dot module with the bottom of the lens and that will put the dot somewhere in the lens. But, in general, no, there's no accurate way to use the lens ring to sight the gun - there's just not enough reference. The trick to finding the dot every time in your C-More is a rock solid index - which means refining your grip and stance, and draw motions down to pure science Its a cruel master, at times, but once you get it, you'll have it forever....

[reneet]

I'm also working on the turn around on the El Prez. I'm trying to find the best way to get around. Watching myself on video using the slow motion button is helping. It is allowing me to see my balance. I'm now thinking the torque to get around comes from the knees not the hips.

Hey Jane,

It's all in the head... Where the eyes look, the body follows. It still amazes me how many parallels I can draw between dancing and shooting. If I'm having problems dancing, it's always because my eyes are not looking where they need to be and/or my body is not in a forward enough position. Same-same with shooting.

See ya soon.

Renee

[Calamity Jane]

6. Use some cardboard and tape to block off the front of the lens.

I'm left eye dominant and use scotch tape on my right eye. I'm trying to decide if I should keep my tape on my right eye or take it off. I'm not sure I totally understand the Jo Jo trick. So what is it and why do you do it? I read about it in a thread once, but have no idea which thread.

Thanks as always.

[XRe]

As I understand it, the "JoJo Trick" is designed to help in cases where you've gotten into a total target focus mode and aren't really seeing the dot anymore... It forces one eye to see only dot, and the other to see the target, helping distinguish things again. In fact, it might help me to do some of that right now

Re: eye dominance, I'm right eye dominant, but not strongly so - my left eye picks up the front sight when I shoot irons, so I use tape over the left to eliminate that effect. I don't use any tape when shooting open - its impossible for both eyes to see the dot at the same time, so you don't end up in the same situation. Just put the gun up in front of whichever eye you want to use

[Nik Habicht]

4. Does dot size really matter? What's wrong with big and bright at all times?

My dot shooting is limited to rifle --- so take this for what it's worth: In the fall, or on really overcast, grey days, I've noticed a tendency for the dot to appear to flare, if the brightness is cranked up. That makes it harder for me to accurately call long shots, and it's just plain distracting --- it makes me think there's something wrong with my eye.

With very little practice, you'll become adept at dialing in something resembling the level of brightness you'll ideally require...

[Calamity Jane]

I just had a dry fire session and I took my glasses off. I could see the dot fine but the back of the gun (ring around the dot) is blury. I don't know if this is good or bad. I went ahead and dry fired only focusing on the dot. It was a little uncomfortable ignoring the back of the gun. In limited shooting the back sight is everything to me. I use the back sight to cut the target in half, and it gives me conformation of up and down, left and right, it also helps me call my shot by watching the dot lift up out of the notch...to just focus on the dot was VERY uncomfortable. Are you telling me all I have to do to shoot this gun is point the dot??? Surely it can't be that easy!

I'm going to shoot 100 rounds through her tomorrow. Dave loaded me some test ammo. We are starting with N350 because that is what we have right now. Ofcourse I'll post how she shot.

Until tomorrow....

[j1b]

Open will be a transition - but just a transition.

Think about it this way. Everything you're doing with the open gun is the same as you did with the limited gun. The only difference is that because all you have to do is put the dot on the target the "seeing" process is simpler. Everything you're noticing now is no different than with the limited gun - you are just seeing things different.

All of that is ok. Because it is different doesn't mean it's bad. Shooting open helped me shoot limited because I was better able to see all the things the gun was doing.

The reality is that you need to crank a good number of rounds through the gun. Just shoot it a lot.

My recommendation though is to tape after every run. If you're doing a drill where you're going to draw and engage 3 targets at 15 yards with two shots each - run the drill and then tape. Run the drill then tape. Do it with a timer or without - doesn't matter. What does matter is that you learn to interpret what you see with what in fact happens.

Shooting open will teach you incredible things about what is really happening because it simplifies the shooting process (hence making it faster). Some things will take some getting used to - things like finding the dot on the draw - all of that will become second nature. TRUST that. It will all come. Don't let any of this get in the way of what you want to do - put the dot on the target and pull the trigger.

Oh - and have fun. Matt builds awesome guns. It'll be a blast to have fun with. If you talk with him - please tell him I said hello. We go way back!

J

[XRe]

+1 to what Jack said. Also....

Don't worry about the back of the gun being blurry. If you really pay attention and are focused on the front sight, the back of the gun is somewhat blurry anyway... The dot is focused "at infinity", which basically means that if you are focused on the dot image itself, you're focused way out past the gun, so its normal for it to be even blurrier than you're used to. The important thing is that you see the dot and can get it onto target....

Once you get some rounds under your belt, play with target focus, as well. That's where the target is sharply in focus, and the dot is not. If you focus on where you want the bullet to go, your body will put the dot there for you. Target focus with an Open gun is a normal thing, until you get into a more difficult shots, and then it sometimes helps to pull back to a dot focus to gain precision. If I shoot dot focus, I tend to find myself following the bouncing dot instead of looking for the next target YMMV, of course...

[Calamity Jane]

First Shots Fired

I waited for my husband to come home because I wanted to share the first shot fired with him. We worked up some N350 loads using some data obtained from XRE. I pulled the trigger and my first conscious thought was "Holy Cow!" Then a big smile came across my face. The shot I fired was hiding behind my red dot. I had to move the dot out of the way to see the hole in the target. I think Janie's got a gun! We are still in load devlopment stages. We plan on working more on that today. I won't be shooting this gun tomorrow at Riley for those of you who may be wondering. Should be ready to go by the South Central match.

Gravy Train Stops Here

I'm a foolish wife who has made a tactical mistake! A little background to my painful situation....I'm married to an incredible man. I love him just the way he is and I wouldn't want to change a thing about him. Some might characterize him as tight, anal, obsessive compulsive etc I've been married to him for 19 years and all of these qualities have been a positive thing in our marriage. For example he has loaded EVERY bullet ever shot out of my gun. When he loads the ammo it is case gaged, boxed, labeled, basically PERFECT. I have NEVER had a squib in my whole shooting career. When I go to the line I have NO DOUBT that the ammo will fire and MAKE CHRONO. OK sometimes I worry about chrono but that's another story. Because my husband does so much for our family I insisted several years ago that he buy a Dillion 1050. He loads for 3 people and there was no other way to keep up. So we have a Dillion 550 and a Dillion 1050. Here's where we get to the rub.... My son and Dave shoot 40 cal limited guns and that is what we load on the 1050. My new 38 super cal will be loaded on the Dillion 550. I have never had to worry about loading ammo because my husband won't let me near his 1050. The thought of me touching it makes his stomach hurt. Yesterday he tells me that I will be loading all of my own ammo from now on. He's going to help with the load development and setting the Dillion 550 up but that's it. I really messed up....should have built a 40 cal open gun. It looks like I'm going to have to grow up and learn how to load. However, there is always the oldest son Jackson.....Could make a deal with him...you load X amount you get to shoot X amount The husband blind sided me with this one. I should have seen it coming.

Edited March 17, 2007 by Calamity Jane

[jasmap]

Jane a quick way out is to leave the reloading bench messy or constantly ask ridiculous questions that you know the answers to. Dave is so meticulous that it'll kill him. Sorry Dave!

Also, I saw Matt McLearn today. I mentioned you and Dave and he asked about both of you and all the guns he's built for you guys. Just thought I'd let you know.

[XRe]

Musashi says (paraphrasing - book is not handy) that the warrior is responsible for his (her) own equipment... I see this as a good thing - even though you get to sit and crank the handle, this is one more thing on the path. You will be even more connected to every hole in the paper.... Actually, on the off chance that David did have a boo-boo, this absolves him - any mistakes, any squibs, and cases that don't fit the chamber - they all come back to you, now. One less excuse to worry about fighting off....

That said.... I wish I had someone to crank my loading press for me so all I had to do was shoot

Oh... glad my suggested load data worked... safely...

[davidball]

Jane a quick way out is to leave the reloading bench messy or constantly ask ridiculous questions that you know the answers to. Dave is so meticulous that it'll kill him. Sorry Dave!

You're right . . . I hate it when you're right . . .

Also, I saw Matt McLearn today. I mentioned you and Dave and he asked about both of you and all the guns he's built for you guys. Just thought I'd let you know.

Yeah, without us he doesn't pay the mortgage.