Getting Ahead of the Problem

[Patrick Sweeney]

As JJ did at the Racegun, I DQ'd from a club match by getting ahead of where I was.  It was cold, my hands were stiff, I went to do a reload with my Limited gun and couldn't get the mag release to work.  Rather than slow down, back off and solve the problem, I forced it some more.  The second finger of my gun hand slipped into the trigger guard.  It whacked the trigger, and I was done.

I felt the finger go in, and start to press the trigger, but I couldn't stop it in time.

Increasing the stress and forcing things hardly ever works, and can occasionally get you in big trouble.

[BamBam]

On cold days I bring those little orange heater pads that hunters use.  A cold finger has caused more AD's and DQ's than should ever be necessary.  Just keep a heater pad in your pocket near your trigger hand and problem solved.  On colder days I even bring a "muff" snapped around my waist (with heater bags inside) to slide both hands into for warmth.  

[Flexmoney]

Those little heater pads are neat.

[EricW]

From October through April, just about every match in western Oregon is a rain game.  The ticket here is the portable propane fired heater - the IR variety.  They're really the s*** for wet, cold conditions.

Regardless, it doesn't really fix the rushing issue.  At least I can take comfort that the big dogs face some of the same challenges I do every match.

E

(Edited by EricW at 10:15 pm on Sep. 29, 2002)