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rvb

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Congrats on 1st Prod Master! :D

Gamble or not, you did something right. Keep it up!

Are you shooting a Beretta? I saw your posts in the Beretta sub-forum...

-rvb

ps. Thanks for some extra motivation to tell work I'm done w/ the long days, I need to pratice! :)

Thanks RVB!

I was running a G35 with some 150PF loads - I made the "mistake" of buying a .40, and I've sorta loved it ever since.

Up until a few weeks ago, I couldn't really tell the difference between softer shooting loads. I've been toying around with some lighter loads, but I've got piles of this 165gr load sitting around and I'm just going to shoot the rest of it...

I am planning on switching to a Beretta - I've got big hands. That and I'm seeing that shooting 130pf 9 is WAY easier than what I've got...

Oh, and... F*&k work! There's always too much of it!!

If you go w/ 92-series (vs PX4, which I know nothing about), let me know if you have any Qs setting it up. I was getting pretty good at the trigger work on them...

I agree about work!

-rvb

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Started dryfiring a couple nights ago with the G34. I have to get it running. Even if that means sacrificing some local matches due to malfunctions to ensure it works. First round of testing is w/ the Gen 4 ejector...

Upped the recoil spring to 15 lb (with the 13lb it wouldn't pass the vertical closing test and wouldn't always close if I short cycled it just to reset the trigger).

I'm going to start dedicating part of my evening to dryfire. Even if doing work from home, 11-midnight is going to become dryfire time. I have to quit thinking that I need to get something else done for work and putting off dryfire "til tomorrow" because that's gotten me down to 1-2 nights per week max, if at all. I was content with not improving, just maintaining... but I'm no longer even maintaining. The IN Section lit a fire.

My index needs rebuilt. My recoil timing is off. My shot calling needs refined (though this has perished the least). I think some of that is due to switching platforms and never putting in the time with the Glock I should have. Unfortunately only the index can be improved in dryfire and I don't know that I'll be able to increase my livefire frequency

-rvb

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Shot prod at FWAPS yesterday, using the G34.

No failures using the gen 4 ejector. I don't know that it's "fixed," more testing will tell, but I had no distraction from the brass, either.

I won prod, 4th combined (out of 33). 79% of a solid M Open shooter (RePete).

Could have shot some more As, only 88% points shot. I escaped penalty free, which was pretty good for a no-shoot laden match (incl some NSs behind plates). Only 4 Ds.

Classifier was 99-24, Front Site 2. Only came in around 71%. 9A, 3C, 6.62.

Good:

Index and trigger control slightly improved over IN state after a week of intensive dryfire.

At state I felt I put too much emphasis on speed on the close shots, and accuracy on the far shots despite my belief that you should get all the easy As and accept Cs on far/hard/on-the-move targets, and I did a better job of that yesterday.

Bad:

Had one flat out brainfart and initiated a reload where it wasn't planned. Instead of dropping it I took the time to stow it back in the pouch. Cost me several seconds (stage 3).

Had a great FUN day of shooting with some more awesome weather! Is it really August?

-rvb

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Tech post first....

Approx 425 rounds with the gen 4 ejector and no ejection failures. Tonight I tested some additional parts. I fired a few rounds with just the gen 4 ejector and noted roughly where the enter of the pile of brass was (and it was piled pretty well). I then put in a White Sound Defense extra power extractor spring. I noted a very slight improvement in that the brass was still grouped but maybe landed just a little farther away. Next I put in a Lone Wolf extractor. This caused the ejection to be awful... It was back to having brass bouncing off my forearm.

So my new baseline setup in my G34 is a gen 4 30274 ejector with a WSD extra strength extractor spring, stock extractor, and 15lb ISMI recoil spring. I still plan to test the Apex extractor setup when it becomes available

I then switched to some old stock 115 gr practice ammo, which had previously never worked well. Today it gave me no problem (except 1 round that didn't want to feed, I still have to figure that one out).

I tried everything I could think of to make it jam... Riding the slide, super limp grip, SHO, WHO, etc. I even tested w.o the mag and that ejected properly 8/10 times (once it fell through the mag well and one it stovepiped).

I think I would be willing to shoot this in a major again.

-rvb

Edited by rvb
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250 rounds today. Skipped the organized FWAPS practice but crammed in some time on my own.

10 yd Group shooting was nothing stellar. About half were in the 1.25" range, the othe half were in the 2-3" range. I felt like I couldn't keep the FS in focus.

Timing drills: really need to get the grip textured, constantly adjusting my grip.

2R2: several runs in the 2.5-2.6 range. I had a couple runs in the 2.4 range, but I called a few Cs.

Bill drill: several runs in the low to mid 1.9s, all As called (not much time tonight so I wasn't pasting, so I'm cheating a little). I had a couple runs in the 1.8s, but I was calling hits either in the C or right on the line.

I think I'm going to put a std non '-' connector. After shooting the G19 for a while, I think I prefer the more crisp break despite the trigger weight., and I can tinker w. some of the springs to help with the weight.

-rvb

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for future reference: I want to try this one...

Triple Six:

Set up 3 targets at 7, 15, and 25 yards. You will shoot 3 strings here but keep track of your overall time.

String one- Draw and fire 6 rds into T1.

String two- Draw and fire 6 rds into T2.

String three- Draw and fire 6 rds into T3.

The point of the drill is to see how fast you can shoot at every distance but keeping them in the A-Zone. Every point you drop, you must add time to your overall time.

A- +0

B/C- +.20

D- +.50

Miss- + 1 sec.

-rvb

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  • 2 weeks later...

Shot Angola yesterday, production. Small turn-out, but won HOA.

Classifier was 09-04 Pucker factor. 8.8496 HF, 3A, 2B, 3C, 3.39s. Story of the day.... Not enough As. Just good enough to continue to drag down my % at 82.7%

The good:

- The gun ran (used the G34)

- penalty free

- very smooth and quick and hit my marks

The bad:

- piss poor accuracy! Only 83% of the points. More Ds in 5 short stages (6) than the entire IN Section (4).

- botched reload botched my reload plan on the only long course. I didn't get the old mag out of the way in time and the new mag hit it and kept it from ejecting.

-rvb

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Last night was first dryfire in a week and a half (stupid work making me travel).

I really like the stippling. My grip on the draw was much more positive and I felt more consistent. I like the stippling location as it seems to get me good grip for recoil control, but the gun still slides around when needed, such as shifting the grip for a reload.

I swapped the (-) connector for a standard connector, and put in a reduced striker spring. I like this combination better than the stock G34 setup as it's about the same trigger weight, but the break is less mush. should be ok w/ my std federal primer laod (will test hopefully later this week).

I tested a glockmesiter trigger return spring, but it wouldn't return the trigger enough to the point the "safety" would engage, so I put the stock spring back in.

struggled with reloads, specifically aligning the mag to the well. don't know what that was all about. Thinking it may be a visual thing since I no longer have the same line from the factory grip texture... dunno. or just an off day.

-rvb

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Approx 200 rds today.

The wolf reduced power striker spring worked 100% with some old loads I had with Win (I think!) primers, so it should be good to go with the Fed primers in my match loads. I much prefer the combo of this spring with the std (non-"-") connector over the factory G34 setup.

I like the stippling. I could get through 15 rounds in a timing drill without having to adjust my grip, yet I could adjust my grip when necessary much easier than the pro grip type of product.

Shot some 10 yd groups. Really struggling with my vision in my right (dominant) eye getting a precise sight picture. Can't wait to get some new contacts. Most groups were in the 1.25-1.75" range. A couple where I really struggled for a good focused sight picture opened to 2-2.5" One could have been in the 5/8" range except I pulled the 5th shot. :angry:

Did a t10yd timing drill sequence. The front sight returned much more consistently for me with the stippling. For some reason, my grouping was low. I'm not sure if it was poor sight picture or trigger control. I think the former, with the focus issues described above...

Something I really noticed was how lazy I've gotten on my front sight focus. From a parallax standpoint both eyes were looking at the target (seeing one target but two sights, but it was the sight I was trying to bring into focus. When I tried to do it "right", I struggled.

-rvb

Ps, here is my target from the timing drills... Today I used an aim point reference, and notice how low my group was. The fliers occurred when I was trying to focus "correctly". I called them correctly, but was struggling with where I was aiming.... If that makes any sense....

post-6093-134714024088_thumb.jpg

Edited by rvb
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  • 3 weeks later...

Got to shoot tonight. First time touching a gun in two weeks other than a little bit of slow fire dryfire.

Started off with some groups freestyle. Wanted to see where I hit at different distances. Screwed up and forgot my match ammo. My practice ammo was about .5" low at 5 yards, on at 15, and looked to be about .5 - 1" high at 25. Was quite happy w a 3-3/8" group at 25. Tossing a called flyer it could have been close to 2". Something to work towards.

I discover this week in dryfire if I get my SH grip around more behind the gun so my thumb is more parallel to the gun, I get better trigger control. Especially if I get lower on the trigger. I'm also getting the WH more FORWARD on the gun (thanks to photos of Bob V). Really liking how much more control I had on the gun.

It paid off in my accuracy, except that when I started going fast and working out of the holster, I started getting ate up by the slide. Going to have a lot of work to do there in dryfire.

Did a dot drill, and was terribly disappointed with a 42/50. But I realize now today I was at 7 yds, and previously I had baselines at 5.

Was consistently shooting low when not just shooting groups, especially on the dot drill. Two issues contributing... 1. Vision: I slow fire I can take the time to squint enough to get a clear picture. High speed I'm struggling with good alignment. 2. Anticipation: and driving the gun before the shot is breaking. I blame tension and lack of practice.

Reloads were great tonight. Consistently in the 1.2x range. Draws SUCKED. But I was continually adjusting my grip to minimize the amount of blood and flesh left on the slide... That was also contributing to the flinching/anticipation.

Shot a little bit of steel with the FWAPS crew. Much improved over previous weeks. I recall only 1 miss (SHO).

-rvb

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I no longer consider myself a master class shooter.

I have 4 Prod classifiers on record so far this year (I remember when it used to be 2 dozen per year!).

All are in the 77.7 - 82.7 % range. At least I'm consistent. :blush:

-rvb

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Pulled a bone-headed move yesterday...

After setting up and RO'ing all the shooters on my stage at Angola yesterday, I went to gear up so I could shoot the match. It was then I realized I had left my belt/holster/pouches at home. D'oh.

I shot two stages for no score from low-ready, spare mags in my [velcro'd shut!] back pocket.

This week I got in 4 nights of heavy index/grip development, as well as trigger control (1-2 hrs per night). With the G34 now working (~1k rounds since last malfunction!), I have to focus on making those things subconscious on the new platform.

And at the match I felt I did index the gun onto the targets better than previous matches. Also, my grip seems to be right where I want it, as high as possible yet I didn't leave with my slide covered in blood and flesh. The sight seemed to track more vertical than any other time. Also, for the first time, I didn't "think" my way through a propper trigger press on hard shots. My finger landed where it should and I was consistently pulling through w/o disturbing the sights.

One shot stands out: a mini popper at 10-12yds... with a no-shoot steel behind it. I transitioned on to it, saw the sight lift from the center of the popper, and and then snapped my eyes to the next target. Textbook! Shot/called purely on vision. It felt great to NOT be THINKING about the mechanics of getting the shot off again.

I have one more match this year, the IN PROD/SS/REV. I'm going to be going in to it with MUCH more confidence than I had going into the IN Section match.

-rvb

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  • 3 weeks later...

Came in 4th (of 78) in Production at the IN SS/Prod/Rev L-II. (5th combined, out of 141). 2nd Master. Slightly disapointed with finishing at only 82%.

No video this time.

The day started off great... Then I went to lunch. After the break I couldn't seem to pull together a solid run. Morning finishes were 3,3,3,1,15 (starting on stage 7). Afternoon finishes were 15,8,31,9,14.

I won the standards stage, which was surprising since it was all SHO/WHO and I have yet to put in any time w/ the glock on that skill. I had a 1.2x-second first shot from the holster on the WHO string.

Only shot 89.5% of available points. 10 Ds hurt. Most of thse were from being over agressive on how much static I could fit in between activators and movers.

Some weird gun things...

Once an empty mag didn't fall free. I need drop a completely empty mag in dryfire. The weight of just a couple of dummy rounds must be making a difference, and I need to hang on the button a hair longer.

Two other issues -may- have been gun problems, or they may have been my fault. This is why I like to run video. In my mind I saw 1 failure to go into battery and 1 light primer strike. It's possible that I didn't execute reloads properly. Now I'm second guessing myself... was the not-in-battery really a slide lock? How many rounds did I fire on the previous string? was the light strike really an empty chamber; could I have ridden the slide stop? again, how many did I fire on the previous string? This is where it's evident that I'm getting more familiar w/ the glock, but not intimately familiar with it.

things I need to work on...

-empty mag reloads as described above

- setting up in awkward positions on hard shots. Stage 7 and Stage 2 come to mind. On 2 I kind of crashed into position, knocked a barrel loose, had to step back into the shooting area. Several seconds lost. This has been a weakness I've recognized for some time and I want it to be a strength by spring.

- Trigger finger placement. It's still not subconcious where I need to be for best results. Accuracy is awesome when I get the trigger on the tip of my finger. Center of the pad and I'm consistently pulling right (~6" at 25 yds slowfire). Had to remind myself on the hard shots and adjust. Had to add a standing reload on stage 2 steel as a result (2 makeups, then cleaned once I adjusted).

- Need to be decisive on a plan early and burn it in. 2 stages (4 and 6) stand out to me where I took too long to decide what plan was "best" and when the 5 minutes was up I only got to walk my plan a couple of times. A less-than-perfect plan burned in is better than the perfect plan not practiced... I really had to think my way through while shooting on those two stages.

-rvb

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Hey, just wanted to say good job at Atlanta. I know, not because you don't want to shoot, but because you have higher priorities, that you don't get to shoot and practice as much as some of us.

Frankly, I think the example you set in this regard is refreshing.

For what it's worth, I'm with you on D/T's. It is a case by case situation. What might be worth it at the A/B level is not going to be the same at the M/GM level, at least not every single time.

Have a good off season. See you on the range.

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Thanks so much, Chris.

It seems you had a really good season overall. Keep it up! You're definitely heading in the right direction.

It's been hard to deal with that transition from shooting ~30 matches a year (with weekly practices) just a couple years ago to just 8 or 10 matches now (with only few practices per year), not to mention the impact to the dryfire routine. It kills motivation when I do have time to practice.

The gun problems killed me this year. I am just now to the level of comfort w/ the platform where I was hoping to be in March.

However, I made some positive changes this year. I got a membership at a range closer to home, and I was able to get to some Fort Wayne practice nights and some personal practices in there. I pushed back at work and I'm down from 70-80 hrs/week to ~50 (which is letting me get dryfire in). And next year I'm switching "home" clubs which is a win/win for me in that I can do things like communion at church (first sunday), and I can get back in the groove of shooting in a squad and fix some of these mental-game problems that have crept into my game.

Have a safe winter!

-rvb

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I always say, nothing slows a hotshot down like a couple kids and a mortgage...

Hope to see you at matches more next year.

Reminds me of the quote that goes something like "a good wife and a steady job have ruined many a good biker."

(I used to have a motorcycle, too....)

-rvb

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  • 2 weeks later...

Been doing a little dryfire with the ARs the last couple nights. Moved the scope back so I could get into the eyebox with a more neutral/squared stance. Seems to now be in the sweetspot of just a touch too far forward while standing, and a touch too far to the rear while prone. Hoping to get out this weekend to maybe chrono and re-zero.

Reticle on my vortex was flickering... was thinking about calling vortex for repair work, but since it seemed like a bad connection, I thought I'd start at the battery. So I put a paper shim under the cap so it hold the battery down with more force now, and it seems to be working ok. Will get a peel washer or metal shim in there soon (paper absorbs moisture!).

I have about 5k 9mm loaded for next year. Hope to get another 1-2 loaded before Christmas, then I won't have to bother next spring/summer.

Not planning pistol dryfire until after Christmas, then I want to hit it HARD.

-rvb

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Got to the range on Sat.

Spent some time with the AR. Re-mounted the scope (better eye box position and more level). Zero'd at 190 which seems to put the 55s in pretty convenient spots on the chart. Basically on at 50/200, little over an inch over at 100, 3moa down at 300.... Shot a couple groups at 300. I was pretty happy with a 4.25" 5-shot group with just 4x and hornaday bulk 55s. I pulled one shot slightly and called it right, and it opened my goup beyond moa. That was the first time I had shot from a bench in YEARS....

Put a gen4 ejector and white sound extractor spring in the G19 and put some rounds through it to verify function. didn't work w/o a mag in, but ran ok through about 100 rounds otherwise. Ejection pattern seemed much more consistent. First 3 rounds were all touching at 7ds. Almost stopped there.

-rvb

Edited by rvb
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  • 1 month later...

Just ordered a set of Wiley-X Guard safety glasses off Amazon for $60. Had my last set of glasses since ~2005 and they are getting cracked/scratched/worn. Went to the website for my old glasses and realized there were no safety ratings for their lenses! theyre Really just sun glasses. Shame on the vendor that sold them at a major match as safety/shooting glasses and shame on me for not doing the research.

-rvb

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  • 4 weeks later...

Getting back into the swing of things.

Planning to shoot production again in 2013. I have about 6k rounds loaded. Hopefully that won't be enough....

Did 3 nights of dryfire w/o a timer. Basic draw / index re-development.

I now have done 2 nights of dryfire w/ a timer, also Basic draw / index / reload re-development. pars set a couple tenths high just to get back into things. about 45 min / night.

I'm struggling with a grip that keeps me low enough to not get chewed by the slide but that lets me get a good trigger press.

I went to the range last weekend. Mostly played w/ the 10/22. I got it a year or so ago and have barely shot it. Lots of fun. I see a .22 silencer in my future. 50 yd groups in the 2" range. Tried an un-timed appleseed qual at 25yds. Didn't do very well, only a 175. struggling to see the FS well and needing new contacts...

I shot a few 5-shot groups w/ the G34 at 25 yds. Freestyle I was keeping them in the 3-4" range. It was super windy and hard to stay on target. I tried from a bench and got it down to 2.3". I was hitting about 4" right. I thought maybe it was the wind (discussed here: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=166877), but that couldn't have been all of it. I think I was too far on the tip of my trigger finger. So I've been working on the dime drill. Last fall I could do 30 straight trigger pulls before getting bored. Now I can't do more than a couple, so I have my work cut out for me there. Group sizes say I'm consistent, but hitting that far right says I suck.

I think the guns are working, so I have no excuse to not shoot / dryfire the hell out of them this spring.

Ordered a new "toy," an AAC 762-SDN-6. :) hopefully by next Christmas I'll be able to take posession...

-rvb

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