HighVelocity Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I've been thinking about starting my own range diary for a while so what the heck, here goes. I'm kicking of 2009, my 3rd year of competitive shooting, with a bang. My goals for this year are; 1) Lose 50 lbs before Christmas by improving diet and increasing excercise (this is most important to me) 2) Move from B to A in USPSA 3) Move from EX to MA in IDPA 4) Practice better and more often 5) Be HOA at a plate match 6) Be HOA at a carbine match I'm going to be 41 yrs old soon and even though I'm getting a late start at this, I'm having the time of my life. I've got a good grasp of the mental game and am determined to be the best that I can be. Today, I shot a match in freezing temperature with good friends, unfamiliar equipment and targets I never practice on. It was great! I love new challenges. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Great! Let me know what I can do to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingchef Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Get the books from the Enos forum, read them, read them again. Practice, dry-fire, Practice, win. I've seen you shoot, you have a good trigger and a good eye, practice moving, and setting up for the next shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 Thanks, Guys. I will continue to pick your brains. Y'all haven't steered me wrong yet. Books read so far: Practical Shooting, beyond fundamentals With Winning in Mind Refinement and Repetition Practical Shooting Manual Sweeney McGivern Kuhnhausen manuals (I believe detailed knowledge of the hardware helps better utilize it) Videos studied: Leatham Burkett Miculek Various major match vids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Wonderful way to start. Set those modest goals and keep it up. We are praying for your success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingchef Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 We are praying for your success. So long as you stay out of my division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 You've already set a goal to lose some weight this year - you'll come to find at some point that your shooting goals and your *life* goals are intertwined.... Keep it up and stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 I appreciate the support, and prayers. Chef, don't worry... I have no interest in shooting Open. I'm still diggin' my iron sights. Today, I shot CDP in a local IDPA match that turned out to be a lot more match than I expected. 8 stages and a whole lotta bullets. I got happy finger right off the bat and started shooting beyond my sights and that didn't start things off too well. I did my best to reel it in on the remaining stages and just about made HOA but ended up 2nd Overall, first in CDP. The sunshine was downright brutal on my sight picture. It seems like my eyes are becoming more sensitive to bright sun because I don't remember having this issue recently. Maybe I need darker glasses? I'm sitting here relaxing now, contemplating shooting the indoor IDPA match in Dallas in a few hours. It was my plan to go, but man, I am whipped. 45 ammo is depleted so I'll have to shoot ESP if I go. Sitting at the press to make 45 ammo right now doesn't sound like much fun. who am I kidding... I'll be there. Can't pass up a chance to beat Catfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Burtchell Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Hey Gary, Sounds like very obtainable goals for you this year. You can make them happen !!! Best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingchef Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 FWIW: be careful with the sunglasses. I learned from another seasoned shooter about "focus" and the darker the shades the less focus you have at further targets. I played with sunglasses and now use a light tint with polarization. I have better clarity on all targets. You will notice that even on bright sunny days, you see allot of amber and yellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 I guess I'll have to experiment with sunglasses again. Being a contact lense wearer doesn't help. Well, I should have stayed home tonight. Half the range was unavailable for the first half of the evening due to a scheduling snafu and 33 shooters showed up, included maybe 8 1st timers. It was chaotic at best. I tanked the first stage but made the best of the other 3. Looks like I was 2nd overall and 1st ESP but the score sheets were a mess so there's no telling. I may have asked too much of myself today and it made me get sloppy. Oh well. Pacing myself has been difficult but I'm going to work on it. anyway, it's always good to spend time with friends at the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel1212 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 I guess I'll have to experiment with sunglasses again. Being a contact lense wearer doesn't help.Well, I should have stayed home tonight. Half the range was unavailable for the first half of the evening due to a scheduling snafu and 33 shooters showed up, included maybe 8 1st timers. It was chaotic at best. I tanked the first stage but made the best of the other 3. Looks like I was 2nd overall and 1st ESP but the score sheets were a mess so there's no telling. I may have asked too much of myself today and it made me get sloppy. Oh well. Pacing myself has been difficult but I'm going to work on it. anyway, it's always good to spend time with friends at the range. Look at it like this, you got good practice for a 10 stage one day match. Its what I loved about shooting the local match here that we could run twice. I saw it not as 2 seperate 5 stage matchs but a continuous 10 stage match and made myself stay focused the whole day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 I shot the Metal Mania plate match at the Dallas Pistol Club today. I used a G17L that I never drew from the holster until the buzzer went off on my first stage today. It was my best performance so far with a centerfire pistol at a plate match. 1st place auto stock A and 6th out of 41 shooters overall (all centerfire classes/divisions, including Open). It felt pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Sandbagger! When are they going to bump you to AA?? You going to pick a gun to shoot, or what?? Glock, 1911.... wheelgun!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) I know I know I know... I really should pick one platform and stick with it if I want to reach my potential. BUT, I enjoy shooting EVERYTHING! This was my 1st A class win so I have to win it 3 more times before I get bumped to AA. That's going to put me in the pond with Mick, Rags and Dwain. It's a deep pond. Oh yea, I have already lost 11 lbs too. Edited January 18, 2009 by HighVelocity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Excellent!! Don't forget Brian W. He's a madman when he's hitting on all cylinders! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 Got out my S&W 625 today and spent about 30 minutes in dry fire re-acquainting myself with it. A few of the regulars at the Dallas Pistol Club thought it would be fun to have a bunch of wheelguns at their Real World Gun match this Saturday. (loosely based on IDSA rules). I figured, yeah, that might be fun. So I got into my stash of Federal primers and Berry's bullets and loaded up a few hundred rounds. I'll shoot the local indoor IDPA match tomorrow night to warm up. I haven't shot this gun since last April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Shot 5 stages at the local IDPA match this evening. Most requiring 2 reloads for ESR/SSR. I was really concerned about the 625 pointing naturally after not shooting it for so long but finding the front sight turned out to be a non issue. Reloading the #2 moonclip was less than stellar. I hunted for the 2nd reload every time. Guess I'm a little rusty with the round gun. There was a pretty good turnout of wheelgunners, which was a pleasant surprise. I think we had 5 out of 21 shooters. My takeaway from tonight was that weak hand trigger control needs work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 The weather today was too good to stay indoors so I took an AR to the range and did some work at 100 and 200 yards. Breathe and trigger control mostly. I was relaxed and it was a productive session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) It's amazing how fast the weather can change. Lived in TX nearly my entire life and it still catches me by surprise. Woke up to low 30's and I don't think it ever got over 35 degrees. But, I went and shot anyway. I must be out of my mind. 22 shooters, 5 of us with revolvers. I figured out why I was hunting for my 2nd reload and fixed it. Suddenly my reloads got a lot faster, imagine that. On the fence about the plate match tomorrow. It's hard to learn anything when my teeth are chattering. Edited January 25, 2009 by HighVelocity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingchef Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 cold makes the mind sharper and the match faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 cold makes the mind sharper and the match faster. and the fingers blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 I couldn't stay away from the plate match today. I won A class and was 5th overall (one position better than last week). My best finish so far at a plate match. One more A class win and I'll be in AA class, which is where the grownups play. All runs start from surrender so I chose to work on my starting hand position and getting to the gun faster. I feel like I ironed out a few wrinkles in my draw and out of 25 draws on the clock, only had one that was uncomfortable (grabbed gun too high). In general, I'm not a Glock guy but the 17L and Dawson sights seem to work well in this application. Maybe I should think about getting a 1911 with a 6" slide. That would be pretty sweet. In two hours, I'll be at a 2gun (pistol rifle) match based on IDPA rules. This time I'm going to use my house rifle. It hasn't had a workout in a while. I'll put the reg 17 slide back on and use the same pistol that I shot plates with since that's the trigger my brain is programmed on today. Besides, it's already in the range bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Well, good thing I shot my house rifle tonight. The gas key came loose and it wouldn't run. I was/am pretty upset about it. That was the first time that I have ever not finished a stage due to equipment failure. That is just unnaceptable to me. I'll have it back in action before next weekend though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 nah, that was a cheap lesson!! Since it's your house gun, other potential consequences could have been really, really bad. You did OK on the pistol part, though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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