Things I learned at the Single Stack Nationals

[bbbean]

1) This game is primarily in your head. The harder I tried to shoot fast and the more excited I got the worse my scores were. FWIW, I got excited a lot.

2) I'm a good shooter - when my head is in the game. When I was relaxed and focused, I shot on a par with shooters much more experienced and in much higher classes than me. Wish this had happened more often.

3) All my gear works - very well. The only malfunctions I had were on the last two stages of day two, when I was a little tired and didn't fully seat my mags on a couple of reloads. This unfortunately caused a problem with the gear behind the gun, and got me excited. See #1.

3) There are a lot of really great people in this sport, and the SSN is a great place to meet a bunch of them.

4) There are a handful of putzes in this sport, and you meet them at the SSN, too. Fortunately, there aren't many of them.

5) Shaking hands with Rob Leatham is like shaking hands with a friendly bear. He said he was worried about me beating him, but I think he was either lying or had me confused with someone else. The only way that could happen would be if he left after the first stage or got DQ'ed.

6) Its pretty awe inspiring to sit in a room with that many of the best shooters in the world.

7) Sometimes a friendly smile and a "how's it goin?" are just what you need to get back on track. Thanks, KL.

8) The fast guy in your squad? He really is that fast. Congrats on an impressive finish, Scott Warren.

9) Staring day two at the very top of the hill was a pain. Don't those Illinois boys know ranges are supposed to be nice and flat like they are at home?

10) Watching BJ Norris and Rob Leatham shoot was a study in contrasts.

Edited May 4, 2009 by bbbean

[Al Capizzo]

1) This game is primarily in your head. The harder I tried to shoot fast and the more excited I got the worse my scores were. FWIW, I got excited a lot.

2) I'm a good shooter - when my head is in the game. When I was relaxed and focused, I shot on a par with shooters much more experienced and in much higher classes than me. Wish this had happened more often.

10) Watching BJ Norris and Rob Leatham shoot was a study in contrasts.

Nice post. #1 and #2 are what everyone struggles with to one degree or another.

Can you elaborate on #10?

Thanks.

[Ant1]

1. More practice at 25 yards.

2. More drills with weak hand and strong hand.

3. More practice at 25 yards!!!!

[bbbean]

10) Watching BJ Norris and Rob Leatham shoot was a study in contrasts.

Nice post. #1 and #2 are what everyone struggles with to one degree or another.

Can you elaborate on #10?

Thanks.

TGO seemed to flow across the stage. I didn't even notice the reload, and didn't realize just HOW fast he was until I shot the same stage. He made it look effortless. BJ, on the other hand, seemed to literally explode across the stage. Every fiber of his being seemed to be pushing through the stage.

Edited May 4, 2009 by bbbean

[Al Capizzo]

Nice descriptions, thanks!

[Steve J]

Now if we could just fast forward 30+ years to see if BJ flows when he is TGO's age.

[Gary1911A1]

I learned stage 13 was an unlucky number for me. Movers there were some of the fastest I've shot (Yes, I do mean shot). Yes, you can shoot a day and a half in one day. I also learned the drive gets longer every year.

[boz1911]

Always a good thing to rethink a match and figure out the areas of needed improvement.

I go back stage by stage and look for issues that appeared more than once, not necessarily a hitch that may have cost me time or points.

[bbbean]

1. More practice at 25 yards.

2. More drills with weak hand and strong hand.

3. More practice at 25 yards!!!!

+1 on the 25 yards!

I was surprised there wasn't a weak hand stage, but I think the extra weak hand practice I did will pay off in the long run.

Hey, maybe that's why I didn't do better! Spent too much time practicing the wrong thing!

[bofe954]

I am going to make my dryfire more realistic. I dryfire with targets printed on white paper and I am going to get them on to some kind of brown paper and then make a bunch of partials. I think dryfiring on to partials would be a huge benefit for me. My biggest problem was the 4 no shoots that I shot.

I may also dryfire in some really low light. I had never shot in a shoot house prior to the match. I did OK but I really should have knocked a second or two off of my time. I took way longer to aim than was necessary. I was just way too careful.

[Bergie]

Now if we could just fast forward 30+ years to see if BJ flows when he is TGO's age.

I don't think BJ is that young and I know TGO isn't that old.

[benos]

TGO seemed to flow across the stage. I didn't even notice the reload, and didn't realize just HOW fast he was until I shot the same stage. He made it look effortless. BJ, on the other hand, seemed to literally explode across the stage. Every fiber of his being seemed to be pushing through the stage.

Your description reminds of a similar experience I had, watching Henning and Travis Thomasie shoot the same stage back to back at a Nationals years ago. The whole stage was shot through ports of various heights, maybe 5 or 6 total. And the last port forced the shooter to go prone. Henning shot first, and is typical for him, flowed beautifully through the whole stage. It almost looked like slow motion. I could see and remember every movement - for everything he did. The Travis shot. Man it was just nuts - the difference. Seriously, it was like he disappeared from each position and magically reappeared at the next. I could barely even see him move. And then when he went prone, he literally just "appeared" on the ground. One second he was shooting standing from a port, and the next second he was flat on the ground blasting targets.

I remember thinking, man he just killed Henning on that run. But by now you're probably guessing - yes, their times were virtually identical. As were their hits. It was unforgettable.

Typing that reminded of Pat Harrison's current thread on Absolutes. Work within your strengths to find the best way to do everything you do, for yourself.

be

[tnichols]

I was shooting the Thursday/Friday schedule, which turned into Thursday only. For me, 20 stages in a day is like a knife fight in a ditch. I was mentally whipped with 3 stages to go, and dang near got myself DQ'ed on the VERY last stage I shot just due to lack of focus. If I had my druthers, I think I would have rather shot the following day, albiet in the rain. I literally don't recall much of the last 2 or 3 stages as I was on auto pilot. Great match though. I'll be back.

[bofe954]

Great match though. I'll be back.

+1

[pjb45]

I had to miss SSNats this year for the first time in a while. As I remembered, it really focused on the fundamentals. No tricky, mind numbing stages. Just straight forward test of skills.

The trick I learned for the shoot house was to close my eyes as much as possible when I was in the hole and on deck (also wore the darkest glasses I had). I would enter and remember where they placed the targets, then close my eyes. By the time Make Ready was sounded, my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

If you get a chance, try the WSSSC. It is like SSNats on steroids. And you usually get to see TGO, Taran, Golembieski and a host of other great shooters, especially Nils.