Friday, July 6, 2012
Been awhile
It has been awhile since I have updated my blog. I have shot a bunch of matches in the last few months and things have been going pretty well. I will be going back through them and putting up some recaps of each of them in the next few days.
Monday, March 12, 2012
2012 LA State IDPA
Championship
The opening
match of my 2012 season ahs come and gone and even though I had a few slight
issues I finished fairly well. I was 1st
place SSP Master and 3rd overall out of 150+ shooters. I know in my last post here I was talking
about using the Glock and that it was going well…….well after a lot of comparisons
I decided to go back to the CZ 75 Shadow.
It is may a touch slower but I have the confidence to make the tough
shots and in IDPA that goes a long way.
I will do a quick breakdown of the stages…
Stage 1 – A quick 6 reload 6 drill. Went pretty well just relaxed my focus a
touch on the last shot and dropped 1 point.
Stage 2 – Pretty decent stage but was playing Elmer Fudd
hunting rabbits around the barrel at P2.
It cost me a little bit of time.
Stage 3 – This was the first stage I shot, and it went pretty
well considering it was early, a little chilly, and more that a touch slippery.
Stage 4 – I was going pretty good on the stage until the
last target. Ther tarp they used to
enclose the building was flapping around inside the door and I couldn’t get a
good sight picture on the last target.
Took a little time to find the -0 and then with it slightly obscured I
ended up with a make up shot I didn’t need.
Stage 5 – The boat.
Interesting stage and I was glad I didn’t have to shoot it early. With targets placed behind a picket fence I knew
I would be better off waiting until later in the day. This is why I don’t think a prop like this is
best for a sanctioned match. I cost
myself time on the swinger, as soon as I was done shooting I knew I should have
attacked that differently.
Stage 6 – Good stage with a choice of going left or right
first. I shot it in a good time but got
sloppy on the movers. They were easy
shots but for some reason I decided to put a little lead on them even though
they were barely moving, this cost me 5 points on those 2 targets.
Stage 7 – I had a good plan but the targets were tucked in
behind stacks of barrels at 15+ yards. I
knew I had 2 shots hit the barrels so I had to make them up which forced me to
reload before I move instead of while I was moving. Again cost me time.
Stage 8 – This was the most interesting stage. 15 targets (11 static, 1 swinger, 1
dropturner, and 2 steel) all getting 1 scored shot. The stage was not scored Limited Vickers but
they made it so by limiting the rounds you could carry, gun loaded to 6 and 6
rounds in only 2 other ammo devices regardless of division. Interesting concept but I am not sure the
legality of handing out multiple FTN’s in this stage. I shot it OK but rushed 1 shot, called a wide
1 but it turned out to be barely a 3…………..and a FTN.
Stage 9 – Another good stage as far as design but this one
cost me the most out of the few bobbles I had in the match. The 3rd target I engaged was an
easy stating but I rushed the shot to get to the swinger when it was in the
position I wanted and that got me a miss.
Again the used a picket fence, this time in front of a pop-up
target. I didn’t index to the right spot
when the target cam up and had to pop 2 rounds quickly, of course the last one
found the fence and didn’t score on the target, so that was another miss. 13 down on that stage was just a killer.
Final thoughts
Overall the match went well.
The stages were fun to shoot and the match staff was great as
usual. I left atleast 16 seconds out
there in sloppy of unlucky shooting, 41 points down and half of that in 2
stages is not good enough to get it done.
I will be working on a few things and be back at it in a few weeks at
the MVSA Regional.
Monday, January 9, 2012
New Season, new gun
Well, winter is here but that does not mean we are not shooting, at least here in TX. I have been thinking the last few months about my competition guns and what I like and don't like about them. After looking at them I decided that I would try a Glock. Now I will say that I think they are great guns but I am not a fan. They are like grabbing a 2x4 and have no aesthetic value at all, but they do work and work pretty well.
What lead me to this was a couple of things that I think the Glock brings to the table with it's design. First, you can get a higher grip on a Glock and closer to the bore line with a Glock than just about any other handgun. Even with my small (but fat) hands I can pretty much engulf the gun with my grip, this is huge in controlling recoil. The second aspect is the grip angle. This is the part that most that don't like GLocks really don't like, the grip angle is such a departure from every other platform that it feels odd. What makes this work for competition shooting is in the way it helps the shooter roll the wrist forward to keep the sights on target thus putting the right amount of tension in the wrist. This tension also transfers into the forearm and shoulders which really aids in recoil control. THe last part is the trigger. Being a constant pull and after some minor parts and polish a very short and light constant pull makes it ideal for the shooting sports.
I decided to go with the 17, I know just about every shooter and their brother says the 34 is better, but for me the 17 just balances better. Sight radius is not an issue since the sight radius is the same on the 17 as every 1911 I have. Extended controls was not a concern either (will talk about that in a minute). I have had the gun for a few weeks and I think I finally have it where I want it. I changed the sights (black rear FO front), new connector, put in a LW adjustable trigger housing, lighter springs, and added some grip tape. I am still running the stock mag and slide release but I may try out the extended parts. I am little weary on the extended parts because I have seen too many shooters kick the mag out on table starts or ride the slide release during shooting. But I know enough people that run Glocks that I can borrow some parts to try.
After all the parts and playing I took it out to shoot some matches and drills. SO far so good, I am a little slow with some parts since I am getting used to it. As far as shooting, well I can shoot it faster with tighter groups then any of my other guns, once I got used to the grip it points and controls very well. Splits, Transitions, and points down have all improved. Mozambique's for instance, with the 1911 9mm I was around 1.8, CZ 1.75 range, and with the Glock I am at 1.5. Draw speed is pretty much on par with the CZ and around 1.15 from cover. Seven yard hammer drills dropped a touch also with a much, much tighter group. The only part that is slower at the moment is the reloads. I am just having issues with the getting the gun back into battery because I am fumbling with the slide release. It just seems to be in an awkward spot for me but with some more practice I think I will be quicker than with the other guns.
I can't say that I will stick with the Glock for good but I want to give it a true test. For around $700 all in with extra mags, holster, and parts I added you really can't go wrong.
Here is a video of the first monthly match I have shot with the Glock.
What lead me to this was a couple of things that I think the Glock brings to the table with it's design. First, you can get a higher grip on a Glock and closer to the bore line with a Glock than just about any other handgun. Even with my small (but fat) hands I can pretty much engulf the gun with my grip, this is huge in controlling recoil. The second aspect is the grip angle. This is the part that most that don't like GLocks really don't like, the grip angle is such a departure from every other platform that it feels odd. What makes this work for competition shooting is in the way it helps the shooter roll the wrist forward to keep the sights on target thus putting the right amount of tension in the wrist. This tension also transfers into the forearm and shoulders which really aids in recoil control. THe last part is the trigger. Being a constant pull and after some minor parts and polish a very short and light constant pull makes it ideal for the shooting sports.
I decided to go with the 17, I know just about every shooter and their brother says the 34 is better, but for me the 17 just balances better. Sight radius is not an issue since the sight radius is the same on the 17 as every 1911 I have. Extended controls was not a concern either (will talk about that in a minute). I have had the gun for a few weeks and I think I finally have it where I want it. I changed the sights (black rear FO front), new connector, put in a LW adjustable trigger housing, lighter springs, and added some grip tape. I am still running the stock mag and slide release but I may try out the extended parts. I am little weary on the extended parts because I have seen too many shooters kick the mag out on table starts or ride the slide release during shooting. But I know enough people that run Glocks that I can borrow some parts to try.
After all the parts and playing I took it out to shoot some matches and drills. SO far so good, I am a little slow with some parts since I am getting used to it. As far as shooting, well I can shoot it faster with tighter groups then any of my other guns, once I got used to the grip it points and controls very well. Splits, Transitions, and points down have all improved. Mozambique's for instance, with the 1911 9mm I was around 1.8, CZ 1.75 range, and with the Glock I am at 1.5. Draw speed is pretty much on par with the CZ and around 1.15 from cover. Seven yard hammer drills dropped a touch also with a much, much tighter group. The only part that is slower at the moment is the reloads. I am just having issues with the getting the gun back into battery because I am fumbling with the slide release. It just seems to be in an awkward spot for me but with some more practice I think I will be quicker than with the other guns.
I can't say that I will stick with the Glock for good but I want to give it a true test. For around $700 all in with extra mags, holster, and parts I added you really can't go wrong.
Here is a video of the first monthly match I have shot with the Glock.
Friday, September 30, 2011
2011 IDPA World Championship
The inaugural IDPA World Championships has come and gone. I was looking forward to this for the last few months, I was hoping to have a better showing than I had at last years IDPA Nationals. I had a decent showing, 5th ESP Master out of 21 and 19th overall out of about 390, so it was a pretty good match. The match offered some tough shots, shots are some difficult movers, options on how to shoot multiple movers, and some stages that were fast 6 round hose fests.
General Match Thoughts
The Good
My general thoughts on the match are slightly mixed. Overall I thought the staff and SO’s did a pretty good job. The weather during the first part of the week was pretty bad, high temps and torrential rain every afternoon made getting shooters through the stages, and keeping the stages set was a challenge. I definitely applaud them for the great effort. IDPA HQ tried a new system this year by assigning a Squad SO to each squad. This SO was responsible for scoresheets, shooter order, assisting the stage SO’s and other admin functions that really helped shooters just focus on the shooting the stage. I think this system worked great and can see other big matches use it to help keep things moving and better organized.
Most of the stages did a good job of testing all parts of the shooters skills. You had to be fast, you had to be accurate, you had to be able to move to and get into position well, and in a few you had to have a real good plan. If you showed up to this match with some of those skills lacking you had a long match. Most of the stages were straight forward and didn’t have any traps that would setup shooters to earn a procedural. If you knew the rules and listened to the COF description most stages were pretty clear and easy to follow. For the most part the stages followed the rules and didn’t make a shooter do something that they knew was against the rulebook. Some matches do this and it can cause time lost since a shooter that knows the rules can be unfairly penalized, in this match this was not really an issue.
The no so good
As I said above, the stages for the most part were good, some were better than others as is always the case with any match. There were a few that I thought that should not be at a National/World Championship level match. A stage that requires to shoot a pick-up/stage gun (a 1911 .45) strong hand only for the entire stage for a score doesn’t belong in a match like this. Yes, every shooter has to shoot the same gun and stage but not every shooter is familiar with the 1911 platform or have even fired a .45 before. They are now asked to be scored in a stage using a platform and caliber they have never used before in the biggest IDPA match of the year. I think this is not a fair test of that shooter as they should be tested using the equipment they have selected and setup. Also since it is not the shooters gun and ammo how are malfunctions handled, should it be the shooters fault if something they did not choose to shoot fails in the middle of the stage?
Another aspect of the match that I found not quite up to a World Championship match was the number of very quick, close range 6 rounds stages. Five or more of these types of stages just to provide filler and round count just seems like a waste. I would rather see 15 or so quality stages than 22-27 stages that are comprised of many quick 6 hammer drill stages. Also some stages had movers and other targets behind soft cover items. That seems fine on the surface but the SO’s and shooters both need to be clear on how hits on those targets are going to be scored. If you are going to hid tagets behind a clothes rack then a clear method of scoring of shots fired through that rack needs to be laid out so the shooters know how the holes/rips/tears/other holes are going to be scored. Finally, the use of t-shirts, while an interesting problem for a shooter to solve, needs to be used more judiciously. Not every stage needs to have targets covered with shirts and in the stages that do have them keep them consistent. Having half the target covered, half open and the same for the No-Shoots just seems odd and doesn’t provide a feeling of a cohesive match. I also feel that placing a white shirt over a No-shoot right next to a shoot target in a white shirt should not be used to try and confuse the shooter. Let the shooters actual ability to shoot determine their score, not how well they can see white on white.
Over all I think the match was success. While there are some things that could be improved and the location for that time of year is questionable I think the hard work and effort of those that worked the match made it work.
General Match Thoughts
The Good
My general thoughts on the match are slightly mixed. Overall I thought the staff and SO’s did a pretty good job. The weather during the first part of the week was pretty bad, high temps and torrential rain every afternoon made getting shooters through the stages, and keeping the stages set was a challenge. I definitely applaud them for the great effort. IDPA HQ tried a new system this year by assigning a Squad SO to each squad. This SO was responsible for scoresheets, shooter order, assisting the stage SO’s and other admin functions that really helped shooters just focus on the shooting the stage. I think this system worked great and can see other big matches use it to help keep things moving and better organized.
Most of the stages did a good job of testing all parts of the shooters skills. You had to be fast, you had to be accurate, you had to be able to move to and get into position well, and in a few you had to have a real good plan. If you showed up to this match with some of those skills lacking you had a long match. Most of the stages were straight forward and didn’t have any traps that would setup shooters to earn a procedural. If you knew the rules and listened to the COF description most stages were pretty clear and easy to follow. For the most part the stages followed the rules and didn’t make a shooter do something that they knew was against the rulebook. Some matches do this and it can cause time lost since a shooter that knows the rules can be unfairly penalized, in this match this was not really an issue.
The no so good
As I said above, the stages for the most part were good, some were better than others as is always the case with any match. There were a few that I thought that should not be at a National/World Championship level match. A stage that requires to shoot a pick-up/stage gun (a 1911 .45) strong hand only for the entire stage for a score doesn’t belong in a match like this. Yes, every shooter has to shoot the same gun and stage but not every shooter is familiar with the 1911 platform or have even fired a .45 before. They are now asked to be scored in a stage using a platform and caliber they have never used before in the biggest IDPA match of the year. I think this is not a fair test of that shooter as they should be tested using the equipment they have selected and setup. Also since it is not the shooters gun and ammo how are malfunctions handled, should it be the shooters fault if something they did not choose to shoot fails in the middle of the stage?
Another aspect of the match that I found not quite up to a World Championship match was the number of very quick, close range 6 rounds stages. Five or more of these types of stages just to provide filler and round count just seems like a waste. I would rather see 15 or so quality stages than 22-27 stages that are comprised of many quick 6 hammer drill stages. Also some stages had movers and other targets behind soft cover items. That seems fine on the surface but the SO’s and shooters both need to be clear on how hits on those targets are going to be scored. If you are going to hid tagets behind a clothes rack then a clear method of scoring of shots fired through that rack needs to be laid out so the shooters know how the holes/rips/tears/other holes are going to be scored. Finally, the use of t-shirts, while an interesting problem for a shooter to solve, needs to be used more judiciously. Not every stage needs to have targets covered with shirts and in the stages that do have them keep them consistent. Having half the target covered, half open and the same for the No-Shoots just seems odd and doesn’t provide a feeling of a cohesive match. I also feel that placing a white shirt over a No-shoot right next to a shoot target in a white shirt should not be used to try and confuse the shooter. Let the shooters actual ability to shoot determine their score, not how well they can see white on white.
Over all I think the match was success. While there are some things that could be improved and the location for that time of year is questionable I think the hard work and effort of those that worked the match made it work.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
2011 Double Tap Championship
This past weekend I was at the Double Tap Championship where I shot production. Overall I had a good match, I made some mistakes that cost me time in a few stages but overall I am happy about the match. I took a different approach to this match, instead of getting all wrapped up in the speed thing I took the approach that it is just a longer IDPA match. It seemed to work pretty well as I got good points and the stage times were pretty good. I finished 2nd place B Production and 16th overall out of 73 Production shooters. I am starting to get a handle on the USPSA game and my results are getting better, I was 82% of the Production winner which is about a 10% improvement over my last couple of USPSA matches. I need to work on getting some things ironed out but I feel like I am on the right track.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
It has been a while
I haven't been updating this much lately so I guess it is time to catch up. IDPA Match season is in full swing now and I have been doing a lot of shooting so here are some updates on the matches I have shot.
I started the IDPA season out by shooting an IDPA match in Arkansas. It was a good match with some good stages, the weather on the other hand was not all that great. It was about 45 and a drizzley rainy mist, not the most ideal conditions to shoot in. As far as the match itself, well, my shooting was about as good as the weather. Never really got into any kind of mental state to shoot and just felt like I was going through the motions. For the first match of the year it didn't go anywhere close to the way I had planned. The good thing is I could tell where the problems were in my shooting and since then I have been working on fixing the issues.
The weekend after the AR match was Coastal Bend Challenge, and I felt pretty good about shooting the match. Unfortunately I started out the same way I did in AR, I hot a No-Shoot in the first stage. Shooting at the Master level it is bad enough hitting a NS but doing it on the first stage and basically starting the match by spotting the field 5 seconds is a tough hole to start in. I did manage to put together a few good stages and was feeling pretty good that I was making up for that first stage bobble. Of course I got a little to focused on the time issue and rushed through a stage and dropped a bunch of points, 11 points in 1 stage on top of a NS in another and the match kinda lust slips away from you.
I think I have figured out some of the issues I have been having with my shooting and have been practicing on them. I have been working on visual patients and not trying to rush a stage. I fell into the trap of thinking about speed instead of just focusing on the front sight and letting that dictate how quickly I should be shooting. Some more practice and some work on my match day mental game and I should be back on track.
I started the IDPA season out by shooting an IDPA match in Arkansas. It was a good match with some good stages, the weather on the other hand was not all that great. It was about 45 and a drizzley rainy mist, not the most ideal conditions to shoot in. As far as the match itself, well, my shooting was about as good as the weather. Never really got into any kind of mental state to shoot and just felt like I was going through the motions. For the first match of the year it didn't go anywhere close to the way I had planned. The good thing is I could tell where the problems were in my shooting and since then I have been working on fixing the issues.
The weekend after the AR match was Coastal Bend Challenge, and I felt pretty good about shooting the match. Unfortunately I started out the same way I did in AR, I hot a No-Shoot in the first stage. Shooting at the Master level it is bad enough hitting a NS but doing it on the first stage and basically starting the match by spotting the field 5 seconds is a tough hole to start in. I did manage to put together a few good stages and was feeling pretty good that I was making up for that first stage bobble. Of course I got a little to focused on the time issue and rushed through a stage and dropped a bunch of points, 11 points in 1 stage on top of a NS in another and the match kinda lust slips away from you.
I think I have figured out some of the issues I have been having with my shooting and have been practicing on them. I have been working on visual patients and not trying to rush a stage. I fell into the trap of thinking about speed instead of just focusing on the front sight and letting that dictate how quickly I should be shooting. Some more practice and some work on my match day mental game and I should be back on track.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Rudy Project
I got some news the other day, I was selected to be on the Rudy Project IDPA Squad. I am looking forward to competing under the Rudy Project colors, they have a pretty good group of shooters on their team.
Being part of the Rudy team and being sponsored means there might be some changes in the look of my blog. I want to make sure people see the great list of sponsors that not only support The Rudy Project Team but the shooting sport in general.
Being part of the Rudy team and being sponsored means there might be some changes in the look of my blog. I want to make sure people see the great list of sponsors that not only support The Rudy Project Team but the shooting sport in general.
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