Too damn hot

This weekend I shot the first hot weather match of the 2013 season. In reality it wasn't even that hot...93 or so and about 400% humidity, but I was somehow not prepared for it.  I drank four gatorades and three bottles of water at the range and still ended up dehydrated.  The Colt Team 3 Gun match this weekend in West Virginia is going to be brutal.

Below is the match video. I don't have a lot to say about it.  From the jump I was not all that interested in being there and my focus was poor.  I started out with a few ok stages but my points were not what they should be. I ended up skipping a target somehow on Walt's memory stage and threw two mikes for no reason on another stage. I need to shoot at least 5% more points than I did. I know for sure I was accepting a "sights on brown" type of sight picture where I usually am able to really see that A-zone and aim every shot.  The good news is that I knew I was doing it while it was happening, and was generally calling my shots ok, I just didn't do anything during the day to correct it. Oh well, onward and upward!

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York 3 Gun challenge - new video format

This Sunday we shot the York 3 Gun Challenge in, you guessed it, York PA.  This was a great match and attracted some really good shooters including 3 Gun Nation TV competitor Greg Jordan who dominated the match.  I came away from the match decently happy with my performance. This is the first larger 3 gun match I've shot where I feel like I didn't have any major mistakes and actually shot mostly up to my ability.  I took a few extra shots with rifle on the "long range" stage. (only 175 yards so not really that far), and also took too many pistol shots on that stage, and on the last stage, which is not normal for me.  I finished 8th in Tac Ops out of 83 shooters, but my score was less than 70% of the match winner's. I have a lot of work to do if I want to keep up with the "pros"/

Below is my video from the match. I tried something different and did a voice over of each stage describing the stage and some of my thoughts.  Let me know if you like the format and I'll do more of this type of commentary at my next match.

Thanks for watching.

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Holy crap, Half way through 2013!

Here we are, mid-way through 2013 already, and the shooting season is in full swing.  It's time to look back at the first half of the year and evaluate.

For me, I met one of my big goals for the year and was able to classify as master in USPSA Limited division.  My other goal, which I haven't been quite able to do, but still strive for, is to win every match I attend. This is a pretty difficult goal to meet and hasn't always happened but I think it is still a good thing to try and go out and do every time.

Going forward, I know I have a lot to work on. To be able to compete at the larger sectional and area matches in M class I need to improve by a lot.  This makes sense since I only just barely squeaked into M class in the first place.  The same applies to 3 gun matches. I'm starting to get more comfortable shooting these type of matches and am eliminating mistakes, but I have to improve A TON to be able to come close to the top guys in the sport.  I'd really like to take a shot at the 3 Gun Nation Pro qualifier in 2015 so there is definitely a ton of work to be done.

I need to step up my dry fire practice which has been next to nothing right now (I know!). I also need to stick with my workout plan so I can drop some pounds and get some of that speed that I used to have in my younger hockey days back.

How are your 2013 goals coming along? Have you met them already? Are you on the way to reaching them? Have you had to re-evaluate and change your goals?  I want to hear from you!


 

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Standard Deviation Arms in the Media

Matt and Steve from Standard Deviation Arms get mentioned in Walt in PA's weekly video blog as he interviews the members of the Angrypig Shooting Team. They discuss their competition pistol match experiences, practice routines and training regiments after the Burt Schaffer Memorial IDPA match at Ontelaunee Rod and Gun.

We appreciate the shout out!




Stay tuned for another Intermediate Competition Pistol class that is currently forming. We expect to have it scheduled for some time at the end of June. If you are an IDPA or USPSA shooter with some match experience but looking to get to the next level, let us know, there are still openings in the class.

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VA/MD Section Match progress report

Ever shoot a match and have a great time and then see the results and realize you did everything about four seconds too slow? Yep...

I'll add a bit more later but right now it's time to relax after a fun and slightly soggy weekend.

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Did I forget anything??

It's almost 10pm on May 16th, which means I'll be leaving for Fredericksburg, Virginia to attend the USPSA VA/MD section match in just about 12 hours.  I always feel a little nervous at this point before matches. Not because of match nerves, but because I always feel like I'm forgetting something.

Below is my packing list for this match. The truth is, it really shouldn't be that much different from packing for a weekend  match, but it feels like it is. Obviously I have to pack an overnight back, and will bring my laptop so I can insult people on the internet all the way up until the minute the match starts, but other than that, it's the same.


Did I forget anything?

Rain gear

Cold gear Under Armor

travel bag: 

Shoes, extra shoes, extra socks,

jersey,

shorts and pants

Pivotheads

laptop, charger, phone charger

Cooler

Sunscreen

ammo (duh)

spare pistol

Holster belt

SIRT pistol

reader suggestions:

bathing suit for pre-match part

BEER (how the hell did I forget?)

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New IDPA Rulebook Rant

The title of this post was a bit misleading because I wasn't really planning on ranting about the new rules, just going over them and talking about them, but within the first two minutes of my scan of the book I already have to call out the Tiger Teams.

Why in the word would you make one of the most important gunhandling rules even more relaxed? I'm talking about having your finger in the trigger guard when it doesn't belong there...read this crap


S5.1.  The first occurrence of improper finger placement will be a warning with the “Finger” command given.  The second occurrence in a single match will result in a Procedural Error.  The third occurrence in a single match will result in a Failure To Do Right (FTDR) penalty.  Disqualification from the match will result from subsequent occurrences. 

That is unbelievable to me.

Moving on, another interesting thing to note is that ALMOST crossing a muzzle safe point (but not actually crossing it, which is a match DQ) now results in a warning, followed by an FTDR.

Next on the list of odd, stupid or potentially dangerous new rules is S14.

When a shooter is about to run into a barricade, potentially trip or fall, or do something unsafe, the SO will physically intervene when possible, to prevent a potential accident.  Because the SO kept the shooter from having a safety issue due to a shooter’s error, there is no reshoot. 

If a shooter is about to eat dirt, the best thing that can happen is for the shooter to keep his finger outside of the trigger guard, and to continue to eat dirt. If an SO grabs his arm, shirt, or otherwise it could cause all sorts of other problems. Forget that noise.



Speed round! (Quick things I noticed that I will post here but won't really talk much about)
No shots on scenario stages further than 25 yards, 6 shots only at 35 yards maximum for standards stages. Sissies.

Sanity has prevailed and it is no longer legal to require someone to load an empty magazine from lose rounds during a stage.

SSP guns now have a max weight of 43 ounces. Will we see more CZ Shadows now?

Match bumps now count as your classification requirement for the year.

No staged long guns allowed anymore

Holsters and pouches now must be behind the hip bone, not behind the centerline of the body

They made the classifier times significantly lower in SSP, and rounded the numbers off in the other classes.

and finally...

The words "round dumping" do not appear anywhere in the rulebook.

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