No video.
So, today I had the best run I have EVER had at any Glock match. Ever.
When I started RYG in 2005, I got around 118 seconds as my score. By the next year, I broke 100 and ended the year with a 91 second total. In 2007, I had an amazing run and actually broke the 60 mark with a 59.34.
After that it went up and down, but stayed mostly in the low 60s in 2008 and 2009---until today. Today I broke 50 seconds, getting a total match time of 49.28 seconds.
That's three runs at the 5-to-25, three runs at the "M", and four runs at the plates. A total (minimum) of 81 rounds. I had personal bests at all three stages, in particular a 13.9 second total at the plates (dropped 24 plates in 13.9 seconds---average time per run of 3.475 seconds per 6-plate rack).
Absolute personal BEST.
[sigh]
Which was good enough for 3rd place in the Master/Open class. 3rd.
(Granted, it would have won Master class last time...) Several of us just had an amazingly good day. And in my defense, I was shooting with a Production gun, while the number 2 guy was shooting an Open gun...but Dennis got first place with a 45.82 (which is outstanding) shooting a stock Glock 17.
[sigh] Oh well.
Second place guy shot an Open Glock. (Which is amusing, since he got 4th place with his regular open gun---an STI.)
To add insult to injury, I didn't win the raffle for the gun. Ardi was the one drawing the name, and I told her it was a long walk home...so what does she do? She pulls Julie's name!
Well, at least one of us won the gun. Julie is all happy she gets another Springfield XD---she doesn't have an XDM yet, and plans on rectifying that omission.
Fun match and day. And my best time ever. Next year's goal: breaking 40 seconds. (It's possible!)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
2009 Great Plains/Iowa Sectional Match...
Tons o' Fun!
Commentary forthcoming. That being said, I won High Overall in Production, plus Great Plains Sectional Champion for Production division. Ardi won 1st D Class, and High Female Production.
Tons o' fun!
Commentary posted on 07/18:
Not a whole lot to say, but did want to mention a couple of things that went well. It occurred to me that if I consistently focused on what I did badly (in order to improve) I would tend to forget what I do well---and that is important to remember also, particularly since tactical plans for stages should play to one's strengths.
So, strengths:
As shown on stages 6 and 7 (the classic/metric identification stages) I really don't have a problem with target identification, and can snap to new targets quickly and easily. Matter of fact, I believe I could have run that quite a bit faster if on the first run-through I had trusted myself a bit more. (I also could have been faster on the second run had I continued my movement at each port instead of stopping.) So, strength 1: close target and quick snap shots work well for me---out of 44 rounds (both stages put together) at that speed, which was 5th out of 76 shooters, I only had 8 C hits. The rest were all A hits.
Stage 9 (Out For A Jog) was all about shooting on the move, and still running faster between shooting areas. I switched speeds well, and shot on the move without stopping while still getting A hits on both straight-ahead shooting, and diagonal shooting. Apparently the work on shooting on the move has paid off---my stage time was 11th out of 76, and that was with only 6 C hits out of 32---the rest were A. (My overall HF was 9th.) Strength 2: Fluid shooting on the move is working well.
In general, reloads look better. While I did flub up a couple (notably on stage 1, at the end of my day) most of them were quick and smooth, and I was ready to shoot by the time I made it to the next position--and better yet, most of the time I was done reloading by a step or two, so the rest of the time I could concentrate on the movement, not reload-and-movement.
Accuracy was not bad. With one notable exception (Stage 8, The Wall, where I had 16 A and 16 C!) most of the time I had a solid run of A-hits. There were a couple of D hits here and there, but at the speeds I was shooting I still had very good accuracy---for my level, at least.
This match wasn't exemplary in that I shot amazingly well, in my opinion. What makes me happy about this match is that I shot the majority of it (not quite all, but close) at my level of ability. It wasn't a match where I'd shoot well for awhile, then blunder something. For the most part, I consistently shot to my level of ability. (The first and last stages of the day didn't go as well as the others, and weren't what I would have wished. Nonetheless, they were acceptable.)
If I can consistently shoot to my level, I'll be happy.
Off to practice (and clean my magazines!) for Area 3 in two weeks.
Commentary forthcoming. That being said, I won High Overall in Production, plus Great Plains Sectional Champion for Production division. Ardi won 1st D Class, and High Female Production.
Tons o' fun!
Commentary posted on 07/18:
Not a whole lot to say, but did want to mention a couple of things that went well. It occurred to me that if I consistently focused on what I did badly (in order to improve) I would tend to forget what I do well---and that is important to remember also, particularly since tactical plans for stages should play to one's strengths.
So, strengths:
As shown on stages 6 and 7 (the classic/metric identification stages) I really don't have a problem with target identification, and can snap to new targets quickly and easily. Matter of fact, I believe I could have run that quite a bit faster if on the first run-through I had trusted myself a bit more. (I also could have been faster on the second run had I continued my movement at each port instead of stopping.) So, strength 1: close target and quick snap shots work well for me---out of 44 rounds (both stages put together) at that speed, which was 5th out of 76 shooters, I only had 8 C hits. The rest were all A hits.
Stage 9 (Out For A Jog) was all about shooting on the move, and still running faster between shooting areas. I switched speeds well, and shot on the move without stopping while still getting A hits on both straight-ahead shooting, and diagonal shooting. Apparently the work on shooting on the move has paid off---my stage time was 11th out of 76, and that was with only 6 C hits out of 32---the rest were A. (My overall HF was 9th.) Strength 2: Fluid shooting on the move is working well.
In general, reloads look better. While I did flub up a couple (notably on stage 1, at the end of my day) most of them were quick and smooth, and I was ready to shoot by the time I made it to the next position--and better yet, most of the time I was done reloading by a step or two, so the rest of the time I could concentrate on the movement, not reload-and-movement.
Accuracy was not bad. With one notable exception (Stage 8, The Wall, where I had 16 A and 16 C!) most of the time I had a solid run of A-hits. There were a couple of D hits here and there, but at the speeds I was shooting I still had very good accuracy---for my level, at least.
This match wasn't exemplary in that I shot amazingly well, in my opinion. What makes me happy about this match is that I shot the majority of it (not quite all, but close) at my level of ability. It wasn't a match where I'd shoot well for awhile, then blunder something. For the most part, I consistently shot to my level of ability. (The first and last stages of the day didn't go as well as the others, and weren't what I would have wished. Nonetheless, they were acceptable.)
If I can consistently shoot to my level, I'll be happy.
Off to practice (and clean my magazines!) for Area 3 in two weeks.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Chief shoots his own officer...
What part of "keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target" are people missing? Are the words too long? Perhaps the concept is too difficult?
Perhaps people who don't understand the concept shouldn't have guns. Especially if they are law enforcement officers.
From WOWT News:
Since this one is about guns, let's stick to that.
GUN LAWS:
If you can't follow the gun safety laws, then don't handle a firearm. Every single time a person gets shot "accidentally," it means the person with the gun broke at least two of the gun safety laws. You can get away with breaking just one--the gun may or may not go off, but at least you won't kill anyone. But if someone gets shot "accidentally," then at least two were broken. And probably all four.
If the chief and his officers were discussing guns, fine. But why did he have a loaded weapon outside of a holster, when not on a range or in a defensive situation? If they had to discuss his specific firearm, why didn't they unload and clear the weapon first? Failing absolutely everything else, why was the firearm pointed at a person? Why did the chief have his finger on the trigger?
Looking above, you can see that I put "accidentally" in quotes all the time---that is because an "accidental discharge" is an extremely rare thing. And that isn't what happened in this case. An accidental discharge (AD) occurs when the gun really does go off by itself---the firing pin block didn't work when the gun fell to the ground, or the sear was ground down such that when racking the sliding with the finger safely off the trigger the gun fired anyway. These sorts of things are so incredibly rare (particularly with modern handguns, such as what law enforcement uses) that they are almost nonexistant.
What happened in the chief's case (and in almost every single case of the media reporting an "accidental discharge") is actually called a Negligent Discharge. NDs occur when the person holding the gun is negligent. They aren't obeying the gun safety laws, and someone gets hurt due to their negligence.
If a normal citizen has an ND, and someone gets hurt, that citizen is normally charged in court for it. In the chief's case? We'll see. It is interesting to read the the chief's GUN shot the officer, though. Magically, all by itself.
I don't think so!
What really happened? I wasn't there, and I don't know. But I do know this: for the gun to go off and the bullet to strike the officer, if the gun was in decent condition (which it should have been--surely the chief of police has a working firearm) then someone had to be holding the gun and pointing it at the officer, and that someone had to pull the trigger.
ND.
Obey the friggin' gun safety rules.
Perhaps people who don't understand the concept shouldn't have guns. Especially if they are law enforcement officers.
From WOWT News:
A Carter Lake Police officer is recovering after being accidentally shot by the chief of police at police headquarters Wednesday afternoon.I'm leaving out how the news media's story changed several times, starting from "officer shot himself in the thigh" to "officer was shot in the torso" to "chief shot officer" to "chief's GUN shot officer" (note how the emphasis changed from the person to the object?) because that is a discussion for a different blog.Chief of Police Shawn Kannedy and two other officers were discussing firearms around 2:45 p.m. when Kannedy's weapon discharged, striking Sgt. Dan Driver in the torso.
Driver was taken to Creighton University Medical Center where he's in good condition.
The matter is under investigation by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Department to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest on the part of the Carter Lake Police Department.
Chief Kannedy has been placed on administrative leave.
Since this one is about guns, let's stick to that.
GUN LAWS:
- The gun is loaded. Act that way.
- Do not point the gun at anything you are not prepared to destroy
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target
- Know both your target and your backstop (what is behind the target)
If you can't follow the gun safety laws, then don't handle a firearm. Every single time a person gets shot "accidentally," it means the person with the gun broke at least two of the gun safety laws. You can get away with breaking just one--the gun may or may not go off, but at least you won't kill anyone. But if someone gets shot "accidentally," then at least two were broken. And probably all four.
If the chief and his officers were discussing guns, fine. But why did he have a loaded weapon outside of a holster, when not on a range or in a defensive situation? If they had to discuss his specific firearm, why didn't they unload and clear the weapon first? Failing absolutely everything else, why was the firearm pointed at a person? Why did the chief have his finger on the trigger?
Looking above, you can see that I put "accidentally" in quotes all the time---that is because an "accidental discharge" is an extremely rare thing. And that isn't what happened in this case. An accidental discharge (AD) occurs when the gun really does go off by itself---the firing pin block didn't work when the gun fell to the ground, or the sear was ground down such that when racking the sliding with the finger safely off the trigger the gun fired anyway. These sorts of things are so incredibly rare (particularly with modern handguns, such as what law enforcement uses) that they are almost nonexistant.
What happened in the chief's case (and in almost every single case of the media reporting an "accidental discharge") is actually called a Negligent Discharge. NDs occur when the person holding the gun is negligent. They aren't obeying the gun safety laws, and someone gets hurt due to their negligence.
If a normal citizen has an ND, and someone gets hurt, that citizen is normally charged in court for it. In the chief's case? We'll see. It is interesting to read the the chief's GUN shot the officer, though. Magically, all by itself.
I don't think so!
What really happened? I wasn't there, and I don't know. But I do know this: for the gun to go off and the bullet to strike the officer, if the gun was in decent condition (which it should have been--surely the chief of police has a working firearm) then someone had to be holding the gun and pointing it at the officer, and that someone had to pull the trigger.
ND.
Obey the friggin' gun safety rules.
Monday, July 6, 2009
ENPS July 2009 Pistol Match...
Had our monthly match yesterday---five stages, with some pretty tricky movement and angles. Often, people had to choose to either shoot one-handed, or bend and torque themselves in a fairly extreme fashion to shoot the targets around walls and barricades.
Interesting stuff.
More commentary later.
Edited Later:
So, last time I said that I was going to focus on moving reloads, and keep track of how close to the edge (round-wise) I was running. For reloading:
In the first stage, they were all standing reloads. Not too slow, fairly smooth---but in each case, I brought the gun in (which is fine) and also lowered it (which isn't). I had been working on keeping the gun higher while reloading---apparently I need more work.
Second stage didn't have any reloads, but the third stage had several---including one at the end that I didn't need to make. I have no idea why I reloaded at the end between the two sides of the wall. In each case, the moving reloads weren't bad--but again, I'm lowering the gun, and when I do, I'm hunching my shoulders and altering my stance. That'll cause lost time due to lack of structure for the shooting stance, and for the movement. I think the start of the problem is that I look downward slightly when I reach downward for the reload (even though I'm not looking for a magazine), and I lower the gun in response.
The gun really needs to stay up high in the visual plane for moving reloads---not because the gun will be pointing at the next target (depending on my movement, that might not be safe) but because it means my body structure (posture and inclination) will therefore be upright and efficient. The second reload in the third stage, while low, isn't actually bad because the body is inclined forward for acceleration. However, the first reload (and possibly the third, though it is hard to tell due to the angle) cause me to probably lose time in movement.
On the fourth stage, the first reload is obviously low--and since it takes my eyes down, I end up moving into the wrong position. I'm not set for all the targets, so later I have to re-adjust, which burns time. The second reload isn't bad--doesn't seem to slow me down, gets done quickly and is finished early in the movement.
In the fifth stage, we see more of the same. Overall, I do think my moving reloads have improved---the reload is finished quicker, and my movement is less impaired by a slow reload. That being said, I need to keep the gun higher, and not hunch over as the reload is completed.
I've also noticed that even if I have to start my movement with a slower acceleration, the emphasis on finishing the reload quickly at the beginning of the movement (which is possible due to the increased concentration on the reload, as opposed to the acceleration) is overall causing better movement, as my attention is not divided. I'm not saying the reload should be done before the movement---but in this case, as the movement starts, the majority of the concentration is on the reload, as opposed to on the acceleration with the reload as an adjunct.
Seems to work better.
Continued focus needed on moving reloads, as improvement is still possible (and necessary). However, apparently current practice is having an effect. More emphasis on keeping the gun up during reloads needed.
Interesting stuff.
More commentary later.
Edited Later:
So, last time I said that I was going to focus on moving reloads, and keep track of how close to the edge (round-wise) I was running. For reloading:
In the first stage, they were all standing reloads. Not too slow, fairly smooth---but in each case, I brought the gun in (which is fine) and also lowered it (which isn't). I had been working on keeping the gun higher while reloading---apparently I need more work.
Second stage didn't have any reloads, but the third stage had several---including one at the end that I didn't need to make. I have no idea why I reloaded at the end between the two sides of the wall. In each case, the moving reloads weren't bad--but again, I'm lowering the gun, and when I do, I'm hunching my shoulders and altering my stance. That'll cause lost time due to lack of structure for the shooting stance, and for the movement. I think the start of the problem is that I look downward slightly when I reach downward for the reload (even though I'm not looking for a magazine), and I lower the gun in response.
The gun really needs to stay up high in the visual plane for moving reloads---not because the gun will be pointing at the next target (depending on my movement, that might not be safe) but because it means my body structure (posture and inclination) will therefore be upright and efficient. The second reload in the third stage, while low, isn't actually bad because the body is inclined forward for acceleration. However, the first reload (and possibly the third, though it is hard to tell due to the angle) cause me to probably lose time in movement.
On the fourth stage, the first reload is obviously low--and since it takes my eyes down, I end up moving into the wrong position. I'm not set for all the targets, so later I have to re-adjust, which burns time. The second reload isn't bad--doesn't seem to slow me down, gets done quickly and is finished early in the movement.
In the fifth stage, we see more of the same. Overall, I do think my moving reloads have improved---the reload is finished quicker, and my movement is less impaired by a slow reload. That being said, I need to keep the gun higher, and not hunch over as the reload is completed.
I've also noticed that even if I have to start my movement with a slower acceleration, the emphasis on finishing the reload quickly at the beginning of the movement (which is possible due to the increased concentration on the reload, as opposed to the acceleration) is overall causing better movement, as my attention is not divided. I'm not saying the reload should be done before the movement---but in this case, as the movement starts, the majority of the concentration is on the reload, as opposed to on the acceleration with the reload as an adjunct.
Seems to work better.
Continued focus needed on moving reloads, as improvement is still possible (and necessary). However, apparently current practice is having an effect. More emphasis on keeping the gun up during reloads needed.
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