It's time to go to work. Up to this point with my shooting I've been working on base fundamentals, and I think that work has paid big dividends - I'm happy with my trigger control, accuracy, shot calling, and reloading, though of course there is always room for improvement in those fundamentals. It comes down to the fact that I'm really proud of the progress I've made since I attended my first IDPA match 13 months ago, and I'm ready to turn yet another page in my shooting career. To that end, it's time to get organized and start doing the things the best guys are doing, because in my mind I'm one of the best shooters, just one that quite learned all the things there are to learn.
So starting today, these are the changes I'm making:
Make Ready Routine and Mantra. From now on at the "load and make ready" command, instead of being just zoning out and going through the motions, I'm going to execute a choreographed set of motions, and repeat a mantra in my mind. Specifically, I'm going to reset the trigger, press out on the first target, and dry fire. Then I'll load my barney mag, chamber, put the barney back in its pouch, and load my full magazine from my pocket. I'll keep my grip after holstering, and as I think to myself, "Aggression. Smooth Aggression." I want to keep it simple, and keep the things top-of-mind that I want to emphasize in my runs. This is also just a start. I'll probably change it from time to time.
Stage Clustering. Until now the way I have approached stages has been to think about the stage as a whole. Shoot these targets then reload while moving over here then shoot these other targets, etc. From now on I'm going to "cluster" stages and think of them as individual drills that I'll then link together. For example, I'll say to myself, "Drill one is to draw shoot these four targets as fast as I can. The key to this drill is transition speed. The next drill is to reload and get into this position fast and smooth with the gun up indexed on this spot. The next drill is to shoot these four targets, with the key being trigger control (for tight shots, for example). And so on. I figure most 32 round stages can be broken down into 5 or 6 clusters.
Skill baselining. At every range session, I'm going to start by baselining a few skills like the draw, turning draw, speed reload, and a few others. I'll do five reps each, record the times, and chart them in excel over time.
Very focused practice sessions of 300 to 400 rounds. From now on I'm going to go to the range to practice one or two specific things. I'll plan the things that I want to work on in advance and record everything so that I can see what works and what doesn't.
Daily practice routine. I'll focus on daily practice, both dry fire and cardio/strength training. I'll improve something every day.
Match diary. I'll keep a diary of match performance every time I compete. I'll record impressions, things I did well, and things I learned about the way I shoot and the kinds of challenges I encounter.
Goal setting. I'm going to set a goal and work toward it. This will give me motivation, and also allow me to chart my progress more effectively. My immediate goal is to make A class. I only need one or two good classifier runs to do it, and the work starts now.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tips from a recent competition class
Recently I got to take a class with a top competitor, and I thought I'd share a few of the key lessons and tips that I learned.
- Even when engaging in dryfire training, grip the hell out of the pistol just as you would when competing for real. This will result in your grip becoming fatigued well inside of 5 minutes, but your grip will be stronger over time and your practice will more closely mimic what you should be doing in matches.
- Many people using a thumbs-forward grip point their right thumb up in the air, when it should be either relaxed and overlaid on their left thumb, or riding atop the safety. Having the thumb pointed up increases the chances that you will disrupt the sights during trigger manipulation.
- Take the time to chart as much data on your practice sessions as possible. Evaluate individual techniques individually, and only incorporate multiple things to make sure you're putting things together properly. For example, practice and record data on your turn and draw. Practice and record data on your slide lock reload. Practice and record data on your transitions (eg, start time, fire one shot on one target, transition, and fire two on the next target - record only the transition time). Experiment with different techniques to try to make each of the above as fast as possible. After all of that, then put it together with an El Prez drill and record all of the data. See how your actual data from the El Prez drill compares to the data from practicing the individual components. Work on those areas where you are slower in the drill than you are with the individual technique.
- Everything other than confirming sight picture and pulling the trigger is non-shooting, even waiting for the front sight to return. To get faster, work on getting faster at everything that is non-shooting, that way you have more time for the actual shooting. This is how the pros are both faster and more accurate through a stage.
- Golfers are constantly checking their grip, stance, and backswing, and even expert golfers are constantly having pros give them tips on grip, stance, and backswing. As shooters, we should be doing the same thing with our grip, stance, and movement.
- Vertical stringing is better than horizontal stringing. Vertical stringing is the result of simply a timing or recoil control issue, which are both easy fixes. Horizontal stringing is the result of a major fundamental flaw like trigger control, grip, or stance.
- Practice outside of your comfort zone - somewhere between 110% and 120% of your ability. Take the ego out of it. Work yourself into a higher comfort zone. This is the only way to become comfortable at higher speeds.
- Practice is about missing.
- Tell your shooting partners / squad mates what you're working on so they can watch and give you feedback.
- Whenever you're the first shooter on a stage, ask for a test beep. If the RO asks if you're ready, give an audible response, not just a head nod.
- When moving to a new position, explode out of the current position and glide into the next one. The gliding is more important than the exploding, so if it's a short movement, don't go so fast that it disrupts your smooth glide into the new position.
- Don't take extra steps. Always use positive footwork.
- How you set up to a target depends entirely on where you need to go next, and how and where you go next has everything to do with getting to the last target as soon as possible.
- Pick a near spot to index on for each new position on the stage walkthroughs. That way when you enter a position - before you can see the target - you can begin to index and be that much faster once the target comes into view.
- Your dominant eye has to clear a barricade/obstruction in order to shoot a target, so try to end on targets on the left if you're right eye dominant and targets on the right if you're left eye dominant.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Basic Tips on Shooting USPSA or IDPA for the First Time
I think everyone who owns a sports car owes it to themselves to take a few driving lessons on a real race track. Unless you really feel what it's like to drive on track conditions, and learn the techniques of real high-performance driving, not only are you not getting everything you can out of your car, but you will also likely be less safe than you would be otherwise. Likewise, everyone who carries a pistol for defense, or who keeps one on the nightstand, owes it to themselves to get out and run the thing under stressful conditions. That could be an expensive multi-day training course, or it could be the crucible of competition. However, courses are time and money intensive, and competition is stressful and can be a major blow to the ego. The following tips will hopefully allow someone who is going to a competition for the first time be a little more prepared, and a little less stressed out.
- If you haven't already committed to a caliber, start with 9mm. It's just easier to shoot. You can get into .45 later when you want to try IDPA CDP division, or .40 when you want to shoot USPSA Limited division. At least in the beginning, start with a round that makes it easier to get accurate hits, and is cheap to purchase for practice. There is no shame in starting, and staying in IDPA SSP and USPSA Production divisions, and both of those are primarily 9mm divisions.
- For your first match, you will probably have a lot of well-meaning people trying to offer all kinds of advice. Ignore them. You should only focus on two things: safety (basically just muzzle awareness and trigger discipline) and following the range officer's commands to the letter. If you're a natural or a badass, try to win your second match. For the first, just be safe. No one will be judging you on your hits, your speed, or your technique. All anyone really cares about is safety - the rest is just for fun.
- Unless you're a police officer, wear your normal clothes. This is me being snobby, but none of the good shooters wear tactical gloves, tactical pants, tactical knee pads, tactical boots, etc. Save the stuff from nutnfancy's youtube videos for a tactical carbine class. And leave the camo at home. If you're on an outdoor range, you want to be seen when you're downrange taping targets.
- Help out. When people are taping targets, grab a strip of pasters and go help. When it's time to break down, don't just grab your stuff and leave. Everyone's favorite new shooter is the one who asks questions about what's happening and who helps out with the "work" aspect.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
USPSA Classifier "Diamond Cutter"
4th and final classifier stage. I'm anticipating being put in the B class, but I'll have to wait a few weeks to find out.
USPSA Classifier "It's Not Brain Surgery"
3rd classifier stage. This one was difficult because it was six head shots, with a "no-shoot" penalty target in the middle.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Practicing on a Static Range
For a lot of people, the only way they can practice with their pistol is at a public range - which usually comes with all kinds of rules and cautionary measures. Drawing, movement, multiple target arrays, rapid fire and other essential techniques are verbotten. So what is one to do when the range officer at a public range is breathing down one's neck? Lean back and plug one into the baffling? Sail a round over the berm like everyone else? No! You can have quality practice on a public range if you just know what - and how - to practice.
For starters, you can get some good data on your gun. What is your point of impact at 25 yards with your carry ammo? How about your practice ammo? 15 yards? Shooting slowly and at easily prescribed distances (which is what public ranges do best) is a great way to get this essential data.
Next, you can work on work on your trigger technique. This not only means making accurate hits, but also practicing how you prefer to work the trigger between shots. For example, even though you're shooting slowly, that doesn't mean you can't prep your trigger between shots as if you were shooting fast. So either let the trigger reset under recoil, or let the trigger out and take up the slack under recoil, but get used to working your trigger that way for every single shot, slow or fast.
Do the same, but practice strong hand only and weak hand only. Push for perfect trigger technique and max accuracy while shooting one handed.
You can work on your grip, stance, and posture. It's so easy to just be lazy and lean back and blast away, but instead focus on proper technique even though you're shooting slowly and not moving around.
You can practice press outs. Bring the gun back into your chest, and practice a smooth press out toward the target where you pick up your sights as soon as possible and guide the gun onto the target with your eyes. It's worth spending a lot of time on this technique, as it's a major time saver when the clock is ticking.
You can practice calling shots. Put the target out to 15 yards or so, load only three rounds, and don't look at the target between shots. Stare at the front sight only. Depending on the caliber, the type of target you're using, et al, if you focus on the front sight the target will be blurry enough between shots that you can't see the bullet holes. This is good. Practice seeing the front sight lift as the trigger is pulled. Make a mental picture of that and remember where each of the three rounds impacted the target. After three rounds, focus back on the target and see if you were right. Work toward the point that you don't feel the need to look at the target at all between shots because you already know where the round impacted. Develop this skill, and you will be way, way ahead of most of the people you will meet at the range. You will also find yourself shooting really fast in when it comes time to compete, but it will feel like you're going really slowly.
Finally, dry fire. Fire a few rounds, then dry fire a few times. Watch what your front sight does when you pull the trigger. Shoot some more, dry fire some more. You won't burn through your ammo as fast, and your trigger pull will be leaps and bounds better for it. In fact, every time you make a bad shot, go back to dry firing on the range for a bit. You can even just fire a few into the backstop (not at a target) and watch your front sight as the gun goes off. If you're like the rest of us, you'll see your front sight dip and dive in weird ways that you never noticed when you were trying to hit the center of a target.
For starters, you can get some good data on your gun. What is your point of impact at 25 yards with your carry ammo? How about your practice ammo? 15 yards? Shooting slowly and at easily prescribed distances (which is what public ranges do best) is a great way to get this essential data.
Next, you can work on work on your trigger technique. This not only means making accurate hits, but also practicing how you prefer to work the trigger between shots. For example, even though you're shooting slowly, that doesn't mean you can't prep your trigger between shots as if you were shooting fast. So either let the trigger reset under recoil, or let the trigger out and take up the slack under recoil, but get used to working your trigger that way for every single shot, slow or fast.
Do the same, but practice strong hand only and weak hand only. Push for perfect trigger technique and max accuracy while shooting one handed.
You can work on your grip, stance, and posture. It's so easy to just be lazy and lean back and blast away, but instead focus on proper technique even though you're shooting slowly and not moving around.
You can practice press outs. Bring the gun back into your chest, and practice a smooth press out toward the target where you pick up your sights as soon as possible and guide the gun onto the target with your eyes. It's worth spending a lot of time on this technique, as it's a major time saver when the clock is ticking.
You can practice calling shots. Put the target out to 15 yards or so, load only three rounds, and don't look at the target between shots. Stare at the front sight only. Depending on the caliber, the type of target you're using, et al, if you focus on the front sight the target will be blurry enough between shots that you can't see the bullet holes. This is good. Practice seeing the front sight lift as the trigger is pulled. Make a mental picture of that and remember where each of the three rounds impacted the target. After three rounds, focus back on the target and see if you were right. Work toward the point that you don't feel the need to look at the target at all between shots because you already know where the round impacted. Develop this skill, and you will be way, way ahead of most of the people you will meet at the range. You will also find yourself shooting really fast in when it comes time to compete, but it will feel like you're going really slowly.
Finally, dry fire. Fire a few rounds, then dry fire a few times. Watch what your front sight does when you pull the trigger. Shoot some more, dry fire some more. You won't burn through your ammo as fast, and your trigger pull will be leaps and bounds better for it. In fact, every time you make a bad shot, go back to dry firing on the range for a bit. You can even just fire a few into the backstop (not at a target) and watch your front sight as the gun goes off. If you're like the rest of us, you'll see your front sight dip and dive in weird ways that you never noticed when you were trying to hit the center of a target.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Giving yourself excuses to fail...
I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially as I gear more and more of my training to winning at the game of IDPA.
When I first started shooting IDPA, my sole focus was on "tactical training" with my home defense pistol. I liked that the stages were set up to simulate CCW situations or home defense situations. I thought that the guys shooting their Glock 26's and other compact pistols really "got it," and that the guys with their Glock 34's, and other race guns with mag wells and kydex holsters were just gamers who weren't in the spirit of the sport.
However, now I have a totally different perspective. The guys with the gear that's optimized for winning are simply better shooters. It's true 99% of the time, and I think there is a reason for it. By choosing the very best gear that allows you to shoot the course in the lowest possible time, you eliminate variables that cloud the true benefit of competition: To measure yourself. Let's put it this way: if I have a Glock 34 with fiber optic sights, a tuned trigger pull, and a blade tech holster and magazines - and I lose - it's clearly because I've got a personal deficiency that limits how well I can do. Either I'm not as fast as I could be, or I'm not as accurate, or I don't problem solve while shooting (i.e. I don't "manage" a course) as well as I could. By stripping away all of the extraneous hindrances that come with using a subcompact in an IWB holster in competition, I see exactly where my own improvement areas lie. The gamers then go fix those areas and continue to get better and better. The problem is that it's so easy to ignore those improvement areas.
And that brings us to the other side of the argument. There are plenty of people who prefer to shoot the competition in their regular carry gear. Of course the reasoning is that they're training with their carry gear in case they ever have to use it. If that's the real reason, then I applaud them. However, more often than not I suspect it's a different reason entirely: Most people don't like to lose, so they compete in their carry gear in order to give themselves a built-in excuse for losing. I'm pretty new to this sport, but in just a few months I've seen plenty of people ignore their sights, and then blame their short sight radius for poor accuracy. I've also seen plenty of people do a full Cagney and Lacey presentation from concealment, and of course blame their poor time on their slow draw from their concealment holster.
I will say that, to the extent that really good shooters choose to use IDPA for training in their carry gear, then I applaud their choice. However, people who aren't good shooters would be well-served by becoming "gamers" at least until they can see exactly what needs to be improved in their actual shooting technique.
I think most people could benefit from becoming gamers for a couple of reasons. The first of course has already been mentioned, and that is the fact that using the best, fastest equipment forces you to figure out why you're not as fast or as accurate as others using the same equipment. Once you figure out where your deficiencies lie and how to correct them, you will be a better shooter once you transition back to your carry gear. The other potential benefit is that some people will find that they're top competitors with gamer gear, and they will be forced to realize that the problem lies with their carry set up. At that point they can either adjust their carry gear, or figure out a way to carry something closer to a full size pistol. Either way it's win-win to cross the chasm into the realm of the gamers at least once in a while.
Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone should adopt the ugly side of "gaming" IDPA, such as round dumping, screaming at SO's, using extremely reduced-power ammunition, etc. Those things are clearly illegal and the people who do them would do well to practice their integrity the way the rest of us would do well to practice our trigger pull. But by refusing to give ourselves an excuse to fail, and by stripping away the things that distract us from the problem areas with our shooting, we open the door to rapid and meaningful improvement - and that's what the "training" that comes with participating in shooting sports is all about.
When I first started shooting IDPA, my sole focus was on "tactical training" with my home defense pistol. I liked that the stages were set up to simulate CCW situations or home defense situations. I thought that the guys shooting their Glock 26's and other compact pistols really "got it," and that the guys with their Glock 34's, and other race guns with mag wells and kydex holsters were just gamers who weren't in the spirit of the sport.
However, now I have a totally different perspective. The guys with the gear that's optimized for winning are simply better shooters. It's true 99% of the time, and I think there is a reason for it. By choosing the very best gear that allows you to shoot the course in the lowest possible time, you eliminate variables that cloud the true benefit of competition: To measure yourself. Let's put it this way: if I have a Glock 34 with fiber optic sights, a tuned trigger pull, and a blade tech holster and magazines - and I lose - it's clearly because I've got a personal deficiency that limits how well I can do. Either I'm not as fast as I could be, or I'm not as accurate, or I don't problem solve while shooting (i.e. I don't "manage" a course) as well as I could. By stripping away all of the extraneous hindrances that come with using a subcompact in an IWB holster in competition, I see exactly where my own improvement areas lie. The gamers then go fix those areas and continue to get better and better. The problem is that it's so easy to ignore those improvement areas.
And that brings us to the other side of the argument. There are plenty of people who prefer to shoot the competition in their regular carry gear. Of course the reasoning is that they're training with their carry gear in case they ever have to use it. If that's the real reason, then I applaud them. However, more often than not I suspect it's a different reason entirely: Most people don't like to lose, so they compete in their carry gear in order to give themselves a built-in excuse for losing. I'm pretty new to this sport, but in just a few months I've seen plenty of people ignore their sights, and then blame their short sight radius for poor accuracy. I've also seen plenty of people do a full Cagney and Lacey presentation from concealment, and of course blame their poor time on their slow draw from their concealment holster.
I will say that, to the extent that really good shooters choose to use IDPA for training in their carry gear, then I applaud their choice. However, people who aren't good shooters would be well-served by becoming "gamers" at least until they can see exactly what needs to be improved in their actual shooting technique.
I think most people could benefit from becoming gamers for a couple of reasons. The first of course has already been mentioned, and that is the fact that using the best, fastest equipment forces you to figure out why you're not as fast or as accurate as others using the same equipment. Once you figure out where your deficiencies lie and how to correct them, you will be a better shooter once you transition back to your carry gear. The other potential benefit is that some people will find that they're top competitors with gamer gear, and they will be forced to realize that the problem lies with their carry set up. At that point they can either adjust their carry gear, or figure out a way to carry something closer to a full size pistol. Either way it's win-win to cross the chasm into the realm of the gamers at least once in a while.
Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone should adopt the ugly side of "gaming" IDPA, such as round dumping, screaming at SO's, using extremely reduced-power ammunition, etc. Those things are clearly illegal and the people who do them would do well to practice their integrity the way the rest of us would do well to practice our trigger pull. But by refusing to give ourselves an excuse to fail, and by stripping away the things that distract us from the problem areas with our shooting, we open the door to rapid and meaningful improvement - and that's what the "training" that comes with participating in shooting sports is all about.
More El Pres Practice
Here's another video I made of me running the El Presidente drill, this time on steel. This time you can see that my shots are evenly spaced, all coming in at a split time of around .30 seconds. I fumbled the slidelock reload a bit because I'm still not quite used to not having the extended slide stop on my Glocks, which pushed the time to 6.6 seconds for the drill (with one miss on shot number 8).
Time and again you hear the old adage "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." I think with these kinds of drills it's really true. Try this experiment: shoot this drill while trying to make your body move as fast as possible. Then take a deep breath, and shoot this drill while trying to be as smooth and economical as possible. I can almost guarantee your time will be better being smoother. And if it's not better, it will be very close, and then all you have to do is allow the speed to come without losing the smooth, economical motions, and you'll have something really fast.
From my own personal data gathering, I know I can perform a reload in about 1.6 to 1.7 seconds if I'm hauling ass and really trying to get the magazine into the gun in a hurry. However, if I focus on being smooth and economical with my movements my reload times drop to 1.4 to 1.5 seconds. Also, when I'm smooth I don't have major reloading flubs as often, meaning I take a lot of the 2.5 second reloads out of the equation.
Anyway, I welcome all critiques and criticism - and I'm not saying that this video is a great example of a smooth El Presidente run - it's simply smoother than the last one I posted. In fact, you can see my head bob down a bit on the reload - that's something I intend to fix during dry fire practice this week.
1 Reload 1 Reload 1
This is a drill that I saw Jason Falla run as part of the 10-8 5 second standards drill. The goal is to shoot three accurate shots while reloading between shots. Typically you would shoot at 7 yards, and try to get all your hits on in an 8" circle. I was shooting rectangular steel plates at 10 yards this day, which is a nice way to train because you don't have to tape targets, and you get a satisfying "ding!" with every hit.
This is a great drill to practice reloads because you can see exactly where you can make up speed. For example, after you pull the trigger you don't need to take another sight picture, so you focus on moving the weak hand directly to your magazine pouch as soon as the shot is broken. It's crazy how much time this saves. Also, you realize just how important a good press out is. The better the press out, the faster and more accurate your shots are after each reload.
You can see in the background I had a target set up to practice the F.A.S.T. drill from www.pistol-training.com. For the first time ever I broke 5 seconds with a clean run. After that I got very excited (tense and rushing, in other words), and couldn't get a sub-5 second run without missing on at least one of the head shots. If I slowed down I could shoot clean runs at around 5.5 to 6 seconds. Of course, as soon as I was off the range I figured out what I was doing wrong: I was really overgripping with my right hand on the head shots, thus sending shots below and slightly to the left of the 3X5 card. I think if I can relax my right hand for those two head shots my accuracy at speed should be much, much better. I can't wait to try it again! I want two sub-5 second runs in a row!
I invite you guys to come along with me as we all progress in our shooting abilities and techniques. Post a comment if you have suggestions or have any experience with this or a similar drill!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
El Presidente Warm Up
This is my first youtube video ever, and I shot it this afternoon at the range while warming up with the El Presidente drill. I wasn't on the timer yet (just a warm up run), but on my stopwatch I think it comes out to about 6 seconds. I was about 7 yards out, and one shot missed the A zone of the second IPSC target.
This is a great drill to work on target transitions. Ideally each string would sound like 6 shot in rhythm with equal split times between each shot, but this sounds a little more like double tap, pause, double tap, etc. Hey, I'm still working on it - and I never claimed to be the world's best shooter!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
2010 Texas IDPA State Championship
Saturday, June 12 the 2010 Texas IDPA Championship was held in Greenville, Texas at the Jacob's Plain Gun Club, and I'm excited to report I had my first taste of success in the sport.
I started competing in IDPA back in October of 2009, and between then and now I've competed in club matches probably a dozen times. In November I shot my first qualifier stage and qualified as a Marksman with my Glock 17 in the SSP division. Since then I've been focused on getting better at the sport, with the goal of being promoted to expert by the end of 2010. In addition to occasional club matches, my training has focused on relevant range time at TDSA in Dallas, TX, dry fire at home, and of course the Advanced Pistol I course taught by Len Baxley at TDSA. The class with Len Baxley was the most impactful aspect of my training, by far.
Sometime mid-May I decided to compete in the Texas State Championship, and began gearing up my training in preparation. The increase in training consisted of more and better focused dry fire practice using an iPhone app called "dry fire trainer," and shooting a few hundred rounds per week at the range.
The days leading up to the competition I checked the official website several times and made my plan for the morning of the match. This is where I made a huge, huge error. For some reason I wrote the official start time down incorrectly in my little calendar thing - 8:30 instead of 8:15. I thought the registration tent opened at 8:15. I planned to arrive right at 8:15 so I could get signed in and have a few minutes to get ready before the match began. This was mistake number one. Mistake number two was trusting Google maps to plot my route to the match. Google estimated the trip time to be 50 minutes, so I gave myself an extra few minutes, but that's it. As it turned out, Google's route stopped where the road to the competition began, instead of stopping 10 miles down that road where the range was located.
So I was going to be late due to my stupid error, and Google made me even more late by giving me an unexpected 10 miles to drive. I ended up pulling into the parking area at 8:20 or so, and could hear gunshots going off as I pulled my gear from my car. Uh oh.
I sprinted to the registration table where I received my name tag and my information packet and was told what stage to shoot first. I ran over to the stage, handed the safety officer my late score sheet, and asked how much time I had before I had to shoot. "You're next." He said. So I ran (there was a lot of running, apparently) to the safe area and strapped my gun on, and ran back just in time to get a few pieces of instruction from the Safety Officers of the stage. I didn't, however, get to see a stage walkthrough, and I didn't get to see anyone else shoot the stage. The buzzer went off and I did the best I could, but there was one disappearing target that was activated by a popper that I completely missed. 10 points down already, and this was just the first stage.
This was my first ever major match, and I wasn't really sure how the stages were supposed to run. I thought that I had to be constantly shooting a stage or I would miss one and run out of time before the day was over. I later learned that I had more time between stages than I thought, and I could have taken a moment to collect myself. Oh well - lesson learned. But after the first stage I was very rattled and desperate to get my scoresheet in for the next stage so I could keep up with the groups. Again, I didn't get to see a walkthrough, though I did get to see a few people shoot the stage. I finished the 2nd stage two points down, and was pretty slow.
After that I figured that my chance at placing well in my division was all but destroyed. I considered just "shooting for fun" and not worrying about scores for the rest of the day. But I also considered that out of 12 stages and over 200 rounds, other people were bound to mess up as bad or worse than I did. I figured that as long as I shot as well as I could for the rest of the day I would at least have a chance.
So I began to speed up and make better hits. At the same time, I began to notice some of the other shooters in my division. Some of them I swore were way faster than me, and probably just as accurate. My hope of finishing at the top was continuing to diminish. But hey, I was having fun. And I figured the guys who looked so much faster than me were probably sandbaggers, and that I would at least have a moral victory when they beat me.
Toward the end of the day they posted the preliminary match scores, and I was excited to see that I was at the top of my division. And I was at the top by a very big margin. I looked for the names of the people I saw that I thought were beating me, and was shocked to see them finish 8th and 9th, respectively.
So I was happy to accept my trophy, and happy that I had achieved my goal. I was also happy to be bumped into the next higher class - I'm now a sharpshooter - as it means I'm well on my way to the Expert class by year's end. However, after analyzing the numbers a bit, I didn't just barely squeek into the Sharpshooter class. In fact, if I had shot the match as a Sharpshooter I would have finished near the top and would have still won a trophy, though I wouldn't have come in first place. Furthermore, my score was near the low end of average for the experts.
While I'm thrilled with how my performance turned out, I know exactly what I need to work on to really start taking time off my overall score: stage breakdown and management. I think those things will come with more experience competing in club matches and more mental preparation before each stage. If I can start to make significant progress in this area, I don't see why I can't revise my year-end goal a bit: Forget expert. I want to make Master class by the end of the year.
I started competing in IDPA back in October of 2009, and between then and now I've competed in club matches probably a dozen times. In November I shot my first qualifier stage and qualified as a Marksman with my Glock 17 in the SSP division. Since then I've been focused on getting better at the sport, with the goal of being promoted to expert by the end of 2010. In addition to occasional club matches, my training has focused on relevant range time at TDSA in Dallas, TX, dry fire at home, and of course the Advanced Pistol I course taught by Len Baxley at TDSA. The class with Len Baxley was the most impactful aspect of my training, by far.
Sometime mid-May I decided to compete in the Texas State Championship, and began gearing up my training in preparation. The increase in training consisted of more and better focused dry fire practice using an iPhone app called "dry fire trainer," and shooting a few hundred rounds per week at the range.
The days leading up to the competition I checked the official website several times and made my plan for the morning of the match. This is where I made a huge, huge error. For some reason I wrote the official start time down incorrectly in my little calendar thing - 8:30 instead of 8:15. I thought the registration tent opened at 8:15. I planned to arrive right at 8:15 so I could get signed in and have a few minutes to get ready before the match began. This was mistake number one. Mistake number two was trusting Google maps to plot my route to the match. Google estimated the trip time to be 50 minutes, so I gave myself an extra few minutes, but that's it. As it turned out, Google's route stopped where the road to the competition began, instead of stopping 10 miles down that road where the range was located.
So I was going to be late due to my stupid error, and Google made me even more late by giving me an unexpected 10 miles to drive. I ended up pulling into the parking area at 8:20 or so, and could hear gunshots going off as I pulled my gear from my car. Uh oh.
I sprinted to the registration table where I received my name tag and my information packet and was told what stage to shoot first. I ran over to the stage, handed the safety officer my late score sheet, and asked how much time I had before I had to shoot. "You're next." He said. So I ran (there was a lot of running, apparently) to the safe area and strapped my gun on, and ran back just in time to get a few pieces of instruction from the Safety Officers of the stage. I didn't, however, get to see a stage walkthrough, and I didn't get to see anyone else shoot the stage. The buzzer went off and I did the best I could, but there was one disappearing target that was activated by a popper that I completely missed. 10 points down already, and this was just the first stage.
This was my first ever major match, and I wasn't really sure how the stages were supposed to run. I thought that I had to be constantly shooting a stage or I would miss one and run out of time before the day was over. I later learned that I had more time between stages than I thought, and I could have taken a moment to collect myself. Oh well - lesson learned. But after the first stage I was very rattled and desperate to get my scoresheet in for the next stage so I could keep up with the groups. Again, I didn't get to see a walkthrough, though I did get to see a few people shoot the stage. I finished the 2nd stage two points down, and was pretty slow.
After that I figured that my chance at placing well in my division was all but destroyed. I considered just "shooting for fun" and not worrying about scores for the rest of the day. But I also considered that out of 12 stages and over 200 rounds, other people were bound to mess up as bad or worse than I did. I figured that as long as I shot as well as I could for the rest of the day I would at least have a chance.
So I began to speed up and make better hits. At the same time, I began to notice some of the other shooters in my division. Some of them I swore were way faster than me, and probably just as accurate. My hope of finishing at the top was continuing to diminish. But hey, I was having fun. And I figured the guys who looked so much faster than me were probably sandbaggers, and that I would at least have a moral victory when they beat me.
Toward the end of the day they posted the preliminary match scores, and I was excited to see that I was at the top of my division. And I was at the top by a very big margin. I looked for the names of the people I saw that I thought were beating me, and was shocked to see them finish 8th and 9th, respectively.
So I was happy to accept my trophy, and happy that I had achieved my goal. I was also happy to be bumped into the next higher class - I'm now a sharpshooter - as it means I'm well on my way to the Expert class by year's end. However, after analyzing the numbers a bit, I didn't just barely squeek into the Sharpshooter class. In fact, if I had shot the match as a Sharpshooter I would have finished near the top and would have still won a trophy, though I wouldn't have come in first place. Furthermore, my score was near the low end of average for the experts.
While I'm thrilled with how my performance turned out, I know exactly what I need to work on to really start taking time off my overall score: stage breakdown and management. I think those things will come with more experience competing in club matches and more mental preparation before each stage. If I can start to make significant progress in this area, I don't see why I can't revise my year-end goal a bit: Forget expert. I want to make Master class by the end of the year.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Brand Loyalty - You are Being Conned
When you think about it, brand loyalty makes no sense, yet it's rampant in the gun world. Almost everyone you meet identifies himself as a "Glock guy" or a "Kimber guy" or an "Sig guy" or whatever. And for what? Just to belong to a club that doesn't exist? The only time being this brand loyal makes sense is if you're taking advantage of interchangable components between differnent models, or to gain a slight training time efficiency. For example, the trigger assembly from my Glock 17 will drop right into a Glock 26. That's a decent reason to start with the hypothesis that a G26 is the best subcompact for someone who already owns a G17. But that's not why people are brand loyal. You're more likely to hear, "Sigs are the best, Glocks are trash." than "I'm just used to the ergos of a Sig and don't want to devote the training time to become proficient with the Glock."
Here's the thing: If a company provides a valuable product or service at a fair price, I will reward them with my business. However, if they fail to do so, or are inconsistent, or I hear reports of them providing a sub-standard level of service I don't have to act like I'm happy about it simply because I may have purchased something from them in the past. Neither do you. Go read a Kimber message board, or go to the range with some Kimber owners, and watch what happens when one of them has a problem. The people who say, "You know, maybe these things aren't worth the money..." will get shouted down by others who bring up nonsensical arguments like, "You should have read the manual - it specifies a 500 round break-in," and "That's funny, my barrels never rusted..." As if ready-made excuses or the instances that a problem didn't occur make up for poor execution.
Contrary to what the marketers of the current world would like for you to believe, you don't join a club when you buy something. You don't owe the company that made your pistol anything other than what you already paid them for the pistol. It makes sense to praise them for a job well done, sure, but to criticize others who have had a different experience is just lunacy.
Finally, don't eschew the opportunity to shoot all kinds of pistols. That doesn't mean you have to buy all of them (don't we wish we could, though), and it especially doesn't mean you have to love everything you shoot. I look at it this way: I've been getting into some amateur race car driving with my father. Some day I would like to own a really nice trackable car like a Porsche or a BMW M3. However, does that mean I would ever turn down the opportunity to drive someone's Ferarri? Hell no! It also doesn't mean that I need to come to Porsche's rescue if people are hammering them with legitimate criticisms. To do so would be to engage in cultish behavior, and when it comes to cars and guns, cults are bad, m'kay?
Here's the thing: If a company provides a valuable product or service at a fair price, I will reward them with my business. However, if they fail to do so, or are inconsistent, or I hear reports of them providing a sub-standard level of service I don't have to act like I'm happy about it simply because I may have purchased something from them in the past. Neither do you. Go read a Kimber message board, or go to the range with some Kimber owners, and watch what happens when one of them has a problem. The people who say, "You know, maybe these things aren't worth the money..." will get shouted down by others who bring up nonsensical arguments like, "You should have read the manual - it specifies a 500 round break-in," and "That's funny, my barrels never rusted..." As if ready-made excuses or the instances that a problem didn't occur make up for poor execution.
Contrary to what the marketers of the current world would like for you to believe, you don't join a club when you buy something. You don't owe the company that made your pistol anything other than what you already paid them for the pistol. It makes sense to praise them for a job well done, sure, but to criticize others who have had a different experience is just lunacy.
Finally, don't eschew the opportunity to shoot all kinds of pistols. That doesn't mean you have to buy all of them (don't we wish we could, though), and it especially doesn't mean you have to love everything you shoot. I look at it this way: I've been getting into some amateur race car driving with my father. Some day I would like to own a really nice trackable car like a Porsche or a BMW M3. However, does that mean I would ever turn down the opportunity to drive someone's Ferarri? Hell no! It also doesn't mean that I need to come to Porsche's rescue if people are hammering them with legitimate criticisms. To do so would be to engage in cultish behavior, and when it comes to cars and guns, cults are bad, m'kay?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Heinie Sights Update
I ended up replacing my Heinie Straight 8 sights the other day. On my G17, the point of impact with these sights was approximately 3" above the point of aim at about 25 yards. People refer to this point of aim/point of impact relationship as a "six o'clock hold." Meaning, you aim at the bottom of the black area of the target, and your round impacts in the middle of the black area, hopefully in the middle of the X.
Below is what a six o'clock hold looks like. It was popular with bullseye shooters because it allows them to have a crisp point of aim without obstructing the black area with the front sight at all. I understand that it is also popular with steel shooters because they can place the front sight on the bottom of a steel plate and impact the center. So it goes.
For me, for a self-defense/competition (IDPA) gun this was unacceptable. With the height of the Heinie's, my POI would be very close to "on" at 10 yards and under, and of course would start getting higher and higher the farther I moved back toward the 25 yard line. That meant that during longer-distance courses of fire I had to do some mental math and estimation to adjust my sight picture on the target. You can see how this would be slow for someone who is already slow at mental math (they don't allow pencils, paper, or a calculator on the playing field).
I did quite a bit of research on what sights would be right for me. I originally wanted something from Ameriglo, as their list of available options is pretty impressive. However, their sights mostly mimic the width of the stock Glock sights, and I find those to be way too wide for the precision that is sometimes needed for competition.
I finally settled on the Dawson Precision fiber optic front sight (height .205) with the matching Dawson Precision plain black serrated rear sight. The sights installed easily without any fitting or modification (I have this sight pusher - it's great), and I'm happy to report that POA = POI at 25 yards or so.
Here is the front sight:
In the two IDPA events that I shot with the new sights, I missed a grand total of two -0 zones, and both of those shots I took with my weak hand.
Finally, since my G17 doubles as both my competition gun and my home defense gun, I feel it's important to talk about why I'm not overly concerned about ditching my tritium sights. It's simple: When the G17 is on home defense duty it's wearing a Streamlight TLR3 light, and in the dark, behind the flashlight, I couldn't see the tritium anyway. They just looked like black target sights. So I feel like the increase in accuracy and sight tracking potential negates the advantages of tritium, given that the gun wears a reliable weapon light when it's at home.
Below is what a six o'clock hold looks like. It was popular with bullseye shooters because it allows them to have a crisp point of aim without obstructing the black area with the front sight at all. I understand that it is also popular with steel shooters because they can place the front sight on the bottom of a steel plate and impact the center. So it goes.
For me, for a self-defense/competition (IDPA) gun this was unacceptable. With the height of the Heinie's, my POI would be very close to "on" at 10 yards and under, and of course would start getting higher and higher the farther I moved back toward the 25 yard line. That meant that during longer-distance courses of fire I had to do some mental math and estimation to adjust my sight picture on the target. You can see how this would be slow for someone who is already slow at mental math (they don't allow pencils, paper, or a calculator on the playing field).
I did quite a bit of research on what sights would be right for me. I originally wanted something from Ameriglo, as their list of available options is pretty impressive. However, their sights mostly mimic the width of the stock Glock sights, and I find those to be way too wide for the precision that is sometimes needed for competition.
I finally settled on the Dawson Precision fiber optic front sight (height .205) with the matching Dawson Precision plain black serrated rear sight. The sights installed easily without any fitting or modification (I have this sight pusher - it's great), and I'm happy to report that POA = POI at 25 yards or so.
Here is the front sight:
In the two IDPA events that I shot with the new sights, I missed a grand total of two -0 zones, and both of those shots I took with my weak hand.
Finally, since my G17 doubles as both my competition gun and my home defense gun, I feel it's important to talk about why I'm not overly concerned about ditching my tritium sights. It's simple: When the G17 is on home defense duty it's wearing a Streamlight TLR3 light, and in the dark, behind the flashlight, I couldn't see the tritium anyway. They just looked like black target sights. So I feel like the increase in accuracy and sight tracking potential negates the advantages of tritium, given that the gun wears a reliable weapon light when it's at home.
Monday, May 10, 2010
More Glock Trigger Experimentation
Inspired by the table o' trigger pull weights at http://glockmeister.com/pages.php?cID=3&pID=25, I decided to order a few parts and see if I could get a Glock trigger that I like even better than what I'm running now.
Here's a couple of snaps of the grip tape job I did on the frame. I like it - it gives me great traction for a high thumbs-forward grip.
And the other side.
First, what I like in a Glock trigger.
On with the show.
In a previous entry I evaluated several 3.5 lb connectors, so I don't want to rehash any of that information. However, I did retake some measurements with the Glock 3.5 lb connector in order to compare it to the two new connectors I was using in this test.
The new equipment for testing and evaluation:
The Ghost 5 lb Patrol Connector (right, below)
The Ghost 4.5 lb Ranger Connector (left, above)
The Wolff extra power trigger spring (right, below)
The Wolff extra power striker spring.
I didn't test every possible combination. Sorry. I was mostly looking for a set up that I liked. However, you can make some pretty safe assumptions from the data below. For example, I didn't test the Ranger connector with the Wolff trigger spring, but you can pretty much guarantee it would have had a 1.75 lb take up and a break somewhere in the 3 lb range.
Ok, the data:
Shorthand for the data below:
GTS = Glock Trigger Spring
WTS = Wolff Trigger Spring
G5C = Glock 5 lb Connector
G3.5C = Glock 3.5 lb Connector
Patrol = Ghost 5 lb Patrol Connector
Ranger = Ghost 4.5 lb Ranger connector
SSS = Stock Striker Spring
WSS = Wolf extra power Striker Spring
The first "column" of numbers will be the take up weight, and the second will be the break weight.
STS, G5C, SSS: 2.00; 4.38
STS, Patrol, SSS: 2.00; 4.00
STS, Ranger, SSS: 2.00; 3.25
WTS, Ranger, SSS: 1.75; 3.00
WTS, G5C, SSS: 1.75; 4.13
WTS, G3.5C, SSS: 1.75; 3.25
WTS, G3.5C, XPSS: 1.75; 3.38
WTS, Patrol, SSS: 1.75; 3.63
WTS, Patrol, XPSS: 1.75; 4.13
Insights:
I'll get pics up of my current Glock 17 configuration sometime very soon. :)
Here's a couple of snaps of the grip tape job I did on the frame. I like it - it gives me great traction for a high thumbs-forward grip.
And the other side.
First, what I like in a Glock trigger.
- Distinct two stage feel.
- I don't want a lot of mush in order for the shot to break. I want it to break as close to the proverbial "glass rod" as possible.
- As light as possible on the first stage.
- I absolutely refuse to compromise any internal safety features. That means no titanium firing pin block, reduced power firing pin block spring, reduced power striker spring, etc.
On with the show.
The new equipment for testing and evaluation:
The Ghost 5 lb Patrol Connector (right, below)
The Wolff extra power trigger spring (right, below)
The Wolff extra power striker spring.
I didn't test every possible combination. Sorry. I was mostly looking for a set up that I liked. However, you can make some pretty safe assumptions from the data below. For example, I didn't test the Ranger connector with the Wolff trigger spring, but you can pretty much guarantee it would have had a 1.75 lb take up and a break somewhere in the 3 lb range.
Ok, the data:
Shorthand for the data below:
GTS = Glock Trigger Spring
WTS = Wolff Trigger Spring
G5C = Glock 5 lb Connector
G3.5C = Glock 3.5 lb Connector
Patrol = Ghost 5 lb Patrol Connector
Ranger = Ghost 4.5 lb Ranger connector
SSS = Stock Striker Spring
WSS = Wolf extra power Striker Spring
The first "column" of numbers will be the take up weight, and the second will be the break weight.
STS, G5C, SSS: 2.00; 4.38
STS, Patrol, SSS: 2.00; 4.00
STS, Ranger, SSS: 2.00; 3.25
WTS, Ranger, SSS: 1.75; 3.00
WTS, G5C, SSS: 1.75; 4.13
WTS, G3.5C, SSS: 1.75; 3.25
WTS, G3.5C, XPSS: 1.75; 3.38
WTS, Patrol, SSS: 1.75; 3.63
WTS, Patrol, XPSS: 1.75; 4.13
Insights:
- The Wolff trigger spring tended to reduce trigger take up weight by about 1/4 of a pound, and break weight of about 1/8 to 3/8 of a pound, depending on the connector.
- The Extra power striker spring added about .5 lbs to the break weight, but doesn't exactly make the 3.5 lb connector feel more "crisp" at all, which was what I was hoping. It just feels like it takes a little more force to move through the mush, if you will.
- The Ranger trigger, which is supposed to yield a heavier pull than the Ghost Rocket 3.5 lb connector, doesn't seem to at all. In fact, to me it felt like the mushiest connector I've used. I didn't even try it with
- The Ghost Patrol trigger yields a pull weight about 3/8 to 1/2 lb lower than the stock Glock 5 lb connector. However, it doesn't feel mushy at all like all of the 3.5 lb connectors. It's not quite as crisp on the break as the stock Glock 5 lb connector, but the numbers don't lie - it does reduce the pull weight without sacrificing the typical Glock trigger feel.
I'll get pics up of my current Glock 17 configuration sometime very soon. :)
Monday, May 3, 2010
Some general notes from the Advanced Pistol I class at TDSA (www.tdsa.net) that I took this past weekend
People who just teach tactics can't teach you how to shoot fast and accurately.
Trigger manipulation of an auto pistol:
Slack Out. Take the slack out of the trigger, all the way up to the point where the shot is about to break.
Align the sights - with the front sight clear in your vision and paying extra attention to the tip of the sight post.
Tap the trigger to break the shot and come completely off the trigger after each tap. Take the slack out of the trigger as the gun is recoiling.
High thumbs grip with the left thumb aggressively forward, wrist locked out hard, shoulders rolled forward, left arm straight but not hyper extended.
60/40 grip.
To shoot multiple targets, don't take a sight picture after your last shot on a target, instead drive your eyes to the new target and pull the gun along by the trigger as you take the slack out. Slow down as you get to the new target, and aim small on the point of aim. The trigger should be staged to be pulled as soon as the sights are aligned. Getting to the target quicker gives more time to aim before the shot is broken. If you're shooting two rounds per target on three targets, try to shoot at a cadence that sounds like 6 shots with equal splits. Don't shoot a double tap, then switch targets, then shoot another double tap. This is slow and you'll have less time to aim at the subsequent targets.
Ready position is with the gun pointed at the target with the wrists cammed up right at the bottom of the pecs. To shoot, first bring the gun up to eye level, then drive it out toward the target as you take the slack out. "Ride the escalator" up to eye level.
To reload, rotate the gun in your grip to drop the magazine with the handle straight down, then regrip (back to a normal firing grip with your thumb up and out of the way) as your support hand indexes a new magazine. Hold the gun generally at eye level as you bring the magazine up to the magazine well. Only move the arms. Swaying, sinking, bending forward, etc. just makes you slower. Relax the shoulders and pause just before inserting the magazine. Once the magazine is inserted, take a normal firing grip, "ride the escalator" as you take the slack out, and keep shooting. It's essential that you regrip the gun with the strong hand before you regrip with the support hand, because otherwise your support hand will never properly get in position, and once you start shooting again you definitely won't fix your grip.
Some general equipment related notes:
Trigger manipulation of an auto pistol:
Slack Out. Take the slack out of the trigger, all the way up to the point where the shot is about to break.
Align the sights - with the front sight clear in your vision and paying extra attention to the tip of the sight post.
Tap the trigger to break the shot and come completely off the trigger after each tap. Take the slack out of the trigger as the gun is recoiling.
High thumbs grip with the left thumb aggressively forward, wrist locked out hard, shoulders rolled forward, left arm straight but not hyper extended.
60/40 grip.
To shoot multiple targets, don't take a sight picture after your last shot on a target, instead drive your eyes to the new target and pull the gun along by the trigger as you take the slack out. Slow down as you get to the new target, and aim small on the point of aim. The trigger should be staged to be pulled as soon as the sights are aligned. Getting to the target quicker gives more time to aim before the shot is broken. If you're shooting two rounds per target on three targets, try to shoot at a cadence that sounds like 6 shots with equal splits. Don't shoot a double tap, then switch targets, then shoot another double tap. This is slow and you'll have less time to aim at the subsequent targets.
Ready position is with the gun pointed at the target with the wrists cammed up right at the bottom of the pecs. To shoot, first bring the gun up to eye level, then drive it out toward the target as you take the slack out. "Ride the escalator" up to eye level.
To reload, rotate the gun in your grip to drop the magazine with the handle straight down, then regrip (back to a normal firing grip with your thumb up and out of the way) as your support hand indexes a new magazine. Hold the gun generally at eye level as you bring the magazine up to the magazine well. Only move the arms. Swaying, sinking, bending forward, etc. just makes you slower. Relax the shoulders and pause just before inserting the magazine. Once the magazine is inserted, take a normal firing grip, "ride the escalator" as you take the slack out, and keep shooting. It's essential that you regrip the gun with the strong hand before you regrip with the support hand, because otherwise your support hand will never properly get in position, and once you start shooting again you definitely won't fix your grip.
Some general equipment related notes:
Sigs are generally unergonomic pieces of shit.
The Beretta 92 needs a lot more lube than a Glock, XD, or M&P. One of the instructors was using one because he mainly teaches military, so he trains with the Beretta in order to maintain his proficiency with it for teaching the troops. However, he made sure to mention that he considers the thing to be little better than a trot line weight.
The M&P is great, but the aftermarket isn't there yet for things like .22 conversion kits.
The XD is great, but it would be nice if the beaver tail allowed for a slightly higher grip, or if the bore axis were slightly lower. Also, a few people had trouble with the XD magazine release under stress. It had something to do with the fact that if you don't get a perfectly clean, square push on the button it is difficult to depress it.
The Glock Generation 4 has a major problem with the magazine release. No one could actuate it as well as a standard Glock magazine release under speed and pressure, and it was definitely slower than an extended magazine release. There were two shooters with the Gen 4, and both had at least of handful of failures to feed. Both shooters jokingly offered to sell their Gen 4's at the end of class - cheap.
The first day I had trouble with the extended slide release on my Glock getting bumped by my grip while firing. It hadn't been a problem in the past, and I had a high thumbs grip in the past. But now my support hand grip is REALLY high, and the extended slide release has become a problem. I went back to the stock slide release and the problem went away.
The 3.5 lb trigger (and I've tried almost all the 3.5lb triggers) are all too mushy to work effectively as a two stage trigger for the purposes of how we learned to manipulate the trigger in this class. I was actually faster and more accurate with the stock Glock 5 lb trigger (which my trigger guage measures a 4.5 lb pull).
The guys with Glock 19's in the class did very well, except that they sometimes had trouble seating their magazines under stress because the grip is so short. I think a +2 extension or just reloading with a Glock 17 magazine would fix this problem.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Blending the Beaver Tail Grip Safety
Ah, the old beaver tail grip safety. I originally bought a BTGS from Fusion, but was pretty disappointed with the part they sent me. In their defense, I knew it was something of a "value line" part, and it was damn cheap. On almost any other project, the Fusion (actually, STI I believe) part would have been fine, but since this is MY high end project, I decided to fork over the money for a nicer part. I went with the Les Baer, because I love the way the BTGS is done on my Les Baer TRS. the LB is on the left, Fusion on the right.
This is how the Fusion part fit in the frame. You can see a big gap between the beaver tail and the frame tangs. This allows the part to fit and swing freely without much fitting (though blending is more difficult), but I think it doesn't look as good.
This is the Les Baer after considerable fitting, but I wanted to show it in a similar position within the frame to the Fusion. You can see how there is zero space between the frame and the BTGS. Fitting isn't too difficult, I followed the directions here: http://www.blindhogg.com/gunsmith/wilsonbt.html
The key to remember is that you need to slowly remove material from the undersides of the little tang nubs, NOT from the sides of the frame or the sides of the BTGS. When you first install it, it will rub on the frame (you can see where...). However, it's only rubbing there because it's getting hung up on the underside of the frame tangs. Follow the method in Blindhogg's website, go slowly, and it will work out.
Finally, it's all blended in. Once I removed enough material from the frame tangs that the BTGS would swing freely, I used a zip tie to and an old thumb safety to secure the beavertail to the frame. Then I used a dremel and sanding drums to do the rough blending, and finished with 1" strips of sand paper (120 followed by 220) and my finger to polish out the rough scratches from the Dremel.
At this point the Fusion has been shipped back for refinishing. While doing the pre-finish assembly, I noticed that the plunger tube that Fusion had installed was out of spec. On the firing pin side, I couldn't get the plunger to go into it's hole for anything. Hopefully they'll fix that without issue, as I definitely don't want to send it back to Fusion for a 3rd time.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Fusion Project - Radiusing the slide stop
Trigger job.
Fit and blend grip safety.
Fit thumb safety.
Do a general de-burring and pre-finish clean up.
Refinish.
Decide on grips.
Test fire.
Adjust ejector.
Lock-tite the grip bushings, trigger overtravel screw, and rear sight set screw.
I did a few things today. I fit the hammer, sear, and disconnector, and shortened and radiused the slide stop pin.
The hammer, sear, and disco just dropped in without any need for fitting, so no pics of that. I still need to do a trigger job, but that's going to wait until the gun comes back from ionbonding.
Here we are before fitting anything.
Here you can see just how much it pokes out beyond the relieved pin hole.
I marked the whole thing up with a sharpie so I would know how much to take off.
Then I used a dremel wheel that has a concave surface to grind down the pin. I didn't want it to be perfectly flat against the frame, because I like to have a little nub there to rest my trigger finger on. Having a tactile response to let you know your finger isn't on the trigger is always a good idea.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Glock 26 vs. Ruger SP101
Sight Radius
This one isn't even close. G26 by a mile. With such small guns, 1.5 inches of extra sight radius makes a HUGE difference in accuracy.
Size
This category is really a draw. They're both about the same size, and despite their different shapes, I can't see how one is noticeably easier to carry. I've carried both in numerous ways, and they're about the same.
Barrel length
For some reason, semi auto barrels are measured differently from revolver barrels. With a semi, you measure from the back of the chamber all the way to the muzzle. With a revolver, you only measure from the forcing cone to the end of the barrel. If we're doing an apples to apples comparison of these two barrels, you can see that they're pretty much the same length. Or at least the bullet travels through the same length of rifling for each gun.
Capacity
The Glock with the factory magazines holds 10 rounds, and with a +2 baseplate (cheap and easily installed) the round count goes up to 12. The Ruger holds only 5 rounds. The issue of capacity gets even more lopsided when you consider that the Glock can accept a 17 round magazine (or even a 33 round magazine, though that's not really practical for concealed carry). Essentially, the Glock is a very fast reload away from being topped up with 17 rounds, and the Ruger is a slower reload away from having an additional five rounds.
Some debate the importance or wisdom of doing tactical reloads (where you reload the gun before it runs empty, and hopefully retain the original magazine with whatever rounds are still in it). However, with an auto tactical reloads are at least feasible. With a revolver tactical reloads, while possible, are probably ill advised.
Training
Training considerations come down to how much you can afford to train, how painstaking it is to maintain your weapon after training, and how enjoyable it is to train.
Cleaning
A lot of people don't even clean their Glocks. While this is the worst idea of all time (I clean every gun after every range visit), a lot of those people still go years without a malfunction. If/when one does get around to cleaning his Glock, it's pretty easy, and even the dirtiest Glocks take less than 20 minutes to clean. Even if you need to replace some springs, you're still not looking at more than 30 minutes worth of work to make the thing like new.
Revolvers, on the other hand, take considerably longer. Cleaning each one of those chambers is like cleaning a completely different barrel. If you're the type of person who dreads cleaning his gun, then the prospect of scrubbing out 5 chambers and a barrel will probably influence how often you train with this gun. And training with a double action revolver trigger and a tiny sight radius takes considerable time. The net effect is that, unless you really enjoy gun cleaning, you're not going to have the training time, and you're not going to be as prepared as you would be with something low maintenance like a Glock.
Comfort
Simply put, shooting full power .357 magnum loads out of this thing is not comfortable. Even if you're a reasonably experienced shooter, it's pretty easy to develop a flinch when firing this little Ruger hand cannon. A lot of people realize just how difficult it is to be accurate with a snub nose revolver firing full power cartridges, so they practice with .38 special target ammo, and carry .38 special +P. I think this is a pretty good solution, with one concern. Is .38 special +P really any better than 9mm +P? Does it make sense to carry only five rounds in the gun if they're not big, powerful rounds?
The G26 isn't as easy to shoot as a full size pistol, and there is no way it is as comfortable to shoot as the SP101 shooting .38 special. A lot of people complain about their pinky finger hanging off the frame, and that the bump on the back of the grip is uncomfortable in the palm of their hand. Both of these complaints are very valid. However, shooting defensive loads out the G26 is far and away more comfortable (and more accurate) than shooting .357 Magnum out of the SP101.
Ammo $
Defensive ammunition for both guns runs about the same - currently about $1 per round. However, for training ammunition, the 9mm has a huge advantage over the .38 special. Boxes of 50 9mm target rounds tend to run from $10 to $15. .38 special rounds run about $20 in the places I shop. Because I can afford to buy more ammunition, I can train more with the Glock, and that should be a key consideration for anyone.
Dynamic shooting results
Ten rounds of defensive ammo from the Glock at 7 yards fired as fast as I could get the sights back on target. I think those would qualify as A zone hits.
Same thing with the SP101. This was five rounds of ..357 magnum. Definitely not all A zone hits, though they do hit pretty hard. The recoil on this puppy is fierce!
Round 2 with the Glock. I skipped round 2 with the SP101 because the recoil started to bother my wrist, and I still wanted to shoot the Les Baer a bit.
For the next drill, I started with two targets spaced on different stands about 4 feet apart. I started with my left forearm touching the target on the right, with the gun at low ready. On the buzzer I backed up as fast as I could, while putting one round on the first target, then two on the second, then in this instance I put two more on the first target and two more on the second. After 7 rounds I still had 3 left in the magazine! If I had loaded 10+1 it would have been 4. The first target is above, the second target is below.
Here I tried a version of the same thing with the SP101.
One round on the first target, then two on the second, then one on the first. Usually the drill would end here, but I put on more on the second target just for fun.
Conclusion
I think both of these pistols have their place in a good carry set-up. But, except for the incredible stopping power of one .357 magnum round, and the limited advantages offered by a revolver over a semi, the Glock 26 is without a doubt the better defensive pistol for most carry needs. Will you be undergunned by carrying the Ruger SP101? Not if five rounds is all it takes to stop the fight, but if it takes more than that you better be awesome at reloading a revolver, or have a backup gun somewhere near by.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Fusion Project - Fitting the Slide Stop
Current progress:
Fit hammer, sear, disconnecter.
Trigger job.
Fit and blend grip safety.
Fit extractor.
Fit thumb safety.
Radius slide stop.
Do a general de-burring and pre-finish clean up.
Refinish.
Decide on grips.
Test fire.
Adjust ejector.
Lock-tite the grip bushings, trigger overtravel screw, and rear sight set screw.
Today we're going to fit the slide stop. This is one of the easier steps, and after the painstaking process of fitting the sights yesterday, I needed an easy one to cross off the list.
If you've ever had a 1911 that sometimes had the slide lock back with rounds still in the magazine, this could be an easy fix.
This is definitely a bigger problem the larger the diameter of the bullet used in the gun. 9mm/.38 Super will rarely have this problem, and you see it quite a bit in poorly fitted 1911's in .45ACP.
Here's what we're looking for: With the slide taken off the frame, put the slide stop back in. Then take a magazine with a round inserted as far forward as possible. Slide the magazine in and out of the frame, and observe from the top (like in the picture below) whether or not the round is bumping into the slide stop. If it is, you need to remove a small amount of metal from the slide stop where the round is bumping it. Be careful not to remove too much metal, otherwise there won't be enough there to engage the magazine follower, and your slide won't lock back on an empty magazine.
Here you can see where I filed a little bit. File and test, file and test. There is no need to ever use a dremel tool when fitting this part. In fact, I didn't have to remove much more than what is shown below.
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