Despite the sport being very safe and my having seen disqualifications many months apart, I witnessed my third Match Disqualification this weekend while shooting a Local USPSA Match at Southern Chester Sportsman’s and Farmers’ Association. That brings the total to precisely three, the first was seeing a negligent discharge, the second was seeing someone break the 180, and the third was seeing someone drop their gun.

From the USPSA Rulebook:

10.5 Match Disqualification – Unsafe Gun Handling
Examples of unsafe gun handling include, but are not limited to:

10.5.3 If at any time during the course of fire, or while loading, reloading or
unloading, a competitor drops his handgun or causes it to fall, loaded
or not. Note that a competitor who, for any reason during a course of
fire, safely and intentionally places the handgun on the ground or other
stable object will not be disqualified provided:

10.5.3.1 The competitor maintains constant physical contact with the
handgun, until it is placed firmly and securely on the ground or
another stable object, and

• 10.5.3.2 The competitor remains within 3 feet of the handgun at all times
  (except where the handgun is placed at a greater distance, under
  the supervision of a Range Official, in order to comply with a
  start position), and
• 10.5.3.3 The provisions of Rule 10.5.2 do not occur, and
• 10.5.3.4 The handgun is in the ready condition as specified in Section 8.1, or
• 10.5.3.5 A self-loading pistol has an empty chamber, the magazine removed and the slide locked open, or

10.5.3.6 A revolver has the cylinder open and empty

Neither Shooter in this Photo was Disqualified.

The Stage

The stage where the rule infraction occurred was our squad’s second of the day, Lucky 13 (Stage 6). This particular stage was placed on one of the newly expanded pistol pits on the back side of the property. The pit itself was dug into a hill and has an uphill slope about it.

Targets were situated to the shooter’s left and right, at close range. Most shooters opted to quickly draw their gun at the start signal and engage the close range targets as quickly as possible, some opting to point shoot in an attempt to speed up the process. Because of the layout of the stage, this was one of the faster ones, in terms of breaking shots after the start signal.

At the start signal, one particular shooter grabbed ahold of his gun and began to pull it from his holster. He must not have had a solid grip on the gun as he began to lose it. When the loaded gun slipped out of his grasp, rather than grab at it and attempt to catch it, he pulled back and allowed the gun to tumble to the ground.

The Aftermath

When the gun hit the dirt, the Range Officer called for a Stop and everything got quiet. Unsure of what to do, the Range Officer turned to the more experienced RO in our squad for advice. The Rango Officer was instructed to carefully pick up the dropped gun, clear it, and place it directly into the holster of the shooter. Once the stage was deemed safe, the shooter was issued a Match Disqualification.

While the two Range Officers were speaking about how to handle the issue, the shooter turned to the crowd behind him and apologized twice. He looked as though he was more concerned about potentially putting the onlookers in danger more so than he was about not being able to shoot for the rest of the day.

By the time we were finished with this stage, our DQed squad-mate returned from meeting with the Match Director and volunteered to be the scorekeeper for the remainder of the match. Rather than pack up and go home, our squad mate stuck with us for the remainder of the day and helped. He earned a great deal of respect from me and I’d imagine a great deal of respect from my fellow shooters.

Looking back at the situation in my mind, I think the shooter handled the situation as best he could. Rather than clutching at a falling gun, risking getting a stray finger into the trigger guard, he allowed the gun to fall to the dirt. With modern pistols and their safety mechanisms, this was probably the safest course of action.

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You're reading USPSA: Dissecting a Disqualification v2.0 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the April 2012 USPSA Shooting match at Southern Chester County Sportsman’s and Farmers’ Association. The match was made up of 7 Stages that varied from a simple 8 Round Classifier stage to spread out 32 Round Field Courses.

One of the things that makes USPSA Shooting so appealing to me is its freestyle nature. Shooters are read a Written Stage Briefing and given five minutes to formulate a plan of attack. I tend to be more of a conservative shooter, trading off speed for accuracy. However, having recently read an interesting post from When The Balloon Goes Up on Creating a Game Plan, I began to weigh the risks and rewards of a given field course.

This particulate stage consisted of 13 Static IPSC Metric Targets, 4 Pepper Poppers, and 1 Swinging IPSC Metric Target. All of these targets, with the exception of three, were situated around an island (the remaining three were inside, tucked behind a low wall). The first choice each shooter needed to make was which way to go around the island.

I felt that it was in my best interest to remain stationary at the start signal and shoot two paper targets to my right. I would then move forward to engage the low targets within the island, then work the stage around the left side of the island. The next decision was to determine how aggressive I wanted to be.

Low Risk – Small Reward:

Being a Production Division Shooter, we essentially have 11 rounds to work with. During the load and make ready command, we load a round into the chamber, then insert a magazine filled to division capacity (10 Rounds). Having 11 rounds in the gun means that we can fire ten rounds before going to slide-lock.

A safe game plan for this stage would be to engage two paper targets on the shooters right, then move forward and engage three targets within the center island. At this point the shooter has fired ten rounds (pending no make-up shots were fired). A reload would be performed while the shooter moves to their left.

Two paper targets, separated by a penalty target, are engaged before transitioning to four steel pepper poppers. The shooter would engage the far-right steel first to engage the swinger. The remaining three steel poppers would be engaged. In the event that the steel took multiple shots to knock down, a reload would be performed.

The shooter would then move to their right and engage two paper targets situated at the rear of the pistol pit. The shooter would turn to their left and engage the swinger which has had a chance to slow down. One last reload would be performed while the shooter moved to their right. Through a port, two near and two far targets would be engaged to close out the stage.

The low risk, in this case, is transitioning away from the swinger and coming back to it. While this would make the swinger easier to hit, the shooter burns up time in an effort to slow it down. The video below shows my fellow teammate, Dave, shooting the stage in this low-risk fashion.

Dave Shooting Stage 1 at Southern Chester

High Risk – Big Reward:

My first three matches of the season have been with the mindset that I would trade speed for accuracy. This mindset has done well for me in those matches but as Martin Lawrence once said, “sometimes you got to feed a little speed to your ride”.

There was actually two risky parts to my plan. The first was that I intended to exhaust my tenth round activating the swinger and would need to reload and have my gun in a position to fire before the swinger disappeared. My goal was to place two shots on the swinger at the end of its swing, to ambush it. In the past I have had major accuracy issues chasing swingers, so I wanted to avoid that as well as waiting for the swinger to disappear and come back into view again.

The second risk was that I planned three strings of fire which used ten rounds. If I missed a shot and had to make it up, I would run into issues with round count and my rhythm would be affected. Just to recap, I was planning on shooting quickly, hitting all of my targets with each round fired, and I would need to perform a reload in a small window.

At the start I engaged a pair of targets on my right, before moving forward to engage three targets within the island. I performed a reload on the move and engaged a pair of paper targets, separated by a penalty target, while I moved around the left side of the island. I then engaged four steel poppers, on the move, and exhausted my tenth round.

I performed a reload while the last popper fell and activated the swinger. I fired two rounds on the swinger on its first showing and continued moving around the island. I engaged four targets at the rear of the stage, performed a reload, and engaged the last two remaining targets through a port.

Walt Shooting Stage 1 at Southern Chester

The Right Plan for You:

The beauty of USPSA Shooting is that there is such a wide variety of options. Each shooter tackled this stage a little differently. Some plans were slow and steady, others were like an all out sprint to the finish. When you step onto a stage and begin your five-minute walkthrough, weigh your options and pick the one that best suits your abilities.

This time I decided to take a gamble. I’ve never felt very comfortable shooting on the move and I surprised myself with how well I performed on this stage. It just goes to show that it never hurts to expand your game and try new things from time to time.

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You're reading USPSA Shooting: Risk vs Reward by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

With April upon us, Pennsylvania USPSA season is in full swing and I absolutely love it. The weather on Saturday (April 7, 2012) was perfect for shooting and I was eager to hop in my car and make the drive to shoot USPSA at Lower Providence.

Still being fairly new to the sport, my experience is limited to about four gun clubs. I’ve found that after you’ve shot each clubs a handful of times, you will see trends begin to develop. For instance, at some clubs you’ll see stages that are primarily run and guns, with targets anywhere from ten yards in to bad breath distance. At at another club you may find targets spread out to a maximum distance of forty yards.

When it comes to USPSA at Lower Providence, you get the best of both worlds. On many stages you may find yourself throttling your shooting pace up and down because you have a good mix of close range targets and shots that require a little finesse out at twenty to twenty five yards. This club also uses a lot of angles where you find yourself leaning around props to get a clean shot.

If we were to play te word association game with this club, I suppose that would say finesse when I think of Lower Providence Rod and Gun Club. As a result, this club has become one of my favorites to shoot USPSA.

Stage 3: Hedorah’s Assault Course

After the shooters were broken up in to squads, I found myself reading the written stage briefing for Stage 3. This was an IPSC Classifier stage setup in such a way that three targets would be engaged from within a shooting box forty-eight feet away. The center target in this array was crowded with penalty targets on either side, making for a tight shot on the A Zone. The shooter would then move into another shooting box and engage two steel poppers and another IPSC Classic target. Last, the shooter would move to a final shooting box and engage three more targets from a distance of thirty-three feet.

My plan was to start off my taking my time and getting well placed shots on the first array. I didn’t want to risk punching a hole in a penalty target and was happy to trade speed for accuracy. I would then reload while moving to the second shooting box so that I would have a fresh magazine to start with. I wanted to take full advantage of the wide shooting box and try to take the steel poppers and paper target on the move. I would then reload on my way to the last shooting box and pick up the pace to end the stage strong.

After the Buzzer

At the buzzer I drew my gun and fired two rounds, at the left most target, as quickly as I felt comfortable at sixteen yards. I transitioned to the middle target and slowed down, getting a clear sight picture, before squeezing off two rounds. Once I was clear of the penalty targets surrounding middle target in the array, I picked up the pace once again.

I reloaded as I moved to the second shooting box and had my gun up and ready to fire as soon as my foot landed inside the box. I fired the first round as my trailing foot left the ground and pulled my first two shot high and to the right. The steel went down on the third shot and I began baby-stepping my way across the box. The second piece of steel went down on the first shot and I fired two quick rounds at the paper target before leaving the shooting box.

I reloaded while moving to the final shooting box. This time I wasn’t ready to fire immediately and wasted a little time getting set to make my last shots. Once set, I engaged targets from left to right at a speed that felt comfortable for ten-yards.

Scoring

Despite taking what felt like an eternity engaging steel on the move, I did rather well on this classifier stage. I ranked 6th out of 29 shooters in Production Division and was the highest ranking C Class Shooter. I managed 14 A’s and 2 C’s bringing in 76 out of a possible 80 points, in 18.98 seconds.

Taking a closer look at my scores, I basically shot 95% of the available stage points with a Hit Factor of 4.0042. I’ve been reading as of late that shooters should strive for 90% of the available points on the stage. Lower than 90% and you are moving too fast, higher and you aren’t moving fast enough.

Stage 4: Rodan’s on the War Path

Stage 4 was essentially a large semi-circle and was situated in such a way that you could engage all targets from the top half of the circle, at farther distance, or make your way around the semi-circle and take your shots from a much closer distance. My initial thought was that I wasn’t worried about the distance and would take all of my shots from the top half of the course.

Because our squad arrived on this stage before the squad ahead of us was finished, I payed attention to how others were addressing the stage. Everyone with optics, shooting open division, was taking the approach that I planned to use while everyone shooting iron sights were running through the course to take their shots at closer range. I wasn’t sure that this approach was best for me, shooting Production division, but kept an open mind.

I went through my dry run planning on turning ninety degrees and engaging the targets from a distance but changed my mind at the last minute. I thought that I could run the course and hose the targets at close range faster than I could get well placed shots from a distance. The last thing that went through my mind before hearing “Shooter Ready, Stand By” was “Okay, turn one hundred and eighty degrees and book it around the circle. Whatever you do, don’t fall!”

After the Buzzer

When the buzzer sounded, I turned and started running. As I approached the top portion of the bend, I turned left and engaged two low targets quickly. As I shifted back to the right to continue down the arc, my foot got caught on the fault line and I lost my balance. I stumbled, kept my gun pointed down range, and flapped my left arm like it would somehow keep me on my feet. I managed to stay on my feet and get my bearing when I heard someone watching call out “WHOA!”

I was a little rattled with my near face-plant but stuck to my plan. As I rounded the bend, two more low targets appeared behind a barrel. I fired two rounds at the first and slowed to a crawl to avoid hitting a penalty target that covered everything but the head of the last target.

I went wide on the bend and engaged a target at the back of the range. I reloaded while I moved towards the next array and got my rhythm back. I fumbled the reload but engaged the three target array on the move. I reloaded, much cleaner this time, and engaged a second array of three targets, on the move. I performed one last realod and engaged a final array of three targets while leaning around a wall.

Scoring

While this stage was a lot of fun to shoot, and I did fairly well, re-watching the video stresses me out. I see a variety of things that if corrected could have shaved off enough time to get me damn close to the Top 3.

After my trip, I stopped dead in my tracks to engage a head-shot target at close range. I think I must have been spooked by the penalty target that was front and center and took too much care to not hit it. From there, I was pretty happy with my reloads but engaged each array of three targets, backwards. I should have taken them from left to right so that there was less of a pause between when I was ready to shoot and when the right most target appeared from behind the barricade.

All in all, I can’t complaint too much. I ranked 7th out of 29 shooters in my division. I pulled down 25 A’s, 2 B’s, and 1 C, with 134 of a possible 140 points. My time was 25.66 seconds with a hit factor of 5.2221. Like the previous stage, I scored 95% of the available stage points, so theoretically I had room to speed up.

Stage 5: Rebirth of Mothra

Stage 5 was probably the most interesting stage of the day, in terms of watching game plans. Essentially, the stage could be broken down into three parts. The first of those portions was directly in front of the shooter as the stage began. From an opening in a fence, the shooter was presented with a Texas Star, two Pepper Poppers and two IPSC Metric targets (the paper could be seen from elsewhere on the course).

On the left, down the fence line, a variety of IPSC Metric targets were tucked behind stacked barrels. One target could only be seen from the far left corner of the course, making losing track of targets not very difficult.

On the right, down the fence line, a variety of IPSC Metric targets were tucked behind stacked barrels. Unlike the portion on the left, this side was more spread out and required much more movement to set up a good shot.

On the surface this doesn’t sound like a stage that would instill fear into the hearts of shooters, but it did. One of my shooting buddies got himself all worked up over the Texas Star and planned out what he would do when, not if but, when he made too many missed shots. Other shooters saved the Texas star for last as they expected to run out of ammo and wanted to make sure they shot all of the paper.

My plan was to engage that Texas Star first as it was the first thing I saw when the buzzer went off. While I didn’t waste too many shots on this moving target, the course as a whole taught me a lesson in dealing with compounded problems.

After the Buzzer

When the buzzer sounded, I stepped forward and loaded my Glock 17. I pressed my gun out and made the first mistake of the stage. Instead of shooting the Texas Star properly, attacking the head and arms first, I shot out what would be the left leg. The star became unbalanced and began whirling about at a high rate of speed. I completed the Texas Star in nine shots, which felt like it took forever (It wasn’t bad by comparison, there were several shooters that took much longer).

After a reload, I took two shots to down the pepper popper on the right and one round to down the popper on the left. With the center portion of the stage cleared, I began to work my way to the left. I ran to the far left corner of the shooting area and engaged two targets tucked behind some barrels. I then moved around a barrel and skipped a target, engaging the two on the right. Knowing something was wrong with my round count, I began to move about frantically, trying to find the target that I was missing, while I performed a reload. After a string of profanity, I stopped and put two rounds on what I thought was the missed target.

I retreated up the fence line and around to the right portion of the stage. Just after rounding the corner I engaged targets, near to far, that were tucked back behind a series of three barrels. I moved down the fence line, performed a reload, and engaged a target situated at the back of the pit. In a momentary lapse of judgement, I brought the gun in and almost performed a very unnecessary reload. I caught myself and pressed back out to engage another target tucked behind a barrel. I moved to the right corner and closed out the stage with a pair of targets tucked behind a pair of barels.

Scoring

As I walked this course with the Range Officer and Scorekeeper, I was feeling pretty good. The scores being called out were solid hits and my time wasn’t horrible, all things considered. When we got to the left side of the range to score targets, I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh.

“You put those two rounds on the wrong target, this one has four A’s and you’ve got nothing on this one.” Fortunately, the Range Officer felt that it was hard to say that I failed to engage the missed target (I was looking for it, after all) and shouldn’t take a Failure to Engage Penalty.

In the end I came away with 25 A’s, 4 C’s, and 2 M’s (Misses with a -10 Point Penalty per miss) with score of 117 (penalties incorporated), out of a possible 155, points and a time of 63.61 seconds. I ranked 14th out of 29 shooters on this stage and had a hit factor of 1.8393. The interesting thing here is that had I put those two desperate A Zone Hits on the right target, string of curses and wasted time still included, I would have been in the Top 10.

Stage 1: Up and Back

I don’t want to come off sounding like a hot-shot shooter or anything, but when it comes to shooting local USPSA matches, I don’t get nervous. Two stages into my very first match I lost the ‘new shooter jitters’ and just enjoyed ‘doing my thing’. That isn’t to say that I don’t get uncomfortable.

The only time that I feel rushed and uncomfortable is when I’m the first shooter on a given stage. I think this comes down to the walk-through and how I get agitated standing behind a shooter who seems to be taking forever to do their dry run. I’m sure that in most cases it is a figment of my imagination. I know that when we get started, I’m the first person that needs to shoot and I want to develop a plan and run through the stage a few times before that happens.

When the stage is cleared and the Load and Make Ready command is given, the rushed feeling goes away and I’m ready to do my thing. In the case of Stage 1, I wasn’t completely comfortable with my stage plan and had my doubts. When I encountered a hiccup in my plan, I was struggling with another case of compounded problems.

After the Buzzer

When the buzzer sounded I took two steps forward while drawing my gun. I made sure to press out and begin shooting while well outside the port. My thought process was that since I could easily see all targets from that position, it would save me time to shoot from there rather than getting in, then back out of, the port.

I engaged four targets with two rounds each. Oriented like a square, I first shot the rear right, followed by the front right, followed by the front left, then finally the rear left. In my mind, this wasn’t ideal way to shoot the array, but I had a momentary lapse in my stage plan.

I pulled the gun in and performed a reload while I moved down the left wall. Like the first port, I stopped short and began engaging from a distance. I had three targets visible and intended to put two rounds on each. I felt like I pulled a shot and fired a third on one target before moving further down the wall.

As I moved to the next array of targets, I reloaded my Glock 17 once again. Moving right to left, around a series of barrels, I engaged one target with three rounds (another makeup shot), the second with two rounds, and the third with two rounds.

The makeup shot on the first target threw me off course and I did not reload while I ran back up-range to get around to the opposite side of the course. I stopped short of the port once again and put two rounds on the far left target, two rounds on the middle target, and my gun went to slide lock. I had to perform a standing reload before engaging the last target in the array. I made my way to the end of the course and engaged four more targets, situated around barrels, with two rounds each, to close out the stage.

Scoring

When the dust settled, I began to walk the stage with the Range Officer and Scorekeeper. I wasn’t too upset to hear that I shot 27 A’s and 5 C’s on the stage, earning me 150 out of a possible 160 points. I knew that speed would become a factor due to my makeup shots and standing reload. Even so, I shot the stage in 40.98 seconds with a 3.6603 Hit Factor.

I came in 11th place in my division and I can’t complain. The fact that I stayed out of ports and pulled down 94% of the possible stage points put a smile on my face. As far as I’m concerned, that was impressive for being the first shooter on the stage.

Stage 2:

Stage 2 was our squad’s last stage of the day. The stage itself wasn’t difficult, the challenge was to resist the urge to follow your instincts, and instead, do what was written in the stage description.

The first string explained that upon the buzzer, the shooter was to engage each IPSC Classic target with a single round, reload and engage each target with one more round. String two was much the same as the first, however, all shots fired after the reloaded needed to be made strong-hand only. String three was one shot on each target, weak-hand only.

Typically, a shooter fires two rounds in succession on each target. Following that practice here would draw penalty points and your score on the stage would sink like a stone.

After the Buzzer

For as simple as this stage looks, it took a great deal of concentration. If for one second I allowed autopilot to take over, I would tank the stage. I took my sweet ol’ time and performed a quick dry run before the start. When the buzzer sounded, I focused and put rounds on target in the specified order.

As the Rango Officer relayed my first string time to the Scorekeeper, I took the time to perform another dry run. I mimicked the single shot on each target, imitated a reload, pulled my weak hand away, and envisioned putting one more round on each target. The second string went as planned but I engaged the strong-hand only targets backwards (I went left to right instead of riding the recoil from right to left).

While the time was relayed again, I did a dry run weak hand only. Like I learned from Julie Golob’s Shooting USA Pro Tip, I imagined getting a low grip on the gun, pulling it from the holster, and passing it to my weak hand. From there I would engage targets from left to right, to ride the recoil from target to target. The third string went off without a hitch and I was finished.

Scoring

I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that my time was going to be slow. I was happy to sacrifice speed for focus and accuracy. As it turns out, I did just that with 19 A’s and 1 C, earning me 98 out of a possible 100 points (98% of the available points).

While my accuracy rocked, my time came in at 27.17 seconds, which put me at a 3.6069 Hit Factor. I took 11th place on that stage, and to be honest, I’m happy with that.

Match Results

When the match results were posted, I was ecstatic. Ever since my rough start to the season at York IWLA, in March, I have taken a more mentally comfortable approach to shooting. I’m trying not to dwell on previos stage performance and am doing my best to approach each stage with a clear head. It seems to be working for me as this was my best match of the season. Not only was I happy with an 8th place finish, for the first time I won my class (Top C Class Shooter in Production Division).

• Division: Production
• Shooters in Division: 29
• My Place Within Division: 8th
• Totals Hits: 110 A’s | 2 B’s | 13 C’s | 0 D’s | 2 M’s | 0 NS’s
• Total Points Earned: 575
• Available Points: 635
• My Available Point Percentage: 92%
• Average Hit Factor: 3.6666

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You're reading USPSA at Lower Providence Rod and Gun Club (April 2012) by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

When I was a kid, growing up in Philadelphia, we used to play a lot of urban sports (I suppose thats what they would be called these days). In my neighborhood we didn’t have a lot of parks or sports specific places to go. As a result, we played pretty much everything in parking lots.

In the Spring and Summer we gathered in the old Core States Bank rear parking lot and played Stick Ball. In the late Summer and Fall we played Roller Hockey in that very same parking lot. In the Winter we played Touch (and in the snow, tackle) Football in, you guessed it, that very same parking lot.

No matter what the sport, the neighborhood kids always tracked their stats throughout the season. Being kids, those stats always grew to imaginary proportions by the end of the season and it was tough to know what you really did. After all, it was very informal and records were kept by memory only.

I’d be lying if I told you that I never swelled those stats just a bit to impress a friend. Even so, I used to love keeping a mental tab of how many goals I scored, homeruns I hit, or touchdown passes I caught. I’ve always been a fairly competitive person but things get fierce when I’m competing against myself.

When I started shooting USPSA last season, I fell in love. Not only was it a joy to get out to the range and put rounds on target, I loved comparing my latest match to my previous match. Unlike in my youth, statistics mean more than impressing a friend. I’m dedicated to improving and want to be able to sit down and literally see how I performed in one match versus another.

My first plan was to simply take a video camera to each match and record my performance. When I came home from that I match I would play the video back and take a closer look at how I performed. Coupling that video with USPSA Match Results, I was able to see a lot of things that I wasn’t aware of while shooting in real time.

Early USPSA Stats

In December of 2011, the USPSA Season in Pennsylvania came to a close. With no weekend matches to occupy my time, I turned to reading up on the sport and designing stages to keep my head in the game. While I immersed myself in blogs and forums, a friend and shooting buddy turned his attention to finding a team sponsor.

One day this friend and I got together at a local diner for coffee, and to my amazement, I learned that we had a sponsor. An even larger surprise was that the team, who I had only shot with handful of times, wanted me to be the captain. I accepted the role and can remember thinking ‘Oh man, these guys don’t know what they are getting themselves into with me as Team Captain.’

My completely anal personality kicked into high gear and I went over each team members USPSA Stats with a fine tooth comb. I spent hours with dozens of browser tabs open, comparing individual stage USPSA Results for each shooter. I threw out time and looked at accuracy, I threw out accuracy and looked at only time. The numbers fascinated me but I couldn’t go through the 2012 season in this fashion.

In February I listened to Julie Golob’s podcast and had one of those ‘Oh, Duh!’ moments when she discussed putting together a spreadsheet for shooter statistics. I immediately opened up Google Docs and built a simple spreadsheet to track my personal match results. When I was finished, I created another spreadsheet to track the team results.

The spreadsheet I put together was crude but it allowed me keep tabs on the points earned, points percentage, number of shooters in the division, the shooters ranking, and the shooters placement in terms of percentage. As a personal goal I wanted to be in the top 50% of shooters, on average.

After filling in most of the information, the spreadsheet did a quick calculation and I could get a visual of how the team performed compared to each other.

New USPSA Stats

Over the past couple of months I have been spending a fair amount of time reading the Brian Enos Forums. One of the members posted a question in the New Shooters forum that caught my eye. The shooter wanted to now which was better, a Slow A or a Fast C. I began reading the thread and found a response that was fascinating.

ErichF on the Brian Enos Forum
Shoot slow, MOVE fast. Faster shots will come naturally. Aim for a 85-90% available point score. If you’re shooting 70% of points, you’re going too fast (or your accuracy has real issues), if you’re getting 95% of points, your going too slow.

Because I was pouring over my match scores when they were posted, I knew that I was achieving the majority of the possible points as of late. To be sure, I would need to do some calculations. This gave me an idea for tracking stage by stage results, rather than the broad match results.

I popped open my Google Docs Spreadsheet and created a new page. In this new page I incorporated most of the individual stage results columns from the USPSA Match Results. With this information, I could do a couple of calculations and get a better picture of how I was performing at each match.

When I was finished, I felt like a kid again. Suddenly I had a virtual sports card with running stats from each match. Before long, I was incorporating the same individual stage results to the teams USPSA Stats spreadsheet. The numbers it generated were fascinating.

My 2012 Stats Stat Sheet

As you can see, the sheet is incomplete (the York IWLA Results from last month haven’t been posted on the USPSA Website) and it is going to require some effort to keep everything up to date. I’m no whiz when it comes to spreadsheets, so I need to alter some of the formulas that generate my season average and totals as I go, but I’m very happy with the results.

After each match I now have video of my performance, as well as USPSA Stats, to stare at. I feel like I’m in some sort of Geeky USPSA Heaven.

No related posts.

You're reading USPSA Stats: Tracking My Performance by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

It is Tuesday once again and a new Episode of the Shooting The Breeze Podcast is hot of the press. This week, with the help of listeners/viewers, I have plenty of news and featured content to fill out the show. I got a little long winded towards the end and spent a significant amount of time discussing My Gun Database.

On a side note, if you’ve got a dull weekend to fill out, I’ve got a great game for you. Head out and pick up plenty of alcoholic beverages. Invite over a few friends and listen to this podcast episode together. Every time I say the word “Interesting”, everyone takes a drink. You’ll be bombed before the show reaches the half-way point.

Pre-News Talk:

• Win a Signed Copy of SHOOT: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition

In The News:

• Fight that left Good Friday shooting suspect’s father dead ruled self-defense according to Tulsa court records
  (Thanks to Nick via WaltInPA.com Comment)
• Homeowners With Guns Fight Back
  (Thanks to @HerfDoctor via Twitter)
• Sheriff: No charges to be sought in fatal double shooting in Spartanburg County
  (Thanks to @HerfDoctor via Twitter)

Featured Content:

• The Psychology Of Gun Ownership from Every Day No Days Off (ENDO)
• Mini Area 1 Match from KitLear.com
• Wisconsin: Man who shot robber talks about ordeal from the GRRN Forum

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: La Aurora 107 Figurado
• Beverage: Caribou Coffee

If you are interested in trying the La Aurora 107
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

Last week I had the pleasure of reading a review from Chris Zump (AKs and Cupcakes) on the gun inventory software, My Gun Database. Since that review I have been fortunate enough to receive a free license key from the developer. I have spent a week using the software and spend a fair amount of time sharing my thoughts and experiences.

Download or Stream Audio Below

Alan, the developer of My Gun Database, was kind enough to offer me 3 Licenses to give away. If you would like to win one of those licenses, all you have to do is use the comments section below to answer the following question. After you install My Gun Database, what is the first firearm that you will add into your inventory?

I’ll randomly select three winners on April 23, 2012. I’ll announce those winners on Episode 37 of Shooting The Breeze.

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 35
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 21
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 17

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 36 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Im my limited experience shooting local USPSA matches, I have seen precisely two match disqualifications. The first was at my very first USPSA match when a competitor had a negligent discharge during the “If clear, hammer down and holster” command given by the RO (Range Officer). The second happened just last week while shooting my eighth match on April 7, 2012. The most recent disqualification was due to a shooter breaking what is commonly referred to as the “180 Rule”.

From the USPSA Rulebook:

10.5 Match Disqualification – Unsafe Gun Handling

Examples of unsafe gun handling include, but are not limited to:

10.5.2 If at any time during the course of fire, a competitor allows the muzzle of his handgun to point rearwards, that is further than 90 degrees from the median intercept of the backstop, or in the case of no backstop, allows the muzzle to point up range, whether the handgun is loaded or not (limited exceptions: 10.5.6).

My intention is to spend a little time discussing this disqualification and what I have learned from it. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the stage briefing, which includes an arial view of the course. Instead, I have a photo of the stage and a still image from my stage video to try and paint the scene for you.

The Stage

The stage in question was setup in what you might imagine as a “V” with a flat bottom (or a blocky “U” with angled vertical lines). The shooter starts the stage by standing infront of the base of the “V” looking through an opening (Port). Through this opening the shooter can see two close range angled targets and eight targets at greater distance.

If you were to move to your left and travel down the vertical line creating the “V”, you would come to another opening in the side wall giving you a closer shot at the long distance targets visible through the previous port. At the base of this leg there was a perpendicular low wall with some targets behind it. The right side of the “V” is essentially a mirror image.

My Video from this Stage

Ports:

The issue at hand was a shooter Breaking the 180. In this case it was a direct result in how the shooter handled the ports. Before I get into what I think the issue was, I want to stress the fact that while I have limited experience with USPSA (this is my second season), I like to think that I’m a student of the sport and do a fair amount of studying to improve my game.

With that said, when it comes to ports there is one piece of advice that I have heard time and time again. Tha piece of advice, Stay out of Ports. It is my understanding that there is little benefit in getting into a port. I’ve heard that a shooter wastes time getting through the port then wastes more time getting out, when most shots came be made while standing away from the port. I’ve also heard that a shooter can have their gun recoil into the port (when the gun is poked through the opening) which may induce a malfunction.

I understand this advice and try to stay out of ports, but bad habits are tough to break. It didn’t dawn on me until this recent match that there is another problem with getting into ports, the shooter can become trapped and inadvertently Break the 180.

Target Arrangement:

The common plan for Production Division shooters was to bisect the course. From the initial port, the shooter would engage the outside target in the far array, and the close range target on an angle. The shooter would then repeat the process for the opposite side of the course (engaging four targets in all before leaving the port). The shooter would then travel down range and engage the remaining three targets through the port (repeating this process on the opposite side of the course when the time came). In the image below, I’ve marked the three remaining targets as T1, T2, and T3.

In the event that the shooter engaged the outer most targets from the first port, the remaining three are not difficult to engage from the port. In the event that you did not shoot the outside target from the first port, you would have to get deep inside the port so that you could see that outside target.

The image below was taken from my match video (posted above) and shows how those three remaining targets are visible without getting into the port. The outside most target is obscured by the stacked barrels in this particular shot and you can see how far the shooter would have to lean through the port in order to get a shot on it.

Breaking the 180:

If this article wasn’t confusing enough, I’m going to make things worse. I said earlier that this stage was a mirror image as far as the ports and target arrangement inside those ports were concerned. The confusing part is that the safety violation occurred on the right side of the course, not on the left as I have shown (I only had images of the left side and wanted to get you up to speed before I went and flipped it on you).

In this case, the shooter proceeded down the left side of the course of fire and got into the port. He engaged the three targets without issue, removed himself from the port and headed up-range to get to the opposite side of the course. Our right handed shooter came down the left side wall and got into the port in much the same way as he did the left side port.

Because the shooter was right handed, he had to get much deeper into the port to see all three targets. Reviewing the match video (which I can’t show you, unfortunately), the shooter had all but his right shoulder through the port. Getting ahead of himself, it appears as though he began to move forward before he was back out of the port. This caused the gun to swing “… further than 90 degrees from the median intercept of the backstop” (According to Rule 10.5.2).

The Aftermath:

The shooter that was disqualified was the shooter that was following me in the rotation. I was half watching him shoot as I reloaded my magazines for the next course of fire. Everything seemed to be going fine when I looked away to grab and handful of rounds from my range bag, when all of a sudden things went quiet.

My first thought was that there was some sort of equipment malfunction but when the talking of my fellow shooters halted and I saw the range officer talking over the shooters shoulder, I knew there must have been some kind of problem. I finished loading my magazines, as the shooter walked off and stood by himself, and the stage was reset. A friend handed me back my borrowed camcorder and I got ready to film him as he stepped up to the start position.

A bit later I pulled up the shooters video so that he could see what he had done. I didn’t bother to watch it on the tiny FlipCam screen and reviewed the footage on my compter when I returned home. I would love to show you the footage but at the request of the shooter, I can not share it.

The video shows the violation clearly and it appears as though the Range Officer handled the situation professionally (you can’t hear what he is saying, but his body language appeared as though he really didn’t want to issue the disqualification).

When I watched the video for the first time, I had mixed feelings. The Range Officer looked as if he saw the violation coming and stepped away from the shooter. I wondered why the Range Officer didn’t issue a verbal warning to prevent it from happening, but watching the video several times showed that it just happened too fast. The gun was in a safe direction one second and the next it was in an unsafe direction. I think that perhaps the Rango Officer stepped back to get a better view of the shooter, through the port, before the violation occurred.

I can only hope that the shooter learned as much from this experience as I have. Getting into ports can lead to slower shooting, malfunctions, and in a worse case scenario, aide in Breaking the 180, resulting in a match disqualification.

You May Also Like:

1. USPSA Stage 004: Round and Round
2. Shooting USPSA at Lower Providence Rod and Gun Club (10/01/2011)
3. Match Results: USPSA at Lower Providence Rod & Gun Club

You're reading USPSA: Dissecting a Disqualification by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Photo from the Smith & Wesson Facebook Page

Last night I sat down in my basement, lit up a cigar, and opened up my laptop. After checking Email, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, I turned to Google Reader for news and entertainment. As it turns out, the hot topic was the newly unveiled Smith & Wesson M&P Shield.

I’m not going to bore you with the specifications (at this point I’m sure you’ve seen them in a dozen different places) but in a nutshell it is scaled down M&P. The new Shield is currently available as a single stack 9mm with a .40 S&W version available in the near future.

I first heard about this gun on the Smith & Wesson Facebook Page when they began running thier ad campaign (I was not a fan of the teaser campaign and found myself annoyed by the guessing game). Shortly after the campaign began, I started seeing speculation that Smith & Wesson was releasing a Single Stack 9mm to complete with the new Springfield XDS in .45 ACP as well as the popular small framed 9mm options from Ruger, Kahr, Ketec, etc.

I really didn’t care why Smith & Wesson was getting into the small frame 9mm game but I was looking forward to it. Ever since buying my Smith & Wesson M&P back in 2007, I’ve been a proud supporter of the brand. When I had issues with that gun, customer service took care of me without issue. I was sold when it came to the M&P platform and the company behind it.

Now that the teaser campaign is over and formal information has been released in the form of company specifications and industry video, I’m even more pumped up about the gun.

Trigger Reset has been Adressed

When it comes to the Smith & Wesson M&P line, my biggest issue comes in the form of the trigger reset. When trying to shoot it fast I find that I either short-stroke it or let out the trigger all the way, to ensure that it resets properly. I’m certainly not the only person to take issue with this and I’m thriled to hear that the trigger issue has been resolved in the new M&P Shield.

At the bottom of this post I have some video from Jim Scouten of Shooting USA as he gives us a first look at the small polymer pistol. Jim tells us “The new Shield follows the proven M&P design. Its striker-fired with a safety engagement trigger that may be the best trigger yet in any M&P.”

It has a Manual Safety

One of the common complaints that I’ve seen involves the manual safety. I don’t recall where I read it, but I remember seeing something to the tune of Smith & Wesson does not recommend this as a pocket gun. Taking the pocket element out of this gun, I can certainly see why people are turned off by the manual safety.

Looking at the safety, it appears to be modeled after the safety found on the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard and not the optional safety on the M&P line. The good news here is that the safety on my Bodyguard is very difficult to engage by accident (even when you are purposefully trying to engage it with the knuckle of your thumb) but disengagement is easy (a quick swipe of the thumb and it pops right off).

To me, this means that if I chose to ignore the safety, I shouldn’t run into any issues with it becoming accidentally engaged. At the same time, if I chose to use it, it is easy to disengage and small enough that it shouldn’t interfere with a holster (I don’t own an M&P with a manual safety but it looks big enough to jab you in the side as you wear it).

Photo from the Smith & Wesson Facebook Page

Why I’m Passing

So if I’m excited about this gun, why does the title of the post say that I’ll pass? The answer is simple, while this guy is very cool and I’d love to have one, it doesn’t fill any of my needs. I carry two types of guns, the ones ride on my hip and the ones that fit in my pocket. I have both of those categories covered.

When I carry a gun on my hip, I carry a Springfield XD Sub Compact in .40 S&W. This gun rides in a Crossbreed Supertuck holster. I went with this combination because I wanted something small that wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb. It is discreet and also carries more rounds that the M&P Shield (XD carries 9+1 of .40 versus the Shield with 7+1 of 9mm). If I were to make the switch, I’d feel like I was downgrading (in terms of bullet size and round count) and not gaining a whole lot in terms of conceal-ability.

In those times when I feel that I need to be a little more discreet, I slip a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard into my pocket. While some would argue that I could get a M&P Shield in my pocket and upgrade from .380 ACP to 9mm, I don’t feel it is necessary. From what I can tell, the M&P Shield is very close in size to the Ruger LC9, which I couldn’t comfortably fit into my pocket when shopping for a pocket pistol. Besides, I’m comfortable with the .380 round and don’t feel any pressure to run out and get a true pocket pistol in 9mm.

If I had a spare $400 to spend on a brand new gun and the M&P Shield was something I felt that I needed, instead of something that I just wanted, I would have already called my Smith & Wesson dealer asking him to get me one.

Video from Shooting USA Showcasing the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield

I first saw this video on Weer’d Word

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard
2. Range Report: Smith & Wesson Bodyguard (08/21/2011)
3. Rust on My Smith & Wesson M&P Magazines

You're reading Smith & Wesson M&P Shield: Very Interesting but I’ll Pass by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

It is Tuesday and another Shooting The Breeze Podcast episode is hot off the preses. In this weeks gun podcast I discuss a variety of interesting topics and plead for help with finding news topics that aren’t Martin / Zimmerman related.

The contest that I talked about last week has been finalized and is up and running, courtesy of Stogie Review. Be sure to get your entries in after you finish watching, and or listening to, this weeks podcast.

Pre-News:

• Photos of the new Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Leaked
• Win a Signed Copy of SHOOT: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition by Julie Golob

In The News:

• Students with empty holsters protest gun bans on campus
• Gun Shop Owners Ask for Support

Featured Content:

• What Your Carry Gun Says About You from When The Balloon Goes Up
• Steven Crowder Argues Firearm Self Defense Law from Every Day No Days Off (ENDO)
• Review – My Gun Database from Chris Zump of AKs and Cupcakes

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: Drew Estate Undercrown
• Beverage: Donut Shop Coffee

If you are interested in trying the Drew Estate Undercrown
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

Range trip with my brother and his new Taurus 709 Slim

Stream or Download Audio Below

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 21
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 23
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 25

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 35 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

If you are into shooting, you are probably familiar with the name Julie Golob. She is a highly accomplished professional shooter with a number of titles. She has appeared on a number of televised shooting programs, which most recently include Top Shot, Top Guns, and Shooting USA.

What you may not know about Julie Golob (or perhaps you do if you’ve been listening to my Shooting The Breeze Podcasts – Episode 34 | Episode 25 | Episode 19 | Episode 17 | Episode 16 – Wow, after typing up that list I feel like such a fanboi) is that she recently wrote a book entitled SHOOT: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition.

During the winter months, when local USPSA Shooting was on hiatus, I had the pleasure of reading Julie’s book. After reading SHOOT, I recommended it on my podcast and to a couple of personal friends. The few people that told me that they purchased the book, seemed to enjoy it as well.

Fast-forward a few months. I was recently thinking that it would be cool to do a series of contests to help promote the Walt In PA blog and my Shooting The Breeze Podcast. My thought was to run a month long contest, every month for a year. This left me needing an affordable prize that would appeal to a wide range of gun enthusiasts. SHOOT by Julie Golob was the first item that came to mind.

Wanting to do a little cross promotion, I reached out to my good friend Jerry Cruz from Stogie Review to see if he had any interest in sponsoring the prizes (Jerry and I being co-founders of Stogie Review certainly didn’t hurt) and he was on-board with the idea. A few days later I placed an order for a dozen copies of SHOOT by Julie Golob.

When I was in the process of finalizing the prize, I made mention of my plans on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, and got a message from Julie that she would be happy to sign a book plate for each winner. I was happy to take her up on her offer and add a nice personal touch to the already enjoyable read.

As of last night (April 3, 2012) I received a notice that my “12x SHOOT” order has shipped (I’m glad I don’t have to carry that box up to my front porch), which means that it is time to kick off the first of twelve contests.

How to Enter:

For this first contest, I want to start things off nice and easy. All I would like to you do is head down to the comments section (below this post) and answer one question. What does shooting mean to you?

Your answer doesn’t need to be a 1k word essay (it certainly can be if you’d like), just a few words sharing with the readers what shooting means to you. If typing isn’t your thing and you’d prefer to record your answer via Audio or Video, please feel free to do so, jusk link to the source in the comments section.

Rules:

• All entries must be in by 11:59 PM EST on Monday, April 30, 2012.
• A winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email before the end of the week.
• The winner has 7 days to claim their prize. After 7 days another winner will be randomly selected.
• One entry per person (multiple entries will disqualify you altogether).
• I’ll be shipping this prize out-of-pocket, so USA and Canada only, please.

Support those that Support Me:

Please take a minute to thank Stogie Review for providing these prizes. You can do that by visiting the Stogie Review Website, ‘Liking’ the Stogie Review Facebook Page, or by sending a quick thank you via Twitter.

You May Also Like:

1. Oley Valley Fish & Game Fun Shoot (10/22/2011)
2. Oley Valley Fish & Game Informal Shoot (December 2011)
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 25

You're reading Win a Copy of SHOOT by Julie Golob – April Edition by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

In Episode 34 of the Shooting The Breeze Podcast, I am happy to announce an upcoming run of contests sponsored by Stogie Review. I haven’t yet decided on precisely what I’m going to be doing with prizes but I’m leaning heavily to picking up a dozen copies of SHOOT: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition by Julie Golob, and giving away one copy per month for the next 12 months.

Keep your eyes peeled here at Walt In PA for the official April Contest Announcement and Rules.

Pre-News:

• Stogie Review is sponsoring a run of contests. 1 Per month for 12 Months.

In The News:

• Remington Arms Company threatens to pull plant out of New York in response to Bloomy-backed gun bill
• Local mayors fight proposed state gun legislation
• Philly Cop Chokes Corrections Officer

Philly Cop Chokes Corrections Officer

Video: Philly Cop Chokes Corrections Officer: MyFoxPHILLY.com

Featured Content:

• Slow and Steady Wins the Race by Rob Allen of Sharp As A Marble
• My Wife’s Kahr CW9 by Miguel of Gun Free Zone

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: EP Carrillo Elencos
• Beverage: Water

If you are interested in trying the EP Carrillo Elencos
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

I have a dirty little secret, up until this past weekend I’ve never attended a Gun Show.

Stream or Download Audio<

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 29
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 21
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 30

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 34 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Photo from the Custom Gun Finish Facebook Page

Last month I introduced you to two guns that received a major facelift. The first gun, a Glock 17, belongs to a friend of mine and has been dubbed Tactical Cheetah. The second gun was my Glock 17, which has been dubbed the Swamp Goblin.

There are two more guns that make up Team Custom Gun Finishes. The third is a Springfield XDM which has been dubbed the Desert Fox. The frame has been DuraCoated and the Slide and Backstrap received Hydrographics. The Hydrographics were then gone over with clear DuraCoat for durability.

This gun has not only been finished for a few weeks but it has also been shot in two matches (I’ve been slacking on writing this post). If you would like to see the gun in action, check out the video below.

Dave Shooting Springfield XDM with Desert Fox treatment

You May Also Like:

1. I Think I’ll Call it Swamp Goblin
2. I Call It Tactical Cheetah
3. USPSA Classified

You're reading We Call it the Desert Fox by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Would you believe me if I told you that after being sick and having to delay Episode 32 of the Shooting The Breeze Podcast, I came down sick again and had to delay Episode 33? I swear, it is the truth. Rather then post Episode 33 late (like I did with Episode 32) I decided that I was probably better off waiting until Tuesday to roll back around to post the episode.

This meant doing the unthinkable and skipping a week. The thought of a missed week bothers me something fierce, so before we round out a years worth of podcasts, I will make it up at some point and produce an extra show somewhere in the mix.

Before clicking play and checking out the podcast, do me a favor and ‘Like’ Walt In PA on Facebook. I’ve been hovering around 85 Likes for the past couple of weeks and it would make my week to see that number push up into triple digits.

Pre-News Talk:

• Shot my second USPSA match of the season

In The News:

• Man pulls out gun to ward off Wilkes-Barre armed robbery try
• ‘Stand Your Ground’ law: What’s legal?
• Zimmerman 911 Tapes Revisited
  

Featured Content:

• Street Robberies And You
• Set a High Bar for Success by Doug Koenig on YouTube
• This is what they want from Weerd World

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: La Flor Dominicana Double Claro
• Beverage: Ginger Ale

If you are interested in trying the La Flor Dominicana Double Claro
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

I was asked a while back to compare my opinion of my M&P versus my new Glock. In this episode I compare the two and discuss my opinions of the Glock after two USPSA matches and a practice session (Aprox 500 rounds).

Stream or Download Audio Version

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 31
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 19
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 25

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 33 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

If there was one thing that I wanted to accomplish in my second match this season, it was that no matter what the outcome, good or bad, I was going to wipe each stage clean from my mind after shooting it. I did not want a repeat of the week before where I stepped into the shooting box still dwelling on the performance of the previous stage.

Stage 4: Peek-a-Boo

After being squadded, my fellow shooters and I set off to the 15 Yard Range to get started. I’m not sure at this point if I should say ‘Fortunately’ or ‘Unfortunately’, the shooting order was set with me shooting in position three. We did not rotate shooters and I spent the entire day as our third shooter for each stage.

There was some good and some bad to a fixed shooting order like this. The good was that I was forced into a position to create a stage-plan quickly and I had to stick with it (there was simply no time to change it once we got started). As a result, I had to drill my plan into my memory and not make tweaks after seeing other shooters hit the stage (which I tend to do).

The downside to to shooting third was that I couldn’t make tweaks to my plan based on seeing others shoot the stage. It was sort of like being self-taught a skill and never seeing examples of other methods before being tested on the material.

Knowing I would have limited time to create a stage plan, I stepped in line for the walk-through and got to work. The tricky part of this stage was that it required a minimum of 22 rounds, which meant that I would need to reload twice throughout the stage. Both of those reloads would wind up falling in inconvenient locations due to target placement.

After The Buzzer

I situated myself so that when the buzzer sounded, I would first engage two low targets at ‘almost close enough to reach out and touch with my muzzle’ distance. After four shots, I shifted my stance and began engaging three other targets further downrange. After ten shots my gun was dry and I performed a slide lock reload, using the first round to drop a steel popper.

After eleven shots, I began moving to the second portion of the stage. The second half was, more or less, a mirror image of the first. I first engaged a steel popper and transitioned to the two low targets at extremely close range. I engaged to targets further downrange before running my gun dry for the second time.

It was at this point that I ran into trouble. My slide was locked back but my magazine wouldn’t drop free after pressing the magazine release button. I gave the gun a little shake to try and free the magazine but was unsuccessful. Being the first time I had ever encountered this problem, I acted on instinct. I mashed down on the slide release lever and the slide snapped forward. A press on the magazine release lever sent the empty magazine falling to the ground. I re-inserted a new magazine and racked the slide.

With a round in the chamber and the slide in battery, the gun appeared ready to rock. I raised the gun and fired two last shots on the one remaining target.

Scoring

After I showed the range officer a clear gun and re-holstered, I knew that my time was going to suffer from the odd malfunction that I experienced. My overall time was 22.92 seconds with 110 points on the stage. Looking at the scores and based off of what I remember, I believe 110 points is a cleared stage (All steel down and all A Zone shots).

This stage set the tone for the day. Right off the start I felt like I was fumbling with my gun and I wasn’t hitting my stride in terms of speed. Rather than the usual panic of trying to make up for the slow start, I just relaxed and found a pace that allowed me to shoot accurately.

At that split second, I decided that I’d rather have a mediocre time and above average accuracy than the other way around. In the end, my performance earned me 14th place out of 27 Shooters in USPSA Production Division.

Stage 5: Uphill Battle

After resetting the stage for our last shooter, we began the long walk to the back ranges for stages five and six. During my walkthrough of the back ranges last month, for the Stage Design Seminar, I got a look at a small range that was still in the process of expansion. I was surprised to see the range completed and setup as a 24 round course of fire with a fair amount of movement.

This stage had a unique condition that I hadn’t experienced before. There were two steel poppers setup towards the rear of the stage. Those two pieces of steel had to be engaged from behind a fault line that did not apply to anything but those steel targets. If you stepped over the fault line, you were hit with a procedural penalty for each shot fired. If you stepped beyond the fault line, and crossed a second fault line, engaging the steel would call for a match disqualification due to safe steel distances.

Being confident in my ability, I opted to shoot the steel from the start position and not have to worry about either fault line. It would mean that I had to engage steel about 3 yards farther away, but I wasn’t too concerned.

After The Buzzer

I situated myself to draw and engage a close range target on my right, then work counter clockwise. After engaging a second target with my fourth round, I transitioned to the steel at what would have been the twelve-o’clock position. I missed my first shot but quickly made it up, dropping that piece of steel and the one next to it.

At this point I opted to reload before engaging targets at roughly nine and seven o’clock. At this point I began to move downrange and engaged targets tucked away on my right and left, then a longer distance shot on a paper target to my right.

I reloaded and engaged a lone target, on the move, before coming to a stop infront of a port. I engaged a target directly infront of me and angled targets to its left and right. I felt like I pulled one of my shots and made it up before closing out the stage.

Scoring

When the dust settled (and I mean that literally, I had really fine sand/dust all over my discarded magazines), my time was a lackadaisical 20.49 seconds. In terms of time, I was in the middle of the pack with the fastest shooter running through the stage at a mere 10.68 seconds and the slowest came in at 36.60 seconds.

While my speed was lacking, accuracy was above average. I scored 116 points on the stage with only one shooter pulling down more points at 118. Between my time and score, I earned 14th place out of 27 shooters in USPSA Production Division.

Stage 6: Can You Count

When our squad stepped onto stage six, there was a mix of excitement and dread. We were to shoot the classifier stage Can You Count (CM06-03). This particular classifier is very fast paced and requires a reload in the middle of what some would call controlled chaos.

I was, I guess you could say, indifferent. I shot this particular stage at a USPSA Classifier Match at Topton, back in November. It wasn’t until after the stage was over that I became curious how my time compared to the same stage the year before.

After The Buzzer

This stage is setup in two strings, one mirror of the other. There is really no stage-plan required, you just draw your gun and pump rounds into a target as fast as possible, perform a reload, and pump rounds into a target slightly farther away. Once completed, you holster and do it all over again.

The reason I called this controlled chaos is that shooters tend to get wrapped up in yanking back on the trigger and transition to the next target before their brains stops them before the words ‘Oh My God, Realod!’ race through their minds. I ran into that small hiccup at Topton but I was relaxed and moved through the stage without issue this time around.

Score

Imagine my amazement when the first string was finished and the range officer called out a time of 4.67 seconds. Up until I started shooting USPSA, I always thought that a second was a tiny little segment of time. Here I am drawing a gun, firing 5 rounds on target (all A zone hits), reloading, and firing another 5 rounds on target (again, all A zone hits) in under five seconds. That just blows my mind.

The second string was a bit slower. The last shot on my first magazine was delayed and for some reason shot out of rhythm. My reload wasn’t as good the first string but I still managed to draw my gun, perform a reload, and fire ten shots in 5.11 seconds.

I had a combined time of 9.78 seconds and 100 points (perfect score for this stage), earning me 4th place out of 27 shooters in USPSA Production Division. The most interesting thing here comes by the way of comparing this stage to the same stage shot at Topton in November (14.39 Seconds and all A Zone Hits).

Stage 1: Hogan’s Alley

After a hike back around to the front ranges, we dropped our gear on the 75 yard range and waited for the squad ahead of us to finish up. We found a spot in the shade and enjoyed snacks, beverages, and conversation. I can only describe our squad as awesome. We were hustling, without rushing, and everyone helped with resetting stages.

After our pleasant break, we got back to business and began out stage walkthrough. During our break, I should have been paying closer attention to the shooters ahead of us. Instead, I payed little attention to them and wound up creating a stage plan based solely on my walkthrough.

After The Buzzer

I situated myself on a hard angle, with my heels on the start marks, so that I wouldn’t waste time shifting after the draw. I worked the stage counter-clockwise, firing eight shots at the first four targets. I performed a reload and engaged two more targets at increased distance before turning to my left and engaging another pair of targets.

While engaging those four targets, I felt like I pulled two shots and made them up along the way. I reloaded, where I wasn’t planning, before moving to engage a lone target setup tight against a wall. I turned and engaged two pieces of steel. One of those steel poppers introduced me to my first out-and-back. Unlike the swingers that I was used to, this target had a short stroke before dipping back behind cover. I setup to ambush it and fired three rounds before it disappeared.

I performed one last reload and opted to move downrange to engage two pairs of targets, one pair through a port. This is where I could have gambled but didn’t think to until watching other shooters. These four targets could have been shot further away to save time. That strategy paid off for some and seriously hurt the scores of others.

Scores

Taking my sweet old time on this stage didn’t hurt me as much as I thought. I shot this stage in 35.96 seconds with a score of 146 points. I’m not sure what the maximum stage points were but my score was the highest (and I’m absolutely sure that I didn’t shoot all A’s).

My solid accuracy and middle of the pack speed earned me 13th place out of 27 shooters in USPSA Production Division. Looking at the other shooters’ times, I have to wonder what the outcome would have been if I didn’t move towards the end of the stage and instead taken a risk on the last four targets.

I think it would have had to shave a significant amount of time off of my overall score to make much of a difference. The shooter that placed just ahead of me shot the stage a full 10 seconds faster than I did.

Stage 2: Countdown

If there were any stages in the match that I had the upper hand on, I guess you could say that it would be this stage. I arrived early to help setup and was put in change or constructing this stage. Despite spending a considerable amount of time setting it up, with a group of volunteers, I spent very little time considering how I would shoot it.

The stage itself was fairly straight forward but due to the number of targets setup on a backer board, it was possible to loose track of one of them as you moved from one shooting position to the next. My plan was simply to start on the left and move right, running my gun dry before transitioning to the next shooting position.

After The Buzzer

At the buzzer I drew my gun and began moving to the left-most shooting position. I engaged two targets as I got into position then transitioned to targets stapled to the backer at the rear of the range. I ran my gun dry and reloaded while getting into position at the port.

From the port I engaged three low targets, at close range, before transitioning back to the backer at the rear of the range. I engaged two targets, running my gun dry again, and reloaded as I moved to the right-most shooting position. From the last position I engaged two targets at close range and transitioned to the backer board one last time to engage another three targets.

Scoring

When the scores were release, I was most surprised with my results here. I thought that of any stage, I probably had the best mix of speed and accuracy right here. It was disappointing to see that I earned 15th place out of 27 shooters in USPSA Production Division with a time of 23.75 seconds and 146 points.

Watching the video back, I can see that I need to pick up the pace and get into position as quickly as possibly. The same is true for transferring from one position to another. I’m not sure what the cause was, but at the last shooting position I was shooting very slow. I took a terribly long time breaking the shots at the two closes targets, which were close enough that as long as the front sight post was somewhere between the rear notch I would have been close enough for good hits.

If I would have sped things up and shaved about 4 seconds off of my time, I think I may have broken into the top 10.

Stage 3: Paddy’s Revenge

Like we did a few times throughout the day, our squad hustled and got through the stage before the squad ahead of us was finished shooting. We shuffled into the covered area and took a quick break in the shade while the others shooters finished up. By this time I had been at the range for roughly seven hours. Between the early setup and shooting in the sun, I was sweaty, tired, and ready to head home.

Our break didn’t last long and we were quickly back in the sun performing our walkthrough. The most important part of this stage was the start. Facing up-range, wrists above shoulders (surrender position), we were to turn and move into position to shoot. If a shooter got sloppy and drew their gun too early, it would be a disqualification for breaking the 180 degree safety rule.

After The Buzzer

I choose to take the safe route, turn and begin moving before I drew my gun. With three shooting positions, I opted to turn toward my gun and move to the left-most shooting position. I engaged two close range targets, transitioned to a steel popper, and engaged two far paper targets.

I reloaded my pistol while moving to the center shooting position, a port. The location of the port was kind of tall and I felt a bit akward getting the gun in a position to shoot down on a target just through the port. I then transitioned back down range and engaged two pieces of steel.

My last reload was performed late and I wound up standing infront of a target for a second before my gun was ready to fire. I engaged two close targets and transitioned back to the rear of the range for a piece of steel and two more paper targets.

Scoring

The scoring on this stage was the most amusing of the day. When this stage was called safe and we began walking and scoring, I winced at the mixture of A’s, C’s, and D’s. It was easily my worst stage of the day and I expected to find myself towards the bottom of the stage placement.

To my amusement, the stage I felt that I did the worst on, I placed 8th place out of 27 shooters in USPSA Production Division. It would seem that the balance that I was holding all day, sacrificing speed for accuracy, was flipped on this stage. As a result, I climbed higher in the rankings than I anticipated. My stage time came in at 17.94 seconds with 100 points.

At The End of the Day

At the end of the day, I was fairly happy with my performance. I earned 12th place out of 27 shooters in USPSA Production Division. Unlike my previous match at York, I was completely relaxed at Southern Chester. I don’t know if that was a byproduct of shooting early in the rotation and busying myself with resetting stages or if I was simply more relaxed. Whatever the reason for being more relaxed, I had a great time.

I am happy with how I sort of defaulted to accuracy over speed when things didn’t go precociously as planned. I’ve already seen a tremendous improvement in my ‘slow’ shooting speed since I’ve started. I’m sure it will improve even more and become faster as I compete in more and more USPSA Matches.

While taking my time to make well placed shots is all fine and good, in my mind, I definitely need to work on picking up the pace between shots. In the future I want to be breaking the fist shot the second I get into position and firing the last shot as I move out of position.

You May Also Like:

1. USPSA at York IWLA (March 2012)
2. USPSA Stage 006: South Chester Re-Design
3. Community USPSA Stage: Shooting Revision A

You're reading USPSA at Southern Chester (March 2012) by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Better late than never, isn’t that what they always say? I came down sick and wasn’t feeling up to recording a podcast. As a result, for the first time in 31 episodes, my podcast was late (I was genuinely bummed out about that).

This weeks episode is sort of a catch-up episode. I tried to keep it shorter than usual and plan to be back to the usual schedule on Tuesday.

Pre-News Talk:

• Shot my first USPSA match of the season on Sunday

In The News:

• Maryland Gun Law Deemed Unconstitutional

Featured Content:

• Mayor Nutter’s Crackdown on Lost/Stolen Guns Comes Under Heavy Fire
• M906 Pocket Pistol Set from PAFOA Forum

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: EP Carrillo New Wave – Corona
• Beverage: Dunkin Donuts Coffee

If you are interested in trying the EP Carrillo New Wave – Corona
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

Taurus Signs Jessie Harrison-Duff to Captain Shooting Team

Stream or Download Audio Version

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 31
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 23
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 15

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 32 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

I had mixed feelings about this match. I was a little concerned about it being a Classifier Match, mostly because I don’t really enjoy them, but on the flip side I was excited just to be shooting again.

The day started off with my waking up feeling sandy-eyed from the time change. I left the house a little later than I intended and wasn’t able to stop and pick up breakfast. This also meant I couldn’t pick up the lunch I planned on purchasing either (3 of us were car pooling and I was picking someone up to meet up with the person driving to the range. My being late would have screwed things up).

We arrived a few minutes early and got ourselves registered to shoot. The temperature was a bit brisk in the shade but pleasant in the sun. After a quick shooters meeting we were breaking into squads and getting down to business.

One of the things about this club that I dislike is their very relaxed attitude of ‘we don’t make shooting orders, whoever wants to shoot can shoot’. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only person that was anal about knowing exactly when I was going to shoot, so we put together a list of names and stuck with that shooting order for the remainder of the match.

When the day was over, I wasn’t happy with my overall performance. I was feeling pretty grim until we got past the classifier stages, at which point I was having a blast and really enjoying myself. When the scores were released later that evening, I learned that I didn’t do as bad as I thought. I placed 18th out of 32 shooters in Production division.

Stage 7: Big Barricade II

My first stage of the day was Big Barricade II (USPSA Classifier: CM06-02), the first of four classifier stages in the match. Aside from a little practice session the day before, this was the first time I had done any competitive shooting since November.

I stepped into the shooting box and air-gunned the stage to develop a plan of attack. With my hands on the barricade, I situated my feet far enough back that I could shift back and to the left to engage the first array of targets. I would then reload, step to my right and engage the second array of paper targets. Last I would reload again before engaging the steel poppers at the back of the pit.

After the Buzzer:

Just as I planned, I shifted back away from the wall and drew my gun. When the gun was out of the holster I was in position to press out and engage the first array of targets (3 targets, 6 shots fired). I then took one step to my right while performing a reload (the reload was a thing of beauty compared to last season) and engaged the second array of paper (3 targets, 7 shots fired).

I performed one last realod, which was a little choppy, and transitioned to the steel at the rear of the berm. After spending a little more than an hour in the car thinking about the match, driving home, I think this very spot played a large roll in how I felt going forward.

You see, I was in match mode and under the pressure of the shot timer. When I pressed the gun out, I began to align the glowing green fiber optic front sight. I thought to myself “This is steel and the sight looks close enough, press the trigger”. The first steel plate went down. I transitioned to the next piece of steel and the same thought went through my mine “Close enough, press the trigger!”. Sure enough, the second piece of steel went down. The same happened with pieces three and four. I had a perfect run on the steel with a “Close Enough” sight picture. At that very moment, I felt indestructible.

Scoring:

When the range was cleared, we walked the stage and began scoring targets. I don’t remember how it all panned out but I was heartbroken to see that I hit two no-shoot targets. I felt like I had a great run and my poor shot placement was going to kill me. The only thing that prevented me from tanking the stage any harder was that my shots just barely broke the perforation on the no-shoot, which left the remainder of the bullet passing through the scoring target. Instead of taking a no-shoot penalty, plus a miss (-10 x 2 = -20 points), I took a no-shoot penalty, plus what I think was a “C” (-10 + 3 = -7 points).

Little did I know, I rocked that stage and came in 2nd place out of 32 shooters in Production Division. The only shooter to beat me out was Master Class (I’m C Class) and he also took 20 penalty points on the stage (He scored 74 points to my 76 but his time was 4 seconds faster than mine). My time on the stage was 16.47 seconds with the third place shooter coming in at just over 20 seconds.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know any of this at the time. I walked to the next stage bummed out and thinking that I tanked the stage. If there was one thing that I leaned about myself on this stage it was that I need to press the reset button when the stage is over. What is done is done and I need to go into the next stage with a positive mindset. Otherwise, I’m just going to defeat myself.

Stage 1: Paper Poppers

My second stage of the day was Paper Poppers (Classifier Stage CM03-05). I was coming off of a big let down on the previous stage and I knew that I needed to put it behind me and start fresh on this next stage. On the walk from Stage 7 to Stage 1, we passed a cooler full of drinks and a coffee can that read “All drinks $1.00″. I stopped, dropped my range bag and popped open the cooler to find it loaded with water, soda, and Gatorade. I grabbed a Gatorade and dropped a dollar into the coffee can.

It is the simple things that make you feel better. You see, I was running late that morning and hadn’t had the opportunity to stop and pick up snacks and a drink for the range. The chilled Gatorade left me feeling refreshed and ready to get back to shooting.

The stage was simple enough, stand in a box and engage either paper or steel. Once the first array was complete, perform a mandatory reload and engage the second array. I opted to go from paper to steel.

After the Buzzer:

At the buzzer, I drew my gun and pressed out to the target on my left. In hindsight, I probably should have pressed out to the target on my right to save a little time (I’m right handed and the gun wouldn’t have had to come across my body twice). After putting two shots on target, I transitioned to my right and put two shots on that target.

I performed my mandatory reload and ran into a slight problem that I’ve been experiencing in practice. My replacement magazine is ready to be inserted into the gun before my empty falls away. I don’t know if this is a good problem to have due to the reloading practice I’ve been doing or if I need to hit the magazine release earlier to give the magazine a bit more time to drop away.

When the reload was complete, I pressed the gun back out and engaged the steel poppers. Much like in the previous stage, I got into the “Close Enough” mindset and began pressing the trigger. Unfortunately, this time the steel didn’t go down so easily. I wound up putting 9 rounds down range to fall 6 pieces of steel.

I was disappointed in my performance and allowed my mood to get dragged down. In my mind, two sub-par stages was going to mean placing far down the scoring list for the match.

Scoring

When the smoke cleared, we walked down range and began assessing targets. I scored 48 points out of 50 with a time of 10.02 seconds. I knew that the makeup shot on the steel was going to drag me down. In my mind, I performed worse than I actually did (It is odd how your mind perceives how fast you think you went versus watching other shooters). I ranked 12th out of 32 shooters in Production Division.

Stage 2: Oh no

My third stage of the day was Oh No (Classifier Stage CM09-03). Walking up to this stage I was mentally down in the dumps. I hadn’t performed as well as I would have liked on any stage. I went into this stage telling myself to take it slow and make well placed shots. I would rather have great shots coupled with a poor time than the opposite.

This stage was very simple and didn’t really call for a plan. At the buzzer, simply pick up the gun and engage three targets with two rounds each. After that, the time was called and the stage was run a second time, identical to the first string. All I had to do was take it slow and focus on my front sight.

After the Buzzer:

At the buzzer I picked my gun up off of the table and pressed out for my first shot. I saw a nice clear front sight and pressed the trigger. I moved from one target to the next feeling pretty good about my shots. When the first string was complete, I set the gun down and we did it all over again.

By my calculations, my time should have been on the slow side, but my shots well placed giving me a decent score.

Scoring

It was bad, in fact, it was real bad. Remember back on Stage 7 when I was devastated by 2 no-shoot hits? Well, imagine how I felt when I saw 5 on this stage. I took a ten point penalty for all five hits on the no-shoots and then took another 10 point penalty for each miss (a whopping -100 applied to my final score of 34 point).

I zero’ed the stage and tied for dead last with 5 other shooters. My time, on the other hand, would have been among the fastest at 11.66 seconds (despite it feeling like I was going slow). At this point, my mental tally for poor performance was three stages. I was crushed.

As I stood there, dumbfounded, watching my squad mates shoot, I walked off the stage and headed to the safe table. I thought that maybe my sights shifted or something may have been wrong with the gun. I can’t say that I was surprised to find my gun in perfect working order. It wasn’t the gun, it was me.

I headed back to the stage and thought about what could be going wrong. A thought came to me and I began to wonder if I was slapping the trigger. This was the first match with my new Glock 17. Prior to this I was shooting a Smith & Wesson M&P with a very long and not-so-positive reset. Maybe I was letting the trigger out too far and then slapping it to break the shot.

Stage 3: 4 Bill Drill

My fourth stage of the day was an evil little stage entitled 4 Bill Drill (Classifier Stage CM08-01). When I came around the corner, with my fragile mental game in jeopardy, and saw that stage I had a pure WTF Moment. I ordinarily love distance shooting with a pistol, but in this case I hadn’t stretched out my Glock to see how bullets tracked.

With my Smith & Wesson M&P, shooting Federal 9mm ammunition (115 Grain), I know that as I get farther out I need to hold lower on the target as the rounds tend to rise. Not wanting to guess wrong, my plan was to put the sights on target and not hold high or low.

After The Buzzer:

When the buzzer sounded, I drew my gun and pressed out on the first target. I took my time and focused on my fright sight, then pressed the trigger. After the shot broke, I focused on the short reset of the Glock trigger and pressed again. My shots felt good and I was beginning to think “I’ve got this“.

After six rounds I reloaded (not in any sort of hurry) and began shooting strong hand at the closer target. I applied the same fundamentals here, focusing on the front sight and pressing the trigger. After six shots the first string was ended and we started all over again, this time using our weak hand for the latter portion of the stage.

I got a lot of muzzle flip when shooting weak hand and I think it threw me off a little. It isn’t a skill I practice very often, but I focused on making well placed shots and worrying about the time later.

Scoring

After the range was called safe, the range officer immediately began talking to me. “It is hard to tell from here but I think your rounds were lifting and going high over the far targets” he said. Sure enough, he was right. Fortunately, I must have held a little lower on the second string because more of my rounds were on target at 35 yards.

I didn’t do very well on this stage and took a serious hit with 5 misses (50 penalty points). The misses came in the form of distance on the first string and weak hand shooting on the second string. I placed 17th out of 32 shooters in Production division (It is also worth noting that 12 people tied for last place by zeroing the stage).

Stage 4: Get To The Elite 8

I walked away from the previous stage thinking that I’ve managed to tank the entire match at this point and that I should just enjoy the day. The weather was beautiful, the smell of gun powder filled the air, it was just and all around great day for shooting. I passed through a fence and rounded the corner to see the first non-classifier stage of the day. At that moment the gloomy clouds over my head lifted and I could almost hear a choir singing their hearts out.

I smiled, dropped my range bag on the ground, and went off to find that cooler and another cold bottle of Gatorade while the squad ahead of us finished up. I came back to the stage feeling good, with a smile on my face, and got down to business.

According to the stage description, we were to sit on a chair with our gun holstered until the buzzer sounded. At that point we could engage the targets as we saw fit. My plan was going to be to rise, take two steps forward and enge an array of three targets. I would then shift left and move down an alley to find two more targets on the left.

My plan was to run the gun dry and reload from slide lock as I moved into position to engage another array of three targets. I would then progress further down the alley and engage a final array of paper targets, again running my gun dry. I would then reload while moving into position to engage two poppers and a plate rack.

After The Buzzer:

When the buzzer sounded, I jumped out of my seat and moved towards the first array. I came in a little sloppy and had to re-adjust to get around a no-shoot. I moved left and engaged the first target as planned but found myself re-adjusting to shoot around another no-shoot.

I moved to the third array while reloading and didn’t hit the slide release button fast enough. I lost a little bit of time but made quick work of the paper in this array. I moved into the fourth array, just as planned, and performed a reload between it and the last array of steel.

The steel went down fairly fast but I made a bonehead move at the end. I missed on what I thought was my last round and performed a reload. I took down the last piece of steel with the round that was in the chamber the whole time. I knew the second I hit the magazine release button that I still had a round in the chamber but I must have miscounted. It didn’t cause me to lose much time at all but it made me chuckle when it was all said and done (actually, the range officer and I had a laugh over it when the range was called safe).

Scoring

Even with the lost time of an extra reload, fumbling with a slide-lock reload, and coming into an array sloppy, for the first time that day I was happy with my performance. I scored 130 points in 29.96 seconds, earning me 10th place on the stage.

I walked away from that stage mentally rejuvenated and ready to do some more shooting.

Stage 5: Final 4

Coming up on my sixth stage of the day, all I could do was laugh. Our squad’s rotation order had me up first and I had no idea how I was going to plan out this sea of shrouded steel. To make matters worse, as I tried to formulate a game plan and run through the stage, there was a line of people in front of and behind me doing the very same thing.

I lost track of what I was doing after bumping into a couple different people and just opted to wing it. I knew that it wouldn’t be the best thing for me to do in terms of time, but I intended to start at one end and work my way to the other.

After The Buzzer:

When the buzzer sounded, moved to the far left and planned to shoot everything I could see from that position before moving to the port on the right. I did the same from the next port, then through the one after that, and ended on the stage on the far right.

The only real issue I had was a failure to fire. I performed a tap-rack malfunction drill and the next round fired.

Scoring:

After holstering my gun, the first words out of my mouth were “Did I get em’ all?“. Unfortunately, I didn’t get them all and left 3 pieces of steel standing. Even with the 30 point penalty, I came in at 22nd place. It wasn’t as good as I had hoped but I was in good spirits and had fun shooting.

In the future, I need to work on planning out memory stages. I had a hard time keeping track of what targets I engaged from which position. In the end I lost track of three targets in the shuffle.

Stage 6: Sweet Sixteen

The last stage of the day looked pretty straight forward but fun to shoot. Before us we had two start options and four wall openings to shoot from. My plan was to start on the left and work to my right, rolling in to engage targets and back out towards the next array. If done properly, I could shave off a little time and maximize my movement.

After The Buzzer:

At the buzzer I drew my gun and rolled into the first opening. I engaged the targets that were towards my right and transitioned to my left. By doing so, I could back away from the array while engaging the closest target on the move. A no-shoot in my way hung me up a little but I rebounded quickly.

I dropped a magazine and inserted a new one as I moved to the second shooting position. I forgot my game plan for a second as I lost track of my next target behind a no-shoot. Like before, I rebounded quickly and got right back on track. Before exiting the array, I made one last shot to makeup for one that I felt landed into hard-cover (which doesn’t score).

I reloaded on my way to the third array and began shooting when my target was in sight. I shifted from right to left and took my last shots as I baby-stepped my way out of position and towards the last opening. I reloaded one last time and had a little trouble with it. This left me standing directly infront of my next target as I finished my reload. Once reloaded, I completed the array and eded the stage.

Scoring

I had a couple of hiccups on this stage but I was happy with my performance overall. I scored 150 points in 33.10 seconds, earning me 9th place out of 32 shooters in Production division. The simplicity of this stage, coupled with a little finesse and plenty of movement, was a great way to end the day.

What I feel I need to work on:

Realoads:

I’ve spend a fair bit of time refining my reloads. When it came to match time, I defiantly saw a large improvement. The issue that I’m running into now is that since I’ve switch to a Glock 17 from my Smith & Wesson M&P, the magazines seem lighter and fall out of the gun slower. On more than once occasion I had to stop mid-reload and wait for the magazine to drop out of the gun the rest of the way.

I either need to work on depressing the magazine release sooner, to allow the magazine more time to drop, or I need to not turn my wrist so much, so that the magazine has more of a straight drop instead of sliding down the magazine well on an angle.

Dip and Swoop:

I’m pretty sure that this isn’t an actual shooting term, but I don’t know how else to describe it. I didn’t realize it until another shooter pointed it out to me. If you watch closely at some of the videos above, when I transition from one target to the next, I swing the gun down in a small arc and sort of swoop into the next target.

While I’m sure this practice only adds fractions of a second to my transitions, I’d like to refine my transition to a straight line from one target to the next. I’m not even sure what I’m achieving with this dip and swoop, perhaps in my mind it gets the gun out of the way and lets me see the target before I move on?

Trigger Control:

I need to spend a bit more time with my Glock 17. In the heat of the moment I was treating the trigger the way I did my M&P and it just doesn’t work the same. I need to take advantage of the short reset and not drive the trigger home to break the shot. I think this will come with time on the range (Trigger won’t reset in dry-fire).

Mental Game:

I came away from this match with a clear realization that my mental game needs a lot of work. Regardless of how I perform on a stage, I need to press the reset button and go into the next stage with a clear head. If I perform poorly on a stage and go into the next worried about it, I’m only going to wind up defeating myself. The same is true for when I perform well on a stage, I don’t want head into the next stage feeling over confident.

If I do a mental reset after each stage and treat each stage as its own match, I think it make things flow more smoothly. I also think that I need to create a mental checklist that I run down every time I step up to the line to shoot.

• Relax
• Bend your knees a bit and shift your weight forward
• Get a good grip on the gun and draw
• Press out to the target and get your eyes on the front sight
• See the front sight clearly
• Press the trigger
• Take advantage of the short reset
• Press again, remember, smoothly

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting USPSA at York IWLA (11/13/2011)
2. Match Results: USPSA at York IWLA
3. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Final)

You're reading USPSA at York IWLA (March 2012) by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Before hitting the first match of the season, we (Team Custom Gun Finishes) thought it would be a good idea to hit the range and knock the rust off. One of the things I felt that I needed to work on from last season was reloading. I designed a small course of fire that was heavy on reloads and ran it at the beginning and end of the practice session.

In between running the practice stage, we randomly setup targets and treated it as a mini stage. Each stage was shot twice before rearranging targets and starting over.

Walt’s Practice Session

Scott’s Practice Session

Dave’s Practice Session

You May Also Like:

1. USPSA Classified
2. USPSA Stage 004: Round and Round
3. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Final)

You're reading USPSA Practice Session – To, Too, and Two by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Before attending the seminar, we were asked to take an existing club stage and re-design it. The only stipulation was that we were required to use all props and targets on the original stage, no more, no less. The stage below is what I came up with.

Just like previos stages, the stage you see down below is free to use. The only thing that I ask, if you decide to use it at your club, is to shoot me an email at walt at waltinpa dot com and let me know how it went. Letting me know about any setup or shooting issues will help in future stage development and the note would be greatly appreciated.

During the troubleshooting stage of the design, I put together a video to share with some fellow shooters. I wanted to get some input before I made my submission. The changes that I mentioned making in the video were made to the final version of my stage.

You May Also Like:

1. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Final)
2. Community USPSA Stage: Stage 001 – Final
3. USPSA Stage 005: Ports, Of Course

You're reading USPSA Stage 006: South Chester Re-Design by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

I like to think of myself as a fairly handy individual. When it comes to firearms, I don’t like to tinker unless I have someone on hand that can ensure what I’m doing is correct. The last thing I want is to have a catastrophic failure and destroy the gun, not to mention injure myself.

When it came to upgrading the sights on my Glock 17, I wasn’t the least bit worried. Because my gun was being completely disassembled to receive the Swamp Goblin Treatment, I dropped off the sights and had Custom Gun Finishes install them for me when they reassembled the gun.

The Warren Tactical sights that I ordered shipped with two fiber optic filaments, one green and one red. I forgot to mention which filament I wanted installed, so it was left to me to install the one of my choosing. How hard could it be, right? All you have to do is install a small fiber optic rod into the already installed front sight post.

When I returned home with my Glock, I removed it from the case and intended to install the green fiber optic filament. I removed it from the bag and slipped the rod into the front sight. Easy enough, it glides right in, but what keeps it in place? Giving up on the Rubik’s Cube like mystery, I reached for the package that the sights came in. To my surprise, there were no instructions, just a card with Warren Tactical written on it and the fiber optic filaments.

I turned to the internet and didn’t have a whole lot of luck on finding instructions for my particular set of sights. What I did find was a video demonstration from Dawson Precision on how to install / replace fiber optic filaments in their sights. That did the trick and in a few short moments I had my front sight glowing with a green dot.

You May Also Like:

1. I Think I’ll Call it Swamp Goblin
2. Oley Valley Fish & Game Informal Shoot (December 2011)
3. Match Results: USPSA at Topton Fish & Game

You're reading Fiber Optic Front Sight Filaments: So Easy to Install, who needs Instructions? by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Several months ago I got together with a friend for a fun shoot over at Oley Valley Fish and Game. I brought along my Smith & Wesson M&P and this buddy of mine brought along a Glock 35 and a Browning Hi-Power. At the time, he was in the process of having his normal competition gun overhauled with Tactical Cheetah graphics. In the interim, he brought out a couple of other guns that aren’t used as frequently.

When the fun shoot was over, I had the pleasure of putting some rounds down range with the Glock 35 and Browning Hi-Power. Both guns were fun to shoot but the Glock opened my eyes. It was the first Glock model that I had shot since getting more involved with shooting. The chunky frame and simplistic controls that once turned me away, were suddenly more appealing.

The one and only issue I had with the Glock 35 was the magazine release button. Unlike your typical Glock models, the 34 and 35 are competition ready guns with an extended magazine release. The typical magazine release, such as the one found on the Glock 17, is nearly flush with the frame. It doesn’t need to be depressed very far to drop the magazine, but my short thumbs had difficulty reaching it without changing my grip.

In an effort to eliminate this problem on my Glock 17 (which I purchased a bit later), I installed a Glock 34 Magazine Release button. The issue that I had after installing it, which was the exact same problem I had with the my friends Glock 35, was that the button ground into my hands. You see, the extended magazine release is just a longer version of the standard release. On the Glock 17, the magazine release sits nearly flush and its sharp edges didn’t bite into my support hand. The extended release, on the other hand, became painful after a couple of magazines. This just wound’t do on my new competition gun.

With a Dremel tool in hand, I began grinding down the sharp edges of my extended magazine release. Being plastic, the sanding drum on my Dremel made quick work of knocking off the sharp corners. I went back over the magazine release with a piece of 100 grit sand paper to clean it up a bit, but I may need to remove the button and go at it with finer sandpaper (to make it look cleaner).

In a matter of five minutes, I went from having a problematic extended magazine release to one that was far more comfortable. Once I finish smoothing out those sanding marks, I’ll run the gun back up to Custom Gun Finishes to have it touched up.

No related posts.

You're reading Taking a Dremel to my Glock by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

This weeks gun podcast was a little rushed due to a rather busy week. My intention was to shorten the show considerably so that I had plenty of time to record and edit. As it turns out, I still managed to fall into the 45 to 60 minute range that I shoot for every week (and typically blow right on by).

As usual, Shooting The Breeze is available for streaming in both audio and video formats, down below. Once you are finished with the episode, please head down to the comment section and share you’re thoughts. Comments have been a little light over the past few weeks and I’m beginning to develop a complex.

Pre-News Talk:

• Picked up my Glock 17 from Custom Gun Finishes

In The News:

• Police identify home intruder killed by Springville man
  (H/T Gun Free Zone)
• Some News from DC via Shall Not Be Questioned

Featured Content:

• Too Cool for IDPA from Gun Free Zone
• Silencer 102 from Weer’d World

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: EP Carrillo New Wave – Short Run 2012
• Beverage: Dunkin Donuts Coffee

If you are interested in trying the EP Carrillo New Wave – Short Run 2012
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

Over the past couple of weeks I have been exchanging email with a podcast listener, Aaron from New York. We got to talking about the New York State Permit system and Aaron was kind enough to write a piece on the subject. In this episode, I read that piece and add a few thoughts of my own.

Stream or Download Audio Only Version Below

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 15
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 23
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 17

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 31 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Work Done by Custom Gun Finishes

Last week I introduced you to the very unique Glock 17 that has been dubbed Tactical Cheetah. In that post I made mention that I was planning on picking up my gun this week (I actually picked it up on Sunday). There is a bit of a story that goes along with it, two stories actually.

The first story is how I came to own a customized gun. You see, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Throughout the later portion of the 2011 USPSA Season, I was shooting with the same group of people each match. We made arrangements to squad up together for each match and had a lot of fun shooting together.

As the shooting season wound down, one of my shooting buddies thought it would be a good idea to create a formal shooting team. In creating this team, our goal was to exchange promotion for product and match fees, making it easier for us to shoot more frequently.

This shooting buddy of ours turned to Custom Gun Finishes and pitched the idea. They liked the idea and decided to sponsor us. We would receive a custom gun finish of our choosing, some ammunition, and some funds to cover match fees. Their offer was precisely what we were looking for and we were eager to begin promoting them.

With a shiny new sponsor helping us out, we all needed to come up with a design concept for our guns. This is where my second story comes into play. Back in July of 2011, I shot my first USPSA match at Topton Fish & Game. While shooting that match, I laid eyes on the most beautiful Glock 17 that I’ve ever seen. It was a stock gun with a tan frame (which from what I understand has been discontinued). I found myself staring at the hip of the woman shooting it. In retrospect, I probably looked like a bit of a creeper.

I decieded then that if I were ever to own a Glock 17, I wanted it to have a Tan or Olive Drab frame. When it came time to design my custom gun finish, the frame color was a no-brainer. The slide, on the other hand, was difficult. I looked at a variety of colors and patterns before settling on a digital camo pattern to compliment the frame. With some suggestions from Custom Gun Finishes, the darker green colors were selected and the only thing left to do was wait for the work to be completed.

In addition to the cosmetic upgrade on my Glock 17, I decided to make a couple of other small changes. First, I knew that I wanted to dump the stock plastic Glock sights. The white ‘U’ shape on the read sight was very distracting and I opted to go with a minimalistic Warren Tactical Rear with a Fiber Optic Front. I had trouble reaching the magazine release so I had the Glock 34 Extended Magazine Release installed in its place (I’ve since found that it cuts into my hand and may need to be re-shaped slightly with a Dremel tool). Last was the installation of the 3.5 pound connector. Dry-firing, I can’t tell the difference between the stock connector and the upgrade.

Photo from the Custom Gun Finishes Facebook Page

The end result is the Glock 17 that you see above. I’m very happy with the work and can’t wait to start showing it off this USPSA Season. This makes three out of four guns ready to rock. You’ve seen Tactical Cheetah, Desert Fox will be posted in the next couple of days, one gun needs to be dropped off for finish yet, and we have my Glock 17 without a name. I’m not the clever naming type, so I’ve chosen a tentative name of Swamp Goblin (mainly because it is multiple variants of green). We’ll see how it fits and revisit if necessary.

You May Also Like:

1. I Call It Tactical Cheetah
2. It is all Coming Together: Blade-Tech Double Magazine Pouch
3. USPSA Classified

You're reading I Think I’ll Call it Swamp Goblin by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Last year I had the pleasure of shooting my first USPSA Season with a Smith & Wesson M&P. Truth be told, I love that gun. Not only do I like the way it shoots, but I also like the way it looks. While I love shooting the gun, it had its problems. First was a rusted slide that Smith & Wesson took care of, free of charge. Rust became a problem again later as it speckled my takedown lever and pitted three of my magazines.

For the 2012 season, I decided that a new USPSA Production gun was in order. One option was to get another M&P to use as a backup gun. Another was to purchase a completely new setup that would potentially be less upkeep. With some Christmas money and my Beretta 70S in trade, I walked out of the gun shop with a Gen 3 Glock 17.

With a new platform, new accessories were in order. First up on the list were a pair of double magazine pouches. In the past I had great luck with my iTac Magazine Pouches for my M&P. Unfortunately, the gun shop that I purchased them from did not have a model to fit Glock magazines.

I turned to the internet and developed a nasty case of analysis paralysis. It seemed like every company under the sun manufactured some sort of magazine pouch to fit Glock magazines. For weeks I bounced between Amazon, Brownells, and Midway, trying to decide what would best suit me.

I spent weeks adding items to my cart and never finalizing the order. With my first match getting closer, I sat down and forced myself to make a decision. I wound up going with Blade-Tech Double Magazine Pouches, with Tek Lock, from Brownells. On an unrelated note, this was my first purchase with Brownells and I was very happy with the price, products, and most importantly, the fair shipping cost.

My magazine pouches arrived yesterday, just a few days after placing my order. I spent a little time adjusting the tension to suit my needs. The Tek Lock seems like a great idea, however, I have a feeling I am going to look like a doofus at the range when it comes time to unhook it from my belt.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the new magazine pouches work out for me next week in the first match of the season.

No related posts.

You're reading It is all Coming Together: Blade-Tech Double Magazine Pouch by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Photo from the Custom Gun Finishes Facebook Page

It all started back in November of last year. Like most other USPSA Matches that I was attending, I met up with a couple of shooting buddies that I met at a prior match. We got together to shoot the York IWLA November USPSA Match. There was a chill in the air and the layout of the club made things ever more brisk. Huddled in the shade of the forrest around us, standing a mere fifty feet from a stream, a group of about 75 shooters were going through the registration process.

As I’m standing there, talking to one of my shooting buddies, he takes his hands out of his jacket pockets and I spot them. Wrapping his hands were a pair of cheetah print gloves with the fingers cut off. You know that sort of snort that people tend to make when they see something funny but they don’t want to come right out with a belly-laugh? Well, my buddy must have picked up on it. He looked me square in the eye, a big kool-aid smile on his face, nodding his head up and down as if to say ‘oh, yeah!’, and said to me ‘I call it Tactical Cheetah’.

My snort of laughter turned to an all-out laugh and the rest of our small group had a nice chuckle at the exchange. The rest of the match was peppered with jokes, mostly how this friend of ours should be awarded some sort of style points. Despite the stages being a little boring (This match was a 4 Stage Special Classifier) we all had a good time, our fellow squad mates included.

About a month or two later, I met up with this shooting buddy outside of the range. The shooting season officially ended in Pennsylvania and we were getting together over coffee to discuss next seasons plans. As we talked, this buddy of mine made mention that he decided to have some customized cosmetic work done to his gun. With the same smile and nod, he told me that he was going to have a Glock 17 all decked out to match his Tactical Cheetah gloves.

As it turns out, he was uncomfortable with the thought of shipping off his gun to a stranger he found on the internet. Instead, he was able to find a company, somewhat local, to do the work. He drove out to the shop, met the husband and wife team, and was happy enough with the meeting to turn over his gun.

The image above is the almost-finished product (Photo was taken before the sights were installed). While I could never pull off the Tactical Cheetah look, I am impressed with the finish. I absolutely love how detailed the slide turned out through the use of Hydrographics. I think that the moment this gun comes out of the holster at our next USPSA Match, it will turn a few heads.

There is some more to this story, but I don’t want to bog down your Friday with a thousand-plus word essay. Instead, I’ll leave the rest of the story for another post (That post will probably come next week, shortly after I pick up my gun…. cliffhanger, perhaps?!)

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting USPSA at Topton Fish & Game (11/20/2011)
2. Oley Valley Fish & Game Fun Shoot (10/22/2011)
3. Shooting USPSA at York IWLA (11/13/2011)

You're reading I Call It Tactical Cheetah by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

About once a month I take some time and go over my blog statistics. To be honest, it only takes a couple of minutes to look over a handful of Google Analytics Pages (The process would take longer if I had a better grasp of the more powerful reporting features). When I compare a date range from this year to the same date range last year, a smile spreads across my face. I think to myself ‘I’m kicking ass against last years stats!’

On the surface everything looks great. Unfortunately, when I take a closer look, I come to a shocking realization that my visits are sporadic. I think this is the case for two reasons. First is that my once anal habit of posting on a set day and time have disappeared. Second is that I have become a hermit blogger.

Before I got more involved in the hobby of guns, I was very much into creative writing. I spent my free time bouncing around from blog to blog reading short stories and flash fiction, I even did a fair bit or writing myself. After reading a piece of writing, I made a point to leave a comment.

These comments brought people back to my blog, some of whom read my material and commented. My stats were low but I was thrilled with the regular activity. When my daughter stopped sleeping the bulk of the day away, I spent less time writing and my creative writing muscles turned to flab. I got discouraged when I tried to write during those odd moments when I had some free time. My writing wasn’t what it used to be and the connection I made with other bloggers began to fade.

My focus has since shifted to Firearms. While I miss writing, I’ve found that I’m more passionate about guns and shooting. I try to make time each day to read a couple of blogs posts. During my short commute to work, I listen to a handful of podcasts on the subject.

Even though I’m digesting a lot of information, I’m lacking the connection with other bloggers I’ve had in the past. I think this has a lot to do with my personality type and that I tend to not comment unless I have something to add (I don’t like commenting for the sake of commenting). I’ve decided that I need to make an adjustment to the frequency in which I leave comments.

I’m setting a small goal for myself. Throughout the month of March I want to comment on at least 5 blog posts and respond to at least one forum thread per week. It may not sound like much, but it is a tremendous increase over what I do currently.

While an increase in activity would be an awesome byproduct, this isn’t about increasing my stats. It is about getting back out there and making connections among the blogging community.

No related posts.

You're reading I Have Become A Hermit Blogger by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Pre-News Talk:

• Came across “Colony” on Netflix.
• Watched Top Guns and got a look at a FN PS90 (Friend has PS90 and FN Five-Seven)
• Loving the emails. Suggestion to stick with USPSA from perspective of new shooter.

In The News:

• Woman, 20, dies after freak Fla. church shooting
• Gun laws changing?
• Eliminating Pennsylvania Instant Check System: Yay or Nay?

Featured Content:

• MILLER: Transporting a gun through D.C.
• Point With Rebuttal from Weer’d World
• Help! Police! From Officer Smith (Credit to 3 Boxes of BS for sharing the original link)

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: Emilio AF1
• Beverage: Donut Shop Coffee (Amazon Link)

If you are interested in trying the Emilio AF1
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

Over the past few weeks I have taken up the hobby of USPSA Stage Design. It has given me something to do in the colder months while local clubs slowed down their competitive shooting schedule. I have found Stage Design to be a lot of fun and spend a couple of hours this past weekend attending a small and informal stage design seminar held at one of the clubs that I plan to shoot at this season.

Stream or Download Audio Below

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 26
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 15
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 16

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 30 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Just like previos stages, the stage you see down below is free to use. The only thing that I ask, if you decide to use it at your club, is to shoot me an email at walt at waltinpa dot com and let me know how it went. Letting me know about any setup or shooting issues will help in future stage development and the note would be greatly appreciated.

You May Also Like:

1. Community USPSA Stage: Stage 001 – Final
2. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Final)
3. USPSA Stage 003: Don’t Miss The Steel

You're reading USPSA Stage 005: Ports, Of Course by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

Recording this weeks Episode of Shooting The Breeze was a little difficult due to limited time, but I made the best of it. Watching the show during the editing process left me feeling like I was as up-beat as usual, but I think the content helps pull me through. The show runs about 54 minutes and is available in both video and audio formats.

Pre-News Talk:

• Picked up some more PVC fittings and paid much less at the big box store
• Top Shot on History
• Top Guns on H2

In The News:

• Federal Lawsuit over Philly Open Carry Incident
• Bellaire man grabs gun, helps make arrest

Featured Content:

• Trigger The Vote: Peace and Quiet
• Empy Mags Podcast – Episode 24 ‘What a Brute’
• Speed Kills from Sharp as Marble

Trigger The Vote

Cigar and Drink Pairing:

• Cigar: Ortega Serie D No. 10
• Beverage: Yuengling Light Lager

If you are interested in trying the Ortega Serie D No. 10
Pick up the phone and order from my preferred retailer.

Buckhead Cigar

Phone: (404) 844-0400 | Twitter: @BuckheadCigar | Web: AskTheCigarGuys

Discussion Topic:

In this weeks podcast I talk for a few minutes on my experience with competitive shooting. In addition to talk about my experience with USPSA, I discuss what seems appealing to me about IDPA, Steel Challenge, Falling Steel, and informal Fun Shoots.

Stream or Download Audio Below

You May Also Like:

1. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 17
2. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 23
3. Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 16

You're reading Shooting The Breeze Podcast: Episode 29 by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

With this stage I tried to do something a little different with shooting boxes. Instead of dictating which targets can be engaged from which box, I simply want the shooter to engage any three targets from each box. I laid out the targets in such a way that the shooter has to bounce from array to array to complete the stage.

Just like previos stages, the stage you see down below is free to use. The only thing that I ask, if you decide to use it at your club, is to shoot me an email at walt at waltinpa dot com and let me know how it went. Letting me know about any setup or shooting issues will help in future stage development and the note would be greatly appreciated.

You May Also Like:

1. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Final)
2. Community USPSA Stage: Stage 001 – Final
3. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Beta)

You're reading USPSA Stage 004: Round and Round by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!

While I don’t think the steel will cause much trouble for the average shooter, I think their might be a mental hiccup that causes the shooter to slow down, just a little bit, in order to avoid the penalty of what lies behind.

Just like previos stages, the stage you see down below is free to use. The only thing that I ask, if you decide to use it at your club, is to shoot me an email at walt at waltinpa dot com and let me know how it went. Letting me know about any setup or shooting issues will help in future stage development and the note would be greatly appreciated.

You May Also Like:

1. USPSA Stage 002: Terror Behind the Crack (Final)
2. Community USPSA Stage: Stage 001 – Final
3. Community USPSA Stage: Revision A

You're reading USPSA Stage 003: Don’t Miss The Steel by Walt White, originally posted on Walt in PA. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Walt on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!