First Local Match

[GunBugBit]

Last night I shot my first local match, which was also my first ever shooting competition -- at age 56.

One little surprise was that Iain Harrison, the winner of the first season of Top Shot, was in attendance. Mr. Harrison, not a regular at the Ben Avery Practical Pistol range, was designated to shoot in the D Open class after a short conversation with the match coordinator. He took first place in that class and would have taken 2nd in the Master Open class. He presented himself as a humble, calm, low-key guy, same as he was on the Top Shot show. He has been a US citizen since December 2011. There was another fellow with him who also looked familiar, probably from the Top Shot show, but I did not inquire as to his identity. Maybe someone will recognize his name from the match results (see link below).

My own little victory was being one of the winners in the Tyro class. The other winner had a better score than mine with his open gun, whereas I was shooting single stack equipment (a Springfield TRP and 8-round magazines). I was happy with how I did in relation to the other more experienced single stack shooters.

I was nervous on the first 3 stages and made little boo-boos, but was quite thrilled to manage stage 5's Texas Star decently, and knock down all of the other steel with one shot apiece, and do all right on paper. I went for accuracy, not speed. My mentor suggested I could try going faster, but I just stayed in my comfort zone. A few words about my mentor, Hazen Bazinet -- he was very nice, super helpful, and shared with me that today he gets sworn in as an American Citizen. He is from Canada. Thank you and congratulations Hazen!

[treecop]

Stick with it. Speed comes from target transitions and smooth handling. Speaking of which, I better go dry fire!

[GunBugBit]

Haven't missed a match since I started and am having a great time. My wife encourages me and indulges all of my little range stories.

[GunBugBit]

Still at it. Have shot 3 USPSA matches, 2 Steel Challenge, and almost 20 club practice matches. It's been a rich personal journey, and just plain fun.

[Jesse Tischauser]

That first year is so much fun. Lots of big improvements and lots to learn. Good luck!

[wilson1911]

Dry fire at home is where it's at. I still find it amazing how much you actually forget when your up and the beep goes. The people who stay slow...almost methodical and practice at home end up being the ones you admire at the range. Single stack driver here also.

[GunBugBit]

Definitely into dry fire drills. Recently shot the "Eye of the Tiger" USPSA classifier at the 'B' level (64.45%), bringing my classification up to C.

I think B will come in good time with my current level of commitment, but A and above is where the shooting is really good. Not going to consciously put a cap on what I can achieve, though.

[wilson1911]

I know how hard trigger pull is to get consistent, but sometimes I think your grip has more to do with it. When running thru a stage it often changes due to body alignment/twisting. Getting your grip to stay relaxed and settle at the same point can be hard when leaning back and forth. Where you will get an A on the first hit then a C on the second. Sometimes I use 2 targets and partial loaded mags to help you get used to moving and shooting with a reload. Just walking thru the stage and listening to your body helped me a lot, at speed you will not notice it very well.

[GunBugBit]

How you hold the gun is very important! I have studied material from Miculek, Leatham, Enos, Jarrett and a few more. The common elements of what they say are pretty simple, but it's almost life changing when you get what they're saying and then use it in matches.

Recently took a lot of seconds off of my Steel Challenge total time and I credit it partly to how I hold the gun. The other biggies are: faster time from start signal to first shot and snappier transitions between targets.

[GunBugBit]

I recently made Steel Challenge B class.

USPSA B class will follow soon enough.

I continue to shoot Single Stack, .45 ACP.