bad pistol reload at a USPSA match, DOH!

[Robb Jensen]

I can just hear Larry Vickers voice "Way to f*** up that reload there Robb!




Even with my F'd up reload and 2 failures to fire, I did pretty well. It was a 5 stage classifier match and I don't think I moved up to A class just yet. I was beat only by my Teammate Luis.

[rhino]

Heh! If I had a nickel for every time I've f'd-up a reload in a match over the years, I wouldn't have to grouse about the current prices of 5.56 ammo!

Have you sent the fresh mag sailing into the air yet? I did that the first time in a match when it was -8F without the windchill.

And don't forget trying to load a flashlight into the pistol. Twice. On the same stage. (that was an IDPA match, though).

[rob_s]

I LOVE the flashlight trick! I've never done it myself but it never fails to make me wet my pants with laughter when I see it.

My other favorite is the "where's my mag" body-slap that we see so often at our carbine matches. Guys that aren't used to their rifle gear and don't remember where they put their spare mag that go hunting all over their body for it.

[rhino]

My buddies enjoy reminding me of my demonstration of stupidity as often as they can.

I also tried to reload my AR with a 12ga shell once in a 3-gun match. That was back (1990-something) when I wore my shotgun reloads in belt loops, and it was just the first thing my hand hit. Now I keep my shotgun ammo on the gun or on my strong side. Everything on the support side is rifle or pistol, with rifle always being closer to the belt buckle since I keep my pistol mags where I have them for every day carry. No problems since I picked a layout and stuck with it. Whew!

The slapping around for a spare mag is something I want to avoid, especially in a "tense social situation." It makes sense to me to keep my pistola mags in the same place all the time.

[Jay Cunningham]

Most guys wouldn't have the balls to show themselves F'ing up a reload. My respect for you went up another notch.

[Robb Jensen]

I screw up as much as the best of them. I'm only human and not afraid to show when I mess up and not afraid to make fun of myself when I do it.

The biggest thing is knowing why I messed up. You're supposed to 'Look the mag into the pistol'. I was going too fast and looked at the next target while attempting the reload and definately wasn't 'looking the mag into the pistol'.

When I realized I was messing up and regained control of the mag I saw that the cartridges were facing the wrong way and I had to turn the mag around 180 degrees. Even with the messed up reload and a hard primer, I still placed 5th of 16 shooters on that stage and got 66 of the 70 points available (I stayed in the game!)

We had a stage 2 yrs ago at the VA/MD Sectional match where you had to carry this plastic knife across the course and before firing the last shot drop it in this bucket. I saw 2 people try to load knife into their pistols. One guy almost dropped his pistol in the bucket ! That was pretty funny. When I was at my Blackwater Carbine Operators course I once brought up a Glock 17 mag when attemping to reload my carbine. My AR mags and pistol mags were both on my belt (left side) pretty close together and one the lead instructor said, "It'll be kinda hard to get that rifle to fire 9mm."

[Voodoochild]

Good job Robb..but not really

Just for that you have to continuous reload drills until you learn your lesson.

[rhino]

Most guys wouldn't have the balls to show themselves F'ing up a reload. My respect for you went up another notch.

I do it so often that photographic evidence like gotm4's would be redundant in my case. Anyone who wants to see it just has to attend a match or two in Indiana and they'll see me do something stupid.


gotm4 ... I am curious. Do you "feel it" when you do a really good reload? I know that when I do a reload that goes well, I don't remember doing it at all. I know it went well when the others tell me it was a good reload. I usually only notice what I'm doing when it goes oh so very badly.

[Robb Jensen]

gotm4 ... I am curious. Do you "feel it" when you do a really good reload? I know that when I do a reload that goes well, I don't remember doing it at all. I know it went well when the others tell me it was a good reload. I usually only notice what I'm doing when it goes oh so very badly.

It all depends and varies. All most all of the time when I do really well on a stage, it seems like it took forever and I usually don't remember much. Usually I can just remember the sight pictures. If I mess up something like a reload, the order I had planned to shoot the stage etc then I usually remember just the mess up if I stayed in the game. If I lost my focus then I remember everything. I find if I haven't practiced much or shot matches in a long time it becomes easier to loose it. The focus as well as shooting skill are very perishable. To stay sharp even just 10min of dryfire, dry practice and just overall gun handling do wonders to keep the edge.

Here's a good thread on the Brian Enos forums about perception. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/inde...howtopic=46326

A quote from the thread:
"Smooth feels slow.
Panic is slow and seems fast."--MichiganShootist

He's dead on in the description. The human brain is a very bad perceiver of time when it is stressed.



Well I don't fee so bad about being a B class shooter in Limited and Production, I started a few years ago as a low C class shooter and now I'm 3.56% from A class! http://www.brianenos.com/forums/inde...=47492&hl=SWAT

quotes from the thread:
"A USPSA B shooter has godlike capabilities with a pistol compared to the general shooting public like you meet at typical plinking ranges and most LEO are not excluded here. The truth is that most folks who have/carry guns can't really shoot them very well. We are a small inlet in a sea of gun owners ;-/"--George

"I don't see mediocrity there, B-class shooters shoot better than most SWAT team members.
You can shoot, BEEEE proud of it."--dirtypool40

[Voodoochild]

Pretty good photo work as well. I am curious if the photographer is allowed to run along side you during the shoot?