Match day tomorrow
Well, the Plan Of Record is that tomorrow morning, I will join the Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters for my first ever IDPA match. I’ve been trying to get out there for a match for a while now, and I’ve decided to make it a priority.
Truth be told, I’m really nervous. I’m a reasonably good shot, and when I want to be I’m pretty fast (I came in second in my Gunsite 350 shoot off), but for some reason getting on the clock scares me.
AAR tomorrow afternoon.
We Win!
HR 822 has passed the House. Now, on to the Senate!
Holster feedback
Folks, I’m looking for some feedback.
I’m looking for a good, comfortable holster for concealed carry for a recent acquisition. My preference is for an OWB holster now that we are getting into OWB weather. I’ve got a Kramer holster that I really like for my M&P compact, but they have a 8 week turnaround time, and I’m impatient.
Anyone have any good recommendations?
Simplicity in the basics…
“This is not a tactics class.” Brian Searcy, one of the co-founders of TigerSwan was very clear. “Tactics change based on the environment. We are here to teach you how to execute the basics properly, every time you pull the trigger.”
Brian is an impressive guy. He spent 16 years in the 1st Special Forces Detachment – Delta (yes, kids, that would be Delta Force), retiring as that unit’s Operations Sergent Major. Like most folks that I have met from elite units, he is remarkably understated about his accomplishments. (“Well, when we were in Iraq, teaching guys how not to get blown up…”, “Why do I like the Glock? Well, I carried it for 8 years in the Balkans…”) Brian was an excellent instructor. He offers criticism where appropriate, but also offers encouragement. On a particularly bad string, I was lamenting my performance. Brian told me that I was looking at it wrong. “Don’t focus on the fact that you dropped 8 shots. You executed perfectly 20% of the time. Next time do 30%.” This encouraging, and yet results oriented feedback is the hallmark of TigerSwan training.
The instructors had us take the line at the 25 yard mark with an NRA B-16 target. Are you kidding me? Every other shooting class that I have taken starts at somewhere near the 3 yard line. “10 shots, slow fire” My first string was all over the place. TigerSwan starts shooters at the 25 yard line for one simple reason: it’s much easier to diagnose what you are doing wrong. Problems that are masked at close range become readily apparent at 25 yards. And if you aren’t doing something right, you will see it right away at 25 yards.
By mid-morning, we were scoring our targets. This gives the instructors a baseline to measure our shooting performance. TigerSwan teaches that every round should have a purpose, and that we need to measure our practice. “We are all results oriented people,” Brian said. After each string, we ran a self-critique. How was my stance? My grip? Was I looking at the sights, or was I looking at the target? If you did it right, you would see scores going steadily up. By mid-day, I was putting 40-50% of my hits in the 10 ring. Did I mention that was at 25 yards?
The instructors broke down each part of handgun shooting: the stance, the grip, sight alignment, trigger squeeze and presentation. For each piece, we ran a slow fire string, concentrating on perfecting that one piece that we working on, while getting coaching and feedback from the instructors. By the afternoon, we had graduated to IPSC silhouettes, and moved in to 10 yards. After shooting at 25 yards, moving in to 10 yards was pretty easy. I had a few dropped shots, but making “A” zone hits seems really easy when you have been shooting at the 25.
Each drill is designed to test one skill, one part of the process. And each drill that we ran, Brain demonstrated first. This proved two things to us. First, the techniques worked. Second, even world class shooters have off days. On one or two drills, Brian’s shooting was not up to his standards. “Let’s try that again,” he would say, he would do it again until he got it right. It’s a little thing, but it got me thinking about making small improvements and continuously improving my own shooting.
“Simplicity in the basics” is how TigerSwan describes their training. As Brain put it, “There isn’t any such thing as advanced shooting. There is just doing each piece exactly right, and doing it that way every time.” And that is precisely what they teach at TigerSwan: how to do it perfectly, every time. The level of training that you receive for money spent is simply ridiculous. I can’t recommend them highly enough.
You can view their upcoming training schedule here, and course descriptions here.
Home again
Just got black from the blogger shoot. What a blast! Met some great people, learned a ton, and had a great time. I’ll have a full report once my everything stops hurting.
Inciminating evidence
In going through some boxes looking for a holster for the blog shoot, I found a bunch of college photos, including a bunch of a certain blogger and his better half. Never found the holster, though.
Time to get on the scanner…
Ruger SR9c first impressions
It was the weekend of the FunShow at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center. I picked up this shirt and a Ruger SR9c. I’ve been warming to 9mm more and more as a caliber. Generally, .40SW is my go to caliber in a defensive handgun, but with the new ammo that we have available, I’ve been looking harder and harder at 9mm. And I’ve been looking for a smaller belt gun. And I’ve been impressed with the Rugers I’ve bought lately. So when I saw it at the gun show for $400, I decided to jump on it.
First impressions:
- 10+1 rounds of 9mm in a package not much bigger than my Kahr P9? And 17 in the spare mag with a full sized grip? What’s not to like?
- The gun seems like a typical Ruger…built like a tank.
- What’s with all the “safety” devices? Seriously? A loaded chamber indicator, magazine disconnect, and a manual safety? Are all these really necessary?
- (On the above, I used to have really religious opinions about all of these. Nowadays…meh…I can make arguments in favor or against. I do know that on at least on occasion a loaded chamber indicator alerted me to the fact that a gun I thought was unloaded was, in fact, not. I’m good about the four rules, and there wasn’t ever a problem, but it was interesting to look at the flag and realize what it meant.)
- The trigger, out of the box, is pretty good, with a nice, distinct reset. It feels really gritty, though. A field strip and liberal application of some good lube made a world of difference, and I suspect a few hundred rounds would make even more.
- The sights are pretty good as well. I am not a fan of the three dot system, and the first thing that I did was to black out the dots, but overall the sights are quick to pick up and the gun points well.
I am going to try to find time this week to get it to the range. I’m thinking about taking it to the TigerSwan class. I don’t have a good holster for it, but I need to get one anyway, and this would be an excuse. It’s a bit tight to order a Blade-Tech, but I could probably get it in time if I ordered right now. I’m also thinking a Desantis Speed Scabbard, which would probably be my carry holster (it’s what I carry my Kahr in). Or I could go high end and order a Dragon Leatherworks or one from Michael’s Custom Holsters.
Ah, decisions, decisions….
Fun with Antis
Weer’d offers a bit of fun for a Friday. Did you know that
This post is written as part of the Media Matters Gun Facts fellowship. The purpose of the fellowship is to further Media Matters’ mission to comprehensively monitor, analyze, and correct conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Some of the worst misinformation occurs around the issue of guns, gun violence, and extremism, the fellowship program is designed to fight this misinformation with facts.
seems to link to mostly pro-gun sites on Google? How odd… 
Knife Meme
All the cool kids are doing it…
Take the knife out of your pocket and take a picture of it, and post it.
Benchmade Griptillian mini
Downrange Radio 9/11 episode
Micheal Bane has recorded a special, commemorative 9/11 anniversary episode of Downrange Radio.
I’m seldom at a loss for words, but I’m in a weird place right now. I’ll just say that it took me back to that day, and that I think it’s worth your time.
-
Do your part!
-
-
-
-