Moving On Up… Kinda: Shooters Log

The practice sessions seem to be paying off, thank goodness, I hate to think I'm throwing all that ammo down range and not learning anything and getting better in the process.

It's kind of funny when you start really examining the score sheets trying to pick out a pattern of improvement or see anything positive at all for that matter, because it all depends on how many shooters are at a given match as to where you show up in the overall standings. Then there's how many are in your classification? Are they shooting minor or major power factor? When it comes right down to it, since I don't officially have a classification from USPSA yet, I am a "U", or Unclassified. Technically that means I'm only shooting against other "Unclassified" shooters who are shooting minor power factor or 9mm pistols. Oh, and let's not forget the division, that's the type of gun you're shooting. Let's see there's "Open", "Limited", Limted 10" and "Single Stack". It's enough to make you scratch your head, a lot. I shoot "Limited" by the way.

So here's the best way to break the June match down from my perspective:

Overall: 16th out of 25 shooters. Not bad, but I also have to keep in mind we had less shooters than last month and some of the shooters that were MIA just might be better than me.

Power Factor/Division: 6th out of 12 shooters.

Classification/Power Factor/Division: 3rd out of 8 shooters.

All of those are improvements over the months before and really that's all I can ask. I hope to break the overall top 10 before the end of the season, that might be a little ambitious but hey, you gotta have goals right?

The next step in my shooters evolution is to start getting some of this weight off me. In the June match I was huffing and puffing by the end of the day, it was HOT and I'm too fat. If I ever have any hopes of being even a regional competitor in this sport, it won't happen unless I can shed some poundage and move quicker between firing positions. That and heat strokes and heart attacks don't sound like any fun at all quite frankly.

Updating my last post: The "failure to feed" issues have gone away it would appear. I only had one FTF in the June match and it seems that a more thorough cleaning of my mags has done the trick. I also changed the ammo I've been using, which could have been a contributing factor as well. All I know is if I can keep it to one FTF per match, I can live with that.

This Sunday some of us are motoring down to Longview, TX to the East Texas Rifle and Pistol Club to try out the Steel Challenge. This will be my first time to shoot this type of match, but it looks fun and I can't wait to give it a shot (pun intended). To find out more about it go to, ETRPC.com.

As always, if you're looking for a good handgun instructor or just a great place to shoot locally, check us out at the Texarkana Gun Club.

Safe Shooting!