Man this needs updating:
04-25-2018
Went to the first IDPA match of the year this weekend. Man, it was ugly. I forgot my 3rd mag, which limited my ability to take makeup shots.
First stage had a piece of tape over the 3rd target as a 'belt' and you had to shoot below it, stage was mirror imaged on the right and left. I blasted the center of the targets and set the stage for my performance with 34 points down right out of the gate. Yikes.
On one stage, I tried to keep count to 10 and did a reload on the move - I counted wrong and there was still a round in the mag, so I got hit with a procedural on that one.
Next stage had freestyle/strong/weak shooting, and it was apparent that I have neglected strong and weakhand shooting. 1 non-threat hit, and a disgusting 21 points down.
Part of this was the lack of live-fire training and the limited dryfire that I've done. Part of it was mentally allowing past mistakes to impact the present events. All of it was exposing the rust that needs to get worked on.
05-11-2019
Well, lots of life changes resulted in a clearance sale of everything. More life changes have resulted in things coming back, which means shooting again. Keep in mind I literally haven't touched a firearm since the last update.
Ordered a Dan Wesson Valor commander, 9mm, stianless - was flawless until 500 rounds, then it went south. Their warranty department is not very good in terms of communications and making things happen - my FFL is handling it due to my schedule, but it took him about a month to get the thing to Dan Wesson. Asked for the failures to extract to get fixed, fit with a standard profile slide stop, and verify POI. Have a legitimate backpack full of mags, and can't wait for it to return.
Snagged a S.A. 1911 - the range officer elite target in .45ACP. Marketing for a Govt. 1911 with fiber optic front sight, thin G10 grips, 'match' barrel. Mine is used with a magwell. I haven't had/shot a .45 for almost 12 years. Disconcerting that the extractor body extends literally 1/4 inch past the slide, but it passes the 10-8 test like a champ and runs great, so I'll take that ugly duckling for the price I paid happily. Very happily. Came with 2 47D mags, ordered 8 more and slung 100 rounds downrange today with it. It locks up tight - like they used too long of a barrel link to get better engagement with the slide for the 'match' part. Have no intentions of changing that until it or the barrel give up the ghost and then I'll have things done the right way.
Grabbed a basic 442 no-hole as well. Functional it seems pretty good - man are they jacking the barrels HARD into the receiver these days. The finish is damaged from that at the mount, but timing is good and so is lockup, barrel doesn't look canted, so fudge it, ugly guns get used more than pretty ones. Slung 50 LSWC through it today as well. Due to the nature of my job with harnesses, rigging, and the amount of time I have commuting, this bugger will get carried FAR more than a semi auto in various situations. No more aquatic work, so no more worries about gunking up the internals to the point of non-functioning.
Also snagged a GSG 1911 .22LR for cheap plinking with some sort of commonality. 5 mags total for it, man this thing is fun. I'll be putting a flat mainspring on it eventually to match the other 1911's.
The Caldwell reactionary target/ball thing is a freaking hoot. Beats the snot out of setting up stakes/targets and covering holes for general shooting. Won't replaced those materials for drills, but a head-size target that moves and bops around with immediate feedback is a helluva great idea, especially for the price.
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Dark Star Gear got the nod for the J frame appendix holster, with JM Custom Kydex getting the nod for an OWB and AIWB holster for the 1911's. Currently I've got the cheapest hardbody holster I could find as a place holder, a serpa (I'll sit in the corner in shame), and that's going goodbye as soon as JM's ships. It's not going to be used for draw practice or competitions for obvious reasons, but for keeping the pistol 'there' it's kinda doing the job.
I'll need to get on the magazine holder bandwagon here in a month or so, both for competitive shoots and carry.
11-10-2019
Have gotten to the point where I can reload again and shoot more often. Did Dot Torture Saturday night at 6 yards, 47/50, one incredible snatch at the trigger, the rest getting into it. The Valor eats everything and is a freaking great gun - the SA has such a tight chamber that it refuses to chamber anything besides factory fresh 115 grain (that'll get fixed soon).
Ran my first IDPA in a while today, found out one of the RSO's is a manager at a local range and they host IDPA 2 times a month. Good guy - pushing for STI locally, might wind up working for him on the weekends.
Today's IDPA went much, much better than I thought. Kept calm, didn't rush anything, focused on smooth motions, and being smart in my ideas (cardboard x2 shots, big steel popper, other cardboardx2, 2 smaller poppers behind the big one as an example). Put out a $1 bet, winner takes the pool for head shots only on a stage - lost to a PCC by 3 seconds and a DAMN good pistol shooter by 2 seconds, all of us being clean.
it feels good - selling off my .45's, planning on running an LWC9mm, my valor, and a 2011 for the foreseeable future. Life's getting back on my track.
11-30-2019
I get to shoot in 3 matches a month until the end of the year versus my one.
Physically I've been fighting some dull to sharp pain in the base of my left thumb, depending on how I grab something, due to over-use of swinging a maddox/pickaxe for 6+ hours a day for a few weeks due to work. Working on addressing that with hand stretches/exercise/etc.Cardio is happening on a limited basis again, and mountain biking has helped a lot with that. Strength training is body-weight only and what I develop at work right now.
Firearm wise I'm going to consolidate my semi-auto's to 9mm commander 1911's with the possibility of an optic mount STI and 2 .22LR's. Being honest about the K frame and how little I've shot it as well, so that may go on the chopping block soonish.
Probably the biggest commitments I've given myself are mental. I just got a 2020 planner, and I've put in training events I'd like to attend that are realistic for travel and price, and the projected IDPA/USPSA matches in the area. I began a basic daily dry-fire and draw practice before bed/before work.