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For the ASC 1800 I shot a 1695-39x (94.16%) which was certainly a good score for me, especially lately. For the LWO 1800 I shot a personal match best of 1717-47x (95.38%). As good as I shot and as good as it felt, I ended up in second place against a 1717-63x! While I missed making Master this weekend by only 8 points, I am still very pleased with my overall performance. I am also confident I am capable of picking up those 8 points had I been able to focus just a bit more. Notable contributors to the better performance were: a clear mind, good concentration, and a simplification in my ammo selection. The good concentration was a welcome feeling with so much work related stress during the past month or so. For ammo, I was experimenting with Nosler 185 JHP bullet in previous month's matches. While they are accurate, I was having too much trouble keeping zero on the sights between the various distances. I practice at 50' so when I get to an outdoor match, I have to set my sight zero quickly or I lose a lot of points. This weekend I shot 185 LSWC bullets for the whole match and didn't have to touch my scope's settings. Less to think about, less to go wrong, I am sticking with the "Simple Ammo Formula" from now on. My thanks and gratitude go out to Ralph Wilson (ASC) and Joe Fobes (LWO) for putting on the great matches this weekend. I have shot at both clubs several times now and really enjoy these matches. Both are on great ranges yet each is very different from the other. The common factor that makes them great matches is the guys running them. They keep a good pace on the match yet do not do anything to create pressure on the shooters. The shooters that participate are all fun folks and all serious competitors who are there to win, but also to have a relaxing good time. Joe also serves lunch at his matches and being in the middle of a Wisconsin forest, it feels like you are having a picnic. All around, I had a great relaxing weekend of shooting fun!
Follow this link for more photos at the Lake Wisconsin Open https://sites.google.com/site/bullseyepistolbychrisd/lodi-fall-2012
August 5th 2012 - Menomonee Falls Rod & Gun Club Tournament - 1673-45x (93%) - 4th place expert
While not without problems, shooting today's match seemed a lot more normal for me. My mental focus felt normal, my trigger control felt normal, my sore arm was certainly a concern throughout the day. Shooting at 93% was a welcome feeling and I could see more right than wrong with most shots. A 162 in slow fire (45) really hurt the overall score, but it does give me an area of focus for which to work on.
August 4th 2012 - Still not shooting well...
Today I spent some time really focusing on practice, not training, but practice. I was shooting National Match Courses one after the other - 8 total. Part of the goal was to see if there was some consistency and apparently there is, for 22 I shot: 281, 281, 282, 280 and for 45 I shot: 282, 280, 281, 276. I am still about 10 points down from average a few months back but at least I am consistent. I am confident my poor performance at Bristol and Camp Perry was not due to performance anxiety (folding under the pressure). My mental focus was good today, not great, but good and my arm was getting very sore but during shooting I was not aware of the discomfort. Trigger control is certainly an obvious area of concern and focus and in the majority of bad shots today, I could call the shots knowing what I did wrong. Sustained fire was a bit better, but still not up to my standards. There were several times when my conscious mind tried to take control of the shot and in every case it was a flyer out in the white somewhere. Tomorrow is a tournament in Sussex WI put on by the Menomonee Falls Rod & Gun Club. That is always a fun match with a great group of friendly competitors so I am looking forward to seeing how I perform there and plan on using it as a self study.
Follow this link for the Camp Perry Blog ---> Camp Perry 2012 - Blog
July 8th 2012 - Preparing for Camp Perry...
A fellow shooter invited me to join him (Steve T.) for practice at the ISR range in Bonefield IL. I don't have many chances to shoot outdoors other than matches so this was a rare opportunity for me - Thank you Steve! Both guns were sighted in pretty good, only a few clicks of adjustment. I shot the model 41 pretty decent, a 288 if I remember correctly. The 45 was a bit off, but the 280 was close to my average. I was shooting low left for a number of shots and it was certainly trigger finger. After about 15 rounds, the group started to appear and it was closer to being centered on the 10. My arm got pretty sore after about an hour and a half of practice so I backed off and rested longer between magazine changes. After leaving the range around 3:15, I drove to the hotel and arrived at 9:00 local time. Need to get some rest for day 1 of Camp Perry!
July 7th 2012 - Preparing for Camp Perry...
After a bad performance at Bristol, it is tough to re-focus and prepare for the biggest match of the year. I spent some time working on and testing some new loads for the 45. I have been shooting 200 gn SWC but they are just a bit too rough on my wrist and as I found out, not as accurate as they could be. The new loads are much software on the recoil and tested much more accurate at 50'. My last practice was this morning and while not a stellar practice, I pushed my scores up nearly 3% from the previous weekend. Now it is time to start packing all the gear and go over all the check lists to make sure I have everything needed. The drive to Perry will take about 5 hours, give or take and I am leaving plenty early enough so that I don't have to hurry - it is a vacation!
June 30th 2012 - Bristol regional - 2455-43x (91%)
While it certainly was a good match with lots of great shooters, my performance was horrid. I was an average of 5 points off on every target, perhaps even worse as I have not fully analyzed the scores yet. On the plus side, several of the competitors from the Chicago area got together for dinner on Saturday night for a good time - lots of laughs and stories. Also at the match were a couple of the legends; Judy Tant and Brian Zins. Brian was the match winner with James Lenardson in second and Glenn Smith in third.
June 10th 2012 - Winnequah Gun Club - 2519 - 71x (93%), 2nd place overall
Wow, what a great match at a great range! Joe Fobes put on an excellent match (his first one), the event ran smooth, it was friendly, they served lunch, and had plenty of cold water for everyone (it was hot and the water was needed). Joe had a couple of great helpers (sorry, I didn't get their names) but they did a great job of keeping things going smooth and safe. Anatoly beat me again with a 2534-64x, he is certainly handling the tournament pressure better than me. There was one very bad moment during the match, a gust of wind came along and blew my brass catcher over (I need to buy a weight to hold it down). That wasn't the bad part though, my Clark long slide also fell to the ground with the brass catcher and landed on the exposed barrel (this happened during target change so the gun was safe). It put one heck of a dent on the top of the barrel. Not wanting to end the day at this point (between CF timed fire), I got a file from Rob Kovach (Thanks Rob) and proceeded to file off the burr/dent - apparently this made everyone very nervous and worried that I might ruin the barrel. No worries in the end though, once I settled down after about 10 rounds, the gun held zero like it always has.
June 3rd 2012 - Menomonee Falls Rod & Gun Club 1800 - 1673-35x (93%), 2nd place overall
Certainly couldn't blame the wind in today's match, but my scores did improve a little. This was a very important match because it was one of the two remaining prior to Camp Perry. My goal this year was to make master class before Perry and failing to shoot high enough in this match blew my chances. I suspect I am letting the pressure of competition get to me and will have to re-double my efforts to prevent this from continuing to be a problem. Failing to achieve Master class is a disappointment, but on the bright side I still got a second place!
June 2nd 2012 - ASC Spring 1800 - 1656-32x (92%), 1st place overall
July 20th - 2013 Camp Perry - Or should I say 'Swamp Perry"
Camp Perry was interesting as usual this year. The local area had received rain nearly everyday for the 3 weeks leading up to opening day. All that rain created some muddy messes and created increased sales in "barn boots" for local retailers. I certainly had fun talking with all the shooters and doing all the regular things people do at Perry. The volunteers were all working hard and doing a great job as well as dealing with the mud in a fun way. Didn't hear a complaint from one of them, they just worked through the mess and mud and kept the matches running and safe - great job, thank you!
As for my shooting performance, poor at best. I ended up dead middle of the Expert class and never shot my average score on any target at any time. It would have been easy to come up with excuses: The mud made it hard to get a good stance, the wind was blowing too hard, it was hot, the sun was too bright, etc. In reality, in spite of the conditions, I never once felt like the conditions were hindering my ability to perform. I was able to ignore everything, but still shot poorly so I know it was me.
I did do something stupid that my friend pointed out to me. I checked emails from work right before a team match. Steve looked at me and asked "Show me where in your shot process it states ' check email before shooting'". I laughed and realized I didn't do my best to escape work while on vacation or more importantly while shooting at the nationals.
July 5th - 2013 sectionals update - 17th place overall
The NRA finally published the indoor nationals (sectional) results a few days ago. A quick read through the list of names and I made it to 3rd place for Expert class and 17th place overall which is certainly a confidence booster for the matches at Perry. After watching my scores decline in spring, I need every bit of confidence boosting I can find to pull me out of the slump.
The ammo shortage is lessening as I was able to get some 45 bullets from Zero and have seem some CCI Std vel in stores. With the availability of ammo, I have stepped up my frequency of practice and training again. For the first time in months, all my practice shooting was at Master level.
Camp Perry is just a week away and I am about as ready as I can be, can't wait to get there!
June 15th - Preparing for Camp Perry
I am getting excited about Perry, very excited. Perry not only will be a great competition, it will also be a long overdue vacation for me. I am hoping with the time off for the 4th of July, I will be able to decompress enough to get back into top form.
While the ammo shortage has put a big damper on how much I practice, it is time to go all in. With only a few weekends left to get sharp again, I will have to burn through my ammo supplies to get through this slump in performance. I was able to pick up 4000 bullets for 45 and nothing yet for CCI Std velocity ammo - why isn't there any on the market at a fair price yet? With me not performing well with both guns, I know the problem is me so it is back to fundamentals. The one thing that always seems to help me the most is using the 10 ring only targets. They help me to see much more clearly what I am doing wrong.
June 3rd - Menomonee Falls Rod & Gun Club - 1691-53X - Third place overall
This was my first outdoor match for 2013 and my performance was lacking. My low score was not too much of a surprise as I have been shooting poorly in practice too. I have to buckle down and get back to "basic training" again to prepare for camp Perry.
May 5th 2013 -- Tri-Country Pistol and Revolver League - Top gun
This years TCPRL was certainly more exciting for me than last year. Our team ended up in second place (out of 6 teams). Last year I joined mid-season so I was not eligible for individual awards. This year was a different story. I won my class (Expert) and I won the coveted overall "top gun" award for the season. I also shot a 290 or higher score 4 times. While I honestly feel I shot good this year, I also know that there are some guys (who normally beat me) did not shoot so well and some were not able to participate. I will certainly take the awards and be proud of the accomplishments!
March 23rd 2013 -- IL state indoor - Elgin match 1712-35x -- STATE CHAMPION (obviously the other guys must have been off their game)
Still not being able to practice and train as much as I would like, I was very worried going to this years state match. I was able to step up my game for the match to pull off the 1712 score which is about 1% higher than my previous 2 months league scores. While certainly a good score for me of late, I am sure it isn't high enough to win the match or even the class but I am happy with it. Turns out the final results proved me wrong, I am the 2013 IL state champion, an achievement I will remember for a long time!
January 26th 2013 -- Ammo and AR shortage
I have been considering the purchase of an AR rifle for the past year. There are a number of different competitions that would be fun to participate in with an AR rifle. Without thinking this through, I waited until Christmas to shop for one - obviously I waited too long. With Obama being re-elected and the threat of a Assault Rifle ban pending, it appears that I can forget about that form of competition.
Ammo shortages are another issue right now which may affect performance for many shooters. I normally shoot about 600 rounds per week between practice, league, and matches. I slowed down a bit in the late fall due to some soreness in my arm, however, now I am being forced to scale back even further. Finding 22 ammo for my model 41 is a problem and getting bullets for the 45 is a problem. Yesterday I went to my local stores which usually stock ammo and reloading supplies. I couldn't find any CCI standard velocity and no Bullseye powder. I did find some primers so I bought about 4000.
2013 may be the year of a whole new type of firearm competition, the "Ammo hunt"!
January 19th 2013 -- Sectionals (Wi) -- 871-28X
Having been shooting better with the 45 during the past few weeks, I wasn't sure how the sectionals would play out for me this year. The competition is also tough at this match and most of the guys that normally beat me were there but I think luck played well for me. I shot an 871-28x score for the individual portion, didn't do as well on the team portion (sorry guys). I shot on Saturday so I left without knowing the final results, however, a good friend sent me an email later in the week informing me that I had won the match. Needless to say, I am anxious to see the final results!
January 2nd 2013 -- Tri-county league
The mid-season results were posted. My team, Chicago Rifle Club, appears to be in second place. The first place team, Arlington Heights Rifle & Pistol are a consistent top performing team. As for individual scores, I am the top gun so far this season, 1/2 point ahead of the next shooter. While I have been shooting pretty solid these past few months, I know some of the better shooters are not shooting up to their best. While I hope to end the season as the top gun in the league, I also hope that the other shooters can get over their slumps.
September 23rd 2012 - Illinois State - 855 + 833 + 840 = 2528
This year's ILL state had better weather than last year which was rainy and cold, we only had cold to deal with in the morning hours. While my 22 scores showed a good performance, the center fire scores made me feel like I was at Camp Perry again. My focus was good, but I just could not maintain the deep focus on every shot to achieve the higher scores I know I am capable of. I was able to turn up the heat a few times and put some holes where they should be, but for the most part I had a lot of shots in the white. The sustained fire of 45 started to show signs of life but by then I was out of the race to win my class. While not certain of this, I do believe in order to compete at the level I want to for outdoor matches, I am going to have to practice and train more at the longer distances. I currently practice and train at 50' and the game changes a lot when shooting from 50 yards.
September 21st 2012 - Barely time for practice...
Somehow for most of us, work gets in the way of play. For me, my work schedule has been really busy and I have only had a few chances to get out and practice. In both cases during the last 3 weeks I was only able to get out and shoot a NMC with each gun. Luckily, shooting is one of those sports where you can retain most of your skills during short breaks like this. I am averaging 292 with the 22 and 290 with the 45 and with the ILL state match 2 days away, that gives me some peace of mind.
August 26th 2012 - Wisconsin State - Outdoor in Beloit WI -- 871-21x + 777-22x + 817-13 = 2465-61x
There is just something about the Beloit Rifle Club that I really enjoy. The facility is just amazing with great ranges, mature trees, well maintained grounds, and great people all adding up to an enjoyable place to be. The WI State Outdoor match was held this weekend and it started out great. I cleaned my first slow fire target and it was the first target of the day. I did not look through the spotting scope during the slow fire relay because things felt okay but after the last shot I looked to see how it went. Honestly, I was very worried with what I saw, I thought for sure I cross fired or I had the scope set on the wrong target. At first glance I could not see 10 shots, only the holes in the 10 ring, after looking more closely I could count the 10 holes. Before scoring I went over to my friend Steve Turner and I said " I think I cleaned the target". The odd thing is that I was saying it with a feeling of shock, not excitement for doing it. The excitement didn't kick in till I got down range and saw it first hand. Steve cleaned his target and Paul Porter also cleaned a slow fire target. We took some photos and I asked the Range Officer if I could have the target and he allowed it - a great trophy for me!
Ending the 22 match with a 871-21X and clean slow fire target I was pretty pleased with my shooting thus far. The rain started to fall as we moved onto the center fire stage of the match, still no wind through. Things started out just a little lower than my average with slow fire. During the Timed Fire stage of the National Match Course, things went south in a hurry. I raised the gun to fire and when the targets turned I pulled the trigger but the hammer would not fall. I tried pulling harder and still nothing, I thought the slide didn't go into battery and pushed it with my left hand and that was the mistake I would regret for the rest of the day. A line judge saw that action and disallowed the alibi and the referee was called to confirm. Based on my sustained fire performance the rest of the day, I lost 45 points right then and there and any chances of making Master classification that day went down the drain. After that I lost focus and shot poorly the rest of the day, I have to spend more time on learning how to clear my mind of the negatives so I can recover more quickly from problems like that. The gun acted up again in the 45 match but that time I just kept jerking on the trigger till it started working again, obviously I have to find out what was causing that.
In spite of the "less than desirable" performance in Center Fire and 45, that cleaned slow fire target was a trophy I will remember for a long time.
August 19th 2012 - What a difference a month makes...
From shooting Marksman scores at Perry to shooting Master scores in Lodi, this weekend turned out to be great. There were two 1800 matches this weekend, Saturday was the Aurora Sportsman Club 1800 (Waterman IL) and Sunday was the Lake Wisconsin Open 1800 (Lodi WI). The weather was perfect on both days which probably helped with my scores.
The Spring 1800 put on by the Aurora Sportsman Club was a fun event. The winds were pretty heavy but at least they were blowing on our backs. I can't say for certain the wind caused the lower than expected scores, but several of us shot well below our capabilities. As for my own performance, I believe this is the worst I have shot in over a year. I still ended up taking home trophies for 1st place in the expert class for: 22 aggregate, CF aggregate, and both gun aggregate. The real highlight of the match though was the performance of a newcomer to the sport. The daughter of one of the regular shooter in the local match circuit shot her first tournament yesterday and took home several medals. Obviously she was very proud of her performance and that emotion was shared by all the other shooters. She is a rising star in this sport and I suspect it won't be long before she rises to the top!
May 13th 2012 - National results from the 2012 Sectionals - 862-22x (95.7%) 3rd place Sharpshooter, 48th place overall
The NRA published the national results from the 2012 sectional matches, John Zurek won with an 893-44x. With 1339 competitors shooting, my overall place was 48th which places me in the top 4% of shooters. In the Sharpshooter class, I placed 3rd. With the indoor shooting season over it looks like I will be reclassified as an Expert. I had a chance for Master but with my poor performance in the WI and ILL state matches I don't think I made it.
May 10th 2012 - Shoot-off for a 3 way tie in the Tri-county league
Poor performance continued for me on May 10th. We had a 3 way tie in our tri-county league so we had to have a shoot off to determine the winning team. The tie was in a center fire category so we only shot the center fire guns. I started okay with a 93 in slow fire, then a 96 in timed and finally really lost it in Rapid fire with a 90 resulting in a 279. The 279 is 6 points down from my average of 286. Our team lost by 9 points so I was a large contributor to that loss. Still not sure as to the cause of my poor performance of late, only option is to work through it.
May 5th 2012 - ILL state tournament - Score 1684 40x (93.5%) - 4th place overall
Sunday - Arrived a little later than I normally like for a tournament, about 1/2 hour early. First shot off was way out in the 6 ring, off to a bad start. Recovered a bit from that but had troubles all day and shot substantially down from my running average. I wish I could blame my arm problems for shooting so poorly, however there was no problem with that. I simply did not focus and did a terrible job on trigger control - even had one miss in 45 rapid fire. As this tournament is shot in 3 different locations over a period of several weeks, the scores of all shooters are not know yet.
Saturday practice - have not shot since last weekend and kept arm band on all week. Most of the pain seems to be gone. Practice started off poor and could tell there are problems with my arm, however, was able to shoot a new high score for the 45, 294-8x backed up with a 290-8x. The 22 was a bit down with a 286-6x backed up with a 291-9x. Worked the rest of the day at the tournament helping out on the line. Competition was very tough on Saturday with some very good scores posted.
April 15th 2012 - Wisconsin Indoor State - Score 1705 41x (94.7%) 1st Sharpshooter / 3rd Overall
Awoke at 5:00, checked the online forums like every other day. Spent enough time outside yesterday to realize allergy season is bad this year, feel like I have a cold. Plan to be on the road at 8:15 to get to the range in plenty of time. Ended up leaving earlier and arrived very early. Had plenty of time to BS with the match director (Ron S.) and the official (Jon N.). Had lunch before the match, ate too much. I looked over the score sheets and saw that the top score was a 1761 which certainly established a very high goal for the day!
The match started good for me, 22 slow fires were 93, 95, & 96 so things were off to a good start. Timed fires average 98 and Rapid a few points lower with a final for 22 being 863 24X. Moving onto the 45 for the center fire portion didn't work out as well. Slows were; 88, 92, and 88. Timed averaged 95 and rapid averaged 95 with score for 45 of 842 17x. The overall score for the match was 1705 37x (94.7%), certainly not good enough to make Master class so I have to work a bit harder! A quick glance over the other scores showed that I ended up in third place. Looking back to last year's scores of 1559 27X (86.6%), I can't complain as I certainly improved!
While shooting I noticed two areas of problems: I was fatigued and I was thinking WAY too much for sustained fire. I was not shooting on instinct, I was working through most of the trigger pulls, same problem with 45 slow fire.
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