TRAINING LEAD-UP
Tuesday, Aug 4:
Skills & Drills USPSA training. We got to start with draw to first shot on the A-zone from 7yd, the AET August Pistol Drill. After a few tries (where I was a little high and right or a little to slow), I got one in!
Next, we worked on exits/entries and walk and shoot, forward,
backward,
and laterally.
> I need to get the gun up early
> Land with legs wide and stable
> Step over while maintaining my level and keeping sights on target
I did have the 17rd mag get an early slide lock again, so I wiped down the insides of the mags, in case.
Wednesday, Aug 5:
7 mi zone 2 run in 2:14:21 in Brooks Pure Flow at Renaissance Park with 2 loops, playing Ingress. My back is improving, but I still feel it at times. My pace was 19:12/mi.
This was my day to work out, between shooting days. I can't handle that much working out at the moment anyway, though.
Thursday, Aug 6:
I got to pass on some shooting knowledge with MR. We covered a pretty good curriculum... many topics, with the main goal of conveying concepts that can then be practiced later on.
- 4 rules of fifrearms safety
- clothing recommendations and hot brass warnings
- 5 fundamentals of marksmanship
- 2 ways to load a pistol
- how to reload
- slow aim fire
- trigger reset
- malfunction clearing
- pairs
- multiple targets
- right- and left-handed shooting
She had irons, so I used irons for my demos.
Afterwards, I stayed for some more practice on irons myself, with the G19C.
- cadence work
- delorian
- one-handed shooting
Irons are harder and feel slower, but my hits were surprisingly good.
Irons are harder and feel slower, but my hits were surprisingly good.
Friday, Aug 7:
5 mi ruck in 1:43:59 with a 30#RPC wearing MACV2s, playing Ingress after my allergy appointment. It was good cardio.
Did dry fire...
- 2 mags of draw and shoot.... I was fast today, even though I wasn't feeling fresh beforehand and hadn't really been in the mood to dry fire.
- 2 mags of right and left-handed with the CZP10C, alternating 5 left, 5 right
- Multiple targets left/right/up/down
- 2 mags of draw, shoot, reload, shoot
Saturday, Aug 8:
Went to the neighborhood fitness room with my mom. I biked 15 mi on a knock-off Peloton in 45:03 and did 10 min of arm strengtheners afterwards... nothing crazy, since I need to try to gradually ramp back up.
It was funny... my 70+yo mom was doing leg extensions like it was nothing. I went to see whether she was using a super low weight or something, and it was like 60#. I tried to do them, but my knees didn't feel happy about it for whatever reason, so I couldn't. She made it look so easy!
We hung out by the pool for a little bit afterwards. It has a festive atmosphere to it, as if everyone there is on a holiday.
And I played NYC Ticket to Ride with my dad. He likes board games.
My mom and I went out to dinner later on. This place is famous for their bag of fries that you get to shake with their parm garlic seasoning. Their vegan cashew smoked macaroni and cheese is also popular.
Sunday, Aug 9:
I decided to RO at the Geissele Gas Gun match at Coleman's. I haven't shot one before, since I don't consider myself or my guns strong gas gunners at mid-distance targets.
Fortunately, I was assigned to a stage where the targets weren't super far, so spotting wasn't as hard. I wasn't the spotter, though, since the squads would primarily be responsible for spotting, but I also had a co-RO, who helped with spotting. I explained the stage instructions, ran the timer, and entered the scores.
I didn't learn anything super new by watching people, but I did have fun doing it. You don't get bored, since the match keeps flowing because you need to keep everyone going so that the squads can rotate and not have to wait on each other.
We did have a downed target that I got to call in. You also get nice views being outside, even if it's hot.
Tips for ROs:
- Bring binos and a scope. At shorter distances, binos with less magnification work better.
- When other stages are shooting nearby, you have to watch the shot timer to see when your shooter finishes, since the number will keep going up with other squads' shots.
- The tripod workstation was a nice place to hold stuff
- Pants with many pockets are useful, for radios, timers, stage descriptions, phones, etc.
Afterwards, I helped my co-RO, who was new to long range, get a PR hit on 2 MOA diamonds at 1270yd by spotting for him. He's been wanting to do this his whole life, and now he was getting the opportunity.
It was too hot for me to want to shoot myself.
Monday, Aug 10:
Cadre Norwich was in town, so the ruck club got together for a 5 miles on the greenway, which we covered in 1:31:26. I wore MACV1s, which are still somehow holding together.
Near the end, I spotted a turtle in the middle of the greenway. It wasn't obvious that it was a turtle, since it was very small and looked like dirt, but I saw his legs and head. A friend moved him over near the stream. He would've likely been crushed by bikes or by feet, if we had not moved him.
Another solo lesson with Emily.... more work on exits/entries/walking & shooting...
- Get the good shot before exiting, vs being so focused on leaning out of it that you yank a C
- Stay disciplined with good shots even on the close targets... no reason to miss them by rushing
- Pivot to stop on a backwards entry (vs shuffling backwards and still be moving)
- Reloads while moving backwards are awkward due to the 180... try to avoid them, but if you do have to do it, at least be doing something while you're moving
- I wiped out on a backwards run but stayed pointed downrange with finger off the trigger, so it was ok, other than bruises and a bruised ego, haha. My holster's ALS broke and trapped my gun in there after I resholstered, though. I had to take the screws off to free the gun... carefully, since it was hot.
Afterwards, I did the APFT, to get in a post-Pathfinder class endex data point. I wasn't sure how it would go, with my back/rib injury...
Fortunately, it wasn't bad. I could feel it a little, but the muscles still had some strength. I guess the past 3 weeks of laying off was kind of like a 3-week pre-marathon taper.
45/40 pushups, 82/76 sit-ups, 15:48/17:00 2 miler, with having to stop twice to gag on post-nasal drip. I finished the assessment with a 2-mi ruck in 34:40 that ended after midnight. There was supposed to be a meteor shower that night, but I forgot about it and didn't look for it.
Thursday, Aug 13:
6 mi zone 2 run at Latta Nature Preserve in 1:39:14 (16:33/mi) wearing Saucony Nomads. My right glute was still tight from the day before, but it was manageable. I played Ingress.
I received my 1H2026 pistol drill patch for attempting all 6 of the monthly Armored Eagle Training pistol drills and passing at least one of them.
For dry fire,
First, I did 4 mags of draw and shoot... I was fast today.
Then, I did 2 mags of turn 180 and draw, load, and shoot from cold and holstered.
> Rack it like you mean it so that you don't get a dead man's gun
> You can be just as fast staying upright instead of turtling
> The second mag was much more consistent than the first mag
Next, I worked on footwork and barricade work.
- Lean out for 2 and 2, then walk and shoot laterally as targets appear.
- I drew and got out as quickly as possible on the beep... in a real situation, someone might have the gun drawn before rushing to expose themselves.
Went to Coleman's with SB, to prep for TPG Team Match
We started with the August AET Rifle Drill.
- 5yd
- 3 A-zone targets, with 2 feet from edge to edge
- From high ready, shoot 2L, 2M, 4R, 2M, 2L
- The standard is 3.15s.
One odd thing about my run was that I couldn't find a 4th normal-looking hole on the target, but there was triangle-shaped shrapnel. Did my 4th round keyhole (as in hit another hole in exactly the same spot)? or was the triangle the 4th round that somehow tumbled?
Anyway, cues to keep in mind were height over bore and not trigger freezing. I had done warmups, but I went back mid-attempts to practice some more 4's to get that down.
Next, SB and I took turns making up stages to run together.
Team Pistol Drill - Fanout
- Run up to the barrels
- From your respective side, shoot kneeling with 2 hits per a-zone on the front 3 targets
- Run out to your respective cone and shoot 1 baby steel to earn 1 shot on the paper IPSC
This one was pretty straightforward, so we didn't repeat it. It was a good warmup, though.
Team Pistol Drill - Walk-and-shoot Relay
- Walk and shoot horizontally for 5 targets with 2 hits each, then shoot the baby steel at the end.
- Swap shooters, and go in the other direction
Each of us went both directions for 2 runs.
Team Rifle/Pistol Drill
- Run up to barrels
- Shoot standing 2 hits per A-zone on the three targets in front
- Use the barrel to shoot 1 hit/A-zone head on each of the three targets
- Run up to your respective near cone and shoot 2 right-hand only and 2 left-hand only shots on your lone cardboard IPSC
- Then walk and shoot diagonally on the baby steel
> We did well on rifle with all A's, remembering height over bore for the head shots.
> I went slow but was happy with my walk and shoot on the baby steel.
> We both got our one-handed shots, too
Solo Rifle Drill
- Run to the right side of the barrel stack and shoot 2 hits on the right IPSC prone
- From the fault lines behind the barrel, shoot 2 hits ea on the trio of IPSCs from the right side
- Switch to left shoulder and shoot 2 hits on the left IPSC from the left side
- Transition to pistol and shoot 2 at the left IPSC from the left side, then shoot 2 on the right IPSC from the right side.
We ran this one twice per person. My first time, it took me a while to see through the scope, since I had to consciously use my left eye. The safety also took a little longer to put on after finishing hte left side
It still blows my mind that you can just step over the stick and stay low and on target.
Next, we went to do some mid-range rifle work.
We ranged and shot at targets from 90-270yd to start.
Learnings/Outcomes: 8/14 Div, 13/21 Overall
- 14A, 2C in 24.66s = 3.0819% HF
Rifle COF 1
- Start at the picnic table
- Use any pogo stick prop to shoot at the 90yd IPSC
- Use any concrete block to shoot the front diamond
- Use any barrel to shoot the 270yd square in the forest
Rifle COF 2
- Start at the bench
- Stand once you hear "threat" and shoot unsupported at the 90yd IPSC
- Go to the tank trap and shoot the front diamond
- Go prone and shoot the gopher at 190yd
Concrete Block Drag Race
We did 10 reps where we'd get off shots as quickly as possible.... use the top of the concrete block for the IPSC @ 90yd and use the lower block for the back diamond...
Since the game was about speed to first shot, I always went standing on the IPSC first, although SB alternated, so that she could practice getting into position fast for kneeling, which was a good idea.
BLACKSTONE USPSA AUGUST THIRD MONDAY MATCH
While I was in the safe area turning on my dot, I discovered that my dot wouldn't turn on. The Holosun 507C with ACSS uses a CR1632 battery, which the shop didn't have. Fortunately, a fellow shooter had one, but when I installed it, the dot still wouldn't turn on. I had used this gun recently, with no signs of any dot issues, so I was surprised. I guessed the optic had somehow died. At least I had irons to use as a backup. One of my CZ's lost its front sight early on, but I use that gun for dry fire now, so it was good that this gun still had its front sight.
Stage 1 <Comstock>
- Start hot and holstered with hands on the XX's
- Shoot 2 IPSC (1 full @ 1yd, 1 head @ 3yd) 2x ea from the gap between the walls
- Run around to the other side of the long wall and shoot 3 (1 full and 1 partial @ 4yd and 1 full @ 5yd) around the right long wall
- Run to the left side of the starting XX's hoot 1 head above the barrel and 1 partial below the barrel at 3yd
- Move further left around a wall to shoot 2 full IPSCs @ 3yd
Learnings/Outcomes: 13/14 Div (Carry Optics, even though I was using irons), 20/21
- The irons on this gun are low, and there's a dead optic in between the front and rear sights, so it was more challenging to use the sights than with a stock G19
- I ended up point shooting most of it, but that was good enough
- 16A, 2C in 30.03s = 2.8638% HF
- I forgot my planned reload between positions 1 and 2, so I had to do it at the last spot mid-string
- I started to holster after spot 1 to turn and run backwards but stopped myself... habit
- I did one extra makeup shot on the head shot at spot 1 after seeing my miss
- The slide locked to the rear at the end after 3/17 shots in the mag, but thankfully, it was on my last target, so I didn't have to reload yet again
- I looked indecisive with my movements on video, since dealing with the dot ate up my normal rehearsal time. At least the RO let me skip and not have to go second or whatever was originally scheduled.
Stage 2 <Virginia>
- Start with hands on the cart handle, standing behind the cart, gun cold and on the cart, with all mags coming from the barrel in the middle.
- Run up to the front diamond and shoot 1 head, 1 full, 1 chest A-zone through teh port @ 3yd, 3x ea
- Run to the back triangle and shoot 1 full and 1 partial with blank @ 5yd
- Grab another mag from the barrel (if needed) and run to the left triangle to shoot 1 head or chest band, 1 full, and 1 diagonal black partial @ 5yd through a port
Learnings/Outcomes: 11/14 Div, 16/21 Overall
- 24 A in 33.20s = 3.6145% HF
- I stayed front-sight focus and resisted the temptation to check the bullet holds, since this was VA count, anyways
- I used 2x 15rd mags with 124gr S&B intentionally, since I had issues with the 17rd mag with 147gr having the slide lock back early on the previous stage
- The RO pointed out after I went that I could've saved some movement distance by doing my mag change between positions 1 and 2 instead of between positions 2 and 3... very good catch!
Stage 4 <Comstock>
- Start with feet on the XX's, hot and holstered, facing uprange
- Turn and shoot 1 diagonal black partial and 1 full through the port @ 3yd, 2x ea
- Run to the left box and shoot 1 head or chest band and 1 full @ 5yd and 1 head @ 10yd through the port
- Run to the right box and shoot 1 full and 1 half black partial @ 5yd and 1 A-zone chest @ 12yd
Learnings/Outcomes: 13/14 Div, 19/21 Overall
- 14A, 1C, 1M in 32.71s = 1.9260% HF
- I shot 3 per on the front targets, still used to the habit from the last stage
- I shot 3 per on the front targets, still used to the habit from the last stage
- I went first, so there was no time for me to internalize the round count per target by watching others
- I exited spot 2 forgetting that I needed to also engage the far head and had to go back
- I reloaded as planned
- I shot 2 extra on the back A-zone chest, but I still ended up with a M... 3 of the M's were on the right side. I should've slowed down a bit more, maybe
- Overall not terrible other than the mental mistakes
- I used 15 round mags with 147gr (didn't have spare 124gr) with no issues
Stage 3 <Comstock>
- Start anywhere outside the shooting area, hands above shoulders, gun hot and holstered
- Shoot 2 heads with NS's @ 4yd around the right side of the long wall
- Move around the long wall to the wall gap and shoot 1 head or top of chest A-zone @ 1yd
- Move left and shoot 2 heads with NS's above the barrel @ 1yd. Move left a bit more around the barrels to shoot 1 more head.
- Move past the leftmost wall and shoot 2 full @ 2yd
Learnings/Outcomes: 8/14 Div, 13/21 Overall
- 14A, 2C in 24.66s = 3.0819% HF
- Went R->L, but L->R would've been fine, too
- Saw a C on the last target, but it would take too long to try again, by the time I realized it had happened, so I didn't
- The other C was on the behind-the-barrel head
- I somehow still ranked at about my usual place, maybe even slightly better, despite shooting with irons.
- Good irons practice
- It turned out that I had installed the battery upside-down, which is why it hadn't worked.
- Too bad I discovered that only after I removed the optic... I dislike having to re-zero red dots
- I feel like I was forced even more than usual to call my shots based on my sights, instead of looking for holes, since looking for holes on paper takes way too long when your default focus during shooting is on the front sight... probably a good thing
- The ROs for today were really good about giving me tips after I shot, and they were encouraging
- The 15 round mags didn't give me any issues, unlike my 17 round mags
- The stages were fun and really creative.
