TRAINING LEAD-UP
Monday, June 15:
My new CZP10C ported with the Aimpoint COA arrived, so I picked it up and started giving it a try.
I'd have to get used to a single-dot reticle, vs the Primary Arms ACSS Vulcan chevron + large circle that I'm used to. I do like the large circle for finding the dot more quickly, and the chevron is nice for holding the correct amount.
The COA has a closed emitter, though, and maybe there are benefits to a small dot, like having a precise aiming point, vs the triangle that I have to typically work with.
The pre-installed COA was pretty close to being on, and I only ended up adjusting two clicks right.
I spent 3 mags of ball and dummy at 7yd, 1 @ 25yd pre-adjustment, 1 @ 25yd post-adjustment, then 2 more back at 7yd to confirm that the change was ok up close.
I then did 4 full mags of 7yd pairs to get to know dot return patterns after recoil.
Tuesday, June 16:
4 mi ruck at Renaissance Park in the tennis area, with an early exit back to the main entrance, while playing Ingress wearing Brooks running shoes, carrying a 30#RPC. It made me appreciate the hip belt. There were mosquitos, which made it not so pleasant.
For dry fire, I worked with the occluded CZP10C, with
- 2 mags of draw and shoot
- 4 mags of cold starts with 180 degree turns with hands above shoulders to start
- Multiple targets practicing on target focus (finger staying off the trigger for this, to just focus on the vision aspect)
Wednesday, June 17:
18A "Upper Body Prep" in 24:42, then "Pull-up" in 36:51. I did 2:25 of a 60#SB OH hold as a finsisher... I wanted to make it to 2:30 but dropped 5s early. I had a much-needed long nap earlier today.
Thursday, June 18:
Finished reading "Baseline Dry Fire - Guide to Red Dot Mastery" by Ben Stoeger and Joel Park... high-level but covers the bases.
Friday, June 19:
Home - Day 20 - Still & Day 24 - Process | MOVE yoga with Adriene
SAWMILL GUN RUN
I don't always make it out to this particular edition of the Gun Run due to scheduling conflicts, but I was glad that I made it this year, because it was one of the best individual gun run matches that I've done so far, and it ended up being my first time passing all of the stages. I can't put too much stock in having completed all the stages, since it's dependent on whether the MD decides to through a really tough stage in there, but I'll still be proud of how far I've come since my first match. A guest MD Ryan Hemmingway set this one up.
We'd have a fun twist to the start. When it's time for your run, come to the check-in table, but have all your kit in a "go bag", other than your rifle. On the beep, you'd run to the shoot house and kit up there in a "locker room". There was intel that we'd need to find there, too. It didn't have to be a formal go-bag... it could be anything that cold hold all your gear, even a trash bag. I used a 57L kit bag, which I normally use for range days anyways.
As another twist, before the start, we were given a green arm band. The goal would be to not lose it during the event, either by accident, or by failing certain tasks.
Start:
I went into the shoot house. I went through most of the rooms but did not find a locker room. I wasn't the first runner, so there should've been empty kit bags from the runners who had started before me. I made it all the way to the exit without finding the room, so I decided to just kit up at the far end of the shoot house and go from there.
Pre-stage 1:
From the shoot house, now kitted up, we'd run to the connex. Rather than directly start doing Stage 1, though, there was a pre-stage activity... there would be a hostage and hostage taker around the barrels, and we'd have to rescue the hostage.
It was Mr. Bean... who was the hostage. I made the heat shot with no issues.
Stage 1:
- Using the wobbly stairs if you want, toss the grenade into the bucket on the 2nd floor
- Shoot a circle steel with pistol, 4x, then shoot a 6-leaf dueling tree (any hit is fine)
- Run to the second floor of the connex (turns out you have to open the door yourself... I didn't realize this and spent time trying to figure out where I was supposed to go). Run through the smokey room. From the far window, shoot 4 hits at a rifle torso, then to to the close window and do 4 more hits on the same torso.
Learnings/Outcomes: Pass in 69.48 (44/112 passers / 122 overall)
- On the first pistol target, I hit, missed, hit, missed, then hit all the rest.
- Rifle was shot clean
- The Steady Shot on my handguard probably helped with stability on rifle.
- The door must've been closed to keep the smoke in the room and to increase the "cool" factor of the experience. This was a really fun stage.
Stage 2:
After a long run down the river trail to the riverside bay...
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
- Start with your rifle staged at the rifle shooting position, mag in, bolt forward, empty chamber
- Go into the river with only your head out of the water (so your pistol and all your other gear is in the water)
- Exit the water on the beep, run up the bank
- From the pistol position, shoot the close pistol target with 4 hits
- Move left to the rifle position and shoot 3 targets (2 torsos and 1 plate carrier cutout) 3 hits each
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
Learnings/Outcomes: Pass in 66.69s (49/87 passers / 122 overall)
- I didn't like having to submerge my pistol, since I brought my open emitter pistol+optic... we've never had to submerge our pistols before at events that I've been to. If I had known that this was a possibility, I might've brought the new gun with the Aimpoint COA instead, even though I haven't shot with it that much yet. If my optic did get destroyed by water, that would cost like $300-ish...
- For my first shot on pistol, the dot seemed dim, and I missed. But then, after recoil (which caused water to splash off everywhere), the dot was bright again. I wonder whether I had seen just a reflection of the dot before. I made the otehr hits.
- I missed a few times on the plate carrier cutout rifle target since you have to know where to hold with a smaller aiming target... I needed bottom edge.
- My mags were sandy, after starting wet in the water and going prone in the sand. I did my best to wipe it off as I ran to the next stage, while also topping off mags.
Stage 3: (Rifle only)
- The targets are the steel with X's drawn on them
- Shoot 2 targets on the back berm, 1 hit ea, starting from low ready, with a tripod to help you, if you want to use it
- Go up to the left side of the left bush and shoot the front 4 targets, 1 hit each
- Move right to the left side of the right bush and shoot the same 4 targets, 1 hit each
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
Learnings/Outcomes: Pass in 59.41s (36/111 passers / 122 overall)
- It dawned on me right before this stage that I supposed to get intel at the shoot house. Since I never found the locker room, I never found the intel. If I had remembered that I was supposed to find intel, I would've gone back and done a more thorough search for the locker room, which had ended up being the first room on the left. I'd have to just figure out what the intel might've been, on each stage.
- Since there was nothing super distinctive about any of the targets... they were either the X ones or the non-X ones, and none of them had clothes on, I figured that this might not be in stage where I'd need intel, so I just shot it normal and hoped for the best
- The RO was thoughtful and adjusted the height of the tripod before it was my turn
- The tripod's tac table was canted, though, so while shooting, I kept yanking shots left... I didn't think my trigger press was that bad, so I wonder if the cant (a diagonal one) had something to do with it
- I did have a lack of visual patience and/or bad trigger presses from the bank, though. My modified prone felt janky, since you had to twist your body right to get the three targets towards the right side of the bay.
- There were flashers on the back targets, which was good, since I wouldn't have known that I had hit, otherwise.
Stage 4: (Pistol Only)
- Start sitting in a waterfall, rifle staged away on a tree
- On the beep, go to position 1 and shoot 12" circle steel 3x. Repeat from position 2. Repeat from position 3.
- Run to the rock and turn left and shoot an unknown number of hostiles, 3x. There ended up being 2 cardboard targets with shirts.... one black shirt and one black shirt with a bible verse. Anywhere on cardboard would count, but I shot the exposed cardboard head... not sure if shooting the shirt counts, since you can't easily tell.
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
Learnings/Outcomes: Passed in 54.74s (90/112 passers / 122 overall)
- I had never been to this spot at the Sawmill before. It was pretty.
- I had a malfunction during the pistol shots on steel... it looked like a round trying to go in where there was already something in the chamber (empty case, maybe). I dropped the mag to clear it, since it was kind of jammed inside. I wonder if it was related to topping off 17+1 again.
- When I saw the two shirted cardboard targets, I guessed that this was the intel stage. I had to pick between one with a bible verse and one without, so I shot the one without the verse. Turns out I picked wrong. Fortunately, this did not cause a DNF, but I did lose my green armband.
Stage 5: (rifle only)
- From spot 1 with tires on your right, shoot 2 hits on the left torso, then drop mag and shoot 1 on the right torso. If you miss on the right torso, you have to reload, drop mag again, and retry the shot until you make it.
- Move to spot 2 (another spot with tires on the right), but you can have no mags in your hands as you move, to force a less gamed reload. Repeat the COF from spot 1.
- Move to spot 3 (on an IBC), but you can have no mags in your hands as you move, to force a less gamed reload. Repeat the COF from spot 1.
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
Learnings/Outcomes: Pass in 85.06s (108/111 passers / 122 total)
- I barely made it, with 5s left
- I chose to insert my mag into the chest rig each time, vs dropping the mags on the floor... who knew if I'd need the mag, and I didn't want sandy mags causing malfunctions later on, plus I wouldn't have to spend time picking them up off the floor during run time later.
- I missed the HVT once, which is costly because of the time it takes to reload adn try again
- The targets weren't hard, since we had the option to brace on the tires, but the shots still weren't that easy, due to heart rate or something... well, I had wait time, so HR shouldn't have been a factor, but something was.
- I missed about 4x on the left target, but that's not as costly as missing on the right target.
After another decent length run...
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
- Start at low ready, standing in the swimming pond in front of a barricade that has an upper 2x4 and a lower 2x4, waist deep
- From the lower 2x4, shoot the left "key" target, then steel 1, then key, then steel 2, then key, then steel 3.
- Repeat the rifle COF from the top 2x4.
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
(Photo credit: Jimmy Nutt)
Learnings/Outcomes: Pass in 34.49s (42/119 passers / 122 overall)
- My pistol got wet again from having to squat for the lower 2x4 position
- I had a couple of misses on the key, maybe, but it wasn't terrible
- I felt slow, because finding the center of my complex reticle took time... maybe because of whatever magnification I was using? My default for today was 3x. I probably should've turned on the red dot illumination on my LPVO for this
Stage 7: (Pistol Only)
This was more stages than usual.... I'm all for it!
- Run to the car and shoot the big static steel on the plate rack, followed by the 6 plates (rifle staged away)
- Run to the bucket and shoot the hostage taker with 1 attempt
Learnings/Outcomes: Pass in 28.61s (42/116 passers / 122 overall)
- Shot it clean! That felt good.
- Realized I had lost a pistol mag somewhere, despite putting bungee over it, I though. Fortunately, someone turned it in, and I got it (empty) from the lost and found after the match ended for the day. Did I not bother to put on bungee if I had returned an empty mag? I thought I typically topped off my mags, though.
Final Bit:
I went back to the shoot house to doff my gear.
When I got back to the start, I found out that the penalty for losing my green armband was that I had to go to the O-course and do the window and the cargo net. Fortunately, I made quick work of that.
Overall: 18/122 running, 60 / 122 shooting, 31 / 122 overall
- 4.1 mi in 86 min minus 11.05 wait time = 72.95 run time
- I should consider turning on my red dot on my LPVO next time. I'll need to figure out if it matters more when I have low vs high magnification.
- It's curious that I only had 1 pistol malfunction today, so I'm still not sure whether it's the 17+1 that reliably causes the MF or what... probably safer to only do 16+1 though.
- I need to improve my grip and trigger control
- I think the Steady Shot was good today
- I need to bungee my mags all the time in physical matches
- Hopefully the pistol RD doesn't rust and cease to function
- Having a water bottle in my dump pouch didn't bother me while I was running. I never got thirsty, maybe because I had the bottle and was drinking from it.
- I'm glad the penalty for the special tasks was just losing the green armband (if you still had it), vs a DNF
- Good guessing on the intel, even if I forgot about it at first when it mattered.
Sunday, June 21:
Glute and pec PT v2 with the 12-rep scheme in 30:35, then a 5K row on a Concept 2 in 23:26 burning 286 cal, taking 26spm, with a 155bpm ave HR, at level 6 resistance, in GORUCK I/O's. It's good training for DEKA and TTG, and the low-impact, indoor exercise was more appealing to me, than being out in the heat.
I ended up rucking 5 mi in 2:13:55, though, with a stop at Rocky Branch after picking up some photos. There were wild berries on thorny bushes, and I grabbed a handful each time I passed by, for 4 handfuls total.
For dry fire, I did 3x15 reps of pairs, drawing the TitanX from concealment in an Eclipse holster from gym shorts. It prints a ton in real life, but I think the reps of drawing were still legit.
I noticed that my second shot tended to go left. I also noticed that while I started with good left hand pressure, it waned as time went on, since I wasn't actually having to fight recoil.
I did 4 mags of draw and shoot afterwards, with the occluded CZP10C. I was slower today by 0.1-0.2s, maybe from fatigue from all the weekend activity. Sometimes, everything feels so "right"... I need to figure out what's different about those presentations.
JUNE BLACKSTONE USPSA FOURTH MONDAY MATCH
Stage 1: <Virginia>
- Start hot and holstered with hands on XX's on boxes, facing uprange
- Move around/through the boxes to the window and shoot 4 IPSCs @ 10-12yd, 2 hits ea
- Move up to the right land to the right side of the wall and shoot 3 IPSCs @ 10yd, 2 hits ea
- Move up to the left lane to the left side of the wall and shoot 3 IPSCs @ 1yd, 2 hits ea
Learnings/Outcomes: 12/14 Div, 21/23 Overall
- 20A in 27.95s = 3.5778% HF
- I did OK with remembering a good strong left hand grip, but I still didn't have the cleanest shots. Still managed to get all A's, though
- I don't know why I decided to do an unnecessary rack of my slide after the mag change... maybe it's a training scar from matches where we have to start cold and load and rack on the clock. At least I remembered that I needed to do a pre-emptive mag change, though (since it was a 20-rd stage)
- I had wide feet planted, which is good, but I seem to take unnecessary adjustment steps to get to that position
- I went through vs around the boxes to save on distance, which I can get away with, with my build
This is what was inside the boxes!
Stage 2: <Virginia>
- Start with hands and feet on the XX's, hot and holstered
- Shoot 6 IPSCs @ 5yd along a lateral lane, do 1 head shot around a wall and barrels at 7 or 3yd (depending on where you take it and how much you want a shorter distance vs a covered target), then shoot 1 partial with a NS from the front end of the lane, 2 hits ea
Learnings/Outcomes: 14/14 div, 20/23 overall
- 14A, 2C in 22.22 = 3.4203% HF
- I decided to be brave and try lateral walking and shooting
- I went slow to make sure I got the hits
- I should've slowed down more on the head shots, maybe, since I got the C's there
- Overall, I was happy
- I'm remembering my grip more today
- I didn't realize that you could take the head shot by the barrels from a gap in the wall midway down the lane. It's closer, but there's less head surface area available to shoot at
- All but the last 2 targets are visible from 1 static position, but you'd end up shooting the wall on the left if you tried to get them all from there, resulting in a MDQ and NTR, which gave me extra incentive to try the W&S despite having the opportunity to do 1 then 5. It's good practice, anyways, since the stages aren't always designed for W&S, and even when they are, they aren't always with target difficulties where it's really an option for me
Stage 4: <Comstock>
- Start with hands on XX's on the table, gun unloaded on table
- Shoot 1 partial and 2 full @ 7yd from the left side of the lane
- Shoot 1 head around the right side of the middle wall @ 3yd
- Shoot 1 head around the wall and barrel @ 7yd
- Shoot 3 partials, 2 hits ea, from the front of the lane @ 2yd
Learnings/Outcomes: 9/14 div, 15/23 Overall
- 14A, 2C in 24.35 = 3.1211% HF
- It was my turn to go first
- I didn't realize that it was un unloaded start until it was my turn to go
- I got 2 Cs on the head around the corner by the wall and barrel again
- I chose to still go around that corner, vs taking it from the gap that was closer... who knows if that was the right choice
- I couldn't top off for the 18rd stage since it was a cold start, but I remembered to do the mag change
- I put the gun on the left side of the table so that I could grab it with my right hand as I passed on the left
- I also shifted my center of mass towards the left side of the table so that I'd have less running distance
- I was happy overall
Stage 3: <Comstock>
- Start standing on XX's in front of the wall, facing downrange, with hands above shoulders, gun hot and holstered
- Go to the back side of the windowed wall and shoot through the port @ 1 partial (A body only), 2 full, and 1 head @ 5yd
- Go to the right lane and shoot 2 heads and 1 partial on the right side of the wall @ 7yd
- Go to the left lane and shoot 3 heads @ 1yd from the left side of the wall, 2 hits ea
Learnings/Outcomes: 12/14 div, 20/23 Overall
- 19A, 1C in 32.75s = 2.9924% HF
- I did a make up on the head on the first array
- I feel like I had aa couple of brain farts and went slow along the way, but they were decent shots
- I'm not sure why I chose to run on the uprange side of the right wall, instead of on the downrange side like I had done in Stage 1.
Overall 13/14 div, 22/23 Overall
- I remembered my grip much more today, somehow. It only feels right to press hard now.
- Good wide feet planting
- Good stage strategy
- Good being brave and trying walk and shoot
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