Many Days of Much Shooting

I have clearly fallen out of the habit of posting range day reports on a regular basis, but that doesn't mean I haven't been poking holes in paper bad guys. Despite the distraction of rifle shooting, I have put in a couple of good 100 round pistol sessions. I have been struggling with speed on the press out which has been partly responsible for my slow draw/first shot speeds. As it stands I can have speed or precision, but would like both. To this end I have taken to shooting Bill Drills, 6 rounds at 7 yards on an 8 inch circle shot cold at the beginning of a range session. My best time so far is a 3.33 clean. I can go faster but not better. I also shot a 6.59 FAST the other day, which wasn't bad considering it was after a long stint of unserious pistol shooting. Also recorded in my notes are a 46 and 49 out of 50 on Dot Torture at 4 yards.   Shouldn't be long before I'm back another yard.

How am I going to work on my precision problem? The same way I worked on my accuracy. Shooting tiny targets at shorter distances. This should help me with my press out precision, or make me go back and fundamentally alter the way I present a pistol from the holster. Break it down and build it back up correctly seems to be the way to fix bad habits and unsatisfactory performance.

Between these range sessions and shooting with friends and family I have put another 400 rounds through the USP 9. 28 measly rounds remaining on the 2000 round challenge. So close.

In other firearms news...
If you have any interest whatsoever in old guns, get your C&R license. It's easy to get and you can get cool stuff like this Type 53 delivered directly to your door. This handy little recoil machine from AIM Surplus shoots straight and sounds like a cannon. A Type 53 was the first Mosin Nagant variant I ever fired, and now it's the first C&R firearms in my collection.

I will warn you that a C&R license will do dangerous things to your bank account, and you will bring up things like cosmoline removal and proof marks in everyday conversation and people will look at you like you are crazy. Oh well. Their loss. They didn't know how to get cosmoline off the cocking knob of your M39 Finnish Mosin anyway.

2,000 Round Challenge

An update to the 2,000 round challenge for my USP 9, I currently have 1,572 documented rounds down range (not including some that I never counted). To date I have encountered 0 failures to fire, eject or feed. The only problem I have encountered has been failures to lock back on empty because of the occasional sloppy support hand grip. It has taken longer than I expected, in no small part because of my failure to document every round fired. I will definitely get to 2,000 before I switch to shooting the M&Ps and endeavor to persevere with documenting every round fired.

Pocket Rocket

Lately I've been looking for something I could slip in a pocket to carry as a backup or when a holster and proper pistol aren't an option. I looked at Smith J frames and the Ruger LCR and I may have even briefly considered a LCP (not my finest hour). But then I spent all my money on another M&P so instead I threw a new set of grips from handgungrips.com on Great Uncle Bill's Charter Arms Undercover, bought a cheap pocket holster and said that'll do.

Fortunately this is an early Charter from the company's first iteration and is therefore not a piece of junk. Combined with a couple of speedstrips and a HKS speedloader I've got a capable and incredibly inexpensive carry rig since the pistol was given to me.

I plan on putting this thing on the timer and seeing just how slow a pocket gun is. Fortunately I have shot this pistol quite a bit since it was my only pistol for a while and I'm already familiar with the controls and trigger. Hopefully the learning curve won't be too steep because of my familiarity with the gun.

However, I am not very comfortable relying on the Undercover as a primary. Everything about a small frame revolver is a compromise. The grip is small, so my grip is a compromise. I'm carrying it in my pocket which is easy and convenient but compromises speed and ease of access from many positions, including seated. It is also chambered in .38 special which is probably the best choice for a 2" barreled revolver, but falls behind even 9mm ballistics, so it's a compromise in that regard as well. It also only holds 5 rounds and is slow to reload, but the low capacity makes it small and thin, yet another compromise.

I've been carrying it a bit now, and this setup is definitely convenient, and I see how it would be easy to let that convenience convince someone that pocket carrying a small pistol is the best way to carry. Easy? Yes. Comfortable? Very. But severely lacking in capability. I don't see myself ditching my Shaggy and USPs any time soon.

Range Time 01/28

This past week my only range time, excluding a little plinking with my 10/22, was spent with friends putting lots of holes in paper with a wide variety of guns. It was fun, but doesn't do a lot for progressing in skill. I did a few runs with my USP 45 CT from an AIWB holster, and other than the flinch it rapidly induced, the results weren't bad. Speed didn't seem to be a problem, but my hits on low-probability targets weren't as consistent as with the USP 9. I have carried the 45 CT a few times in public, and appreciated the thinness of the grip compared to the 9 when wearing closer fitting cover garments.

The flinch I gained from shooting the lightweight 45 was annoying, but I expected it given my steady diet of 9mm lately. The comparitively soft recoil of a fullsize 9mm makes it easy to compromise on your grip, especially the incorporation of the pectoral muscles to squeeze the grip between the palms. I may consider shooting the 45 for a while, then switching back to the 9 to see if the improved grip helps with speed. Other than the vastly different recoil impulse the controls are identical, and I didn't find myself searching for the mag or slide release, and reloads were solid.

In M&P news I've put in an order in for Cane and Derby's new PIC AIWB holster. Apparently they have discontinued the old Pardus AIWB. I'm eager to try it out. The new FDE 9 fullsize continues its flawless performance, but still only has about 200 rounds through it. The minor magazines not dropping free thing has been rectified through the careful application of some fine grit sandpaper. Compared to the USP the sights track a lot faster on the M&P, no doubt in part to the lower bore axis. It will be interesting to see how this translates in my constant quest for speed (hot, nasty, badass speed if you ask Eleanor Roosevelt).

In other shooting news, I've become intrigued by rifle shooting again, thanks in part to repeatedly encountered references to the Appleseed Project and because I've been perusing an excellent blog called Art of the Rifle. After I found some qualification targets sized to be printed on 8.5x11 paper I tried my hand at becoming a Rifleman yesterday.

I ran the modified 25m qualification course twice and scored a 201/250 on the first run, mainly because of a less than stellar zero on my 10/22. After giving the scope (I know, cheating) about six clicks to the right, and using a hasty sling I proceeded to shoot a 234. Other than using the 4x scope on the rifle as a crutch, I was fairly satisfied.

Step two of my quest towards becoming a proper rifleman  involves acquiring a USGI loop sling (on the way via e-bay) and borrowing a .22 with iron sights from my father.

Step three involves a M1 Garand or '03 Springfield, and hopefully some proper long range shooting. My right shoulder leaps with anticipation, or cringes with anticipatory pain. Close enough.

Mission Accomplished

Well, as of today I have accomplished one of my goals for the year. It only required money, and the only skill needed was properly filling out a 4473 and I routinely score advanced at that. I have added a full size M&P 9 to my collection, though I feel odd calling carry guns a collection. Specifically it is on of the range kits that comes with a Blade Tech holster and double mag pouch, an extra mag and a UPLULA. Not a bad deal, though I don't particularly care for the mag pouch. I found the original reciept in the box, from May of 2011, which included abou 300 rounds of practice ammo. Judging by its condition that's about all the ammo that has been through it. It's a sharp looking gun with the flat dark earth frame, but form should always follow function and it needs to pass my reliability and accuracy standards before I bet my life on it. Provided it passes and I acquire a quality concealment holster for it I plan on the Big Platform Switch late this spring.

I haven't shot much since my post about my goals for the year, but I did get to take a couple of guys from work shooting. One is planning on purchasing a pistol soon and the other is contemplating building an AR. Didn't shoot very seriously but I did get a little time with a borrowed Smith model 29 in .44 mag. What a great pistol. A true classic everyone should shoot at least once.

Last week I didn't shoot at all so this week I finally decided to shake the rust off by putting some rounds through the new M&P. It shot well but I found myself missing the Apex RAM I installed in my compact. As funds permit I will be installing full Apex action enhancement kits in both guns. The highlight of the 140 rounds I put through my new pistol was a simple walkback drill on a 3x5 card. I started at 7 yards and finally missed at 34. Not bad for the first time shooting a new pistol. One minor glitch, all my mags aren't dropping free but I am investigating possible remedies.Upon close inspection there is a prominent mold line in the magwell that I will be addressing with a little sandpaper.

Now I need a good appendix holster, a low profile mag carrier and a set of Ameriglo Hack sights and I'll be ready for summertime. Oh and skill. I need some more of that, and probably some practice. If only I was as good at shooting pistols as I am at buying them.

Shooting Goals 2012

With the new year I'm in a resolutiony mood, so I have decided to set some goals, performance and equipment based for the coming year.

My first 50/50 (barely)

• Shoot a 50/50 on Dot Torture at 7 yards. Currently I'm shooting it at 4, and hitting 48/50.
• Shoot a consistent sub 6 second FAST drill. Ideally I'd love get to a point where I can shoot sub 5s but that may be a goal for next year.
• Shoot more. I'm considering adding another 50 rounds to my weekly practice. I'm finding 100 round sessions a little short, and I make more progress when I shoot more. 
• Replace the sights on my USP, probably with a set of Heinie straight 8s, unless Ameriglo comes to their senses and starts offering some more HK options. 
• Get a full size M&P 9, and appendix holsters for it and my compact. I really like these guns, but would like to finalize my transition to appendix.
• Shoot a match. USPSA, IDPA, Cowboy Action, it doesn't really matter. I just need to get out there and shoot competitively. 
• Shoot more for fun. Its important to work on skills, and record draw speeds and split times and shoot for score, but not all the time. 

USP 45 CT, a gun you'll hopefully see more of in 2012

These goals may change as the year progresses, and I'd like to come up with some more performance based benchmarks to help me keep developing as a pistol shooter. I should probably shoot some of the more comprehensive drills, like the Humbler, or 99 drill, to see how I stack up. There are also other skills that I would like to incorporate; positional shooting, shooting on the move, and more low light practice. We'll see what the year holds.

Range Days, 12/19 and 12/29

I've been to the range a couple of times since my last post, and shot some interesting drills that have highlighted some of the areas I need to work on.

Last week I had a little longer range session than usual, since it had been over a week since I last shot. I shot three drills. The first was a simple bulls-eye shooting drill from 25 yards. Three strings of 10 shots each, two handed , strong hand only and weak hand only.

String 1: 90, 2x
String 2: 72, 3x
String 3: 69, 1x

Skill I need to work on: not sucking at one handed shooting. I don't know that I'll ever be great at one handed shooting, but I firmly believe that I have the ability to not suck.

Drill two was pistol-training.com's FASTest. The FAST is a great way to measure a lot of different skills in one drill as it measures Fundamentals, Accuracy and Speed. The drill is shot at 7 yards, and involves two shots from a concealed draw to a 3x5 card, a slide lock reload, followed by four shots to an 8 inch circle. This was my first time shooting this drill, and it showed on my first two runs. As usual I "tried" to go fast and it didn't work.

The first run was a 8.0 with a missed head shot for a 2 second penalty and total time of 10 seconds. The second was a 8.5, with a missed head shot and a missed body shot for a total of 11.5.

The third and final run I reined it in and put together a 6.5 second run with no misses. The press out was good, I broke the shot at full extension, and the reload was fast. Everything looked and felt right. Now if only I could do that three runs in a row on demand.

Then I ran a few two shot draws to a 3x5 on the timer, trying to get as close as possible to 3 seconds, while focusing on the press out.

I followed up these two drills with a run of dot torture from 3 yards, and shot my first 50/50. All in all a very satisfying day at the range, and 150 malfunction free rounds through the USP.

This week was much of the same. Pistol-Forum's drill of the week happened to be the FAST. Pretty much the same story as last week.

Run 1: 7.35 -1head 9.35
Run 2: 7.53 -1head 9.53
Run 3: 6.25 clean

I also ran some more 3x5 two shot drills, with a 3.2 second par time, and a few 1 reload 2s. I also shot dot torture since I happened to have a dot torture target in my range bag, this time from four yards and shot a 48/50.

My range time, and occasional dry fire has been focused on a proper press out lately. For the unfamiliar a press out is about the only way to shoot a DA/SA gun quickly, and essentially negates the speed advantage of single action and modern striker fired actions on the first shot.

To perform a proper press out the gun comes straight up out of the holster to a very high ready position. Then the shooter presses the gun toward the target while simultaneously pulling the trigger. The key is leveling out the gun and aligning the sights as early in the press out as possible. The speed of the press out is dictated by the size and distance of the target, and ideally the shot breaks as the shooter nears or reaches full extension.

This method helps with first shot speed as well as decreasing the chance of snatching the trigger or improperly prepping the trigger, a problem a lot of people have, me included, when shooting DA/SA pistols. I'll try and get some videos posted if I can.