Uncategorized

Gun Nuts Media is opting out

Posted on by Caleb

All of the members of Gun Nuts’ staff have received their press credentials for the 2011 SHOT SHOW in Las Vegas, which means we’ll be able to give you live updating content from the show floor this SHOT SHOW.

But that’s not what this post is about.

I’m not flying to Vegas.  I would rather drive the 1,131 miles to Las Vegas over the course of a couple days than put up with the TSA’s “Enhanced Shenanigans”.  I don’t like bombs on my airplanes, and I theoretically like the concept of airport security.  I don’t like little ol’ grannies and small children being subjected to enhanced screening, and I don’t want someone looking at my junk or really anyone’s private parts when it’s been proven that those types of screenings don’t do diddly for preventing terrorism.  You know what I would like to see?   Bomb sniffing dogs.  Bomb dogs actually work.  I’d much rather see every person and every carry on item sniffed by a dog than these stupid scanners or “enhanced pat-downs”.

But that’s what this has come down to.  The only way this is going to change sadly enough is to hurt the airlines in the wallet until they demand that the federal government change their idiotic policies.  Until the TSA either changes their modus operandi entirely or is disbanded, I will only fly as an option of last resort.  I will drive everywhere I can.

I guess the terrorists really have won.

IDPA

IDPA this weekend

Posted on by Caleb

Looking to shoot some IDPA this weekend?  Come on up to Norpoint Shooting Center in the Smokey Point area for their monthly IDPA match!  Details are here, this is a sanctioned club level match so you’ll need a concealment garment and 100 rounds of ammo to be on the safe side.  I’ll be there shooting the match, and we’re going to have an announcement about a special class that we’re looking to put together for January.  Shooters at Norpoint’s match will get first crack at sign ups for the class!

shooting

The press-out visually explained

Posted on by Caleb

I’ve mentioned repeatedly over the past couple of weeks that I’ve been really trying hard to work on my press out.  In response, I’ve had people ask me what exactly I’m talking about when I say “press out”, because it’s a term that’s not well defined in some shooting circles.  Todd Green (who was the first person that I read regularly to use the term) has a great post up explaining what the press-out is.  To steal an explanation:

The main points are that the front sight moves fairly straight along the eye-target line, and the shot breaks as the gun stops moving at full extension. By doing three things at once (extending, aiming, pressing) instead of sequentially, you can save a surprising amount of time.

I honestly only discovered the press-out recently.  I used to throw the gun out to full extension and then try and find the sights then press the trigger, which resulted in me hitting a hard wall of speed around a 1.5 second draw.  No matter what, I couldn’t get faster than that by doing those three actions sequentially.  By doing them at the same time though I can regularly cut that draw stroke down to the 1.10-1.25 number, which in terms of competition shooting is a tremendous improvement.  The point of the proper press-out is that the combination of all three actions is faster and creates a simpler process of getting the first shot off.  Instead of “draw, aim, shoot” as separate actions, you get one continuous process that results in the gun going bang at the same time everything else comes together.

In the recent Insights Training Center Intensive Handgun Skills class the lead instructor John Holschen spent a tremendous amount of time on the press out drill.  A proper press-out creates speed; and if you watch top level competition shooters (or even me on my awesome days) you can see that the first shot will often break before the arms are extended and the follow-up shot hits just as the arms reach full extension.

So what’s the secret to a good press out?  There really isn’t one other than practice, but if I had to pick one area to focus on then it would be to break your draw into two completely different speeds.  When your hands are empty and you’re going for the gun, go a jillion miles per hour.  Go as fast as your body will move.  But when you hit the gun and you’re started to extend it out for your press out, go as fast as you can see the sights.  It’s difficult.  Changing speeds from warp 9 to whatever speed you need to get your hit will feel weird.  It still feels weird for me in practice when I’m doing it, but it also works.  At the class, we did a drill, just a single shot to an A-zone at 7 yards.  I said to myself “I’m going to do a perfect press out and not worry about the time”.  So I did, broke the shot and it felt slow.  I was waiting for John to tell me my time was a 1.8 or something, but then he said “1.3”.

Watch the videos of the press out at Todd’s youtube channel.  If you can learn by watching, I suggest trying this in dry fire practice with a light switch or small object as the target.  Once you feel comfortable dry, go live at the range.  I honestly believe that you can’t over emphasize the amount of work you do on your press out, and improving your skill there will make you better at any discipline whether it’s Steel Challenge, USPSA, IDPA, or Bianchi Cup.

Uncategorized

Why you should number your magazines

Posted on by Caleb

A new post is up at the Shooter’s Log on why it’s important to number your magazines for your carry and competition guns.  Like I say on the post, I number all my mags regardless of whether it’s a “serious” carry gun or a competition gun.  I don’t want to lose track of which piece of gear failed during practice and have that gear die during a major match.

IDPA/shooting/USPSA

Why I Compete

Posted on by Caleb

Competing is fun. If you don’t already know you’re going to have to trust me on this. I just recently discover the immense thrill of hearing “Shooter ready! Stand-by!” followed by a loud buzz; the adrenaline rush of running from barrier to barrier, tap, tap, bang, bang, slayin’ frickin’ bodies. Fun: that’s all there is to it at the end of the day.

Of course, at first it’s all timidity – what am I doing? It’s like a friend of mine always says, “If they’d kicked me in the back before my run that first night, I would’ve just figured that’s how things were done.” However, it only took once for me to see the amazing amount of support I had for getting my red-head out on the hypothetical battlefield and mustering my way through the unknown.

The social aspect of any sport, any industry, is extremely important; and to see the people in the room stepping up to show me support was awesome beyond what I had imagined. Even now I see that support from friends, coworkers and customers. They all know I can do it, they have all seen me improve. I actually had a customer look at me nostalgically the other day and say “I remember a year ago when you were just learning to shoot handguns, and now you’re designing courses of fire.”

From AR lessons with coworkers to safety lectures (and bad pirate jokes) from my favorite SOs there is consistent encouragement in every league I’ve shot in, not only to have a good time, but to have the opportunity to learn and grow. It’s moved beyond just feeling supported, as in my first weeks of tap, tap, bang, bang, to feeling empowered. Having more knowledge about guns and competing than the average Joe off the street is extremely important, not only in my line of work, but being who I am in my line of work.

Competing gives me a level of credibility above and beyond wearing a black polo, which is something that is genuinely important  in some circles. I’ve spent most of the last year trying to soak up as much industry knowledge as possible and the fact is that attending competitions gives you a new and interesting aspect on the industry and provides input on products and tactics that you don’t get standing in a gun store or behind a range counter. You get to see everyone’s cool toys and the stupid things they do with and to them. You can hear different sides of any given topic and get actual consumer feedback on a wide variety of products put to an array of different uses.

Competing has been an educational endeavor that has proven important to me professionally and personally, and, at the end of the day, running and gunning is just a blast.