A Weekend of Catching Up

I'm "bachelor-ing" this weekend while my Sweetie is off at an Appleseed. I've got hammer-and-nails stuff and gun stuff to do, including the final dialing in of the Mini Race-Gun .22. Call me crazy, but I think I'll do the gun stuff first...after I finish watching "King Arthur" for about the umpteenth time. Of course, I'm only watching it because there are no Godzilla movies on.

I'm going to shoot the Mini Race-Gun revolver and, heaven help us all, a bolt-action rifle at the NSSF Rimfire Challenge match we're filming for SHOOTING GALLERY. The reason I decided to do and film the Rimfire Challenge this way (especially given that NSSF is eliminating the "Mechanically Operated" category for the matches this year) is that I want people to consider using competition in different, more personal ways as opposed to an end in itself.

As I've mentioned (repeatedly), I have 2 goals for the next 12 months — working on improving my rifle skills, especially with bolt guns n anticipation of another African trip after I win the lottery or something, and getting a grip on my abilities with a DA revolver. Might as well take every opportunity I can get to move toward those goals.

While we're on the subject of competitions, there's an interesting article over on the Sensible Self-Defense blog on training to get off the "X:"

One of the challenges many long-time IDPA shooters face is the tendency to start the draw and then move. When I first began practicing the skills I learned in Close Range Gunfighting, I genuinely believed that I was moving and then drawing my pistol; however, the video proved I was not. This is a common training scar associated with those who regularly shoot IDPA and one that takes some effort to overcome. Based upon our experiment, the time I was taking in subconscious IDPA-mode to begin my draw before I started moving would have likely resulted in me taking a bullet. 

"Training scars" are interesting beasties, and they're the logical consequences of all competition (and all training, for that matter). The training "doctrine" we've tried to evolve on THE BEST DEFENSE is one that constantly challenges its presuppositions. It's hard, and occasionally anger-inducing, but it's important.