First match of the year! And a milestone for myself!

I was so pleased and excited with my results in todays match that I had to share it here. It was a 2700 all in one day outdoor type match. Wether was cold! 

A new personal best for myself with my 22. 889-38X!!! I was tickled to death to shoot that well especially after pulling off a gutsy move the way I did in my second to last rapid fire target. I had one shot away and the gun went click. Crap! It was a malfunction I've had trouble with recently - the gun failed to pick up a cartridge off the magazine. The previous cartridge casing did eject. It was cold and the gun short stroked. I knew what had happened and my thoughts (over the course of a split second) were "it could happen again in the next target or next string. Don't waste an alibi on something that can be solved by racking the slide." So in a rush I reached up and snatched back the slide chambering the next round and blazed away at the target before it could turn away from me. I consider myself very lucky pulling off a 99-5X. I don't know if the majority of the X's were in the first string or the second. All I knew was I needed to get the dot on target and get to work. 

My centerfire agg was not as good. 862-33X. After that we broke for lunch and I thought to myself in the truck as I munched on some crackers, ham, and cheese about where I was at in terms of score. Not an advisable thing to do. But I couldn't resist. I had never broke 2600 before and I thought with an 889 in the mix I might have a chance. So all I would need would be 849. I figured "Oh I got this! So long as I don't screw up royally!"

So we get back to the line and I did okay with the slow fire work. I was not worried. In fact by my estimations I had a chance of shooting a fair bit over 2600. That was until the rapid fire match (last two rapid fire targets). Stuck a 94 up on the board. I thought "ok get your head back in the game and focus. Do your job. Make good shots. Don't rush. Don't over think." I didn't listen to that last part by the way....

Last target first string. Four shots away and they felt good ... and then the target turned away from me and I didn't have a chance to get the last one on the board. Crap! I had slowed down too much and tried to make my shots too perfect. I really screwed the pooch there! Felt crushed! Next five shots I did my best to push the previous string out of my head and focus on getting what points I could (what good shots I could) and when it was over I was glad it was over! It was cold, I was tired, and I felt sick thinking about having 2600 in my hands and dropping it  ....  or did I?

Ended with an 858-29X!!!!! 2609-100X !!!!!!!

Made it over the hill! 2600+ for the first time! (and with a miss!)

What a day!

Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Nice work, a good plan and you stuck it out.
I like hearing stories like this .
Ron

Good job balancing the greedy mind with the productive mind.  That is a very impressive score considering the reracking and the miss!

Welcome to the club. We have crackers.

And ham.

john bickar wrote:Welcome to the club. We have crackers.

And ham.

I shot with Jason today, in fact I got 2nd of 5 shooters, his score far outpaced my 2475. He was a man on a mission. Congratulations!!

I shot a personal best of 866 on the 22, not near as impressive as Jason's 889. The 45's really beat me up, I had limited 45 practive over the winter and it showed.

Nicely done!

fantastic all!
inspirational to we minions...

Great Shooting Jason


getting ready for the Regional 

Thank you! Zane congrats on your 22 best. Keep hammering away at it. Keep it smooth. Keep it moving.

Excellent shooting Jason.

Good Job! Now it's easy!
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:Good Job! Now it's easy!
Jon

Bull! The only reason I was able to get over 2600 was my 22 agg. My 45 scores need work.

So get them up! I broke 2650 my 2nd match after breaking 2600 the first time. It's all in the head.......
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:Good Job! Now it's easy!
Jon

+1

This thread is inspirational. Thanks.

Congratulations!  A 2609 - 100x, with a miss!

Well since no one said it yet ..... get your X count up

Tim:H11 wrote:I consider myself very lucky pulling off a 99-5X.

My opinion is quite the opposite.  I know you are being modest, but I would say that your luck had flown out the window at that point and only deeply ingrained skill pulled you out of the fire.

You made a split second decision during a situation that would break the morale of many shooters instantly and the stress of which could easily be carried to further rounds.  

Instead of crumbling, you got back in the game like a boss and stayed there.

That day, you were lucky not to have a flat tire on the way to the match, but not to break 2600!!!

Congrats Jason!

Chris Miceli wrote:Well since no one said it yet ..... get your X count up

I knew it was coming. Just a matter of time before someone said it. 


A few reflections after sleeping on it and thinking over the match and talking about it with friends and family yesterday - just some things I took away from the match to hopefully improve on next time. 

1. Make sure you (talking to myself but if it’s helps you too then by all means read on) learn and know your grip for SURE. Is it repeatable? Can you maintain it in sustained fire? Also make sure you learn and know and remember where the trigger is supposed to touch your trigger finger. At 25 yards you can get away with a little more than you can at 50 yards. At 50 yards it has to be a way of shooting that gives you a ten. And then you have to repeat it without change. I had trouble at 50 yards in the center fire agg. But I figured it out and straightened myself out for the work at 50 yards during the 45 agg at least. My short comings were largely grip related I believe and some to with trigger control. 

2. The rapid fire match (last two rapid fire targets) of the 45 agg - I ranked. Big time. Instead of being 97+ on those two target I was 94, and 88. Not good. Why? Because I was tired, it was cold, and the finish line was in sight and instead of focusing on my JOB! ... I let myself become distracted and relaxed. I made mistakes I’ve long since learned to over come. “Wait! You’ve learned to correct these mistakes already? Then why did you make them?” Because I was not focused on the job at hand. It doesn’t mater how tired you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re two targets away or two shots away from the end. The end is the end and there is no substitute for it. Which means you hunker down when you’re feeling like you’re slipping and you get your head back in the game! Push on till it’s over. You slip and you can fall. If you’re careful, when you slip you can catch your self and pick yourself up before smashing your face into the dirt. I didn’t maintain the focus or momentum I had until the end and that’s how a good rythum falls short and the score suffers.

I didn’t learn this yesterday. I knew it already. But when you see it clearly - you understand it so much better.

Congratulations! You did it the hard way!

Well done!

Awesome! I’m working on 2500. 
Kurt

AWESOME!!