Projects

I have a number of projects going in my mind for my hardware, and I want to collect them all here before i forget.

Backup Airgun: now that I'm getting more serious about International 10m Air Pistol, I want to build up my Crosman 1377C into a 'backup' 10m air gun. As it is right now, it appears to be accurate enough, though the sights are crude, and the fact that I can wiggle the breech with my fingers disturbs me. Also, the potential to get my hand pinched while pumping it is always present, so I want a forearm that will mitigate that somehow. Finally, the grip and trigger aren't quite up to snuff, so thise should be addressed.

I could purchase another IZH-46M, or I could purchase something more high-end and make my 'Izzy' into the backup gun, but I like the idea of modding the 1377. Making a set of grips for it, for example, sounds like a good way to get into grip-making.

National Match Rifle: My current rifle is close to being suitable, in my mind, but it needs a few things:

1) free-floated, 1:8 or 1:7-twist heavy barrel. Currently, the barrel is not free-floated, and it is 1:9.

2) National Match rear sight. The A2 rear sight is functional, but the hooded aperture of the NM sights would be better.

3) proper stock weight. Currently using a bunch of .44-cal bullets. Battle-rattle, indeed.

S&W Model 52: I want to get a BME dustcover mount, and a set of Karl Nill match grips, and then it will be 'the' companion to my Model 41. Similarly...

1911 Wadgun: I want to get a Nill Grip for it to complete the 'set', though I've heard a lot of shooters prefer the slab-grips. I suppose I'll simply try it, and if it's a no-go, someone else will want to try match grips on a 1911.

TOZ-35: In recent practice I've done pretty well with it, and I think I'm finding my groove now, but I'm still wondering if a set of Rink Formgriffe grips would be 'better' for me than the big, beefy OEM grips.

S&W Model 629-5, 6": I just can't seem to settle on a grip for this thing. My latest trend is to use Pachmayr grips on my N-frame beltguns (a 629-5 4", a 625-6 4" Mountain Gun, and a 610-3 3-7/8"), which currently look good and feel good. I think a Pachmayr Presentation grip will be the ticket, however. Speaking of which, the springs are mis-matched on the 6" 629-5, as well as the 625-6. Those will need to be addressed.

Ruger Redhawk: I finally shot the thing for the first time yesterday, and found Paul's loads to be pretty mild...so mild that I'm considering using the gun in revolver-only Bullseye competitions (so...just the Mid-Atlantic Revolver Regional Championship, then). To that end, a scope mount and a T-grip might be appropriate.

So that's a lot on my plate just in terms of hardware, and there's more that I haven't written here, but I think the next year or so will be pretty busy in terms of projects.

Kinda Sorta Tactical Game

The Kinda Sorta Tactical Game has been running now since December, 2011, and I've managed to participate in nearly all of them. I'm a professed pure-target sportsman and thus only dabble in the other disciplines, so it doesn't really come as a surprise that I am routinely in the bottom half of the standings at these 'holster games'. But I have a lot of fun stretching my legs, and it's an interesting way to see how the pure-target disciplines translate and influence the others.

I'm also the only person to routinely use a revolver in these games; most of the world has moved on, but I like to show how [in]effective a revolver can be in a sport (and world) dominated by double-stack semi-auto pistols. For instance, the latest edition of the KSTG featured limited-availability targets that really challenged me and my equipment - some targets would only be available for a short time, which for semi-auto guys would be pushing the limit; for me, it meant that I would be guaranteed to be points-down.

But I had fun with it, anyways.

5 Year Plan

So it's been 5 years since I last updated this blog - I'm not even sure what I used this blog for anymore...probably something to do with guns.

Anyways.

Let's see...what have I done in those five years...

I managed to make NRA Conventional Pistol "Master" in both Indoor and Outdoor Bullseye. I've even made "High Master" for Indoor. I've embraced semi-automatic pistols: I've known for a long time that I shoot far better with bottom-feeders than with wheelguns, but my goal was to make Master with wheelguns -- and I did that in 2011 - first with Indoor by completing the 2010-2011 MPL season with an overall 95%+, and then in outdoor by shooting a Master-level 2700 score, and then shooting a barely-Master-level .22 aggregate and cutting my losses and retiring after the .22 aggregate. By then, most of the shooting goals I had set out for myself had been achieved: make Master, earn the Distinguished Revolver badge, earn the Distinguished Pistol Shot badge (my last "hard leg" was at the New Jersey State Pistol Championships, which I attended for the sole purpose of shooting the EIC match -- my 2700 score was terrible, and my DR score was lackluster, but I rocked it in the EIC match, taking highest non-Distinguished and second overall), and I even won a match outright (Mid-Atlantic Revolver Regional Championship at AAF&G - a match I wasn't even planning on shooting, but attended because Brent O. wanted to borrow my .22 revolver). I did also win the Capital 1800 match at HH&A that Fall (and that's a story by itself).

After that, I figured I was "done" and was transitioning to bicycle racing. Indeed, in 2012, I shot very little at all, only participating in the Metro Pistol League out of habit, and shooting the later matches in the year since there were no bike races then - the Walt Wise Memorial Police-L match at HH&A in September, which I won, and the Capital 1800 match again at HH&A, which I also won (again).

In 2013, I figured it was going to be another 'blah' year for me and Bullseye - I had a new goal, not at all related to shooting: earn enough upgrade points to upgrade from USACycling Cat 4 to USAC Cat 3. Doing this meant I'd have to do consistently well in races to earn points, and to do that I needed to be pretty fit (and also race savvy). To do that, I basically had to ride all the time - my singular focus was on bicycling, and so shooting fell by the wayside. I did actually attend a 2700 match during the Summer, but only because there weren't any races scheduled that day. I did find the time to practice-up for the match, and I was able to take 2nd overall and 1st Master, and I did it with my new-to-me 1911 wadgun (yes, I finally jumped on the bandwagon).

But again there was not much shooting for me during the Spring and Summer. I branched out and attended a handful of run'n'gun matches - the Kinda Sorta Tactical Game, some USPSA-rules matches, and even a couple NRA Action Pistol matches. I still use revolvers for those (even though I've jumped on the autoloader bandwagon in Bullseye), and I'm currently seeing the fruits of my labor, having shot Bullseye for years and years and having excellent accuracy and competition mentality because of it.

In the Fall of 2013, I again competed in the Walt Wise match (again winning), and also the Capital 1800 (3rd win in a row). I also started to get interested in International-style shooting (after being told in 2012 and again in 2013 after winning the Walt Wise matches that I should be competing in those disciplines while I still can) - I attended my fourth and fifth ever International Air Pistol matches in October and November, and even shot a Free Pistol match in October.

So now I have some new goals: to improve in air pistol and free pistol shooting, to compete in International pistol shooting, and to one day represent the United States in a shooting match.