Guns

Corrected Rangemaster Level V Handgun Qualification Course

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I shot the Rangemaster Level V Handgun Qualification Course…. or so I thought.

When I saw the listed course it did look like a Rangemaster course, but doing the math on the course didn’t add up. So I dropped a line to Tom Givens to ask. He sent me the corrected course:

  1. 3 yards – Draw and fire 3 rounds. 2.5 seconds. Repeat.
  2. 5 yards – Draw and fire 5 rounds, dominant hand only. 5 seconds.
  3. 5 yards – Start at (low) ready and fire 5 rounds, non-dominant hand only. 5 seconds.
  4. 5 yards – Draw and fire 3 to the chest and 2 to the head.5 seconds.
  5. 5 yards – Draw and fire 3 to the chest and 2 to the head, dominant hand only. 6 seconds.
  6. 7 yards – Draw and fire 5 rounds. 5 seconds.
  7. 7 yards – Start at (low) ready, 3 rounds only in gun. On signal, fire 3 rounds, reload, fire 2 rounds. 8 seconds.
  8. 10 yards – Start at (low) ready, stove-pipe malfunction in place. On signal, fire 2 rounds. 5 seconds.
  9. 10 yards – Start at (low) ready, dummy round as top round in magazine (live round in chamber). On signal, fire 2 rounds. 7 seconds.
  10. 15 yards – Draw and fire 3 rounds. 5 seconds. Repeat.
  11. 25 yards – Draw and fire 4 rounds. 8 seconds.

There are 50 rounds total, 250 points possible, 200+ to pass.

According to Tom Givens, on an RM-Q2 target the rings are scored 5, 4, 3, and that would work on an IPSC target.

To understand the context of this course, it is fired during the Rangemaster Level V class as a progress check. According to Mr. Givens, 90% or better is pretty good performance.

Big thanx to Tom Givens for sending me the corrected information and fielding my questions about the course.

Gunsite and Rangemaster standards

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

Did a little shooting today. No strict practice. I wanted to run a couple standards against a timer and see how I do.

The Courses

Gunsite 250

It’s been hard to find a clear description of the Gunsite 250 standard. For instance, what target? I figure from a holster, but open carry or concealment? Is there a particular scoring, or just you “hit in the right spots” else it’s a miss? So I just filled in the blanks for myself and this will be “my standard”, if you will. Even if this winds up not being exactly like the Gunsite standard, well, this is the course I shot.

I shot at a home-make IPSC target. I get lots of cardboard from UPS deliveries or Costco or wherever, so on pieces big enough I keep them and trace out my own IPSC target at the official size. It’s cheap, and works with that “reuse” portion of recycling, and then I can still recycle it when I’m done. 🙂  I shot my Springfield XD-9 Service from an IWB holster, drawing from concealment (t-shirt, pulling it upwards). No race, no gaming, like I carry.

From what I can tell, the standard looks like this:

  1. 3 yards – 1 head shot in 1.5 seconds
  2. 7 yards – 2 rounds to the body in 2.0 seconds
  3. 10 yards – 2 rounds to the body in 2.0 seconds
  4. 15 yards – 2 rounds to the body, standing to kneeling, in 3.5 seconds
  5. 25 yards – 2 rounds to the body, standing to prone, in 7.0 seconds

I couldn’t get to 25 yards nor go prone, so #5 was shot standing to kneeling at 20 yards.

My times:

  1. 1.72 seconds
  2. 2.3 seconds
  3. 2.39 seconds
  4. 3.39 seconds
  5. 4.63 seconds

Not bad, but not great. I also didn’t get 100% A-Zone hits. On the whole you can see I’m running just a couple tenths of a second slow. I’ll analyze in a moment.

Rangemaster Level 5 Handgun Qualification Course

This is the way I found the test. While the description only said “fired on an RM-Q2 target”, given the nature of the Rangemaster classes I’m going to assume this course of fire also assumes things like a concealment draw, carry guns (i.e. not race guns), and so on. I shot this using the same equipment and setup as above, including using an IPSC target instead of the RM-Q2.

  1. 3 yards – draw and fire three rounds in 2.5 seconds
  2. 5 yards – draw and fire 5 rounds with dominant hand only, in 5.0 seconds
  3. 5 yards – from low ready, fire 5 rounds with the non-dominant hand only, in 5.0 seconds
  4. 5 yards – draw and fire 3 to the chest and 2 to the head in 5.0 seconds (the write-up I found didn’t say “dominant hand only”, but I shot it that way because the next string did explicitly say “non-dominant hand only”, thus I figured this string must be dominant hand only).
  5. 5 yards – from low ready, fire 3 to the chest and 2 to the head with the non-dominant hand only in 5.0 seconds
  6. 7 yards – draw and fire 5 rounds in 5 seconds
  7. 7 yards – start at ready, fire 3 rounds, reload, fire 2 more rounds, in 8.0 seconds
  8. 10 yards – start at ready with a stovepipe malfunction in place. Clear the malfunction and fire 2 rounds in 5.0 seconds
  9. 10 yards – start at ready with a dummy round at top round in the magazine. Fire 2 rounds in 5.0 seconds (my assumption here was a live round in the chamber, so bang, click, tap-rack, bang).
  10. 15 yards – draw and fire 3 rounds in 5.0 seconds
  11. 25 yards – draw and fire 4 rounds in 8.0 seconds

Supposedly the total possible score is 250 with a 200 to pass. Trouble is, I can’t figure that out. If my math is correct, only 44 rounds are fired, and assuming 5 points for each proper hit, how do you get to 250?

Updated: Here’s the proper course.

Nevertheless, I had only 3 non-A-zone hits: 2 were in string #5, the 2 to the head with the weak hand (they were just below the A-Zone), and then one Charlie. My times:

  1. 2.16
  2. 4.110
  3. 4.05
  4. 4.41
  5. 4.23
  6. 3.30
  7. 4.60
  8. 3.37
  9. 4.04
  10. 3.71
  11. 6.28

Seems acceptable, but more analysis in a bit.

Bill Drill

I didn’t plan on doing a Bill Drill but I figured why not and ran it. Target at 7 yards, from concealment, same equipment and setup as the above. I did 3.03 seconds.

Analysis

I’m no Rob Leatham, but I’m happy to see I’m improving.

I shot this cold. Just set up the targets and off I went. I only let off 2 shots prior to starting so I could ensure the shot timer was working (more on that in a bit), and then those weren’t even trying… just for the noise. The Gunsite 250 wasn’t that good, but it all came down to a simple thing: I need to get faster and more efficient. I need to get simply faster. The primary place for this is my draw; concealment draw is just slow but I know I can get quicker with even more practice. Speed can come in other ways like just getting my brain to shorten the reaction time between when my eyes see the “good enough” sight picture for the distance I’m shooting at, my brain processes that, then brain tells trigger finger to move. That’s just going to take more live fire to get there. The efficiency part comes with compounding movement, like getting on the trigger sooner.

The thing is, I didn’t go into shooting this with any particular mindset… just shoot. What I saw is some improvement areas from long ago are becoming natural. What I also saw was the recent improvement areas are not yet natural. This goes back to what I’m working on now, which is getting the finger on the trigger sooner and working to just generally speed up. Dry fire can help me with the draw speeds and getting on the trigger. I will need live fire to help improve my eyes and brain processing.

I am happy with how I shot. I had a couple true “WTF” moments, especially with the malfunction drills, and my body just moved… no thinking, just doing. I am also really happy with my 15 and 25 (well probably 20) yard performance; it’s just applying fundamentals of trigger control and sight picture, and not going too fast. But I know I can do better. Accuracy is good enough, so for now I’ll work more on speed: getting on the trigger sooner, improving draw from concealment times, and so on. Yes more dry fire is in store, but I also need more live fire practice than I’ve been getting.

To me, the key for today was to continue to establish hard data points for myself, and to shoot some courses of fire I haven’t shot before. Practice practice practice, then shoot them again. Work to beat the par times and shoot them 100% clean. Quantified performance is useful.

Updated: for later reference, how to improve split times.

Other Tidbits

Snake Loads

Some time ago foo.c gave me a bunch of old .38 ammo, and included in them were about 8 .38 Special shotshells. Check out what The Box O’Truth has to say about them. I’ve been curious to try them out. I don’t think they’re good for anything except as snake-loads. Given the place I was at today is known for having venomous snakes about, I not only had my snake gaiters on but figured to load my snub revolver with these loads.

Before packing up, I shot two of them to see how they would perform. Both shots were on cardboard out of my snub revolver, one at 3 yards and one at 5. They shot fine, but the pattern is very wide. I would say, at least out of this snub, that 5 yards is kinda pushing the limit for a pattern that hopes to hit a snake on the ground… 3 yards is perhaps even a bit much, but that pattern did seem to be “hand sized” (my hand, spread out). Not horrible. Certainly I plan on carrying these things in my snub when I go into the field… I see no reason not to.

SureFire Shot Timer

SureFire made a free shot timer for the iPhone. I tried it once before but it failed miserably where a real shot timer succeeded. My guess? We were shooting under a tin roof and all that echo created too much noise. Probably could fiddle with adjustments to get it just right, but meh… didn’t bother at the time.

Today I was out in the open country: nothing above me but blue sky. Furthermore, there was no one else around, no other shooters, no other sources of noise. So I figured this would be a good “ideal situation” to try out the timer again.

I fired one shot, it didn’t pick up, adjusted the sensitivity to 100% and it picked it up, so I left it there. I used that timer in all of my work today. Just set it to beep for a random start, then I’d shoot. It recorded all the shots and split times just fine. Even caught some slide racking a couple times. I’m pleased.

One thing I noticed was the difficulty in finding the start button. I’d find the button, press, search the screen with the sun glare to ensure it started, then I’d get ready to shoot. While I was shooting I found this annoying because it rushed me. There were more than a few times I would finish verifying it was running (and of course that meant maybe a second went by), look at the target and then immediately heard the beep… I wasn’t ready! It was a little irritating. But looking back on it now, I’m glad it did that because it added a dimension of pressure and stress to me… it took away my ability to have a 100% clear head that was 100% “game focused”. I didn’t have time to start the timer, then clear my head and settle in ready for the buzzer. No, I had to get right to shooting. I’m glad it happened, and I’m glad it annoyed me, because it gave me what I needed: pressure.

Anyway, I’m happy with the timer, especially given it was a free app. For now I’m going to continue using it instead of buying a dedicated timer. It’s “good enough” for my needs. I’m sure eventually a dedicated timer will be purchased, but meantime there’s other things that need my financial attention. 🙂

Daughter

Daughter came with me for all of today (setting up the game camera, filling the feeder, shooting… she would tell me the course of fire and record my times). It was good to spend time with her. 🙂

I’m big, but not the biggest

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

I’m a big guy. I’m 6’3″ tall, a little over 200 lbs. I’m strong. I’m fit.

Many times in public I’m wearing some sort of boots, thus I’m even taller. Given my size and stature, I have a strong presence. I am bigger than most people.

But just because I’m bigger doesn’t mean I’m the biggest.

I’ve been around guys bigger than me. They may be shorter, but they’ll have a neck like a tree trunk with biceps and thighs of according size. Or they may be taller, and be built like a tank.

But they don’t always have to be bigger. I recall doing some physical drills with SouthNarc, and while he’s smaller than me (lighter, shorter), the first thought that went through my head was “Holy crap, this dude is strong!”.

There’s a misconception that just because we’re big guys means we’re somehow more capable, or less vulnerable. Take this Robb Allen post:

“I’m not surprised that David would tackle somebody like that. He’s 6’5″ and he knows how to handle himself.”

Size has little to do with being bulletproof, mind you. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why some people carry guns – to protect themselves from the physically superior. Still, I’m very glad he did what he did. He quite likely prevented more shootings.

Yes, there’s something to being a bigger guy; I didn’t ask to be built like I am, but I’m certainly happy I am. But like Robb says, we’re still not bulletproof. Many times when I’m at a concert (and rock and heavy metal shows tend to cater to a particular sort of crowd), I observe and consider the people around me. Yeah maybe that dude is short, but he’s a bull. Or there’s some dude that walks around and blocks out the sun (and it’s all muscle). There’s always someone that’s going to be bigger and badder than you. We all are at risk of being on the short end of things. It never hurts to have an equalizer, because you just can’t foresee what you’ll be up against.

Man found dead at Austin gun range

/ hsoi

News story here.

Basically, a man was found dead in his car at Red’s Gun Range North.

He died of a gunshot. Seems he used the range, went out to his car, and something happened in the car. A cleaning kit was found open. They’re not sure if this was an accident or perhaps a suicide.

Talk is that it’s suicide, with the cleaning kit so it looks like an accident. But the medical examiner’s report is still to come.

If you watch the video in the above news report, they point out that the guy had a CHL and seem to make a big deal out of that fact… almost like they want to demonize CHL-holders. We’re human like anyone else. They also make sure to point out it was a semi-automatic handgun…. and the relevance of that is what?

I don’t know what the deal is here… just seems messed up no matter how you look at it.

Daley’s got a point

/ hsoi

Chicago Mayor Daley actually has a point.

The impression coming out of Tuesday’s SCOTUS McDonald hearing is that the US 2A applies to the states. Of course we won’t know SCOTUS’s decision for months, but that’s the impression. Of course, Chicago is directly impacted by this, and Mayor Daley, while not handling the potential loss all that well, actually makes a sound point:

Still, Mayor Daley isn’t giving an inch. In fact, he’s ridiculing the high court for affirming the Second Amendment right to bear arms while sitting in a protective bubble.

“Why can’t I go to the Supreme Court and sit there with a gun and listen to the arguments? If a gun is so important to us on the street or someone’s home, why can’t I go to the Supreme Court and sit there with a gun? I’m not gonna shoot anyone. But, I have a right to that gun,” Daley said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Why can’t I go see my congressman who doesn’t believe in gun laws? Why can’t I carry my gun into congressmen’s offices or go to his home and knock on his door and say, ‘Don’t be worried. I have a gun. You want me to have a gun.’ Why is it they want to be protected by all the federal money … to protect all the federal bureaucrats, but when it comes to us in the city” there’s no protection?

He is quite right. Why can’t law-abiding citizens carry into courtrooms? Why can’t law-abiding citizens carry onto Federal property? Why is there some sort of exclusivity for some and not others?  Granted, Daley doesn’t totally get it because he frames this as if law-abiding folks are suddenly going to turn bloodthirsty. But the general point is sound.

Of course, this is what people are wondering the most about what SCOTUS will say. While it seems a lock that 2A will end up being incorporated, the big question is how and to what extent. That is, could SCOTUS say “yes it applies, but the states are free to decide just how far it applies”. Think about how Heller expressly didn’t address notions of “reasonable restrictions” (whatever that is).

“When a child gets shot or killed, that is a failure of society. Adults should stand up and say, guns don’t solve things in homes or streets. If it was, then everyone here would be carrying a gun in our own corporations.” [said Daley]

Yes yes…. glad to see someone is thinking of the children. And guns don’t solve things? While certainly they aren’t the answer to every problem, they sure do solve some of them. There are decades of data supporting that.

Right now, we just have to wait and see what SCOTUS will say.

Still down

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’m better, but still hating it. Still a slight fever, a pretty good headache, some intestinal cramping. Fun, eh?

I have been watching Outdoor Channel’s Wednesday Night at the Range.

Yeah, I gave SWAT Magazine TV another try but my complaint remains the same. It talks about providing instruction and it’s just not there. Tonight’s episode was featuring sniper shooting, but there was really no instruction of that… check that, there was about a minute of instruction at the very end of the show. Otherwise the show was just a lot of “here’s someone shooting”, plugging a product, plugging the magazine, or people talking. Don’t get me wrong, entertainment is fine, but if the show is to be about instruction then instruct.

By contrast, an hour later was Sighting In, the episode about care and feeding of your AR. It started right off with an instructional segment on how to clean the AR. It showed how to field strip, how to clean, how to reassemble. This was actual instruction. Then the Pro Tips had Sgt. Johnson actually telling how to sight in, e.g. shooting 3 inches high at 100 yards to be zeroed at 300 yards.  This was actual instruction.

Compare and contrast.

Mr. Pincus, this is what I said before and I’m saying again. I gave the show another chance, but the content remained the same. For what it is, it’s not horrible. I mean, it’s entertainment, sure. But if there’s actual instruction, please tell me just what segments were true instruction. In that episode, apart from the 1 minute at the end where you are taught how to bring the rifle off sling and into position, what other true instruction was there? The GunVault segment was informative, but was advertising; doesn’t count.

Anyway, the Advil is starting to wear off. Need to go back and lie down. Besides, Invader Zim is on. Never watched it when it was originally broadcast, but man… it’s fun.

And this is why we want to carry in national parks

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

Just read the article.

SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST, California — Not far from Yosemite’s waterfalls and in the middle of California’s redwood forests, Mexican drug gangs are quietly commandeering U.S. public land to grow millions of marijuana plants and using smuggled immigrants to cultivate them.

Pot has been grown on public lands for decades, but Mexican traffickers have taken it to a whole new level: using armed guards and trip wires to safeguard sprawling plots that in some cases contain tens of thousands of plants offering a potential yield of more than 30 tons of pot a year.

So you’re out for a backwoods hike. You stumble into a marijuana field… and the growers won’t take kindly to that.

Many of the plots are encircled with crude explosives and are patrolled by guards armed with AK-47s who survey the perimeter from the ground and from perches high in the trees.

Of course, we knew this. But there are those that think parks are safe havens. Folks, they are no more special than anywhere else. Bad people will lurk about. Erecting artificial barriers that only keep law-abiding citizens in a submissive and weakened state (and thus embolden the bad guys)…. please, I’m still waiting for someone to show me the logic in that line of thought.

Werner Carry System

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

One thing that I had seen before but didn’t pay much attention to was the Werner Carry System. Reason being I just wasn’t sure about the Hip Grip. Would it hold securely? I don’t need it falling off my belt and sliding down my pant leg.

However, after this past weekend’s snub classes, I’m going to give it a try. It seems ideal for my needs in many ways. While I didn’t get to fondle a gun with this specific setup, a guy did have a snub with a T-Grip on it and I got to hold that. That made quite a difference in the feel. Plus this guy was very familiar with the setup so I was able to ask him a lot of questions and he was most helpful and detailed in his answers.

You see, the current Pachmayr Compac grips I have are great grips in terms of filling my hand, having a lot of tacky-ness, room for my pinky, and absorbing recoil. They’re not too huge for the gun either, but yes they are a bit on the big side and affect concealability. But with something like the T-Grip, it helps to fill the grip out in my hand. Couple that with the T-Grips (and given my concerns have been alleviated, all except for trying it myself) and I’m ready to give this a try as I think it will solve a lot of things.

I will start off without the Hogue grip and see how that goes. I’ll add that in later on.

T-Grip and Hip Grips are ordered. I’ll write more when the arrive and I can try it all out.

AAR – Snub Training with Claude Werner

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

February 27-28, 2010 weekend, KR Training hosted a guest instructor. Claude Werner, one of the top snub revolver guys in the nation (IDPA Master-level shooter, 5 years as the chief instructor at the Rogers Shooting School, and someone that’s carried a snub for about 30 years), came and taught two classes specifically on the snub revolver.  This is my After Action Report (AAR) on the two days of snub-specific training.

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