Team Cheaper than Dirt Match Report

Last weekend as part of tuning up my match skills, I shot a USPSA club match at Paul Bunyan Rifle Club in Puyallup, Washington.

Here’s the gear rundown:

• Gun: Smith & Wesson 686SSR Pro
• Ammo: .38 Special American Eagle 130 grain FMJ
• Holster: Comp-Tac Belt holster
• Belt: CR Speed Belt
• Speedloader holder: 4wheelguns.com ICORE model

I actually shot very well at this match.

There was another revolver shooter there, an “A-class” shooter running a 625 that feeds off moonclips.

I won 4 out of 6 stages, however I had a total disaster on stage 6 that cost me so many match points I didn’t win the match.

Check out the match video, and on stage 6 you’ll see my complete distaster.

A simple mistake.

My foot hit the outside of the box, and when I planted it to start shooting, I wasn’t in the box.

Without those 9 procedurals, my hit factor on the stage would have been 4.48, thanks to the 9 procedurals it was 1.17.

That’s a HUGE difference, and it was bad enough to cost me the match.

That brings me to the point of today’s post, which hopefully will be the last time this year I have to talk about it.

As a competitive shooter, I learn much more from my losses than I do from my wins.

Watching that stage 6 replay is hard for me, because I made a mistake that a rookie should have known better than to do.

But it’s also beneficial for me, because I’m not going to make that same mistake again.

You can bet that a ton of my practice time is going to be spent on getting in and out of shooting boxes and setting up in shooting positions in a hurry.

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A simple error like that can be the difference between winning and losing.

Which then brings us ’round to another good point – match performance isn’t all about shooting.

I shot my gun very well.

My reloads were good, my shooting was excellent – I only shot one Delta the entire match.

But on one stage, the mental game faltered.

You have to be mentally prepared for each stage.

During a match, I’ll close my eyes and shoot the stage through in my head before I shoot.

That allows me to have a clear picture of what I need to do so that when I’m actually shooting, I don’t have to “think” about it, I just execute my plan and observe my shooting.

On stage 6, I didn’t do that, and the lack of mental preparation cost me dearly.

The moral of today’s story? Identify your weak spots.

Self-analysis isn’t always pleasant, but it’s the most useful tool to develop as a shooter.

When you see your mistakes in 720p HD, you can’t brush them off.

Accept what you did wrong, and train to not do it again. Season Totals Combined Club Match Wins: 2 Rounds fired: 6108 Next upcoming Major Match: Missouri Pro-Am