24. August 2012 · Comments Off on Carbines Again · Categories: Carbine · Tags: ,

Yet another carbine event. It was not nearly as hot out, so that helped! The course also didn’t require as much time spent in the sun.

First we ran forth and shot at 200 yard targets. Unfortunately, on the first go, the line was stopped a little short of the berm and some of us were aiming low because we were coming at it from an angle. Gravity was working differently from the perspective of our scopes. So we tried that again. And I hit something! Yay! Then we had movers. They were balloons. Didn’t get that one. Then we had two different stages of movers to shoot at from two positions.

We then went over to the shorter ranges and a course was set up that required moving from the 100 yard range to the 50 yard range with a wide range of targets and scenarios to do. First at 100 yards, we had targets out at 50 and 100. Some people went prone (me!) and others used the post markers as supports. Then on to the other side where there was a lot of moving back and forth from one target to another.  We had to shoot at some targets while moving towards them. Eventually we’d clear our rifles and put it down, draw our pistols, and go after some more targets. Including walking backwards!

Hey! I just did that yesterday (well not really, I just shot and then walked backwards. C’mon.). Damn, that’s hard.

Overall, it was a pretty fun event. My PS90 performed great with the exception of a gunky magazine that needs some lube. We also tested out and then zeroed in my new AR-15 which is good to go in my next carbine game. A very satisfying weekend.

16. August 2012 · Comments Off on Carbine Camp · Categories: Carbine, Competition · Tags: ,

I’m getting a little behind on my write-ups!

I attended another carbine event that had a lot of fun activities squeezed into a long day. The first thing we did was shoot at movers. Unlike the first time, I had my scope with me so I was able to play this round. I made a couple hits! I was pretty thrilled to get my first hit on a moving target (I haven’t been back to a shotgun event yet).

Next we went down to the short distance range and got in some serious close-quarters action. We started at 50 and advanced towards our targets doing different drills. Unfortunately I was already past the 20 yard mark when someone pointed out my shots were all low and reminded me that as you get closer, the zero isn’t going to work so great anymore. Uh, yeah. I took a sideways look at my rifle, I recalled the enormous gap between the red dot location and the barrel, and I switched my tactics to line that barrel right up with the center of the target. I did better then.

I’ve got to say that the red dot makes target acquisition ridiculously quick. It also looks like I have pretty good familiarity with my trigger now, at least in these nearly point-blank applications. Quick target acquisition followed by two smooth squeezes while taking advantage of the trigger reset led to consistently good timing.

There was one point where we had to work offhand, because we had to shoot from both sides of a barrier. Someone else on the line reassured me that everyone has this problem, where they are squishing their face around so that they can get their dominant eye on the sight, because, most people don’t train with off-hand work. I did the face-squish and pulled it off. It may be one of those cases where the raised rail gap worked to my advantage.

The last portion didn’t work out for me. We were really hot and during a water break I noticed my hands shaking. Calling that out resulted in a whole lot of well-intended scrutiny.

Anyway, things got a little confusing when it came down to the pistol drawing stage. I of course had to be there with my P22 with its weird mag release and external hammer and 50 safety features (I’ve at least taken care of some of these oddities now that my PPQ’s holster arrived). I decided not to take that round.

I find that in a stressful situation, having a half dozen people trying to give you uninformed directions is pretty stressful. I would recommend that the guy in charge be the one to deliver instructions and call it a day. I expect that people will feel safer all around.

Having the magazine release be part of the trigger guard really freaks people out. I will have to remember that when I am in these events in the future and clearly articulate when I’m going to drop my magazine.

Well that last part was embarrassing but overall it was a great day. This is the most fun event I’ve been in to date.

08. June 2012 · Comments Off on Volunteering · Categories: Carbine, Competition · Tags:

Two weeks ago we drove 2 hours and spent a night in another city so that the next day we could participate in a carbine event. They are shortened rifles which is one of the features of my PS90. (After someone corrected me about carbines, I went to look it up and now I’m more confused. OK!) They are usually meant for close quarters and mid-range because they are easier to carry and aren’t as accurate as a specialized rifle.

We got to the club, paid for the event, and soon found out that most of it was at pretty long ranges. While there was a carbine class and a separate precision class, most of the events were at the 200-400 yard range for the carbines.We were not equipped for this. We didn’t have scopes or other forms of magnification set up. I was having a lot of trouble, which was of little surprise. It also looked like a lot of people had trouble with one of the events (everyone without a scope kept missing).

I was pretty bummed out about that until I found out that the close quarters expert who was going to help out ended up canceling. So the short range volunteer wasn’t there and the long range volunteer was doing his best. Well yeah, one would have different expectations then. I forgot these guys aren’t exactly doing this for a salary.

Another guy took the cartridge people over, leaving the long-range guy with the precision people, and we had a lot more fun at that point.

Tonight, I am going to my third event, at a third club, using a third kind of gun but two new accessories. I’ll be more gracious this time.

24. May 2012 · Comments Off on Carbine Competition · Categories: Carbine, Competition, Shooting · Tags: ,

I will be entering my first carbine competition on Saturday. This will be the second time I’ll be taking my PS90 out so I’m kind of nervous. At least the red dot is zeroed in and ready to go for the short range portions.

It turns out you need a lot of gear for these competitions. In addition to having 3 magazines and the red dot, we picked up a sling so I can do the portion where you drag a dummy across the ground as part of the scenario (SERIOUSLY??? That is so cool!). Once my lovely Leupold gets zeroed in, I’ll be able to swap it out with the red dot as the distance changes.

Similarly, prepping for pistol competitions, I have a couple (not enough!) magazines for my Walther P22 and ordered in a new holster (I still don’t get who thought up the term “Third Eye” stance….) and get this! a glowing-green fiberoptic front sight! Frickin’ laser beams!

On a side note, the Skyfall trailer has me really excited about practicing doubletaps or, the new convention of 2+1. Drool! I literally asked “Can he do that?!” as I had a suspicion the speed was only possible in movies. Yet another thing I can work on!

I I’m kind of glad he’s still using the PPK but given he’s drinking Heineken, maybe he should just move to a Glock.