Staphylococcus Interruptus

After packing the wife off for a family visit this past Saturday, I decided to give myself a visit to the Emergency Room.

You see, I've had this recurrent bump on my left pinkie that goes away just after making a doctor's appointment. I guess it overhears the phone conversation and goes back into hiding. So, this time, I said nothing and quietly took it to the ER.

To make a long story short, the hand surgeon sliced into it Saturday evening, said it was a "Mucous Cyst" (yuch!) but sent off what he removed to be cultured. Two days later the infection specialist reviewed what showed up and said, "Oh Shit!"

They released me from the hospital Monday afternoon with a "PICC line" in my left arm and a visit from a home RN coupled with a delivery of two weeks of Vancomycin scheduled for that same evening.

For the next fourteen days I self-administer the IV antibiotic twice a day via the PICC line to kill off the nasty bug. If all goes well, they won't chop off the little finger (or worse) from my non-shooting hand.

Zounds!

So, that coupled with the record highs (113 degrees Farenheit, 45 Celsius) in the Phoenix weather, I'm taking a break from all shooting including the early morning air pistol. When the heat abates and the body parts stop threatening to leave, I'll pick up the guns.

Bullseye remains my primary non-work interest even though some PSK31 ham radio equipment did catch my attention today -- I'm WB7UTR on the air by the way.

So keep checking back here -- there will be new postings coming out from time to time on Bullseye.

And if you're out there on the line, shoot a couple of Xs for me!

Slow Fire Trigger Time Poll Result

Poll (ended July 25, 2009):

Data point: John Zurek, a High Master and 2012 Olympic team hopeful, holds in the 30+ second range. John placed fifth at this year's Camp Perry Championship.

Broad generalization: A shooter's ranking can be estimated from his Slow Fire hold time; longer holds suggest higher rankings.

But this does not necessarily mean that a longer hold will improve your score. Instead, it may simply indicate that accomplished shooters are able to hold longer (and wait more patiently) for that optimum alignment with a minimum of wobble.

Ergo: Upper-body strength coupled with fine motor control is paramount in this sport.

Camp Perry 2009: National Championship

Jim Henderson (on left), National Champion for 2009 Lowly Ed Skinner (on right), dreaming of Perry in 2010 Photographed February 2009 Not seen: Steve Reiter (who didn't "jerk" the shutter) (Click for significantly larger image)

For those who've followed the developing scores over the past several days, it's been an exciting competition.

The big question has been will Brian Zins be able to capture the national championship for the tenth time or will it go to someone else this year?

And the results are in; the winner is Jim Henderson with 2646-141 followed by Philip Hemphill at 2642-129 and Brian Zins in third with 2637-131.

You should note that the difference is a mere 9 points. In the 2700, a total of 27 targets were filled with 10 shots each. Of those 270 shots, if a mere 3.3% of them had been pulled inward for one more point, Brian would have won.

Now that's close!

Also in the top finishers is an Arizona shooter and friend, John Zurek, at 2624-112. John takes 5th place in the national championship. Way to go, John!

John's performance in the Rapid Fire match today was 199-12 placing him just behind another Arizona shooter, Steve Reiter, at 199-13, for 3rd and 2nd places, respectively, in that match. John's score equaled that of Jim Henderson, by the way, and out X'd Brian Zins' score of 199-11.

And Steve Reiter took #20 in the national ranking. (The first targets I ever scored in competition were Steve's. Finding the edges of ten rounds in that one large hole at the center of some of his targets can be a real challenge.)

Somewhat farther down but still on the first page of finishers for the national championship is another Arizonan, Robert "Bob" Throne, with 2559-89. Bob was competing in the Master class at Perry but when I shot against him earlier this year, he was a lowly Sharpshooter. Yes, you can move up that ladder really fast when your shooting merits the rewards.

A recent Arizona adoptee, Tony Silva, also finished on the first page of the national rankings with 2547-84.

Several other Arizonans competed this year and won leg points, individual matches within their classifications and, undoubtedly, just had an all around great time.

Speaking as an outsider watching from the side lines, everyone who competed sure made for a great time even from this distance.

And if watching from home can be this much fun, I can barely contain my excitement at how much more it must be to be there in person.

My pledge for 2010 is to hear, first hand,

"Welcome to Camp Perry. Shooters to the line!"

Camp Perry 2009: 45 Championship

Brian Zins eked out his win of the 45 championship.

Indeed, looking only at the Slow Fire scores, it looked pretty bad. Brian was in fifth place, four points down from the top score in that match.

We can't know what was going through Brian's head at that point. All we can see is that, when he fired the National Match Course, he fired an amazing 294-12 for second place in that match.

From there on, he was on a roll firing 200-19 in Timed and then 199-11 in Rapid.

And the combination was enough for the win of the 45 championship!

Camp Perry 2009: Center Fire Results

Do you see it?

Look at the top eight scores from today's Center Fire championship:
 

Center Fire, Top Scorers

Henderson, James	878-41
Hemphill, Philip	876-38
Wiesehan, Donald	872-25
Park, Robert	870-34
Zurek, John	868-37
Johnson, Christopher	868-35
Clark, Larry	868-33
Zins, Brian	868-24

The first four finishers each improve upon their nearest competitor by two points whereas #5 through #8 all have the same point total, 868. Combined with yesterday's 22 totals, that puts just about every shooter in this list within shooting distance, no pun intended, of #1 in the overall 2700 aggregate. While it's true they will need to do some amazing shooting tomorrow with their 45s -- and mostly in the Slow Fire targets at the beginning, we also know it can be done, and Camp Perry is where it happens.

The weather forecast is partly cloudy but dry in the morning favoring those that shoot first, but with chances of showers in the afternoon and increasing winds. The third group of shooters will probably be challenged by the weather.

But the highest classes shoot in slot #2 tomorrow, the time frame in which the weather could go either way.

The weather is the wild card and those who are able to make the most of what comes will be the winners.

"It ain't over till it's over."-- Yogi Berra

Slow Fire Score versus Final Score

Does your Slow Fire ranking predict your overall ranking on that same gun?

I decided to find out.

But there's an important disclaimer we need to acknowledge. Samuel Clemens said it best with,

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.

With that in mind, it has been said that more points are lost in Slow Fire than anywhere else. Yesterday's 22 results certainly bear that out when you look at the Timed and Rapid Fire matches where most of the top competitors cleaned (scored 100 points) on one or both targets in each of those matches.

Restated, Timed and Rapid Fire add more or less constant numbers to each shooter's total. And for the top shooters, they all get about the same constant, 199 or 200.

This means that the 22 competition is pretty much won or lost in Slow Fire. That is, if you win the Slow Fire competition, you have a very good chance of winning the entire competition on that same gun. And if you do poorly in Slow Fire, you will place about the same in the overall competition with that gun.

In other words, it would appear that one could look at the rankings in Slow Fire and, from that, predict the overall rankings.

Using yesterday's scores from Camp Perry, I did a little spreadsheet hacking and found this to be generally true, but only as a general guideline.

Specifically, the top six ranked shooters in yesterday's 22 Slow Fire competition all placed within the top eight for that overall competition.

But when I take in a larger span, say the top twenty (20) Slow Fire shooters, things splay out a bit more or, in other words, the larger the sample, the less this predictability seems to work.

To an individual shooter, it means if you shoot well in Slow Fire, you will probably finish in about that same ranking overall. But if you shoot poorly, you can still "come from behind" as it were and move yourself well up in the finishing.

For example, Philip Hemphill (scores below) fired a 190-4 in 22 Slow Fire yesterday, a full six points behind the leader. But he ended up #2 in the overall competition on that pistol by equaling the scores of the top shooters who, amongst themselves, varied their standings in each of the other contributing matches. Philip's consistent performance bettered the sometimes superior but variable performance of his peers.

 

22 Competition, Top Competitors

Competitor	Slow Fire	NMC	Timed Fire	Rapid Fire	Total
Henderson, James	194.010	298.020	199.015	199.013	890.058
Hemphill, Philip	190.004	298.017	200.016	200.010	888.047
Park, Robert	194.008	296.011	198.011	200.013	888.043
Zins, Brian	193.004	294.021	200.017	200.015	887.057
Zurek, John	195.005	295.013	200.016	197.008	887.042
Steinbrecher, Ron	194.007	296.016	199.013	197.012	886.048
Jones, Christopher	196.008	290.008	200.012	200.009	886.037
Ennis, John	195.003	293.014	199.011	197.012	884.040

In other words, if you have a bad Slow Fire, don't despair. As Philip Hemphill demonstrated yesterday, in Bullseye you can snatch a damn good showing, #2 overall, from the jaws of defeat!

So, forget that last shot and focus on the dot!

Camp Perry 2009: Center Fire Day

The squads have been rotated and Center Fire has begun. Some of the Slow Fire scores are posted - see http://www.nrahq.org/compete/champ3.asp and click the match of interest -- Center Fire includes #139-142 for the individual matches and then #102 for the Center Fire championship.

Yesterday, conditions were close to ideal for the first relay but, as the day wore on, the wind picked up and became a significant challenge to the last relay. Since this is common at Camp Perry, the relays are rotated each day; those in yesterday's first squad will, today, shoot last. If the wind pulls the same trick today, the Masters will suffer the most.

And with the best shooters going last today, that also means the intermediate results posted earlier will better reveal some of the lower level competitions but make prediction of the final results much harder.

So today, I'll wait until all the results are in and then post a commentary late in the day.

Otherwise it's "run errands" day here in Phoenix where the high is forecast at 111 - and where we live, probably another 5 degrees with the heat island effect. Short stops are a no-no as the car tends to vapor-lock unless we can find shade in which to park.

The Camp Perry forecast, on the other hand, is scattered rain and 72 degrees.

Wish I were there.

Regardless, 10s and Xs everyone!

Quote: "It was really, really windy"

Report just in, "... it was really, really windy."

Apparently the wind picked up substantially in later relays and wreaked havoc with scores today. This is a significant "wild card" at Perry and could make for incredibly interesting standings.

Camp Perry 2009: 22 Day Recap

Looking back at the scores now with all three relays reported, things look a little different.

For example, after the first relay's Slow Fire, John Zurek was in the lead with 195-5X. But Christopher Jones, firing in a different relay scored 196-8X bumping John down to the #2 spot in the 22 Slow Fire match.

In the NMC, when I first looked only one relay was reported. That tabulation has everyone now but the results are the same: Jim Henderson took first with 298-20X and Philip Hemphill with the same number of points but three fewer Xs (298-17X).

In the Timed Fire match, there were several more 199s but no additional double-cleans.

There was no substantial change in the Rapid Fire tallies once all the relays had been reported.

Of course, it's worth noting here that we don't know the order in which the scores are being entered and made available. It appeared that one relay at a time was being reported but it's also possible that the scores were only made available on the web after all the results were in but the scores were being entered from the highest to the lowest.

But this doesn't change the fact that the best Bullseye shooters in the country are competing in near perfect weather conditions. We truly are watching the "best of the best" this week.

The numbers from today's 22 Championship are still unofficial -- as of this writing, they're not shown in green on the NRA site -- but, even so, some interesting observations can still be made.

It appears that Jim Henderson has won with 890-58X and, somewhat like yesterday, he did it by a couple of points, two as compared to yesterday's six but, nonetheless, at this end of the range of scores, and this close to the perfect 900 score, to win by more than one is astonishing. To say that Jim is "hot" is an understatement.

Brian Zins who is looking for win #10 overall came up three points short today. Getting those three points back is possible over the next two days but he's going to have to earn them. At this level in the game, it's much more about the mistakes you don't make rather than the good things that you do.

And snapping at Brian's heels is John Zurek with the same score but fewer Xs.

And both Brian and John will have to hope that Jim, Philip Hemphill and Robert Park succumb to small errors over the next two days.

And Ron Steinbrecher and Chris Jones as well as a dozen other shooters are all doing their best and giving everyone at the top end cause for concern and renewed focus on doing what they need to do to win.

And this is what competition does best: when a group of top competitors get together at the same time, they indirectly push each other to even higher levels of performance. Each one knows they cannot afford to make a mistake, that every point and every X is going to matter.

And when they shoot a 9 or, horrors, an 8, they also know that the shooter right next to them is pushing himself or herself up to that same limit and they may falter by that same loss of 1 or 2 points.

So each one shakes off any error and re-focuses on that next shot which is, as you probably know, the only one that matters.

To all the competitors at Camp Perry this year, I wish you all a very sincere,

10s and Xs, ladies and gentlemen, lots of 10s and Xs!

Camp Perry 2009 22 Championship, First Relay Results are In

In the first relay, James Henderson's early start at one point back and then dogged persistence combined to earn him a two point edge in the overall 22 championship -- but again, that's only for the first relay. Jim finished at 890-58X, two points ahead of Philip Hemphill and Robert Park at 888-47X and 888-43X.

Fourth and fifth places in this relay went to Brian Zins (887-57X, one X shy of Jim's 58 but three points down) and John Zurek (887-42X).

The second and then the third relays will be shooting next and the results of this championship could well change over the next couple of hours.

Unfortunately, I'm headed downtown with my two grand daughters to the Arizona Science Museum for some education, fun and lunch. We will ride the light rail from one of the Park 'N Ride lots for a little more dimension to the day.

I'll see the final 22 Championship scores tonight.

But part of my mind will be in Ohio and listening for,

Shooters to the line!

Camp Perry 2009: Rapid Fire Match

6 "clean" pairs of targets (200 points) and 9 with 199.

That completes the first relay.

Camp Perry 2009: Timed Fire Match

13 "clean" targets and 24 at 199. Zounds!

Again, this is just the first of three relays.

Camp Perry 2009: 22 NMC

The 22 caliber National Match Course (NMC) scores are in from the first relay.

James Henderson and Philip Hemphill took first and second, both with 298 points, 2 shy of the perfect 300. James' 20X count pushed him to first over Philip's 17X.

The 297 tally, one point down, finds Eric Daniels and Kevin Vacura followed at 296 points by Ron Steinbrecher, Jesse Durrance, Joseph Urish, Matthew Buckman and Robert Park. And with 295 are John Zurek, Steve Setian, Jerry Chaney and Rob Mango.

Undoubtedly every one of these shooters, when they "threw" those 9s or 8s in this match, suspected its ultimate impact in the score sheet's rankings.

But also without doubt, each of the Master and High Master shooters knew to "let it go" and move on to the next shot.

Next up will be the Timed Fire match, four 5-round strings fired with 20 seconds per string, and then the Rapid Fire match, a similar set of four strings but with only 10 seconds for each 5-round string. Both matches are fired at 25 yard targets, 10 rounds per target.

All of the shooters listed above are within reach of first place but remember this is only the first relay. There are two more groups waiting to shoot.

Although the weather at Camp Perry is supposed to be sunny all day, the wind is forecast to slowly increase throughout the day. An untimely gust during Rapid Fire can easily push an outstretched shooter's arm and turn an X into an 8 ... or worse.

And although "clean" (100 point) targets are fairly common in these upcoming matches, they are not guaranteed. Again, a couple of 9s would shuffle the rankings as the overall 22 competition continues.

10s and Xs, everyone. Watch the dot!

Camp Perry 2009: 22 SF First Relay

It looks like the first relay's Slow Fire results are posted (see match #135 at http://www.nrahq.org/compete/champ3.asp).

With the first relay's NMC, Timed and Rapid matches and then many more shooters in the next two relays to come, John Zurek is in the lead with 195-5X, a single point ahead of the next four all with 194 including Jim Henderson (10X), Robert Park (8X), Ron Steinbrecher (7X) and Luis Esparza (5X). Brian Zins only one additional point behind and well within striking range from sixth place with 193-4X.

The National Match Course (NMC) coming up next consists of a Slow Fire, a Timed Fire and a Rapid Fire target. It is fairly common for these top shooters to "clean" (tally 100 points) for each of the latter two targets making that first Slow Fire of this match the deciding factor.

Another exciting day begins!

Camp Perry 2009: Preliminary Match

"Evil" Jim Henderson (Feb. 2009)

The scores from the NRA Practice Match are posted (see http://www.nrahq.org/compete/champ3.asp and click #111) and Jim Henderson is the winner with an astonishing 891-56x.

This match consists of three National Match Courses, one with the 22, one in Center Fire, and the final in 45 caliber.

Jim's 891 score is only nine (9) points short of a perfect 900.

And his 56X count means that 62% of his shots were in the X ring itself.

This is truly an amazing feat!

John Zurek was second at 885-45X and while John's score is incredible, Jim's finish is all the more amazing when you consider that #2, #3 and #4 were all within one point while Jim leaped out by a full six (6) points to cinch the #1 finish.

Brian Zins tagged in at #6 with 881-46X.

And remember, this was only the practice match.

Tomorrow, the main event starts with the 22 caliber 2700.

"Who knows what tomorrow may bring?" (Forrest Gump)

Camp Perry 2009 Coverage

The NRA Blog is updated as much as a couple of times per day with the goings-on at the Camp Perry National Championships this week (July 13-18, 2009).

Individual shooters are occasionally posting to the Bullseye-L mailing list which also has an archive of past messages available via this same link.

The big question is, will Brian Zins achieve win #10 thereby extending his already record number of wins?

10s and Xs, all!

Ultimate Traveler's Pistol Box?

The Pelican 0450 is available with a standard set of drawers (one deep, six shallow) or in an open, you-design-the-combination configuration. Although not inexpensive, this could be the ultimate pistol box for travelers.

 

Where Do You Hold with Iron Sights?

Over the week of July 5-12, 2009 we had our first poll. Readers of this blog were asked, "When shooting iron sights, where do you hold?"

 

Trigger Weight Surprises

Recently I mentioned that I had the trigger weight on my IZH-46M air pistol cranked up to the maximum. I did this to practice with a heavy trigger.

Today, I decided to measure it. And while I was at it, I weighed triggers on my other guns as well.

But before weighing triggers, I thought it might be a good idea to calibrate the trigger pull scale itself. It's just a simple spring and indicator, after all. How accurate could that be?

For the calibration, I made up some home-made samples of known weight. They are plastic baggies with different quantities of 200 grain LSWC bullets. The bullets were, in turn, spot-sampled on an RCBS Digital Powder Scale that I use when reloading. According to that scale, the bullets were within 0.1% of their 200 grain weight.

I reasoned that if the two scales came within a few percentage points of each other, I could accept their answer.

So, I counted out 35 of them (35 x 200 grains = 7000 grains = 1 pound). I did that four times to check the trigger pull gauge at 1, 2 and 4 pounds to more or less span the trigger weights I expected to find. I then weighted each calibration weight six times to make sure my "pick up the bags" technique was consistent.

Here's what I got.

Calibration Weights

Calibration Weight	Trial #1	Trial #2	Trial #3	Trial #4	Trial #5	Trial #6	Avg	Error
35x200 gr LSWCs (1.000 pound)	1.125	1.125	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.125	1.063	1/16th lb. heavy
70x200 gr LSWCs (2.000 pounds)	2.125	2.125	2.125	2.125	2.125	2.125	2.125	1/8th lb. heavy
140x200 gr LSWCs (4.000 pounds)	4.250	4.250	4.250	4.250	4.250	4.250	4.250	1/4th lb. heavy

Basically the RCBS Trigger Pull Scale is off by 6.5% and is always higher than reality. (I wish RCBS made a bathroom scale like this -- knowing it is 6.5% heavy, I could back 10+ pounds off what such a scale would say I weigh.)

That isn't bad. Not bad at all. For just a "simple spring with an indicator", you might even say that's pretty darn good.

So with the trigger pull scale calibrated, I was ready to measure the triggers on my guns.

And, Voila! Here they are.

Trigger Weights

	Trigger Feel	Trial #1	Trial #2	Trial #3	Trial #4	Trial #5	Trial #6	Avg
IZH-46M Air Pistol	Springy	4.750	4.875	4.625	5.375	4.375	5.000	4.833
Crosman 2300S Air Pistol	Long roll	3.250	3.000	2.875	2.750	3.125	3.000	3.000
S&W 41 (Main 22)	Crisp	1.750	1.750	1.875	1.500	1.875	1.750	1.750
Ruger Mk III (Backup 22)	Medium roll	2.250	2.250	2.125	2.625	2.250	2.750	2.375
1911 #1 (Wad gun)	Crisp	4.625	4.875	4.750	4.500	4.625	4.750	4.688
1911 #2 (Ball gun)	Crisp	5.000	5.250	5.000	5.125	4.875	4.625	4.979
S&W 36 (Snubby)	SA: Short roll	3.000	3.000	3.250	3.000	3.000	3.125	3.063
S&W 36 (Snubby)	DA	> 8.000	> 8.000	> 8.000	> 8.000	> 8.000	> 8.000	> 8.000

The trigger weight on the IZH-46M was, as expected and as desired, high at nearly five (5) pounds.

I set it that way to help my ball gun shooting but, now that I look at the numbers, I'm surprised.

You see, and to be completely frank, I find the IZH-46M substantially easier to shoot even though its trigger and that of the ball gun are almost the same.

Part of the reason must be the feel of the two triggers. The air gun's trigger is "springy" and as I add pressure, it moves. I like that. On the other hand, the ball gun's trigger is "crisp": As I add pressure, nothing happens until, suddenly, it breaks. And I don't like that. Indeed, on days when it seems harder than usual to break a shot, I find myself wondering if the safety is still on, or maybe the hammer isn't cocked, or any of a number of other worries creep in. And with that, my head is no longer in my shot plan.

When that happens, I need to put the gun down and get back into the plan.

So that small difference in feel makes a huge difference in how difficult or easy I think the two triggers are to operate. A smooth release of the air pistol's trigger is easier to do than that crisp break on the ball gun.

Of course, anticipation of the size of the bang and recoil of one versus the other is also a significant factor. Although those aren't supposed to affect how I release the shot, my gut tells me this is also happening. I know the ball gun has a big bang and throws a big recoil and, psychologically, that's also making it harder to get off a clean shot from the ball gun.

Afterthought: The 1911 also demands a much harder grip pressure for several reasons including the functioning of the slide, to route the recoil up the arm and shoulder into the body, and to bring the gun back on target in preparation for the next shot. That tighter grip makes independent movement of the trigger finger more difficult. The harder I grip, the harder it is to move the trigger finger.

The air gun, on the other hand, could be fired with an extremely light grip. The recoil powers nothing, is almost nil, and with only a single-shot available, there's no need to quickly get back on target (other than follow-through which isn't as time sensitive.) While a light grip is counterproductive for accuracy and, consequently, I do "hang on" pretty good to the air pistol, nonetheless, I don't have to grip it as hard. It is easier, therefore, to control the movement of my trigger finger with that gun.

Bottom line: A five pound trigger on an air pistol is not much like a five pound trigger on a 1911. But it still makes for good "trigger control" practice so I will continue with this arrangement.

Funny what weighing triggers leads into, isn't it?

I then weighed the triggers on my 22s and you can see that the S&W 41's trigger is underweight. It should be a minimum of two (2) two and a half (2.5) pounds. The check weights showed the RCBS trigger pull scale to be on the heavy side so the S&W 41's trigger is even lighter than these numbers indicate.

The Ruger Mk III 22 has Volquardsen parts and shoots with a medium roll. As you can probably anticipate from what I wrote above, I absolutely love the trigger on this gun. (Indeed, the Crosman 2300S has an even longer roll -- about a mile and a half by my estimation -- thanks to some minor gunsmithing on my part and a sheet of 2000 grit sandpaper from the auto refinishing store.) Unfortunately, at 2.375 pounds, that trigger is under the 2.5 pound minimum.

My biggest surprise, however, was the wad gun's trigger. It averaged out at slightly over 4.5 pounds. The rulebook says it can be as light as 3.0 3.5 pounds. And a couple of years ago, that's where it was. Somehow between then and now, that trigger has increased almost 50% in weight. That's a lot.

And the ball gun's trigger at 5 pounds is also high.

To complete the suite, I decided to measure my "pocket buddy" too, my S&W 36 snubby that rides around in an Uncle Mike's Sidekick and rarely sees the light of day. In single action, it is a very clean and highly repeatable 3 pound break. In fact, after going through and testing all my guns in a relatively short period of time, I'd have to say it probably has the best trigger of all my guns. Nice work, Smith & Wesson. (And not surprisingly, the double action trigger weight was higher than the 8 pound limit on the RCBS trigger pull scale so I couldn't weigh the trigger in that mode.)

In summary then, three four of my guns need attention. The 41 and the Mk III are below weight while the wad and the ball gun are both much too high.

As I recall, the 41's adjustment is fairly easy to change. There's a lever somewhere that needs to be moved. I'll pull out the book or check online to see if that's something I can do.

But the two 1911s and the Ruger need an expert gunsmith. And given that I really like roll triggers, I need to find a gunsmith who can do that on the 1911s, and the longer the roll the better. From previous checking I know that's not your run-of-the-mill trigger job.

And with the Bullseye championships taking place next week at Camp Perry in Ohio, most of them will be there having fun, not sitting at home wishing he were there.

But since I can't be there, then I'll wish all of you lots of Xs and tons of 10s!

6:00 AM AP 600

For the next several months the high will be at or in excess of 110 degrees Fahrenheit here in Phoenix. Consequently, I'll be shooting a "6:00 AM AP 600" which, as the title suggests, is an international (Olympic-style) 600 with the air pistol (AP) starting every day at 6:00 AM. At that time of day, it's often below 90, shady in parts of the yard, and few others are up and about. It's a good time of day to focus and concentrate.

To that end, I recently moved my 10 meter AP range to a nicer part of the yard that has shade that time of day.

Firing Point (Click for larger image)

Here you can see the firing point. In the background is the tool box in which my air pistols are secured. I have an IZH-46M (on the table) and a Crosman 2300S (in the tray to the right of the toolbox). I shoot the former, a hand pump air pistol that was used by Olympians up until the last decade or two, whereas the Crosman is CO2 powered and used more by the grand kids with my supervision.

Incidentally, I have the trigger of the IZH-46M cranked all the way up to its maximum, a couple of pounds. Although I could shoot it better with a lighter trigger, my primary goal with the AP is to learn to shoot difficult triggers, not to get a high score. With the trigger pressure set to its maximum, I get the practice I want. Scores can come later.

In the background you can see the next relay's "waiting bench". Although competitions are rare in our single firing point backyard, during family gatherings we do occasionally have a couple of shooters who compete to see who has to clean the barbecue.

Looking Down Range

In this next view looking downrange, the contents of the shooting table are fairly obvious. From right to left you see my morning cup of coffee -- yes, I know the caffeine messes up my hold but, gosh darn it, a man's just gotta have at least one cup to get going -- my record book, the open box of pellets and supply tin, the IZH-46M and then my funny glasses. I say "funny" because the right lens is set for close-up and that eye focuses on the front sight. The left lens is set for distance as when moving around but nonetheless, when shooting, it is covered with a blinder clipped to the NASA baseball cap I wear.

The glasses are from China, from Zenni Optical (http://www.zennioptical.com/) and are the cheapest ones I could get. They cost all of about 15 bucks and, at that rate, I can order all sorts of specialized glasses for this sport. I use my "iron sight funny glasses" for AP, EIC and Service Pistol competitions, a set of traditional bi-focals when shooting red dots, and then I wear a pair of progressives for all other times. I seem to be about ready for a slightly stronger prescription for the right lens in the glasses you see here so all I have to do is go to their website and increase that number for the next pair. No need for an eye doctor visit for that simple a change. I've written about Zenni Optical before - see http://conventionalpistol.blogspot.com/2008/05/cheap-glasses.html for complete details.

The target, as you can probably tell from this vantage point, is hanging in front of our storage shed (which needs paint).

And behind that to the right you can see our "Bobbitt" Saguaro cactus, so named when the power company came by with a chain saw and chopped off the central stalk because it was getting too close to the electrical wires.

You might remember John and Lorena Bobbitt from the news a couple of years ago because of a rather infamous incident you'll find written up at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt.

Perhaps like a lot of men, I remember that story well. And so years later when the power company tree trimming worker started his chain saw to emasculate my giant Saguaro, well, I nearly passed out. Yes, we're talking about the possibility of some major psychological trauma for this "bobbing" in my own backyard!

. . .

Uhm, where were we?

Oh yeah, the shooting range.

Target Holder and Backstop

Finally, here's a close-up of the target holder. Basically it is a 2x2' piece of 3/4" plywood fastened to a 1x3 strip of wood with an "L" bracket at the top end. The assembly is stored in the shed and, when I want to shoot, I bring it out and hook it over the peak of the shed. There are no fasteners -- it's just hanging there. That could be a problem on a windy day but since I'm usually shooting in the early morning calm, it hasn't been an issue.

And although I occasionally have a "flier" outside of the black, the 2x2' plywood could be regarded as excessive. But for younger shooters, I may find even that to be inadequate. Only time will tell.

But the wife is happy with the size of the 2x2' backstop. It's there more for her reassurance than anything else. Besides, if I really do yank one out of the black, off the white and completely outside of the pellet box, that backstop will provide reasonable insurance against my depositing pellets in the Christmas decorations box deep inside the shed.

And for the neighbors, I'm firing away from the one who can look over into my yard the easiest, parallel to and not at the one who is most likely to be out there and wonder at the sounds, and for the one who actually does look over from time to time in a friendly way, his view will be obstructed by the shed as will any shots that miss the backstop.

So, to repeat my previous offer, if you're in Phoenix -- especially around 6:00AM in the morning -- stop by and we'll shoot a few targets. And I'll make you a cup of coffee if you like.

Keep 'em in the black!

Rapid Fire String

Ever have a Rapid Fire string that goes like this?

 

Edited, from http://www.noob.us/miscellaneous/train-vs-tornado/.

Mouse-Finger versus Trigger-Finger

Mouse-finger

Rest your hand on the table, palm down, in a relaxed and slightly arched shape.

Tap it with your trigger finger.

That's mouse-finger and, if you're reading this on-line, it's probably something you did to get here; you clicked a link or a button with your computer mouse.

And if you use the mouse a lot, you've probably become very good at positioning it quickly and then clicking or double-clicking. Your motor skills have probably become second nature. You see what you want on the screen and you click it.

Over the last two decades since computer mice have come into common use, I've used them for many hours just about every day. As a result, I'm good with the mouse. Real good, in fact. So good that my double-click speed adjustment in Windows is at the maximum.

Mouse Double-Click Speed   To adjust your double-click speed in Windows, click Start and then Control Panel, double-click Mouse, select the Buttons tab and move the Double-click speed slider left or right and try double-clicking the folder in that same area.   Mine is at the maximum setting.

That's mouse-finger.

Now imagine you're holding a gun in that hand and your finger is resting on the trigger and you want to shoot something ... Now!

Those motor skills I've practiced daily for twenty years are going to take over and I'm almost certainly going to use mouse-finger on the gun -- remember, that's what I've practiced on a daily basis -- and mouse-finger is going to push the muzzle, and the shot, left.

Jerk!

Well, no, that's not really a "jerk" even though the end result is practically the same.

Jerking is when you anticipate the sound and the recoil of firing a gun and your grip and body flinch before the bang. (The body is starting toward a fetal position to protect itself.)

That's a jerk.

Mouse-finger, on the other hand, pushes left and there can also be a downward component too as we'll see in a minute, but the source of the movement, the reason for these movements is not a flinch. It's the body trying to click the mouse (down) rather than push the trigger (back).

There is a 90 degree difference. One is "down" while the other is "back".

And to see where the downward movement comes from in all this, we need to shift to the the trigger-finger motion.

So, put your hand back on the table.

This time, however, imagine your finger tip is gently touching something soft and gentle (!). With that thought in mind, use your forefinger to gentle caress it.

...

OK, bring your mind back from erotica-land, please.

Focus attention on the gentle stroke. There are several things to notice about this action as compared to mouse-finger.

First, the direction of movement now is back toward your wrist not down into the table.

Second, the speed of movement is dramatically slower than before.

And third, it is a gentle movement, not abrupt like mouse-finger.

This is how the trigger should be moved when releasing a shot.

But we're not quite done yet.

Trigger-finger

Rest your hand on the table again, palm down as before with that same relaxed arch.

Moving only the trigger finger, move it over so it touches the middle finger.

Now try that caressing motion.

Can you move it straight back without moving the rest of the hand?

I can't!

With my trigger finger "down" toward the middle finger, when I try to bring it straight-back, my whole hand arches.

Oh it's true that if I "aim" the motion toward the base of my thumb, the finger can move and the hand remain still but I'm not moving straight back. My trigger finger is moving "up" to do that.

Conversely, if you scoot the trigger finger over toward the thumb and then try to move it straight back, the tip of the finger draws a gentle arc on the table-top.

Again, I can't move it straight back.

So, trigger-finger is most naturally accomplished when the fingers are in their most natural and relaxed position. Ideally, this is how the gun should fit your hand.

If your fit isn't perfect like this, then you'll have to learn to move the trigger straight back in an unnatural (for you) movement. The more awkward the fit, the more challenging the motion.

Custom target-shooter grips attempt to put the hand in a natural position. This will be instantly obvious the first time you take hold of grips that fit your hand.

All others require some touchy-feel'y experimentation to find that position where "straight-back" happens most naturally.

So, here are the rules:

1. Mouse-finger bad;
2. Caress-finger good; and
3. Natural hand position including all fingers is also good.

And feel (!) free to substitute your own word for "caress".

But keep your mind on shooting because that's a dangerous object you hold in your hand.

(So's that other object but that's not for blogging!)

Independence

Continental Congress

Here's how it's supposed to work.

There are three parts of our government: the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch. Each one is intended to keep the other two in check and permit change only when all three are in agreement.

The Congress can make new laws. The President can veto the Congress. The Congress can, in turn, overrule the President's veto. The Supreme Court can rule the law unconstitutional. That constitution can be amended but, as evidenced by how long it takes to do so, that is a very rare event.

Change, yes, but only very slowly. This is a key and intentional feature of our Constitution, the goal of which is to make it hard for the government to infringe upon our rights against our will.

And by preserving our rights, by hamstringing the elected government so it can only move slowly, the constitution gives us time to assert our wishes. We have time to elect different representatives who will do as we wish. We have time to overturn laws that infringe upon our rights.

This intentional and forced slow-to-change nature of our Constitution works to preserve our independence. Our founding fathers were amazingly wise.

Change, yes, but only slowly, with much debate and discussion, and with considerable recourse.

Independence ultimately also means we don't depend on our government. We take care of ourselves, our families, our neighboring community and, when necessary, our country. That was the goal of the settlers who came to this continent. They wished to express their lives in actions and words as they saw fit, to live, to flourish, to flounder and to die according to their own minds and hands.

And to ensure those rights, we hire amongst ourselves those to oversee our interactions as we go about our independent lives.

By any measure, the government depends on us, not vice versa. We elect them. We pay them. They represent us but only at our bidding or, in its absence, at our knowing acquiescence. Ours is a "representative democracy". We rule through our representatives. They run the collective works while each of us runs our personal work.

The Continental Congress began as a coordinated resistance to British control. "Taxation without representation," was a primary complaint in a long list that described how the British government had infringed upon the rights of its citizens in the colonies. And on this date in 1776, that Continental Congress signed what is known to most around the world as the Declaration of Independence.

And that's what this day of the year is about, independence, yours and mine.

Nurture and display it and, when -- not if but when -- necessary, protect it. It is very precious and many are trying to take it away, both here and abroad.

Independence Day is about embracing, not just reflecting upon, your freedom.

What will you do today to demonstrate your Independence?