Newbie Jim

Jim

I took a Newbie to the range yesterday. I let Jim shoot my 22, first with iron sights and then with the dot. As might be expected for his first time, he struggled with the irons but did better with the dot.

Moving up, after briefing him on my 1911 wad gun, firing a couple of shots myself and then letting him dry-fire the trigger a few times, I loaded one round for him.

I said, "Don't worry about the wobble. It never goes away. Grip this gun harder than you did the 22 and then just hold the gun so the dot wavers in, around and through the black. And while you're doing that, slowly move the trigger straight back."

There was a long pause as he held the gun on target but it didn't fire.

I added, "That's good, now just move the trigger straight back."

A few moments passed before, finally, "Bang!"

Without looking at the target, he gave me a huge grin.

"How'd I do?" he asked.

Looking in the scope, it was a 9 o'clock X.

I grinned and said, "Take a look."

"Wow," he said, "That's a lucky shot!"

"No," I corrected, "you just did everything right."

And to myself I thought, "Wish I could do that."

Epilog

Many thanks to Tony Brong for "Fundamentals Revisited (Sort Of)". It brought this experience to its proper perspective.

The Newbie, Jim, did the fundamentals correctly so he shot an X.

With good equipment, correctly executed fundamentals will almost always result in a 10 or an X.

High Masters do those fundamentals 97% of the time. Masters do them 95%. Experts execute the fundamentals correctly on 90% of their shots. And Sharpshooters do them 85% of the time.

If you want an X, shoot an X.

Jim did.

Newbies

Jeff Cooper's Four Rules All guns are always loaded. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. Identify your target, and what is behind it.

NRA's Three Rules ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

I occasionally take non-shooters to the range for their first experience with firearms. Over time, I've tended toward a similar sequence of presenting things but knowing the Bullseye community's safety record, I decided to ask for their input as well. The following procedure benefits from the excellent suggestions of Fred, JC, Chuck, Sheral, Kent and George in the Bullseye-L email community, and from the shooters I meet on the line from whom I've learned many valuable and sometimes life-saving lessons.

Don't let the number of steps in this procedure intimidate you. If you are shooting Bullseye, you probably know and do most of them already. The purpose of writing it down is to help you become conscious of these things so you can help new shooters learn them as well.

Remember, they are expecting you to keep them safe, teach them, and to help them have a fun experience. Note the order of those. It is significant.

And before getting into the steps, let me say that both the Instructor (that's you) and the Range Safety Officer (again, that's you) must continuously monitor the new shooter(s) until having a high degree of confidence that they are following all of the safety rules as well as the recommended handling procedures. That means you cannot do anything else -- your full attention must be on the new shooters at all times. When a problem develops, as you and I know from experience that it will, the new shooters will start looking for you and, as they do, they will turn their body with that loaded gun in their hand. (See Jeff's rule #2 and the NRA's rule #1 -- they're about to violate it!)

With attentive individuals, I find I can usually handle two or three new shooters at one time but no more than that, and then only when they demonstrate they can understand and follow directions.

Finally and most importantly, you must be prepared to tell (command!) them to stop, and to then reach in, take the (loaded!) gun from the newbie, make it safe and then say, "This doesn't seem to be your sport. Please sit down." You must be prepared to do this no matter who the new shooter is. Family, title and physical size are irrelevant if someone can't or won't follow the safety rules.

So, here is the procedure I use. Note that, depending on the available time, we may only get to shoot one or two guns, not the complete set, but it will be in the sequence I've listed here. For young shooters, especially, keep the time to not much more than an hour and a (much) smaller number of different guns.

• Before leaving for the range, clothing check. No open shoes (hot brass!). For the ladies, no exposed decoletage (exposed cleavage) -- again, hot brass is the issue.
• Safety lecture: Jeff Cooper's four rules and the NRA's three. I have them read all of Jeff's four rules aloud. Then I have them read the NRA's three rules aloud. And then I ask them to compare the two and tell me where they are different, and where they are the same. I then talk about the reasons for each rule, the common violations and what can happen, and then I have them read all the rules out loud again. For the newbie who thinks this is excessive, I add, "I've seen the best shooters in the world violate one or two of these through negligence, but because they were still following the rest, nobody was killed. We follow the rules or we don't shoot." (If a newbie doesn't get serious and understand that this is deadly serious, he doesn't shoot.)
• At the range, the general rules thereof. Basically this is more safety-focused information. What is "the firing line" and what does it mean to be "hot" or "safe". (Guns are visibly unloaded and must not be touched for any reason while the line is "safe".)
• And more safety: Eye and ear protection.
• Gun handling and where to put your trigger finger 99% of the time (Jeff's rule #3). I have a collection of pictures from magazines that show people holding guns with their trigger fingers outside of the trigger guard. This is a new idea to most non-shooters -- keeping their finger off the trigger -- and most newcomers need a lot of reinforcement to get used to this idea.
• Where is the direction called "down range" that the muzzle is supposed to be pointed to at all times -- that's NRA safety rule #1 that's not explicitly in Jeff's list of four -- and that's why I teach both sets. (A "safe direction" is not into the concrete nor up through the roof. It is "down range" and into the berm.
• What to do if something goes wrong: Freeze! Continue holding the gun and keep it pointed downrange. Wait for the Instructor to look and tell you what to do.
• Instructor verifies the line is safe and is accompanied by newbie to post a target, preferably no further than 15 feet. Use a round target, not a man-shape -- you want them thinking about and focused on the gun and what they are doing with their bodies and hands rather than what they are shooting at. (Leave the watermelons at home and save them for lunch or a "plinking" expedition.)
• (Line goes hot.)
• How to aim iron sights (explaining center, six o'clock and sub-six if appropriate to the gun they will shoot next). Also, what is "Kentucky windage".
• Note that, in the following, the newbie is permitted to "dry fire" each gun before trying a live round. (Where appropriate, take dry-firing plugs to facilitate this.)
• A 22 caliber revolver is probably the best gun to begin with. It avoids the hot brass issues of automatics. Demonstrate how to load, grip -- and where to put the thumbs, and then aim and fire, and finally unload. Demonstrate double action and then single action shooting. (I don't have a 22 revolver [Oh dear, I need to buy another gun!] so I skip this and start shooters on my Ruger Mk III.)
• Ruger Mk III (22 cal.) with iron sights operation (and how *this* gun's sights are set up) and demonstration by Instructor. Note again where the thumbs go and why. (My 22s will make my thumb sore if I put it up behind the slide when firing. Don't ask how I know. But I don't know what the 1911s slide feels like, nor do I plan on finding out!)
• Newbie loads one round, readies the weapon, aims (Instructor verifies all steps including that the newbie's trigger finger moves onto the trigger now, not before, and that the thumbs are not directly behind the slide) and fires -- newbie continues holding gun up, moves trigger finger out of the trigger guard and then puts the gun down. Newbie then loads many rounds and so forth. Finally, newbie makes the gun safe (including Empty Chamber Indicator -- ECI).
• Anything beyond this point is subject to your judgment and discretion. (Of course, so have all the steps up to this point as well. Remember, they are expecting you to keep them safe, to teach them, and to have fun -- in that order.)
• At some point and after the newcomer has shot several rounds, you may want to show them how to clear a jam or otherwise deal with some issue. This is the most likely time they will violate Jeff's Rule #2 (and NRA #1) so BEWARE! Tell them that, before trying to clear a jam or make any adjustment, they must move their feet and body. The gun must stay pointing downrange at all times. (I imagine the muzzle to glued in that direction and I move my body around while I work on a gun to keep it that way.) Demonstrate standing at the line in firing position but then turn before attempting to manually cycle the slide. Keep the muzzle always pointed down range.
• Newbie verifies the line is safe then puts up a new target.
• Move up to a moderate center fire caliber such as 38 -- but not a snubbie. Save that for after a 45 ACP 1911.
• A 1911 "wad" gun (45 ACP) with red dot can be the next experience, similar to above.
• Then, let them try a 1911 ball gun (45 ACP) with iron sights. If they fired the wad gun, you can skip most of the demonstration where it is the same but add, "You'll need to hang onto this even more. Grip it hard."
• After 1911 ball and if the newbie is interested, then I'll let them shoot a snubbie (38 or 357). Note that because of the tiny grip, I watch their preparation and firing of this gun as attentively as I did the very first one.
• Free pistol (single shot 22, extremely light trigger) demonstration followed by newbie starts by dry-firing (typically by accident and sometimes into the bench, and sometimes more than once!) before proceeding to live ammunition.
• At this point -- and if they want to shoot more, then I let them shoot whatever they wish. But note that I'm still doing nothing but watching each of them. As the Instructor, you must remain alert for jams and unusual conditions because that is when they are most likely to violate one or more of the safety rules. The operative phrase, yelled very loudly, is "Everybody freeze". Then I can tell them what to do and safely get to the one that needs help.
• Time and inclination permitting, you can work in some air pistol shooting at the indoor range but, by this time, you'll have spent half the day at the range. Some will say this is "too much" for a first time experience. You'll need to be sensitive to your guests and not let your zeal overwhelm their stamina or interest.
• On the drive home, I go over Jeff's and the NRA's rules one last time but do not point out any violations -- if they happened, they know if and what they were even if you don't. Rather, I want to leave the experience on a positive note.
• So I ask which guns they liked best, which ones were the loudest, how did it feel and so on?
• Then, let them talk. Just smile and nod your head. Ask the occasional question if the "conversation" falters but let them talk. This time at the range was for them. Let it be that way.
• If they are interested, you can describe some of the different shooting sports. I typically mention the action pistol sports such as IPSC and IDPA, the Olympic-style competitions and, of course, my favorite, Bullseye which is, officially, the NRA Conventional Pistol form. You can add that there are many rifle-only sports (small bore, high power and La Palma to name but a few) as well as several sports that shoot multiple types of firearms. In that latter category, I always mention Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) because it combines not only three guns (hand guns, rifles and shotguns) but also some play-acting -- a word to the wise: they wear "outfits", not "costumes" -- and social events. Understandably, CAS is very popular in the southwest but it shows up around the country and in many non-US locations as well.
• Finally, and again if they're so inclined, I'll then invite them to our regular Tuesday evening Nighthawks event. We shoot a Bulleye 900 on the first and third Tuesdays, an International standard pistol 600 on the second and fourth, and an "any gun" L Match (900) on those twice-a-year fifth Tuesdays. I let them know they're free to shoot my guns as much as they wish and, even if I'm not there, they are likely to find someone else who is just as willing to share.

Again, my thanks to Fred, JC, Chuck, Sheral, Kent and George for adding several excellent ideas.

If the newbies have a safe experience, learn about hand guns and have a good time, they'll come back.

You'll have made a convert.

"Keep the line safe!"

270 Down, 90 To Go

I fired 2437-37X in today's 2700.

That's 90.26% for 270 of the 360 record shots I need to advance to Outdoor Expert.

Yes! I shot the level I was hoping for. Hooray!

As is often the case, my 22 score today (827-14X) was my best of the three 900s I shot today. My score with that gun gave me a 17 point hedge against the 810 score needed in Center Fire and again in 45. And although I did well with those guns -- actually just one gun used twice, my 807-14 Center Fire needed 3 of the hedge-points to reach 810 and my 803-9 in 45 consumed another 7.

But it was enough.

So now, Outdoor Expert is not only within reach, but with 270 of the needed 360 shots officially to be recorded at that level, my finger is touching the desired ring. And in the next match, it could be mine!

The next 2700 in which record shots will be sent to the NRA is almost a month. Between now and then, there's a practice 2700 as well as the weekly Nighthawks. And I need every bit of that practice as today's "skin of my teeth" success shows.

But now I know how to do it.

Just shoot this shot. There are no others.

One shot. That's all. This one.

One Shot 2700

There's a 2700 today but I'm only going to shoot one shot -- this* one.

____________________
* I.e., the current shot.

Target Scoring Practice #1

In Bullseye, you will be scoring your neighbor's target, writing that score on both the score card and also the target, and then moving to your target to check the score you were given by your other neighbor.

And in scoring his target and in verifying yours, there is a procedure to follow that makes things easier, or at least it usually makes it so.

Here's the procedure many shooters use.

1. Ask the shooter what caliber and bullet type he is shooting. This will determine which overlay you will use if in doubt. Also, because "ball" ammunition leaves a smaller hole but is the same size as its "wad" counterpart, you'll need to take that into account as you eyeball the target. (Plugs should only be used by match officials and, once inserted, cannot be removed until the score is agreed upon.)
2. Determine how many shots are to be counted as fired at the target. Note this is not necessarily how many shots were fired. For example, if the shooter fired an alibi and a total of fourteen shots, you would throw away the four best scores and keep the remaining ten even if some of them were misses. But if the shooter's gun jammed during the alibi string itself and only thirteen shots were fired, you still "count" the shots as fourteen, and throw away the best four. (You don't get an alibi on an alibi string.)
3. At the target, count the holes to see if you can find all of the shots. If so, you're ready to begin the tally. If not, look carefully at the holes for elongations or overlapping but slightly offset shots. Note that a skidder will be elongated horizontally and that the beginning of the hole will be much narrower than the caliber's diameter. Two shots almost in the same hole, on the other hand, will also be elongated but the roundness at the elongated point will be the same as the bullet's caliber.
4. Tally the shots starting at the X ring and moving outward. Count the number of Xs and, on the score card, write an X for each of them. Then count the tens, write down that many tens, then the nines and so forth. The score card might look like this: X, X, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 7, 7, 7.
5. Sometimes, however, it will be easier to start at the low end and work your way in toward the center.
6. And at other times, you may find it easy to score all the holes except one large ragged hole with multiple strikes. By scoring the other holes first, you'll know how many to look for in the ragged hole by carefully examining the edges for each bullet's outline.
7. And finally, you will sometimes just have to look at that one big hole and decide if any bullets passed through the center of it leaving no mark, or if it is more likely the shooter missed the paper completely. Most scorers will give the shooter the benefit of the doubt if all the holes are near the middle of the target with no flyers. On the other hand, if the target has a couple of wild shots, you may decide it is likely the missing shots are completely off the paper. As the scorer, use your best judgment in making the decision. (A miss is recorded as "M" -- Maggie's drawers -- on the score card.)
8. With the record shots recorded on the score card, you then compute the score. This is usually done by counting how many points less than 10 each shot gets. For example, if there were two shots in the X ring, five shots in the ten ring, two in the nine ring and one in the eight, that would be 3 points less than 100, or 97. And then count the Xs, in this case 2X. The score card would be: X, X, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 8 = 97-2.
9. And on the target's repair center, write that same score, 97-2.
10. You can then move to your target, look at the score written on the repair center and tally your own score to see if you agree. If not, ask the scorer to recheck. And if the two of you still disagree, then you can challenge the score -- usually costing a buck or two -- and the match officials will settle the issue.

Here are some targets on which to practice. (The caliber and bullet type are included in each target's caption.) The targets progress from easy to hard. After you've scored all the targets, add a comment to this posting with the individual scores for the six targets along with any comments you might wish to make.

Target #1 * 45 ACP Ball (Click the image to enlarge)

Target #2 45 ACP Wadcutter (Click the image to enlarge)

Target #3 45 ACP Ball (Click the image to enlarge)

Target #4 45 ACP Wadcutter (Click the image to enlarge)

Target #5 45 ACP Wadcutter (Click the image to enlarge)

Target #6 45 ACP Wadcutter (Click the image to enlarge)

____________________

* Note: This image had a 90 degree rotation when first displayed. The image editor I use to crop and resize before uploading, Paint.NET, displayed it correctly so I assumed blogger was doing something. But the evidence of "right" and "wrong" was misleading.

After some research, I discovered that "portrait" versus "landscape" orientations are encoded in the original JPG data by the camera itself. (I'm using a Nikon CoolPix S210 for most of my stills. This issue reportedly happens with some Canon digital cameras as well.)

The image editor (Paint.NET) ignores this information as does blogger. They simply pass it through (ignored and) unchanged. But the browser in which the image is finally displayed apparently uses that information and, hence, displays it accordingly.

Here's what I did to fix it. First, save the image as a PNG (*.png). This will remove the orientation information. You can upload and use that image on blogger.

Additionally, you can then edit the new image (the PNG) and re-save it as a JPG. Because the PNG format does not retain the rotation information, the JPG created from it also won't have that information. When you then upload and display the resultant JPG (or the PNG), the orientation should then be correct.

Memo #1 to Self

Sunday came with high hopes but that's as far as it went.

The first target told the story: 22 Slow Fire, 84-0.

To make Expert, I needed an average of 90 across all forms and guns. And although things got better and I ended with 824-19 in that caliber, needing an 810 average, that gave me only a 14 point "hedge" against center fire and 45 caliber performance.

My 22 is often better, much better, and I was counting on it to pull up the scores in Center Fire and 45 to the needed 90% average for Expert.

This doesn't look good for the Expert card today.

Changing to the wad gun I shoot in Center Fire, I knew I needed to do better than usual, and probably much better.

My mind was busy calculating scores as I began Center Fire.

And with the second Center Fire, it was over.

Oh my gosh, how could I butcher a target so incredibly bad!

Looking in the scope at the target 50 yards away, I could only see seven holes that were worth anything.

61-0 with two visible misses, and then one completely off the paper.

Ugh!

How could it get so bad?

I shook my head in disgust.

But I knew the answer: Ignore the basics and it goes to hell in a hand basket real fast.

In Bullseye, you just cannot let up. A moment of distraction and, "Bang," into the berm outside of the target.

And that's exactly what happened.

I was thinking about my scores and that Expert card, and didn't think about the shot.

The shot. The one you're doing right now. You've got to stay on that one shot and nothing else.

So there I was standing and looking at that dismal target and knew it was hopeless.

Should I pack up and go?

Go home and dig up the yard?

Or do I want to work through this, figure out what all is going wrong, and get back to where I can shoot most of the middle out of a target again?"

I'm not a quitter. As long as I'm safe to shoot, I'll try to work through it.

So I sighed, had a quick snack of bitter crow in front of the other shooters, and then resigned myself to work my way through, to forge ahead and get back to the basics.

The first Slow Fire of the National Match Course in Center Fire was next.

I thought myself through the shot process.

I will focus on the dot. Then come into the aiming area. I'll start the trigger straight back (feel my trigger finger arching to move it straight back, and then I'll just hold it there, ignore the wobble, focusing on the dot, the dot, the dot and wait until it goes.

First shot. Do the process. "Bang!" That felt pretty good.

Let's do it again.

And again.

After each shot I'd glance in the scope to see if it landed where I called it.

Most did.

But after seeing that one new hole, I went back to the shot process.

After the tenth shot was gone, I reloaded the magazines, clicked the dot down four clicks for the short line (next), set the screw driver on the table with the blade pointed toward me (meaning the sight was now set for the short line), and looked in the scope to tally the score.

91-2

What?

I looked again, counted the holes, and then tallied the score a second time.

A 91-2 in Slow Fire?

I just shot a 91-2 in Slow Fire!

Damn! That's good!! That's real good for me!!!

Wait. What did I do? Why was that different?

I repeated the mantra to myself: Focus on the dot. Come into the aiming area. Start the trigger straight back ... and then just hold it there, ignore the wobble, and wait for the shot to go.

And what did I not do?

I didn't think about getting my Expert card.

I just thought about the next shot.

Timed and Rapid came and went as I worked to focus back on that basic process for each shot. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but even in the latter case, all the shots counted -- there were no more misses, not in Center Fire and not later in 45.

With the three misses in Center Fire and the struggle to resurrect "how to shoot a good shot", I ended with 772-12. That's so short of the needed 810 that even that tiny corner of my mind that hoped against hope to still pull victory out of this disaster, even that gave up.

45 Rapid Fire: 94-1

 

45 caliber was next. Nine targets later, I saw my total: 802-14.

Still short of the needed 810 but, then again, if you look at the progress of a bad 22 performance followed by an utterly dismal Center Fire Slow Fire, and then the return to basics and the scores coming back up, well, that 802-14 actually looked pretty good.

If my 22 had "been there" and my Center Fire and 45 had been up to that same 802 level, I might have had enough for the Expert card.

But there was a much more important lesson here.

Indeed, if I were looking for a prime example of how thinking can mess up shooting, thia was it. I had started the day thinking, "I'm gonna earn my Expert card today," and then became so preoccupied with that thought that I completely destroyed the possibility.

And as soon as I accepted the fact that I couldn't get there and would, instead, go back to the basics and look no farther ahead than the next shot, it all started coming back.

My Expert card will come someday.

It will happen.

But I won't get there by striving for it.

In some sports, you may be able to visualize that gold medal hanging around your neck and use that inspiration to help you get there.

But in Bullseye, your vision can't be any further away than the end of the barrel or that red dot and this next shot.

Focus on this shot.

The Expert card is the mailman's responsibility, not mine.

It'll come with it comes.

Memo to self?

That's easy. It's to focus on the dot, come into the aiming area, start the trigger straight back and then just hold it there, ignore the wobble, and wait for the shot to go.

Anything else is noise.

Striving

I shoot Bullseye for several reasons. Those who know me can report that, yes, my #1 reason is for the camaraderie; I just plain like the people I meet who are shooting Bullseye.

But that's not the only reason.

A sense of accomplishment is also important.

And with that also needs to be the knowledge that I'm getting better.

Well, the time has come to move up.

The NRA Pistol Rules rank competitors in several categories, among them are Indoor and Outdoor. My current Outdoor classification is Sharpshooter and it is there -- outside -- where I commonly shoot both 22 and 45 caliber guns, the latter having a heavier, and therefore more difficult, trigger.

My Indoor classification has been as an Expert and it is indoors where the 22 is more commonly fired. Indeed, some indoor ranges permit nothing larger. Consequently, shooters tend to do better.

But I'm now ready to move up. Indeed, I both want to get my Outdoor Expert card, and I think my shooting is just about ready as well.

The individual skill-levels are as follows.

Classification	Percent	900	2700
High Master *	97	873	2619
Master	95	855	2565
Expert	90	810	2430
Sharpshooter	85	765	2295
Marksman	less	< 765	< 2295

My goal, the Expert class, needs a 90% mark. That is, I need to shoot an average of 810 points in Registered and Authorized 900s.

But scores are reported to the NRA for an entire competition. And, the NRA tallies "shots fired" as well as the score. In a 2700 I need to shoot at least 2430 as my total for the three 900s (3 * 810), and I need to "keep it up" at that level for at least 360 shots.

Within a competition, I can do better, or worse, on any given 900, as long as the average for the competition comes out at the 90% level.

For the 360 shots, at 10 points per shot, a 900 has 90 shots, and a 2700 has 270 -- not enough. It takes four 900s, or a 2700 plus a 900 or, in my case, it will be two 2700s to accumulate the needed 360 shots.

For some time, my 22 scores have been around 840 to 850. If I shoot at that level outdoor, that will give me a 30-40 point "helper" on CenterFire and 45 scores. (And shooting 840 to 850, you can see that I could, on a good performance at several indoor matches, move up there as well -- but I want to keep my Indoor and Outdoor classifications more or less in-line with each other. So I've been avoiding indoor Registered and Authorized matches for that reason.)

In the most recent outdoor matches, I've done better than expected. That's especially true with my 45 caliber wad gun now that it has the roll trigger -- thank you, Dan Norwood. It feels like I'm pressing on a soft pillow and, rather than needing to "build pressure" to break a shot, I now "keep it flowing".

For the level of my ability at this time, the roll trigger is a real plus.

And tomorrow we shoot the President's Day 2700 at the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club. It is an official event so the scores will be reported to the NRA.

And the following weekend has a second, and also to be reported, 2700.

If I can shoot both 2700s and score 2430 or better in each one, then the record of my most recent 360 (or more) shots will make the grade.

I want an Outdoor Expert classification.

That goal, and the determination to get there, will be driving my focus and attention for the next two Sundays.

Align the sights in the aiming area and then move the trigger straight back without disturbing the sights.

10s and Xs!

____________________

* Note: Above High Master, there are the unofficial 2650 (98.1%) and 2670 (98.8%) clubs. Performance at these levels is truly stunning, especially when you take into account that this is not for one shot, but for a repeated performance over at least 270 individual shots.

Extractor Tip Takes a Hike

Old / New
(Click to
magnify)

Last Sunday and on the last target of the day, the working end of my wad gun's extractor decided to leave the gun. Amazingly, it landed on the table right in front of me in plain sight. (Why can't little springs do that when accidentally released in the workshop?)

In the picture at the right, the old extractor missing its tip is seen, with the replacement on the right. (The angle at the end of the new tip is a photographic artifact due to lens distortion. It is, in reality, quite square.)

After a quick conference with Don and Bill, I not only had a replacement and a spare extractor, I also had way more information on exactly how to fit it than my brain could remember.

So I nodded politely but knew I'd need a refresher from the web. That's what Google is for, of course.

And although I knew that Bullseye 1911 wad guns are different from stock 1911s, I had assumed the differences were mostly in the area of better quality parts. But, as I was to learn, the parts are only the beginning.

Case in point, the amount of tension by which the shell is held by the extractor is often quite a bit less in a wad gun. I discovered this on the net after reading several otherwise good articles on replacing the extractor, only one of which described a lower force for lesser powered ammunition (e.g., in a wad gun).

Indeed, if you look at the old and new extractors -- click the image on the right to view a much larger version -- there are some fine points to notice.

First, the "bump" nearest the tip is shinier on the old extractor. This is not due to wear, however. Notice in particular how sharp the left and right edges are in that shiny area. That's because that bump has been machined down slightly during the fitting process.

The new extractor (on the right) hasn't had this area fitted and, if installed in the gun "as is", it doesn't quite press sufficiently on the brass. The reason is that the "bump" functions as a stop against the inside of the extractor tunnel and, when a round is loaded, it's supposed to slide up into the notch and the extractor is supposed to be pushed away from the stop.

But the "bump" is too large in the replacement extractor and when a round is loaded, it touches the slot in the extractor but doesn't push it away from the stop. As a result, the new extractor exerts almost no pressure on the shell.

Not good.

The standard fix is to bend the extractor between the middle and end "bumps" but, in this case, the end "bump" is already pressing against the side of the tunnel. More bend won't move it farther out to contact the shell.

What's needed instead, is to remove a small amount of that final "bump".

And that's the shiny area you can see on that "bump" in the broken extractor.

But notice again the new extractor -- it is slightly wider than the old. That means it fits into the round extractor tunnel a little more snugly and, if I take away metal only from the contact spot on the "bump", the area of contact will just move to the sides.

What's needed is a slight reshaping into more of a "U" shape than circular as well as a slight reduction in the height of the "bump".

Tricky!

In the process of figuring this out, and as I studied what I had at first assumed to be a rather simple part, little by little I slowly began to understand the purpose of each little bump, cut, angle and ridge. And while I certainly don't claim to understand all of his design, for what I now know of its intricate functions, I can see, in probably in my own and still very ignorant and small way, that John Browning was a genius.

 

Closer Look
(Click to magnify)

As of late yesterday, I have a replacement extractor finished, installed and working reliably. It's not perfect and I pity any spectator standing 10' behind and to the right of me where the brass is going, but the gun functions 100% again.

Much remains to be done.

The "bump" nearest the tip needs to be reshaped and ever so slightly reduced as already described.

Then, the slot needs to be polished and the angled step along its left-hand edge smoothed into a graceful ramp.

And the top of the slot needs some more work -- I didn't understand how to cut the top of the slot entry area and this probably accounts for the interesting path my brass now takes when it leaves the gun.

Perhaps the best advice I received from fellow shooters and Bullseye gunsmiths was to buy several extractors, plan on throwing at least one away while I learn, and before stopping make sure I have two that work well, one in the gun and the second with an appropriate label stored in the spare parts bin.

Another piece of advice I received but (also) failed to appreciate is to plan on doing the work at the range. My two new extractors both need followup work and with my meager set of tools at home, that means more trips to the range.

Better would be a portable tool chest and tools to do it all at the range.

At the recent Desert Midwinter Competition, Dan Norwood made use of several tools from his portable box when he put a roll trigger on this same gun.

And his tool box as well as its contents caught my attention. My best guess is that it was a Kennedy 8-Drawer Journeyman #526.

That's a beautiful box but, for my needs, maybe a little over the top.

But even with something from Home Depot, I'm gonna need lots of specialty items. I need files and stones, feeler gauges, some magnifying goggles, probably some dykem marking fluid and ... ...

Where's my Brownells catalog?

Pass Right, Score Left

Five days, four guns, nine disciplines and over a thousand rounds, that was the Arizona Desert Midwinter competition for 2010.

And I'm pooped!

Tony Brong and myself

Tony!

My good friend from Pennsylvania, Tony Brong, came out for the competition this year. Like many of you, I've been following Tony's blog (click here) for some time. Tony is an accomplished Bullseye competitor and I consider myself lucky to know him as well as benefit from his Expert (soon to be Master) observations.

Our blogging and emailing friendship grew when Tony and I both shot the August 2008 Dutchman 2700 at the Palmyra club when I was in Pennsylvania for two consecutive weeks on business. The weekend "break" with Tony was great although I can't say the same for my shooting.

With Tony returning the visit at this year's Arizona Desert Midwinter event, I can't say much more for my shooting as I had been "on extended hiatus" from shooting for several months due to personal issues, but getting to spend time with Tony again and to introduce him to all the wonderful people I've come to know at the Phoenix club was, well, wonderful.

Don Kling and Tony Brong

More PA in AZ

Don Kling, now an Arizona shooter, originally hails from Tony's club back in Pennsylvania. Although their times at Palmyra didn't overlap, they both knew many of the same club members.

Don calls the matches in Phoenix, both International and Conventional segments. Each has unique requirements. In Conventional, for example, it is not only common practice but typically encouraged for shooters to load their magazines at the end of each string before scoring targets. That way when they come back to the line, the next string can begin without delay.

But in the International disciplines, this is considered a safety violation and is grounds for immediate expulsion.

In International, shooters are forbidden to touch ammunition or firearms until commanded to "Load". They then have sixty seconds to load a magazine or whatever the weapon requires, and no more than what the next string requires -- typically five (5) rounds -- and otherwise make their weapon ready to shoot.

At the end of that sixty seconds, the "Attention" command is announced and shooting ensues about three seconds later.

Well, for Bullseye shooters who are unaccustomed to but otherwise eager to try the International forms, Don patiently explains the difference in rules. He then follows up with an inspection and one-on-one "correction" with anyone who needs a little extra attention.

And don't forget your ECI -- Empty Chamber Indicator -- typically a 8-12" piece of brightly colored weed-wacker (grass trimmer) line that is threaded through a gun's empty chamber and out through the end of the barrel. The NRA (Conventional pistol rule maker) mandates these in every NRA sanctioned event.

But when, during an International segment whose rules don't require ECIs, Don called "Empty Chamber Indicators in place", one of the shooters objected.

"International rules don't require those, Don."

Without missing a beat however, Don replied, "I'm calling the match and I do."

That was that and ECIs were promptly put in place.

Presenting the Case

Scoring Jury

Scoring of a shooter's target for most Bullseye matches other than at the annual championship in Camp Perry is almost always done by the person to the right of each shooter.

At the beginning of a match, each participant is given a blank score card on which they write their name and firing position number.

The command, "Pass right, score left" tells the tale. (The shooter at the extreme right end passes his card to the one at the extreme left, who then has to make the long trek to the other end of the targets each time around. Some ranges will make smaller "loops" where the line is divided in half to save walking distance.)

Immediately after scoring a neighbor's target, each shooter looks at his own target to see his score -- scorers write the score on the target as well as on the scoring sheet -- and to see if he agrees with it.

Late in the Desert Midwinter match, a shooter challenged the scorer's call on a critical shot. The scorer and shooter discussed the matter but could not come to agreement. As per the rules, Don then formed an impartial jury and included several expert and better level shooters including Tony. Tony's participation as an unbiased outsider who knew none of the individuals made him a particularly good choice.

After each of the jurors had carefully examined the target and listened to both the shooter's and the scorer's case, they voted. And both shooter and scorer, after seeing and hearing the honest assessments applied to the case, accepted the outcome with no further argument.

Cara Kraus, Long Skidder
(Click for larger image)

Does It Count?

Some shots, while dramatic, can end up being worthless.

This one, for example, is called a "skidder" and before looking at the possible numerical values, the scorer must consider from which side of the target the shot entered -- did it enter from the front of the target or the rear?

You see, a shot fired on a turning target, if the target has turned away from the shooter, may over-rotate slightly and allow a late shot to hit the backside of the target first.

Shots fired after the target has turned away from the shooter don't count.

But if the shot enters from the front of the target, it is good. The scorer then looks to see what was the lowest valued ring encountered and, if the shot also marked the next higher ring, the shot is scored for the higher ring. If not, then the lower score is entered.

Skidders can also obscure -- destroy would be a better word -- other holes in the target and make scoring unusually challenging for the remaining holes.

How would you score this one?

Dan Norwood

Dan Norwood

This gentleman is one of the top finishers at this year's competition. He is on the United States National Guard Marksmanship Team.

And he's a gunsmith.

Bill Weldon, one of the regulars at the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club knew Dan's abilities and when I asked Bill to recommend a gunsmith to put a roll trigger on my wad gun, Bill suggested I ask Dan.

I did.

And he did.

In ten minutes using the extensive collection of tools he carries with him to competitions, Dan disassembled my 1911, measured and then dressed the parts, adjusted the three tongues of the flat spring and, voila, I now have a roll trigger. (Dan would later help Tony with his centerfire gun.)

Winners and Losers

In the end there are those who received awards and rightly celebrate their win.

And there are those who didn't receive anything and perhaps some of them felt they lost.

I shot better than expected in some events, worse in others. In that respect, you could say I won some and lost some.

But a week later, I couldn't tell you my scores.

You see, I've become pretty good at filtering what is important from what is not. I remember the faces you see above, the kind acts, the sincerity. I remember the smiles, the laughs, the jests and the good-natured ribbing. I remember the people.

So, I shoot Bullseye for the people.

Tony is one of them. So are Don and Cara and Dan and the shooter who challenged the scoring of his target.

Next time you stand at the line, look at the person to your left and then the person to your right. They're gonna be good people, honest people, sincere people.

Pass right, score left.

You won't lose.