The Mentalist

As we approach a new year, taking a step back and acknowledging some of the new things that we’ve mastered or accomplished is clearly a positive step. It’s useful to concentrate on good things.

Some months ago, I was kind of whining about my plight of being stuck in my current classification (for what seems like forever), and in the process wrote the following about how it made me feel.

“Yes, the Expert category is a vast wasteland littered with what I believe to be the largest pool of well skilled Master Wannabes that you’ll ever find. I know dozens of people trapped in this black-hole who never truly reach their current potential. Expert purgatory is a cold and dank place where just beyond its threshold lays the illumination of salvation and the delight of success.”

I received a lot of emails about the last line, it’s been quoted to me by various readers close to two dozen times; apparently it struck a nerve with a lot of struggling shooters. I readily believe most readers can easily sense the construed negative inference. Regardless how well someone turns a phrase, it was originally predicated on a despondent observation.

One item that I still routinely struggle with in the sport is the immediate desire for gravitating to the negative. It’s a fairly pervasive behavior in our sport which I suppose isn’t limited only to me. Think about all the times when the line goes down range and score their targets. During that process many, if not most, complain or are amazed they didn’t shoot anywhere close to their perceived potential.

Much like golfers heading for the 19th hole, bullseye shooters who do any form of post match socializing eventually do what trunk slammers do: by complaining about or regaling their mistakes as though they were a badge of honor.

When you read any of the works by Ed Hall, Don Nygord, Allen Fulford or Lanny Bassham, about managing one’s match behavior—sooner or later they mention the need to concentrate on the positive. You know, that big pile of good shots you just accomplished only moments earlier which was swiftly forgotten in mere seconds after fixating on an errant 7.

I honestly don’t know why human nature makes so many of us wallow in the stuff?

Think of and concentrate on the positive things that you do well. Keep reminding yourself of the good skills that you’ve mastered. And yes, it’s okay to take them for granted and feel good about it in the process.

And how do we go about this in a structure fashioned, considering how extremely important a good self-image is? By returning to the muse of mental mastery: Lanny Bassham. About a year ago Lanny published a pretty nifty article on the subject of mentally evaluating shots on his blog. I must admit it’s authored from the standpoint of flying clay targets, but conceptually, it can be easily applied to any shooting discipline.

Use the link below.



http://mentalmanagement.blogspot.com/2009/01/evaluating-your-shots-lanny-bassham.html

Presidents’ Day Match 2010

For those of you who live near my neck of the woods; consider this my invitation for you to shoot the Presidents’ Day Match. My home club, Palmyra Sportsmen’s Association is sponsoring an indoor 900 match on Saturday, February 13th. This is a 50 foot match on B-2 and B-3 targets.

Proudly, I’ve watched this match evolve from its very humble beginnings into something that’s very special. It really is a fun match that’s become something of a midwinter bullseye social event too.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the club’s facilitates, it has one of the better designed indoor range that’s located in central Pennsylvania. There’s more than adequate ventilation (which just happens to pre-heated), generous lighting and it’s operated by some of the most gracious and inviting members that you’d ever meet.

You can contact the match director, Jeff Lutz at: maddoglutz@comcast.net

A link for the match brochure is here and directions to the club are located here.

And on a final note, may you all have a very special and joyous holiday.

America's Top Shot

Today, like many of you, I received my email of the CMP’s The First Shot-On Line. All the way near the bottom was a brief post about, whom else, The History Channel. Apparently the folks there just can’t get enough of people like R. Lee Ermy as he’s decimating two dozen melons with an M60 or Tom Knapp atomizing an aspirin in midair with his dinky .22 rifle.



Obviously this isn’t a post about bullseye shooting (I couldn’t help myself, this is such a hoot) but the powers-to-be at Pilgrim Films has reached out to our community for a little help. They need fresh faces that happen to be gun savvy, personalities larger than life with the steely and uncanny ability to shoot a variety of arms.

So if you’re game, looking to make a few bucks (there’s $100K available) and willing to potentially star in a reality series … click on this link.

Common Sense, Swiss Style

Last week a friend sent me a link to this video. I thought it was interesting from the perspective of ‘common sense,’ and it instilled an impression that there’s practical hope for all of us when it comes to the great debate on the Second Amendment.



During the past three and half years of writing this blog I’ve avoided most things political and have tried not to stray from its mission of being a resource for new conventional pistol shooters. There are other people who are not only better suited to the task of defending our inherent rights but are much more impassioned, skilled and knowledgeable on the subject than me.

But let us not forget, judicious use of any freedoms not only makes us an independent people, but fosters a more civilized society as well.

This video demonstrates why … why, the Swiss have almost no violent crime. And it also explains why the Swiss are considered to be the most polite group of people in all of Europe.

Tom Hughes

I noticed someone making a brief post the other day on the BE-List about Tom Hughes being recently named as the new National Pistol Manager at the NRA. What took me completely off guard was the fact that Tom didn’t appear to respond during that discussion.

Well, the better part of me decided to email Tom and let him know that his presence would be very welcomed; many of us were looking forward to meeting the new boss. Only a few minutes elapsed and Tom took the initiative to pick up the phone and call me. In a most enthusiastic tone he mentioned his experiences as a competitor, reminded me he was last year’s match director at Camp Perry (as a courtesy to Brian Zins so he could compete), and in general, has been wielding a pistol as a marksman far longer than most of us.

Tom comes to us in a round about way, but none the less, in true pedigree form. He started his career with the US Air Force while working for their security police, then a deputy sheriff for Prince George’s County and prior to arriving at the NRA he was with the US Secret Service managing security for the President of the United States.

Tom at Camp Perry 2009

As you can surmise, due to Tom’s history with law enforcement his primary experiences are in the Practical arena, even though he does shoot bullseye on occasion.

While I had him on the phone, I expressed a common concern many old time BE shooters had, that our fraternity at times might be considered a “tar baby” to the executives at the NRA. Tom was swift to point out he was the front-man behind last year’s awards increases, and was planning on being even more aggressive in attracting future sponsorship monies for the national pistol matches. He was the first to point out the unfairness with the financial disparities between the Bianchi Cup and events at Perry, pledging to help make them more egalitarian.

He describes his current management dilemma this way: “I’ve been at the headquarters for only a few years, and the corporate culture could best be described as … well, they just didn’t want to make any changes. ‘Let’s just do it the way we’ve always done it,’ type of mentality prevailed. … I got hired to shake things up.”

I perceived Tom’s sincere desire to take Bullseye shooting to another level, and for me, it rang true. He also informed me in his belief of an open door policy with everyone. Assuming you have a practical need to address his office, he can be reached by phone at (703) 267-1451, or by email at THughes@nrahq.org

Welcome, Tom!

Ammo: The Perfect Storm

Currently there’s an ammo shortage that no one can deny, and it’s been extremely uncomfortable for all of us from the standpoint of both supply, and as well, its recent cost. Go to any gun show and you’ll notice people (myself included … guilty as sin) purchasing ammo or components not in quantities of 500 units, but by the case, or even in some instances multiple cases.

Not long ago I ran into a friend at a show as he was leaving. He’d purchased such a hoard of rimfire ammunition the vendor gladly loaned him a handcart so he could wrangle six full cases through the showroom floor and the parking lot. I followed him to help load his vehicle with his newly acquired loot, only later to find out the load was so great he collapsed the floor in his trunk.

While researching this post I noticed a March issue of USA Today, in which a co-owner of a retail establishment in Wyoming, Becky Holtz of Frontier Arms, was asked about the current hoarding situation: "You know there's something wrong when I've got little old ladies coming in buying 5,000 rounds of .22 shells."

Kind of says it all, doesn’t it?

I had written about a related issue some time ago but it was dedicated to the primer shortage. In it I reviewed the international trading costs of raw materials and their related lack of economic elasticity. By the end of 2007 and the very early part of 2008, metal prices had peaked to unprecedented levels, thus changing the cost basis for all ammunition manufacturers.

Since then metal prices have moderated as I had predicted … but not the price of ammunition. So, what’s the deal?

Well, we’ve got Becky’s little ol’ lady which is really a metaphor for all of us and half of all the other firearms owners in this country, and police agencies as well whose buying habits have changed dramatically. And we have the current cost of exchange rates for the US dollar to contend with.

Through initiatives and grants made by the Department of Homeland Security, police agencies have become much more paramilitary, in the hope of having immediate response to local terrorist plots. To illustrate the point, my local club has forged several new relationships with various police, security and even prison boards, with hopes of positively cementing their club facilities with the local community; even though each of these new relations were initiated by their respective local governments or company’s security representatives.

I live five air miles from the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and their security response team comes by routinely to one of my clubs to practice or “qualify.” They generally expense about 2,000 rounds of .223 in only a matter of two hours, and only God knows how many pistol rounds go down range as well. When they clean up the range, their brass litter is so vast they use coal shovels to scoop it up; which becomes something of a ritual for the conclusion of their range time. Eventually, their brass is then donated to the club’s youth programs.

Once upon a time, highly trained and heavily armed police units with acronyms such as SWAT, SRT or SRU were generally found as a part of a large urban police unit. Today, law enforcement agencies of every size, even some university police forces have some type of SWAT units. To become proficient, each officer must fire thousands of rounds in training every year. None the less, if you were to look real hard near your hometown, I’m certain you’d notice some of your local police doing much of the same.

So there’s hoarding that's in full view of us all. And there’s a new and much greater demand on the part of law enforcement. But what the hey, isn’t there two wars going on?

If you were to look at the small arms ammunition supply chain for the DOD, almost all, possibly 90%, is manufactured by the government owned Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. This year Lake City will produce about 1.2 billion rounds but has capacity for approximately 1.7 to 1.9 billion. Even with available excess capacity, the DOD has issued contracts to private industry here in the States and Israel for the remaining but outstanding 10% of their need.

All of the above puts market pressures not only on domestic manufacturers—but more importantly, their suppliers. So, if someone were to tell you that Lake City can handle their own commitments and it shouldn’t affect the civilian supply chain; don’t be so quick to buy that form of logic. Not every foundry in the country produces raw ammunition brass and the same reasoning can be said about the other specialty suppliers as well.

Even slight additional commitments on the part of private ammunition manufacturers tend to disrupt the distribution stream. Most commercial makers of ammo, much like a home reloader, have to share their production lines with different types of bullets. Normally manufacturers will inventory vast amounts of finished product on anticipation of future sales, historically as long as several months out. So, when demand is off the chart as it is now, inventories are depleted to such a point that it flows directly off the production line to the delivery truck, creating product imbalances. I’m certain you can understand why at times of supply stress there isn’t any 9MM, and at the same time, a modest glut (for about two weeks) of 45ACP appears.

There’s some real truth of the claims made by the ammo manufacturing community; operating 24, 7 without so much as an inkling of a break. But even their sorrow of not fulfilling their customer’s needs should be put into perspective: that it’s an easy time for them.

Olin, Federal and a whole host of other companies that make a buck on building ammo are posting the greatest net profit margins they have ever known. [Regale the musical chorus to Evita: …Don’t cry for me Argentinaaa!] But in fairness to them, I’m certain they’re well aware that it’s not a good long term business practice to alienate all of their customers. Although, some things are simply beyond their control.

For the most part, the value of the US dollar hasn’t so much as hit the radar screens of those who have been following this dilemma. But it would be a safe bet to assume that vast amounts of ammo inventory have been skirted off to Europe and elsewhere. Since 2005, the US dollar as declined by about -37% against the euro, leaving many to wonder if a quick buck has been made either by manufacturers or larger wholesalers, by placing the stuff on container ships.

Think of it this way: a case of Ely Sport that currently demands $252 in tribute from us can probably be had for $159 in Western Europe. I don’t want to get into a long drawn out discussion about exchange rates, because most of it is based upon political, fiscal and monetary policies. And in turn, it affects the cost of raw materials that enter the US, ultimately being consumed by ammo manufacturers. Possibly better said, a windmill effect occurs.

I don’t blame them it’s simply much more profitable to sell outside the US. Where else could you get a deal like this, by sending $100 worth of stuff out the door, only later cashing the check for it where your bank account gets a $135 deposit.

One of the better ways to express what’s currently happening with ammo availability and its pricing may best be described as a Perfect Storm. I’m not expecting that same case of Ely Sport to return to its 2005 price tag of $97 ever again. And since none of the other major elements seem to be returning to their historical parameters either, it looks like we’ll be in an ammo shortage for a long time.

Dan the Motorcycle Man

Over the past three or four years I’ve bumped into several notable members of our sport. And I thought it might be fun over the course of the next year or so to showcase a few of them. You know, place a name with a face.

Most members of this cadre have similar qualities even though they may express them differently; generally they’re a gracious lot who are generous with both their time and skills.

Recently, a post on the Bullseye-L attracted my interest to one of the sport’s more notable members, R. “Motorcycle Dan” Pauley. Dan’s notoriety stems from his unique and colorful style of writing. When Dan crafts a post to the List, it’s generally done with succinct tones of realism that are veiled with down-home humor. I would label him as a grounded and plain spoken man, with practical literary skills which many of us consider quite enjoyable.

This noteworthy post by Dan mentioned his recent successes at the Canadian Shooting Sports Association’s 2009 Pistol Championship. As seen in the picture above, clearly, Dan didn’t leave a whole lot on the table for the locals. Apparently he had an idea some time ago much like my Grand Tour concept, then spontaneously decided to hop north over the border and broaden his shooting horizons.

As a retired navy man, Dan currently works with Rolls Royce in their gas turbine division, although, his life now has time dedicated to the pursuit of our discipline as well. I would categorize Dan (an Expert) as a very or extremely motivated and impassioned shooter. Like many things in his life he doesn’t do them half-fast; this year alone he’s won both his Distinguished Revolver Medal and Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge. [Pictured left to right: myself, Jim Henderson and Dan Pauley] I should know—I received my DPS badge with him on stage at Camp Perry this past July. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he snags his Master ticket within the next year.

If you’re curious how the two of us met, click on the link. It’s a story focused on Dan’s sense of responsibility.

Dan, congratulations on your most recent achievements, my friend. Now, just keep writing those amusing antidotes with humorous and visceral descriptions that we’ve all come to enjoy.

The Grand Tour

About two months ago I made a commitment to a friend, to shoot with him at a match that’s located in his hometown—about 2100 miles away. Why? Well, it’ll be time well spent with a good friend and the match venue is what I’d call a Big Ten event.

After thinking about this upcoming match, it dawned on me it really is a marquee event. This also brought to mind, that within the last year I’ve attended what some may consider to be uniquely special or extremely well known matches here in the East: like the Walt Wise Memorial Police-L Match in Harrisburg, PA; of course the National at Camp Perry; and the NJ Conventional State Pistol Championship located in Jackson, NJ.

With linear logic I came to the conclusion it’d be pretty flippin’ cool to make the Grand Tour.

In centuries past, English noblemen (and later on Americans as well) would make an extended pilgrimage to the cultural centers of the Continent in an attempt to become more scholarly and worldly about Classical and Renaissance knowledge. This provided the title and concept we would today call the Grand Tour.

Supposedly, the tour provided the traveler with tacit knowledge not available elsewhere, by being exposed to information, ideas and unique settings not obtainable by residing near home.

So, I thought it would be fun to attend several other of our sport’s well known marquee events, regardless where they may be, to experience new things and learn from others. A few events come to mind.

The Lobster Match, Scarborough, ME
The Desert Midwinter Pistol Championships, Phoenix, AZ
Canton Regional, Canton, OH
Virginia State Outdoor Pistol Championship, Manassas, VA

If you’re aware of other highly attended, competitive, special or uniquely operated Bullseye, Police-L or EIC matches, I’d like to hear from you. Send me an email [b754020@aol.com] or post here in the comment area, and give me a few suggestions to other prominent matches that I’ve clearly but mistakenly omitted.

I’ll attempt to post on them, hopefully, in less than 18 months.


Hope you all have a happy and joyous holiday with family and friends.

Calling Your Shots

Not long ago, a reader mentioned in one of my comment areas the process of “calling your shots.” And it dawned on me, since I’ve been writing this blog over the past three years I’ve not once mentioned it in any of my prior posts.

Shot calling is considered by many instructors as an advanced skill. Most of us do it without much thought, and as a consequence, do it poorly. As an acquired skill it’s extremely important to developing shooters. Knowing where it lands by reading the sight picture provides the shooter with immediate feedback about how well he’s performing and where he’s scoring. And there are other benefits.

1) Knowing when a slow fire shot is properly released and reading its appropriate response, provides fodder for the subconscious to ingrain a good shot process. And in doing so, hopefully a good shot can be replicated redundantly in the future.

2) Obtaining an accurate and immediate visual response from a poor sustained fire shot allows the shooter to abort during a sustained fire string and start over.

3) And if there’s a classic failure in any one of the fundamentals which you haven’t yet detected; a proper interpretation of the sight’s response may give you clues about what need’s your immediate attention during a match or live practice.

To start the process one would review their current dry fire drills. Generally, all shooters at one time or another will detect errors with their grip or trigger control. Obviously this is the foundation for any type of shot calling. Special attention should be applied to the time just prior to the hammer strike, when the hammer strikes and the moment immediately there after during the follow through period. Knowing what causes a jerked, heeled, milked or snatched shot—during dry fire—generally applies to live fire as well.

Although, during live firing training there are two basic drills that will help most shooters to become more attuned to the shot calling process.

The first will require assistance from a friend. At the range a shooter would go through their normal shot plan and on a slow fire basis without a scope or other aid, shoot a shot, make a call to its location, then verbally call out the round’s printed location on the target to their friend. The shooter’s friend, who is out of view, would mark an identical type target located on the bench where the shooter had called the shot. Then the assistant would scope the actual shot, verify its location and mark its location using a different color pen. One pen color for the called shot, and a different one for the shot’s actual location. Ideally all of the shots called and their separate verified locations should be numbered in sequential order.

During this exercise I’d initially limit the number of shots printed on the target to around five. This is an attempt at keeping the last few shots fresh in the shooter’s mind. More than likely there’ll be ten different marks on the bench target, and it becomes difficult trying to remember what went where with large numbers of notations. After only a few shots, the shooter would compare his called shots with the actual scoring target by going down range.

A similar drill can be accomplished alone. A shooter would do the same drill as noted above but would leave his scope secured in the box. He would shoot the shot, call the shot, and then mark its called location on an identical type target residing on the bench. Later, he would go forward and compare the two targets. This drill is best left to more advanced shooters; there’s no opportunity for feedback from another person who more than likely has been watching your routine and release.

A fresh-off-the-boat novice shooter might be able to call (within one scoring ring) one out of seven or eight shots. Sharpshooters and Marksmen might be able to get a 40% to 60% percent success rate with Experts hovering around 70%.

The initial problem with shot calling usually happens because of the human element of mental timing. Visually, many shooters will embed that moment of the sight picture when they made their commitment to pull the trigger, as their called location. But the ideal image for a good call will come from the immediate follow through period. It’s not uncommon for shooters to fall into a “that’s where I want it” visual snapshot while going after the shot. And then have the subconscious erroneously validate the old ‘want it’ image as the point of impact. It’s the image during the follow through response that gives the most accurate call.

Remember, while using an optical sight you want to see the dot leap straight back at you, regardless where it’s pointed. And for open sights, it’s where you last saw the front post. The gun may or may not be aimed or pointed where you wanted but both confirm proper application of the fundamentals.

One of the initial and most common epiphanies many shooters have during these drills is they become much more aware of the break down in their fundamentals. So, when you use one of these drills you get double bonus points: the ability to call better; and hopefully increased attention to the basics.

A Few Innovative Solutions

For those of you who routinely read or participate on the Bullseye-L, I’m sure you’ve noticed a small flurry of newly manufactured items being offered to specifically address our unique needs.

About three months ago I noticed a post by a list member, where he made great claims regarding a new and improved insert for a Dillon Square Deal seater die. I linked to the noted eBay page and eventually purchased one. My only past experience with something comparable was about three years ago, when I had a local machinist craft a similar item for me but it ended with mixed results. This new stainless steel seater is much better constructed and was very well thought-out.

Then about a month later this same member notified the List to closely scrutinize yet another product, his 1911 weight set. Okay, since I’m a sucker for cool stuff, I figured why not order this one too.

Over the past fifteen years machinist and computer programmer Steve Bathje has enjoyed a shooting career, which provided a few insights to help us with solutions to many of the same shooting and reloading dilemmas he’s encountered. Those two tired old phrases, “Form follows function,” and “Necessity is the mother of invention,” gets a run for their money in Gunnison, Colorado where Steve’s family machine shop is located.

Steve is also a past president and board member of the Gunnison Sportsmen's Association which hosts the CO State Bullseye Pistol Championship. A little off the beaten path, Gunnison is located thirty miles west of Monarch Pass; one of the most scenic areas in CO, offering a panoramic view of the southern end of the Sawatch Range.

I’ve been told this state sponsored match attracts bullseye shooters from all parts of the West, and by little to no coincidence, John Zurek (AZ) currently holds the club’s record for high aggreagte score.

None the less, after crafting a solution or two for himself, Steve was placed in the precarious situation of having his friends request the same products for their own use. So, a product line was born.

Many of you who are eBay aficionados may remember his Dillon Powder Measure Dial? It’s been listed on eBay for years and been shipped as far away as Sweden and Malaysia. Luckily there’s been a recent expansion of his product line, and from the items that I’ve purchased, they appear to be of the highest quality.

So, if you’ve been looking for a local solution to modify a .45ACP RCBS seating stem or a mag loading tool and not getting anywhere, as an alternative, take a look at this link. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.


http://shop.ebay.com/rrpmi/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340