I'm definitely not happy with my performance at this IDPA action pistol match. It was very cold outside for the first 2 stages, so my hands weren't really cooperating with me. I even dropped a mag during a tactical reload. Then after it warmed up, we had a stage with two 40 yard targets. I had three misses on those two targets and my one hit was barely there. I think my shots were hitting high at that distance, so I need to take the time to go see where all my current competition pistols hit at 50 yards. The last two stages went well (I even won the last stage!), but my poor performance on the first two stages put me at 4th overall out of 11 total. 😕
In February, I sent the slide of my CZ-USA CZ Shadow 2 to CZ Custom to have it milled for an optic, and I just got it back today which was much faster than I expected. I also had them do some extra milling to the slide to lighten it up a little more, so that it would make the weight restriction of 45 ounces for the USPSA Carry Optics division rules. To keep the gun under the weight limit, I'm using a Burris Fastfire 3 optic, thin G-10 grips from LOK Grips, Mecgar +2 magazine base pads, and special springs/followers from CZ Custom that give me 21 rounds in each magazine (reloadable with a closed slide). I am VERY excited to run this gun in USPSA! 😎 My optic-equipped CZ P-09 will now be my dedicated IDPA Carry Optics gun.
I've also installed a 0.275" tall Dawson Precision front sight on my CZ Shadow 2. The front sight psuedo co-witnesses with the vertical white line on the back of the Burris Fastfire III optic as shown in the photo below on the left. This can effectively and accurately be used as a backup sight system out to 10-15 yards if the red dot ever fails for whatever reason. The photo on the right shows what it typically looks like when I'm shooting at targets. The front sight is also used as a reference point to help me find the dot much quicker when I bring the gun up during my draw or when the dot is not visible due to an awkward shooting position (prone, weak hand, etc.). I normally like a red fiber optic rod in my competition sights, but I am went with green in this one, because I want it to contrast with the red dot of the optic.
Finally! A 3-Gun match where my Franchi Affinity shotgun ran 100%!!! So happy that it's running good now! 😁 I still need to get the optic on my rifle zero'd properly. When I changed back to a fixed red dot from a 1x6 scope, I basically mounted it and quickly lined it up with the iron sights, so I know it's not where it needs to be for targets past 50 yards. My lack of hits on far targets are 50% due to the optic not being properly zero'd and 50% due to me sucking! 😜 I did pretty good with my CZ-USA P-09 pistol though. I ended up in 7th place overall out of 10 total, but I actually won the last stage (no rifle used on that stage). Definitely having more fun at 3-Gun matches.
Another run in the PCC division of USPSA with my CZ-USA Scorpion EVO S1 Carbine. Had a great time at this match, and other than a slightly fumbled reload I felt like my performance was decent. I was definitely not "fast", but I only had two "C" zone hits for the whole match. 😁 I ended up in 5th place overall out of 21 total. My CZ-USA Shadow 2 will be ready for Carry Optics by the next USPSA match, so I may not shoot in the PCC division for a little while even though I absolutely love it.
I was still having issues with my Franchi Affinity semi-auto shotgun at this 3-gun match near Dawn, TX (my first time at this venue). It just keeps having intermittent problems with light primer strikes (possibly because it's not going completely into battery, but I don't know for sure), which results in a dead trigger and requires a manual cycle to get it running again. Very frustrating for sure, and eats up a lot of time. I also need to practice my shotgun reloads as well, as they are just a clumsy mess right now. It was good to shoot my AR-15 again, and it was surprising to me how little the recoil was when compared to my CZ Scorpion 9mm carbine that I've been using a lot in USPSA matches. I've also gone back to a fixed red dot sight on the AR-15 (same as my CZ Scorpion), because the Vortex Strike Eagle 1x6 scope that I installed last year SUCKED. I could not get a consistent view through the eye box even when dry fire practicing at home. I like the fixed red dot MUCH better and it's more consistent with the optics that I'm using on other competition guns. Despite the shotgun issues, and the fact that I came in 2nd to last place, I had a great time. 😊 I am planning on attending the 3-gun matches at this venue more often, so hopefully my skills will start to improve over time.
UPDATE 3/14/2018: After disassembling the Franchi shotgun multiple times to polish and smooth out all the contact/friction points, I discovered that I just had a bad batch of ammo! 😖 I bought some new ammo today to test it and ran 100 rounds through it without any failures. I then tried to run what was left of my old ammo (about 20 rounds) and had two more misfires. I then ran an additional 50 rounds of brand new ammo through it without any failures. I'm pretty confident that I won't have anymore issues with the gun at my 3-Gun matches. My shotgun reloads will be the only issue now! 😁
I was really happy with my performance at this IDPA action pistol match with my optic-equipped CZ USA P-09 Urban Gray. The Burris Fastfire 3 optic performed perfectly at this match, I didn't have any brain farts, I tried to be consistent and smooth rather than fast, and I ended up in 3rd place overall out of 19 total. I also had the least points down overall (only 5 points down for the entire match), which means I was the most accurate shooter of the day. I did have one light primer strike on the first shot of the last stage. This unexpected malfunction kept me from placing 2nd overall as there was less than a 0.50 second difference between 2nd and 3rd. Overall, it was a great match and a lot of fun. I am really enjoying shooting in the new Carry Optics division of IDPA. 😀
I was really excited to shoot my optic equipped CZ P-09 in the new Carry Optics Division of IDPA. I came in 2nd place overall out of 18 total, but I did have a few issues with the red dot sight. At the end of Stage 5, the red dot shut off while I was engaging the last two targets of the stage (you can see how slowly I shot them in the video). Cycling through the power/mode button on the side of the Burris Fastfire 3 optic, I was able to get the red dot to come back on, but it disappeared again during one of the strings of the new 5x5 Classifier stage at the end of the video. I still did okay on the Classifier (Expert in ESP), but I was concerned with this issue. When I got home and inspected the optic closer, I realized that the battery cover was about a 1/4 turn from coming off, which would explain why the dot kept turning off randomly. Lesson learned... tighten that battery cover before every match! 😜
