USPSA Action Pistol Match 02/27/2016

I was anxiously looking forward to this USPSA action pistol match at the Shooter Ready Action Pistol Sports outdoor range in Canyon, TX, but I really don't feel like my performance was very good.  I was able to shoot two stages clean, but when compared to the two Grand Master shooters that were at this match, my times seemed so damn slow (placed 3rd out of 20 total).  I definitely have some improvements to make in my game. 😜

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBqRahSqji8

CZ-USA CZ 75 SP-01

IDPA Action Pistol Match 2/21/2016

This was my first outdoor IDPA action pistol match since October! I started out doing really well on the first two stages, but I had trouble hitting a swinging target with two clean hits on each of the last two stages, which definitely hurt my overall score (placed 3rd out of 23 total). 😕

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbr6bCjkDVU

CZ-USA CZ 75 SP-01

CZ-USA CZ P-09 Handgun - UPDATE

After purchasing a CZ P-09 and outfitting it for USPSA's new provisional Carry Optics division, I decided that I really wasn't that interested in competing with the gun since I enjoy Production division so much (and occasionally Limited division).  Part of the reason for this decision is that I felt the gun was "unfinished" at that level of preparation.  So... I purchased a couple of more parts from Springer Precision, and turned my P-09 into a budget Open division gun! :-P  Springer recently came out with an aluminum compensator that screws onto the factory threaded barrel, and they also make a competition magwell that is easily installed and works with all backstrap sizes.  I even made a new custom kydex holster to accommodate the new compensator on the end of the barrel, and modified the factory safety levers by extending them with a soldering iron and some ABS plastic sheet. I love the look of the gun this way, but I'll be honest... I don't really have much desire to shoot in the Open division either.  I guess this will be one of those "fun" guns that will never see any actual competition use.  These new modifications really show the P-09's versatility though, as I could convert it back to a fully legal Production division gun in about 30 minutes by easily removing the magwell, red dot sight and mount, and the threaded barrel and compensator.  This gun is a true work horse.

IDPA Indoor Action Pistol Match 2/10/2016

I was again struggling with shooting with both eyes open at this indoor IDPA action pistol match at Texas Panhandle Pistol Club. My times were close to the regular top finishing shooters (placed 2nd out of 11 total), but my accuracy wasn't as good as I would've liked. It kind of felt like I wasn't even paying attention to my sights at all. After I botched the second stage (had another jam when I inserted a mag during a reload and had a miss on a target), I decided that I need to just stop worrying about how fast my splits and transitions are, and just concentrate on "seeing" the sights for each trigger pull regardless of how slow it may feel.  Once I am completely comfortable with this whole both eyes open thing, then I'll work on picking up the pace again. It feels like I am starting over from scratch! 😜

Update 2/14/2016: After watching this episode of The Practical Pistol Show, I've decided to go back to shooting with one eye closed.  When I shoot with both eyes open and focusing on the targets, I feel that the sights are just too blurry to get accurate hits quickly on targets past 7 yards.  With one eye closed, I have the ability to easily go from target focus down to front sight focus (and anywhere in between) depending on the difficulty/distance of the shot. I simply cannot do this with both eyes open with my eyeglass prescription. There are plenty of top-level shooters that shoot with one eye closed, and I feel that my accuracy and speed at longer distances would suffer if I were to continue shooting with both eyes open.  That being said, I think shooting with both eyes open in a self defense situation (7 yards or less) has a lot of value, as I wouldn't take the time to shut one eye and get a perfect sight picture in that type of high stress scenario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWLysM_zbQg

CZ-USA CZ 75 SP-01

CZ-USA CZ 75D PCR Handgun

I recently added another compact CZ to my concealed carry handgun collection.  This gun has more custom modifications to it than any other gun I've owned to date.  I love the look, size, and feel of the CZ 75D PCR, but I really wanted to customize it similarly to the CZ Custom Shop ProTek I, which is a fully custom gun based on the PCR (with a price tag of $1800!!!).

As soon as I got the gun home and out of the box, I completely disassembled it and started "dehorning" all of the edges of the frame with a belt sander and files.  I also shaved down the slide stop lever and decocker, shortened the slide stop pin, dimpled the end of the pin, and beveled the hole in the frame.  I even smoothed out the magwell opening for easier magazine reloads. I then had the frame Cerakoted in Burnt Bronze.  I installed all the typical Cajun Gun Works and CZ Custom Shop parts to smooth out and lighten the trigger pull as I've done with all my other CZ guns, and installed the new CZ Custom Shop PCR specific tritium sights. I left the polymer recoil spring guide rod in and I'm using polymer magazine base plates for the Beretta 92 series magazines to reduce the weight of the gun (it's only 32.3 ounces fully loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm!). I went with the Diamondback G10 grips from VZ Grips, which normally have a very aggressive texture, but I filed them down to be more comfortable for concealed carry duty.

I am extremely happy with the way this gun turned out, and I feel like it will make a nice edition to my daily concealed carry rotation. 😎

IDPA Indoor Action Pistol Match 1/13/2016

This was my first IDPA action pistol match after having knee surgery back in December. I wanted to take it slow and I knew I would not get first place (placed 3rd out of 14 total), but I had several fumbles that weren't related to my knee. 😕 On the second stage I had trouble with stowing a magazine IWB during a retention reload (the mag kept coming back out as I let go of it), and on the third stage I had a jam during a magazine reload. Oh... and... this was the first time I've shot a gun with BOTH eyes open! I usually close my left eye when shooting so that I can somewhat focus on the front sight post, since I simply cannot focus on it with both eyes open due to my eyeglass prescription.  I recently watched this video of Doug Koenig saying that he shoots with both eyes open and focuses on the target out to 20 yards, so I thought I would give it a try. I've been practicing this in dry fire for a couple of weeks, but this match was the first time I've done it in live fire.  My first shot of the stage was done with my left eye closed because of habit, but I then forced myself to open both eyes (that's why those first three shots were so slow!). I need to get out to the range and practice shooting with both eyes open. 😛

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48T6KhHzUU0

CZ-USA CZ 75 SP01

CZ-USA CZ P-09 Handgun

I have been wanting to acquire a CZ-USA P-09, but I have a weird thing about having to have a "reason" to buy a new gun  even if the reason isn't all that legitimate. Unfortunately, I could not come up with a good enough reason (by my standards) to get one since I already have too many competition guns. Then I started reading discussion threads about the new USPSA Carry Optics division on some of the gun forums that I visit frequently.  There were several posts with pictures of P-09s with optical red dot sights mounted to them and I immediately realized I had a reason to get one. 😛  I purchased a Burris Fastfire III red dot sight and mounted it using a Springer Precision CZ-75 rear sight dovetail mount adapter. I also installed a factory threaded barrel for the cool factor. I've been dry-fire practicing with the gun quite a bit, but I'm not sure if having a red dot sight is any quicker for me versus regular competition sights.  Regardless, it's still a bad ass looking gun with the optic and threaded barrel. 😎