Triangle Tactical Podcast - Competitive Shooting, Mostly

I remember showing up to my first USPSA match and being kind of intimidated by all of the folks that were there with their fancy shooting shirts, covered in sponsor logos.

Patrick in Detroit sent in a question for the Q&A podcast way back in about July of 2016. At the time I promised him that I'd do an episode about his question, and I set out looking for someone to interview who knows more about it than I do. What I found was a little surprising: most people don't really want to talk about the details.

So, I've spent the last 9 months or so looking into the different sponsorships by talking to folks at matches, reading things on the internet, and observing.

What I've ascertained is that there are 3 basic types of sponsorships in the shooting sports:

• Free Stuff
• Contingency Program
• Team Shooters

There's a 4th type of sponsorship that people think exists, but it doesn't really, and that's the "paid professional shooter". Companies have paid spokesman who shoot, but I'm not aware of anyone who just get's paid to shoot matches and practice all the time. I don't think it exists. 

I used to do a ton of obstacle racing and we would train specifically for the event, running distances, climbing walls, etc

And then I would eat well the night before, drink plenty of water and go to bed early. In the morning I'd eat a healthy breakfast with slow carbs to last throughout the day and pack with me plenty of water in a camelbak and some shotblocks for quick carbs out on the course.

And I don't do any of that for 3-Gun matches.

This became apparent recently when I was shooting the Dissident Arms Multigun monthly club match near College Station, Texas.

So the night before I got to talking with the roommates and stayed up a little too late. And I've been running a bit too hard lately so I actually slept through my alarm. I woke up at 7, about an hour late and quickly took care of the pup and hit the road to drive two hours to the match.

I sent a text to a pal on my squad to let him know that I'd be late and luckily when I got to the stage it was a 1-gun stage, pistol, and we were only a couple shooters in so they put me down in the order. I quickly got ready and came over in time to help reset for one shooter and then I was up.

Of course it was a trash stage but that theme kept on most of the match. I was bumpling shotgun loads and couldn't shoot the pistol to save my life.

So what did I learn from that?

Well a couple things:

I think I might be shooting too many matches and just not taking them seriously enough.

Self care. I've largely gotten away from this as far as matches go.

Get that sleep. This is totally subjective so if you need that 8 hours, get it. If you need less, good for you.

Eat a decent breakfast in the morning. Something that will give you energy for a few hours.

Pack some snacks. I like an apple but I found myself getting hungry toward the end of the day so I need to add something to the mix. Small snacks that can be eaten throughout the day and not necessarily one big meal.

Hydration. My standard is one of those standard 16oz bottles of water per stage. I came away from this match having consumed 1 24 oz bottle of water over 4 stages. That's not nearly enough for the hot Texas day that I was shooting in.

Federal Cartridge lays off a whole bunch of workers.

Traveling all around the country for 3Gun matches, I've had the opportunity to shoot in some really... awful... weather.

I picked up a big golf umbrella for matches, and it's been phenomenal for keeping me, and all my stuff dry in crappy weather. 

Every hear people complain about range lawyers?

Ever heard people spout off about the rules at a match about the rules and be blatantly wrong?

What about the folks who are intentionally trying to bend the rules to their benefit?

What about folks who are just trying to make sure we play the game by the rules?

Last week I had to take my USPSA Range Officer exam, and in doing so, I noticed I was pretty rusty on the rulebook, so I sat down and read it cover to cover one more time, and… I learned a LOT.

So, I'm the guy that brings his rulebook. I intend to use it should their be a question about the rules at a match. I even keep a .pdf of the applicable rulebooks on my phone so I can text search them quicker than looking through the paper copies at a match.

Does that make me a "range lawyer?" I don't think so. I want to win, but I don't want to win by bending the rules. I want to win on a fair playing field against everyone else, and my conscience wouldn't allow me to win by bending the rules.

So, the next time someone whips out the rulebook, don't worry about it. Don't take it personally, because rules change from time to time, and it can be confusing to keep up. Embrace the rulebook. 

At the match on Saturday, I took a frag off a piece of steel to the calf while running a shooter, and it hurt like crazy. After I called the range clear, I found a chunk of lead a little smaller than a pencil eraser under the skin of my leg.

After the match I was thinking… "what would have happened had that hit me in the eye?"

See, even after writing this post, I still found myself on the range with regular sunglasses. Derp.

So, go get some decent safety glasses for shooting. If you're not the type to go buy expensive whiz-bang shooting glasses, you can get tinted rated safety glasses for just a couple dollars. Head over to triangletactical.net/227 to see the ones I use most.

I've got a couple awesome Q&A's this week from Rick and Danny. 

Rick asked about other podcast episodes to listen to for getting started:

• All you need, nothing you don't
• Do's and Dont's
• Disqualifications
• Loose Ends

Danny in Dayton sends in a voicemail asking about dryfire and slide-lock reloads. He's pausing after seating the magazine, and dropping the slide. I had a similar, and opposite problem where I was dropping the slide too soon, and not stripping a round into the chamber.

• Dryfire - I don't see why you couldn't start a drill with the pistol up, empty mag inserted in it, and the slide locked back. On the buzzer drop the empty mag, seat a mag with a snap cap in it, and drop the slide, and properly insert the new mag chambers the snap cap. 
• Live fire - Same deal, but with 1 round in the chamber. On the buzzer, draw, fire one alpha, gun goes to slidelock, then insert the next mag, and properly chamber the next round. That'll get you 100reps for 100rds. 

[powerpress]

Have you ever noticed that at some matches, it's totally cool to pull out a rulebook when there's a question about a rule, but at other matches it's almost offensive to the parties involved?

Have you ever noticed how some folks just seemingly want to buy junk? It's like some people just want to buy the underdog gun, and shoot it well so bad that they'll ask for advice, then completely ignore it. 

Have you ever noticed that some folks just can't put their machismo away for any reason? A couple weeks ago I encouraged you to go buy a tourniquet, and I was surprised by the reaction of some folks, saying they don't need one, because they'll just use their belt, etc. I'll be honest, I don't think you probably can use most belts to stop serious bleeding, and if you can, I have my doubts that you'll be able to put it on and find a makeshift windlass to cinch it down before you lose too much blood. Listen, I like to do tinker and do things myself, but TQ's aren't expensive and they can save your life. Don't take my word for it though, I'm just a dude. Here's what the experts have to say about it.  

Billy asked me about changing a stage plan after seeing someone else shoot a stage differently than your plan. Generally, I think it's a bad idea. I've done it a few times, and it usually doesn't work out if I've already come up with a good plan, and visualized it, etc. However, there's been a time or two when I've come up with a plan, and then seen someone change it in a way that makes a DRASTIC difference, and I've went for it too. 

Jay in Nebraska asks about having bullets backwards in his magazine pouches. I generally think it's poor form, and I think either bullets out, or bullets forward are superior ways of doing it. 

Trump could repeal the gun ban on Army Corps of Engineers land. This is really relevant to my interests, as there's a LOT of ACoE land around me (Falls Lake area) that I spend a good bit of time on. I've love to see this happen. 

I've been asking for your voicemails for this episode of the podcast asking "what makes you go "ugghhh" at a match". Now, the goal of this episode isn't to bash the shooting sports, or bash other competitors or anything like that. My goal with this was to have some lighthearted entertainment, and hopefully get some things that other might be able to use to improve themselves, or improve their match. 

...and that's exactly what I got.

So, sit back and enjoy. I think you'll like it if you're a long time competitor or even someone who's looking to shoot your first match soon.

This week I wanted to wrap up a couple loose ends that I didn't cover in the last few episodes about folks that are new to competitive shooting.

Leniency for new shooters. I'm the first person to tell you to come shoot with the gear you've got just to get your feet wet in the shooting sports. I don't care if your gun isn't quite legal (as long as it's safe) or if your magazine pouches don't quite fit the rules for the division you're shooting or whatever, because I think it's important to just shoot what you've got before dumping boatloads of money on something you're not even sure you'll like.

However, I am not willing to afford this sort of leniency when it comes to safety rules. If you can't be safe with a gun, you shouldn't come shoot. If the phrase "but it isn't loaded" is part of your vocabulary, you're not ready. We're playing with real guns, and safety is always first. I won't compromise, and I won't be a part of any group that does.

Try all the flavors of ice cream. If you go shoot your first match and the folks there tell you not to shoot a different match because "those guys are just gamers who spray bullets and don't care about accuracy" or "those guys are are just too tacticool for their own good, don't be like them." you owe it to yourself to go shoot that other match.

I need your voicemails for an upcoming episode! What made you go "ugh" at a recent match? I'll tell you, one that that makes me go "ugghhh" is when people paste targets with no regard to the scoring lines. At some point you'll have to cover a scoring line with a paster, I get it, but try to cover as little as possible, and if you don't have to cover the scoring line, don't!

So, send me a voicemail and tell me what makes you go "ugghhh" at a match. Here's how to do it.

Pat in Connecticut sends in a question about whether to run "bullets out" or "bullets forward" magazine pouches. 

• Personally, I like "bullets out" better but I currently run "bullets forward" pouches. I'm considering making the switch after this season. I think if you're just getting started, "bullets out" is better. 

Literally, for several years now a crazy libertarian friend of mine has been hounding me to listen to and finally this last week I ran out of podcasts to listen to, so I gave it a try, and, well, I like it. 

It's the Tom Woods Show, and he's a crazy libertarian like I am, so if you lean that way too, you'll probably like it. If you don't lean that way, we can still be friends, it's cool.

Continuing on with my new-shooter kick over the past month or so, this week I'm talking about the most common disqualifications are that I see at matches. 99% of disqualifications are for unsafe gun handling. The most common things I see are as follows:

• Sweeping the weak hand on the draw. This generally happens when someone is using the holster that shipped with their gun, as in my experience these holsters tend to be on the tight side. The shooter gets the make ready command, tries to pull the gun out of the holster and it doesn't come right out. They then reach across their body and grab the holster with their weak hand, pull the gun out, and then sweep their hand with the muzzle in the process:

• Breaking the 180. I asked on the Triangle Tactical Instagram and Facebook pages about the most common disqualifications at matches, and breaking the 180 was OVERWHELMINGLY the most common thing suggested.
• Table starts. The biggest thing here is this: Don't take your gun out of the holster until you're specifically told to do so by the range officer. There's something about table starts that makes people think that they can pull out their gun and set it on the table without being told to do so. That's a DQ, and it sucks. Don't do that. 

Listen, you need to have a tourniquet in your range bag, and probably another one in your car, and you need to know how to use it.

I own a SOF-T wide, and a CAT, and I feel most confident that I can work CAT one handed, which is why it's in my personal range bag.

Here's the thing though: I don't feel comfortable pointing you to an Amazon page on where to buy a TQ because there are a lot of counterfeit ones on there and from what I've gathered the counterfeit ones are no good for actual use, so I think you should buy directly from the manufacturer. 

Tac Med Solutions makes the SOF-T, and you can get it here.

North American Rescue makes the CAT, and you can get it here.

I make nothing on this, but I value you as a listener, so go spend the $30 or whatever, get one, learn to use it. 

Austin sends in his first match voicemail, and follows up with a question about what division to shoot his Glock 19 in, in IDPA and USPSA.

• In IDPA, he'll be fine with SSP or CCP division, generally I shoot SSP with my Glock 19 just so I can load my magazines to 10 rounds.
• In USPSA I think he should get started in Limited division, shooting Minor power factor 9mm. This way he can load his mags up full, and not worry about buying a ton of gear to get started. If he decides he likes USPSA, he can buy all the mag pouches and stuff required to shoot Production division, which is where the Glock 19 woul fit best. 

Victory Gun Blog - Barrel Race 2017

I need your voicemails for this! Send them in here.

A few weeks back I talked about how it's important to always get video at a match, because it gives you something to review later and reflect on your performance, see the things you need to work on, etc.

After this last weekend's match at Carolina Guns and Gear in Ramseur, NC, I found another reason to take match video, and that's to keep you honest. I had an absolute blast at this match. I was on a great squad with fun folks, and we cut it up all day. I left the match thinking about what I great time I had, and in my head I thought I had performed fairly well.

Then I looked at my video...

My video showed that I moved slow, missed positions, got my lunch money stolen by a Texas star, and missed way too much on steel targets. However, if I'm being honest with myself, this is probably some of the most valuable match video I have.

The Feed Ramp. I don't know who's behind this site, but it's a satire website (Think The Onion, Babylon Bee, DuffelBlog, etc) based around practical shooting. It's only been around for like a day, and it's amazing.

I still need more voicemails! Go here to send me a voicemail telling me about the things that make you go "ugghhh" at a match. 

• Do - Do some YouTube research on different matches. If all you've done is read forum posts about different matches, and you're SURE you know what you want to shoot, because the"other game" has too many rules, go watch some videos of the other games too. Just like with self defense law, most forum posts about matches, and rules and stuff are just plain wrong.
• Don't - Don't go spend a ton of cash on competition gear before you've shot a match or two. I've seen people buy a bunch of stuff wanting to shoot in a certain division, only to find out the stuff they bought isn't legal for that division.
• Do - When it's time to buy gear, buy good stuff. I messed around for literally years making sub-par gear, constantly fiddling with things, when I should have just bought stuff that gets out of my way and lets me be awesome.
• Don't - Don't take advice about competition from random gun people, or people behind the gun counter about competition gear, matches, etc. Find a higher level competitor to get your advice from. This goes for things like practice, types of matches, gear, whatever else. General "gun people" don't know jack about competition. Pistol shooters don't know jack about rifle shooting, what have you. 
• Don't - Don't assume a piece of gear is legal for competition just because it's got "competition" in the marketing. There's a LOT of this going around and I really wish companies would get their crap together and stop misleading people, or at the very least list what competitions/divisions their gun is legal for.
• Don't - Don't try to shoot like the fast guys when that's not your skill level. I've seen several new folks show up to a match, and literally shoot stages completely missing half the targets, but with grand master level times. If you try to shoot faster than you've ever shot to try and roll with the big dogs, you're gonna have a bad time.

A Constitutional carry bill has been introduced in North Carolina.

Anker PowerCore powerbank. This sucker will re-charge my cell phone almost 10 times. It's a beast, and it's well made, charges fast, and I just generally like it. I bought it in case I lost power for a few days in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, and I've found myself using quite a bit at the range to keep my phone charged, and when using my phone as a wifi hotspot since that's quite the battery drain.

Don't forget to send me a voicemail about things that make you go "ugghhh" at a match. Here's the deets.

This week I go through the very basics that you need to shoot your first match. Obviously there's a LOT more to know about competitive shooting (I've been doing this podcast for nearly 5 years) but I hope I give you enough in this to make you feel more comfortable getting started in competitive shooting. If you want more, check out my primer on getting started in competitive shooting here.

A good article about kids in the shooting sports, and how it makes them more responsible. It definitely echo's what I've seen on the shooting range with junior shooters; they're some of the safest, most responsible shooters on the range.

You should have a squib stick in your range bag. Even if you've never loaded a squib, it's handy to have on the range when someone else loads one, and you need to check if the barrel is clear. The thing is, the places that sell them specifically for shooting are prohibitively expensive, but I've got a solution: a brass rod.

www.triangletactical.net/doesntsuck

Plug of the Week

I'm kind of an irregular listener to the Joe Rogan podcast. I listen when he's got someone I'm interested in hearing about on, and last week he had one of those people: Gary Taubes. Gary's written a lot about sugar/carbs/fat/etc. So, it's the end of January, I'm guessing a lot of folks are maybe falling off their New Years resolutions to lose some weight, so if you are, I think this is a decent episode to learn more about maybe a new way to look at health. I've lost about 60-65lbs on a ketogenic diet, and I feel way better than I ever have.

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