Triangle Tactical Podcast - Competitive Shooting, Mostly

Last week over on the Triangle Tactical Facebook page I posted "Ask Me Anything", and Ryan asked "Shooting while moving, ever worth it?"

My initial reaction given what I've seen and heard in the past was that shooting Minor power factor, it's hard to score enough points to make shooting on the move worth it. A couple other dudes called me out, and it really made me want to put it to the test. So I did.

This is the 7 round stage I setup:

Start position was about where I took the picture from, then there's a second position past the 3rd target which was the only place the steel could be shot from. I shot it two ways: Shooting all the paper from the start position, then running to the steel position and hitting the steel, and moving from the start position, shooting the paper as I got closer to it, then shooting the steel from the steel position.

This had me moving the same amount of distance, shooting the same amount of targets. The results were interesting.

Shooting static my hit factors were as follows:

1. 4.257
2. 4.294
3. 4.176
4. 4.504
5. 3.850

• Average Hit Factor: 4.216

Shooting on the move hit factors:

1. 5.263
2. 5.080
3. 4.957
4. 4.650
5. 4.740

• Average Hit Factor: 4.938

There was a definite improvement while shooting on the move, which totally rocked my world. Obviously this is junk science, but it's awesome to know that I can be faster shooting on the move, when I've always thought I should post up and shoot, then move.

Anyways, this was a hoot to do. If you've got any ideas for future Junk Science episodes, shoot me an email at [email protected]

On Saturday I shot a Day/Night IDPA match at H2O Fowl Farms. We shot all 6 stages once during the daylight, and then when the sun went down we shot the match again with flashlights. If you've never shot with a flashlight before, it can be a challenge that you're not expecting. Holding the flashlight while shooting is a challenge, but then reloading your gun with a flashlight in your weak hand can be even more of a challenge than just shooting.In addition to the Day/Night match, we also shot with the new IDPA rules. The biggest changes I noticed during the match were the fault lines, followed closely with the new reload rules. I think the fault lines have profoundly changed the game for the better.

During the match I shot my Streamlight ProTac 2L flashlight, which is the same light I carry in my pocket every day. The only change I've made to it is to file off the little nubs around the switch (use a file, not a Dremel, trust me)  to make it easier to activate the light when holding it one handed while shootin

I've found it to be a great flashlight, so if you're looking for something to carry every day, I'd recommend the ProTac 2L.

If you've got a question or anything for me, shoot me an email at [email protected] or post in the comments below.

Winterpocalypse 2017 rolled through Raleigh, NC this weekend and we got a ridiculous .5" of snow that brought the city to it's knees once again. Once again, I'm just shocked at how folks knew the storm was coming, and were just completely unprepared. 

After the snow and ice came, most of the roads were slippery and folks down here aren't skilled in driving with anything more than a little water on the roads, so for the most part people were staying put at home, which was probably a good decision. However, Friday night I decided to go find some steaks and the grocery store was PACKED. Shelves were literally empty, people were in lines as long as the store was, and they had carts filled to the max. Thankfully, I got some steaks, and was able to slip out through the self-checkout without waiting in line. 

So, here's my challenge to you: whether you live in a place like I do, where we lose power if someone sneezes too hard, or if you're in a place that's pretty stable, have enough food and water on hand to last you a few days or more. It's cheap and easy. Whenever you go to the grocery store, just get a can of soup or something and add it to your preps, and before long, you'll be pretty well stocked. Every month or so, grab a case of bottled water too. We're talking like $10/month, so you can definitely afford it. It's not hard to be prepared, it just takes a little forethought.

This is the last podcast episode of 2017, and if you've been listening for the past couple weeks I've been begging for voicemails telling me your 2017 shooting goals.

Well, y'all sent in a bunch of them, so here they are.

Anyways, my 2016 goal was to have more fun, and in all honesty, I didn't meet that goal. I got severely burned out in July, and have only shot 2 matches since then. So, my 2017 goals are to have a little more fun, but also put in a bit more work than I have the last few months.

The biggest thing though, is that I want to be able to look back in a year, and say that I've introduced X number of people into the shooting sports. I want to come up with a way to make the on-ramp to the shooting sports easier, and less stressful.

So a bunch of text about the newest IDPA rules appeared in my inbox, and on a few different forums and discussion boards a couple days ago. The sources I got the text from are credible, in my opinion. The text talks about what the new IDPA rulebook will be for 2017 now that the comment period has passed. 

Personally, I think the vast majority of it is really good. 

## Goals

There's still time to send in your voicemail with your 2017 shooting goals.

Head over to triangletactical.net/goals to see how to leave a voicemail. I want to know what your goal is, and what you're going to do to achieve it. 

In the modern times we're in, when we want to learn about something new we go to web forums, subreddits, and Facebook groups that are based around the topic we're interested in. I'm a member of web forums based around a TON of different topics, because I like to learn about things.

It's awesome to have the entire wealth of knowledge in the world at your fingertips, however I think in the competitive shooting world especially, it can be detrimental to actually getting new people into the games. 

At it's heart, competitive shooting is... competitive. When you get a bunch of competitive people in a group where rules of the competition are discussed, there will be some debate. Debate is great. 

You'll also get a bunch of people who've never read the rule book, who think they know the rules, arguing against things that are supposedly in the rule book, but actually aren't, but they're ignorant of what the rules actually say. 

Then, you'll get someone who hasn't ever shot a match reading all this, thinking that everyone at competitions is a jerk, and at each others throats trying to do whatever possible to win, when that couldn't be further from the truth.

So, if you're reading in these groups, and you haven't ever shot a match, either go shoot, or stop reading. 

2017 Goals

You've got just a little more time to send in your voicemail telling me what your goals are for 2017. Head over to triangletactical.net/goals to send me a voicemail. 

Here's what I want to know:

- What's your goal?

- What are you going to do to achieve it?

The News

This actually exists. A coffee-mug holster. Really.

[powerpress]

This week on the podcast I interviewed Arik Levy of the Shooters Summit, which is a cool project he's got going on where he interviwed 23 of the heavy hitters in the shooting world, and will be releasing the videos FOR FREE December 12 - 18th, (of you can pay $19.95 to get them now, which is a good value, and you get the audio versions). 

So far I've listened to Ben Stoeger, Benny Cooley, and Craig Douglas, and they've been fantastic interviews so far. I downloaded all the audio versions onto my phone, and I've been listening to them like they were podcasts.

I want to hear your 2017 shooting goals. Go to triangletactical.net/goals to send in a voicemail telling me what your goals are, and how you'll achieve them. 

I'm curious how you feel about this:

Texas will have a bill introduced the next time the legislature gets together in 2017 that will remove all the fees for concealed carry permits. Obviously issuing permits isn't free, and the government is fully funded by tax payers, so this would really just subsidize the cost to all the tax payers in the state. 

• On one hand, cool, no fees.
• On the other, it's like making your neighbors pay for it, which I dislike. 
• Back to the first hand, we shouldn't have to pay to exercise a right.
• But on the second hand, then why not just get rid of the permit?

[powerpress]

Just a few things I've learned from competitive shooting over the years:

1. If you want to get better, stop chasing the newest, latest, greatest. Find some gear that's good enough, and stick with it. If you can afford the best gear, awesome, if you can't, that's fine too. 
2. Stop trying to do everything yourself. I'm super cheap, so in the beginning I tried to make all my own gear. I spent countless hours making magazine pouches that were never quite right. Then I just bought some, and they're great, and I don't have to think about magazine pouches anymore.
3. Practice works, and matches are really crappy practice. 

I want to hear about your shooting goals for 2017. You've got about 3 weeks to send in a voicemail telling me what your 2017 shooting goals are, so get on it! 

Here's what I want to know: 

• What is your goal?
• What are you going to do to meet that goal?

Go to triangletactical.net/goals to send in a voicemail.

Way back when I used to ride mountain bikes in junior high school I just pushed my mountain bike down the trail, and never really learned how to do things better. I rode a lot, put a lot of miles on my bike, but I didn't practice.

I did the same thing when I first got really into shooting and competitive shooting. I'd just go to the range and shoot. When I started competing I started with a certain level of mediocrity that I was kind of okay with. I'd go to matches and say things like "this is just a practice match" so sucking at the match and not progressing wouldn't be such a big blow to my ego.

After getting a book about how to practice, I came to the conclusion that shooting matches for practice sucks. You need to break things down to their smallest level, and practice them, then put those skills together into bigger things.

I'm currently doing the same things with mountain biking. I feel like a complete newb, so I'm looking at the skills that I need  practice, and making myself spend a few minutes each night working on these individual skills that I need to work on.

I think taking big things, breaking them down into little things, and putting them together later is a great way to conquer just about anything.

A woman was shot in the head outside the Raleigh gunshow the other day. My conclusion: gun handling rules ALWAYS matter.

I've got a couple of these Buff's that I use when riding my bike, and I think I'll be using them this winter when I shoot some winter matches as well. They have the polar version, and the regular version. I really like them both. For something that's so simple, it's really a good product.

IDPA has a new provisional rulebook for 2017, and it includes a lot of changes that you should probably know about. 

The big things are:

• Pistol Caliber Carbine division
• 1 second per down
• Change in the box size and pistol weight for BUG and CCP Divisions
• New classifier