Responding

Training can be fun, or at the least enjoyable.  I watch videos of people showing off the slide lock reload or leaving cover while reloading and I want to personally phone them and try to show them the error of their ways.  As you can see, I’m slipping into that non-fun mode.  We don’t have to be so serious.  We can have fun and still add to our skill set.  If … we practice a specific set of skills correctly.

Checking out the targets at Camp Perry, Ohio

It’s easy to look at many of the excellent posts and videos and become convinced It’s ultra-serious.  Training to defend yourself, training to shoot someone in defense is ultra-serious, but you can have fun while you’re doing it.  In order to benefit the most from a fun shooting activity you select specific sets for that session.

That’s why I like the pop-up fun matches at Camp Perry.  The targets force the start and end of a lethal confrontation, not a beep from a timer.  You must respond to them, no matter if you’re ready, distracted, empty or not.  It adds a dimension closer to reality than a stationary cardboard target.

On the pistol range facing the shoot house the military uses.  I've walked through it, impressive.

I just attended the pistol pop-up match this weekend.  Thirty targets from 10 meters to 31meters, all well within pistol range.  The targets are not in a line, but each as its own protective hole at different positions and distances to the shooter.  The targets are computer driven and depending on the program 1 to 3 targets can pop-up for a limited time before the computer takes it down.  The hits are computer scored so the relays roll along.  It’s always the same CoF for everyone on each relay.

I don’t know of any other range I can get access to that has this equipment.  This is a training experience and opportunity most of us would be hard pressed to get.

It was cold, but manageable.  Note the strong grip, effective grip.  She's back on target and the .45acp brass is still over head

Since Camp Perry uses Lake Erie for an impact zone, it’s always windy and Saturday 3 April was no different.  And was it cold!  Temperatures were in the upper 30s-low 40s with little or no sun.  To my surprise the targets worked as expected.  I’ve seen cold days where the water freezes in an airline or the lubrication turns to solid, locking targets in upright positions.  I’ve also seen warm sunny days where you simply shoot until you can’t borrow anymore.

Each relay consisted of 30 half size humanoid targets, down from the anticipated 40.  That explains why when I was refilling magazines with numb fingers, I had so much ammo much left.  I was too cold to realize I was refilling only 30 some rounds between relays.  The CoF had anywhere from 1 to 3 pop-ups mostly 1 and 2’s.  The military uses 15 round magazines and the program gives you a pause for a reload.

Most of us shot at least one target several times or used lower capacity magazines, so those pauses don’t mean too much.  I find myself changing magazines when I think I’m low, retaining the partial on the table, just in case.

It’s a lot of fun.  So where does the training come in?

I shot everything from the high tuck starting position.  Not everyone did that, some came up from the bench every time.

A 32 MOA will be 32 inches at 100 years or just over 3 inches at 10 yards

I just put a Holosun reflex sight with a 32MOA circle and center dot on my Glock.  I had removed a more expensive 3 MOA because I thought it was taking too long to acquire the dot.  I also wanted to know if the electrons would work at low temperatures or if the mounting screws would loosen.  Everything works as it should.

Tunnel vision is a problem under stress.  Working with what appears to be random pop-ups helps get you out of the bullseye habit of watching only one target.  I think the larger ring and 2 MOA center dot were acquired faster.  Since it appears the dot is superimposed on the target, I shot with both eyes open.  The wide field of view let me see the targets and move between them quickly and easily.

Magazine changes are always a practicable skill.  While waiting in line to sign-up I overheard other shooters talk about counting rounds to know when to change.  That’s a bad habit I avoid.  You want to practice slide lock reloads so you instantly recognize them and start the reload without a prompt.

Author back on target , brass still in air.  After the first couple of rounds you forget about how cold your hands are focus on where the text target will come from.
 

Lastly, doing difficult things builds your inner strength, your toughness.  It was temping, after a terrible night in the hotel room to roll over and say, it’s too cold, too dark and too crappy to do this and I was tempted.  But my wife and I got up and did it anyway.

Persevering is a valuable lesson in itself.

I want to thank the Friends of Camp Perry for the opportunity.