THE PRETTY PISTOLERA

Pretty Pistolera Shoots a .38 (Finally!)

One more note regarding Sunday's match...

Firing a .38 snub-nose revolver shouldn't be revolutionary news, but it is to me!  The match allowed (actually, forced) me to shoot one.  Stage 4 started with a .38 on a table.  The shooter had to engage two targets with the .38 while retreating.  Then, the shooter had to pick up their own firearm to finish the stage.  You can see the video of me shooting stage 4 on the Pretty Pistolera YouTube Channel.  You can see John's video there, too. 

I was pleasantly surprised at the weight, recoil, and easy handling of the .38.  I assumed it would be heavy and abusive. And, I was convinced it would kick like a mule. I have no idea where I got these crazy, pre-conceived notions, but now I see why so many people choose a .38 as their carry gun.  

My commentary on Sunday's match is now over.  I promise to find a new topic.

I Heart Steel!

Over at Ahab's.... a fabulous (and super-positive) story from an ABC affiliate regarding The Steel Challenge.  View the news clip here.  This is great press!

Also, check out Ahab's commentary.  I agree with him... the reporter does a great job highlighting two young girls that are competing.  Kudos to ABC in Ventura County!

Chicks!

I almost forgot!  There were more women at the match yesterday than I've ever seen.  I wasn't the only girl!  There were at least five women competing and at least three or four watching.  Hooray! 

It was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with Katie.  Her dad is teaching her how to shoot competitively and she's doing great!

Pretty Pistolera's Weekend Update

After a couple of weeks on the road it was good to be home for an entire week. We had a busy Friday night and Saturday filled with family fun... including a good ol' country picnic on Saturday afternoon.  With fried chicken!  I haven't had fried chicken in ages.  Yummy!

Sunday morning we were off to No Cell Signal, Missouri for an IDPA match. I have to find a better way to work in more practice time while I am at home. I sucked eggs today. I'm guessing I had about 70+ points down with a raw time of 250+ seconds. Eeeeek! Scores should be online soon. 

The stages were fun and challenging.  Here are two videos of stage three.  The first one is me shooting it and not doing so well.  Moving and disappearing targets still rock my world. The second video is John shooting stage three and, of course, he rocked it.

 

Don't you just love John's hat?  The guys call it the "retarded bee keeper" hat, or RBK for short.

Stay tuned for more videos and pics.

I Heart Calvin

I am convinced this was John a child.

Three Dirtbags and a Doggie Door

I just learned that a very good friend of mine (we'll call her Suzy) was robbed!  While she was at home! In the middle of the day!  By three dirtbags!

Suzy was in the kitchen when the dirtbags came into the house through the doggie door.  Yes, the doggie door!  I still cannot believe it.  Side note: Suzy has a big dog, so everything is bigger when the dog is enormous (e.g. big poop).

The dirtbags headed straight for the oldest son's bedroom.  The son does not live there, but his room is how he left it when he moved out a few years ago.  This includes the pretty display case that houses a couple of collector guns.  The dirtbags go into the bedroom, take the guns and leave.  While the dirtbags are grabbing the loot, Suzy manages to lock herself in her bedroom upstairs and call 911. The police arrived quickly (this may be more amazing than the doggie door part). 

Suzy was shaken to the absolute core.  I cannot imagine being at home in the middle of the day and, surprise, three thugs are in the house looking for goodies.  I also cannot imagine the feelings of fear and violation that come with this situation.  Suzy was very fortunate that the thugs just wanted the guns and nothing "else."

It is time to a make public service announcement:

Girls, always be able to protect yourself!  Anything can happen anywhere at anytime!  I write a lot about being aware of your surroundings in public, but this is a good time to think about your home.  Consider these points:

• Do you have a security system?  If you don't, consider getting one. 
• Are the doors locked at all times when you are home?   
• What do you have to protect yourself? 
  • Gun?  Baseball bat?  Taser?  Knife?  All of the above? 
  • Do you know how to use your preferred method of protection? 
  • If you have a gun, spend ample time using it so you are comfortable.
  • Is your weapon always in the same place so you can grab it quickly?
• Do you honestly have the confidence to protect yourself?  If you don't think so, enroll in a good self defense class immediately. 
• Take a good look at your home.  How could a dirtbag get in? 

This is my check list off the top of my head.  I don't mean to be a scaredy-cat... awareness and preparation is key to defending yourself against the boogeyman. 

Would love to hear any other suggestions or additional points to ponder.  Please add your advice in comments.

Over at Robb's... Gun vs Taser

Found this article over at Sharp as a Marble. 

Personal Update...

Things have been nutty on Planet Tracy for the last couple of weeks.  My posts have been random and somewhat disjointed, and I've suffered from trigger deprivation.  I need to bring you up to speed.

I started a new job a couple of weeks ago.  After three (wonderful) months off following my most recent "corporate consolidation, " I decided it was time to go back to work.  I am very excited about my new gig! I'm back in the fashion industry as a buyer for a retail chain.  Sounds very glamorous, doesn't it?  Trust me, it's not. If you need to get up to catch up on my professional happenings please visit the about me page. 

Two layoffs in less than three years is crazy! The first layoff was an unnerving whirlwind of emotion.  I sat in my office for a year (365 long, miserable days) waiting for either my release date or a job offer from the acquiring company.  I accepted a job from the acquiring company only to be downsized again (exactly) two years later.  My second layoff was a piece of cake! It was easy for two reasons:

1. Having been downsized before made this one easier... live and learn!
2. I hated my job.

I've never hated a job before.  I had such a massive case of burnout that when the consolidation announcement was made I wanted to do cartwheels.  I kept my happiness to myself out of sensitivity to my colleagues because everybody's personal situation is different. In hindsight, I am proud of my good judgment. It was for the best that I did not serenade the room with my karaoke version of "Celebration."  And, I had a skirt on that day... certainly not appropriate for spontaneous gymnastics.

I was in the process of looking for a new job when the announcement was made. Good timing, huh?  During the job search I had a major ah-ha moment... I realized I had a wicked case of burnout and needed time off to recuperate. Taking time off was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  After my release date I made a vow to do nothing that produced stress, required dead lines or early mornings.  I tackled my aspirational to do list and started shooting, but other than the house and hobby stuff I relaxed for the first time in my life.  Oh, and I started this blog. 

Now I am back to work and traveling again.  Back to stress, dead lines, and early mornings.  After my three months of "corporate detox" I am ready to take on a new professional challenge.  Although life's complicated (NOT a Denise Richards reference) a little more now... I plan on shooting and posting as much as I can. 

With that said I am the biggest dork in the world for forgetting the camera yesterday.  I had such a great day on the range! There was so much to share... improved shooting, great stages, and happy trigger time... and I forgot the camera!  Ugh! On the way home I crabbed to John that I wish I had some of the stages on video.  I bellyached for a while then he finally asked me why I was complaining... "Tracy, the camera's been in the Jeep all day. It's right there."   

Pretty Pistolera's Weekend Update

I have been on the road for almost two weeks. Two weeks!  I am so happy, happy, happy to be home. By the way, I have travel stories to share later (American Airlines, you suck!). 

I have not been to the range for over two weeks and, quite frankly, was terrified that some of the progress I've made would evaporate.  This morning John and I shot an IDPA match - five stages and about 90 rounds.  I was nervous, but I still forced myself to slow down and move with intention. This approach has helped me improve my accuracy over the past month... and today it paid off! 

Today's trigger time was truly happy time.  I had many small victories.  Let's review:

Yippee #1:   No procedural errors.  I usually do not get a lot of these, but today there was a lot of running and gunning.  I usually do better when I don't have to move much.  For example, I had to shoot in tactical sequence and retreat at the same time.  The stages that require simultaneous walking and chewing bubble gum can sometimes rock my world.

Yippee #2:   No "hit on a non-threat" penalties.  Normally my bullets are attracted to the no-shoot targets like a moth to a flame. There were lots of tricky target arrangements at each stage (thank you, nutty Match Director). These pesky penalties add five (FIVE!) whole seconds to the total time.  I usually rack up at least two or three during a match. Not today! 

Yippee #3:  No "failure to neutralize" penalties.  This is huge!  In IDPA at least one round must hit in either the zero or -1 part of the target for it to be considered properly "neutralized."  I've been fighting a nasty habit of trigger jerking for a while now... with this habit the bullets hit low and left.  I am so sick of hearing "down six with a failure" I could hurl.  Ninety rounds and not one FTN!  These pesky penalties add five whole seconds to the overall time, too.  Between yippee point #2 and yippee point #3 it is obvious why I come in last.

Yippee #4:  Points down were way down.  I normally have the most points down in any given match (I actually hold a record). Today, I was above average!  Above average!  The average points down for the match was 42.6.  Please do not snicker at my geeky analysis.  My total points down for the match were 38!  Hot doggies!

Yippee #5:  I did not come in last!  Granted, I was the tortoise in today's match, but because my accuracy improved and my pesky penalties were zilch I made up some overall time. 

After a subtle post-match happy dance, I shot the IDPA classifier.  John and I are headed to Michigan for their state match next month and I needed an official classification... another 90 rounds of trigger happy time.    

Final Yippee:  I am no longer a novice... I'm now a marksman! 

I am so excited about my progress! After two weeks of trigger deprivation and exhausting travel I am tickled pink to be home, and also to be on the right track with this new hobby!

Now, I just need to figure out how I can get marks-chick put on my classification card.   

Hot Date!

Breda blogged about "quality husband and wife time at the range."  We (actually is was just me) had a conversation with our friend Jenna about "range dates" this weekend.

Jenna:  We go to the range sometimes for a date night.

Me:  Really? That is a great idea!

Jenna:  The only problem at the indoor range is that it's so hard to hear.

Me:  I know. I prefer the outdoor range for so many reasons. I remember the first time I went to an indoor range.  I thought I was going to die from smoke inhalation.

John:  Huh?

Me:  They go to the range for a date night, but it's hard to hear each other at the indoor range.

John:  Huh?

Me:  Range. Date. Night.

John:  They don't allow black powder at that range any more.

John was half listening again.  He is great about picking up key words like "range," "ammo," gun," and "shooting."  His ears are like radar detectors for his favorite words.... other "less important" words, not so much.