Here is some video from the Oklahoma State IDPA Match last weekend. There is an Oklahoma YouTube Playlist on the Pretty Pistolera YouTube Channel, too. You can see more video of both me and John, and you can check out some of the stages. Before you break out the popcorn and enjoy all of the super-fun gunny video goodness, please note the following:
John is sporting a nuts hat. He thinks it is hilarious and distracts the other shooters. (Bet you can guess what I think).
Hot pink ear protection rocks. So do plaid scarves.
What a weekend! The Oklahoma State IDPA match was great. The attitude and spirit of the safety officers, staff, and shooters was truly refreshing. I've been to several sanctioned matches with John (as a spectator) and never felt at ease as I did this weekend. I was nervous about shooting such a big match so soon. But, no one cared that I was new and shooting in my first big match. There were no snickers as I raced towards the record for the most points down. I truly enjoyed myself.
I have to give super-mega-kudos to the staff. They were fabulous. I did not hear one complaint. I did not witness one bit of drama. Great job to Match Director Curt Nichols and his team for putting together a first-class match.
I am still wide-eyed over the facility (US Shooting Academy). It was unbelievable. Check out the video of the place. Wow.
Looking at my score I totally sucked eggs. However, I had a big ah-ha moment when John shared his infinite wisdom as we discussed the weekend:
Tracy: I really had no business entering such a challenging match. I can't believe everyone was so nice to me.
John: Stop that. You want to do a triathlon, right?
Tracy: Yeah, why?
John: Do you expect to win the triathlon?
Tracy: (laughing) Are you kidding? I just want to finish!
John: (Making "crazy face.")
Tracy: Got it.
Bottom line... I had a great experience this weekend. Videos to come later this week. Stay tuned.
We are off to Oklahoma tomorrow. I am not as practiced as I should be, and not mentally prepared either. Oh well. I just plan on having a good time, being safe, and meeting new people. After we get home from Tulsa I am leaving again Monday afternoon for a week on the road. I've been at home for a while and it's been nice... I love a consistent feeding and exercise schedule. (I'm talking about me, not Winston). Anyway, look for Oklahoma updates via the Blackberry and maybe I'll Twitter a little.
PS - Give yourself 100 points if you caught the cheesy 80's song reference. Ahhh, 1986... girls were much safer in those days. We had teasing brushes in our handbags.
John and I finally got a free night to go to the range together. It was nice. And, considering we are both shooting in the Oklahoma State IDPA Match this weekend, I desperately needed the practice. Just for the record, I have no business shooting in a sanctioned IDPA match this soon in the season. I did not practice very much this winter... bottom line, I still suck. However, I am making progress. My grip is good, my stance is consistent, sight alignment/sight picture is becoming second nature. All good stuff.
Here is a portion of my report card from the range last night. Not bad for a girl that had her bifocal contacts in and not her special shooting contacts. (If any of you bifocals-wearers had similar focusing problems like I did in the beginning... you know it can be rough. Thankfully, I have a super-cool optometrist that was knowledgeable about shooting sports.)
Warm up target. Notice there was no anticipation of recoil. Hip hip hooray for progress!
Rapid fire target. Emptying magazines as fast as I could just for grins and giggles. There were big grins and lots of giggles.
I shot IDPA tonight for the first time in almost two months. When I took up shooting (and actually practiced), I never got "good" at it. I just got "better." Well, after a short shooting hiatus, I suck again. Big time.
And, I committed to go to a major match in March.
March is officially 11 days away.
Ugh.
PS - give yourself extra points if you caught the cheezy hair band reference. (Foreigner still rocks).
The Michigan State IDPA match was this weekend. In addition to completing my first "major" match, I was prepared to make huge technological advances this weekend. I was going to blog from the Blackberry (er, crackberry) and do play-by-play via Twitter. Blackberry blogging and Twitter have been on my aspirational to-do list for weeks!
Unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip at the last minute. My dad's health has taken a turn for the worse, so I needed to be with Mom. Even though I would've loved John to be with me this weekend, there was nothing he could do for Dad, Mom, or me. I was super-wife and insisted he go to Michigan with Mike, Thad, Jeff, and Aaron. One catch... I asked for pictures and a full recap.
The guys are on their way home from Michigan now. This is what I know so far:
John is ecstatic with his performance... 1st place SSP Sharpshooter. He was bumped to SSP Expert. Overall, he was most accurate. Also, there was a machine gun side-match (a fund-raiser for the club) where he took 1st place. He is one happy gunny.
The other guys are bringing home trophies as well: 1st place ESP Expert, 2nd place SSP Expert, and 3rd place ESP Marksman.
Apparently, the prizes were good and plentiful, too. I even won a set of sights. I guess you didn't have to be present to win.
The weather was terrible - seven inches of rain (icky-poo).
I'm back.... I've been absent for the last few days. I had a huge presentation at work yesterday. It took most of the week to prepare. It went well and I am happy to have it behind me. Hooray!
Although it has been a nutty week I refused to give up Tuesday night IDPA practice. The Michigan State Match is coming up and I need all of the trigger time I can get. I feel like I am not squeezing in enough practice. And, I am beginning to worry that my progress will slow down or, even worse, come to a screeching halt. Luckily, a three day weekend is upon us!
Just for chuckles... I find this help wanted ad absolutely hilarious. The person that accepted this nanny job can never say she didn't know what she was getting into.
The scores... Subject switcheroo: What do we call the final results in competitive shooting? Scores? Times? Results? Ranking? I haven't a clue.... Anyway, the scores are up!
I was close in predicting my total time -
285.51 with
72 points down. Average time was 203.13 and the average points down was 47. Eeeeek! My points down really hurt me. I realize now that I was not moving as deliberately as I needed in order to concentrate on my accuracy. Next time I will be more focused on accuracy and less distracted by the moving, disappearing, dropping, and swinging fun stuff. Lesson learned!
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 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!
