Shame.
I shot yesterday's P.D. match with my M37 Airweight again. Mostly.
I took three HKS speedloaders. I took a Safariland Comp1 speedloader. I took along a dump pouch and two Bianchi SpeedStrips. I had 80 rounds of 158g LRNs for a match that you could shoot clean in 40 rounds. I had my holster, and my M36 in it, which I have qualified with. The M36 is quite a bit heavier, being steel, so it should be easier to shoot well. What the heck-- it's still quite a handicap.
Halfway through the first stage, I realized that I had made a huge mistake, shooting the steel-framed M36. While it had the same frame size, similar stocks, and identical sights and barrel length to my M37 Airweight, it was lacking for the great trigger on the Airweight that comes from untold thousands of cyclings. I found myself trying to stage the trigger, and. . . BEEP! Time was up before I could finish firing the stage. I dropped 7 rounds.
I asked the rangemaster if I could change guns halfway through, to use my airweight. He said okay, if I wanted to go get it. No, I actually had it in my pocket. I pulled it out, dumped out the duty load and pocketed it, and loaded it with the match loads.
I shot the rest of the match with the old Airweight, shooting far better, but discovering that I really, REALLY need to practice on my speed reloads. What with the Hogue stocks and the tiny crane, things are tight, and require some repetition to reload the little J-frame with any fluidity. Absent that practice, well... it's embarrassing.
Also, mental note to Matt: on the falling plate matches where they penalize you 30 seconds per missed plate? Don't get cocky and start double-actioning the 15 yard plates with your 2" 15 oz revolver. That's expensive, when you miss. Just single action them, just like you did the 20 yard ones. Oops.
Next match, I'm going to cheat.
I'm going to practice.
I took three HKS speedloaders. I took a Safariland Comp1 speedloader. I took along a dump pouch and two Bianchi SpeedStrips. I had 80 rounds of 158g LRNs for a match that you could shoot clean in 40 rounds. I had my holster, and my M36 in it, which I have qualified with. The M36 is quite a bit heavier, being steel, so it should be easier to shoot well. What the heck-- it's still quite a handicap.
Halfway through the first stage, I realized that I had made a huge mistake, shooting the steel-framed M36. While it had the same frame size, similar stocks, and identical sights and barrel length to my M37 Airweight, it was lacking for the great trigger on the Airweight that comes from untold thousands of cyclings. I found myself trying to stage the trigger, and. . . BEEP! Time was up before I could finish firing the stage. I dropped 7 rounds.
I asked the rangemaster if I could change guns halfway through, to use my airweight. He said okay, if I wanted to go get it. No, I actually had it in my pocket. I pulled it out, dumped out the duty load and pocketed it, and loaded it with the match loads.
I shot the rest of the match with the old Airweight, shooting far better, but discovering that I really, REALLY need to practice on my speed reloads. What with the Hogue stocks and the tiny crane, things are tight, and require some repetition to reload the little J-frame with any fluidity. Absent that practice, well... it's embarrassing.
Also, mental note to Matt: on the falling plate matches where they penalize you 30 seconds per missed plate? Don't get cocky and start double-actioning the 15 yard plates with your 2" 15 oz revolver. That's expensive, when you miss. Just single action them, just like you did the 20 yard ones. Oops.
Next match, I'm going to cheat.
I'm going to practice.
Labels: competition, handguns, shooting
posted by Matt G @ 5:17 PM
5 Comments:
If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'... ;)
I would have also assumed the M36 would be a better bet. Also, you can say you did the 15-yard shots DA in the spirit of authentic training. Or something.
Ah yes... lessons we continue to RELEARN... Good on ya for shooting it with a 2" snubbie though! I wouldn't even try that!!!
The main issue, really, is that the trigger pulls are just different, John. But the M37's pulls are smoother, and I'm going to have the M36's DA worked on, soon. Also, the Airweight has a smooth trigger face, as opposed to the wide, serrated, target-style trigger on the M36 steel gun. Why such a trigger would be on a 5-shot 2", I've no idea, but it's not suited to combat-style shooting.
Moonclips.com.
I converted my M38 Bodyguard. I feel that "speed" clips just suck, especially on small revolvers.
I also converted my 10" .480 Ruger SRH, and the reaction when people see me use moonclips on that beast is just priceless ... .
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