Docwagon

6-26-14 Cold draw: 1.50 1.41 1.41 1.72 (bobbled the retention strap) 1.41 30 minutes deliberate practice 1.30 (!!!) 1.54 1.41 1.48 1.50 My consistency has improved greatly, I feel a lot smoother and I'm picking up the front sight faster. I couldn't break 1.40 after the practice session, I felt tired. I took a few minutes rest and pulled a 1.33, but couldn't do any better. Trying to push faster hurt my times. I'm consistently under 1.50 now, though. One thing this exercise has done is really make me think about my holster. I carry in a pancake style 3-slot holster with a forward cant. I'm considering trying a midride open top holster, but I need to test if I can still retain the pistol if someone tries a gun grab.

I usually read fiction books once and that's it. The exceptions are series that I'll reread the first one when the second one comes out, etc. However there are a few complete series that I re-read every few years. 1) The Lord of the Rings 2) The Mistborn trilogy (I'm rereading it again right now, did 150 pages in one night. I always smoke through these) That's pretty much it, although I'm thinking of rereading Lonesome Dove. So, what do you reread over and over every few years?

6-25-14 Cold draw: 1.49 Seconds 1.45 1.57 1.59 1.55 30 minutes deliberate practice 1.49 Seconds 1.45 1.40 1.38 (!!!) 1.50 I did a few more draws and they got slower and slower as my shoulder was tired and I was getting sloppy. I took about 5 minutes and did a few more draws. I hit 1.30, but didn't count it as I would have missed hard left if I'd been live firing. 1.37 was the best I could do with a little rest, I hit it twice before calling it a day.

There was a shit ton of bad movies 'back in the day' as well. They just disappeared, because they sucked and nobody wanted to see them again. Modern movies are classic movies that haven't had the wheat separated from the chaff by time yet. Its the same with music. Bob Dylan put out a lot of complete shit, but that doesn't get any radio play and only the most hard core Dylan fans will seek out entire discographies. The ones that are gold continue to get play, the suck ass ones fall aside and disappear, and the end result is Dylan is a "classic" compared to a modern band that's shit songs are still fresh in your mind.

Very few. I run into the same people over and over at the range on open training days. The vast majority take the mandatory training days and nothing else. SWAT guys train a lot, as you'd expect, but they get extra training on the clock. Some guys excel in other areas and put a lot of time and training into being good at it. Some of the cybercrimes guys spend a butt ton of time to be good at what they do, and I can barely Facebook. One of the guys in our office is an expert on strangulation, he attends seminars around the country, etc, to be as knowledgeable as possible on that aspect. Many people find a niche and specialize in that.

I felt like today was a really good day of practice. I was able to maintain concentration, really focus on where my flaws are, and then worked on those components. I did a lot of just pulling the gun out of the holster, as I noticed that as I tried to speed up I was reversing my hand's motion and pushing down. Ideally, I want to continue upward momentum at all times, but I was pushing back down briefly when I undid the retention strap. I don't HAVE to push down to deactivate it, I should be breaking the thumb snap as I sweep up, but if I miss it means I can't get the gun out until I reverse and try again, so I was overcompensating. I'm also really concentrating on being smooth instead of being fast. "Smooth is fast" is what the instructors always say, work on being smooth, and fast will come. When I try to push my arm as fast as it'll go, I slow myself down and become inconsistent. Today's results: Cold draw: 1.60 seconds 1.62 1.67 1.58 1.58 30 minutes deliberate practice 1.48 seconds 1.58 1.45 1.39 (!!!!) 1.46 This is the first time I'm consistently been in the 1.4X second range and the first time I dipped below 1.40 seconds.

IPSC timer if I can get my hands on one at the range, IPSC timer app on my smartphone at home or when I can't. It beeps randomly somewhere between 2 seconds and 8 seconds after you hit "start". This is adjustable, its just how I have mine set. It then shows you when each shot went off and the "split" (time between shots). The timer app is sensitive enough that you can calibrate it to hear the hammer fall, and it counts that as a "shot". I like the real timer better because you can snap it to your belt and because it will keep things in memory. With the timer app I have to bend down to start it, then write the time down before doing it again. At home its no big deal, I just set it on the dresser next to me. Here's the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stimer&hl=en

I see the problem. Your roofer is a cow.

Day 6: Cold draw was 1.66 seconds. End of warm up session was 1.57 seconds. Practice. Not much difference after session. 1.56 best time.

I want shoes made by elves in a tree. That's one thing I wish American still had. When I was in the Middle East there were cobblers on the street corners. They'd measure your foot and make you sandals right there. They didn't make shoes or boots because it was so effing hot nobody wore anything but sandals, but it was really nice to have them tailor fit. American cobblers either don't exist or charge a mortgage payment for custom shoes in the few places that they do. There's not a lot about the Middle East I miss, but easy and cheap access to tailors, goldsmiths, pearl artisans, and cobblers sure is. Everything we wear here is mass produced and one size fits nobody or is ungodly expensive.

Day 5: Cold draw was 2.02 At the end of my 10 , I was routinely drawing in the 1.62-1.68 range very smoothly. 30 minutes deliberate practice Still in the 1.62-1.68 range, but the final two dipped into 1.45 (both #9 and #10). Came home at the end of shift and did a cold draw at 1.92. I did about 10 minutes of reloading drills and am very happy with the speed and smoothness of my reloads. I'm using snap caps, so I can't really recreate the feel of the gun going dry. I'm sort of cheating in other words, where as in the real world I'm not likely to realize my gun is empty until I see the slide lock back or pull the trigger and realize its not going bang. However knowing I'm going to reload I can get the new magazine in the gun as the one leaving the gun is hitting the floor. I started practicing over my bed so I didn't have to keep bending down to pick up the mags and realized that was MUCH smarter and I got a lot more reps in with less down time. If anyone's interested, I'll post up how I do my reloads.

CAT doesn't make the boots, they license the name out. Wolverine makes them, and they are top shelf work boots (as are the boots they make under their own brand). The same people make a running shoe under "Saucony" and they are supposed to be really good quality. They don't fit me that well, so I can't say if they do for sure.

County wide, and it is a lot. To clarify, that doesn't mean 30 separate incidents. If two officers return fire in the same incident, that's counted as two officers involved, but that's still a big increase over the last few years. Gunfire deaths are up nationwide this year for law enforcement, and our county seems to be accelerating faster than average. Our homicide rate is way up over last year, too, despite national trends down. I think we're on pace for about 160-170 homicides this year if the pace stays the same. I don't have an assigned district. Most of the special investigation units such as Homicide & Robbery office are countywide. General detectives are assigned to individual districts. My worry isn't so much a hot scene. I'm usually last one there. Uniformed patrol will be on the scene before me 99% of the time. I serve warrants, though, and not everything qualifies for SWAT, even with major felonies. My bigger worry is ambush. My car is unmarked, but its pretty obvious its a police car if anyone really looks. I'm plain clothes, but not UC, so when I'm eating lunch and the like my radio is still talking on my belt, so even if you can't see my badge, gun, etc, again its pretty obvious I'm a cop. Those last two assholes who ambushed and murdered cops eating lunch were even from Indiana. The faster I can get out of the holster and on target, the better my chances of surviving an ambush. If I can get under a second, I can pull and fire quick enough to interrupt most people's draw stroke. The basic theory is the OODA loop. Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. You have to Observe the threat, as you can't react to something you are unaware of. You have to Orient yourself to this new information (go from "I'm eating lunch" to "i'm about to be in a gun fight"). You have to Decide what to do (take cover, draw, rush him, whatever) and then Act. The bad guy has the drop on you, because he's already through OOD the moment he starts his attack. Situational awareness, reading people around you, etc. may allow you to catch him earlier in the cycle, but in the worst case he's at "A" while you're on the first "O". Shedding time on the "A" can get you back in the fight.

Brooks and Asics are well worth the price. I've got Brooks that I've owned for 7 years, and although they are relegated to yard word duty, they are still sound. Asics usually run $45-60, but you're buying a lot of quality at that price. My choices are pretty limited, though. The "cheap" shoes and the big name brands (Nike, etc.) don't make shoes to fit me. Brooks, Asics, and New Balance are about my only options.

To keep my ass alive. Since our last in the line of duty death last September, we've had 30 police officers involved in police actions shootings, 8 of whom were shot themselves.

Good deal on a polymer Sig: http://www.firearmsforsale.com/combo/sig-sp2022mag/ 3 mags is a huge plus. It looks like Sig is running a special though authorized dealers right now. I'm half tempted to pick up a new one, but I'm still too in love with my P220 to cheat just yet.

Yup, shoes and boots aren't anything to cheap out on. Sort of like food. Junk food is usually cheaper to purchase, but more expensive in the long run in terms of quality of life, health care, etc.

Day 4: Cold: 2.26 seconds 2.43 (blech) 1.92 1.87 1.84 1.78 1.77 1.84 30 minutes deliberate practice 1.91 seconds 1.96 1.79 1.93 1.93 1.67 1.70 1.75 1.75 I need to work on the dragging it from the holster. I'm lifting too high and costing myself time. I use a retention holster, so I have the extra step of breaking the thumb strap, but even with that handicap I've got a lot of work to do to get on pace with these guys.

I wish there was a cached page from FPSheadquarters so we could see the folks who were so sure this would change the gaming industry. I don't remember the folks who were hyping it. It's less fun this way....

Hi. This is an "I told you so" thread. Remember when people were talking about the OUYA? Remember when I said it would be a huge flop? Remember when people said it would be a big hit and revolutionize the gaming industry? Doc and Pepperidge farm remembers. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/03/07/hit-kickstarter-video-game-console-ouya-is-basically-dead/ So, you know, I told you so.

I went to the range today and at 5 yards repeated my drill with live fire. My first shot was 1.82 seconds and in the "A" box. Second shot was 1.85 seconds, also in the "A" box. I ended up shooting 100 rounds, all my reloads. A 230 gr plated FMJ over 4.4 grains of Winchester Super Target. About 50 draw and fire one shot. About 30 draw, one body shot and one head shot. About 20 with an instructor watching me at my request to see if he could spot any flaws in my technique. First target of the day (note I used both sides, so some holes are "in" and some are "out" from the perspective of this shot. Almost all "A" box hits. I did start stringing left as I started getting tired. I know why, gripping too hard with my right hand.

Some things are worth going to a specialty store for, and athletic shoes are one of those things. I tend to buy online now, but something like The Runner's Forum is a good bet. http://www.runnersforum.com/index.php I know you probably have something similiar close to you. The employees are generally more knowledgeable and will help guide you to shoes that work for you.

Eh, just different play styles. The BW is more efficient if you hit most of your shots, especially if you're decent at head shot/weak spot shooting. It also lets you stay in hard cover most of the time. Reload cancelling puts it well ahead in terms of DPS. Built in 0.25 meter penetration makes light cover and guardian shields a non-issue, as well as allowing you to hit weak spots on a creature's back (like pyro tanks). It benefits from warp and distrupter ammo, since they can use the ammo damage to strip shields/barriers prior to the projectile damage hitting shield gate, but with a properly spec'd infiltrator you're probably stripping it with one shot anyway. Usually you can take down one pyro/marauder type enemy and one mook from one cloak cycle. Collector is more about soft cover, since you have to be standing to let the beam run. The ability to hip fire lets you play as a more aggressive sniper. You aren't penalized as much for a miss, as you can just get the beam back on target, but you'll also lose more head shot damage as you wiggle the beam on moving targets.

Beginning of day 2: 3 cold presentations: 2.28 seconds 2.06 2.05 30 minutes deliberate practice 5 presentations 1.94 seconds 2.02 2.74 (shirt tangled) 2.19 1.98