Match Day Yesterday . . .

¶ . . . Sunday, 25 September: This was my first match in two months, due to last month's trip to Oklahoma. I'd like to believe that was the reason for another poor performance, but the truth is I don't practice enough (no real excuse for that if one "rolls their own," as I do!) and I keep commiting "brain pharts" and other assorted bits of confusion that were not what I envisioned in my “plan.” I mentioned this to one of my chums as we were breaking down the match and he posited what to me makes sense (Maybe even a life lesson here somewhere!):
   “Walk the stage and formulate your plan. Go over and program it into your mind three times or so and go with it.”
   I commented, “OK, I see what your getting at. Oft times I’ll have a plan, then I’ll watch another gent shoot the stage and I’ll think,’Maybe I oughta try it that way.’ Pretty soon it’s my turn and I’ve changed my plan so many times, I shoot the stage neither in the manner I planned it or the way anybody else did!”
   “That’s pretty much it,” he replied. Make YOUR plan; that’s what it is, YOURS. It’s quite likely it will work for your ability, for that’s probably how it was thought out, and if not, you’ll learn better from YOUR mistakes and learn to program the stage better. I would suggest this course for now and for the next year.”
. . . Makes sense to me. I know when I have in the past downshifted a bit and was more pensive in my attack, I could see some positives in my performance and see a bit more clearly the negatives. I’ve got my gun and mags working real well, so it’s all on me . . .
. . . Here it is, Para-Ordnance P14.45:

   This unit has a tungsten guide rod which I perceive to make the recoil feel "soft," a Dlask titanium trigger, a King's extended slide stop, and a King's magazine Speed Well. The magazines are Para Ordnance tubes with Dawson Precision or Grams Engineering basepads, Wolff springs, and Arredondo followers.
. . . And here's the rig:

• CR Speed Hi-Torque Gunbelt


• CR Speed Versa-Pouch Mag Holders


• LimCat Stealth Holster


• Hook for my Pro Ears Predator hearing protection from Dillon Precision.

. . . Since I'm seemingly getting carried away here, I might as well list the loads that (so far) have worked best for me. The stock disclaimer here: These worked FOR ME! Any use of this information is at your own risk!!. Follow the manufacturers' instructions/data!! (all .45 ACP):

• 230 gr. LRN, CCI Large Pistol Primers, 4.5 gr. Vihta Vuori N310


• 230 gr. LRN, Winchester Large Pistol Primers, 4.5 gr. Winchester Super Target


• 200 gr. JRN, Winchester Large Pistol Primers, 5.3 gr. Winchester Super Target

The 230 gr. loads got a strong 190 Power Factor while the 200 gr. just barely makes major. All had a Standard Deviation in the teens.
. . . Riddle me this: What's up with Vihta Vuori loading data? I know they're testing out of a 6" barrel, but their max load looks closer to the starting load as I've found when chronographing different "recipes."

. . . By the way, I did do OK on my classifier. It was the fourth one with this Limited rig, so I should get a Limited classification soon. Up until now, I’m only classified in Limited-10.