The 8th Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous is right around the corner, it’s being held September 5th through the 8th, 2013, at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Last year’s GBR was fantastic, we raised about $6000 for Project Valour-IT, met a bunch of great people, shot OPG and came home with a handful of prizes from sponsors. What’s not to like about that?
This year, Gun Blogger Rendezvous promises more fun, shooting and prizes, and I’m really looking forward to it. In no particular order, here are five reasons you should head up to Reno for GBR VIII:
Friday Night Activities – Double Elimination Pistol competition in our own private hospitality room using the Optical Computer Aided Training Simulator from Outwest systems, using real guns shooting lasers instead of bullets. An OCAT System will be awarded to one of the competitors by random drawing (you’re going to have to fight me for this).
If none of the above reasons were good enough, thanks to gunauction.com, we’re going to be shooting bowling balls out of a Mortar:
The Gun Blogger Rendezvous is not just for gun bloggers. if you read gun blogs, enjoy shooting or shooting sports, are interested in Second Amendment issues, or are in the shooting sports industry in some manner, you are all welcome to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. To register and for more information, check out the Gun Blogger Rendezvous website
It’s been a few weeks since we returned from the 7th Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous, and I think I have finally recovered from the non-stop, awesome shooty goodness that took place over the three days that we attended. It was well worth the time and expense to fly out to Reno, Nevada, and we’ve already decided that this will be a must-attend event for us next year.
Our host, Mr. Completely, did an outstanding job of putting Gun Blogger Rendezvous together, and I’d like to thank him profusely for his efforts. All of the activities went off without a hitch (and there were a ton of them), and there seemed to be just enough time to get a bit of rest in between the many scheduled events and festivities.
The best part about Gun Blogger Rendezvous was not only having a great time with other bloggers/shooting enthusiasts, but also supporting a very worthy cause: Project Valour-IT. Mr. Completely, once again, did an incredible job of putting together a fund raiser raffle with a prize table that rivaled many larger events I’ve been to. We all dug deep in our pockets to give as much as we could – the ice bucket overflowed with medium to large bills, which brought a tear to my eye and made me feel very proud to know that we built that!
So, thanks again to Mr. Completely, the sponsors and all the attendees (and Robert) for putting up with me at the 2012 Gun Blogger Rendezvous, I enjoyed every minute of my time meeting, talking and shooting with everyone and I’ll be posting more about my favorite moments of GBR throughout the month.
It’s Tuesday, which means it is time for another episode of Top Shot on the History Channel. We’re making your Top Shot Tuesday even better by running a Twitter contest during tonight’s episode (10/9c). We’re going to be giving away some History Channel merch, so you don’t want to miss it.
We’ll be tweeting out a question about the show during tonight’s episode, so follow us at Twitter.com/GreatSatanInc and tweet us back with your answer (make sure to use @GreatSatanInc and the hashtag #topshot in your tweet). If you win, we will send you a brand-spankin’ new History channel t-shirt.
Good luck and may the red mist stay clear of your favorite contestant tonight!
Note: Merchandise provided by the fine folks at the History Channel. Thanks!
It’s been about a year and a half since I dove head first into the world of competitive shooting, and while I’m making some progress with my speed and accuracy, there’s something holding me back, and I can’t seem to shake it. I’m no stranger to the stress, anxiety and pressure present when participating in sports (especially since my nature is to be ridiculously competitive), but there is an element of practical pistol shooting that I have never experienced before, and it’s making me look like more like Jerry Lewis than Jerry Miculek when I’m shooting a match.
Some call it the Red Mist. My better half has referred to it as bezerker. It is an indiscriminatory and unrelenting force that is laser-focused on sabotaging your performance. Ridiculously clever and devious, it will allow you to build up your confidence just until you step up to the line and into the shooting box. And then the timer goes *beep*, the red mist appears, and all careful planning and strategy disappears as if it never even existed.
If you’ve been watching Top Shot on the History Channel, you may have noticed that the Red Mist makes a cameo appearance in almost every episode. During episode two of season 3, it appeared during the elimination challenge and prematurely knocked my favorite contestant and WOMA home girl, Sara Ahrens, out of the competition.
During Sara’s commentary at the end of the show, she recognized the role the red mist played in her loss when she said, “I’ve had practice in friend and foe targets, it’s just a matter of I’ve never done that next to another person. I’m kind of being overcome by the intensity of the situation.”
Yep, that’s the unmistakable mark of the red mist. It doesn’t just effect your performance on the range, it also leaves a trail of amnesia and dumbfoundedness in its wake, making it that much more difficult to overcome.
So, is it possible to defeat the Red Mist, and if so, what’s the secret? Watching shooting greats like the Leatham’s and the Miculek’s make it pretty darn obvious that it can be overcome, but how does a mere mortal like me fend off this unwelcome creature that has the power to take over my brain at will?
I recently had the opportunity to ask World Championship competitive shooter, and all-around awesome woman, Eva Micklethwaite how she deals with the pressure and anxiety that builds up when she’s competing in a big match. Eva was kind enough to explain to me what she did to conquer the Red Mist when she found herself a bit “freaked out” by one of the stages at the recent USPSA Area 3 match:
It’s the preparation I do BEFORE I even step on the range that helps me with that. At this particular stage, though, I told myself to take your time and get through it. Don’t rush it, stay focused, and be patient with myself and the trigger. Basically a mental talk off the ledge. Once the buzzer goes off, instinct kicks in as well.
Experience helps a lot, you’ll get there. Mental strength is also a BIG part of this game. And if all else fails….breathe!
Looks like I’ve got some dues to pay to the Red Mist. If you’re looking for me, check the local ranges. I’ll be the one trying to reload my left thumb into the magazine well.
Top Shot 3 is right around the corner, premiering on Tuesday, August 9th at 10/9c. Even with the somewhat lopsided ratio of drama llama to actual shooting, I’ll be watching (and hoping the drama llama goes on hiatus for season 3). I’ve already got my favorite shooter picked out for the season – Sara Ahrens. I had the pleasure of co-manning the WOMA booth at SHOT Show this year with her, and she is funny, beautiful and knows how to shoot. I will be looking forward to watching her kick some tail this season.
If you’re not familiar with Top Shot Season 3’s cast of characters, here’s the “exclusive” cast intro video:
In other exciting news, we will be having a Top Shot contest with some great prizes, courtesy of the fine folks at the History Channel. As they say in the TV business, stay tuned for details!
I also wanted to take a minute to give a big thanks to all of you (including the Top Shot producers) who provided me with awesome support over the last couple of months as I made my way through the application process for Top Shot Season 4. Sadly, I did not make the cut, but no worries – I will be back with bells on (and some bigger wins under my belt) when next season’s application comes out.
A few months ago, my awesome competition pistol got a boo-boo, and had to be sent back to the manufacturer for some TLC. I needed a new pistol STAT, and rather than purchase another USPSA production division pistol, I decided it was time to pick up a 1911 so I could start training for the next Western States Single Stack Match, and to avoid becoming a One Gun Princess.
At SHOT Show earlier this year, I had the chance to run a few rounds through a Rock Island Armory 1911 in 9mm, and I remembered being impressed with both the gun and its modest price tag. At under $500, we were willing to take a chance that the RIA would perform acceptably in a competition setting, and we liked the benefit of 9mm being more cost effective than a 45 ACP.
I was able to find an RIA 1911-A1 (tactical version with Novak style sights) at a local shop, brought it home and gave it a light cleaning, then packed it in my range bag for use the next morning. Out of the box, it performed flawlessly – Zero malfunctions, and it shot more accurately than I did.
There was only one issue with the 1911’s performance, and I noticed it about halfway through the match. I felt a slight burning sensation coming from my right arm, and my first thought was that it was time to reapply the sunscreen. I then looked at my arm and noticed that it was dotted up and down with red marks from spent shells repeatedly tagging me.
We took it home and figured out pretty quickly that the extractor probably needed a little adjustment. As soon as I started taking it apart, I was really glad I had picked up a couple of tools for the 1911 – a plastic barrel bushing wrench and an extractor removal tool from Brownells. Both tools are already invaluable to me – I don’t have to call Capitalist Pig out to the garage every 10 minutes to be my extra hand or muscle something for me (which probably makes the tools invaluable to him as well). The extractor tool is especially handy, as one end works perfectly to get the firing pin out, and the other end has a nifty little notch that makes quick work of extracting the extractor, so to speak. After the extractor was out, C. Pig took a look and did just a wee bit of re-profiling to one of the edges, and it’s been extracting casings away from my body parts ever since.
I got my production pistol back from the shop some time ago, but I’ve enjoyed shooting the Rock Island 1911 so much that just within the last couple of weeks I’ve forced myself to go back to the production pistol, since I’ll be shooting my first “big” match with it this fall. I’m sure my RIA in 9mm won’t be collecting any dust though, I am already looking forward to shooting it again.
Disclaimer: I did not get paid to write this, or any other posts on this site. The kind folks at Brownells provided me with the extractor tool with no expectation of anything other than an honest review. When I say I like it, I mean it. If you took mine away from me (don’t even think about it), I would buy another one the same day.
There’s been some interwebs chatter about the Ammo waitresses provided by LuckyGunner.com at their 2011 Memorial Day Weekend Blogger Shoot last weekend. Since I was there, and I have lady parts, I believe I am Uniquely Qualified™ to put my two cents in about this contrived kerfuffle.
A fellow female gun blogger (who was not present at the event) recently took some shots at LuckyGunner and the ammo waitresses they provided us. Said blogger likened the young ladies to booth babes, opined that LuckyGunner created an “optics problem” by including the attractive ammo ladies as part of the event, and then speculated that these ladies are a deterrent to attracting women to the shooting sports.
Hogwash!
The only thing I’ve seen relating to this event that might discourage a woman from learning to shoot has been uninformed commentary from another blogger that couldn’t possibly have come to their conclusion if they had attended the shoot.
Since I started shooting two years ago, I’ve attended two Babes With Bullets camps and several classes and practices with HerHandgun here in Arizona, where I’ve listened to upwards of 70 ladies tell their story about how and why they started shooting. Not once have I heard a story of reluctance to learn to shoot because of good-ol-boys, booth babes or women dressed in sleeveless polo shirts and skorts. The overwhelming majority of these women cited intimidation of firearms (ranging from generalized fear to downright phobia), a lack of confidence (think the opposite of empowered) and physical issues that they thought would impede their use of a firearm.
The three ladies that assisted us with our ammo needs were no different. I overheard one of the girls say that she had never shot before, and she was considering taking the plunge. I was so glad to see that they not only took the plunge, they did it with some of the most intimidating and rare weapons around (you rock, ladies!). I can see why someone might be a bit jealous that they missed out on shooting these fine firearms, I know my shooty friends were.
The LuckyGunner ammo girls were an asset to the event and I am most appreciative of their hard work, dedication and professionalism at the Blogger Shoot. They spent the better part of two days schlepping ammo up and down hills, across the approximately 150 yard wide firing line in heat and humidity so high it should be illegal. I know I couldn’t have done it (my lawn – you. off. now.), and I am very grateful that they were there to enhance the already epic experience.
The 8th Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous is right around the corner, it’s being held September 5th through the 8th, 2013, at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Last year’s GBR was fantastic, we raised about $6000 for Project Valour-IT, met a bunch of great people, shot OPG and came home with a handful of prizes from sponsors. What’s not to like about that?
