Preparing for 2014 IDPA Nationals

I am very excited that I will be able to compete at IDPA Nationals next week.  I will be part of the first ever all ladies squad which will be made up of women from A Girl and A Gun Women's Shooting League.  The squad will be shooting all 15 stages in one day.  It will be a bit of a challenge since I am only used to shooting 6 stages a day at a match.  That is definitely a lot to pack into one day but I am up for it. I will be shooting with a great group of friends and Gene will be there to support me as well. He is going to be filling the role of photographer (and pack mule if I can convince him to carry my stuff for me).  That shouldn't be too hard since we will be bringing the War Wagon (gear cart) for all the gear and ammo.

I haven't been shooting as much as usual this year because Gene has been recovering from his surgery and injuries.  I know that I wasn't the one with the injuries but since we are the couple that shoots TOGETHER...well you know. When I found out that I made the team, I realized I needed to kick it up a notch or two so I have been trying to catch up on my practice.

I have been practicing a little bit of everything including basic fundamentals in addition to working on my skills that are geared more towards competitive shooting.  In addition to extra trips to the range I have also been practicing at home using other tools.  I have really enjoyed mixing up the training.

Strong Hand Only

Distance Practice

Haley Strategic targets

One of the training tools that I have been using is airsoft.  We recently blogged about the benefits of airsoft and how similar my airsoft XDm is to my XDm 5.25 Competition.  I feel that shooting my airsoft XDm is about as close as I can get to shooting the real thing. We have been practicing with IDPA targets in our backyard and we are fortunate that our neighbors don't mind.  Safety is always a priority and we never let the BBs leave our yard. We have also been using airsoft with the Haley Strategic targets. They are a great drill when it comes to sight alignment, grip, and trigger control.  They force me to slow down and breathe!

Practicing Drawing from the Holster and Reloads-Airsoft

Haley Strategic 2-2-4-2-2 Drill - Airsoft

SIRT pistol and L.A.S.R. software

Our most recent training tool purchase is L.A.S.R which stands for Laser Activated Shot Reporter.  I had bought Gene the L.A.S.R. program for his birthday and I kind of hijacked it from him.  It is software that we use along with our SIRT pistol to practice sight alignment and trigger control.  The program is designed to be used along with a computer, web cam, and anything that you want to use as a target.  Our favorite thing to do is to compete against each other.  There is one drill in which the program calls out random numbers which are assigned to particular targets.  L.A.S.R records our par times so we can see who is faster and visually we can see who is the most accurate.  We have to hit the correct target before we can move onto the next one.  The numbers are called out pretty quickly so it really keeps me on my toes.  It is a really good target transition practice.  One benefit to L.A.S.R over airsoft is that we can train in the house versus in the garage or the backyard.  (Yes, that is a mannequin in the background and no it isn't one of the targets. LOL It is used for product display.)

In addition to the training I got our logo and my name embroidered on my shooting vest.  I also purchased a team shooting jersey which arrived about a week ago.  I finally feel official!

I can't say enough about how supportive Gene has been through this experience.  He is always encouraging me to practice and giving me tips and advice.  He is my gunsmith and my cheerleader.  Gene has always been supportive of my shooting and this is just one more example of how we are there for each other.