Looking Back, Looking Forward

I think it’s appropriate to begin the year, much as I did last year, by reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and setting down what I would like to accomplish.  My stated goals for last year were:

                “I have some goals for this year.  The first would be to get myself from being a novice at shooting in the wind, to an “acceptable” level.  By acceptable I mean, not terrible.  I don’t expect to become a wind master in a short period of time, but I will be tackling that issue with some gusto. 

                My second goal is to stretch my shooting legs a bit.  I need to find a place in excess of 1000 yards, hopefully more like a mile.  This will be not only fun, but it will test my fundamentals and consistency, which I need. 

                Thirdly, I need to get my bipod technique down.  No more hopping bipods- I want to see that bullet hole appear in the target.  I will get my position straight this year. 

                Fourth, I will be a guru of finding the support or position I need to make a hit.  Wherever.  Whenever.  Period. 

                 Lastly, I want to improve my non-shooting skills to make myself a more well-rounded rifleman.  Specifically, I want to improve my skills with a map and compass (or GPS for that matter) and survival type skills in general. “

                  That was a pretty ambitious set of goals.  As for the first goal, I would say that I met my expectations.  I wouldn’t say that I exceeded them, but putting myself back where I was when I wrote that, I pretty much met it.  Now that I’m here I realize how much more there is to learn, which is good.

                  The second goal of shooting at distances past 1000 yards was met on several occasions.  In April I made it out to 1250 with the Lapua.  In May I got out to 947, again with the Lapua.  In August I got a 1^st round hit on what I think was an 18” plate at 1060 yards with a .308.  So I accomplished my goal of getting out there a little farther, although I did not make it to a mile.

                  Third goal of eliminating bipod hop and spotting my hits was a failure.  This was not for lack of trying.  I tried a lot and with a lot of rounds.  The bipod isn't exactly still hopping at this point, but my point of aim definitely shifts a bunch during recoil.  I need to go and get professional help, and not just for the mental issues.  I’m talking about rifle training folks!  Using a bipod correctly is not just a matter of plunking down and "cheating".  There is definitely a technique involved.  I think I need someone to see what I cannot.

                  On the fourth goal, which boils down essentially to being a great field rifleman able to make any shot within the capability of his rifle, I think I made a little progress, but I’ve got to also call that one a fail.  I didn’t really make it a priority in my training.

                  Fifth, uh, not really.

                  So I succeeded more or less on the first two, tried really hard on #3, worked a little on #4, but not very hard, and basically forgot about #5. 

                  There was also some meaningful stuff that happened that wasn’t on my list.  I switched rifles unexpectedly.  I would say that I got a lot closer to the rifle that I had in mind for the type of shooting that I’m doing on this blog.  In the process of doing that I suddenly began to tap a larger well of ammo.  I would guess that I tripled (at least) my round count over last year, mostly from September through November.  

 

                  I started shooting rifle competitively.  I think that bumped me up a notch or two in competency right away.  It made me think in terms of getting the thing done rather than how cool it would be if I somehow could do it.  Subtle but meaningful shift.

                 

                  Early in the year I tried a Ching sling.  That opened up a lot of possibilities for me.  It was a loop sling that was fast enough for field use.  

 When I switched rifles I figured out a way to achieve the same objective, which is a loop sling that can be acquired extremely rapidly, with a 2 point sling design.  I built one, spent a lot of time tweaking it, spent a lot of time shooting with it, introduced it via the blog, and started selling them.  I actually took a lot of orders that I’m still working my tail off to fill.  That is really cool. 

                  I would never have thought to start a business selling rifle accessories if I did not have what I consider a voice in the shooting market.  I have a voice because you come here and read the blog.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming here to read this.  I had more hits on the blog in December 2012 than I did for the first 7 months combined.

                  When I started the blog it was just for fun.  I had it in the back of my mind that it could lead somewhere that was different than my job, but it wasn’t important.  The important thing was always searching for ways to get better, being honest with you and me, and enjoying the journey.  Great opportunities come from having integrity and doing what you love, and I’m curious to see what opportunities I can recognize in the future. 

                  On to my goals for next year. 

1.  I want to do as much organized training as my wallet will allow.  I want to know what makes training good.  I want to learn how to do it and how to teach it.  I want to address the weaknesses that I probably don’t realize are there, being mostly self-taught.

                  2.  I want to move away from the predictability of time, terrain, and absence of stress that has been a benchmark of my training from the beginning.  I’ll get more in depth on that later in the month.

                  3.  Snapshooting has not diminished in the importance I attach to it.  Early in 2012 I got to the point with the Sako where more often than not I could break the 1.5 second barrier on a 4” clay at 25 yards.  Here’s the quote from the occasion I am thinking about:

                  “I hit on 9 out of 16 attempts (56% hit ratio, pretty close to last time).  My average time for all 16 attempts was 1.49 seconds.  The average time for hits was 1.57 seconds.  My fastest time, on a miss, was 1.21 seconds.  My fastest hit was 1.39 seconds.  Three of my 16 shots (18.75%) were under the 1.5 second standard. “

                  I would like to raise my snapshooting hit ratio significantly and lower my time as well.  I’d like to see my fastest hits under 1.25 seconds and the majority of my rounds be under 1.5.

                  4.  I got a good start on my wind reading just by getting out in the wind a bit.  Next I need to seek out more challenging locations to improve that ability.  The shoot I attended early in December was a good example of that.  Luckily the .308 is a decent round to learn that stuff on.  By the time I can switch to a new cartridge I should be pretty good.

                  Other than that, I’ll just keep my mind and my eyes open for opportunities.  They are always there, it’s just a matter of recognizing them.

Finally, I'm giving myself permission to get really good.  I think that may help more than anything.