Bullet Boy on Shooting Sports

Life is often about the simple things.   Over the past few months I have been doing some personal testing on different products that I believed would make life easier and more comfortable – mostly for no good reason.   The economy is down and most Americans are feeling the effects.

I changed from having a desk job to working in the field doing construction (something I never dreamed I would be doing again).   One of the biggest changes and something I didn’t remember was that construction was hard work, I mean real hard.   I went from being a relative couch potato to being a professional athlete overnight.   I don’t mean I became athletic – my job did.   I went from wearing Suits to Boots.   I’m no stranger to hard labor – but if you haven’t done it in awhile…

Trading in my argyle socks for a pair of boot socks wasn’t easy.   My first day of work I threw on a pair of white cotton socks and came home with blisters!   Who knew that such discomfort would make me miserable.   I did some testing and found the perfect pair of socks, 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.

I tried a couple different brands and styles and found the 5.11 Tactical 9″ Socks to be the best for my needs.   I wanted a moisture wicking and an over the calf sock to keep my pants from sticking to me when wet.   They also must be comfortable and durable.

I work in extreme industrial settings and anyone that has ever worked in heavy industry knows that the term “industrial strength” is a joke.   Sure it maybe a little tougher but nothing will last with hard use.   In a recent 10 week Power Plant outage I broke two 1/2″ ratchets and wore out a pair of work boots.   But something that made it was the 5.11 socks.   I was surprised considering all the abuse my boots took.   I bought the 3 Pair Special and they are going on the next job with me.

Here are my Findings and notes on socks -

• Thorlo – Made in USA but not adequate cushion for the amount of heat (too thick) -THOR-LO ® X-Static ® Military Anti-Fatigue Sock
• Fox River – Made in USA but never felt comfortable – Wick Dry ® Maximum Boot Socks
• Hanes – Made in USA and allowed for blisters and non-wicking – Hanes Cushion Over-the-Calf Tube Socks

If you noticed I did keep track of the country of manufacture.   I have been trying to only buy American when it is possible. 5.11 Tactical ® Socks is that the socks are imported.

A down sides to these socks-   The fire retardant or ANSI specs are no where to be found.   Yeah Yeah!   Who cares right?   If you have ever seen poly clothing stick to someone after getting burned you would think differently.   Kind of surprising considering they market to first responders and fire-fighters.   I work around potential flash fires and extreme heat.   You get to wondering about what would happen if that 2000 ° Steam Vessel cracked.   I happen to like my skin and feet and do what I can to protect them.

If I find a comparable pair of socks Made in the USA that are rated I may switch.   But for the moment the best Pair of Socks I have found are the 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.

Over the past weekend I shot in a Tactical Rifle Match at steel city shooting sports association.   My team I shot with did well and had a member, White Feather, come in 4th place overall. My squad was made up of fantastic shooters.   I must admit my performance was sub-par even for me much less with experienced shooters.

With every match I improve. But, an area I need to improve most on is not repeating mistakes. I blame most of my time wasted on equipment failures. I had jams and double feeds on every stage. In practice I did not have a single mis-feed or jam. In competition they say that overcoming equipment failure is key. Well I had practiced in my basement how to clear mis-feeds and jams. Good thing because my clearing was clean and that of a professional. I should make a video of how to clear a jam. Jams did not keep me from finishing any stage as it did last time.

In addition to tweaking my AR-15 I need to work on my long range shooting. I timed out on the long range as I could not get my 4x Eotech magnifier in focus. I found the day before the match that my magnifier lenses or seal were broken. Instead of switching to iron sights like I knew I should’ve I stuck with what I know best optics.   I have contacted EoTech and awaiting a response from the customer service department.   I will keep you posted on the status of repair.

Next match I look to do much better.

This past Saturday I competed in a Tactical Rifle Match at Brocks Gap.   The match went great and the weather was good.   Needless to say I didn’t shoot all that well.   In fact due to a a couple bad mistakes and weapon failures I came in next to last.

This is how my performance went

My first stage of the day was Stage 7 which was the very location of my first round in shooting sports competition was fired and my first equipment failure.   I don’t remeber really doing anything wrong except being really slow and walking past a target.

My second stage, Stage 1, has proven to be nemisses in the past.   Saturday was no different.   When installing my JP Trigger I managed to damage the oversized anti-walk pin…   So the orginial trigger pins I used walked out and caused failures.

Stage 2, I dispute my score and penalties.   In the morning safety meeting it was stated that there was not going to be a penalty for failure to engage because of the stage setup.   So my stratgey to beat the time was to engage the targets as they became visible.   Since some the the targets I apparently walked past or didn’t see. The score keeper was off on that stage.   I kept score on that stage and did not give out penalties for un-engaged targets.   Somebody’s score is wrong, might be others!!!

Stage 3,   weapon failures plaged me again.

Stage 4, double feed rounds into chamber after slamming my magizine into the ground dropping to prone position.   Weapon failure is the shooters fault, as it should be,   and I didn’t finish after only taking about 3 shots.   This stage did my weapon the final failure for the day.

Stage 5, used a weapon I had never shot with.   The optics on the weapon where lower on the weapon than mine which I was no prepared for and my ear muffs where in the way.

Stage 6, another weapon but this one was my buddies which I had fired several times.   The only problem was a squib load I had made.   But all in all this was the stage I felt best about.

So from my narration of each of these stages it wasn’t my best outting.   Enough excuses and complaining.   Next competition my weapon will be ready and I will have learned from my mistakes.   Reguardless I had lots of fun, met new people, and got to see some old friends.

If you haven’t ever been to a match, you are missing out.   Find a local club or match and go out.   You wont regret it.