Sight Picture

Comp-Tac & Kydex
By
Gary W. Burris

Comp-Tac is a company that manufactures quality kydex holsters and accessories. Kydex is a durable, low temperature thermoplastic used in applications ranging from the aircraft industry to furniture. Kydex has the ability to withstand solvents used on firearms and will not collapse like leather. For the competition shooter it is much faster than traditional leather.

Gregg Garrett founded the company. I met Gregg a few years back at a shooting competition. He's an excellent shooter and as I found out later, Gregg has practical experience in weapons ranging from the Dirk through Civil War Light Artillery. He is a nationally ranked Foil and Saber fencer. On top of all that he is an accomplished actor and star of stage & screen. His most noted role was that of "Tybalt" in Ben Stevensons's "Romeo and Juliet".

Gregg's credentials include law enforcement academy firearms instructor, Advanced Level rating from Defense Training International, instructors certificate from the Texas Department of Public Safety for concealed handgun licensing of civilians, certified by the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies as an Investigator, commissioned as a Personal Protection Officer and is working in liability management as an Expert Witness. I could go on about Gregg's accomplishments but I'd better stop here or I won't get to the point of this article. And that is to discuss his line of equipment.

I contacted Gregg a few days ago to talk about the possibility of adding equipment for women to his line of holsters and accessories. You may remember that I wrote an article wondering why so few manufacturers make equipment with women in mind. I'm the kind of guy that sees a problem and then goes in search of a solution. First, I set down and came up with some ideas about how to design a holster that would work best for women. My thought was that if I could persuade Gregg to make holsters for women then everyone would be a winner. Women would become more involved in shooting sports, Gregg would benefit from increased sales and I would feel like I had helped to resolve a problem. And as you might have guessed, he already makes equipment especially for women. He doesn't advertise this because he has found through experience that women need to be fitted individually in order for the equipment to work properly for them. You've got to admire a businessman who puts customer satisfaction ahead of sales.

So for all you female shooters out there that can't find equipment that feels good and works right, contact Gregg and set up an appointment to get your own personally fitted holster and accessories. Send Gregg e-mail at pistol@comp-tac.com, phone him at (713) 863-9329 or send a letter to P.O. Box 131173, Houston, TX 77219. You can also go to the Comp-Tac web site at http://www.comp-tac.com to find contact information as well as read about his kydex equipment.

I use Comp-Tac equipment for concealed carry because I've found that it doesn't squeak like leather. And those of you who carry a concealed weapon know how conspicuous it makes you feel if your holster is making noise every time you move. The first Comp-Tac holster I got was for my Smith & Wesson Model 625. This is a large 45 caliber revolver. And the Locking Paddle holster works great for IDPA competition. As testimony to its performance, I've won 3 state championships and one national championship using this setup. I now have holsters and accessories for all four divisions of IDPA competition. And tomorrow I'm going to pick up a Shirt Tucker for my new Glock 26 and while I'm there I think I'll get something like an FBI Paddle for my Glock 34. I'm even considering an inside the waistband holster for my 1911.

Texas summers are hot. I guess I don't need to tell the folks around here about that. I heard today on the radio that Houston ranked #4 in the nation on the "Sweat Index". But it brings up another point about the kydex holster. You can sweat all day and the holster won't mind one bit. Plus it provides a measure of protection for your weapon against rust.

Another thing I like about Comp-Tac holsters is that they are easy to modify. My S&W 625 had a five inch barrel that I had cut down to a four inch barrel. This is because the IDPA is limiting the length for competition. All I had to do was cut an inch off the end of my kydex holster with a hacksaw and smooth the edges with a file. I had told Gregg that I wanted a new holster for my 625 and he is the one that suggested that I modify the old one myself and save the cost of a new one. Does anyone wonder why I keep going back to Comp-Tac for holsters?

Everything in Gregg's product line is tension adjustable. And an Allen wrench is included with each order. Even the dual magazine carrier has individually adjustable pouches. IDPA shooters like being able to adjust the tension on their equipment. Kydex is fast and with the tension adjusted just right, it is even faster.

I know of only two instances where shooters have experienced a problem with some of Gregg's gear. And in both cases Gregg replaced the defective equipment with new at no charge. No questions asked.

The selection at Comp-Tac continues to expand. You can find everything from a tactical flashlight holder to magazine pouches for AR15/16 or a holster for a Desert Eagle 50. If you can't find a holster for you gun, talk to Gregg and he might just make one for you.

Last, but not least, the price is right. You won't find a better price for kydex equipment that gives you anywhere near the quality, selection and service that Comp-Tac provides.

2002 IDPA National Championship
by
Gary W. Burris

This was my third trip to the IDPA National Championship competition and my third year working as a safety officer at the event. I think most would agree that it gets better every year.

Hurricane Lili threatened to put a damper on the whole event. The storm was predicted to hit the mid-south area Thursday night. High wind and flash flood advisories were posted. Despite the rain dances performed by many of the Thursday shooters, the sky was clearing when the shooting started on Friday morning. There were a lot of people with wet and muddy feet but it didn’t seem to effect their shooting.

The highlight of the whole event for me occurred on Wednesday when the Safety Officers shot the event. Ken Hackathorn told me I could have been a poster child if only I hadn’t got a failure to neutralize. I understood him to mean that I shot the stage well except for the penalty. And that comment coming from someone of his stature in the shooting community certainly impressed this lowly marksman. As it turned out, his statement was prophetic because I ended up second in my division and class.

There was the usual collection of world-class shooters that impressed everyone with their shooting skills. Not to take anything away from them, but I had the most fun watching the not-so-world-class shooters. I only wish I could have watched every shooting bay simultaneously. I know the shooters had fun on the two stages where I was working. Sure there were folks who were upset with themselves when they shot a non-threat or got a procedural but most took it in stride.

One fellow (I’ll not mention any names) who when I hollered, “Cover” immediately stepped forward to complete his reload, exposing himself even more to threat targets. He got flustered when I yelled, “Cover” again and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Then there was the pretty young lady who verbalized to the target she was shooting. I haven’t heard language like that since I got out of the Navy. One guy shot a non-threat three times dead center and missed the threat target all together. I laughed with him when I explained that we could only count one hit on the non-threat. Another competitor crawled under the window to shoot the scenario from the left side. From that angle the threat target was almost completely obscured by a non-threat and you guessed it, he got 5 seconds added to his score. The only pucker factor on our stage came when one shooter failed to acquire a good grip on his 1911 when he torched off the first round. The gun leaped in his hand and he was lucky to retain control.

This year I counted 68 “Senior” competitors and 3 “Super Seniors” (age 65 and up). That means that almost 25% of the competitors were grey headed, if they had hair. Additionally, there were 4 people identified as Military, 32 Law Enforcement, 4 Press, 36 Industry and 14 Ladies. Plus there were 20 international competitors. Maybe we should consider renaming the event the 2002 IDPA International Championship.

A couple of new award categories were added this year. The Super Senior (65+) award went to Mike Hanlon. I’ll have to wait a few years to compete for that one. And Low Points Down was awarded to Michael Brown. Michael had 15 points down. That works out to one point down for each of the 15 stages. I may have to wait a few years to compete for that one too.

Finally, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Match Director Jim Hewins for his leadership and all the work he did putting this match together. Jim assembled a great group of Chief Safety Officers, Safety Officers and Match Staff.

David Weatherford
June 16th, 1943 - August 29th, 2002
by
Gary W. Burris

I met David at an IDPA shooting competition a few years ago and immediately recognized that here was a man who loved the sport and particularly loved wheel guns. In the few years I knew David, we developed a friendly rivalry and looked forward to the times we would meet at a match to exchange friendly insults. Last year I arranged to have Jerry Miculek come to Houston to give a revolver class and David was the first to sign up for the class. The picture above is David doing some weak hand shooting in that class. If you add a cigar and motorcycle you will have a complete picture of the man. David will be missed by all who knew him. However, our sport and our lives have been enriched by the experience.

Tactical Trainers Hold Competative Pistol III Class
by
Gary W. Burris

This class was the last in the series of three that I have taken. It was held the Sunday before the IDPA National Competition.

We did a lot of work on mapping. This is a plan that you make prior to shooting a scenario. Figure out what route you will take through a scenario to give you the best competative edge. By mapping it you will find the shortest distance to travel or position yourself so that you can shoot the scenario in a mannor that utalizes your strengths. For example: if you shoot better from the right side of a barricade then figure out how to end up there to take advantage of the situation.

We would shoot a scenario and then analyze what we did right and what we did wrong. Then we would shoot it again using what we learned. The session included work with skill drills and target acquisition

I recommend the complete series of Competative Pistol classes. There will be handgun classes for beginers and classes for those of you with politically incorrect urban assult rifles. I'll critique those classes as well so look for more right here in the Tactical Shooters Club Newsletter.

Sight Picture
By
Gary W. Burris

Sight alignment is perhaps the single most important factor in accurate shooting. This is a critical concept to master, particularly for new shooters. I’ll start with the basics of sight alignment. Only notch & post type sights are allowed in IDPA competitions.

The notch (rear sight) will look something like this: , while the post (front sight) looks like this: . When these two are aligned correctly they should look something like this: . When the sights are aligned, place the target on top of the center post and that is where the bullet should strike.

Angular Shift occurs when the front sight is not aligned properly with the rear sight. See the following examples of Angular Shift:

A lot of factors go into keeping the sights aligned. These include stance, grip and trigger control. Most strong right-handed shooters will experience the “Front Sight Low-Left” problem because they are pulling the sights out of alignment when they pull the trigger. Strong left-handed shooters will pull “Front Sight Low-Right”. High, low, left and right of target problems usually occur with shots taken after the first shot because the shooter did not take the time to re-align the sights. I’ll address this more later.

Parallel Shift can occur if the sights are kept in alignment but the point of aim moves relative to the target. See the following examples of Parallel Shift:

It is impossible for the human eye to focus at two different distances at the same time. Therefore, we need to investigate what our eye should focus on when shooting a target. Look at the examples below:

It is better to focus on the sight alignment than the target. A lot of people make the mistake of focusing on the target to see their hits. While they are doing that, the sights move out of alignment. For those of us who require vision correction, I recommend special shooting glasses. I normally wear bifocals but my shooting glasses have only one correction that puts my front sight in focus when extended at arms length. I had these special glasses made because I didn’t want to tilt my head up or down to focus on the front sight.

Concentration is another major factor that effects sight alignment. Shooters, particularly new shooters, will be display nervous tension that causes the gun to move around while they are trying to take a shot. The shooter begins thinking about this “arc of movement” instead of concentrating on sight alignment resulting in poor shot placement. It is much more important to have proper sight alignment than worry about some slight movement.

Shooters are taught to squeeze the trigger slowly until the shot breaks. However, while they are concentrating on trigger control they fail to maintain sight alignment. Even if trigger control is good the net result will be a poor shot. Sight alignment must remain uppermost in the shooter's mind throughout the firing of the shot. The shooter must work on pulling the trigger until it becomes a muscle memory thing that he does not have to think about.

Even an advanced shooter is able to maintain only 3 to 6 seconds of sustained concentration. It is during this short time period that a controlled shot can be delivered accurately. If the shooter is able to bring everything together within the time frame mentioned (sight alignment, point of focus,minimum arc of movement and involuntary trigger control), the result will be a perfect hit on the target.

So now you know some of the basics of sight alignment. Go practice and expect your accuracy to improve dramatically.

The 2002 Texas State IDPA Championship match is now history. By all accounts it was one of the most challenging ever. Just over one hundred competitors were on hand to shoot the match. There were ten scenarios and a round count of 129 (minimum).

Johnny Van Etta was the match director again this year. He and his able staff of helpers did an excellent job of pulling this year’s match together. Pearland Sportsman’s Club (PSC) at Friendswood, Texas was again the host range for the match. There had been a lot of rain and flooding in the weeks preceding the match. We got a break in the weather a few days before the match but the ground was still saturated. The day of the match the weather forecast called for a 20% chance of rain. It was mostly overcast during the match and started to drizzle about two hours before the match ended. However, the rain was little more than a nuisance.

This year the scenarios were deceptively simple in design. I’ve calculated that the average time to shoot the match was 226.36 seconds including an average of 71.38 seconds of penalty and points down. A cursory look at the courses of fire would lead one to believe that this was a run and gun match. However, as many competitors discovered, shooting accuracy played a very big roll in this match. It was better to slow down just a bit and make the hits.

This match had no moving targets and no steel. Five of the stages required movement. Four of the stages gave the shooter his choice of starting positions. There was only one Limited Vickers stage and that was the standards stage.

Here is my interpretation of how the scenarios challenged the shooters:

Scenario #1: If the shooter didn’t get a good sight picture for his second shot on targets T3- T6 then the potential for winging a non-threat was greatly increased. This is where I got my only hit on a non-threat.

Scenario #2: Placement of targets forced shooting around both sides of the barrel and was a good test of strong & weak side shooting.

Scenario #3: Shooters are accustomed to targets standing up and when you throw in some that are horizontal, it forces you to change your focus on the target.

Scenario #4: The shooter had to plan how to shoot this before he started. Because the arrangement forced you to engage at least one target on the move or you had to retrace your steps to pick it up.

Scenario #5: If you shot this one too fast and dropped some shots into the hard cover, you were forced to go back if you wanted to prevent a Failure-to-Neutralize penalty.

Scenario #6: Standards or in this case “Killer Standards”. Here again it paid to slow down and make the hits because this was a Limited Vickers stage. There were two strings, one strong hand only and another weak hand only.

Scenario #7: Six targets all with partial hard cover. It was difficult to see the hits and a lot of folks shot it too fast and received either five points down or FTN penalties.

Scenario #8: Actually one of the easiest scenarios at the event. Even so, many shooters winged the non-threats and accumulated an additional five seconds.

Scenario #9: I think diabolical best describes this one. This one was a really simple scenario that messed with the shooters mind. I don’t know how many people blazed through this only to discover that they shot it improperly.

Scenario #10: Again here was a scenario that required some thought. And if you tried to rush through, you were rewarded with at least three seconds for your effort.

The major competitions are over for this year. It is time to return to our home clubs and work on some of our shooting skills. I see that Gary Burris is Match Director for the Texas Regional match on March 29, 2003. I wonder what he will throw at us at that match?

How many of you could survive one week, seven days, if you had no electrical power and no running water? How about a month? What would you do?

The first thing to do is to take an inventory of what you have on hand. Then decide what you will need to survive. This is not as simple as it first appears. Consider the following:

• Electrical appliances will not work
• Food will spoil quickly
• Potable water will not be available (no pumps)
• Bathrooms will not work, no water
• Heating systems will not work, no power
• Cars will run out of gas, no power to run gas pumps.
• Traffic will be a mess with stranded vehicles and no electrical signal lights
• Emergency services will be overloaded
• Phone systems will be jammed if functional
• Grocery stores will be closed
• No medical supplies from the pharmacy

And that is just the minimum that you will have to deal with. Would you be able to help friends and neighbors who are not prepared for something like this? What about the crime spree that is sure to follow a catastrophic event? Are you prepared to defend your home and family? Do you have bullets? Are you having flash backs to the Y2K gloom and doom predictions?

So now we have an idea of what we are up against. Let’s make some plans to resolve those issues that we can. Your first concern will be your family. Consider the special needs they will have.

Electrical problem:

• The use of auxiliary generators is limited. You would need plenty of fuel to power the generator. Use generators to power things like the refrigerator to aid in keeping your food supply safe. This might last a few days if you use it sparingly.
• Use candles or lanterns only when necessary
• Be sure that you have plenty of matches to start cooking fires or light candles.

Food:

• Consume mostly perishable foods at first because they won’t last long anyway.
• If you have special dietary needs, you should have a stockpile on hand. This includes things like baby food and special diet foods. Baby food can be made by hand out of adult foods but it will take some work.
• Limit adult meals to one or possible two meals a day. And eat only enough to maintain energy.
• The number of persons living in the household will dictate the amount of food required.

Water:

• Water will be one of your highest priorities.
• Boil all water used for drinking and food preparation.
• Some sources of water include, toilet tank, collected rainwater, cisterns, rivers and ponds.

Sanitary Needs:

• If you have a ready supply of water, it can be used for sanitary needs in the bathroom. Simply fill the toilet tank and flush.
• Dig holes in the back yard for use as a temporary outhouse. Cover up the hole every couple of days and dig a new one.

Cooking:

• A camp stove is useful until the fuel is used up. Outdoor grills can be made to work using wood gathered from trees.
• If food does not need to be cooked, then don’t. Eat it cold and reserve your supply of cooking fuel to boil water.
• Do all your cooking outdoors if you don’t have a fireplace. This will keep you from generating a bad atmosphere within your home. Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion and very deadly in low concentrations.

Heating:

• If you have a fireplace, put it to use. Use this for cooking and boiling water thereby taking advantage of the heat generated to warm your home.
• Make gathering firewood a family outing. Just be sure you don’t chop down your neighbors cherry tree.
• No fireplace, then move everyone into a central area of your home and keep each other warm under all the blankets you can find.
• Put on multiple layers of clothes to reduce the need for heat.
• Keep an eye on infants and older folks. They may require some special attention.

Special Medical:

• If you have a family member that requires special medical attention, breathing assistance, dialysis, etc., you need to transport them as soon as possible to a medical facility.
• Do not attempt to render advanced medical aid to individuals.
• Avoid un-necessary trips for medical help unless life threatening.

Communications:

• If your phone works, great. Use it only in the case of emergency.
• Contact family and friends early in the event to see if they can render aid or if they need aid.
• Network with your close neighbors. Form an alliance to carpool for food or medical supplies. This will stretch your fuel supply.
• Share resources with neighbors.
• Find a source for news and keep everyone in your neighborhood alliance informed about events and efforts to restore services.

Outside Help:

• Organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army will be trying to get aid to you. Don’t be too proud to accept their offering. This is not a time to play the macho man game.

Security:

• The longer the event lingers, the more likely you are to need to protect your resources.
• Keep in mind that your alliance with the neighbors is a resource so you will need to be prepared to protect them as well.
• Form a neighborhood watch. Not the kind that is common in our neighborhoods now. What I’m talking about is an armed security patrol around the clock.
• Form your own secure area. Your home is your castle. Your life and the lives of family members may depend on your ability to protect your home and resources.

Do you have bullets?