Blackwater Shoot House

Yesterday, I received a package in the mail from Para USA that contained a 2009 Calendar (which I'm this close to putting up at work) and a DVD from Blackwater. Lo and behold, it's got the full video of my first shoot house run. That was the most fun I have ever had in my life. I admit, I was surprised as everyone else that I did that well. I don't honestly remember if I used my Crimson Trace laser sights or not. I was more concerned with only shooting 6 shots then reloading, which I managed...

posted @ 11/22/2008 10:05:20 PM | Feedback (6)

I'm famous - The Downrange.TV videos of the Para USA event

To my eyes, I look like a dork, but the videos are online now and man, do they bring back memories. Of course, my favorite video is Lasers in the Shoot House, and you can watch as Todd Jarrett has to restrain me from running into another room and getting my shoot on. You also see my reaction as I'm told I have the fastest time. Who cares what they say about me so long as they spell my name right, right? Oh...damn... Two B's guys, two B's :)

posted @ 10/3/2008 10:05:37 AM | Feedback (7)

The professionalism of Todd Jarrett

Here's a video of Todd Jarrett instructing us in the shoot house, using the Crimson Trace laser grip as a teaching guide This was what made the training so effective. Watch how quickly Todd can observe Sebastian's shooting, literally just watching the laser bounce around, and how he can determine what's going on. You'll also notice that Sebastian's shots are damned good, too.

posted @ 8/31/2008 10:11:55 PM | Feedback (0)

Joe and his magnificent, wonderful eye

Joe Huffman had his fancy schmancy camera with him at the Para USA / Blackwater summer camp. Being a decent SLR, he was able to get some fantastic pictures. Especially this one Now, I'm not going to comment on what a gorgeous set of hands those are (hint - they're mine), but I wanted to highlight (a) that this was a cool shot and (b) the Witness Marks that Todd put on our hands. I used Photoshop to darken them up for by this time I had sweat so much they were hard to see (unedited pic can be...

posted @ 8/31/2008 5:32:30 PM | Feedback (4)

Summing up my entire experience at Blackwater with one picture

(Picture taken by Don at The Armed School Teacher)

posted @ 8/29/2008 9:19:36 AM | Feedback (1)

He's more machine now than man

So, I'm sitting around the other day with Todd Jarrett, something I'm known to do from time to time, and we were just shooting the breeze. Unfortunately, when Todd Jarrett shoots the breeze, he hits it every time, which really upset the kids across the street who were trying to fly their kites. Todd, being the gentleman he is, felt bad and sent each of the kids a fruit basket with a note that said "If your going to miss, you're going to miss low - TJ". What a guy! Anyway, I had popped a few...

posted @ 8/27/2008 8:17:58 AM | Feedback (11)

The Para USA event as seen by a non-invitee

Greg talks about how he views Para USA's outreach to bloggers There is clearly a need to make your company stand out in a field of glitzy advertising. Innovation isn't enough to sell a product, and traditional PR thinking does not include embracing the "New Media". Early adopters of a new medium are the real risk-takers, especially when it can mean the success or failure of a business. However the risk can pay off huge if it succeeds. Many companies are starting to "dip their toes in the...

posted @ 8/26/2008 2:52:06 PM | Feedback (6)

Cool picture

J.R. took this shot of me knocking down some steel What's really cool is how the plate is halfway down, and you can see I'm already level and ready to shoot again. I need to lean in just a bit more, though.

posted @ 8/26/2008 7:31:06 AM | Feedback (1)

Blackwater limos

I shit you not, this is what we rode around in Photo by Joe Huffman There were these vehicles scattered all about. They had the keys in them. Blackwater told us to use them as we needed. They had bullet holes, simunition marks, shattered glass, dents, scratches, and even with all that they ran (and even the radios worked). Here's a few more pics of the vehicles

posted @ 8/25/2008 8:30:23 PM | Feedback (1)

Can I get a witness?

Here's a shot of the witness marks Todd Jarrett put on our hands. That's Kevin's mitts on the left, then mine, then Say Uncle's. Since I had to hold the camera, it's only my right hand. I have no idea where Uncle's hand was, although I can assure you it was nowhere near my buttocks. What you can't see, and probably the most important mark, is the one on Kevin's right thumb that is aligned with the one on his left hand. To do this, Todd had us grip the pistol. He moved the pistol until it was...

posted @ 8/25/2008 7:19:09 PM | Feedback (6)

There's tacticool

And there's tacticool Check out your favorite blogger in action That's Joe Huffman on the left. I'm wearing gloves for two reasons. One, Blackhawk gave 'em to me and I wanted to take them out for a spin. Two, I noticed my grip kept slipping and the gloves helped a ton with that. The stage went as follows. You were to engage the steel plate directly in front of you with 2 hits, then take cover, placing two shots on a mover if it came into play. Then take down the last 6 plates (again, placing 2...

posted @ 8/25/2008 6:59:53 PM | Feedback (0)

About the gun

Ok, I'm finally home and have some time to actually do some blogging. I was having a hell of a time getting the pictures up, and honestly this trip was worthless without pictures (click on 'em to embigginate) First off, I'd like to talk about the Para USA pistol we got to use. The one I chose was the single stack, .45 ACP with the LDA - Light Double Action trigger. The LDA is about a 3.5 pound trigger that operates almost like my Glock 29's trigger. While the operation was similar, that's...

posted @ 8/25/2008 5:26:04 PM | Feedback (7)

A bad day at the range

Is better than a great day at work. And I proved that today. I learned a valuable lesson today. I suck. I suck bad. I need to really practice a lot more. In fact, I'd venture to say I was near the worst shooter here. It turns out, shooting at static targets using the weaver stance at the indoor range doesn't translate well into the kinds of shooting I did today. I didn't do too bad when I moved and shot, in fact I did well in that phase, but I couldn't hit the Earth shooting at 25 yards. Todd...

posted @ 8/23/2008 9:26:31 PM | Feedback (8)

He may cry for his mommy

But that little son of a gun can shoot. Todd Jarrett kept asking him when he could take classes from him.

posted @ 8/23/2008 7:54:49 PM | Feedback (0)

I'm here

Well, at least to Norfolk. Ahab and I, of course, said hello and went right to our laptops. I totally failed to scope out Virginia's gun laws. Hopefully I don't end up in a cell somewhere.

posted @ 8/21/2008 5:14:36 PM | Feedback (5)

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