In addition to introducing you to the new machine, let's chat a bit about evaluating new equipment. This subject has come up in recent conversations - seems to be a theme.
First, the new "toy"!! Back in late 2006, shortly before the Open Nationals, the range where I practiced was shut down, leaving me without a venue to hone skills for the impending match. I was bummed pretty seriously. A couple of folks came to the rescue - Karl Rehn at KR Training and Bob Londrigan at Brazos Custom Gunworks. Bob and I ended up squadded together at the following Florida Open, and he invited me up again to practice whenever I was able.
Long story short, we eventually had a discussion about equipment, and I lamented that, while I felt I had an accurate, reliable gun to shoot, I felt that in absolute terms, it wasn't as flat as it could be, and that was hindering my ability to excel in long range splits. Most of the time, this is a shooter issue, not a gun issue, sure. The current gun was built for "old" major, though, and using the current power factor is not as efficient as the modern racegun can be in this regard. Bob offered to let me try a few things, and if something worked for me, he offered to sponsor my shooting in the next year. We did find something - more on the evaluation, and how it applies to you, too, after the jump. He did sponsor me ;) And here it is - a Brazos Custom Gunworks Pro Series 5"....
For the full story on how we arrived there, hit the DR Performance Shooting main site!
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8 comments:
good review for a pretty good gun. I agree 100% about finding the TOOL that best does the job rather than how the "thing" looks. I shot a lot of open pistols before I decided on the one I choose. I have to take into consideration the cost as well. It's real easy to justify a VERY expensive pistol when it's given to you, so having shot this pistol, when are you going to buy one at the retail price?
Ken, I'm not sure what you think you're implying, but you're making an awful lot of assumptions. You don't know anything about the details of the agreement I have with Bob - and you obviously understand very little about what a sponsorship truly implies. TANSTAAFL, my friend.
The cost of a new gun - even at retail for a modestly expensive gun (there are guns, made by major manufacturers, that are quite a bit more expensive, for instance) - pales to the rest of the costs of my season, and my season is modest.
Would I pay full retail for this TOOL? You bet. Would I pay more than I have to, for the same thing, just to make you happy?? Hell no.
Very nice gun, Dave. I've always been impressed with Bob's stuff (hence why the wife has one!)....... I think you're gonna have a ball with it!!
-Mike
The one part of this article that stands out most is not the gun (although very nice) it is the point being made about how to choose the right gun for yourself. Too many times we take off saying - I am going to get a gun from XYZ - they make great guns! This article reminds us that we should test as many guns as possible before making a choice and leave out the cool-aid cuz he has one decisions.
Thanks, Kevin - glad someone got the point :)
Beautiful gun Dave. I didn't see any thumb shields. Will that be a problem for you?
Its got a strong side thumb shield (ie, on the left side of the gun for my right thumb). So far, my left thumb doesn't seem to cause any issues. If it does, I'll add one...
A couple of quick points, based on the feedback I've received from this article....
- Avoid paralysis by analysis! You don't literally have to try everything under the sun to know that you've got something that works. The point of the article is - don't assume you already know what you want, based on some list of parts or the hype you see posted on some blog or forum. You won't know what actually does work for you until you try things out. But you do have to make a decision - do your best, and make a decision based on that info, rather than never buy anything because you can't try everything
- Have a method to your madness, and gather a variety of data, rather than just shoot a Bill Drill with each one or something.
- Realize that guns are systems, not just some mishmash of parts. What works in one system may not in another - use the trials to gather info on what features you like, not what parts you think you want. Find a gun that has those features... If you work with a gunsmith, tell him about the features, not the parts. A good smith should be able to put a gun together for you that has the features you want, using the parts that he knows will work well together, and last a long time. (There might be another blog article in that....)
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