Zero to Hero 2013 - Chronicles

[MikeBjerum]

Great minds and all that....Pretty much word for word what I told him at lunch.

Michael gives out some great prizes!

+1

[BAC]

Great minds and all that....Pretty much word for word what I told him at lunch.

Michael gives out some great prizes!

So when does the Safari contest start?

[alfsauve]

This is more of a photo essay than an after action report.  Pictorially step you through some of it.

When Kevin and I were on-camera it was hard to take pictures, so you won't see any "action" pictures of us shooting.  You'll have to wait for the show.

As you know I dropped the wife off in Tucson to be with her family and then drove up to Prescott, stopping for a few hours to have a pleasurable lunch with KMitch and to visit Cabela's.  The handsome one on the right is KMitch.



Then on to Prescott.  Quaint place.  Full of all sorts of firearms industry folks.  Think Ruger, JGSales, Davidsons and many others.



Oh and there some good places to eat and have a libation or two.




Monday we were off to meet Gabe and the nice folks at Suarez Group International.



And here we are.  l-r  Kevin, Gabe and myself.



Here's some photos of the crew and the gear they were using.











Then here's some of the gear we got to use.  Along with the 3 THOUSAND rounds of ammo.  Unfortunately we didn't get to use it all up.    I so wanted my trigger finger to go numb.  Alas, video shooting took priority.




Here's a closer look at some of the modified Glock's from Suarez.



Finally, my Glock, my ammo.




So here's my first "baseline" target.  Shot at several different aim points.  Probably in the show you'll get to see this target dissected.



Then here's the same exercise conducted at the end of day two.  Pretty much one single aim point.



And here's the crew setting up a long range steel target with some Go-Pro's.  (No we didn't hit the Go-Pros)



And again, the whole motley cast.




What does Michael do all day?   Well at the end of the day he records a few "intros".




But mainly during the day he just operates the complicated piece of equipment called the Clap Board (or slate).  As you can see DRTV wastes no expense on the latest and fanciest model.





A few uh-oh's of course happened.  Like the time John yelled action and I went to shoot but hadn't loaded the gun  (I was taking a sight picture, that's all.)   And then there was when John backed the SUV into an overhanging rock.  Shattered the rear window.




On Wednesday morning I had been staring at the art work in my hotel room.  Seems like every room had the same picture.  But I noticed something about it that the crew, who has stayed here a lot had never noticed.



(There's a gun case in the luggage rack.)



One the way home I swung through the east side of Phoenix and went to the highly vaunted Scottsdale Gun Club.  Very pretty, very clean and lots of tactical gear.  Worth a stop. 



BONUS:  Right next door.





Finally, I know many are wondering where the requisite toe shot is and whether I took the tactical Topsiders. 

[tombogan03884]

Great pic's Alf.
Looks like a good time was had by all.

[JC5123]

Way to go Alf! Going down there last year was definitely one of the coolest things I have gotten to do. Sounds like your experience was every bit as good as mine.

[Sponsor]

[PegLeg45]

Thanks for sharing, Alf!!

[alfsauve]

A Second Day report and a summation.

The second day we worked on more movement.  Movement to keep us from getting shot and on shooting back.   While it might not get me the best scores in IDPA, I'm going to apply this practice at matches where applicable.    Then we backed up and tried shooting at distance.  50 and 70 yds.    I thought I would do better but then again I had only done this with single shot T/C and with a long barreled revolvers.  Not as good as I had hoped with the Glock.  Gabe worked with us on trigger and grip as well as thinking about creative positions.  Leaning against a wall while seated and even the IHMSA Creedmore position. 

Finally we went back and fired some of the basic skills test from day 1.  This included working with the red-dot and co-witness iron sights.  While I may not put it at the top of my priority list, these are real workable.   My last grouping, the top of a USPSA target, I cut off and saved as a souvenir.  I should have had everybody sign it.  Duh.





In summary it was a great time.  I don't express it outwardly, as in <clap> <clap> "goody, goody", so Michael had to ask me several times.  I gained some valuable instruction, got 15 seconds of fame, and met some very nice people.  I can't begin to tell you what a gentleman Michael is. Yes, he's the star and "owner" of DRTV, but I notice little things that show me he's not full of himself.  Like the first morning when we were through with breakfast, he jumped up and bused the table.  He is a class act.  Just in casual conversation you realize he's been a mover and shaker behind the scenes in the shooting world for many things he doesn't publicize or advertise.   He's very honest.  When he doesn't know something he tells you.   I stumped him with one behind-the-scenes question which he readily admitted to not knowing.

Gabe is also a first rate gentleman.    His program is based on experience, and testing and trials.  They are not just theories.   We only scratched the surface of his self-defense/tactical knowledge.  I highly recommend Suarez Group and their instructors.

Red-dot for self-defense:   I think I've posted elsewhere what I thought.  I'm very tempted to put together a rig with the Doctor sight.   The co-witness is the key.   S&W makes an M&P all ready to accept these sights.  Suarez can provide Glock slides with the sights.  Others will follow.  If IDPA or USPSA (production) allowed them it would be a no-brainer.  Maybe they'll create a SSP/Production red-dot division.

My own performance:  As Gabe said, I need a lot of work in tactical handling of the semi-auto.  Since I only shoot the Glock in GSSF matches, where tactical handling is not needed, so that is true.  I need more work on handling.  I will start practicing at my next range session.   While I'll probably stick with SSR in IDPA, I may try to get back to Production in USPSA.

I'd had never really considered getting tactical training, thinking I wasn't good enough.  Let me encourage everyone to take a class.  Whether it, Suarez, Gunsite, or any of the other quality training groups.  They'll work with you at whatever level you are.


Great time. Thanks DRTV.  Thanks Suarez Group.

[ellis4538]

Alf, thanks for the report.  Just one question...what do you mean by "Tactical handling"?  Think I know but ......

Richard

PS:  I don't think you entered anything "special" I think MB likes you cause you are named after "The Wonder Beagle!"  LOL

[alfsauve]

Just one question...what do you mean by "Tactical handling"?  Think I know but ......

Reloading.  Reloading on the clock, mainly.   Dropping my magazine twice didn't help my image.

PS:  I don't think you entered anything "special" I think MB likes you cause you are named after "The Wonder Beagle!"  LOL

Yeah, I think that had something to with it.  We talked about it.  I said I felt like Indiana Jones.  Named after the dog.

[kmitch200]

Nice write up Alf, thanks for the report. (and the kind words) 
Had I known exactly when that gal was going to snap the picture, I would have sucked my gut in more.

If any of you guys get down GA way and can arrange meeting with Alf, I highly recommend it.  He's a solid, normal guy.