Video by Alex Hommes - Operations Manager for the Silverado Shooting Academy We’re always learning and looking for new sources of knowledge about both our gear and our techniques for all facets of Hiking, Camping and Shooting. Recently we came across a great video by Alex Hommes, the Operations Manager for the Silverado Shooting Academy (www.SilveradoShootingAcademy.com) in Orange County California about “The Secret to Mastering the Handgun”. In the 18:57 minute video Alex covers the essential facts about shooting a handgun, and what you need to do to consistently hit what you are aiming at. The core of Alex’s video is that mechanical technique is 10% of the shooting process and that mental discipline is the other 90%. The problem that most people have with the mental part is due to the fact that we all have a natural aversion to holding onto things that explode. This aversion causes many people to lose their sight picture at the exact moment that they reach the trigger breakpoint – causing them to pull their aim off target. Alex calls this “reactive interference”. This point of view really resonated with us – so we thought that we would share Alex’s video and some of the key points that he makes. The video covers the following topics: 1) What is Handgun Mastery? 2) Why Handgun Shooting is Difficult 2a) Freeze the sight picture 2b) Squeeze the trigger without disrupting the sight picture 2c) Realign the sights on the target 2d) Reset the trigger 3) Neurophysiology 101 4) The "First Shot" Phenomenon 5) Classical Conditioning or "Reactive Interference" 6) The Paradox of the Handgun 7) Urban Legends of Handgun Shooting 8) The Problem with Conventional Training 9) The Zen of the Handgun 10) The Silverado Method 11) The Alternative Method: Habituation Here are some of the key points from Alex’s video that match our beliefs on what you need to do to enhance your handgun shooting abilities and increase you shooting accuracy. “The handgun is the most difficult of all firearms to shoot effectively.” “Don't rely on ‘spray and pray’.“ “Mastering the handgun is about controlling shot placement to the limit of your physical ability.” “Shot placement is determined by one thing, and only one thing - the direction of the muzzle at the instant the bullet clears it. Your ability to control the shot depends on how well you can stabilize the gun while pulling the trigger.” “We all have a natural aversion to holding on to things that explode. The lower animal part of our brain doesn't like concussion and tries to move us away from the gun at the same time our higher thinking brain is trying to carry out a new skill. This high brain - low brain conflict is why handguns are difficult to master.” “A flinch will never mess up a shot because it is a reflex that happens after a loud sound. By the time the sound wave reaches you the bullet is already two feet out of the barrel. Nothing you do at that point will affect the shot.” “After the first shot we will associate the trigger brake pressure applied by our trigger finger with the concussion of the gun. When we fire the gun again our anxiety level will increase as we increase pressure on the trigger. We will reflexively brace for the shot. Our reactive animal brain will have us take defensive action against the expected explosion right at the trigger breakpoint. These reactions interfere with the skill of handgun shooting. We call this ‘reactive interference’.” “Reactive interference has nothing to do with good technique. It's the effect of the animal getting into the shooting process. If you can't control the animal your skill won't matter. You won't be able to apply that skill.” “Conventional handgun training focuses on shooting as a mechanical technique and not a mental discipline. It applies technique to the problem of reactive interference leading to solutions that don't work very well.” “….……..illusion that bad trigger technique is the major cause of handgun inaccuracy. In reality bad trigger pull will only produce minor variations in shot placement.” “No technique is going to solve the problem of reactive interference.” “Mastery of the handgun means eliminating reactive interference; getting the animal out of the shooting process. We can't eliminate our reflexes, but we can suppress them. All of the muscle movements involved with reactive interference are subject to voluntary control.” “It's important that the closer you get to the trigger break the slower you increase the trigger pressure so that you can stop the trigger pull at the instant you become aware of bracing for the shot.” “Once you can bring the trigger all the way back without bracing for the shot it's just a matter of being consistent while repeating this until you can do it faster.." Like most of you we’ve watched way too many online videos. But we really liked this one. So, if you’re interested in improving your handgun shooting abilities, we highly recommend watching the Silverado Shooting Academy’s video on “The Secret to Mastering the Handgun”.
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Glacier Point vs Horsetail Fall This week you might have seen news about the "Firefall" at Yosemite National Park. Technically this is the natural phenomena caused by the light hitting Horsetail Fall at just the right angle - not the manmade "Firefall" that was conducted at Glacier Point from 1872 until 1968 when people pushed glowing embers over the edge in a steady, controlled manner, resulting in a prolonged glittering cascade. After the activities at Glacier Point were stopped in 1968 there were no Firefalls seen in Yosemite until February of 1973 when Galen Rowell took a photograph of sun light hitting Horsetail Fall in just the right manner that it caused what appeared to be a natural Firefall. It took a while for the Horsetail Fall Firefall to gain notoriety – but once the internet started publishing the stunning photos - people from all over the world started traveling to Yosemite to see the sight. But, as we all know, Nature can be fickle, so the Horsetail Fall sight doesn’t always appear; the conditions have to be just right. There has to be enough snowpack for Horsetail Fall to be flowing and the daytime temperatures have to be warm enough to melt the snowpack. If the water is actually flowing over Horsetail Fall then the western sky has to be clear at sunset so that the sun’s rays hit the water as it flows over the falls. Even with perfect conditions the Firefall is only visible for approximately 10 minutes.
Whatever it is - it's stunning. If you want to read more about both Glacier Point and Horsetail Fall here's a website by James Kaiser with a great write-up on both. https://yosemitefirefall.com/yosemite-firefall-glacier-point/ https://yosemitefirefall.com/yosemite-firefall-horsetail-fall/ Inputs from the Field Recently one of our readers, Michael Bourke, the Founder of SciCamps.org, dropped us a note with links to several articles that he's found useful in his outback adventures with his son and family. In Michael’s own words: “I’ve always been a fan of being outside because I’ve always been a science guy, but since my son has been old enough to go camping, I’ve really taken advantage of exploring the great outdoors. Being in nature, and especially camping, has been a great way to spark my child’s interest in natural sciences, not to mention it’s just plain fun and a great way to spend time with my favorite kid. Regardless of the type of camper you choose to be, one thing is true for all, camping is a moment to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and a time to appreciate nature and create lasting memories.” Since the main purpose of our website is to spread knowledge about Hiking, Camping and Shooting, we thought that we would pass the links to these interesting articles from Michael along to all of you. Camping Gear and Apps Camping Gear Checklist - http://www.albertawow.com/camping-check-list.htm Trekking: Stay connected with our favorite outdoor apps - https://www.themanual.com/outdoors/best-outdoor-hiking-and-camping-apps/ Camping with Kids 25 Camping Hacks to Teach Your Kids - https://www.wideopenspaces.com/25-camping-hacks-teach-kids/ Backyard Camping for Kids with Disabilities - https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/backyard-camping-for-kids-with-disabilities/ 20 Fun Camping Games for Kids - https://www.personalcreations.com/blog/camping-games-for-kids Camping with Dogs Camping with Dogs: An in Depth Guide to Doing It Right - https://coolofthewild.com/camping-with-dogs/ Winter Camping 13 Insider Tips for The Perfect Winter Camping Experience - https://www.marmot.com/destination-guides/MHyqku4t623iKeDFQbUgn31L.html On his website Michael has a "growing list of sortable science camps across the United States”. So, if you have a minute, and are interested in camps that have a scientific slant, you might want to check out the SciCamps website that’s in the early stages of currently being built out: http://scicamps.org/
If any of you have any interesting articles, or comments, for us – please send them along. We’re always happy to hear from our readers from around the world! Amazing Artistic Maps of the World’s Rivers and Forests Like most of you we love nature and the breathtaking views that we routinely see outdoors. So much so that we like to bring those views indoors with paintings and photographs. Always on the lookout for great nature images, we recently ran across the work of Hungarian cartographer Robert Szucs who has made breathtaking maps showing the world’s rivers and forests by artistically colorizing the data from Geographic Information Systems. Robert's river maps are detailed watershed maps (grouped together by color) showing the flow of all the tributary streams into main rivers, and these rivers flowing out to the sea. Note how large the Mississippi River basin is in the map of the United States. Robert's forest maps are stunning two color (green and black) relief maps highlighting the density of the forests in the specific geographic region. If you want some stunning art, you should really checkout Robert Szucs' Grasshopper Geography website where you can purchase his works as paper prints, wall art, desk art or other nicknacks to “decorate your home or office with some unique new maps”: https://www.grasshoppergeography.com/ Unimi Professional Sharpening Water Stones (600/1,000 Grit and 2,000/6,000 Grit) Keeping your knives and other blades sharp is critical since a sharp blade really reduces the effort you need to expend to cut something. In our experience, to really sharpen your blades correctly you need three sharpening stones - one to rough-grind, one to sharpen and one to hone. So, although we already have a file for when we’ve really nicked up our machete, hatchet or axe blades, a dedicated sharpening stone (325/750 grit) for normal sharpening, and a small sharpening stone (120/400 grit) for on the spot touchups, and backup in the outback, we decided to add some finer (e.g. higher grit number) sharpening stones to our gear – especially for our knives. To that end, for medium to fine sharpening and honing we purchased two different dual-sided Unimi Professional sharpening water stones; one with 600/1,000 grit and the other with 2,000/6,000 grit – both for use before we head out on any adventure. You can find the details about the Unimi Professional Sharpening Water Stones on the Camping/Tools page.
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