Paintball

[Manning]

Agree 100%! I keep going back to a squall, not because of it's performance, but because of it's semi-uniqueness and cool/wow factor. I've had little trouble selling them for what i paid for them (sometimes a little more) when I think I'll try something more modern like a Tiberius or TPX. Then I unload the modern pistol at a loss when I get tired of being just another pistol player at the field. There are custom things you can do to both the tib, and TPX's but because of their popularity now (good thing, don't get me wrong) it's just another pistol. Nothing too special about them.

The squall suffers from many faults that I won't go into here, but I deal with them to carry something hi-end. Chances are, most people at your local field have never seen a Squall and when you show up with that stack of nickle-plated brass they all get curious.

What Rob describes here is something I've been thinking about too. Didn't know you'd been lobbying CCM though! Do we need a petition? I'd buy that for sure.

[Critical]

I keep wondering how well the super-secret valve in the new CCM prototype would translate into a semi-auto pistol. I expect it would do nicely. Then add in their work on making a mag-fed T2...

Hmmm...

I'm in line behind Smith and Manning!

[Manning]

Curious development there Critical. I'm not up on my CCM news.

[Critical]

Just wait until you see what I'm doing to your micro-squall next!

[Manning]

You got me wondering what sorcery you are going to wield against it for sure. I hope that K-framed squall you own is treating you nicely as well.

[agentSmith]

I simply suggested it to them, pointing out that while the T2 attracted a portion of the pump market which is shopping for high end pumps, pistols like the T8 and TPX have proven that they attract a portion of players from all styles and levels of commitment, some looking for an extra toy, others looking for serious tools.

I'm sure the more potential customers that express interest, the more confident they might be. Especially folks they know with a better CCM relationship. While I've always been a big fan of their work, I've never been able to have a CCM as they've never made a pistol.

I've heard nothing about a super-secret valve! In that case I hope they go whole hog!

On other matters I'm almost through Brian Enos' practical shooting: beyond fundamentals.
WOW. It's glorious and painful at the same time. Seeing someone without the idiom of Tai Chi to express themsleves in, is painful as he must struggle for ways to phrase things without the lingo to do so. On the other hand, it may be a great shortcut for those not wanting to study Tai Chi. He gives the basic toolbox to really develop as a shooter. The book's a total home run!
I even like his slogan: Maku Mozo!, which means 'don't be deluded' in Japanese.
I heard that phrased a little differently in a different language: Wakan tanka Nahonye, wacinciye tana sni ye. Any and all errors in spelling and grammar are mine. A Sioux friend of mine from South Dakota in the army used to say it. It translates as 'great spirit, do not let me be surprised'.

Amusingly when I looked on his website the third review of this book was this:

Dear Mr. Enos,
I have just read your practical shooting book and I just had to drop you a line to tell you it's the best book on pistol shooting that I have ever come across. It great to know that someone out there can look beyond the mechanics of technique to the underlying principles. I have read a few other books but yours is the only one that I will re-read and still learn more from. As I am just starting shooting I was applying my previous knowledge of Tai Chi to try to find my best technique and I can see that it has already put me on the right track. Your book has filled in many gaps and answered questions I didn't even know to ask. Not all of the techniques you describe are useful to me as here in England we can only use air pistols (and there's a good chance that the best of those is to be banned shortly, that will leave me with airsoft!) but I'm beginning to understand the essence of shooting, thanks to your book, and I don't think it's too different from martial arts or eastern philosophy.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Peter

Parallel evolution. Books like this, systems like turnipseed, it's awesome to see.

For those who might like Heavy Metal, My stepson introduced me to a Swedish band called Sabaton, all of whose songs are about historical battles. World war 2 mostly except for... The Art Of War. This cd reads a quote from SunTzu, Then they play a song or two to illustrate the quote. AWESOME!

Rob

[skullcandy1993]

Originally Posted by agentSmith

For those who might like Heavy Metal, My stepson introduced me to a Swedish band called Sabaton, all of whose songs are about historical battles. World war 2 mostly except for... The Art Of War. This cd reads a quote from SunTzu, Then they play a song or two to illustrate the quote. AWESOME!

Rob

You mean there are people who don't like heavy metal??????

[Critical]

Originally Posted by skullcandy1993

You mean there are people who don't like heavy metal??????

Typically they like aluminum, but don't worry, they can still be brought back.

[dundadun]

Originally Posted by agentSmith

While I've always been a big fan of their work, I've never been able to have a CCM as they've never made a pistol.

I've heard nothing about a super-secret valve! In that case I hope they go whole hog!

On other matters I'm almost through Brian Enos' practical shooting: beyond fundamentals.

A T2 is supposedly great with regg'ed 12grams, you might one in pistol form

I think the new valve is the one in their new pump gun, have you seen pictures?

That sounds like a good book for a pass around

[agentSmith]

I'm not the greatest fan of heavy metal in general. It has an epicness to the music sometimes that makes the subjects seem petty. That's what I like about sabaton, if you're going to sing about Simo Hayha, the Finnish sniper that had over 700 kills in 100 days, you can bring all the epic you can carry. White Death, from another of their albums, is a pretty catchy song, "you're in the bullet's way, the White Death's prey". Good stuff.

I've had pumps as sidearms often and used them as primaries as well, I was going for a Retro-7, but I just didn't have the money at the time. A CCM pump pistol would be sweet. I need something to play in the monthly pump and pistol games at HS with, I feel bad using my open class rig of 2 TPXs.
For regular play the truth is I'm still in the honeymoon phase with the TPXs and haven't been looking at other girls.

I've read that book a few more times to let it soak in, it will be passed along now that I grok it in it's fullness, fear not!

Some interesting quotes:
"Anytime you introduce more pressure than is needed to just hold the gun, there's the chance that different shooting circumstances may cause you to use inconsistent pressure."

"When you learned to write, you quit thinking about the mechanics of making the letters and moved on to what the letters mean- using them for creative expression. In shooting, you must also quit thinking about the mechanics and move on to using them for creative expression- the desire to hit the targets as quickly as possible."

a quote of a quote:
"Conscious thought is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action-Bruce Lee"

I like the types he seperates shots into and he gives a very well thought out path to practice, but there are some differences with paintball the way we do it.
There's no concern in his method for return fire, there's not the constant movement to factor in, nor would all of it mesh well with our inaccurate paintguns.
A perfect move and precise point of aim that lets you take one shot is less desirable than a worse move that lets you empty a mag at the same target. Maybe we'll have perfect paint someday!
Also I would say that even in my realsteel shooting I no longer use focus the way that he suggests. As my Sifu would say, the focus of 'no focus' is the best choice. I do not focus or center my vision on my pistol or the target as I fire it, even when I only have one pistol out, even when I am using the sights, much less when up and moving. As in tai chi chuan, my eyes generally follow my hands but take in the whole scene. This is what allows for simultaneous shots with each hand. Simultaneous shots with both hands are rarely called for, but the ability to make them temporarily turns you into 2 fighters in one set of footprints.

I would say that sometimes I shoot very much like Brian Enos, though of course not as well, other times I shoot like a straight target shooter and other times I shoot like a john woo character. The ability to smoothly transition between types of shooting as changes appear in the shots called for is a constant goal of mine.
One of the things that rides your shoulder like a pirate's parrot as you play pistol is failure. Because you can't cover your mistakes with a 20bps stream, they will sometimes cost you. Vortex shedding, inconsistent paint, humidity, a twig in the wrong place, any of these can make me look like a chump at any given moment. As long as I made the right decisions and choices I feel good about it, whether I succeed or fail in terms of that particular game. Each game to me is like a hand of cards to someone focused on their whole career as a poker player, a data point. If I consistently make good choices, I'll average pretty well over the long haul.

Rob