Better Coaching Through Technology

This weekend, I sat through the History Channel’s marathon of Top Shots, the show that pitted a mixture of shooters in a variety of marksmanship competitions against each other for a $100,000 top prize. At first, I started watching because a couple of shooters Caleb Giddings (Gun Nuts Media) and J.J. Racaza (a top competition shooter and instructor) are acquaintances. Even before Caleb was eliminated, however, I was hooked.

The show featured competition with everything from modern rifles to flintlocks, slingshots and knives-in scenarios that mimicked everything from military situations to carnival shooting galleries.

When I was watching, two thoughts went through my mind. First, it was an excellent recruiting tool for shooting as the shows were absolutely beautiful in production values and viewer appeal. Second, I should have pursued the invite to compete. I certainly wouldn’t have won, too-many competitions where old legs carrying too-much load would have failed, but the competitions they used would have been a blast.

From watching yesterday, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to start working on putting together a coalition of companies and competitors and, well, taking shooting on the road in a fun and engaging format. Since I’ve always been one to jump in without over-analyzing a possibility, all I’ll say at this point is: watch this space, and we’ll keep you posted.

It is no secret that we’re a nation of gadget lovers. In an effort to get better at whatever revs our recreational motors, we’ll try things that might look, well, silly to outsiders.

When you get a gadget that works and manages not to scream “willing to try anything” it’s hard not to spread the word. Recently, I’ve come across some gear that has actually helped me enjoy -and correct some errors in – my shooting.

The first has absolutely nothing to do with the shooting, per se, but it certainly has a lot to do with functioning firearms. Protecting optics is something I do as second nature, but it seems I’m not so particular when it comes to the firearms they’re normally residing atop. So, I’m susceptible to failing to adequately protect my handguns and long guns when I’m putting them into the safe for any length of time.

When I’m traveling by private conveyance, I use Envelop cases to protect my firearms from moisture. They only offer soft-sider protection for my firearms, but that’s plenty when you’re carefully placing them in your vehicle. They are derived from the same protective casing our military uses for heavy weapons in hostile environments ranging from the desert to the oceans. Not inexpensive; but neither are the guns I’m protecting.

At home, however, I have been lacking that sort of protection inside my safe. Sure, I have dehumidifiers in both my safes, but that doesn’t totally protect them in long-term storage. That’s not because the safes aren’t dry, it’s because I have a bad habit of handling firearms when I’m rummaging through the safe and not wiping them down when I put them back. After all, I think, I barely touched them.

That’s why I was excited when Russell Smith of Zero Corrosion Products (Z CORR) sent me a couple of ZCORR FSP protective bags. They’re made using a combination of “Vapor Phase Corrosion Inhibitor (VpCI) technology and barrier packaging to prevent rust and corrosion on guns – or ammunition. Without going into science I don’t understand, the bags were developed for the United States Marine Corps for long-term packaging of their M16-A2 rifles.

They’re durable bags that are specifically made for protecting firearms-for up to 20 years, but they’re not- and I stress NOT- designed for transport. I filled up one of my test bags with a pistol, magazines, and 100 rounds of ammo (boxed) and tossed it into my range bag, thinking everything would be protected from the elements.

I was mistaken. The bags aren’t gun rugs; they’re storage bags. And the fact they have industrial-grade velcro tops shouldn’t lead you to believe they’re for transport. I have a bag with a hole rubbed into it as proof.

If, however, you’re looking for a bag that’s suitable for storing your favorite shooter or family heirloom, they will fill the bill. They’re available online (www.zorrproducts.com) at prices ranging from $7.99 for the pistol bag to $14.99 for their tactical weapons bag.

And I’m a self-admitted sucker for sun and shooting glasses. I’ve worn a wide variety of shooting glasses, and discovered that either I’m extremely tough on them or they’re not as durable as advertised. Looking through a drawer yesterday, I pulled out five pairs of glasses. Two pair of expensive polarizers had shattered lenses, both shattered in light duty. The fact one pair shattered while sitting on the dashboard of my vehicle convinced me neither were worth the $95 price quoted by the manufacturer for repairs. Two pair of shooting glasses had broken stems, again broken in less than extreme wear. A fifth pair simply didn’t work. Wrestling the “interchangeable” lenses out was bad enough; getting a replacement pair back in their place simply wasn’t worth the effort. So, they went into the drawer full of equipment I tried-and rejected.

A few days ago, I received a box with two pair of glasses that looked like heavier-than-normal glasses. They have four sets of interchangeable lenses, including clear and polarized brown, amber and black. The first pair was in my favorite color- black. The second in camo, making them good for hunting or other outdoor applications.

But these are not just sunglasses, these use new digital technology to record video and audio onto flash memory. Yep, a tiny 3 megapixel camera in the bridge of the nosepiece records video onto either a 4GB built in memory or Micro SD card. It records audio from mics located in the stems.

Everything’s in the glasses, from the camera and mics to the rechargeable battery and USB-connection to enable you to recharge the battery and/or download the video (736×480 AVI files) to your PC or Mac computer. It comes with interchangeable lenses, carrying case, a charger module/USB cable combination for AC or computer-charging and a cleaning cloth.

After charging them and then fooling around enough to get confident with the start/stop functions (a record light is visible in your peripheral vision when you’re wearing them and push the record button to start/stop), I decided to head out to the shooting range to get a look at my shooting form from a perspective I’ve not been able to get- mine. I have and use- a small high definition video camera I fasten to guns to get either input on form or interesting angles for my television show, but even that small helmet-type camera looks massive by comparison to a pair of 1.4 ounce sunglasses.

At the range, it was stifling, but I was determined to see if either the glasses or I would function in those conditions. The glasses worked fine, I didn’t care much for the heat.

Back in the office, I plugged the glasses into the computer and, bingo, up popped an auxiliary hard drive indicator. Double-clicking, I found a series of AVI files with a quality that, frankly, surprised me. I saw everything from almost the exact viewpoint as when I was shooting. With the camera centered in the glasses, it’s either off-center right or left depending on which hand you use to shoot.

But the shots gave me a perspective I’d been missing- and answered a question about why my double-action handgun shots had a tendency to go left. I watched the video, corrected my grip to give a little more “push” from my off-hand, and headed back to the range. The slightly off shots were directly into the center of the target.

I haven’t flogged the i-Kam Xtremes around enough to have a definitive word on their durability, but they certainly held up to more than 150 rounds of shooting and bouncing around in a range back to/from the range.

If you’re serious about your shooting-or looking for a way to record your hunting adventure without lugging around any extra camera equipment, you might want to check iKam Xtremes out. They’re available online at prices ranging from $159.99 for black/white to $169.99 for the Realtree camo models at http://www.revolutionaryoutdoorproducts.com/Video-Glasses_c2.htm.

And if you’d like too see the short video clip, you can check it out:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQNaoihoAs