I was almost too excited to get to the range in the mountains of New Mexico to shoot the polymer P-10 CZ's. I've spent the last two months with the MTR and the AR-15, even got some shorter bipods and new rear squeeze bags to get a better position at the local range. So I went out early Friday morning for a warm up session in preparation for a 200 yard session on Sunday or Monday, with the P-10S and P-10F pistols.
It was calm and cool initially, so I had expectations of predominantly 6" groups with both pistols at 100 yards. I set up the video gear and limited myself to one box of Atlanta Arms 115 JHP ammo for the day.
I expected some holdover adjustments for a cool day at 6000 feet above sea level compared to a warm day at 800 feet above sea level, but, after 10 rounds in the P-10S, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't group and the hits were way higher than I expected. I adjusted the sight, sprayed 5 more rounds, and put the P-10S up in favor of the P-10F.
Same thing--all high, with a lot of vertical spread and averaged rather large groups. I finished off the 35 rounds through the P-10F, then loaded up and went home, with only 2 good groups out of 10 to show for what should have been a perfect day for good results.
When I got home, I started studying the video, after syncing up the target cam to the shooter camera and to the audio. It finally hit me that I had made one change without considering the possible negative impact it could have on the pistols. Take a look at this 5 minute condensed video to see what I learned.
Thriller killer-- don't change your wrist rest setup and expect everything to stay the same as with the old setup. If the recoil control changes due to grip strength or rest hardness, the bullet holes will shift. If the rest hardness varies from shot to shot, the holes will string vertically.
Consistency, after one discovers what works well, is key to long range shooting, whether it is a rifle or a pistol. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Joe