It’s time for my annual retrospective.
This is the fifth one and that seems wild to me. It’s not that I didn’t expect to still be blogging five years after the first post. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. However, I think it’s safe to say that there is a good chance I wouldn’t still be doing this were it not for the continued interest of folks like you, the readers. So yeah, I find it wild that y’all are still interested and that the interest continues to grow. I also find it pretty wild that the support from sponsors continues to grow. Seriously, I appreciate all of that. With that said, let’s take a look at what went well and what didn’t.
Hunting
I didn’t make any plans or set any goals for hunting activity this year. As such, not much happened in this category of activity. Part of me was hoping an opportunity would present itself, but it didn’t. It’s not surprising really. The market conditions forced budgets to be tightened. That combined with the fact that cost of participation has continued to increase in my region pretty much made hunting a nonstarter. Granted the budget I did have at my disposal was earmarked for other activities anyway.
Regardless of my lack of hunting activity participation, I did get a chance to review a few packs and a knife this year. I also got to share my thoughts on what I look for in survival knives which is somewhat applicable in hunting contexts.
Here is a short list of this years posts in this category:
- What Does Uncle Zo Look For in a Survival Knife?
- Eberlestock Skycrane II
- Toor Knives Field 3.0
- Eberlestock Team Elk Hunting Pack
Competition
In my opinion, I shot a lot of matches this year which is what I planned to do. As of writing, I participated in 41 matches this year and I will probably shoot one more before the year comes to a conclusion.
A goal I had set for myself was to achieve a B-class classification in both USPSA and Steel Challenge Carry Optics divisions. I did that. I also set out to earn a Master classification in IDPA. That I didn’t do, but two out of three isn’t bad. I’m not surprised by this either as I’ve shifted my focus towards USPSA and away from IDPA simply because I find USPSA to be more challenging, more rewarding, and more fun. That’s not to say I’ve stopped or will stop participating in IDPA. All I’m saying is that my interests have changed.
One thing I did plan on, but I’m very glad it happened was attending my first major match. In fact, I ended up attending four major matches this year. Two USPSA matches, one IDPA match, and one Steel Challenge match. These experiences were very humbling, but also extremely satisfying. It’s one thing to see how you stack up against local competitors you see every weekend on the score sheets. It’s another to see how you stack up against the best of the best from across the country and beyond.
Given my level of participation in competitive shooting sports this year, it’s no surprise that there were a ton of posts published this year in this category. There were several gear reviews, after action reports, practice tips, and related guides that were released. It’s a lengthy list, but here it is anyway:
- Cajunized CZ Shadow 2 Optics-Ready
- Competitive Shooting for Armed Defenders
- A Structured Approach to Maximizing Draw Efficiency and Effectiveness
- GX VICE Holster
- Takeaways from Trying New Divisions
- A Cursory Review Over Four Years of IDPA
- CZ Custom A01-LD
- Cajunized CZ Shadow 2 Optics-Ready and Trijicon SRO 1000 Rounds Later
- Getting Started with Competitive Shooting
- Speed Beez Kydex Classic OWB Revolver Holster
- 2023 Staccato Area 4 Championship
- What’s Uncle Zo’s Camera Setup?
- Cajunized CZ Shadow 2 Optics-Ready and Trijicon SRO 2000 Rounds Later
- Holosun HS510C
- A Dry Fire Session
- Heckler & Koch VP9 Match and Trijicon SRO 2000 Round Update
- Holosun 507COMP
- Holosun 507COMP versus Trijicon SRO
- Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite 1000 Rounds Later
- 2023 USPSA Primary Arms Space City Challenge
- The Come and Take It Texas Shootout
Self Defense
When I set my goals for 2023, I mentioned that I had 40 hours of training booked for this year and that I suspected a high likelihood of attending another course or two to the plan. I did that. I also attended another course or two. And then, I attended another course or two. Or something like that where I ended up logging roughly 120 hours of instruction received. In retrospect, I think I might have overdone it a bit in terms of how many classes I took. However, I learned a lot. I also started offering private in-person and virtual instruction. What I didn’t expect, and I’m awfully proud of, was to become part of the KR Training staff as an assistant instructor. The idea that I’m an instructor now continues to be surreal.
In terms of content, there was a fair bit of it in this category including more gear reviews, practice tips, opinions, and after action reports. Here is the list:
- Rangemaster Advanced Instructor Development Course
- Citizens Safety Academy: How to Be an Effective Assistant Instructor
- Right To Bear Gets a Facelift
- Choosing an Everyday Carry Handheld Flashlight
- The Old West Test
- Do I Need a Weapon Mounted Light on a Defensive Pistol?
- Rangemaster Master Instructor Development Course
- KR Training Handgun Beyond Basics Again
- KR Training Top 10 Drills
- Are You Mentally Prepared To Defend Yourself?
- So You Bought a Handgun for Personal Protection, Now What?
- Is Putting a Red Dot On My Pistol a Good Idea?
- JM Custom Kydex IWB 3 Holster
- Red Balloon Industries Grand Camo OWB Holster
- Getting the Most Out of a Firearms Training Course
- Revolvers for Self Defense
- Fenix PD35 V3.0 Flashlight
- Safariland Speedloader Comp III, Triple Speedloader Holder, and Speed Strips
- Active Response Training Extreme Close Quarters Gun Fighting
- A Guide to Becoming a Rangemaster Certified Instructor
- CoolFire Trainer
- LTT 1301 Tactical Shotgun
- KR Training Defensive Shotgun 1
- CZ Shadow 2 Compact
- Preparing for Violence
- KR Training Force on Force Instructor
- Are Dry Fire Aids Worth It?
- Should You Carry a Defensive Pistol?
- Sailing Past 10K Rounds with the VP9 and the Trijicon RMR
- Outrider Training Group Pistol-Mounted Optics Instructor Course
The Blog In General
Readership and engagement grew significantly this year. Traffic is up 78% over last year and I suspect that number to be just north of 80% before the new year begins. Revenue, unfortunately, is down by about 50%. So much for breaking even this year. I’m not discouraged though and that’s thanks to the growth in interest from readers like you. So, thank you!
The help for sponsors this year is the best that it’s ever been and I’m grateful for that as well. Especially, since their assistance was given no strings attached short of me mentioning their participation and contribution in the reviews. Of course, that is of benefit to them. Nevertheless, it creates win-win-win scenarios. The sponsors benefit towards their marketing goals. I get to spend more time doing things that lead to more blog posts to write. And y’all get more content to read accompanied with honest opinions. Here is a list of the following contributions:
- Primary Arms provided a Holosun 507K X2 with the ACSS Vulcan Dot for review which became my go to suggestion for slimline defensive carry pistols after I gave it a fair shake.
- Primary Arms also provided a SLx MD-25 G2 Micro Red Dot for review which I’ve become very fond of and find myself suggesting it to folks who are looking for a value priced enclosed dot sight for their AR pattern rifles and pistols.
- Bear Creek Arsenal sent over a BC-9 Bufferless PCC which is a clunky little thing that has been nothing but reliable as the only PCC I’ve ran in matches this year when I shot PCC and I’m going to keep using it for that purpose.
- Palmetto State Armory furnished the 5.7 Rock y’all kept asking about and that has turned out to be biggest hit this year with friends and family that have shot it.
- Toor Knives supplied a Field 3.0 after I semi-jokingly replied to one of their posts on twitter about me not being opposed to them sending me a knife to review.
- Target Barn shipped over a generous amount of ammunition to run through the long awaited High-Point Firearms Yeet Cannon which performed disappointingly.
- Last, but not least, LokGrips and NOLA Nobody Designs sponsored me as a competitive shooter which is pretty dang cool.
The deals site was mostly a time and money sink this year. I’ve got some improvements that I’ve been wanting to make this year, but I’m hesitant given it hasn’t gained more traction. I haven’t given up on it yet, but I’m starting to think that the time to cut my losses is approaching if usage continues to remain low.
Closing Thoughts
Bringing this altogether, it’s obvious to me that I need to do something about hunting. That something is a combination of making plans and allocating some budget to it. Otherwise, my level of participation is unlikely to change next year. The challenge with doing something comes from the fact that I’m very much enjoying what I’m doing on the competition and self defense sides of the house where I’m not keen on making changes. I’m going to have to sleep on this before I tweak and finalize my plans for next year which I’ll write about soon.
That said, I think it’s safe to say that it’s been a tough year. However, it’s also been a very good one. The continued growth in readership and sponsorship continues to amaze me. So once again, thank you. Seriously.