It is once again time for my annual retrospective. In the past, I’ve followed up the retrospective post with a short goal setting and planning post. This year I’m going to combine the two into a single post simply because I think it makes sense to do so.

With that said, let’s take a look at what’s taken place over the blog’s sixth year and what’s on the horizon for 2025.

Hunting

I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be going hunting in 2024 and my “no deer meet in the freezer” dry spell would continue. Part of that certainty came from not making any plans to hunt this year as my focus and resources were elsewhere. However, thanks to a good friend, that dry spell was broken and I harvested my first deer in almost four years. That was a real treat!

While I didn’t really spend much time hunting, I did publish several related posts (even though a good number apply to competition and self defense as well):

• Understanding Handgun Ammunition Selection for Different Activities
• Optimizing Firearm Acquisition: A Thought Experiment
• Loadout – Range Med Kits: A Lone Star Medics Virtual Course
• The Importance of Performance Shooting Classes
• Breaking My Drought: A Deer Hunting Retrospective

Other than potentially hunting with my good friend that helped me break my dry spell this year, I don’t have any additional plans to hunt in 2025. I don’t expect this to change either. The barrier of entry, financially speaking, is simply too high for me at this time and overcoming it would force me to reduce participation in competition and self defense far more than I’m willing to do so. So that’s that.

Competition

Fifty matches. That’s how many matches I shot in 2024. That’s roughly a 25% increase over 2023 which seems contradictory to the participation reduction I had planned for this year given the reduced budget I was working with. However, the participation was possible with the reduced budget because I didn’t participate in any major matches which would have been accompanied by higher match fees and travel expenses. That’s not entirely true, I did shoot one level 2 match, but it was local and, as such, did not have any major travel expenses associated with it.

Participation took form in mostly USPSA matches. Hit Factor and IDPA matches were also fairly common. And then there were a handful of Steel Challenge matches that I attended. Most of the participation was done with the Staccato P in the Limited Optics (LO) division which led to several posts about that pistol as it hit round count milestones. The Staccato C2 took the stage at IDPA matches and a handful of others when the squad mates and I decided to battle it out with the everyday carry (EDC) gear.

Furthermore, this year was the year that I hit B-class in USPSA and Steel Challenge which was a goal for 2023 that I fell short on. That accomplishment was done in LO and Carry Optics (CO) divisions of USPSA. In Steel Challenge, that was accomplished in the CO and Rimfire Pistol Open (RFPO).

It’s worth mentioning that a lot of competition related posts were instructional in nature, as planned, covering a number of different live and dry fire drills. Like most of the posts mentioned in the prior section, the skill development posts apply to all three primary contexts of this blog (hunting, competition, and self defense).

Here are the competition related posts that were published this year (that haven’t been listed yet):

• Automaticity Isn’t Always Rainbows and Sunshine
• Dry Fire Part 1: Getting Started
• Staccato P and Trijicon SRO 2000 Round Update
• Reducing My Manuals of Arms
• CZ Shadow 2 Compact 500 Rounds Later
• The Jerry Miculek Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 929
• Dry Fire Part 2: The Draw
• Dry Fire Part 3: Reloads
• Unintentional Discharge Incident: Lessons for Firearm Safety and Emergency Response
• Dry Fire Part 4: It’s Time to Get a Shot Timer
• How to Prepare for Your First Major Match: Essential Tips
• Dry Fire Part 5: Controlled Pairs
• Dry Fire Part 6: Gabe White’s Technical Skills Tests
• How Good Am I? Is That Good Enough?
• Magazine Management and You
• Dry Fire Part 7: Four Aces
• Ace Virtual Shooting
• 10K Trigger Presses: My Ace Virtual Shooting Experience
• 9mm vs 45 (or Any Other Larger Caliber) Debate Revisited
• Why Shoot Single Stack? Lessons from USPSA’s Vintage Division

I almost forgot to mention that I also dabbled in the USPSA’s Single Stack (SS) division. Running a skinny, low-capacity gun without an optic was a really interesting and fun experience. Lots of learning happened and a C classification was earned. I might dabble in it again, but if I do it will be with 9mm rather than 45.

For 2025, I’m giving the Staccato P a break and getting back on the CZ Shadow 2. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the Staccato. It’s just that I missed the CZ. I’ve also set a goal to earn A-class in CO which I think is doable assuming I can get myself in better physical shape. Inertia is simply not a competitive characteristic.

I also plan to actively seek out and participate in major USPSA matches next year. More specifically, I’d like to attend my first Nationals match.

Self Defense

In years past, I lumped my training into the self defense part of the retrospective. That’s mostly because I associated firearms training with self defense and most of the classes I attended were focused on either shooting mechanics or self defense applications. This is still mostly the case with the exception of some courses attended being focused on instructor development or medical. As such, I’m going to keep training and self defense lumped together in the self defense section.

At the end of 2023, I had 72 hours of training booked in addition to TacCon 24. That turned into 99 hours plus TacCon this year. Here are the corresponding after action reports:

• Two Pillars Training Cognitive Pistol with Tactical Anatomy
• Ben Stoeger’s Practical Shooting Skills & Drills
• Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2024
• Rangemaster Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Development Course
• KR Training Top 10 Drills Again
• KR Training Top 10 Drills Level 2
• KR Training Advanced Handgun Again
• Gabe White’s Pistol Shooting Solutions Yet Again
• Loadout – Range Med Kits: A Lone Star Medics Virtual Course

Most of the remaining self defense related posts that were published this year had a preparedness tone. In my opinion, this was only natural given the contentious election that took place last month. There were some other posts as well including some reviews of the Staccato C2. Here they are:

• The Reality of the First Handgun
• Tinkering with the Defensive Pistol
• Staccato C2 and Holosun 507COMP 1000 Rounds Later
• Earning the Rangemaster Pistol Master Award: Tests and Difficulty
• Is .22 LR Viable for Self Defense? Exploring the Controversy
• Rangemaster Firearms Instructor Qualification Course of Fire
• Rangemaster Advanced Firearms Instructor Qualification Course of Fire
• Rangemaster Master Firearms Instructor Qualification Course of Fire
• Ammunition Shortage Alert: Strategies for Effective Preparedness
• Gearing Up for Environments Where Permissiveness is Unknown
• Always. Be. Carrying.
• Is It Too Late To Start Preparing?
• Building a Bug Out or Get Home Bag
• Staccato C2 and Holosun 507COMP 2000 Round Update
• KR Training’s Three Seconds or Less Drill

As it stands, I am presently booked for TacCon 25 and for a two day class with Matthew Little, also known as GreyBeard Actual. There is a good chance I will finally be able to attend a two-day class with John Holschen assuming I can grab a seat when the registration opens for the class that KR Training will be hosting in September. Beyond that, I’m keeping my eyes open for an opportunity to train with Greg Ellifritz again. More specifically, I’m hoping to catch one of the instructor development sessions he is currently developing to help keep passing on his teachings given those opportunities will be limited according to his most recent cancer update.

The Blog In General

The growth the blog saw in 2024 is nothing short of amazing to me. The fact that it, once again, almost doubled its readership leads me to think that I must be doing something right. However, that growth couldn’t have happened without you, the readers. The continued support from sponsors also played a large part in that.

By and large, Primary Arms continues to be the blogs number one sponsor. This year they not only supplied a couple of optics for me to review, but they also contributed their time as guest authors and published the following solid information packed posts:

• What are the Best Aftermarket GLOCK Upgrades for Competition
• What are the Best Aftermarket GLOCK Upgrades for Concealed Carry
• Why Every Handgun Owner Should Own a Pistol Caliber Carbine
• Popular Pistol Caliber Carbine Competition Upgrades

While not all the reviews this year were sponsored, Primary Arms wasn’t the only supplier. Here is a list of the reviews published this year along with their corresponding sponsor where applicable:

• Primary Arms GLx RS-15 Mini Reflex Sight courtesy of Primary Arms
• Staccato C2
• Vandal Custom Leather Holsters courtesy of Vandal Custom Leather
• Dan Wesson Pointman 45
• AMG Lab Sidekick: A Shot Timer for Dry Fire Practice courtesy of AMG Lab
• Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph
• Glock 44: A Functional and Reliable Rimfire Pistol with Unique Features
• Primary Arms SLx 1-6x24mm SFP Gen IV Rifle Scope courtesy of Primary Arms
• Primary Arms ACSS® NOVA™ Reticle courtesy of Primary Arms
• Dan Wesson Pointman 45 500 Rounds Later
• Wool Socks from The Buffalo Wool Co. courtesy of The Buffalo Wool Co.
• Dan Wesson Pointman 45 After 1000 Rounds

Another new sponsor for this year is Ammo To Go who has supplied a good bit of ammo to run through a Bear Creek Arsenal supplied AR-15. While I had planned on finishing a post or two from those sponsored items by now, time got away from me. With a little luck those overdue posts will be published in short order over the next week or two.

Training Services

I haven’t done a great job in marketing the firearms training services that I am now offering. That’s by design as I’m still on staff as an assistant instructor at KR Training and I’m plenty busy with the day job, blogging, and competing. I don’t expect I will change the marketing strategy, or lack thereof, in 2025. However, I figured I’d mention that those services are available while also taking a moment to thank those students who placed their trust in me to help them with their skill development this year.

Closing Thoughts

Even though 2024 had its challenges, it was a good year for the blog and for me. Thank you for being a part of it. I truly am grateful and look forward to what 2025 will bring.

Merry Christmas to you and yours! And I wish y’all a happy and prosperous New Year!