The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, the countdown really freaks freaks me out every single time. it's the Hit Factor Podcast, and you are not welcome here as a listener. Tune out. Unsubscribe from the podcast. ⁓ Yeah, it's Hit Fa you save yourself, it's Hit Factor Podcast. And and ⁓ your new host is well, you're actually your returning host, ⁓ Kyle Narkom is here, and your brand new host.
Alastair: Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: Save yourself.
The Hit Factor Podcast: is what I meant to say for for Aleister. ⁓ Alistair Stewart is is here. Brand new host. He has fiber optic. Steve.
Kyle Narkum: This roster is deep.
Alastair: Yeah. It's an honor. It's an honor and a privilege.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, welcome, welcome. I ⁓ I listened to a couple of podcasts you were on, or one or two. I don't know if you've been on you've been on a one or two, and I listened to both of them. ⁓
Alastair: Two yeah. Wait, you listen to both, but you're not sure if it's one or two.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Well they they blend together into like one. I have one memory.
Alastair: Well, I look forward to this in joining the blob of podcasting to to the one that I've done. This'll also be part of the one.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, me too. Me too. I'm really looking forward to it. ⁓ Alistair Alistair has the torch. He holds the torch right now. I this is your intro, by the way. ⁓ you hold the torch. ⁓ Kyle, do you know do you know what the torch is?
Kyle Narkum: Me too. Shouldn't I don't?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I held the torch at one point, earlier this year. You ha you then held it. ⁓ actually many people have held it in between. Yeah, so first actually Frank Frank Carr held the torch. And then I held the torch later on that same match. ⁓ and then and then Dylan held the torch at area seven.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ the torch. Al, sorry, do you know where we're going? And then.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Dylan had Dylan had to hang on to it for a little while. ⁓ and then then Kyle held the torch. And now Alistair holds the torch.
Kyle Narkum: That was me.
Alastair: Is it a is it is it has to do with does it have to do with dropping something to hold the torch?
Kyle Narkum: No, it's see it's imagine it follows, but it's like FTSAs.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I mean dropping.
Alastair: ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ yeah. That torch is burning. Burning bright. Not bright enough for me to notice it and shoot at it, but burning burning bright. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: No
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I'm sorry to even do that to to you on a on a on a recording, but ⁓ but we've all done it.
Alastair: You know what? It is it's yeah. It was it was it was a real it was a real miserable situation 'cause first it was a stage that started out with like a one of those like monkey swinger things. And the the the plan was thanks to thanks to you know care of Mason Lane was like paper, you double activator and then you wait and it comes out and you pop it twice and you keep going. So paper, double the activator, malfunction.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ okay.
Alastair: as the as the thing came out and I was like perfect so I cleared it and then I and then I was like ⁓ and so it took me a while to get to on that thing. ⁓ finished the stage and they were like to my K F DSA and I was like sick and then I looked down and I was bleeding all over my stuff because I had taken part of my hand off clearing the malfunction. And I was like, here we are. Here we are.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Which way was to which target did you forget?
Alastair: ⁓ you didn't shoot that match. So how did do you
Kyle Narkum: but on another stage.
The Hit Factor Podcast: He probably does at the stage.
Kyle Narkum: I followed like a hundred people who shot it.
Alastair: Okay, okay, okay. So on the left the back left corner, there's three open paper. The third one you can either take from that corner or you can take it through the port where you finish. And I did not take it from I had planned to take it from the back corner, but I did not. And I also did not take it through the port.
Kyle Narkum: or ⁓ so does he do like the two and then walk into the portal and then shoot the other two?
Alastair: Yes. Wow. You really do know that stage.
The Hit Factor Podcast: He knows it better than I do.
Alastair: That's crazy. That's Yeah. That's yeah, exactly. That's exactly what happened. So yeah, it was the torch is is ⁓ is uncomfortable, but but you know, I'm keeping it's keeping me warm. So there's that.
The Hit Factor Podcast: And I didn't yeah, I did not shoot the match either. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: I feel like Jeremy Boone is gonna get handed this torch. I feel like it's inevitable.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Ooh. Are is this like are we doing predictions for next torch? No.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks.
Alastair: I mean everyone everyone if you don't hold that torch at some point then you're just you're either trying too hard or not hard enough. I I don't know which. Probably not probably not hard enough.
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, one or the other.
Alastair: You know.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, yeah. ⁓ the torch can be passed to you in many different kind of ways. You can kinda think you're think you're all special and got something figured out, and then it will then you'll get past the torch. Or you can I don't know. Yeah, numerous ways. ⁓ Kyle Kyle tried to save me from the torch in the walkthrough, ⁓ altogether. And and I I was like, give me the torch. I will
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: He wanted it so bad. He had to have it.
Alastair: This is mine now. I've earned it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Not listen to you. Hey Jay, aren't you gonna shoot aren't you gonna shoot that tuxedo? No.
Alastair: No. Everybody knows if it's a tux it's two no penalty mics anyway, so it's better just to skip it.
Kyle Narkum: Mm, mm, yep. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Skip it. I knew I was gonna I was gonna miss the target anyway so that I didn't I didn't even wanna
Alastair: You just saved the time.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's like why why do that? ⁓ man. Painful. It's a painful
Alastair: Yeah. Great. Well, this was listen, it's been it's been great being here. ⁓ I really appreciate it. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I think we'll wrap it up. ⁓ no. don't do it.
Kyle Narkum: It's a way to
Alastair: ⁓
Kyle Narkum: What floor do you live on Alistair?
Alastair: The fourth. So if it's hi it's tall enough.
Kyle Narkum: Perfect. Okay, perfect.
Alastair: Yeah. There's a w there's a window right here. So
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks, Jay.
Alastair: Just keep bullying, Kyle. You just keep bullying. See what happens. I'll show you.
Kyle Narkum: He did it! He did it!
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I know.
Alastair: Yeah, but ⁓ it j it's too nice, so I just blame you instead.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ very good. Just take the torch with you.
The Hit Factor Podcast: We did it I think at one point at one point ⁓ Nathan Barnes DQ'd us earlier than I expected. it was time. It was time during that one, but but it was an early DQ and it and it you know, it had to ha had to happen.
Kyle Narkum: Well, the secrets are coming out. can't let the secrets out.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, that's true. That's very true. ⁓ I I I do apologize for people who don't know who ⁓ who ⁓ Alistair is, but ⁓ they should by now. I I was informed of your presence ⁓ in the world by none other than Saul Allen, ⁓ who who ⁓ I think was texting Kyle and myself and he's like, Guys, you gotta check out ⁓ Alistair here. ⁓ he's pretty good and he's getting good really good
Alastair: True. True.
The Hit Factor Podcast: very quickly and ⁓ and then that always makes ⁓ you know it makes people nervous because they're like, ⁓ no. Here we go. There's another one. ⁓ which is actually really good. We
Alastair: Don't worry.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Something that we
Alastair: I I yeah, I think it's more of a bell curve situation for me. So I think I was as we're down on the you know
The Hit Factor Podcast: Get Well you're you're gaining you're gaining a lot of ex
Kyle Narkum: Stocks are a little down right now. We're holding. We'll get there.
Alastair: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But just hold on to it. Yeah. It'll be worth something eventually.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Well. I mean you're gaining you're gaining a lot of s experience very rapidly by shooting a lot of these major matches. ⁓ and you've shot a lot for the last few years, it seems like. ⁓
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah. Last year last year and this year, I've really tried to shoot a lot of majors.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, it's cool. Like I I I wish that I could do that sometimes. But then other times I don't. Like I I just come like, ⁓ maybe I just I'm just saving myself.
Kyle Narkum: I feel you greatly... It's a recent thing for me.
Alastair: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: I I really was just trying to make up for lost time. that's the main reason. I I'll I'm shooting fewer this this year than last year and I'll shoot fewer again next year. But I w I needed to I needed to get the experience very quickly, so that's what I did.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Why do you why do you want to get experience really quickly? What's what's the deal?
Alastair: ⁓ I just like started pretty late in life, I think, relatively speaking, from a like trying to be a top performer perspective. ⁓ thirty-seven. I started like two almost just under three years ago. ⁓ and I'm like if I I wanna see I wanna see where I can take it. And so I I wanna like I wanted to try to ramp up as quickly as I could. And I knew that major match experience was gonna be important for that. And it's, you know, it's a little bit of a like scarce resource. There are only so many a year and half of them you don't realize are opened and then you miss the chance anyway. So ⁓ I just wanted to, you know, get as many done as I could and ⁓ and then this year really focusing on area matches and nationals. ⁓ so I think it's I think it's it's been good. But yeah, it's it's I wouldn't keep doing this many. I don't I think it's diminishing returns kind of domain.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean what is it about major matches that that you feel like you need to go to them to gain? Like what is that element that that you have learned?
Alastair: I think initially it's like I mean, initially it's like what what do these even look like? What do the stages look like? How do they work? Like, what's this like how do you set yourself up for success? How do you manage all legit the logistics and kind of try to stack the cards in your favor as much as you can to perform the way you want to? ⁓ so I think, you know, there's a lot of that that that's useful. And and then I think beyond that it's really the mental game. of I think it's good to to see where you're stacking up. I think that's a good way of gauging kind of performance as well and how you're trending and how your training's working. ⁓ but I think just like the the reps of the of the mental game of performing when you really care a lot about something, and there's a lot of really good people and you know things are challenging or it's a bunch of stages in a day or whatever it is. ⁓ I think it's just useful to to front load some of those reps instead of trying to, you know, instead of it taking like five or six years to get that much experience.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. I'm kind of impatient. And it's and I but and I did it and I tried to do it without the matches. Without the experience. I think the experience helps. And c and Kyle, you you avoided Area Eight. You chickened out. You didn't go to it like me. Scared. We were we are so scared. 'Cause
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: That's exactly it. The trick is me being a bitch. Yep. I saw the seesaws. The seesaws scared me. They assaulted Frank. They did assault Frank. You know, I just didn't want to risk it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean probably for good reason.
Alastair: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Seesaws, lots of stairs to go up and down. Did you did you jump all did you skip the stairs or did you jump right up and then right off or did you did you use a couple of them?
Kyle Narkum: Yes, we did.
Alastair: A lot of stairs. I think I took one stair up. ⁓ 'cause you could kinda shoot like I think jumping up would have been you know, it would have you just been shooting later. And then I think I took one stair down. I'd have to go back and actually I'm not totally sure, but I think I w I did one stair and then I sort of jumped the rest of the way.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I like jumping off of things. It's fun.
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
Alastair: Well yeah, when you're when you're young it just hurts my knees.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Sometimes.
Kyle Narkum: Shoulda come. You shoulda come.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's just just damaging to the body. ⁓ Kyle, what match did you shoot instead of Ari 8?
Kyle Narkum: I shot the Commie Classic, the Hero Down match in Massachusetts, part of that three match series, but it was a mass, so you're limited to 10 rounds. I think I may have been saying it to you. I don't know if I had a conversation. was like, but the extra layer of the round count was actually wicked fun. I mean, I wouldn't want to do it all the time. 10 rounds a little much, but it does make me kind of urine for like production optics flavor.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, watching some of those videos did look kind of fun.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, I mean 10 rounds is a little brutal because you have to break it up too much. It's kind of annoying. But if it was like 15, 17, something like that, I feel like it'd be a ton of fun.
Alastair: Mm. You can see that. Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: See it. Yeah, fifteen's kinda nice. It's not bad. Like it's not bad.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. Ten is horrible.
Alastair: Yeah. Y you you heard it here, folks. Kyle Narkom. Pro magazine limit, capacity limits. Watch out.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I forgot. ⁓ Alista Alistair, ⁓ we have to prevent Kyle from talking for more than like ten seconds during a podcast. So that's a side quest.
Kyle Narkum: Ha ha ha!
Alastair: He's we have to stop him from talking for longer than ten seconds. Okay. So it's
Kyle Narkum: Easy. I can't form enough words and talk for 10 seconds.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Just because people people appreciate his voice so much. ⁓ so we neither need to create a technical difficulty for him with his AirPods or just cut him off when he starts
Kyle Narkum: Where are my AirPods? Yeah, I can't be sabotaged.
Alastair: Yeah, fair.
Kyle Narkum: These are brand new. they ⁓ f up, I'm gonna be pissed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ brand new ones, you so you lost your old ones and then Wow.
Kyle Narkum: just for the podcast. I got EarPods instead of Google Fiber. I did.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, this is these are ⁓ these are my earpods ear earbuds. ⁓ that I they're my worn out, like junk junky ones that have been in my sweaty pockets for like two months. And these are my dedicated podcast ones. And I got new ones from listening to Kyle's music. So huge upgrade. Huge upgrade.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: Classic. ⁓ nice. I'm blessed. I'm blessed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I get notifications on my phone. It's like, ⁓ your volume's too loud. I'm like, no, it's not. It's appropriate for listening to Kyle's music.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ I'm trying to blow my eardrums out, thank you.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, if if I'm going to blow my eardrums out, it will be from Kyle's music. I'll protect them while I shoot, but R really though, I I do want I am curious to hear ⁓ I like I want to listen to a conversation between you two about like why like about continuing in this sport, like how like your motivations on continuing and and wh and what's keeping you here ⁓ despite you like circumstances. Like I I don't know, like I've never thought I I'm s
Alastair: What are you trying to say, J Good Lord? What are you trying to say?
Kyle Narkum: What is it?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm saying for for like for myself, I don't think I've ever thought like, wow, I'm definitely going to quit right now. and I don't know if I've said I maybe daily. But I'm not I I'm I'm I wanna hear you guys talk a a little bit about like frustrations and overcoming frustrations a little bit with this because
Kyle Narkum: Bye. I do daily.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Because pushing hard and trying to get good really quick, trying to make changes is inevitable to be frustrating. So I I wanna hear you guys talk about that because I want to learn from that.
Alastair: Mm. Mm. Yeah. So so
The Hit Factor Podcast: But don't don't let Kyle talk though, so
Alastair: Okay, so so just me got it. Well, I'll tell you I'll tell you, Jay. ⁓ I I I think I understand what you're asking. The way I heard it, ⁓ because I'm I'm ver I'm hurt right now, you know, I'm hurting, was why why why would you even bother?
Kyle Narkum: you That's what I heard. That's what I heard.
The Hit Factor Podcast: That's why you're here. We're hurting.
Alastair: Why why would you even bother to continue being in this sport when you can't even remember to shoot all the targets and your gun doesn't work?
The Hit Factor Podcast: That's exactly where I'm it's exactly where I'm going with this.
Alastair: And so Kyle, you talked to Alistair about it because you also should quit.
Kyle Narkum: thought about it.
Alastair: No, I'm just kidding. I I do understand the the question. It it is it is ⁓ yeah, trying to trying to get good fast is is frustrating. I don't know. I assume trying to get I think just trying to get better at something that's hard and that you care about is probably frustrating for for anyone.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I don't think anyone wants to get w anyone wants to like take their time getting good at something, necessarily. Like we we want to I don't know, maybe Kyle is. I don't know. I'm I'm
Alastair: Yeah, Kyle, what's taking you so long? ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Okay. ⁓
Alastair: ⁓ this is like way, way more brutal than I thought it would be, but I'm loving it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't even know the I d I don't even know what I I have no filter at this point. Everything's just coming out of my
Kyle Narkum: I was the alternative pickleball. am I going to do now?
Alastair: Ha ha ha.
Kyle Narkum: I don't know. Yeah, I know. I suck at it. I've tried it.
Alastair: That was hard. Yeah, prickle bull prickle's hard. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: I played it like three times, I keep smacking the ball into the vents. I can't, I don't have the finesse.
Alastair: Yeah. No. Yeah. Yeah. Shooting's way better though, let's be honest. Let's be honest. I don't know. I I kind of like I think there's two ways that I rationalize it. and rationalizing is apparently, according to the literature, it's very important for being high performing. You really have to rationalize the bad stuff. ⁓ it's it's it's actually true. Like you really gotta you gotta take the good stuff and the bad stuff, you gotta be like, ⁓ it was a fluke. Never happen again.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: ⁓ so you know, ⁓ how I how I think you gotta just keep rationalizing it harder. You gotta Yeah. Yeah, dude, listen.
Kyle Narkum: What about what happens every time?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Okay, just cope, sip, go, sip, go, and go. Okay.
Alastair: That's if you want to be the best, you gotta believe you're the best no matter what happens. It's just a sad fact of life. ⁓ it's very difficult for me. but I I think like, I don't know. There's enough good I think there are enough like ups or seeing the results. ⁓ I think there's enough there to keep me going. And so I kind of just
The Hit Factor Podcast: Ha ha ha.
Alastair: When s when stuff is frustrating or I have a bad match or whatever, I it's sort of just like I I know what I need to do, I'm just gonna keep doing it and I'm gonna learn what I can and correct what I need to correct. But it's kinda like the way out is through. Like I'm just gonna if I just keep doing what I know I need to do, like I'll end up better than I've ever been. ⁓ and so, you know, I think that's part of it. And then also there's part not like so much match performance, but like frustration in training and
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
Alastair: you know, when you're when you're dry firing or at the range or whatever and you just can't do the thing the way you want to do it, like that is really that that frustration is really important for developing. Like that's when you're at you're learning the most and building the most skill is is that that feeling is actually a signal that you're doing it right. And so I try to remember that as well. ⁓ before I, you know, throw my gun through a wall or something, which would be bad.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm. All right, Kyle, words.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ I mean, I would pretty much echo everything. I was started to said with a couple of added pieces. For me, it's like, what's the alternative now? I've invested so much time. It's like my trajectory really hasn't really gone down at all from where I've started. So I'm still building on, all the skills I need to, and they're going in a direction that I want them to go. So it's what would really be the point of stopping when I've already invested so much time and money into this. So, and like, don't think I fit my ceiling by any means. So that's also another piece that's like, I'm just an idiot. One day I'll be less of an idiot and it'll go good. So I just gotta get there. Just to go down the bumpy road until it gets smooth.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. So pretty much everything else are set and then just those few other things. So. And it's, just like competing. I don't know. It's just cool. It's fun.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, competing is it's very special. It's a very unique experience. 'Cause I I think I think a lot about how people go through life sometimes without competing at anything.
Alastair: Is it Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: Probably very com-
Alastair: Crazy.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. And I they probably they probably garden.
Kyle Narkum: They probably guard him.
Alastair: I don't know. There's gotta be gardening compet I don't know. I feel like maybe they just don't realize they're in competitions. Yeah, that for sure. I could guarantee you, Kyle, there's more money in that than there is in competitive shooting. I could guarantee you. I bet they get ten grand for winning that thing.
The Hit Factor Podcast: There might be Guardian competitions.
Kyle Narkum: Who grows the biggest squash? What are we doing? That is the thing actually. I've heard that. Nevermind. Go back. That's the thing. That's the thing.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you're right. Yeah, never mind.
Kyle Narkum: They're probably, they grow, there's pumpkin competitions. They juice the pumpkins. I'm pretty sure they give them steroids.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think they do.
Alastair: Hey, you do what you gotta do. It's all about winning.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But even gardening, I mean you drive by someone else's garden and you're like, dang, that person's garden's better than mine.
Alastair: Yeah, like yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Dare they?
Alastair: How dare they?
Kyle Narkum: in human nature, I guess.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But I I don't know, there's ⁓ there the anticipation of competition is very special and I'll feel it build and build in waves. ⁓ and I don't know, it's special. It's very it's it's not necessarily always fun, but
Alastair: For some of us.
Kyle Narkum: I mean, the other part too is like, every time you do anything, I feel like at least for me, it's different every single time. Like nothing's ever perfect, which is also intriguing at the same time.
Alastair: Mm-hmm. True. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. The game it's like complex enough and and it's inherently going to be different every single time that that returning for more is is not like you're going back to to return to the same exact thing that you've seen over and over again. So like you can be surprised in very, very interesting ways. ⁓ like I don't know, sometimes I I look at video from matches that I've shot and
Kyle Narkum: us.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know, so it it's a weird thing looking at the video and thinking, like, did I do that? Like that that happened, like the I d I did that thing and then trying to figure out what what behavior you want to take going forward and what what you do not wanna take going forward and ⁓ like that process is will always be very interesting to me.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ and then the people are very are very also very interesting, unpredictable people.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Nice nice people that you're like very excited to see all the time, you know, like all of it. All of it's very cool.
Alastair: Yeah, I think it's an interesting like the I mean I'm sure that I'm sure there are other things like this, but it feels a little bit unique in terms of preparing yourself for this like performance that it o is over so quickly. And just the s the stuff you have to do at speed and how easy it is to make mistakes, and how much like There is obviously there's a lot of it that's known ahead of time, but there's always like micro ⁓ you know, unpredictability in terms of like what the site's gonna do and where you're gonna be positioned, you know, and all of these things that you have to process so quickly. I think is also there's something very interesting about that too. And about how to like set yourself up so that when like when the thing when it go when it's when it's go time, like it just works is is very interesting.
Kyle Narkum: But. You guys ever feel like time just happens differently when you're If that makes sense.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. I think that
Kyle Narkum: Like I'll watch someone else do like an activator thing and it's like, that is ripping. And I'm like, I shot it and I was like, that wasn't that bad.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, yeah, this definitely. When this is part of what I'm thinking about with the video too, like I'll look back at video and it and it gener like, especially on activator sequences, and I'll watch the video of myself doing it and be like, I did that? I I like ⁓ that timing worked out? Like, yeah. Whoa.
Kyle Narkum: There was a there's a stage from this weekend, right? I mean, it was over the top swinger. And it was honestly pretty fast for what it was. And I had like this weird self doubt thing and I was like, there's no way I can get two on that in one pass. And I shot it and I was like, bang, bang, had two hits and I waited for the third. But I was like, dude, when I wasn't shooting it, it looked so much faster for some reason. And there was a
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I saw that video.
Alastair: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: There's that and then there was one I didn't shoot. So I don't know if you guys saw the video like the teddy bear start you started and then you shot a little bit and then you ran to the right corner and you had activator, activator stack, tux, steel.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: So my plan was to do activator stack, tucks, steel. But I was like, the points were a little tight because I had fucked up pretty bad throughout the day. So I was like, I don't want to be that stretched thin just in case. I missed steel anyways. But so we had all shot and then the next stage ⁓ was a double-dump bay and the MD wanted it ran a specific way, which just unfortunately caused the backup. So we had to wait for a squad and a half. So I'd gone back and I was like, hey, do you guys like care if you just run me through this really quick? No score, no nothing. I just want to see like, how is this possible? Or I'm like, am I off my rocker crazy? And it was steel, stack, tux, all alpha. And I was there for the first pass. I was like, why am I not just doing that? Why would I not have just done that? But in the moment, everything feels like it's so fast until I'm doing it. And I'm like, I don't
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, so this bring ⁓ trusting that for yourself is huge. So like what I mean, what I mean, I'm wondering again for myself as well, but like going forward, how are you gonna how are you gonna make yourself just do the thing and then trust that you're like you in the moment it will not feel crazy.
Kyle Narkum: I did it on one stage. did because I was trailing. I like the only way to make up time here is if I do activator three targets and then back to the swinger. And I kind of transitioned to the wrong target and still shot all three, which got me back to the swing really and I was like, I can only send two because the round count. So I got the alpha and then I chased it when it was going away and I like just barely missed it. But I think if I just, I think it's totally doable if I just ironed out how I wanted to shoot the targets to get back to the swinger. So I think I was going to take any aggressive option I can whenever I can.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Like it.
Kyle Narkum: But you've talked about that extensively.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Always. The most aggressive option always.
Alastair: That sounds suspiciously like a rule.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ dang it. I've been found out.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ delete that. Nathan, Nathan, shut it off.
Alastair: I'm just saying. Sounded a lot like a rule. And I thought those weren't allowed around here, which would also be a rule. But it doesn't matter. It does matter.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It doesn't doesn't even matter. ⁓ I I saw something interesting that was ⁓
Kyle Narkum: They didn't.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Maybe I heard it somewhere. But it was it was along the lines of if you want to do things that are great, you have to feel like you have ownership over whatever it is that you are doing, that it's yours. And I for a long time did not feel ownership over what I was like what I could do. Like it I was like, Well, this belongs to somebody else, so it's not mine.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ and that sounds like a me problem, which it it is, ⁓ but it's not anymore.
Kyle Narkum: It seems mostly fixed. It does seem mostly fixed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mostly I mean
Alastair: Is that like a Jay, is that like a an identity thing? Like a is that like a believing that the things you've done in the past you've done because you're capable of them, not as some kind of fluke?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think it was like I like I am supposed to like I'm trying to think of what a good example of this is. like I should follow
Kyle Narkum: I felt you got lucky. You ever feel like you got lucky a bunch?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean, I don't know if I got l lucky. I feel like I I mean in in my in my case I feel I was just held back by by thinking that I need to do s do things a certain way that follows someone else's ⁓ you know prescription of ⁓ the way that you're supposed to compete or whatever it is. And then I w I never then was able to do it my way or I didn't allow myself to do it my In my way for me is way more fun. So I should do that. The
Kyle Narkum: The winning way. The winning way. The time, the time matters actually. Yeah, I think. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: The d yeah, like time matters. ⁓ like I look not like I can think about this game in a way that helps my score. I don't have to do stupid stuff to to like I don't know. I I'm I'm bouncing around this a bunch in a unnecessary way, ⁓ when I'm more interested to hear what Alistair has to say.
Alastair: Well but yeah, but I'm I'm more interested to hear ⁓ to hear what you have to say about it, Jay. I wanna learn.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Sh. I mean I at some point I'm gonna c I'll could just I'll just ⁓ call people out and ⁓ be like you did this to me. But really what it is is that I that I d I mean who did it I mean I did it to myself by by taking it that way. Like like I need to do it their way. ⁓ and this can be applied like
Alastair: ⁓ yeah, who? Who did it? What did they do? What did they do?
Kyle Narkum: Who did it? Who did it?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I'm thinking of this now a lot of different ways where I I hear information, I hear people talk about stuff, and I think that seems like a good idea. I'll I'll do that. ⁓ and then if you get s too stuck to it, then it it instead of helping you it will just it will just hurt you.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ which which sucks.
Alastair: I think I probably have the opposite I don't know if it's really become a problem, but I I change stuff all like I'm sort of and I think some of my like improvement curve has been because of this. But I'm like ex I experiment with stuff constantly in terms of
Kyle Narkum: I I do it all the time. I do it all the time. This is my wheelhouse.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Kyle's thinking the same thing. I wish
Alastair: What is what is what is Kyle what's Kyle's face doing?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Ky If Kyle if Kyle had fiber optic, we could see his facial expressions even better. But he doesn't.
Alastair: You know what's weird, Jay, is I can see him better than I can see you. I don't know if it's 'cause like you're
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ dang it.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, Jay, you look like you're on the alien spaceship. You're transmitted.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm over here talking like I've got great internet. I c I can
Alastair: You're like No, you're you're a potato mode for sure, Jay, sorry.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I guess it's only your face, Alistair, that that I can see very clearly.
Kyle Narkum: You have the main fiber, not the real fiber.
Alastair: Yeah, look at that. I'm my face is the only one I can see clearly also. ⁓ it's mostly just a mustache and whatever that neon tire iron is behind UJ and then for Kyle it's I don't know what that is, but it's it's fun. It's a fun colour.
Kyle Narkum: Ugh.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's my it's my bowsaw. Yeah, I got a bowsaw back there.
Alastair: ⁓ it's a s I see. I see the now I see. See it's up the potato vision, it's hard to tell what it is.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, so I mean you got you yeah, I I have felt very restricted in making changes. Like ⁓ don't you dare change anything. And so yeah, to free myself up to to make changes has been helpful. And I think I mean this is very clear that everyone's different. You two I I know this about Kyle. Kyle's like switching stuff up all the time. Makes me feel very uncomfortable.
Alastair: Uh-huh.
Kyle Narkum: Okay. Okay.
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I'm always experimenting with like different different approaches to training, but also like a lot of the mental stuff. Trying to figure out what's gonna get me the best result. ⁓ yeah, I'm always I'm always trying different stuff. So I don't think I've gotten caught really in the sticking with something that isn't working or that that I don't need to s to stick with. but I'm sure that there are some things that I change too quickly or too often or don't give I try to give things a t a chance to work. but I do change things pretty pretty regularly.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm. What it what's your current mental thingy that you're hanging on to that that you're like, this might work?
Kyle Narkum: Okay. Okay.
Alastair: I I'm still like one of the things that I've really and I was gonna ask ask you guys about this, your take on this. One of the things I'm always trying to improve or find the right version of is my mental concept for match execution. Like b basically like the the program that I want to boot up.
Kyle Narkum: Up.
Alastair: for like when I'm gonna when I'm gonna shoot a stage at a match that has like the right level of aggression, the right level of subconscious execution, the right level of conscious focus on the right stuff, but in a sort of like all baked into a concept that I can then ⁓ sort of like solidify and practice, and then I can just apply it in matches. and Yeah, I've I've all I'm always like for a while like recently I've been messing with one that's a little bit more vision oriented. There are other times like I'll often kinda go back and forth on the level of aggression I I wanna have and how I can cue that basically. but I have not found
Kyle Narkum: you
Alastair: I've not found I it it still needs a lot of improvement. I haven't figured out what the right recipe is.
Kyle Narkum: My recipe is very simple. It's be aggressive, except on the stuff that I should not be that aggressive on.
The Hit Factor Podcast: What's your recipe, Kyle? Do you even think about it? Do you think about your recipe? Hmm.
Kyle Narkum: But I do think, I think there's a layer to it a little bit. So I think there's a layer of experience like you were talking about earlier, where if you've been exposed to a specific thing enough, it takes way less ⁓ mental focus to accomplish whatever that piece of the puzzle is. So for me, it's like, just like to be aggressive. So like being aggressive, it just kind of perfect. you go. I don't really think about it. Unless it's a target, I'm like, well, I'm just going to shoot that as I got to shoot it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: And I
Kyle Narkum: And everything else, I'm just going to try and be as aggressive as I can.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, like that sounds really simple to me. So like I mean I've I've tried I've come to my own interpretation of basically that, which is I don't even know how to put it into words, but it's a lot less stuff than I used to do. I like it it's very it's simplified way more so that I don't have to I don't have to come up to a stage and and force anything. I I come up to a stage and I and if I feel
Kyle Narkum: Hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: good about it if I'm feeling pretty good about however I'm feeling, then then I'll just I'll do the normal stuff with the regular programming and then and then let it rip. ⁓ and I don't use words. I don't know. I'm while you were talking about baking things, Alistair, I was imagining like a really good lemon bar. Like a real like a really nice lemon bar.
Alastair: I I love lemon bars, especially good ones. And I don't think I don't think that'd be aggressive enough for Kyle. It would be like a really tart one. Maybe?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Good ones. I have had some bad lemon bars. No. Yeah, maybe a really tart like ⁓ like you kind of an
Kyle Narkum: I don't know, I am very picky. I'm like a chicken finger pizza guy. I... Yes, I am a dino nugget man.
Alastair: I do love chicken fingers.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Is this a dino dino nugget?
Alastair: Chi child. Man, sorry.
Kyle Narkum: Yes, I'm a man child. I'm a child with a very hairy chest.
Alastair: Okay, alright. Well, I wish I had the higher resolution. I thought I thought you were wearing a black shirt, but I guess actually you're
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ That's just, that's just fair.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Just for
Kyle Narkum: so back to the, back to the thing real quick too. I think there's like obvious things you have to do on stages, right? Like if there's a movement option.
Alastair: Perfect.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Please.
Alastair: Not like shoot off the targets?
Kyle Narkum: That's up there. That is definitely up there.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I had to learn it I had to learn that because I was like, well just do do way less, Jay.
Alastair: Sounds like a rule.
Kyle Narkum: maybe not rule, but this thing you have to do. I don't know. Maybe it's but there's a movement option and you're shooting a dot. feel like you have to do the movement option because everyone you're shooting against is doing the movement option. There's pieces of it. Like you don't really need to think about because it's like you just have to do it. So just ingrain it and do it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, like a lot of those decisions are made for you.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, to be competitive.
Alastair: But then how do you do it's it's not so much the plan, it's like the execution of the plan. It's the the way that you it's it's the way that you're going to execute the plan, is really more what I'm thinking about. Like if you're gonna shoot on like how do you set yourself up so that when when the you know the buzzer goes off and you gotta shoot on the move and it's everything's happening way too quickly for you to be consciously processing most of it, you do the thing you wanna do or you get the the outcome you want to get. Like how do you I mean I guess it's just it's just be aggressive. But do you ever feel like that that holds you back ever, Kyle?
Kyle Narkum: I don't know maybe something I've been trying to do before the buzzer is like, you know, like your walkthroughs is like I will do my walkthroughs like half speed every time to just like soak up as much info as I can. Because how I'm going to shoot is going to be how I shoot. So I don't think I need to like imitate that when I do the walkthrough. But if I can absorb a bunch of information slower before I shoot, I think it helps me kind of paint the picture of the stage a little better. that makes sense.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: But if but when you say how you're gonna shoot is how you're gonna shoot, d do you feel like you shoot the same way every time? 'Cause I don't feel like I shoot the same way every time.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: Interesting.
Kyle Narkum: Yes. I'm like a doggy threw in a pool every time I shoot.
Alastair: Mm, adorable.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ We lost Jay.
Alastair: Jay's gone. Jay's just fucking out. I can see the saw better now though. I can see the the blade and the deep and the blue tux. That's fancy. I like the blue tux. And the pipe. It looks like a cold pipe running into a hot pipe. Doesn't seem right. I'm but I'm not in construction.
Kyle Narkum: Sure, yeah. Pesach? I don't know either.
Alastair: He just got tired of it. He Yeah, he wanted to go talk to some winners.
Kyle Narkum: I think that he just dropped the mic. ⁓ Drew, yeah. That's what happened. The winner.
Alastair: He's got he's got friggin' Mason and Sam on another line. He's popping over to the winter circle.
Kyle Narkum: He does. You're gonna take a phone call and Mason real quick. Talk about how good they are.
Alastair: ⁓ man.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, that was our our producer Mason had to had to call and just make sure that we were on track with our podcast scheduling. Yeah, it's fine.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ perfect. Yep. Did he mention where my fiber is? Is that coming soon?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, yeah, Mason's gonna pay for you to get your fiber optic internet. Yeah. Yeah, and if you want it to happen sooner, just yeah, call call him or email email him. What's his email? Not to schedule training, but to get fiber optic internet for Kyle.
Kyle Narkum: Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you, Mason.
Alastair: Amazing. Yeah. Right.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ HitFactorMason at HitFactor.com.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ is that it now? Yeah, we got him his email.
Kyle Narkum: You
Alastair: Hit Factor Mason at hitfactor dot com slash Mason dot gov
Kyle Narkum: You Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Slash Mason.
Kyle Narkum: We got him.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Hmm.
Alastair: ⁓ Jay, do you do so I don't I don't can't remember which parts you heard because your headphones are physically attached to your computer and you have to take them off. ⁓ what so so I was saying I don't one of the reasons I'm fascinated by this whole recipe thing is because I don't feel like I shoot the same way every time. And but Kyle was saying he does shoot the he shoots the same way every time. Do you shoot the s do you feel like you shoot the same way every time?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I had to take them off. No, I have to make myself shoot like Kyle all the time. So the fun way. So so I'm thinking about you you talked about like that, you know, a movement option where you where you want to have something happen and and that's very much something that I've had to to make myself do. And this gets back to like I've had to it doesn't matter if I make myself do it in training.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: fun way.
Alastair: It's definitely more fun.
The Hit Factor Podcast: 'Cause like I can do it in training all the time. Like if I decide d to do the movement option or do the whatever thing that I want to do, what where I need to practice it is at at matches. ⁓ and specifically matches that I care about. ⁓ so because that's where there's a disconnect, if there ever is one, on ⁓ hey, you just you like this is a match that you care about.
Kyle Narkum: So you
The Hit Factor Podcast: And also you have to do this movement option that's a little scary. And so
Alastair: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I have found a lot of freedom in just understanding that the movement option that I'm about to take will give me the fastest or one of the fastest times. so I'm gonna do it regardless, and I will be rewarded for it. ⁓ and if I mess it up, it it won't like that's better than than never taking it. So And like the Saul Saul's better at explaining this ⁓ because we've been talking about it quite a bit, just on on I'd rather be way too early on something than than have to wait like a moment. So for the movement option, like on I'm gonna shoot some targets on the move, I w I'm gonna take them immediately. Like I'm gonna I'm gonna I'll draw the gun and just start shooting. If the if you know, obviously per stage kind of description or like how you look at it.
Kyle Narkum: Okay. Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ but it may be, you know, I'm gonna go over here to this corner, shoot these two targets, and then immediately transition to this partial at at at fifteen, twenty yards and start shooting it right away. That's then gonna bring me to the next next position. And so I think that it's a lot of the commitment to it and in the and the commitment to just be as early as possible on every everything. So there it for me that takes out the ability to even mess it up because it's not like shoot these two close targets in this corner.
Kyle Narkum: .
The Hit Factor Podcast: run four steps, then settle down and start shooting this target on entry. Like I don't even have that option. So I've removed it as part of my plan. and I'm okay with that with getting bit by that. Like in the in a bad way. ⁓ like d like doing kind of dumb things. Like why is Jay just shooting every every target on like slightly on the move? ⁓ like that's obviously hurting his score. Like fine. I don't care. Like I'm I would I would rather have that hurt me than the other option, ⁓ which is doing things too late.
Kyle Narkum: Here's a question. ⁓ no, you go. No, no, you go. go.
Alastair: And do you just go ahead, Kyle? ⁓ I was just gonna ask, do you do you does that all come do you bake all of that into your plan or is there something you cue like when you're about to shoot to to keep doing that?
The Hit Factor Podcast: just in my lemon bar that I'm just eating. You know, I I
Alastair: The lemon bar method. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know, I think I think it sometimes appears during the stage where I'll I'll remind myself of it. And I like getting back to this corner thing, like a running these as I'm running to the corner, I'm I'm reminding myself like don't even break the gun in towards my body, just like keep it out and and go directly to this to this next target. And so it'll be like a a mid stage reminder. And I feel like that's been That makes the stage more fun, ⁓ because I get to feel like I'm engaged with it. ⁓ and and it actually makes the things show up. I think Mason talked about it a little bit too, with with like taking allowing yourself to shoot and be creative in the stage. I'm I'm probably putting words in his mouth, but to to we'll do it. He's he said we can. ⁓
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: Any good point? Just email.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you can just email ⁓
Alastair: Hit Factor hit Factor Mason at hitfactor podcast dot com slash Mason.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, dark us.
The Hit Factor Podcast: There you go.
Kyle Narkum: Okay, so the question I was going to follow up that was, do you think that the live firing you've picked up over the last year or so has made you more confident in doing all of these things?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think so. I think so too. Yeah. I mean a lot of my live fire is like frustration stuff, like Alistair, you were saying earlier, where like the other day I was trying to shoot teeny tiny pieces of steel laterally on the move it and they were at like twenty yards. It's like, why is this not happening? It's like, well, it's really difficult. ⁓ but like I don't know, giving myself more more places to work on that has been really good. I feel like I wasted a lot of rounds last year because I was
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Doing stuff that I could already do. So I feel like even the the bit that I've shot this year has been a lot of stuff that I can't do. ⁓ and then just finding out if I can bring skills to a match or not. Like, can I bring this to a match? And then I have to answer that for myself. And if it's borderline, if I hit it a couple times, I'm like, well, that's that's going to the match. So it's it's doable. Like I I I have probably an
Kyle Narkum: Mm. Yeah, it's doable.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I'm okay again taking this to the match. Like i if I if I gain a tiny bit of confidence on something, ⁓ I'm like probably it'll work out.
Alastair: I mean probably it will.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean it might it might not. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: But it might. Spread the dice roll.
Alastair: Probably will.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But it probably will. Yeah.
Alastair: Probably will. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know, it's interesting though, because I feel like that's where a ton of the performance comes from is from from the things working out sometimes on stages.
Alastair: I mean they still have to work out more than they don't.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. So I guess that's where it individually you you have to decide whether something that you're gonna do. Like if it starts to not work out, you have to be able to get yourself back on on track. So we talked about we talked about getting yourself back on track as in like not even not quitting the sport, but getting yourself back on track during a stage is another really interesting thing that I haven't heard either of you talk about. maybe Alistair talked about it in another podcast or not. And I never let Kyle talk on the podcast, so
Kyle Narkum: I don't know you're talking about I've blocked all that out.
Alastair: Yeah, Kyle, what do you think?
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. It sucks every time. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: I don't know. Luckily for me, they don't usually derail outside of my control. So it's usually not very difficult to put it back together, if that makes sense.
Alastair: Now you're just bragging.
The Hit Factor Podcast: How do you Yeah, it's how do you let it not derail things out of control? Like I you've seen me just like start to miss steel and then go to slide lock. Or actually not slide lock, just ⁓ MD gun slide forward.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. Yeah.
Alastair: Slide lap would be better.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, slid lock would be actually cool. ⁓ I didn't I ⁓ it's like great. Yeah, I shot my twenty four round mag to empty and it doesn't lock back because it's a twenty four round mag. I mean you've seen
Alastair: And if you're really lucky, on the click you get one of these too, so you can feel bad about that also.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah. I mean I feel like I feel like that derails me. I'm like our I'm derailed at the beginning I start throwing makeups and then ⁓ yeah, so ha I mean what do you what are you doing, Kyle, to avoid things going really badly?
Kyle Narkum: A treat.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: That's question. don't know. I am but I don't know if there's any like Yeah, but for me, it's like already a loss. So it's like what am I gonna do make a massacre out of a molehill? I don't know
The Hit Factor Podcast: Like are you aware of it? As it's happening?
Alastair: Yes, that's what I did.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ I used to do it more. I used to do it more and then I slowly come to realize you can't really make up the time really ever lost time is lost time.
Alastair: I made it so much worse.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, it's a bummer. I don't I don't wanna hear that and I don't wanna accept that. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: just accept it.
Alastair: Mm, yeah. But that attitude.
Kyle Narkum: For me, I mean, you can maybe go a little crazy and make it up, I've had success.
Alastair: No, it it never works. That just doesn't work.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm not listening to you guys. Not listening.
Alastair: Yeah. I I I have two problems. One is I will r I will rush afterwards, which just is always a recipe for it not not being good. and the other thing I found w where I really get into trouble is when I start thinking about what I'm doing. And I mean like I don't mean like
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: doing things consciously. I mean thinking about what's happening and what I'm doing, like a like a a meta cognition thing. ⁓ the same thing as when you're like, ooh, this is going really well. Like, ⁓ I just, you know, and then it's like, you know, when it's like a plate rack and it's like ping, ping, ping, ping, you're like, ooh, and then it's like bah you know, or whatever, like on mo towards the end of a stage, like, wow, this is really when I hit myself with the like, ⁓ this is like this this is like going great.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: Or whatever the thought is, if it's a malfunction, if it's like not this again, or like, you know, like at area eight, that was part of the problem because that also happened at area seven. And I thought I had put like thousands of rounds through the gun and it'd been fine. And so and I was like, you know, like not only is it messing this up, but then it's like, ⁓ this whole thing again, and then the rushing. And so I really have to get better at not it's really like a focus thing. Like I have to stay focused on what I'm doing. As soon as I lose focus and start to think about what's happening.
Kyle Narkum: you you
Alastair: It just goes it goes wrong.
Kyle Narkum: Hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So you y you just posted up a couple of your stage wins at Area 8, which you had you had two you had two stage wins and you had one of them on that like there was a lot of pieces of steel and the pretty high hit factor as well, right? ⁓
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ yeah, the stage they left up from their local and just added 16 pieces of steel.
Alastair: Perfect.
Kyle Narkum: Get down.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So much steel. And you did not you did not shoot that stage perfectly. You you I was like I was like I'm about to see perfection here. Nope. But but I know so it is honestly though that's that's a more that's more impressive than doing it perfectly. ⁓ well I am genuinely more impressed.
Alastair: I sure didn't. Thanks for bringing I was hoping you'd bring that up. I appreciate that you're bringing that up, Jay. No.
Kyle Narkum: You won, but also kind of sucked a little. That's pretty impressive. That's what I heard Jay say. That's what I heard Jay.
Alastair: Okay. All right, Kyle. All right, Kyle. All right. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: by seeing that. I mean like Jacob does that kind of stuff all the time. You'll be like, Whoa, Jacob getting a little crazy there and then you'd be like, ⁓ he he's really fast.
Alastair: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: I mean, the, the makeup on that second array of steel, the one you missed was really good. Great.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, that's so that's what I'm talking about is you you went through like second array steel, you had a miss on your first plate, continued through, and then came back to it. You had a makeup on the first array of steel as well, or two. Maybe ⁓ one or two. I I I only I only watched the video like three times. Maybe you didn't have I didn't have enough I don't think I had audio. Yeah. One H and then you had like trigger freeze on the last target. Like kinda bad.
Kyle Narkum: I think it was one.
Alastair: I think it was one. I think it was one on each. I think it was I think it was one on each.
Kyle Narkum: I think it was one on each.
Alastair: Yeah, yeah, sure did. Yeah. It's pretty sick. It's pretty sick. It was a good day. It was a good day for me.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's like bad trigger freaks. It's like pop, bop.
Kyle Narkum: But, yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So yeah I mean that
Alastair: I'm loving this. This let's go let's let's talk about the the one of the two stage wins and the things that were bad about it. This is great.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This is what happens when you you just go into a podcast, no plan. ⁓
Alastair: Ha ha ha.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Just as life would happen.
Alastair: Yeah. Anyway, what yes, all of the things are true, Jay. What what what I feel like you were there was a thing about that you want you wanted to talk about and I kept cutting you off.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I mean you you did you did very very well executed error correction mid stage multiple times. ⁓ I mean we didn't get you to see we didn't get to see what would happen after your trigger freeze if you could correct that on like a new target or not. But you made it.
Alastair: ⁓ you're like, ⁓ here's the good thing about it. Well, maybe. We're not totally sure because that was the end of the stage.
The Hit Factor Podcast: No no no no. I don't know what's happening I don't know what's happening to me tonight. It's crazy. But you
Kyle Narkum: you
Alastair: ⁓ it's 'cause I was a little bit late. I understand. I deserve it. I deserve everything I get. And it's because I'm on your your tea your your fantasy team and you're trying to, you know, build build me up.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you know, that's what it was.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks, he's trying to fix it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I'm it's trying to fix it.
Alastair: No, it's fine. I got I got I got ⁓ all I got ⁓ all out of the way. It's nothing but smooth sailing from here. Don't worry about it.
Kyle Narkum: Lock it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I know, I know, I know. But so y ⁓ what I am getting at here is that you did something very well. It like your your correction did not get I don't know, you didn't let it affect you in a in a crazy way during that stage. You didn't go and ⁓ go to slide block on the steel or something like that.
Alastair: Or just yeah, empty ⁓ anti gun, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Empty gun on the steel. And so what I mean, what did you do there? Wha w I mean how w were you super locked in, focused on the stage? Or were you thinking about cupcakes? I don't know.
Alastair: Yeah, I mean that's a good example of like if I don't if I stay focused on what I'm doing and it's like you know, I I'm just like kind of in the moment doing the stuff. And then if I need to go, you know, if I need to add a thing to do or do a thing again, that's fine. Where I would get into trouble is if I went, you know, if I if I had had that miss, 'cause like you said, I I missed and then I shot the rest and came back on both of them, if I had been like, ⁓ here we go again.
Kyle Narkum: you
Alastair: You know, we're like, well, now you're fucked, or like, well, this is another bad stage. Like like it I could have had that thought right then, and then I it would have been it would have been for sure game over. Like it would have been a total train wreck. ⁓ or if if if I'd had that if I'd hit the first seven of them or s I think each one had seven. So if I'd hit the first six and then on four or five I'd gone like, Yeah, crushing this, you know, similarly it would have been a train wreck. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
Alastair: And so it was just it was because I was like and maybe it's because there was so much to do, like there were so many bobbers and more stuff to do after and like there wasn't enough time really to between tasks to start to think about what I was doing probably helped. But that's a good example of where I like didn't start to think about what I was doing in a way that would then I would have lost focus and it would have been it would have been bad.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I mean you stayed very connected to the task. I mean, I feel like that's th like those kind of stages are really good. Like I I mean you a a lot of times people po do post very good runs. And I I kind of appreciate that sometimes because I want to see what it what it is. ⁓ but but you s you see a very like very connected stage. And I'm not just talking about like the shooting is connected. I'm I'm talking about the there is no interruption.
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ and if even with errors there's no interruption.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean your next your next stage actually was really just good. Your ne your other stage win was just like kinda You just like double the activator and then shoot all the things. No. Did you double both? ⁓ that's I was watching without without sound.
Alastair: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: You doubled both, right?
Alastair: Yeah. I did. I did. Yeah. And I was gotta have the sound. Yeah, it was it was ⁓ yeah, it was it was funny. That stage was stage ten. So that was I mean that was like we started on stage two. So that was well into the disaster. I was like my confidence was really at an all-time low and like those kinds of like short courses and like heavy activator sequences and things are not really my I don't practice them enough. They're not really my porte. And so I was like, ⁓ like, how am I gonna shoot this? Do I wanna, you know, how aggressive do I wanna be? I was planning on just doubling the first one, I think. And then ⁓ a guy on my squad squad grant doubled both of them. And I was like, ⁓ fuck it. All right, I'll just do that. ⁓ and yeah, it it it worked out. So that was that was the thing I liked most about that was the fact that I was like, This is ter this is terrible. This is even worse than Area Seven. And I was really thought that w wasn't a possibility. and and managed to do that anyway instead of totally fucking it off. ⁓ but yeah, that one was that was that was an interesting one.
Kyle Narkum: You
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean you are a you are a grand master, so you should you you can like draw pretty quick and shoot pretty fast, so sure.
Alastair: Sure. Yeah, listen, sometimes. Why not, you know? Why not? It's true.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Did I did I not mention also that Kyle is a grandmaster? Two time GM?
Alastair: ⁓ wow Wow.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ whoa. We're gonna talk about how Jay is the three times.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Wow.
Alastair: J Jay, when are you gonna be a GM?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I well I'm trying. I'm trying.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ when's when's production?
Alastair: Yeah. Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
Kyle Narkum: It's all beachy there,
The Hit Factor Podcast: Bumpy sites are scary. Saul did. I can't d I can't choose production now because Saul already did it.
Alastair: Where is Saul, by the way? I thought Saul would be here to talk I wanted to talk to Saul also. I like Saul a lot. Why is why what's the deal?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Saul Saul is he really just wanted he wants to like listen to episodes and I very much understand that. He just wants to be a listener. No, he's he's traveling right now. I believe.
Kyle Narkum: Where is he going?
Alastair: uses.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know. Just on a just He's on a journey.
Kyle Narkum: She's on a journey? Okay.
Alastair: Yeah. Well, somewhere with fiber probably. I mean he doesn't have some w he doesn't have some wired air some wired ear pods. What are those headphones called?
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Maybe I should have
Kyle Narkum: And...
The Hit Factor Podcast: These ones?
Alastair: Yeah, what are the 'cause they're not AirPods because AirPods are wireless. What are the what do they call the earbuds? Earbuds.
Kyle Narkum: Earbuds. Headphones. Headphones.
The Hit Factor Podcast: They're the they're the tang yeah, tangle buds.
Alastair: That's fun. I like that. That's a cute name. Dawh. The Tangle Buds. Anyway, I feel like he could have been here. So, Saul, if you're listening, my feelings are hurt. ⁓ Well, he should have known. My feelings are still hurt.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Apple apple tingle buds. Yeah. Yeah. I know I didn't I didn't invite him, so that's he is
Kyle Narkum: Well, you know what Dylan also owes us a podcast.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Still I d I texted him, Kyle, when I thought that you weren't gonna make it. No. You did not.
Kyle Narkum: Did he answer you? ⁓ Unlabeled.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Unbelievable.
Alastair: All right, well I'll be sending an email to hit factorsol at hitfactor podcast dot sol slash EDU
Kyle Narkum: saw as I go.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, Saul Saul forwards all of those to Mason, so
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ perfect.
Alastair: ⁓ speaking of Mason and Jacob, I'd shot a terrible match, but even with even if I hadn't. They very both of them, very impressive performances area eight. It was
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ Yeah, so so we were I I was ⁓ lots of refreshing going on on my part, ⁓ and talking to Kyle was shooting a match, so ⁓ I was you were you were still refreshing. I was texting Kyle and Saul, ⁓ and then and then a lot of a lot of just Saul and ⁓ and it was it was along the lines of, I don't know, I think Mason's got this one locked up and then I was like, Well, I don't know, but I mean Jacobs has still gotta shoot it and then it was
Kyle Narkum: I was still refreshing. That's where I was at. Like looking at the videos and talking to ⁓ Frank and Dylan who were on a squad, was like, I don't how much meat's really left on the bone to edge them out. And Jacob somehow managed to do it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It was very
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean they both shot no penalties and then obviously, you know, Jacob did the Jacob thing and shot faster with slightly worse points and Mason shot slightly slower with better points and but but Jacob was also shooting ⁓ outside the waistband for the first time in a long time. he was set free and he did he did eat. He did. I mean they both but they both I mean it just seeing where they landed overall, like
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: He was set free.
Kyle Narkum: Unleashed. Unleashed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It is.
Alastair: You know, there were some good open shooters there and Max shooting PCC and like I was like this is, you know, my match was terrible, but even if I hadn't been, like third place ninety percent maybe? Sick. I mean it was yeah, I was like, Wow. ⁓ my god. So yeah, very impressive.
Kyle Narkum: for hitting. The dappening was real.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, it was ⁓ definitely impressive. Very fun to watch. Would would not want to be ⁓ in the person's shoes who shot it early watching scores come in. That would be kind of a not an exciting in a good way thing to watch, you know. I mean, I think there were multiple I think ⁓ Dave Titoyan who shot s you're just and I mean I've done it
Kyle Narkum: No.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: just sitting in the the cup chair while you get beat. That's pretty miserable and pretty miserable.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean, I've done it before. I mean I shot early one t one year at ⁓ Main State and then Mason shot. And then he ended up he ended up be beating me by like half a point or something like that. It's actually
Kyle Narkum: Remember that year.
Alastair: Mm. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: It was off of someone else winning a stage, right? Was it a Ken or something?
The Hit Factor Podcast: It was Kenton Kenton squashed ⁓ compressed the stage and then and then yeah. ⁓ but yeah, it's not a fun seat. I mean Dave Titoyan who won ⁓ carry optics at area eight was in the similar position. He shot the same day as Mason and then he had to he had to watch
Alastair: Brutal.
Kyle Narkum: Well, then it was like three or four people at 99 % or 98%. Like 14 points.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Matt Hempel and and ⁓ who else? I didn't I mean like ⁓ Frank.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ Alex Wendell, Frank, and then there was, I think the rest was 96 to 95%.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, so you're like just sitting there looking at I mean, I don't know. I don't know what I would do. Would I refresh scores? Probably. Would I try to like do something else that day also? Probably.
Kyle Narkum: just get a voodoo doll and start stabbing everybody.
Alastair: That's tough. That's tough. Yeah. It's yeah, that's a tough s that's tough position to be in.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I remember I remember I shot Area Seven in like twenty nineteen. I think it was twenty maybe twenty twenty. And ⁓ that was when Max Michelle would come up and shoot Area Seven and beat everybody. And ⁓ I ended up finishing like eighty-seven percent of Max that year. And but for the first couple stages, I remember looking at at the scores and I like, ⁓ I'm beating Max right now. Two stages in. I'm like Did not continue that. Did not
Alastair: Ha ha ha.
The Hit Factor Podcast: That trend did not go well. ⁓ So Kyle, ⁓ before before we end it, ⁓ I actually do want to ask you about your you start you shot a big s a big high round count session for you, five hundred and fifty rounds the other day. Training.
Kyle Narkum: I did. I did to be fair, about 150 rounds was torture testing a couple of different grip setups.
The Hit Factor Podcast: She's torture test you do you throw ⁓ in the sand? Is that pretty good
Kyle Narkum: No, my hands, my hands really.
Alastair: Ha ha
Kyle Narkum: My hands. ⁓
Alastair: So you pour mud on
The Hit Factor Podcast: You muddy.
Kyle Narkum: yeah, it's my first time ever actually like, ⁓ doing that. think the most I've shot prior to this is maybe a couple hundred rounds. That was like dedicated practice. And that was like, ended June beginning in July before either New Hampshire state or area seven. But it's all kind of happened because I was talking to Matt gay. I don't know. Also have you talked to him and he had an interaction with them?
Alastair: Okay. I have not I know of him, but I have not talked talked to him.
Kyle Narkum: So I shot the match with him and he was talking about just like dry fire is great, yada, yada, yada. Cause it's like pretty much all I do. But he was like, you're just gonna, there's no way you're not going to benefit from just shooting live rounds. And even then by like the end of the day, I posted a couple of the clips on my Instagram. Like that's like how I should shoot every time. Cause it did not feel out of control.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: And it's like, I don't know. I've never had that confirmation. don't normally get that confirmation of dry fire. I'm just like, assuming this is how the gun's going to react. I know how fast the gun cycles and shoots. So I have a good idea of what's going on in the dry fire. like, I was kind of pushing it a little bit on the end there and it's still, was like, I think in that drill I had 12 rounds. I had two Charlie's when I was doing it and I was trying to push speed as hard as I could.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, like that's absurd. It's like just the speed that you were shooting, my my eyeballs could not keep up. ⁓ y I was like, whoa.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, it was like. And like I watched like my, my match videos sometimes and it's like, my guns kind of lingering on target longer than it should sometimes. And I'm like, I wonder if that's some kind of disconnect somewhere between my lack of live fire and shooting. don't know. But I think I'm gonna try and do more, even if it's only like 150 rounds or something, maybe every week or something, something, try it out. not?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Try it out. I think it's might suit you suit you well.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. Maybe. Also, you shoot a lot too, right? Or try to? What is what's your regimen really?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Might actually be kind of
Alastair: Do. Yeah. well, it's not super sustainable financially, but whatever. for now it's fine. yeah, it it depends a little bit, but I usually so I'll dry I dry fire for an hour a day, the days I'm not live firing. I d I actually went back to taking a rest day a week because I found that my hands were getting like not my skin, but my actual like grip was getting
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Alastair: was getting like why I wasn't recovering. And then usually I'll go to the range twice a week and I'll do a lot of dry fire mixed in with live fire. and then usually a a match a week. Yeah, it's it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah. So but I usually I'll probably include two range days in a match, I mean I'll probably shoot seven hundred and fifty to a thousand rounds a week. So
Kyle Narkum: Mm. Yeah, I love that. I think it's way better. Because you get the scaling. The scaling is way better in
Alastair: ⁓ arguably too much. But whatever, that's a later problem.
The Hit Factor Podcast: What yeah, it's like a future problem. You don't have to deal with that now. And you and again, like there might be rewards. You might you might get rewarded.
Alastair: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, that's a... Yeah, we'll get there. You might win, win Jay's draft form.
Alastair: I I Listen, nothing would make me happier.
The Hit Factor Podcast: You're the anchor. You're the anchor for this, for sure.
Alastair: Hold pulling everything down.
The Hit Factor Podcast: No w no no w the at the
Alastair: Wow, Jay. You're just really determined. You're just determined to hurt my feelings today, Jay. I just wasn't expecting I expect this from Kyle, but I was not I was
The Hit Factor Podcast: The I need to clarify this. The anchor the purpose the purpose of the anchor is to dig in, hold and hold the ship, which is the team, steady. Okay? Did I recover it? Did I recover it? Okay.
Kyle Narkum: I don't know. I don't know if that was the right terminology in that one. I don't know.
Alastair: ⁓ Okay. Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: I don't think I would ever interpret anchor in that manner, but yeah.
Alastair: No, I have heard I have heard that in a isn't that like a baseball thing? Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Hey, shit ass, you're the anchor. I gotta know.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So this is in in tra in track and field when they run relays, the the person who runs last is called the anchor because they're like the the fastest.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ see that's why you drafted him later. I get it.
Alastair: There you go.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Alastair: I was surprisingly early. You even said, you were like You were like, I feels a little early for this, but and I was like, I agree. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. But it wasn't. It was I don't I was looking at my list. Actually I have it right here. I was looking at this
Alastair: I'm gonna prove you right and wrong.
Kyle Narkum: Who's your team? Who's your team?
The Hit Factor Podcast: My my my L O team is Mason Brantley, Alistair, Isaac McLaren and and Christopher Culpepper. Which which are all all of you are on the on the super squad to all of you are on the super squad together.
Alastair: That's a that's a good team.
Kyle Narkum: Hmm. No bias.
Alastair: I mean me aside. That's a good that's a good despite me holding everyone down, like concrete shoes.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This was n not a bias pick. Not a bias pick.
Kyle Narkum: We've got a, what's Saul's team?
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I think actually Saul's people are Saul's people are all all on the ⁓ on the super squad as well. Jacob, Casey, Joey, AJ Anthony, and Ashton. No, is Ashton on the Super Squad or no?
Alastair: I don't think Ashton or AJ are. I don't think. I haven't looked I haven't looked in a minute. ⁓ I
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ wow, Saul's lacking. And and Sam does not have everyone on the super squad either. Actually only has he only has two.
Kyle Narkum: So, it's all really only Jacob and Casey are just two heavy hitters.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So my t he's got Jacob Casey, ⁓ and then Sam has ⁓ Weichel. ⁓ JJ's off off squad. ⁓ everybody else is ⁓ Adam Adam Grimm's on the on the super squad. Obviously he won
Alastair: I think J J is also. He did. He sure did. That rascal. just looking at price to score. Yeah, I think J J's on the super squad also. I don't really understand how it works, but ⁓ I'm gonna look right now. And then I thought I thought ⁓ Max Michelle was, but he's ⁓ no, he's still on there. Okay, never mind.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ did they move him? Maybe he got moved. Is Max Michelle still in the super squad?
Alastair: Yeah, from what I can see, David Wampler, Tanner Don Dongus. I don't I'm sorry, Tanner, I don't know how to say your name out loud. ⁓ K Kang, Isaac McGlern, Joseph Washell, Christopher Culpepper, Jacob Hetherington, Joey, Sarland, Brantley, Adam Grimm, Casey, and Max Michelle.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think that sounds about right. Sorry, Tina.
Kyle Narkum: Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah, it's solid. Solid crew right there.
Alastair: And me somehow. For some reason.
Kyle Narkum: It's wasted not on it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: No Mason's there. No wait no Mason is not. Never mind. Never mind. I don't have everybody.
Alastair: No, he's not 'cause he 'cause he wasn't ⁓ Yeah, he's not. He he he should be definitely should be. But he I mean he didn't shoot a dot last year, so
Kyle Narkum: He's on cigarette.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't I don't have your I I falsely said that everyone Mason is not on the super squad and he's on my team.
Kyle Narkum: Ugh.
Alastair: I have a feeling he will be next year. If I had to guess.
Kyle Narkum: Safe bet, safe bet.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I think I think that is safe.
Alastair: He's been shooting super well. be fun.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ so I mean nationals coming up in a short amount of time for you. ⁓ this is your second nationals ever, is that right?
Alastair: Mm-hmm. It's my second so last year I shot race gun factory in Ipsy. I'm gonna do that this year also. ⁓ and PCSL. So this will be my second race gun, race gun nationals. And it's like my main, I think of it as like my main nationals.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ Whoa. Okay. Second Yeah, cool. That's good. That's good for me and my team because I need you to be focused, like this is my main nationals, you know. I wouldn't want you to be like
Alastair: ⁓ listen, I am very focused. Very focused. Everybody says I'm most focused. I am I listen, as much as I don't want to let you down, Jay, the emotional pain that I'm really trying to avoid that I will feel if I fuck this match up is powerful. It's powerful stuff. So ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: The mo is the most focused.
Kyle Narkum: Thank
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I mean that that is that is the power of nationals.
Alastair: Yeah. The emotional pain I'll feel ⁓ for letting you down, it will be just be cherry a cherry on top. But it won't be because it'll drag me even lower, just like I will with the team. ⁓ no, that's not true. I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna fucking kick ass. Just you wait and see, Kyle.
Kyle Narkum: It'll be the anchor to your emotional endeavors.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I would be Sherry of pain. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Yes. Yes.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Kyle.
Kyle Narkum: I have faith, I didn't call you an anchor.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I
Alastair: Ha ha ha ha ha. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Bye.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Wow. This has been my most memorable podcast with listening to Alistair. ⁓ and I have and I have been I I don't know.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. ⁓
Alastair: What does that mean? What does that mean, Jay? Well, I'm glad we could start with my FTSA.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm not sure.
Kyle Narkum: Yep. From FTSA to Anchor.
Alastair: I have the torch. It's right here. Like the Statue of Liberty.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. And and what are the p who is who are the predictions? Who's it going to next? ⁓ Kyle called out somebody earlier.
Alastair: ⁓ the torch?
Kyle Narkum: For what? ⁓ Jeremy Boone. think I think it's. You spend too much time with them for not to get it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: The torch. Whoa.
Alastair: Me wow. So you're saying that Jeremy is gonna get the torch because of me?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Torch touch.
Kyle Narkum: Yes. Well, it got passed on.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you you got it unfortunat yeah, you got it from Dylan, unfortunately. You both actually you you both Yeah, so he actually he gave it to both of you who you guys got it like you guys got it fifteen minutes apart i on that day on Sunday.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ he got it. Yeah. No, you got it from me. No. So went from.
Alastair: Well Dylan had an FTSA in area seven, didn't he?
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, then he gave it to us. So our next majors.
Alastair: Okay. All right, well.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I just I just recall that feeling being like one of the worst feelings. ⁓ I I've had it a couple of times. ⁓ the worst feelings and just like and so I I just have to make other people feel it just get it out of the system.
Kyle Narkum: Ugh.
Alastair: Yeah, it is a terrible it's a rare thing, but it is it is ter it is terrible when it happens. ⁓ but yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ And then we're gonna what'll happen is we're gonna grill Kyle later on when he approaches when we get nearer to his third nationals in his main division. ⁓ but we we won't do it.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: Yes. Yes.
Alastair: Yeah. He then he'll be the he'll be the anchor.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. You can
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: He'll be the dead weight. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: I'm in. Unlocked in.
Alastair: ⁓ yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This dead weight is just totally different than an anchor. Anchor serves like a very specific purpose. Anchor Anchor
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ Are you guys doing, are you doing predictions for, are you doing teams for factor gun?
Alastair: No, it's fine. It's fine. I get it. I get it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I w mmm. I don't know if it would work. I think you I think Alista no Alistair, are shooting factory again?
Alastair: I am, I'm gonna borrow a shadow too. It should be exciting.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Whoa. Yeah, so we need a team of we need the people who are not doing it ⁓ to go to d to to take over the podcast and and do it. I think that's what we need.
Kyle Narkum: guys. ⁓
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: feel like most of the people we know are shooting it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, so ⁓ still still Yeah, you're right. Maybe we'll have to be creative.
Alastair: I think you could do it. I think you could do it even if you're shooting it. You could decide whether or not to
The Hit Factor Podcast: We can't draft ourselves. That's it.
Alastair: Well I well I mean I think you you you could.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't think I don't think I can. I mean I couldn't draft myself for my own team. That's that's absurd.
Alastair: Well here's the I think you c I think you could. I mean you're not gonna get much of a chance unless you like go first. You're
Kyle Narkum: You'll just be team captain.
Alastair: Yeah, why couldn't you draft yourself?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean I guess it I it's not as it's not unreasonable to think that we could do that. ⁓ but I it makes me less excited than like the excitement level that I had drafting for Race Gun was peak.
Alastair: Mm. Yeah. Well 'cause you're not d 'cause then you're not, you know, you just get to enjoy the you're not it's not actually a real thing for you. So you can just enjoy the if you draft yourself, then it's like a real thing. It's like your own performance matters even more than it already does.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I wonder if that's possible. Maybe I should do that. Might help me.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
Alastair: Yeah. Well, I'll let you know how painful it is to let you down and then you can decide if you want to also feel that. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: That might be the hack.
The Hit Factor Podcast: If I wanna if I wanna in if I wanna like go down that that road, if I wanna if I wanna
Alastair: Yeah. I mean for for what it's worth, Jay, I in the in the midst of my pain at how badly Area Eight went, I was like, I bet Jay's really gonna be gonna be ⁓ wishing he'd made a different choice in the fantasy trap. So it's already working. I already feel worse than I otherwise would.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I w I will say Saul Saul was feeling pretty good after ⁓ yeah me after Jacob's performance there. Saul was like
Alastair: I mean he he shot awesome. Yeah, yeah. The not the having the gun on the outside of his pants really helped, I think.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But then I I mean I wasn't Yeah, I think so. I mean I d I obviously am not feeling bad about Mason ⁓ shooting as much.
Kyle Narkum: Hmm.
Alastair: As it does. I wouldn't either. And Mason's been I think Mason's been he's like he's 'cause he's pretty new to well not new I mean he's he hasn't been back to shooting a dot for long. So his trajectory I think like every match I think he's getting better. You know?
Kyle Narkum: you For sure. And he's very good at focusing on what he needs to focus on in training.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, he's a little bit dangerous.
Alastair: Yeah. And he's ⁓ you know, that's his job that's his job right now. So he's gonna I think he's gonna absolutely crush.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yes. Yeah, it'll be super, super exciting to watch. And I'm and ⁓ obviously I'm I'm going for you. ⁓ if you were not on my team, I don't know, it's a tough one. I might be rooting against you, but you are on my team, so it's okay. ⁓ it works.
Alastair: Will you be rooting against me because I wasn't on your team or just because you generally don't like me?
Kyle Narkum: Mark, you're marked. You're marked safe.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This is
Kyle Narkum: No, no, you're Mark Safe, you're Mark Safe.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Because so competitive and really want to beat Saul at this thing, ⁓ and Sam, Sam cannot get away with a win here. I can't let it happen.
Alastair: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. No. I agree. We can't. And Saul not being here is dead to me. So Sam's also not here, dead to me. I would my understanding was he's a host. Mason's not here. I understood he was a host, dead to me. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Yep. Deleting, deleting, deleting saws number. Dylan was also a host.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Dang. Dylan's host.
Alastair: ⁓ the wait, Mason's on the is Mason on your team? I already forgot. Yeah, he is. Okay, never mind. Mason can still be alive to me. He's on our team. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Mason. Okay. So just send your complaints to hitfactor Mason at hitfactorpodcast.com slash Mason forward slash gov
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mason He's on he's he's on y he's on he's on our team. ⁓ yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Wow. I that that may be a a perfect time to wrap it up. It might be.
Alastair: Well I was I actually I did just remember you asked me what w the secret was to being getting good re
Kyle Narkum: Stop. Unload. Show clear.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Alastair: Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: Save yourself.
The Hit Factor Podcast: is what I meant to say for for Aleister. ⁓ Alistair Stewart is is here. Brand new host. He has fiber optic. Steve.
Kyle Narkum: This roster is deep.
Alastair: Yeah. It's an honor. It's an honor and a privilege.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, welcome, welcome. I ⁓ I listened to a couple of podcasts you were on, or one or two. I don't know if you've been on you've been on a one or two, and I listened to both of them. ⁓
Alastair: Two yeah. Wait, you listen to both, but you're not sure if it's one or two.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Well they they blend together into like one. I have one memory.
Alastair: Well, I look forward to this in joining the blob of podcasting to to the one that I've done. This'll also be part of the one.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, me too. Me too. I'm really looking forward to it. ⁓ Alistair Alistair has the torch. He holds the torch right now. I this is your intro, by the way. ⁓ you hold the torch. ⁓ Kyle, do you know do you know what the torch is?
Kyle Narkum: Me too. Shouldn't I don't?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I held the torch at one point, earlier this year. You ha you then held it. ⁓ actually many people have held it in between. Yeah, so first actually Frank Frank Carr held the torch. And then I held the torch later on that same match. ⁓ and then and then Dylan held the torch at area seven.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ the torch. Al, sorry, do you know where we're going? And then.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Dylan had Dylan had to hang on to it for a little while. ⁓ and then then Kyle held the torch. And now Alistair holds the torch.
Kyle Narkum: That was me.
Alastair: Is it a is it is it has to do with does it have to do with dropping something to hold the torch?
Kyle Narkum: No, it's see it's imagine it follows, but it's like FTSAs.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I mean dropping.
Alastair: ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ yeah. That torch is burning. Burning bright. Not bright enough for me to notice it and shoot at it, but burning burning bright. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: No
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I'm sorry to even do that to to you on a on a on a recording, but ⁓ but we've all done it.
Alastair: You know what? It is it's yeah. It was it was it was a real it was a real miserable situation 'cause first it was a stage that started out with like a one of those like monkey swinger things. And the the the plan was thanks to thanks to you know care of Mason Lane was like paper, you double activator and then you wait and it comes out and you pop it twice and you keep going. So paper, double the activator, malfunction.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ okay.
Alastair: as the as the thing came out and I was like perfect so I cleared it and then I and then I was like ⁓ and so it took me a while to get to on that thing. ⁓ finished the stage and they were like to my K F DSA and I was like sick and then I looked down and I was bleeding all over my stuff because I had taken part of my hand off clearing the malfunction. And I was like, here we are. Here we are.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Which way was to which target did you forget?
Alastair: ⁓ you didn't shoot that match. So how did do you
Kyle Narkum: but on another stage.
The Hit Factor Podcast: He probably does at the stage.
Kyle Narkum: I followed like a hundred people who shot it.
Alastair: Okay, okay, okay. So on the left the back left corner, there's three open paper. The third one you can either take from that corner or you can take it through the port where you finish. And I did not take it from I had planned to take it from the back corner, but I did not. And I also did not take it through the port.
Kyle Narkum: or ⁓ so does he do like the two and then walk into the portal and then shoot the other two?
Alastair: Yes. Wow. You really do know that stage.
The Hit Factor Podcast: He knows it better than I do.
Alastair: That's crazy. That's Yeah. That's yeah, exactly. That's exactly what happened. So yeah, it was the torch is is ⁓ is uncomfortable, but but you know, I'm keeping it's keeping me warm. So there's that.
The Hit Factor Podcast: And I didn't yeah, I did not shoot the match either. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: I feel like Jeremy Boone is gonna get handed this torch. I feel like it's inevitable.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Ooh. Are is this like are we doing predictions for next torch? No.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks.
Alastair: I mean everyone everyone if you don't hold that torch at some point then you're just you're either trying too hard or not hard enough. I I don't know which. Probably not probably not hard enough.
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, one or the other.
Alastair: You know.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, yeah. ⁓ the torch can be passed to you in many different kind of ways. You can kinda think you're think you're all special and got something figured out, and then it will then you'll get past the torch. Or you can I don't know. Yeah, numerous ways. ⁓ Kyle Kyle tried to save me from the torch in the walkthrough, ⁓ altogether. And and I I was like, give me the torch. I will
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: He wanted it so bad. He had to have it.
Alastair: This is mine now. I've earned it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Not listen to you. Hey Jay, aren't you gonna shoot aren't you gonna shoot that tuxedo? No.
Alastair: No. Everybody knows if it's a tux it's two no penalty mics anyway, so it's better just to skip it.
Kyle Narkum: Mm, mm, yep. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Skip it. I knew I was gonna I was gonna miss the target anyway so that I didn't I didn't even wanna
Alastair: You just saved the time.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's like why why do that? ⁓ man. Painful. It's a painful
Alastair: Yeah. Great. Well, this was listen, it's been it's been great being here. ⁓ I really appreciate it. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I think we'll wrap it up. ⁓ no. don't do it.
Kyle Narkum: It's a way to
Alastair: ⁓
Kyle Narkum: What floor do you live on Alistair?
Alastair: The fourth. So if it's hi it's tall enough.
Kyle Narkum: Perfect. Okay, perfect.
Alastair: Yeah. There's a w there's a window right here. So
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks, Jay.
Alastair: Just keep bullying, Kyle. You just keep bullying. See what happens. I'll show you.
Kyle Narkum: He did it! He did it!
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I know.
Alastair: Yeah, but ⁓ it j it's too nice, so I just blame you instead.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ very good. Just take the torch with you.
The Hit Factor Podcast: We did it I think at one point at one point ⁓ Nathan Barnes DQ'd us earlier than I expected. it was time. It was time during that one, but but it was an early DQ and it and it you know, it had to ha had to happen.
Kyle Narkum: Well, the secrets are coming out. can't let the secrets out.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, that's true. That's very true. ⁓ I I I do apologize for people who don't know who ⁓ who ⁓ Alistair is, but ⁓ they should by now. I I was informed of your presence ⁓ in the world by none other than Saul Allen, ⁓ who who ⁓ I think was texting Kyle and myself and he's like, Guys, you gotta check out ⁓ Alistair here. ⁓ he's pretty good and he's getting good really good
Alastair: True. True.
The Hit Factor Podcast: very quickly and ⁓ and then that always makes ⁓ you know it makes people nervous because they're like, ⁓ no. Here we go. There's another one. ⁓ which is actually really good. We
Alastair: Don't worry.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Something that we
Alastair: I I yeah, I think it's more of a bell curve situation for me. So I think I was as we're down on the you know
The Hit Factor Podcast: Get Well you're you're gaining you're gaining a lot of ex
Kyle Narkum: Stocks are a little down right now. We're holding. We'll get there.
Alastair: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But just hold on to it. Yeah. It'll be worth something eventually.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Well. I mean you're gaining you're gaining a lot of s experience very rapidly by shooting a lot of these major matches. ⁓ and you've shot a lot for the last few years, it seems like. ⁓
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah. Last year last year and this year, I've really tried to shoot a lot of majors.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, it's cool. Like I I I wish that I could do that sometimes. But then other times I don't. Like I I just come like, ⁓ maybe I just I'm just saving myself.
Kyle Narkum: I feel you greatly... It's a recent thing for me.
Alastair: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: I I really was just trying to make up for lost time. that's the main reason. I I'll I'm shooting fewer this this year than last year and I'll shoot fewer again next year. But I w I needed to I needed to get the experience very quickly, so that's what I did.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Why do you why do you want to get experience really quickly? What's what's the deal?
Alastair: ⁓ I just like started pretty late in life, I think, relatively speaking, from a like trying to be a top performer perspective. ⁓ thirty-seven. I started like two almost just under three years ago. ⁓ and I'm like if I I wanna see I wanna see where I can take it. And so I I wanna like I wanted to try to ramp up as quickly as I could. And I knew that major match experience was gonna be important for that. And it's, you know, it's a little bit of a like scarce resource. There are only so many a year and half of them you don't realize are opened and then you miss the chance anyway. So ⁓ I just wanted to, you know, get as many done as I could and ⁓ and then this year really focusing on area matches and nationals. ⁓ so I think it's I think it's it's been good. But yeah, it's it's I wouldn't keep doing this many. I don't I think it's diminishing returns kind of domain.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean what is it about major matches that that you feel like you need to go to them to gain? Like what is that element that that you have learned?
Alastair: I think initially it's like I mean, initially it's like what what do these even look like? What do the stages look like? How do they work? Like, what's this like how do you set yourself up for success? How do you manage all legit the logistics and kind of try to stack the cards in your favor as much as you can to perform the way you want to? ⁓ so I think, you know, there's a lot of that that that's useful. And and then I think beyond that it's really the mental game. of I think it's good to to see where you're stacking up. I think that's a good way of gauging kind of performance as well and how you're trending and how your training's working. ⁓ but I think just like the the reps of the of the mental game of performing when you really care a lot about something, and there's a lot of really good people and you know things are challenging or it's a bunch of stages in a day or whatever it is. ⁓ I think it's just useful to to front load some of those reps instead of trying to, you know, instead of it taking like five or six years to get that much experience.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. I'm kind of impatient. And it's and I but and I did it and I tried to do it without the matches. Without the experience. I think the experience helps. And c and Kyle, you you avoided Area Eight. You chickened out. You didn't go to it like me. Scared. We were we are so scared. 'Cause
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: That's exactly it. The trick is me being a bitch. Yep. I saw the seesaws. The seesaws scared me. They assaulted Frank. They did assault Frank. You know, I just didn't want to risk it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean probably for good reason.
Alastair: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Seesaws, lots of stairs to go up and down. Did you did you jump all did you skip the stairs or did you jump right up and then right off or did you did you use a couple of them?
Kyle Narkum: Yes, we did.
Alastair: A lot of stairs. I think I took one stair up. ⁓ 'cause you could kinda shoot like I think jumping up would have been you know, it would have you just been shooting later. And then I think I took one stair down. I'd have to go back and actually I'm not totally sure, but I think I w I did one stair and then I sort of jumped the rest of the way.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I like jumping off of things. It's fun.
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
Alastair: Well yeah, when you're when you're young it just hurts my knees.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Sometimes.
Kyle Narkum: Shoulda come. You shoulda come.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's just just damaging to the body. ⁓ Kyle, what match did you shoot instead of Ari 8?
Kyle Narkum: I shot the Commie Classic, the Hero Down match in Massachusetts, part of that three match series, but it was a mass, so you're limited to 10 rounds. I think I may have been saying it to you. I don't know if I had a conversation. was like, but the extra layer of the round count was actually wicked fun. I mean, I wouldn't want to do it all the time. 10 rounds a little much, but it does make me kind of urine for like production optics flavor.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, watching some of those videos did look kind of fun.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, I mean 10 rounds is a little brutal because you have to break it up too much. It's kind of annoying. But if it was like 15, 17, something like that, I feel like it'd be a ton of fun.
Alastair: Mm. You can see that. Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: See it. Yeah, fifteen's kinda nice. It's not bad. Like it's not bad.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. Ten is horrible.
Alastair: Yeah. Y you you heard it here, folks. Kyle Narkom. Pro magazine limit, capacity limits. Watch out.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I forgot. ⁓ Alista Alistair, ⁓ we have to prevent Kyle from talking for more than like ten seconds during a podcast. So that's a side quest.
Kyle Narkum: Ha ha ha!
Alastair: He's we have to stop him from talking for longer than ten seconds. Okay. So it's
Kyle Narkum: Easy. I can't form enough words and talk for 10 seconds.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Just because people people appreciate his voice so much. ⁓ so we neither need to create a technical difficulty for him with his AirPods or just cut him off when he starts
Kyle Narkum: Where are my AirPods? Yeah, I can't be sabotaged.
Alastair: Yeah, fair.
Kyle Narkum: These are brand new. they ⁓ f up, I'm gonna be pissed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ brand new ones, you so you lost your old ones and then Wow.
Kyle Narkum: just for the podcast. I got EarPods instead of Google Fiber. I did.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, this is these are ⁓ these are my earpods ear earbuds. ⁓ that I they're my worn out, like junk junky ones that have been in my sweaty pockets for like two months. And these are my dedicated podcast ones. And I got new ones from listening to Kyle's music. So huge upgrade. Huge upgrade.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: Classic. ⁓ nice. I'm blessed. I'm blessed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I get notifications on my phone. It's like, ⁓ your volume's too loud. I'm like, no, it's not. It's appropriate for listening to Kyle's music.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ I'm trying to blow my eardrums out, thank you.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, if if I'm going to blow my eardrums out, it will be from Kyle's music. I'll protect them while I shoot, but R really though, I I do want I am curious to hear ⁓ I like I want to listen to a conversation between you two about like why like about continuing in this sport, like how like your motivations on continuing and and wh and what's keeping you here ⁓ despite you like circumstances. Like I I don't know, like I've never thought I I'm s
Alastair: What are you trying to say, J Good Lord? What are you trying to say?
Kyle Narkum: What is it?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm saying for for like for myself, I don't think I've ever thought like, wow, I'm definitely going to quit right now. and I don't know if I've said I maybe daily. But I'm not I I'm I'm I wanna hear you guys talk a a little bit about like frustrations and overcoming frustrations a little bit with this because
Kyle Narkum: Bye. I do daily.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Because pushing hard and trying to get good really quick, trying to make changes is inevitable to be frustrating. So I I wanna hear you guys talk about that because I want to learn from that.
Alastair: Mm. Mm. Yeah. So so
The Hit Factor Podcast: But don't don't let Kyle talk though, so
Alastair: Okay, so so just me got it. Well, I'll tell you I'll tell you, Jay. ⁓ I I I think I understand what you're asking. The way I heard it, ⁓ because I'm I'm ver I'm hurt right now, you know, I'm hurting, was why why why would you even bother?
Kyle Narkum: you That's what I heard. That's what I heard.
The Hit Factor Podcast: That's why you're here. We're hurting.
Alastair: Why why would you even bother to continue being in this sport when you can't even remember to shoot all the targets and your gun doesn't work?
The Hit Factor Podcast: That's exactly where I'm it's exactly where I'm going with this.
Alastair: And so Kyle, you talked to Alistair about it because you also should quit.
Kyle Narkum: thought about it.
Alastair: No, I'm just kidding. I I do understand the the question. It it is it is ⁓ yeah, trying to trying to get good fast is is frustrating. I don't know. I assume trying to get I think just trying to get better at something that's hard and that you care about is probably frustrating for for anyone.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I don't think anyone wants to get w anyone wants to like take their time getting good at something, necessarily. Like we we want to I don't know, maybe Kyle is. I don't know. I'm I'm
Alastair: Yeah, Kyle, what's taking you so long? ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Okay. ⁓
Alastair: ⁓ this is like way, way more brutal than I thought it would be, but I'm loving it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't even know the I d I don't even know what I I have no filter at this point. Everything's just coming out of my
Kyle Narkum: I was the alternative pickleball. am I going to do now?
Alastair: Ha ha ha.
Kyle Narkum: I don't know. Yeah, I know. I suck at it. I've tried it.
Alastair: That was hard. Yeah, prickle bull prickle's hard. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: I played it like three times, I keep smacking the ball into the vents. I can't, I don't have the finesse.
Alastair: Yeah. No. Yeah. Yeah. Shooting's way better though, let's be honest. Let's be honest. I don't know. I I kind of like I think there's two ways that I rationalize it. and rationalizing is apparently, according to the literature, it's very important for being high performing. You really have to rationalize the bad stuff. ⁓ it's it's it's actually true. Like you really gotta you gotta take the good stuff and the bad stuff, you gotta be like, ⁓ it was a fluke. Never happen again.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: ⁓ so you know, ⁓ how I how I think you gotta just keep rationalizing it harder. You gotta Yeah. Yeah, dude, listen.
Kyle Narkum: What about what happens every time?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Okay, just cope, sip, go, sip, go, and go. Okay.
Alastair: That's if you want to be the best, you gotta believe you're the best no matter what happens. It's just a sad fact of life. ⁓ it's very difficult for me. but I I think like, I don't know. There's enough good I think there are enough like ups or seeing the results. ⁓ I think there's enough there to keep me going. And so I kind of just
The Hit Factor Podcast: Ha ha ha.
Alastair: When s when stuff is frustrating or I have a bad match or whatever, I it's sort of just like I I know what I need to do, I'm just gonna keep doing it and I'm gonna learn what I can and correct what I need to correct. But it's kinda like the way out is through. Like I'm just gonna if I just keep doing what I know I need to do, like I'll end up better than I've ever been. ⁓ and so, you know, I think that's part of it. And then also there's part not like so much match performance, but like frustration in training and
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
Alastair: you know, when you're when you're dry firing or at the range or whatever and you just can't do the thing the way you want to do it, like that is really that that frustration is really important for developing. Like that's when you're at you're learning the most and building the most skill is is that that feeling is actually a signal that you're doing it right. And so I try to remember that as well. ⁓ before I, you know, throw my gun through a wall or something, which would be bad.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm. All right, Kyle, words.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ I mean, I would pretty much echo everything. I was started to said with a couple of added pieces. For me, it's like, what's the alternative now? I've invested so much time. It's like my trajectory really hasn't really gone down at all from where I've started. So I'm still building on, all the skills I need to, and they're going in a direction that I want them to go. So it's what would really be the point of stopping when I've already invested so much time and money into this. So, and like, don't think I fit my ceiling by any means. So that's also another piece that's like, I'm just an idiot. One day I'll be less of an idiot and it'll go good. So I just gotta get there. Just to go down the bumpy road until it gets smooth.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. So pretty much everything else are set and then just those few other things. So. And it's, just like competing. I don't know. It's just cool. It's fun.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, competing is it's very special. It's a very unique experience. 'Cause I I think I think a lot about how people go through life sometimes without competing at anything.
Alastair: Is it Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: Probably very com-
Alastair: Crazy.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. And I they probably they probably garden.
Kyle Narkum: They probably guard him.
Alastair: I don't know. There's gotta be gardening compet I don't know. I feel like maybe they just don't realize they're in competitions. Yeah, that for sure. I could guarantee you, Kyle, there's more money in that than there is in competitive shooting. I could guarantee you. I bet they get ten grand for winning that thing.
The Hit Factor Podcast: There might be Guardian competitions.
Kyle Narkum: Who grows the biggest squash? What are we doing? That is the thing actually. I've heard that. Nevermind. Go back. That's the thing. That's the thing.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you're right. Yeah, never mind.
Kyle Narkum: They're probably, they grow, there's pumpkin competitions. They juice the pumpkins. I'm pretty sure they give them steroids.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think they do.
Alastair: Hey, you do what you gotta do. It's all about winning.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But even gardening, I mean you drive by someone else's garden and you're like, dang, that person's garden's better than mine.
Alastair: Yeah, like yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Dare they?
Alastair: How dare they?
Kyle Narkum: in human nature, I guess.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But I I don't know, there's ⁓ there the anticipation of competition is very special and I'll feel it build and build in waves. ⁓ and I don't know, it's special. It's very it's it's not necessarily always fun, but
Alastair: For some of us.
Kyle Narkum: I mean, the other part too is like, every time you do anything, I feel like at least for me, it's different every single time. Like nothing's ever perfect, which is also intriguing at the same time.
Alastair: Mm-hmm. True. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. The game it's like complex enough and and it's inherently going to be different every single time that that returning for more is is not like you're going back to to return to the same exact thing that you've seen over and over again. So like you can be surprised in very, very interesting ways. ⁓ like I don't know, sometimes I I look at video from matches that I've shot and
Kyle Narkum: us.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know, so it it's a weird thing looking at the video and thinking, like, did I do that? Like that that happened, like the I d I did that thing and then trying to figure out what what behavior you want to take going forward and what what you do not wanna take going forward and ⁓ like that process is will always be very interesting to me.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ and then the people are very are very also very interesting, unpredictable people.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Nice nice people that you're like very excited to see all the time, you know, like all of it. All of it's very cool.
Alastair: Yeah, I think it's an interesting like the I mean I'm sure that I'm sure there are other things like this, but it feels a little bit unique in terms of preparing yourself for this like performance that it o is over so quickly. And just the s the stuff you have to do at speed and how easy it is to make mistakes, and how much like There is obviously there's a lot of it that's known ahead of time, but there's always like micro ⁓ you know, unpredictability in terms of like what the site's gonna do and where you're gonna be positioned, you know, and all of these things that you have to process so quickly. I think is also there's something very interesting about that too. And about how to like set yourself up so that when like when the thing when it go when it's when it's go time, like it just works is is very interesting.
Kyle Narkum: But. You guys ever feel like time just happens differently when you're If that makes sense.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. I think that
Kyle Narkum: Like I'll watch someone else do like an activator thing and it's like, that is ripping. And I'm like, I shot it and I was like, that wasn't that bad.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, yeah, this definitely. When this is part of what I'm thinking about with the video too, like I'll look back at video and it and it gener like, especially on activator sequences, and I'll watch the video of myself doing it and be like, I did that? I I like ⁓ that timing worked out? Like, yeah. Whoa.
Kyle Narkum: There was a there's a stage from this weekend, right? I mean, it was over the top swinger. And it was honestly pretty fast for what it was. And I had like this weird self doubt thing and I was like, there's no way I can get two on that in one pass. And I shot it and I was like, bang, bang, had two hits and I waited for the third. But I was like, dude, when I wasn't shooting it, it looked so much faster for some reason. And there was a
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I saw that video.
Alastair: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: There's that and then there was one I didn't shoot. So I don't know if you guys saw the video like the teddy bear start you started and then you shot a little bit and then you ran to the right corner and you had activator, activator stack, tux, steel.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: So my plan was to do activator stack, tucks, steel. But I was like, the points were a little tight because I had fucked up pretty bad throughout the day. So I was like, I don't want to be that stretched thin just in case. I missed steel anyways. But so we had all shot and then the next stage ⁓ was a double-dump bay and the MD wanted it ran a specific way, which just unfortunately caused the backup. So we had to wait for a squad and a half. So I'd gone back and I was like, hey, do you guys like care if you just run me through this really quick? No score, no nothing. I just want to see like, how is this possible? Or I'm like, am I off my rocker crazy? And it was steel, stack, tux, all alpha. And I was there for the first pass. I was like, why am I not just doing that? Why would I not have just done that? But in the moment, everything feels like it's so fast until I'm doing it. And I'm like, I don't
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, so this bring ⁓ trusting that for yourself is huge. So like what I mean, what I mean, I'm wondering again for myself as well, but like going forward, how are you gonna how are you gonna make yourself just do the thing and then trust that you're like you in the moment it will not feel crazy.
Kyle Narkum: I did it on one stage. did because I was trailing. I like the only way to make up time here is if I do activator three targets and then back to the swinger. And I kind of transitioned to the wrong target and still shot all three, which got me back to the swing really and I was like, I can only send two because the round count. So I got the alpha and then I chased it when it was going away and I like just barely missed it. But I think if I just, I think it's totally doable if I just ironed out how I wanted to shoot the targets to get back to the swinger. So I think I was going to take any aggressive option I can whenever I can.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Like it.
Kyle Narkum: But you've talked about that extensively.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Always. The most aggressive option always.
Alastair: That sounds suspiciously like a rule.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ dang it. I've been found out.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ delete that. Nathan, Nathan, shut it off.
Alastair: I'm just saying. Sounded a lot like a rule. And I thought those weren't allowed around here, which would also be a rule. But it doesn't matter. It does matter.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It doesn't doesn't even matter. ⁓ I I saw something interesting that was ⁓
Kyle Narkum: They didn't.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Maybe I heard it somewhere. But it was it was along the lines of if you want to do things that are great, you have to feel like you have ownership over whatever it is that you are doing, that it's yours. And I for a long time did not feel ownership over what I was like what I could do. Like it I was like, Well, this belongs to somebody else, so it's not mine.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ and that sounds like a me problem, which it it is, ⁓ but it's not anymore.
Kyle Narkum: It seems mostly fixed. It does seem mostly fixed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mostly I mean
Alastair: Is that like a Jay, is that like a an identity thing? Like a is that like a believing that the things you've done in the past you've done because you're capable of them, not as some kind of fluke?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think it was like I like I am supposed to like I'm trying to think of what a good example of this is. like I should follow
Kyle Narkum: I felt you got lucky. You ever feel like you got lucky a bunch?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean, I don't know if I got l lucky. I feel like I I mean in in my in my case I feel I was just held back by by thinking that I need to do s do things a certain way that follows someone else's ⁓ you know prescription of ⁓ the way that you're supposed to compete or whatever it is. And then I w I never then was able to do it my way or I didn't allow myself to do it my In my way for me is way more fun. So I should do that. The
Kyle Narkum: The winning way. The winning way. The time, the time matters actually. Yeah, I think. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: The d yeah, like time matters. ⁓ like I look not like I can think about this game in a way that helps my score. I don't have to do stupid stuff to to like I don't know. I I'm I'm bouncing around this a bunch in a unnecessary way, ⁓ when I'm more interested to hear what Alistair has to say.
Alastair: Well but yeah, but I'm I'm more interested to hear ⁓ to hear what you have to say about it, Jay. I wanna learn.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Sh. I mean I at some point I'm gonna c I'll could just I'll just ⁓ call people out and ⁓ be like you did this to me. But really what it is is that I that I d I mean who did it I mean I did it to myself by by taking it that way. Like like I need to do it their way. ⁓ and this can be applied like
Alastair: ⁓ yeah, who? Who did it? What did they do? What did they do?
Kyle Narkum: Who did it? Who did it?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I'm thinking of this now a lot of different ways where I I hear information, I hear people talk about stuff, and I think that seems like a good idea. I'll I'll do that. ⁓ and then if you get s too stuck to it, then it it instead of helping you it will just it will just hurt you.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ which which sucks.
Alastair: I think I probably have the opposite I don't know if it's really become a problem, but I I change stuff all like I'm sort of and I think some of my like improvement curve has been because of this. But I'm like ex I experiment with stuff constantly in terms of
Kyle Narkum: I I do it all the time. I do it all the time. This is my wheelhouse.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Kyle's thinking the same thing. I wish
Alastair: What is what is what is Kyle what's Kyle's face doing?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Ky If Kyle if Kyle had fiber optic, we could see his facial expressions even better. But he doesn't.
Alastair: You know what's weird, Jay, is I can see him better than I can see you. I don't know if it's 'cause like you're
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ dang it.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, Jay, you look like you're on the alien spaceship. You're transmitted.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm over here talking like I've got great internet. I c I can
Alastair: You're like No, you're you're a potato mode for sure, Jay, sorry.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I guess it's only your face, Alistair, that that I can see very clearly.
Kyle Narkum: You have the main fiber, not the real fiber.
Alastair: Yeah, look at that. I'm my face is the only one I can see clearly also. ⁓ it's mostly just a mustache and whatever that neon tire iron is behind UJ and then for Kyle it's I don't know what that is, but it's it's fun. It's a fun colour.
Kyle Narkum: Ugh.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's my it's my bowsaw. Yeah, I got a bowsaw back there.
Alastair: ⁓ it's a s I see. I see the now I see. See it's up the potato vision, it's hard to tell what it is.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, so I mean you got you yeah, I I have felt very restricted in making changes. Like ⁓ don't you dare change anything. And so yeah, to free myself up to to make changes has been helpful. And I think I mean this is very clear that everyone's different. You two I I know this about Kyle. Kyle's like switching stuff up all the time. Makes me feel very uncomfortable.
Alastair: Uh-huh.
Kyle Narkum: Okay. Okay.
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I'm always experimenting with like different different approaches to training, but also like a lot of the mental stuff. Trying to figure out what's gonna get me the best result. ⁓ yeah, I'm always I'm always trying different stuff. So I don't think I've gotten caught really in the sticking with something that isn't working or that that I don't need to s to stick with. but I'm sure that there are some things that I change too quickly or too often or don't give I try to give things a t a chance to work. but I do change things pretty pretty regularly.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm. What it what's your current mental thingy that you're hanging on to that that you're like, this might work?
Kyle Narkum: Okay. Okay.
Alastair: I I'm still like one of the things that I've really and I was gonna ask ask you guys about this, your take on this. One of the things I'm always trying to improve or find the right version of is my mental concept for match execution. Like b basically like the the program that I want to boot up.
Kyle Narkum: Up.
Alastair: for like when I'm gonna when I'm gonna shoot a stage at a match that has like the right level of aggression, the right level of subconscious execution, the right level of conscious focus on the right stuff, but in a sort of like all baked into a concept that I can then ⁓ sort of like solidify and practice, and then I can just apply it in matches. and Yeah, I've I've all I'm always like for a while like recently I've been messing with one that's a little bit more vision oriented. There are other times like I'll often kinda go back and forth on the level of aggression I I wanna have and how I can cue that basically. but I have not found
Kyle Narkum: you
Alastair: I've not found I it it still needs a lot of improvement. I haven't figured out what the right recipe is.
Kyle Narkum: My recipe is very simple. It's be aggressive, except on the stuff that I should not be that aggressive on.
The Hit Factor Podcast: What's your recipe, Kyle? Do you even think about it? Do you think about your recipe? Hmm.
Kyle Narkum: But I do think, I think there's a layer to it a little bit. So I think there's a layer of experience like you were talking about earlier, where if you've been exposed to a specific thing enough, it takes way less ⁓ mental focus to accomplish whatever that piece of the puzzle is. So for me, it's like, just like to be aggressive. So like being aggressive, it just kind of perfect. you go. I don't really think about it. Unless it's a target, I'm like, well, I'm just going to shoot that as I got to shoot it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: And I
Kyle Narkum: And everything else, I'm just going to try and be as aggressive as I can.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, like that sounds really simple to me. So like I mean I've I've tried I've come to my own interpretation of basically that, which is I don't even know how to put it into words, but it's a lot less stuff than I used to do. I like it it's very it's simplified way more so that I don't have to I don't have to come up to a stage and and force anything. I I come up to a stage and I and if I feel
Kyle Narkum: Hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: good about it if I'm feeling pretty good about however I'm feeling, then then I'll just I'll do the normal stuff with the regular programming and then and then let it rip. ⁓ and I don't use words. I don't know. I'm while you were talking about baking things, Alistair, I was imagining like a really good lemon bar. Like a real like a really nice lemon bar.
Alastair: I I love lemon bars, especially good ones. And I don't think I don't think that'd be aggressive enough for Kyle. It would be like a really tart one. Maybe?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Good ones. I have had some bad lemon bars. No. Yeah, maybe a really tart like ⁓ like you kind of an
Kyle Narkum: I don't know, I am very picky. I'm like a chicken finger pizza guy. I... Yes, I am a dino nugget man.
Alastair: I do love chicken fingers.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Is this a dino dino nugget?
Alastair: Chi child. Man, sorry.
Kyle Narkum: Yes, I'm a man child. I'm a child with a very hairy chest.
Alastair: Okay, alright. Well, I wish I had the higher resolution. I thought I thought you were wearing a black shirt, but I guess actually you're
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ That's just, that's just fair.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Just for
Kyle Narkum: so back to the, back to the thing real quick too. I think there's like obvious things you have to do on stages, right? Like if there's a movement option.
Alastair: Perfect.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Please.
Alastair: Not like shoot off the targets?
Kyle Narkum: That's up there. That is definitely up there.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I had to learn it I had to learn that because I was like, well just do do way less, Jay.
Alastair: Sounds like a rule.
Kyle Narkum: maybe not rule, but this thing you have to do. I don't know. Maybe it's but there's a movement option and you're shooting a dot. feel like you have to do the movement option because everyone you're shooting against is doing the movement option. There's pieces of it. Like you don't really need to think about because it's like you just have to do it. So just ingrain it and do it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, like a lot of those decisions are made for you.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, to be competitive.
Alastair: But then how do you do it's it's not so much the plan, it's like the execution of the plan. It's the the way that you it's it's the way that you're going to execute the plan, is really more what I'm thinking about. Like if you're gonna shoot on like how do you set yourself up so that when when the you know the buzzer goes off and you gotta shoot on the move and it's everything's happening way too quickly for you to be consciously processing most of it, you do the thing you wanna do or you get the the outcome you want to get. Like how do you I mean I guess it's just it's just be aggressive. But do you ever feel like that that holds you back ever, Kyle?
Kyle Narkum: I don't know maybe something I've been trying to do before the buzzer is like, you know, like your walkthroughs is like I will do my walkthroughs like half speed every time to just like soak up as much info as I can. Because how I'm going to shoot is going to be how I shoot. So I don't think I need to like imitate that when I do the walkthrough. But if I can absorb a bunch of information slower before I shoot, I think it helps me kind of paint the picture of the stage a little better. that makes sense.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Alastair: But if but when you say how you're gonna shoot is how you're gonna shoot, d do you feel like you shoot the same way every time? 'Cause I don't feel like I shoot the same way every time.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: Interesting.
Kyle Narkum: Yes. I'm like a doggy threw in a pool every time I shoot.
Alastair: Mm, adorable.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ We lost Jay.
Alastair: Jay's gone. Jay's just fucking out. I can see the saw better now though. I can see the the blade and the deep and the blue tux. That's fancy. I like the blue tux. And the pipe. It looks like a cold pipe running into a hot pipe. Doesn't seem right. I'm but I'm not in construction.
Kyle Narkum: Sure, yeah. Pesach? I don't know either.
Alastair: He just got tired of it. He Yeah, he wanted to go talk to some winners.
Kyle Narkum: I think that he just dropped the mic. ⁓ Drew, yeah. That's what happened. The winner.
Alastair: He's got he's got friggin' Mason and Sam on another line. He's popping over to the winter circle.
Kyle Narkum: He does. You're gonna take a phone call and Mason real quick. Talk about how good they are.
Alastair: ⁓ man.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, that was our our producer Mason had to had to call and just make sure that we were on track with our podcast scheduling. Yeah, it's fine.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ perfect. Yep. Did he mention where my fiber is? Is that coming soon?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, yeah, Mason's gonna pay for you to get your fiber optic internet. Yeah. Yeah, and if you want it to happen sooner, just yeah, call call him or email email him. What's his email? Not to schedule training, but to get fiber optic internet for Kyle.
Kyle Narkum: Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you, Mason.
Alastair: Amazing. Yeah. Right.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ HitFactorMason at HitFactor.com.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ is that it now? Yeah, we got him his email.
Kyle Narkum: You
Alastair: Hit Factor Mason at hitfactor dot com slash Mason dot gov
Kyle Narkum: You Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Slash Mason.
Kyle Narkum: We got him.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Hmm.
Alastair: ⁓ Jay, do you do so I don't I don't can't remember which parts you heard because your headphones are physically attached to your computer and you have to take them off. ⁓ what so so I was saying I don't one of the reasons I'm fascinated by this whole recipe thing is because I don't feel like I shoot the same way every time. And but Kyle was saying he does shoot the he shoots the same way every time. Do you shoot the s do you feel like you shoot the same way every time?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I had to take them off. No, I have to make myself shoot like Kyle all the time. So the fun way. So so I'm thinking about you you talked about like that, you know, a movement option where you where you want to have something happen and and that's very much something that I've had to to make myself do. And this gets back to like I've had to it doesn't matter if I make myself do it in training.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: fun way.
Alastair: It's definitely more fun.
The Hit Factor Podcast: 'Cause like I can do it in training all the time. Like if I decide d to do the movement option or do the whatever thing that I want to do, what where I need to practice it is at at matches. ⁓ and specifically matches that I care about. ⁓ so because that's where there's a disconnect, if there ever is one, on ⁓ hey, you just you like this is a match that you care about.
Kyle Narkum: So you
The Hit Factor Podcast: And also you have to do this movement option that's a little scary. And so
Alastair: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I have found a lot of freedom in just understanding that the movement option that I'm about to take will give me the fastest or one of the fastest times. so I'm gonna do it regardless, and I will be rewarded for it. ⁓ and if I mess it up, it it won't like that's better than than never taking it. So And like the Saul Saul's better at explaining this ⁓ because we've been talking about it quite a bit, just on on I'd rather be way too early on something than than have to wait like a moment. So for the movement option, like on I'm gonna shoot some targets on the move, I w I'm gonna take them immediately. Like I'm gonna I'm gonna I'll draw the gun and just start shooting. If the if you know, obviously per stage kind of description or like how you look at it.
Kyle Narkum: Okay. Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ but it may be, you know, I'm gonna go over here to this corner, shoot these two targets, and then immediately transition to this partial at at at fifteen, twenty yards and start shooting it right away. That's then gonna bring me to the next next position. And so I think that it's a lot of the commitment to it and in the and the commitment to just be as early as possible on every everything. So there it for me that takes out the ability to even mess it up because it's not like shoot these two close targets in this corner.
Kyle Narkum: .
The Hit Factor Podcast: run four steps, then settle down and start shooting this target on entry. Like I don't even have that option. So I've removed it as part of my plan. and I'm okay with that with getting bit by that. Like in the in a bad way. ⁓ like d like doing kind of dumb things. Like why is Jay just shooting every every target on like slightly on the move? ⁓ like that's obviously hurting his score. Like fine. I don't care. Like I'm I would I would rather have that hurt me than the other option, ⁓ which is doing things too late.
Kyle Narkum: Here's a question. ⁓ no, you go. No, no, you go. go.
Alastair: And do you just go ahead, Kyle? ⁓ I was just gonna ask, do you do you does that all come do you bake all of that into your plan or is there something you cue like when you're about to shoot to to keep doing that?
The Hit Factor Podcast: just in my lemon bar that I'm just eating. You know, I I
Alastair: The lemon bar method. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know, I think I think it sometimes appears during the stage where I'll I'll remind myself of it. And I like getting back to this corner thing, like a running these as I'm running to the corner, I'm I'm reminding myself like don't even break the gun in towards my body, just like keep it out and and go directly to this to this next target. And so it'll be like a a mid stage reminder. And I feel like that's been That makes the stage more fun, ⁓ because I get to feel like I'm engaged with it. ⁓ and and it actually makes the things show up. I think Mason talked about it a little bit too, with with like taking allowing yourself to shoot and be creative in the stage. I'm I'm probably putting words in his mouth, but to to we'll do it. He's he said we can. ⁓
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: Any good point? Just email.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you can just email ⁓
Alastair: Hit Factor hit Factor Mason at hitfactor podcast dot com slash Mason.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, dark us.
The Hit Factor Podcast: There you go.
Kyle Narkum: Okay, so the question I was going to follow up that was, do you think that the live firing you've picked up over the last year or so has made you more confident in doing all of these things?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think so. I think so too. Yeah. I mean a lot of my live fire is like frustration stuff, like Alistair, you were saying earlier, where like the other day I was trying to shoot teeny tiny pieces of steel laterally on the move it and they were at like twenty yards. It's like, why is this not happening? It's like, well, it's really difficult. ⁓ but like I don't know, giving myself more more places to work on that has been really good. I feel like I wasted a lot of rounds last year because I was
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Doing stuff that I could already do. So I feel like even the the bit that I've shot this year has been a lot of stuff that I can't do. ⁓ and then just finding out if I can bring skills to a match or not. Like, can I bring this to a match? And then I have to answer that for myself. And if it's borderline, if I hit it a couple times, I'm like, well, that's that's going to the match. So it's it's doable. Like I I I have probably an
Kyle Narkum: Mm. Yeah, it's doable.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I'm okay again taking this to the match. Like i if I if I gain a tiny bit of confidence on something, ⁓ I'm like probably it'll work out.
Alastair: I mean probably it will.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean it might it might not. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: But it might. Spread the dice roll.
Alastair: Probably will.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But it probably will. Yeah.
Alastair: Probably will. Yep.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know, it's interesting though, because I feel like that's where a ton of the performance comes from is from from the things working out sometimes on stages.
Alastair: I mean they still have to work out more than they don't.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. So I guess that's where it individually you you have to decide whether something that you're gonna do. Like if it starts to not work out, you have to be able to get yourself back on on track. So we talked about we talked about getting yourself back on track as in like not even not quitting the sport, but getting yourself back on track during a stage is another really interesting thing that I haven't heard either of you talk about. maybe Alistair talked about it in another podcast or not. And I never let Kyle talk on the podcast, so
Kyle Narkum: I don't know you're talking about I've blocked all that out.
Alastair: Yeah, Kyle, what do you think?
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. It sucks every time. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: I don't know. Luckily for me, they don't usually derail outside of my control. So it's usually not very difficult to put it back together, if that makes sense.
Alastair: Now you're just bragging.
The Hit Factor Podcast: How do you Yeah, it's how do you let it not derail things out of control? Like I you've seen me just like start to miss steel and then go to slide lock. Or actually not slide lock, just ⁓ MD gun slide forward.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. Yeah.
Alastair: Slide lap would be better.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, slid lock would be actually cool. ⁓ I didn't I ⁓ it's like great. Yeah, I shot my twenty four round mag to empty and it doesn't lock back because it's a twenty four round mag. I mean you've seen
Alastair: And if you're really lucky, on the click you get one of these too, so you can feel bad about that also.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah. I mean I feel like I feel like that derails me. I'm like our I'm derailed at the beginning I start throwing makeups and then ⁓ yeah, so ha I mean what do you what are you doing, Kyle, to avoid things going really badly?
Kyle Narkum: A treat.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: That's question. don't know. I am but I don't know if there's any like Yeah, but for me, it's like already a loss. So it's like what am I gonna do make a massacre out of a molehill? I don't know
The Hit Factor Podcast: Like are you aware of it? As it's happening?
Alastair: Yes, that's what I did.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ I used to do it more. I used to do it more and then I slowly come to realize you can't really make up the time really ever lost time is lost time.
Alastair: I made it so much worse.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, it's a bummer. I don't I don't wanna hear that and I don't wanna accept that. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: just accept it.
Alastair: Mm, yeah. But that attitude.
Kyle Narkum: For me, I mean, you can maybe go a little crazy and make it up, I've had success.
Alastair: No, it it never works. That just doesn't work.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm not listening to you guys. Not listening.
Alastair: Yeah. I I I have two problems. One is I will r I will rush afterwards, which just is always a recipe for it not not being good. and the other thing I found w where I really get into trouble is when I start thinking about what I'm doing. And I mean like I don't mean like
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: doing things consciously. I mean thinking about what's happening and what I'm doing, like a like a a meta cognition thing. ⁓ the same thing as when you're like, ooh, this is going really well. Like, ⁓ I just, you know, and then it's like, you know, when it's like a plate rack and it's like ping, ping, ping, ping, you're like, ooh, and then it's like bah you know, or whatever, like on mo towards the end of a stage, like, wow, this is really when I hit myself with the like, ⁓ this is like this this is like going great.
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: Or whatever the thought is, if it's a malfunction, if it's like not this again, or like, you know, like at area eight, that was part of the problem because that also happened at area seven. And I thought I had put like thousands of rounds through the gun and it'd been fine. And so and I was like, you know, like not only is it messing this up, but then it's like, ⁓ this whole thing again, and then the rushing. And so I really have to get better at not it's really like a focus thing. Like I have to stay focused on what I'm doing. As soon as I lose focus and start to think about what's happening.
Kyle Narkum: you you
Alastair: It just goes it goes wrong.
Kyle Narkum: Hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So you y you just posted up a couple of your stage wins at Area 8, which you had you had two you had two stage wins and you had one of them on that like there was a lot of pieces of steel and the pretty high hit factor as well, right? ⁓
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ yeah, the stage they left up from their local and just added 16 pieces of steel.
Alastair: Perfect.
Kyle Narkum: Get down.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So much steel. And you did not you did not shoot that stage perfectly. You you I was like I was like I'm about to see perfection here. Nope. But but I know so it is honestly though that's that's a more that's more impressive than doing it perfectly. ⁓ well I am genuinely more impressed.
Alastair: I sure didn't. Thanks for bringing I was hoping you'd bring that up. I appreciate that you're bringing that up, Jay. No.
Kyle Narkum: You won, but also kind of sucked a little. That's pretty impressive. That's what I heard Jay say. That's what I heard Jay.
Alastair: Okay. All right, Kyle. All right, Kyle. All right. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: by seeing that. I mean like Jacob does that kind of stuff all the time. You'll be like, Whoa, Jacob getting a little crazy there and then you'd be like, ⁓ he he's really fast.
Alastair: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: I mean, the, the makeup on that second array of steel, the one you missed was really good. Great.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, that's so that's what I'm talking about is you you went through like second array steel, you had a miss on your first plate, continued through, and then came back to it. You had a makeup on the first array of steel as well, or two. Maybe ⁓ one or two. I I I only I only watched the video like three times. Maybe you didn't have I didn't have enough I don't think I had audio. Yeah. One H and then you had like trigger freeze on the last target. Like kinda bad.
Kyle Narkum: I think it was one.
Alastair: I think it was one. I think it was one on each. I think it was I think it was one on each.
Kyle Narkum: I think it was one on each.
Alastair: Yeah, yeah, sure did. Yeah. It's pretty sick. It's pretty sick. It was a good day. It was a good day for me.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It's like bad trigger freaks. It's like pop, bop.
Kyle Narkum: But, yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So yeah I mean that
Alastair: I'm loving this. This let's go let's let's talk about the the one of the two stage wins and the things that were bad about it. This is great.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This is what happens when you you just go into a podcast, no plan. ⁓
Alastair: Ha ha ha.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Just as life would happen.
Alastair: Yeah. Anyway, what yes, all of the things are true, Jay. What what what I feel like you were there was a thing about that you want you wanted to talk about and I kept cutting you off.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I mean you you did you did very very well executed error correction mid stage multiple times. ⁓ I mean we didn't get you to see we didn't get to see what would happen after your trigger freeze if you could correct that on like a new target or not. But you made it.
Alastair: ⁓ you're like, ⁓ here's the good thing about it. Well, maybe. We're not totally sure because that was the end of the stage.
The Hit Factor Podcast: No no no no. I don't know what's happening I don't know what's happening to me tonight. It's crazy. But you
Kyle Narkum: you
Alastair: ⁓ it's 'cause I was a little bit late. I understand. I deserve it. I deserve everything I get. And it's because I'm on your your tea your your fantasy team and you're trying to, you know, build build me up.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you know, that's what it was.
Kyle Narkum: Thanks, he's trying to fix it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I'm it's trying to fix it.
Alastair: No, it's fine. I got I got I got ⁓ all I got ⁓ all out of the way. It's nothing but smooth sailing from here. Don't worry about it.
Kyle Narkum: Lock it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I know, I know, I know. But so y ⁓ what I am getting at here is that you did something very well. It like your your correction did not get I don't know, you didn't let it affect you in a in a crazy way during that stage. You didn't go and ⁓ go to slide block on the steel or something like that.
Alastair: Or just yeah, empty ⁓ anti gun, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Empty gun on the steel. And so what I mean, what did you do there? Wha w I mean how w were you super locked in, focused on the stage? Or were you thinking about cupcakes? I don't know.
Alastair: Yeah, I mean that's a good example of like if I don't if I stay focused on what I'm doing and it's like you know, I I'm just like kind of in the moment doing the stuff. And then if I need to go, you know, if I need to add a thing to do or do a thing again, that's fine. Where I would get into trouble is if I went, you know, if I if I had had that miss, 'cause like you said, I I missed and then I shot the rest and came back on both of them, if I had been like, ⁓ here we go again.
Kyle Narkum: you
Alastair: You know, we're like, well, now you're fucked, or like, well, this is another bad stage. Like like it I could have had that thought right then, and then I it would have been it would have been for sure game over. Like it would have been a total train wreck. ⁓ or if if if I'd had that if I'd hit the first seven of them or s I think each one had seven. So if I'd hit the first six and then on four or five I'd gone like, Yeah, crushing this, you know, similarly it would have been a train wreck. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
Alastair: And so it was just it was because I was like and maybe it's because there was so much to do, like there were so many bobbers and more stuff to do after and like there wasn't enough time really to between tasks to start to think about what I was doing probably helped. But that's a good example of where I like didn't start to think about what I was doing in a way that would then I would have lost focus and it would have been it would have been bad.
Kyle Narkum: Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I mean you stayed very connected to the task. I mean, I feel like that's th like those kind of stages are really good. Like I I mean you a a lot of times people po do post very good runs. And I I kind of appreciate that sometimes because I want to see what it what it is. ⁓ but but you s you see a very like very connected stage. And I'm not just talking about like the shooting is connected. I'm I'm talking about the there is no interruption.
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ and if even with errors there's no interruption.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean your next your next stage actually was really just good. Your ne your other stage win was just like kinda You just like double the activator and then shoot all the things. No. Did you double both? ⁓ that's I was watching without without sound.
Alastair: Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: You doubled both, right?
Alastair: Yeah. I did. I did. Yeah. And I was gotta have the sound. Yeah, it was it was ⁓ yeah, it was it was funny. That stage was stage ten. So that was I mean that was like we started on stage two. So that was well into the disaster. I was like my confidence was really at an all-time low and like those kinds of like short courses and like heavy activator sequences and things are not really my I don't practice them enough. They're not really my porte. And so I was like, ⁓ like, how am I gonna shoot this? Do I wanna, you know, how aggressive do I wanna be? I was planning on just doubling the first one, I think. And then ⁓ a guy on my squad squad grant doubled both of them. And I was like, ⁓ fuck it. All right, I'll just do that. ⁓ and yeah, it it it worked out. So that was that was the thing I liked most about that was the fact that I was like, This is ter this is terrible. This is even worse than Area Seven. And I was really thought that w wasn't a possibility. and and managed to do that anyway instead of totally fucking it off. ⁓ but yeah, that one was that was that was an interesting one.
Kyle Narkum: You
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean you are a you are a grand master, so you should you you can like draw pretty quick and shoot pretty fast, so sure.
Alastair: Sure. Yeah, listen, sometimes. Why not, you know? Why not? It's true.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Did I did I not mention also that Kyle is a grandmaster? Two time GM?
Alastair: ⁓ wow Wow.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ whoa. We're gonna talk about how Jay is the three times.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Wow.
Alastair: J Jay, when are you gonna be a GM?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I well I'm trying. I'm trying.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ when's when's production?
Alastair: Yeah. Okay.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
Kyle Narkum: It's all beachy there,
The Hit Factor Podcast: Bumpy sites are scary. Saul did. I can't d I can't choose production now because Saul already did it.
Alastair: Where is Saul, by the way? I thought Saul would be here to talk I wanted to talk to Saul also. I like Saul a lot. Why is why what's the deal?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Saul Saul is he really just wanted he wants to like listen to episodes and I very much understand that. He just wants to be a listener. No, he's he's traveling right now. I believe.
Kyle Narkum: Where is he going?
Alastair: uses.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't know. Just on a just He's on a journey.
Kyle Narkum: She's on a journey? Okay.
Alastair: Yeah. Well, somewhere with fiber probably. I mean he doesn't have some w he doesn't have some wired air some wired ear pods. What are those headphones called?
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Maybe I should have
Kyle Narkum: And...
The Hit Factor Podcast: These ones?
Alastair: Yeah, what are the 'cause they're not AirPods because AirPods are wireless. What are the what do they call the earbuds? Earbuds.
Kyle Narkum: Earbuds. Headphones. Headphones.
The Hit Factor Podcast: They're the they're the tang yeah, tangle buds.
Alastair: That's fun. I like that. That's a cute name. Dawh. The Tangle Buds. Anyway, I feel like he could have been here. So, Saul, if you're listening, my feelings are hurt. ⁓ Well, he should have known. My feelings are still hurt.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Apple apple tingle buds. Yeah. Yeah. I know I didn't I didn't invite him, so that's he is
Kyle Narkum: Well, you know what Dylan also owes us a podcast.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Still I d I texted him, Kyle, when I thought that you weren't gonna make it. No. You did not.
Kyle Narkum: Did he answer you? ⁓ Unlabeled.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Unbelievable.
Alastair: All right, well I'll be sending an email to hit factorsol at hitfactor podcast dot sol slash EDU
Kyle Narkum: saw as I go.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, Saul Saul forwards all of those to Mason, so
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ perfect.
Alastair: ⁓ speaking of Mason and Jacob, I'd shot a terrible match, but even with even if I hadn't. They very both of them, very impressive performances area eight. It was
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ Yeah, so so we were I I was ⁓ lots of refreshing going on on my part, ⁓ and talking to Kyle was shooting a match, so ⁓ I was you were you were still refreshing. I was texting Kyle and Saul, ⁓ and then and then a lot of a lot of just Saul and ⁓ and it was it was along the lines of, I don't know, I think Mason's got this one locked up and then I was like, Well, I don't know, but I mean Jacobs has still gotta shoot it and then it was
Kyle Narkum: I was still refreshing. That's where I was at. Like looking at the videos and talking to ⁓ Frank and Dylan who were on a squad, was like, I don't how much meat's really left on the bone to edge them out. And Jacob somehow managed to do it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It was very
Alastair: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean they both shot no penalties and then obviously, you know, Jacob did the Jacob thing and shot faster with slightly worse points and Mason shot slightly slower with better points and but but Jacob was also shooting ⁓ outside the waistband for the first time in a long time. he was set free and he did he did eat. He did. I mean they both but they both I mean it just seeing where they landed overall, like
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: He was set free.
Kyle Narkum: Unleashed. Unleashed.
The Hit Factor Podcast: It is.
Alastair: You know, there were some good open shooters there and Max shooting PCC and like I was like this is, you know, my match was terrible, but even if I hadn't been, like third place ninety percent maybe? Sick. I mean it was yeah, I was like, Wow. ⁓ my god. So yeah, very impressive.
Kyle Narkum: for hitting. The dappening was real.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, it was ⁓ definitely impressive. Very fun to watch. Would would not want to be ⁓ in the person's shoes who shot it early watching scores come in. That would be kind of a not an exciting in a good way thing to watch, you know. I mean, I think there were multiple I think ⁓ Dave Titoyan who shot s you're just and I mean I've done it
Kyle Narkum: No.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: just sitting in the the cup chair while you get beat. That's pretty miserable and pretty miserable.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean, I've done it before. I mean I shot early one t one year at ⁓ Main State and then Mason shot. And then he ended up he ended up be beating me by like half a point or something like that. It's actually
Kyle Narkum: Remember that year.
Alastair: Mm. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: It was off of someone else winning a stage, right? Was it a Ken or something?
The Hit Factor Podcast: It was Kenton Kenton squashed ⁓ compressed the stage and then and then yeah. ⁓ but yeah, it's not a fun seat. I mean Dave Titoyan who won ⁓ carry optics at area eight was in the similar position. He shot the same day as Mason and then he had to he had to watch
Alastair: Brutal.
Kyle Narkum: Well, then it was like three or four people at 99 % or 98%. Like 14 points.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Matt Hempel and and ⁓ who else? I didn't I mean like ⁓ Frank.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ Alex Wendell, Frank, and then there was, I think the rest was 96 to 95%.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, so you're like just sitting there looking at I mean, I don't know. I don't know what I would do. Would I refresh scores? Probably. Would I try to like do something else that day also? Probably.
Kyle Narkum: just get a voodoo doll and start stabbing everybody.
Alastair: That's tough. That's tough. Yeah. It's yeah, that's a tough s that's tough position to be in.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I remember I remember I shot Area Seven in like twenty nineteen. I think it was twenty maybe twenty twenty. And ⁓ that was when Max Michelle would come up and shoot Area Seven and beat everybody. And ⁓ I ended up finishing like eighty-seven percent of Max that year. And but for the first couple stages, I remember looking at at the scores and I like, ⁓ I'm beating Max right now. Two stages in. I'm like Did not continue that. Did not
Alastair: Ha ha ha.
The Hit Factor Podcast: That trend did not go well. ⁓ So Kyle, ⁓ before before we end it, ⁓ I actually do want to ask you about your you start you shot a big s a big high round count session for you, five hundred and fifty rounds the other day. Training.
Kyle Narkum: I did. I did to be fair, about 150 rounds was torture testing a couple of different grip setups.
The Hit Factor Podcast: She's torture test you do you throw ⁓ in the sand? Is that pretty good
Kyle Narkum: No, my hands, my hands really.
Alastair: Ha ha
Kyle Narkum: My hands. ⁓
Alastair: So you pour mud on
The Hit Factor Podcast: You muddy.
Kyle Narkum: yeah, it's my first time ever actually like, ⁓ doing that. think the most I've shot prior to this is maybe a couple hundred rounds. That was like dedicated practice. And that was like, ended June beginning in July before either New Hampshire state or area seven. But it's all kind of happened because I was talking to Matt gay. I don't know. Also have you talked to him and he had an interaction with them?
Alastair: Okay. I have not I know of him, but I have not talked talked to him.
Kyle Narkum: So I shot the match with him and he was talking about just like dry fire is great, yada, yada, yada. Cause it's like pretty much all I do. But he was like, you're just gonna, there's no way you're not going to benefit from just shooting live rounds. And even then by like the end of the day, I posted a couple of the clips on my Instagram. Like that's like how I should shoot every time. Cause it did not feel out of control.
Alastair: Mm-hmm.
Kyle Narkum: And it's like, I don't know. I've never had that confirmation. don't normally get that confirmation of dry fire. I'm just like, assuming this is how the gun's going to react. I know how fast the gun cycles and shoots. So I have a good idea of what's going on in the dry fire. like, I was kind of pushing it a little bit on the end there and it's still, was like, I think in that drill I had 12 rounds. I had two Charlie's when I was doing it and I was trying to push speed as hard as I could.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, like that's absurd. It's like just the speed that you were shooting, my my eyeballs could not keep up. ⁓ y I was like, whoa.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, it was like. And like I watched like my, my match videos sometimes and it's like, my guns kind of lingering on target longer than it should sometimes. And I'm like, I wonder if that's some kind of disconnect somewhere between my lack of live fire and shooting. don't know. But I think I'm gonna try and do more, even if it's only like 150 rounds or something, maybe every week or something, something, try it out. not?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Try it out. I think it's might suit you suit you well.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. Maybe. Also, you shoot a lot too, right? Or try to? What is what's your regimen really?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Might actually be kind of
Alastair: Do. Yeah. well, it's not super sustainable financially, but whatever. for now it's fine. yeah, it it depends a little bit, but I usually so I'll dry I dry fire for an hour a day, the days I'm not live firing. I d I actually went back to taking a rest day a week because I found that my hands were getting like not my skin, but my actual like grip was getting
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Alastair: was getting like why I wasn't recovering. And then usually I'll go to the range twice a week and I'll do a lot of dry fire mixed in with live fire. and then usually a a match a week. Yeah, it's it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah. So but I usually I'll probably include two range days in a match, I mean I'll probably shoot seven hundred and fifty to a thousand rounds a week. So
Kyle Narkum: Mm. Yeah, I love that. I think it's way better. Because you get the scaling. The scaling is way better in
Alastair: ⁓ arguably too much. But whatever, that's a later problem.
The Hit Factor Podcast: What yeah, it's like a future problem. You don't have to deal with that now. And you and again, like there might be rewards. You might you might get rewarded.
Alastair: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, that's a... Yeah, we'll get there. You might win, win Jay's draft form.
Alastair: I I Listen, nothing would make me happier.
The Hit Factor Podcast: You're the anchor. You're the anchor for this, for sure.
Alastair: Hold pulling everything down.
The Hit Factor Podcast: No w no no w the at the
Alastair: Wow, Jay. You're just really determined. You're just determined to hurt my feelings today, Jay. I just wasn't expecting I expect this from Kyle, but I was not I was
The Hit Factor Podcast: The I need to clarify this. The anchor the purpose the purpose of the anchor is to dig in, hold and hold the ship, which is the team, steady. Okay? Did I recover it? Did I recover it? Okay.
Kyle Narkum: I don't know. I don't know if that was the right terminology in that one. I don't know.
Alastair: ⁓ Okay. Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: I don't think I would ever interpret anchor in that manner, but yeah.
Alastair: No, I have heard I have heard that in a isn't that like a baseball thing? Yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Hey, shit ass, you're the anchor. I gotta know.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So this is in in tra in track and field when they run relays, the the person who runs last is called the anchor because they're like the the fastest.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ see that's why you drafted him later. I get it.
Alastair: There you go.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah.
Alastair: I was surprisingly early. You even said, you were like You were like, I feels a little early for this, but and I was like, I agree. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. But it wasn't. It was I don't I was looking at my list. Actually I have it right here. I was looking at this
Alastair: I'm gonna prove you right and wrong.
Kyle Narkum: Who's your team? Who's your team?
The Hit Factor Podcast: My my my L O team is Mason Brantley, Alistair, Isaac McLaren and and Christopher Culpepper. Which which are all all of you are on the on the super squad to all of you are on the super squad together.
Alastair: That's a that's a good team.
Kyle Narkum: Hmm. No bias.
Alastair: I mean me aside. That's a good that's a good despite me holding everyone down, like concrete shoes.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This was n not a bias pick. Not a bias pick.
Kyle Narkum: We've got a, what's Saul's team?
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ I think actually Saul's people are Saul's people are all all on the ⁓ on the super squad as well. Jacob, Casey, Joey, AJ Anthony, and Ashton. No, is Ashton on the Super Squad or no?
Alastair: I don't think Ashton or AJ are. I don't think. I haven't looked I haven't looked in a minute. ⁓ I
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ wow, Saul's lacking. And and Sam does not have everyone on the super squad either. Actually only has he only has two.
Kyle Narkum: So, it's all really only Jacob and Casey are just two heavy hitters.
The Hit Factor Podcast: So my t he's got Jacob Casey, ⁓ and then Sam has ⁓ Weichel. ⁓ JJ's off off squad. ⁓ everybody else is ⁓ Adam Adam Grimm's on the on the super squad. Obviously he won
Alastair: I think J J is also. He did. He sure did. That rascal. just looking at price to score. Yeah, I think J J's on the super squad also. I don't really understand how it works, but ⁓ I'm gonna look right now. And then I thought I thought ⁓ Max Michelle was, but he's ⁓ no, he's still on there. Okay, never mind.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ did they move him? Maybe he got moved. Is Max Michelle still in the super squad?
Alastair: Yeah, from what I can see, David Wampler, Tanner Don Dongus. I don't I'm sorry, Tanner, I don't know how to say your name out loud. ⁓ K Kang, Isaac McGlern, Joseph Washell, Christopher Culpepper, Jacob Hetherington, Joey, Sarland, Brantley, Adam Grimm, Casey, and Max Michelle.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I think that sounds about right. Sorry, Tina.
Kyle Narkum: Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ yeah, it's solid. Solid crew right there.
Alastair: And me somehow. For some reason.
Kyle Narkum: It's wasted not on it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: No Mason's there. No wait no Mason is not. Never mind. Never mind. I don't have everybody.
Alastair: No, he's not 'cause he 'cause he wasn't ⁓ Yeah, he's not. He he he should be definitely should be. But he I mean he didn't shoot a dot last year, so
Kyle Narkum: He's on cigarette.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't I don't have your I I falsely said that everyone Mason is not on the super squad and he's on my team.
Kyle Narkum: Ugh.
Alastair: I have a feeling he will be next year. If I had to guess.
Kyle Narkum: Safe bet, safe bet.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I think I think that is safe.
Alastair: He's been shooting super well. be fun.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ so I mean nationals coming up in a short amount of time for you. ⁓ this is your second nationals ever, is that right?
Alastair: Mm-hmm. It's my second so last year I shot race gun factory in Ipsy. I'm gonna do that this year also. ⁓ and PCSL. So this will be my second race gun, race gun nationals. And it's like my main, I think of it as like my main nationals.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ Whoa. Okay. Second Yeah, cool. That's good. That's good for me and my team because I need you to be focused, like this is my main nationals, you know. I wouldn't want you to be like
Alastair: ⁓ listen, I am very focused. Very focused. Everybody says I'm most focused. I am I listen, as much as I don't want to let you down, Jay, the emotional pain that I'm really trying to avoid that I will feel if I fuck this match up is powerful. It's powerful stuff. So ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: The mo is the most focused.
Kyle Narkum: Thank
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, I mean that that is that is the power of nationals.
Alastair: Yeah. The emotional pain I'll feel ⁓ for letting you down, it will be just be cherry a cherry on top. But it won't be because it'll drag me even lower, just like I will with the team. ⁓ no, that's not true. I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna fucking kick ass. Just you wait and see, Kyle.
Kyle Narkum: It'll be the anchor to your emotional endeavors.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I would be Sherry of pain. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Yes. Yes.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Kyle.
Kyle Narkum: I have faith, I didn't call you an anchor.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I
Alastair: Ha ha ha ha ha. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Bye.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Wow. This has been my most memorable podcast with listening to Alistair. ⁓ and I have and I have been I I don't know.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah. ⁓
Alastair: What does that mean? What does that mean, Jay? Well, I'm glad we could start with my FTSA.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I'm not sure.
Kyle Narkum: Yep. From FTSA to Anchor.
Alastair: I have the torch. It's right here. Like the Statue of Liberty.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. And and what are the p who is who are the predictions? Who's it going to next? ⁓ Kyle called out somebody earlier.
Alastair: ⁓ the torch?
Kyle Narkum: For what? ⁓ Jeremy Boone. think I think it's. You spend too much time with them for not to get it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: The torch. Whoa.
Alastair: Me wow. So you're saying that Jeremy is gonna get the torch because of me?
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. Torch touch.
Kyle Narkum: Yes. Well, it got passed on.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, you you got it unfortunat yeah, you got it from Dylan, unfortunately. You both actually you you both Yeah, so he actually he gave it to both of you who you guys got it like you guys got it fifteen minutes apart i on that day on Sunday.
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ he got it. Yeah. No, you got it from me. No. So went from.
Alastair: Well Dylan had an FTSA in area seven, didn't he?
Kyle Narkum: Yeah, then he gave it to us. So our next majors.
Alastair: Okay. All right, well.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I I just I just recall that feeling being like one of the worst feelings. ⁓ I I've had it a couple of times. ⁓ the worst feelings and just like and so I I just have to make other people feel it just get it out of the system.
Kyle Narkum: Ugh.
Alastair: Yeah, it is a terrible it's a rare thing, but it is it is ter it is terrible when it happens. ⁓ but yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓ And then we're gonna what'll happen is we're gonna grill Kyle later on when he approaches when we get nearer to his third nationals in his main division. ⁓ but we we won't do it.
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: Yes. Yes.
Alastair: Yeah. He then he'll be the he'll be the anchor.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. You can
Kyle Narkum: Yes.
Alastair: He'll be the dead weight. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: I'm in. Unlocked in.
Alastair: ⁓ yeah.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This dead weight is just totally different than an anchor. Anchor serves like a very specific purpose. Anchor Anchor
Kyle Narkum: ⁓ Are you guys doing, are you doing predictions for, are you doing teams for factor gun?
Alastair: No, it's fine. It's fine. I get it. I get it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I w mmm. I don't know if it would work. I think you I think Alista no Alistair, are shooting factory again?
Alastair: I am, I'm gonna borrow a shadow too. It should be exciting.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Whoa. Yeah, so we need a team of we need the people who are not doing it ⁓ to go to d to to take over the podcast and and do it. I think that's what we need.
Kyle Narkum: guys. ⁓
Alastair: Mm.
Kyle Narkum: feel like most of the people we know are shooting it.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, so ⁓ still still Yeah, you're right. Maybe we'll have to be creative.
Alastair: I think you could do it. I think you could do it even if you're shooting it. You could decide whether or not to
The Hit Factor Podcast: We can't draft ourselves. That's it.
Alastair: Well I well I mean I think you you you could.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I don't think I don't think I can. I mean I couldn't draft myself for my own team. That's that's absurd.
Alastair: Well here's the I think you c I think you could. I mean you're not gonna get much of a chance unless you like go first. You're
Kyle Narkum: You'll just be team captain.
Alastair: Yeah, why couldn't you draft yourself?
The Hit Factor Podcast: I mean I guess it I it's not as it's not unreasonable to think that we could do that. ⁓ but I it makes me less excited than like the excitement level that I had drafting for Race Gun was peak.
Alastair: Mm. Yeah. Well 'cause you're not d 'cause then you're not, you know, you just get to enjoy the you're not it's not actually a real thing for you. So you can just enjoy the if you draft yourself, then it's like a real thing. It's like your own performance matters even more than it already does.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah. I wonder if that's possible. Maybe I should do that. Might help me.
Kyle Narkum: Yeah.
Alastair: Yeah. Well, I'll let you know how painful it is to let you down and then you can decide if you want to also feel that. ⁓
Kyle Narkum: That might be the hack.
The Hit Factor Podcast: If I wanna if I wanna in if I wanna like go down that that road, if I wanna if I wanna
Alastair: Yeah. I mean for for what it's worth, Jay, I in the in the midst of my pain at how badly Area Eight went, I was like, I bet Jay's really gonna be gonna be ⁓ wishing he'd made a different choice in the fantasy trap. So it's already working. I already feel worse than I otherwise would.
The Hit Factor Podcast: I w I will say Saul Saul was feeling pretty good after ⁓ yeah me after Jacob's performance there. Saul was like
Alastair: I mean he he shot awesome. Yeah, yeah. The not the having the gun on the outside of his pants really helped, I think.
The Hit Factor Podcast: But then I I mean I wasn't Yeah, I think so. I mean I d I obviously am not feeling bad about Mason ⁓ shooting as much.
Kyle Narkum: Hmm.
Alastair: As it does. I wouldn't either. And Mason's been I think Mason's been he's like he's 'cause he's pretty new to well not new I mean he's he hasn't been back to shooting a dot for long. So his trajectory I think like every match I think he's getting better. You know?
Kyle Narkum: you For sure. And he's very good at focusing on what he needs to focus on in training.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yeah, he's a little bit dangerous.
Alastair: Yeah. And he's ⁓ you know, that's his job that's his job right now. So he's gonna I think he's gonna absolutely crush.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Yes. Yeah, it'll be super, super exciting to watch. And I'm and ⁓ obviously I'm I'm going for you. ⁓ if you were not on my team, I don't know, it's a tough one. I might be rooting against you, but you are on my team, so it's okay. ⁓ it works.
Alastair: Will you be rooting against me because I wasn't on your team or just because you generally don't like me?
Kyle Narkum: Mark, you're marked. You're marked safe.
The Hit Factor Podcast: This is
Kyle Narkum: No, no, you're Mark Safe, you're Mark Safe.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Because so competitive and really want to beat Saul at this thing, ⁓ and Sam, Sam cannot get away with a win here. I can't let it happen.
Alastair: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. No. I agree. We can't. And Saul not being here is dead to me. So Sam's also not here, dead to me. I would my understanding was he's a host. Mason's not here. I understood he was a host, dead to me. ⁓
The Hit Factor Podcast: ⁓
Kyle Narkum: Yep. Deleting, deleting, deleting saws number. Dylan was also a host.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Dang. Dylan's host.
Alastair: ⁓ the wait, Mason's on the is Mason on your team? I already forgot. Yeah, he is. Okay, never mind. Mason can still be alive to me. He's on our team. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Mason. Okay. So just send your complaints to hitfactor Mason at hitfactorpodcast.com slash Mason forward slash gov
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mason He's on he's he's on y he's on he's on our team. ⁓ yeah.
Kyle Narkum: Mm.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Wow. I that that may be a a perfect time to wrap it up. It might be.
Alastair: Well I was I actually I did just remember you asked me what w the secret was to being getting good re
Kyle Narkum: Stop. Unload. Show clear.
The Hit Factor Podcast: Mm-hmm.
