Reporting in from KY

[R1_Demon]

Hey all!

 

New to the forum but no to shooting.  I have been shooting for about 30 years or so.  I have been a trainer in the shooting arts for about 23 years or so. Funny that I just now decided to give competitions a try.  So I decided to try out USPSA and my first match will be on May 7th if I can get everything in order by then. I'm thinking of trying out the Limited Division with a major power factor in .40, I hope.  I also just started reloading as well, so I am trying to learn as much as I can at this point. I have read that this is one of the best sites for competition and reloading information so I am hoping to learn a lot and give back as soon as I am able to.

 

I don't know if it matters but I just picked up a Springfield Armory XD(M) 5.25" Competition in .40 S&W to use in competitions. I haven't shot it yet but I'm sure it will handle nicely. 

 

Pleasure to meet everyone. 

Mat

[Hi-Power Jack]

Welcome aboard, Mat

 

Nice to have a real life trainer in the group ...

 

If you just started reloading, and just bought a brand new pistol, I'd suggest

you get in as much live fire practice as you can prior to your match in two weeks.

 

Reloading .40 Major is a bit tricky - best to use heavy bullets and fast powders,

which is great, UNLESS you get bullet setback - if you do, you can end up

with a Kaboom.

 

Carefully read everything here that you can about .40 Major.

 

Whatja reloading on?

 

BTW, good luck at your first match (pls read another posting here on what

to do at your first match).     

[R1_Demon]

Hi-Power Jack, thank you for the info. Yes, I'm planning on hitting the range as much as I can with the new pistol to get acclimated with it before the 7th. That's the only bad thing about getting a new one this close to match time. Then again, if I feel I'm not ready, I'll skip it until next month. There is nothing forcing me to shoot if I'm not ready. :-).

Yes, I have been training forever and am also NRA certified so I can legally train CCDW classes here in KY as well.

I have been reading the new shooters section for USPSA here on the forum. Tons of posts but some great advice! I also appreciate the tips. Very cool. :-)

Ya, that's why I keep trying to find as much as I can about reloading major in .40 because I keep reading that it is tricky and you have to be careful. Seems like most people are going longer than the standard 1.120". I don't know if that is to just put in some cushion factor or what. Some have mentioned better accuracy doing that. I'm going to be loading VERY SLOW and checking each and every round at first to make sure everything is good to go.

I just bought a Hornady Lock-N-Load AP progressive with the shell plate for .40. I also bought the Hornady Custom 3-pc Die Set for .40 as well. I bought 500 pcs of new brass and 500 Hornady XTP 180gr HP rounds. I personally have always liked shooting the heavier 180gr bullets compared to the 165's anyway, so this shouldn't be much of a change to me at all. I also bought Winchester small pistol primers and Hodgedon's TiteGroup powder. This was all after I did some research to try and get softer recoil with Major Power Factor. I was going to do my first "trial" loads off of the loading info from the Hodgedon website.

Only thing I noticed is they say their loading info is for a 4" barrel and mine is 5.25". I don't know what difference that will have on my loads. I haven't been able to find that info out anywhere online yet.

One thing I don't have yet is a chrono. I know I will need one to test out the loads to see what PF I'm making. That is my only issue right now.

Anyway, thank you for the info and welcome. :-)


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[KYTrunkMonkey]

Welcome from Somerset, KY.   I'm assuming your going to shoot at BGSL.   Seems to be some good people to learn from there.

[R1_Demon]

Hey there KYTrunkMonkey,

 

Thank you for the welcome.  Yes, that is where I will be shooting the matches at.  Good to hear there will be good people there to learn from.   I'm going to try and learn all I can between there and here.   It looks like there is a ton of good info on here, so I'm trying to read up on all I can at the moment. (thumbs up)

[Jay63]

Welcome!!!  Just north of Louisville is Silver Creek Conservation Club. Up the highway east side of Cincinnati is Miami Rifle and Pistol Club. Owensboro and Rock Castel near Manouth Caves are also great clubs. You can shoot USPSA every weekend of the summer around here.

Jay

[R1_Demon]

Jay,

 

thanks a a bunch for the info!  I don't know if my wallet can afford that, but you never know.  Plus, when I get rolling it would be fun to see other locations and courses.