Boyd

Any new insurers out there? We were just quoted $750/year for basic insurance. -Michael Boyd

I use powdered weight lifter chalk that you can buy at any "Big-X" sporting good store. Besides the base chalk, it has aluminum chlorihydrate (sp?), an antiperspirent (sp? again). It's cheap and a containor will last years. It won't gum up checkering like some of the tacky stuff does.

Blade-tech is the gold standard for most IDPA and USPSA production like uses. Check Ebay, I've found them there often for a fraction of the new price.

Freakin' brilliant! I think this is product best purchased new and never explained to the uninitiated.

thanks. I'll give it a try

You had it right the first time. It's the mags sticking in a clean gun

No, Prouction blaster

I have an XD-9 (not the XDm). I have several 10 round mags and a few full caps. 5 out six of the 10 rounders stick in the gun. I' ve done the old rubber mallet trick and some will fall free for a while, but then stick again after a few loadings. I don't leave them loaded and they seem like very sturdy built mags. The gun is about 5 years old, but has been shot very little. Any ideas or long term fixes? I'd like to get some decent serrvice out of the mags I have. Thanks -mb

Shok buffs can help keep a standard dust-cover gun (SA, Colt, Kimber etc) from getting cracks around where the recoil spring guide rests. Back in the 80's and 90's, it was very common for guns to crack there with the heavy roundage we poured to them (I cracked at least three frames and one more than once). One of the things the S_I guns beefed up was the dust cover (for easier scope mounting and frame durability). In an S_I gun I would not worry about a shok buff. I've never had reliability issues with a shok buff and usually run the .90-.125" sizes. For a while, you could get .200" and even then I didn't have issues. There was a short period when it was "cool" to run a stack of buffs so that the gun cycled shorter and theoretically faster. That didn't last long. I still run buffs in my 1911's for long range sessions, but take them out for carry and matches.

Thanks for the update. Man, things get past you if you take some time off. I wish both Todd and Travis well.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a pillow under his gun...

I apologize if this has been covered, but I just saw that Todd is no longer with Para. What an end of an era. Todd is a quality guy and I wish him well. Travis Tomasie is now the Para guy. Also a great guy. Travis always liked metal guns so it seems like a good fit. I always liked my Paras over my S_I guns. Just felt more traditional. BTW: Did Dave Sevigny land a new gun sponsor? Any other big name switches? I haven't been to big matches in a while so it's easy to lose track -mb

Chuck, Where in Oregon can I find AP? Thanks Michael Boyd

Thanks for the feedback. I certainly remember guns becoming outdated while they were still being "born" at the gunsmith shop (that's why so many of us started working on our own guns). I started competing seriously in UPSA around 1986 and I haven't locked in a certain "year for gear" at all. My thought would be single stack, open and "stock" classes using rule criteria from around 1985. As far as just using new single stack stuff, most would be perfectly applicable. I think we have some great single stack matches out there already. I think dusting off the old stuff for those of us who have it would be a blast. I'm also very interested in how scores would match up. keep the ideas coming. -mb

Folks, I came up shooting in the early 1980's and sorely miss many of the aspects of the game at that time, like single stack "Bo-Mar'd" comp guns, Ernie Hill holsters, "stock class" etc. I'm thinking about beginning the preliminary planning for a match that would have two main areas of focus: 1. Guns and gear would be comparable with the stuff we used (all your single stack gear would work fine, or you could dust off your old single stack Accu-Comp) around 1985. 2. Courses of fire would be some of the classics from matches of the day (Advanced Military, old Cooper Assualt courses etc). I'm just seeking some feedback on this. I'm not trying or suggesting a new shooting sport, just a retro match, maybe on an annual basis at a large venue (Bend, OR range or Sacramento CA range, for instance) Any thoughts? -mb

I'm pretty sure Bruce Piatt shoots Caspian stuff and has done some incredible things with this brand. Bottom line: all guns hang up. I made GM with a Para. It's like all other guns in the 1911 platform, they need dedication. I've got 90K through my P-16 and it is still my favorite USPSA gun. I've had barrel lugs shear off, mags fail to work etc on every kind of USPSA gun. There does seem to be odd animosity towards the Para among a lot of shooters. TGO also shoots a Para-like gun and between TJ and TGO, the "Para" platform has proven to be pretty successful. I find it funny when some folks look down on a gun based upon brand before the buzzer even goes off.... (I guess it gives us something to talk about instead of shagging brass) -MB

Bruce Gray of Grayguns milled the FS on my P220 down to about 110" with no compromise on the sight. He also opened up the rear sight. It was a couple of years ago, but I think it cost around $25.00. The narrower FS and slightly widened rear made a TON of difference. I fill that wth a fat front sight, it's harder to precisely place a pinpoint shot at speed. Give Bruce a calll or email.

Take a look at 10-8 Perfromance sights. They make a Novak-cut R/S with different size notch openings (.125 -.156). They require a front sight that's about .180 tall. Dawson can help you with that.

I gotta respectfully disagree on this one. I've seen too many cracked frames and slides, especially on older (Series 70) Colts and SA guns. I just replaced a slide on a friend's gun that was cracked up both sides with maybe 30% left. The dust cover was cracked on both sides. His other 1911 had a cracked dust cover too. Both guns were well worn and from "back in the day" (many trips to Gunsite etc). I've personally cracked two frames and two slides with lots of factory ammo and 175+ PF reloads (and no buffs). Run a shok buff for practice sessions and ditch it for carry. The only buffs I've had fall apart were old Wilson ones. I use Buffer Technologies and they have been working great (they look like the old "Tuff-Buff"). Good for well over 1k rounds. Stick with buffs of the .125 thickness and the gun will still lock open etc. They are cheap insurance/preventative maintenance for your 1911, especially for an old alloy Commander. In a lot of places, one can't replace busted frames like one used to be able to do. Many modern makers have beefed up the critical areas (thicker dust covers). I don't think a buff matters with an S_I or rail 1911, but for the older 1911's they do. -MB

For several years it's been a "parts gun" Commander (Gold Cup frame and surplus Commander slide). Bruce Gray did a great weld-up fit on the barrel and milled the sights for me. It's my on and and off duty gun. I shoot IDPA with it from an old Davis IWB. Nothing beats a 1911

The problem seems related most to frangible. It still happens with other loads. I will try welding up the bbl first. Thanks for the tips. In 25+ years of USPSA etc, I've never had such dramatic goup variations -MB

I have a fairly new XD Tactical 9MM. It seems to consistently throw the first shot about 3" high and 8" left, then settles down and groups fairly well. It shoots this way for me and for a friend who has finished #2 at the Bianchi Cup (He knows how to shoot groups!) I'm a lefty and my friend is right handed. Have others had these issues and are there fixes for the factory barrel you could suggest? I need to use this gun with frangible ammo (I work P/T at a police academy where this is the only ammo allowed). The academy frangible ammo really hates Barsto Barrels. Thanks -MB

You might also want to see if Bruce Gray could loan you a finished P-226 competition pistol so you could do a comparison as one aspect of your article. Grayguns SIG's are out of this world. -MB

Who is Tarren ? I am pretty sure the current Prez knows Taran Butler pretty well and has no trouble telling him from Merle Eddington. I'm not sure what that has to do with the website... Sorry on the name misspell. This was pre-Prez Voigt on the shooter identification thing. I guess my point is that when a championship is no longer a BIG deal, things fade. I believe the website should really tout these great acomplishments. -mb