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Jim in WA

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Everything posted by Jim in WA

  1. I'll second Thunder Ranch. Being a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan now living in Washington state it's a long drive but great vacation spot to the new Thunder Ranch location. Consider what you hope to learn from any class, as most mentioned are focused on defensive shooting. If you compete at IPSC you already have most gunhandling skills the classes teach, but the value will be learning defensive methods and tactics. I was hesitant on the cost but found the money easily justified with the quality of training. I attended both 2 day handgun and 2 day tactical rifle mini-courses and the rifle was more interesting, but both were a nice diversion from competition while learning useful self-defense skills. Be advised Clint does like to give civilian IPSC shooters some good natured chiding, as drawing should be real slow while he's teaching, even if you're centering the target every time.
  2. I have access to CAD software and drew the IPSC target real size and then scaled it to 1/3. This way 1 foot distance equals the 1 yd. sight picture (dry firing at 10 ft. is similar to 10 yd.). It also is the right size to cut from your standard grocery bag (1 per side). I made a template from plywood with the A zones cut out and just take an xacto knife around the perimeter and pencil trace the A zones, yielding a cute little brown target. They also work great for airgun practice indoors. Seeing what people are getting for miniature targets, I realize yet again I'm never destined to be rich....
  3. I bought some of the newer STI 10 rd postban .40 mags for loaders and shooting L-10 with my SVI Limited gun. These are the ones w/ a channel on each side so the rds all single stack. As new I could barely get 10 rds. in and even after break in, I can't seat them w/10 and the slide closed. They also sit below flush with my magwell and need a longer basepad. Do these break in or are there some other tricks to make them work? Jim
  4. BBQ, My SVI is a regular dustcover non-AET bull barrel in .40. The slide is standard profile with regular stirrup cuts and interchangeable breech face. I've got a 14# spring with steel 1 pc. FLGR. My initial load has been 4.8 gr. VV N320 w/Berry's 180 gr. PFN, 1.160" COL. Initial chrono'ing showed a 170 pf(in my gun). First perception was the Infinity had more muzzle flip. This was shooting factory ammo and reloads lying around. Shooting off the bench during chrono'ing the flip also seemed more than what I was accustom to w/single stacks. Next day at a local steel match I found that the gun just seemed to come right back to POA and my speed was limited only by how fast I wanted to press the trigger. The gun just floated and the major loads felt really soft. My times were some of my fastest in 2 yrs and I've never perceived a gun "working with me" like this, rather than fighting the flip. I think all this is due to the overall lightness of the gun, not having too much weight out front, and the felt recoil impulse due to the polymer grip and custom ammo. My grip is firm/relaxed and the same or lighter than on my singlestack. The widebody seems to spread the recoil more. I feel I can move this gun much faster between targets. I really suggest trusting your gun setup and putting rds. downrange. Powder and bullet wt. will definitely change the feel. I think the recoil and flip are perceived different, but not better/worse. These are my perceptions based on about 13K of .45 last year and only about 500 rds. of .40 in 2 wks. I'm happy so far, but there is a lot more to learn about these new hotrods we've got. Jim
  5. BBQ, All last year I experimented with a .45 Springfield OP single stack in L-10. Bull barrel, FLGR (not tungsten), springs, trigger weight, loads, etc. In the end I learned this: load made a significant difference (lt vs. hvy bullet and slow vs. fast powder) in perceived recoil and flip, but the extra weight actually slowed recovery over a lighter gun. I had the gun up to 49 oz. and still it returned to target slower than a regular 1911, for me. I believe that adding too much weight in front of the hands and anything to the reciprocating parts of the 1911 induces more flip. I noticed that a good portion of the movement was the gun dipping on slide return, even with 10 lb. springs. My slide has no front scallops but is not weighted additionally. As many have said, trust the gun and work on tuning it with loads and springs to find what works. I also had most of my revelations after firing 4-5000 rds. through the gun with a constant setup. I just got an SVI short dust cover 40 limited gun and initially the muzzle flip seemed greater, but I've already noticed that even if it is the front sight settles back to POA faster than any of my single stacks. Hope this is useful, Jim
  6. I think the differentiation between "recoil anticipation" and "flinch" is if the movement causes random, wild shots, i.e. you can't call them. For me, group shooting with dry firing mixed in is a good way to detect this. When I practice with my revolver I sometimes purposely "fire" a seventh shot at the end of the group to see if I'm anticipating recoil. It seems to help scramble the mind/trigger finger link to keep the motion isolated. While I don't recommend it a marginal light hammer spring in a 625 S&W with hard primers really trains you in a plate match. At my last I had 1-2 misfires /cylinder and had to row the gun twice around to get all the rounds off. The amusing part is I could go fast enough to still clear the rack before my opponent and avoid a reload. Kind of related, I find that if I try to go too fast with my 1911, my trigger seems to turn into a "hand spasm". I keep rereading the book on "visual patience", but on close type 1 targets I currently have a speed limit that my eye, mind, and trigger finger disengage at. I'm trying to figure out how to dry fire to overcome this and keep the wrist passive.
  7. The question is really whether you want to just improve your shooting, or feel compelled to improve your health for all activities. I was fortunate enough to be a participant in the initial Junior Olympic pistol training program the NRA developed in the late 70's and we were shown and taught the benefits of maintaining a good fitness level, combined with shooting specific training. Having muscle endurance to last through reshoots, cardiovascular fitness to sprint through a stage and regroup quickly, etc. all augment dedicated shooting skills. Psychologically just feeling good and developing another area of confidence can help when you are about to run a stage. A person's ability to deal with competition stress is aided by a better fitness level. Not talking about becoming a weight monster or marathoner, but consciously building fitness into your shooting training can have definite benefit in your shooting and outside of it too. The key is to get some education about exercise and develop goals to improve your fitness, just like shooting goals. It gives you something to work toward and can be monitored, just like draws, transitions, and reload times. I personally don't think weights beyond some arm/shoulder strengthening is going to aid much, but aerobics, kickboxing, martial arts,... all will tone muscle, improve cardio, and develop a better coordination. Don't just exercise, decide what you want to improve and figure out how to get there.
  8. My Walther GSP-c starts in the right direction, but I'm not sure I could get major out of .32 S&W Long flush wadcutters. Anyone got ideas for magazines beyond 5 rnds.? Seriously, it is an interesting thought as Walther, Sako, Pardini, and Benelli have all made int'l centerfire weapons with the magazine in front of the trigger guard. Total freedom of grip angle and shape, great adjustable triggers, extremely low bore axis, and low reciprocating mass(fast) bolt recoil system. Unfortunately all are straight blowback. Maybe incorporate the armalite-style gas system? hmmm....
  9. InTheBlack, I recall some scientific study on grip biomechanics done in the late 70's, relative to Olympic free pistol and rapid fire. Don't remember specific sources, but generally they involved relative steadiness and endurance. Most grip designs in this area value keeping the hand/wrist/arm in the most relaxed position, hence the slanted angle most orthopedic free and rapid fire pistol grips have. This is common in european weapons and seems to have carried over to the Glock. Rapid fire pistols usually have a grip drawing the wrist in a downward angle to help place the bore at the lowest possible point relative to the wrist. As Patrick mentioned, much of your perceptions of the USP relate to the height of the bore axis relative to the hand and wrist. I believe the actual rearward opposing force is resisted in the bone structure of your arms, and upward torque must be dealt with by muscles, along with returning the gun on target. The mass of the gun, your hands, arms, and body also play a role in absorbing recoil and amount of movement. As B. Enos book points out the real idea isn't to control recoil, but to control sight return. I've been experimenting with using the common wrist roller (weight on a rope which is rolled up and down on a bar), holding it by the ends to keep the palms vertical like a shooting grip. This makes the exercise closer biomechanically to the motions of shooting.
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