jkmccoy

Deke, I most desperately hope that we will not need to use the word "cuckold" more frequently around here. Should it appear to become necessary I'll have to start hanging out somewhere else. You can borrow my guns, ammo, holster, belt, etc. On a good day you could even borrow my truck. But sheesh! a guy's got to draw the line somewhere! Cheers,

If you set up a stage in EZWinScore (any version) as "timed fire" then the box for "no penalty misses" appears on the window where you enter scores. Unfortunately, the box for "misses" (with penalties) does not go away. The scorekeeper still needs to enter the misses in the correct box (npm). It is possible that the misses got entered incorrectly and thus shooters received penalties they should not have received. But, Erik's question is a good one. Are you sure that these were not penalties for some other reason - procedural, extra shot, late shot, etc.? Cheers,

I have remained silent as long as I can... Remington vs. Mossberg vs. Benelli??? In a discussion of the best pumpgun (for tactical use)? Is there really any question of the best pumpgun (for any use)? Winchester M12!!! Of course you will need to find a gunsmith to build the custom mount for the Optima (Open Division of course)... and the 10 round magazine tube, anyone can add the Cutts Compensator... Of course, a pretty walnut stock and a 1950's style rubber recoil pad add to the overall style... Cheers,

I'm with Bubber and Rhino. I wouldn't do anything as underhanded as practice. Although Liota is definitely correct that sniffing a little powder smoke is pleasant, and those fine firearms can only be truly appreciated outdoors (at the range) practicing might give you an unfair advantage over your favorite opponents (like Liota's husband - we've been trading wins for several years now). However, it is important to make sure your firearms function properly before going to a match. I think that at least 3 times per week is almost enough. Never mind that timer on my belt. It's also important to make sure the timer is working. It might even be therapy. I find hammering steel targets with a shotgun great stress relief. And even if you aren't at the range you should definitely make sure that your sights and trigger are still functional by pointing your gun at a target and pulling the trigger frequently. And you should also test the loading mechanisms by repeatedly inserting magazines. Cheers,

Start with safety off, pointed at target. On buzzer pull trigger, rack the action (Winchester M12), load three off the sidesaddle (one at a time) shoot the next target. 4.50-4.20 if I don't fumble. Longer when I do (about 1 out of 5, longest time was 5.80). The targets were 8" plates 1yd apart at 12yds. Doesn't count if you miss. Cheers,

OK, I tried MHughes test. I'm not quite as old as MHughes, but I'm a mere mortal. The quickest I could manage was low 4's (4.20) loading with strong hand from the sidesaddle. That is with my tactical M12. Guess I need to practice more. KNeal may be too modest to report on the Texas State 3-Gun Championship, but if you go to the match web page you can see his results (Limited Division) and if you go to the "pictures" page you can see him accepting a trophy. Cheers,

I made B-class Limited this month. After a couple of years floundering around in C-class. Now that the Texas State 3-Gun Championship is over maybe I'll have time to practice a little and go for A-class. Cheers,

Hawaii may have been officially recognized as the 50th state, but here in the Republic of Texas we have difficulty accepting a society that so clearly holds inimical those values that we so highly prize. As far as "Open 10" I say H*LL NO!!!!. WHY?!?! The only possible reason to add divisions is to attract new shooters. I do not approve of, nor endorse the addition of L10 or Production except insofar as those divisions might attract new shooters. I am the scorekeeper/stats officer for our local club (and for some of the major matches in the area) and that has NOTHING to do with my opinion. I'm happy to enter shooters in any division they declare. But...We already have six classes in five different divisions. At some matches nearly everyone gets a prize/trophy because they were the only shooter (or one of the 2 or 3 shooters) in their class/division. Now you want to split the competition up even more. No! No! No! I want to compete. I want to know how my skills compare to other shooters. It is nice to be recognized within my classification, but what I really want is to win the whole match (not likely, but that's what I want). If you just want a trophy take your d*mned entry fee down to the local trophy shop and have them make one for you (you can have anything you want engraved on it)! You could be the "Best D*mned Shooter Ever" if you want. If you want to know whether or not you shot better than I did, you need to compete in my division. Is the equipment I have better than the equipment you have? I don't know. There are rules that define what equipment is allowed. I followed those rules and I assume you did. I assume that we are competing on a level field. You could get silly about it...different divisions for different brands of frames, slides, holsters, hammers, etc., etc., etc.,.......... So you live in a state that doesn't allow high-cap magazines...Wah! Wah! Wah!!!! Everyone you are competing against has the same restrictions. If you are one of those poor unfortunates then you just have to live with it (If it's really important to you, you could move). Don't force the same draconian restrictions on those of us who live in places that recognize the second ammendment. Cheers,

I don't have huge experience with Optimas, but I'll throw in my $0.02. I have two of the latest generation Optima 2000's. I bought both of them used, one is on my rifle and the other is on my shotgun (pistols should have iron sights). I've been using them for about six months now. The one on the rifle has the Arredondo battery pack with two 2032 batteries, the one on the shotgun has two 2016 batteries in it. Having two batteries definitely makes the dot brighter. It's most noticeable in very dim and very bright light. The directions that came with them said that it is possible to use two 2016 batteries to make the dot brighter. I doubt that the manufacturer would recommend the procedure if it drastically reduces lifespan of the sight. Cheers,

Whoo! Hah! This thread has a LOT of stuff in it. A lot of GOOD stuff, but a LOT of stuff.... I like innovative start positions and/or innovative activities during a stage. I think they have a place in USPSA shooting (and not just in local matches). But, there should be no penalty for lacking physical skills that have nothing to do with shooting. That is, I think it is OK to start with grenade in hand..etc., but it stinks to assess penalty points for not hitting a target with the grenade. Every stage should conform to USPSA rules. I don't see anything in the rules regarding scoring grenade hits, bayonet strikes, etc. Rufus (and others) made some comments regarding volunteering. I want to say AMEN! Our club has a policy of rotating match director, but often the designated MD has a conflict and cannot set up a match. In reality there are about 5 people (out of 30+ regular shooters, we average over 25 per match) who set up our club matches. We don't mind doing it. In fact, we like doing it. But we would be happy to have some help. If you want to suggest a stage (or two or three) please do so. We do work hard at designing stages that not only conform to USPSA rules but are innovative, interesting, and fun...but we'd be glad to have some help. As regards ShooterGrrl's stage design comments...I agree with most of them, but I must offer my two lincolns on some details. This is a physical sport. I realize that there are differences in the physical abilities of the shooters who attend our matches. Stage design should also recognize that. That doesn't mean that stages should not offer physical challenges. It does mean that stages should offer the choice between physical challenges and shooting challenges. For example, we had a stage a couple of months ago where you could run 40yds down range and engage targets - or you could engage the targets from 40yds (I shot the targets from 40yds and was beaten by a skinny little guy who ran downrange and powder-burned the targets). IPSC/USPSA shooting does involve some physical challenges. The best stages level the field (or nearly level it), but there is still some athletic ability involved. If you want to completely avoid any athletic challenge you should be shooting bullseye. There is some physical ability involved in IPSC/USPSA shooting and you need to recognize that. I don't expect to be required to scale 50' of rope one-handed, swim a crocodile -infested swamp, dive over a waterfall, run an ultra-marathon and then engage targets, but I do understand that being able to move between shooting positions will be part of the competition. Finally...FREESTYLE! FREESTYLE! FREESTYLE! Cheers,

I want my computer to do what I tell it to do, not what some software programmer thinks it should do. I don't use IE, Word, Excel, or AOLame. Why do teenagers feel the need to be so obnoxious? Why does my eldest daughter (who is actually a very nice person) feel the need to hang around with such obnoxious friends? Some of them might actually be human beings if they weren't so d*mn busy being teenagers. I hate to think that I might have been that unpleasant when I was a teenager.

Although there are clearly better ways to do it...I carry spare mags for my rifle in the back pockets of my jeans (works OK until you have to go for the third magazine from a kneeling position). For the shotgun I have a sidesaddle and a forearm shell holder. Works for me. You're welcome to wear the tactical vest (as long as it isn't camo) at our matches. We'll snicker about it behind your back, but you're welcome to wear it. Cheers,

Gratuitous Nudity! Then it wasn't a total waste of time.

I have done some anodizing of aluminum parts. Although it is definitely within the realm of possibility for a fairly competent hobbyist, it is NOT "easy as dirt". The process of anodizing is really just a method of using the natural tendency of aluminum to oxidize rapidly to form a hard coating on the work piece. Left alone aluminum will oxidize rapidly on the surface. Although aluminum oxide is very hard (RC90) naturally formed oxide will be in very fine particles and will be easily rubbed off. Anodizing uses that tendency to oxidize to create a coating of aluminum oxide on the surface of the work piece. The anodized coating is very thin, but very hard, and is bound to the surface of the workpiece. I agree that using special anodizing dyes (e.g. from Caswell plating) is much preferable to using RIT dyes. Because the surface is very hard, anodizing does provide some resistance to surface wear. But, because the coating is very thin, you will eventually wear through the anodizing. I anodized an STI alloy frame for a friend of mine. It is holding up quite well except for the high wear points where the slide rubs. There are lots of good web sites out there about anodizing. Dig around on my site and you can find my discussion of anodizing. I also have some links on my "home machine shop links" page for some other viewpoints on anodizing. Cheers, (Edited by jkmccoy at 3:22 pm on Mar. 2, 2003)

OK, so you want it to be accurate too...Picky, picky, picky... First Rule - must go bang every time trigger is pulled. Second Rule - must hit target when trigger is pulled and it goes bang. Yeah, the Mini14 has some accuracy issues. My personal preference is to start with a highly reliable action and work on the accuracy (instead of starting with an accurate action and working on reliability). Cheers,

I explained to a friend of mine the other day that it's very easy to fix reliability problems on an AR...trade it in on a Mini14! Cheers,

Erik, of course it is the action that defines legality or illegality. A given firearm might be legally posessed by one person, but not by another. Certain drugs may be legally posessed under some circumstances but not under others. A person of foreign birth might legally enter this country, or might enter this country without proper permission and thus break some laws. It is the action (of posession, of entering the country) that is illegal. However, under circumstances where a law has been or is being broken I have no problem referring to something as illegal (illegal guns, illegal drugs, illegal aliens). What? am I supposed to say "a foreign born person who appears to have entered this country without proper permission" just so I don't offend your delicate sensibilities? Pooh! I'm with Chuck D. We need to do something to narrow the gap between the haves' and the have nots'. After all, the government is only taking about 1/3 of my income right now and giving it away to people too d*mn lazy to work or too d*mn stupid to do anything worth paying them for. Those poor people can barely afford to feed their 8 children. Of course the rest of us are buying their health insurance and paying for their education so that if they do make any money they can spend it on color TV's and beer. I don't need as much money as I make and obviously don't deserve to have it. Take half of it and give it to the morons and indolent. Then they can afford to buy new cars and cocaine too. [/bitter sarcastic mode off] Flame ON (Edited by jkmccoy at 3:10 pm on Feb. 28, 2003)

John, We've had about 20 inches of rain here in the past two years (two year total about 20 inches). What's mud? p.s. I have pictures of lots of my other tools too. (Edited by jkmccoy at 10:54 am on Feb. 26, 2003)

This seems entirely "on topic" to me (IMHO). I think these are both good stages (with some very minor modifications)... I agree with Flex (dang, twice in one day) that you need to specify "start in box A". Also, my goal is always "engage targets at they become visible". Arrange props/no-shoots so that shooters must move to get clear shots on targets. For "Diminishing Returns" establish a charge line along the direction you want shooters to move so that they cannot engage the steel from closer than 10 yds. Then make the description "engage targets as they become visible". Let the shooter decide where he wants to be when he engages the targets. Same thing for "Stop and Go". If you want shooters to engage T11-14 from the barricade, set up a couple of no-shoots so that they can't get a good shot except from inside the barricade. I don't have any problem with overlapping shoot targets. I don't see any pass-through issues. If a target is penetrated by a full-diameter bullet hit it is impenetrable and hits in targets behind do not count (9.1.5). We use overlapping targets often and have no problems. Those are actually good stages (with some minor tweaks). I have shot much worse at club matches (I've probably designed worse). Cheers,

Gentlemen, Gentlemen (and ladies), let's get real...that is not a TRUCK! This is a TRUCK... I don't mean to sound disparaging, but those little foreign trucks really don't measure up. This one is factory rated at 225hp/425ft-lbs torque. With some minor modifications it's making 300/500. The peak torque is at 2000 rpms. Even after the modifications I get 16-17mpg around town and 18-19 on the highway. That's in a full-sized lifted 3/4-ton 4x4 truck with serious mud grip tires on it. It will haul 4 large 3-gun competitors (over 800 pounds of shooter) and all their gear to a match 3 hours away comfortably (and has done so). Tell me your rice grinder can do that. Yes, it rides like a truck, it's loud (really cool turbo noise), you need steps to get in, and you have to look for a large parking space. It is a TRUCK. However, it tows anything hooked behind it, carries lots of people and gear, cruises down the highway comfortably (with all my family aboard), and I don't worry about getting stuck. Cheers, (Edited by jkmccoy at 1:37 am on Feb. 26, 2003) (Edited by jkmccoy at 1:46 am on Feb. 26, 2003)

I'm with Wakal on this one (almost). The death of that little girl is sad. The death of any child is sad. But don't try to make this into some sort of national tragedy, and don't try to make the doctors into villains. The reason she died is because she was desperately ill. So ill that she needed a heart and lung transplant. The very best that medical science might have been able to do would have been to delay her death a few years. The doctor(s) did not kill her. They made an heroic attempt to save her life and due to a mistake she died anyway. SHE WOULD HAVE DIED IF THEY HAD DONE NOTHING. This isn't some sort of national tragedy. Lots of people die every day. Lots of young women die every day because someone made a mistake. This case is only a "tragedy" because it is in the news. It is only in the news because a very high profile person made a high profile mistake and the media can make a profit by selling stories about it. What about all the little kids who died today because some idiot made a mistake and ran a red light? What about all the little kids who died today because someone made a mistake and started a fire that burned their house? What about all the little kids who died today because someone made a mistake and....Aren't those tragedies too? Are you going to start a hate rant for each one of them? Rufus, if you believe that this particular death is worthy of special notice then I strongly suggest that you seriously consider and evaluate your view of the world. I hate it when people allow themselves to be mislead by the inherent bias in the news media instead of honestly evaluating the facts that are presented. Stay Well,

Stupid people who justify their existence by creating more work for me. The reason you don't have anything to do (and your position may be eliminated) is because you DON'T DO ANYTHING USEFUL! Don't try to justify your existence by creating more things for me to do. I already have a full time job.

Kurt, It will be a USPSA match (rules and all) so no tactical class. It's a pretty good haul from Denver. I have a sister-in-law in Colorado Springs and she claims to have made the drive in 12 hours (I'm not certain that all traffic laws were consistently obeyed). My wife and daughter drove from here to Colorado Springs and said it's more like 14-15 hours (but I'm sure that included frequent stops for coffee, etc.). Cheers,

Whoah! SigLady and ShooterGrrl, serious big brass ones (excuse the expression) for posting real pictures of yourselves. (And whoah for the pics). Guess some of us guys better put up or shut up. I'm not sure how good an idea that will be. Although the BE members appear to be a fairly tough bunch, I'm not sure they are prepared for pics of a bunch of us MAFG's (Middle Aged Fat Guys). Cheers (Edited by jkmccoy at 11:02 am on Feb. 21, 2003)

I certainly have nowhere near the experience nor expertise of many of the respondents on this thread, however...within my limited budget I do find that the combination of a scope on top and a dot on the handguard works well for me. (The scope is a Weaver K4 that I bought 20+ years ago for ~$30 and the dot is an Optima that I bought recently - I bought it used). I'm not sure I'm willing to invest large sums of money for Trijicon that may or may not fit my needs better. I like having two optics. I like not having to change power on a variable scope. Is it the best? I don't know. It works for me. I am practicing with that combination. Kurt, You coming down for the Texas State 3-Gun? Kelly N., Benny, and the Hawkins have sent in their entries. It will be a fun match. Cheers, (Edited by jkmccoy at 1:00 am on Feb. 21, 2003)