jmaass

Quote: from paraman1 on 6:10 am on Feb. 5, 2003 Every couple thousand rounds I would tear it down and scrub everything using WD-40 and a wire brush and soak the barrel using a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% white vinegar . Just shove an ear plug in the end of the barrel and stand on end then let soak for 15-20 minutes , drain , bore snake and then spray a little WD in there . WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! The suggested Hydrogen peroxide/Vinegar solution CAN pit your barrel and cost you a lot more than time! This was discussed long ago on the bullseye shooter's list, on rec.guns, and then on the premordial IPSC mailing list. You can see some of the information from people's experience and a chemist at: http://talk.shooters.com/room_47/7557.cfm It starts at the third message in the archive, or so.

Billy May, the Herb Tarlek of cable advertising.

I recalled reading about Wilson's training, but couldn't call up the details, and diligent web searching didn't turn up the answer. I almost guessed an obscure European country with chocolate and cuckoo clocks. I searched through my collection of old (mid-80s) American Handgunners, and my photocopied gunsmith articles from my "1993 Gunsmith Hunt" notebook, but balked at digging the plastic bin of old Front Sights out (always consumes a full day when I open that box). I finally found the 2nd part of the answer on page 10 of Wilson's book "The Combat Auto"! I have a well-worn copy of The Book in my bookcase, but I will find a worthy Junior shooter at our Circleville USPSA/IPSC matches this year to become the owner of The Prize.

"You can't have too much money or too many Magazines." - Penni Bales, at Circleville (OH) USPSA/IPSC Match, September 10, 1994 (Edited by jmaass at 8:32 pm on Feb. 4, 2003)

"The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the minute you get up in the morning and does not stop until the timer beeps." - Paraphrasing poet Robert Frost

I recommend that you practice only with your match load. Race car drivers take practice laps in their race-day cars, not in their family sedan, or even in one of the competitor's cars. Baseball players practice hitting with their game bats, not with some special "practice only" bat. I think you'll screw up your results (if you are practicing seriously for competition) by changing loads around. You are trying to pay attention to how the gun behaves when you shoot, how your sights track, how your body is best used to put each shot on-target, how reliable your load is over hundreds or thousands of round, how your equipment functions in general. Can't do that if you change loads between practice and matches. If you are building basic accuracy skills (bullseye/target shooting: align sights, activate trigger without upsetting sight picture, repeat), then you might get away with changing loads. However, I always consider that you should practice as you compete. Just because you have cheap/free powder doesn't mean you should use it for any serious practice.

1. Watchmaker. 2. Oklahoma State Tech 3. Second Chance

The large Dillon has served me well for years now, after the Lyman shook itself apart. I bought a lamp-type timer that turns itself off after the specified period, and plug the vibrating cleaner into it. I can set it for 2 or 3 hours, and it will turn off at the appropriate time. The large Dillon will handle a *lot* of 9x21 or .38 Super cases, but for most efficient cleaning, throw the cases in the tumbler ASAP after returning from the range, before the crud has a chance to harden.

Quote: from smoney on 10:02 am on Feb. 2, 2003 I hate wearing a hat, but i do so in IDPA and USPSA as it keeps things away from my eyes and decreases glare. just to be a jerk, what if you wear your had backwards if they have no stipulations on how you must wear your had. a hat can get in the way big time when your prone, or in certain dark conditions, where you want the most light possible. Steve They can always apply the Failure To Conform To What I Said or Meant (FTDR) penalty!

It seems the way to "game" IDPA is to become an SO or MD. These are the "Gamers" in IDPA, issuing (or threatening to issue) FTDR penalties in order to keep everyone in mechanical lockstep, sometimes simply for match expediency. "Some MD's give them out like candy at holloweeen. Other's dont. It also depends on the type of shooters you have." Give me a rulebook instead! Wouldn't the NFL or NHL be fun leagues if the officials there had an vaguely defined penalty they could apply at will, based on anything from an unhappy personal life to an inherent sadistic streak? IDPA shooters: if you owned the sport, would you retain FTDR?

The gun is reviewed in the March issue of Shooting Times that just arrived here today (pp. 42-46). Lots of photos. Stainless. $932 (the gun, not the magazine).

Does this regulation mean that Wilson is selling hats again?

Steve: Any stage requiring 15 rounds or more I use a Big Stick. Plenty of margin for make-up shots. Weight is not an issue for me. I also keep a big stick in the belt to reload to if I have a problem with #1 (I have 4 Big Sticks), as well as two 20-round mags (my normal capacity Caspian mags with EGW bases). If the course is a long one (>25 rounds), I'll start with the Big Stick, and plan my reload to a normal-capacity magazine. Reloads to the shorter magazines are faster (for me). For Classifiers and speed shoots involving short strings and and reloads, I'll opt to drop the 20-round mags into the grass/dirt/mud/sand. DO NOT EVER DOWNLOAD YOUR MAGAZINES! EVER! If you do, I will **guarentee** that you will find yourself in the middle of a field course (the next stage, or one after that) with a partially-filled magazine on your belt when you want a full magazine! I've seen this very, very often, often enough for me to make a rule about it! The delta-T in the draw is insignificant to the time cost of a reload when you don't want one. Practice the draw with a heavy gun, and you'll neutralize any (percieved or measured) differences in draw speeds.

My Mom was cleaning out the closet in my old bedroom just prior to my 48th (uggh) birthday last week, and brought a box full of stuff that she found there. Most were Amateur Radio magazines, some radio licence manuals, a FORTRAN book and Technical Writing text from my college days, a pristine copy of a "DECSystem-10 Macro-10 Assembler Programmer's Reference Manual" from my job while in college), and some (empty) slide holders from when photography resulted in bits of colored plastic in a paper square. Also, a few "lost treasures". My long-lost copy of the 1977 "Saturday Night Live: Host Francisco Franco" book, a collection of reprints of first-year SNL scripts with photos and hand-written notes. Includes the never-aired "Placenta Helper" script (surprisingly, the censors said "no&quot. Long out of print, and something I have mentioned on occassion in the years since I misplaced it! Some of my 1968 Superman, Flash, and Batman comic books! Unfortunately, I never had many, and read the ones I had. There are three, though, that are in very good condition, and a quick Google search suggests they might be worth $20-30 each (dealers asking $40-$50)! Still missing is my complete collection of Model Rocketry Magazine from the late 60's. It *was* complete: I found two stray issues here last year, and sold each for ~$20 each! Did anyone else do competition Model Rocketry (from ex-NAR 11711). I have no doubt that as my Mom digs deeper, she'll find more archaological debris from my youth in the lower levels.

Light .45ACP loads on steel will have you feeling like you are lobbing Volkswagons downrange on the long shots (and on some medium shots). I've always taken a contrarian view to loading for steel and NRA Action Pistol matches: I always shoot my IPSC loads. That way, these matches serve as practice for my preferred matches (USPSA/IPSC), and I don't have to deal with a gun that handles differently every time I pick it up for a different match. I had a light load for my 9x21s at one time for steel and Action Pistol, but when fired the gun's slide felt like a boxcar rocking back-and-forth on a siding. I'm sure that with judicious spring-swapping, I could have made it work better, but then I still was stuck with making sure everything was configured correctly for each different kind of match. Too many other things change when I go to a different match: no need for me to add to the adjustment problems with a varying load and gun setup. If you are still looking for wimpy .45ACP loads, look to the Bullseye shooters. That's all they ever shoot, and ther's no shortage of load data for accurate loads from them over the past several decades!

Mark me as one firmly opposed to a mandated "6-round neutral" requirement for USPSA/IPSC at any level. At the local level, we have limited numbers of bays and a limited amount of space in each bay. Mandating 6-round neutral designs will reduce the number of rounds in each statge and so in our matches. If you want to see USPSA/IPSC voters "vote with their feet", try charging them $15 or $16 for a 40-50 round match! For those who claim that their motivation is wanting to see how they match up against those in other Divisions, no problem: just enter in Open, and see how you do. Or, lobby your USPSA Area Director to return adherence to the eight "Principles of Practical Shooting", especially Principle 3: "Firearm types are not separated, all compete together without handicap". Of course, you won't find the 8 Principles in the front of your rulebook anymore: you'll have to go to the IPSC Constitution to find any mention of them. The current USPSA rulebook (red, page 9) states "The Principles of the Sport" are "safe gun handling" and "DVC". New Millennium shorthand, I guess!

Thanks for mentioning Ice Age. I had seen the ads for it, but had not yet rented it. I ran up to Netflix (http://www.netflix.com) and added it to my queue. (Netflix is a great deal if you like to watch DVDs, but don't buy many. Fixed fee per month, unlimited rentals (except 3 out at a time), they provide a prepaid mailer for returning the DVD, and you keep the DVD as long as you want - no late fees!).

Your grip can make a tremendous difference in how well you shoot! This was driven home to me again last weekend, when I met a prospective new IPSC shooter at the local indoor range. He had a new Springfield V12 in .45ACP, and was wondering whether the very high-and-right grouping was his fault, or whether he should adjust the sights. I watched him shoot, and he was using the grip-and-cup approach, with his off hand cupped uselessly under the mag well. I showed him a proper grip, and he tried again. Not only did the center of his grouping move down to the level of the bullseye he was shooting at, the group tightened up impressively! He's going to be a very good shooter, I expect, if he continues to practice.

I was listening to reruns of "Home Improvement" while working around the house, and heard an interesting exchange. They are planning a birthday party for one of the sons, and Jill Taylor comes down from upstairs. The following exchange occurs: Jill: "Here, I found my old 45's in the closet!" Randy: "You're gonna let us play with guns at the party?" (Edited by jmaass at 10:37 am on Jan. 22, 2003)

Lest we forget: http://www.sportshooter.com/events/swedishbikinis.htm

Also at: http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/stage.htm

I think what confused people is that if Bill Wilson created the Bill Drill, the current expectation is that he would be *charging* people to shoot it! ;-)

Flex: Your sister's number, please?

Once a year or so, I inquire on various mailing lists and newsgroups whether former gunsmith Chuck Warner Jr. ( <<spit!>> ) of Spartanburg SC has resurfaced among the shooting community. Back in the early and mid-90s, Warner was doing business as CW Custom. Warner was often featured in Layne Simpson's magazine columns, and is much mentioned in his book on the Government Model. When he disappeared from view, Warner owed me $2800 sent in payment for work on a gun, the price of a Caspian hi-cap frame kit, and seven Caspian magazines sent to him for tuning. At the time I sent him the final payment for my new racegun, I was told by Warner that it was within a few days of returning from the plater and completion. In fact, he had never worked on the gun in the 6 months since the order had been placed and frame kit, magazines, and deposit had been provided to him. I was not the only victim: I was at one point in contact with several other people who each lost thousands of dollars to Warner for undelivered guns, stolen property, unreturned deposits, and final payments. One guy was out two complete raceguns, for which he had paid in full. Warner was being investigated by BATF, SC state law enforcement, and even his local zoning authorities when he finally turned in his FFL and dropped from view. I hear periodic rumors that Chuck Warner has resurfaced in the shooting community in SC and NC. I've long since moved on, having established relationships with trustworthy, quality gunsmiths Matt McLearn and then George Smith at EGW. The statute of limitations has run out on his thefts from me, and I've long since written-off my losses. However, I feel a responsibility to share my experiences with Chuck Warner and CW Custom, in case he attempts to get back into gunsmithing and is again in a position to victimize additional shooters. I wouldn't mind an apology, either. Has anyone heard any rumors or stories of Chuck Warner, Jr. doing business once again? (Edited by jmaass at 6:17 pm on Jan. 17, 2003) (Edited by jmaass at 6:22 pm on Jan. 17, 2003)

I've been very happy with my Adidas GSG9 boots, but they were expensive ($~200 last time I looked) and are getting harder to find. I have a physical problem that requires very solid ankle support, and the boot style of the GSG-9 has prevented me from some real additional damage. The light weight of the boot is a big plus. Are there other options that are also boot style, providing ankle support up to the calf, but with good aggressive cleats?