ChrisMcCracken

SV Cop, I have to agree that is one awesome blaster. I'm amazed at the quality of the SVI builds and wouldn't hesitate to get one if I could afford it. Seriously, that's an good looking gun.

I will say its not nearly as good on audio as our Safety First digital audio monitor. We used that for the first 2 years and will likely keep using it at night. Next baby is on the way. I intend to get another of the audio monitors and another camera. Camera isn't as crucial early on unless you're just curious to see if they are still alive. The Safety First digital has awesome range. We were able to put her down to bed and go 2-3 houses over for errands and still get great audio reception. This camera is nice because I can watch her play from work. They each have their niche uses. So far my impression on this camera is awesome. Video quality is best while on the LAN/Wifi from home. From away, its choppy but good enough to see what you need to see.

Just thought I'd share a new device we got. We have a 2yo that just went to a big girl bed last night, and we wanted to keep an eye on her. Rather than getting the proprietary video baby monitors we got a pan/tilt camera that works over wifi and is viewable from any computer, including our iphones, even has 2 way audio. We're pretty tickled and the price wasn't bad at all compared to the other systems. When we have another kid, we can get a 2nd camera to integrate in with this one as well. Here's the link: Nextstep Baby Monitor This would also be useful for home security. I think there is even a motion detector feature but I'm not 100% on that part.

The Eagle does seem like a great platform, I'm just reluctant to switch to .40 when I'm already setup for .45.

Good to know on the grips. That makes me want to build maybe a full 5" upper then have a full race grip with magwell and a short carry grip. Also very good to know about the VMII. I currently carry my G30 in a Milt Sparks VM-II and love it! I expect that could be just as viable for a full size 5" just need stretching over the trigger guard. Or I could get the carry grip in SVI aluminum with the rounded traditional trigger guard. That might not take any stretching then.

XRe, thanks for the insights! 1. Short dust cover, check. 2. Not aluminum, check. 3. Fixed sights, I think is a definite, probably tritium novaks. 4. I hadn't thought of the weight difference between a bushing barrel and bull barrel, much less the hybrid sight tracker. One way to bring the weight down from the hybrid would be to trim off excess part of the raised rib leaving just enough for the sight. I think the strayer signature defense gun that SVI featured in front sight had this sort of setup and looked awesome! I don't know why I'm hung up on the idea of getting a sight tracker, just seems like a bell and whistle I like the idea of. 5. I think I'm going to stick to .45 for now, partially related to increased diameter for punching holes in bad guys but mainly because I'm all setup to reload .45 and have a nice soft shooting load already. I generally carry an extra mag with me if I'm concealed, so 21 should be sufficient. 6. I like the idea of two different grips, but when I asked in the past someone made it sound like it was a major hastle. Can anyone else say for or against switching grips? Konkapot, thanks for the reassurance for carrying.

I have a great old beater 1911 5" that I've used for L10 already. My main reason for the double stack was to get 10+1 rounds while concealed. I love .45 for defense, and the more I have of it the better. I'm also already used to the thicker double stack sitting on my hip from my G30. Because I'm sure someone will ask, the reason I want to switch from the G30 is because I love the 1911 platform, and I want to carry what I compete with. I shoot glocks well but it takes a short adjustment, not what I want when pressured in a defensive situation. Thanks for the idea! Keep them coming.

I'm in my scheming mode, planning, hoping, and dreaming of my future gun and shooting aspirations. I had been planning on getting a VIP in .45 for concealed carry to replace my G30 and then saving up for a full custom sight tracker build in .40 to shoot Limited. This is largely complicated by limited funds and partially complicated by the fact that I'm already fully setup to reload in .45 and comfortable with that round. As a compromise, I though of getting one custom gun to somehow meet all of my carry, competition, and reloading needs. I could get a carry gun in .45 that switches easily to be a respectable L10 gun, and push full Limited aspirations further off into the future. What I would like is for it to have a hybrid sight tracker barrel, be as light as possible without compromising function, and be able to add and remove a full sized mag well easily. One compromise for the sake of concealed carry would likely be a 4.3" barrel. I would like to have the shortened grip of either the STI VIP or SVI's concealed carry, but I can't find any way to fit either with a full mag well. That puts one compromise for competition as having to pick a full size grip. To save weight, the plastic grip is probably best, as well as the shorter barrel/slide. I could lighten the slide with tri-top cuts and whatever other lightening the gunsmith thinks is appropriate. Here are some questions: Would an aluminum frame really be a problem for a competition gun? I've looked at some of the other threads, and I'm still torn in the weight saving vs. frame wear debate. Is there any way to get a mag well on either the VIP or SVI shortened grip? Has anyone tried competition speed reloads with the SVI shortened grip? They claim they have opened it up to simulate a mag well. How difficult is it to put on and take off the standard mag wells on the full size plastic grips? How easy would it be to conceal IWB a full 5" barrel and full size grip S_I without the magwell? Can anyone think of other ways to compromise between these two different demands on one gun? How much weight is saved with a short dust cover vs. full length? I like the look of the full length dust cover and the weight up front but worry about finding a holster and the total weight. I seriously wish SVI wasn't so expensive, as some of their options are incredible. Thanks!

Well, she's 2 years and 4 months old now, and we have another kiddo on the way, due in September. Crazy how fast things go.

I would take that over one that turns her nose up at them and decides to join an occupy whatever movement to whine about how unjust things are. Sounds like you raised her right.

I can't wait until mine is big enough to help Daddy. Congrats on getting her involved early!

I swear that if I can ever come up with an excuse to redo my driveway, I'm getting the new one heated. I'd probably go with electric just for simplicity's sake. We just bought a home in the mountains of NC. While this winter has been mild, fully expect them to be nasty in years to come. This would be an incredible convenience.

I would just asking them for alternatives and see what they suggest. Naproxen is one of the most common longer acting NSAIDS take twice a day. Others include diclofenac, celebrex, indomethacin, meloxicam, and nabumetone. Diclofenac comes in a gel and patch as well, Voltaren gel and Flector patches, for very focal pain. The oral NSAIDS can all be hard on your stomach, including the possibility of severe GI bleeding. For non NSAIDS, don't forget tylenol. It can be used up to 1000mg every 8 hours if your have a happy and healthy liver. Other options include lidoderm patches, with the numbing medication lidocaine in a patch form, good for localized pain. For nonmedicines, heat can work wonders for some types of pain. The stick on chemical heating pads can work for 6-8 hours at a time for days that you need to be out and functional, like shooting matches. Other options include neurontin or lyrica for nerve pain, typically described as burning, tingling, or shooting pain. For very chronic muscle pain, amitriptyline can be a good option. It's an old anti-depressant that when used in low doses (10-100mg) can provide surprisingly effective lowering of pain for certain patients. Keep in mind, many people will have pain every day of their life. Part of the goal for them is learning to live with it and still be functional. On pain scales, that may mean bringing it from a 7 out of 10 down to a 4 out of 10 with medicine. There are always other things you can do, including physical therapy, regular exercise, sleeping well, eating right, and interventional approaches like injections or surgery. I hope that helps.

Just to be clear, Ultram or tramadol is in a grey area. It hits the same receptors that other narcotics hit, however it is also a partial antagonists to those receptors as well. This mixed agonist/antagonist effect is why it isn't controlled to the same degree that full agonist only narcotics are regulated. You completely could react the same way with regard to intoxication on ultram as someone might on vicodin or oxycodone. It's just less likely to give you a buzz than they are. It is also not an opiate abuser's drug of choice because that antagonist effect can put someone who is chronically dependent on opiates into withdrawals, knocking the other opiates off the receptors and blocking them from doing their thing. Kevin made an interesting point earlier quoting the PDR and some percentages with regard to symptom frequency. I would add to that by saying that those are only the REPORTED instances of symptoms like blurry vision or tremor. You have to also consider that the average patient in those trials isn't a competitive shooter and may not notice such subtle changes in vision, tremor, or coordination to bother reporting it during the drug studies. We're talking about a sport where the goal is to call your shots, requiring lots of motor and sensory systems to work almost perfectly. My main message would be that this is presciption drug for a reason. If you have pain that your physican feels warrants use of this medicine, then that's between you and him/her. However the doctor will likely never warn you that the medicine may affect your accuracy with a handgun. You have to be self-aware and responsible for your body, how you react to medicines, and how you then choose to use the medicines. If just avoiding use of the medicine a few hours before shooting gets you back to your usual accuracy, then that is probably sufficient. Don't let your hobby cause you to live in pain all the time. Alternative medicines should be discussed with your PCP. Some options include longer acting anti-inflammatories, like naproxen. There are also topical anti-inflammatories in gel and patch form that could give very focal pain relief. If you come off the ultram and find that you were more affected than you previously realized, as some of the others have posted, by all means avoid it and seek alternatives. It's also very much worth noting that one person's response and sensitivity to this medicine may be vastly different than anothers. Again, self-awareness is key. Anyway, that's just the .02 of a family doctor who is somewhat familiar with this medicine and the other options.

Would a accurailing an aluminum frame increase the longevity of the frame given aluminum's inherently softener nature? The idea being to have steel rails take the beating instead.

I wonder what might constitute a double charge or a Kaboom? Its also important to go with the full metal jacket to prevent fouling of the barrel and to make sure your lead goes unscathed.

You guys are so spoiled, pretty much every awesome handgun is unobtainum in california =( Live elsewhere. You'll have more money for ammo and guns with the lower cost of living too!

Does anyone know if STI will stand behind their aluminum frame the way some of these other builders say they do? If it gets sloppy after 10k rounds is it reasonable to demand a fix or replacement? 20k? 30k? I've never put anything close to that many rounds down a gun but I'd like to get more active and serious with my shooting.

After poking around through the searches, this seems the most appropriate thread to revive. Can any aluminum framed VIP owners comment on their round counts through the guns and how they hold up? If I get a VIP for concealed carry I will likely shoot it in IDPA and L10 until I can get a full out Limited gun built in another year or so. I would like to know whether to get the steel or aluminum frame. I'd like to keep it as light weight as possible but not at the cost of having to replace the frame before the rest of the gun wears out along with it. Input?

I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger on my first 2011 purchase, planning on getting a STI VIP for concealed carry, IDPA, and L-10. It seems that Brazos Custom has good prices and an initial once over of the gun. Are they the best price I can find? Who do you get your stock STI from? Thanks!

I did a search but didn't come up with anything since it's not competition related. Can anyone suggest where to get the best deal on defensive ammo online? I need to get some Corbon in .45 for concealed carry, and my local gunshop doesn't carry much variety. Thanks! Chris

I think something is wrong with the search function. Your new post didn't come up in my new content. I went into 3-gun shotgun forum and tried a search for shell carrier, caddy, and then shotgun and it comes up with no content, so I think its the search in general that's broken.

If we get the 9+1 and go to a 8+1 limited match, can we just put a plug in for that one match?

Can I ask how much that set you back? I would love a limited gun like that!

I carry a G30 in a Milt Sparks VMII. I'm 5'7", small to medium frame. It sits comfortably between 4 and 5 o'clock. I love .45 and having 10+1 of them. I will say its a little thick, and I'm itching to switch platforms for a slimmer 1911/2011. My Dad loves his G36, and I'll agree its a nice carry weapon. My hand happens to like the double stacks better though.