Joe D

I have handled and shot several STI guns. I honestly did not see anything special about the fit and finish. The barrel and slide to frame fit was no better than my Kimbers. The finish was certainly no better. I have not handled one of the new BUL M5s so I really cannot comment on how well they are put together. I have shot a couple of the old models made for Kimber. The fit and finish on those were just as good as the STIs.

Larry, please educate me as to why a STI/SVI is worth a $1,000 more than a BUL M5. Actually $1,200 more. Let's see, both have plastic frames, forged slides, ramped bull barrel, high rise BTs and the list goes on. A STI at $1,000 would be a reasonable price.

I have been holding my breath now for amost 2 years waiting on CD to bring in these guns. Guess it's about time to dial 911. Dealer cost on the .40 Government Model is only $570. Guess that's why I keep waiting. Let's see that is over $1,000 less than the STI/SVI guns. What is wrong with this picture. Can we say overpriced?

Academy Sports is, for the most part I think, a southeast chain. There is one here in Birmingham. I find their prices to be OK on most items. They do not have a very good selection of guns. Blazer runs $3.99 for 50. Have seen it even cheaper on occasion.

Where can I find a picture and specs of the SP-01?

I guess I have a bit of a problem with a couple of TSA things. It is a monarchy like IDPA. Members have no say in the way things are done. Secondly, I don't care for folks, Middlebrooks, that post their own quotes.

Guess we did drift a bit there.

On the other hand Dave Sevigny and Daniel Horner beat me like a drum at the IDPA matches. I never paid much attention to Daniel Horner's grip, but I always thought Dave used "funny" grip. Must work for them.

I guess I became a bit concerned when I saw this guy quoting himself on their forum. He must be his own greatest fan.

Angus check your PM.

Does the RSO get a DQ if your loaded gun falls from the holster while he is testing it for retention?

Who is D.R. Middlebrooks? I do not know this guy, but I get a sense he may be a Tactical Ted/Mall Ninja type. I could be completely wrong, just a feeling I get from reading their Forum. Do we really need another monarchy? Shades of IDPA. I found their "logic" behind HP ammo. Makes no sense to me at all. People have been shooting steel targets with HPs for decades in IPSC and more recently IDPA. All of that being said I do like some of their rules. The 100% behind cover rule is kind of dumb. I guess I cannot get shot while I am shooting from cover only when I am reloading. Time will tell.

I do not understand why they don't allow HP bullets in handguns. I certainly don't "carry" ball ammo.

Seth, beware!!! The trigger bar shown in the very top picture is borderline full auto. If you bend the spring leg out you CANNOT allow the top part of the bend to raise up.

I guess I don't have a big problem with it, until it happens to me. Heck, the way I have been shooting lately, too many -0s = too slow, why should I care.

Guess I will have to dig out my HQ email file again. It was kind of like my "Carry Orders" in the military. I did ask HQ to post this "clarification" on their website or in the TJ. I do get the feeling that the HQ bunch runs in a very small circle. Three ACs that I talked to said they had no input as to the new rule book. That did seem a bit strange to me as they are the ones that have direct contact with the members. Guess I will have to have an assortment of holsters. One that is legal beyond a shadow of a doubt, the one that I have used for the last four years and a gamer holster. The completely legal one is, of course, the one I would never CC. I would be shot 10 times before I could draw my weapon from it.

You have to know what you are doing. The trigger bar can be altered to cause a 5# connector to have the pull of a 3.5. One of these days I will post all of the Glock trigger secrets. I need to do just a few more to reach the $1,000,000 mark. And yes, one can get a sub 1 lb. trigger with a Glock. I find that to be too light for my tastes. I like a nice short 1 1/2 lb. pull.

I guess I will need to start an email file all over again. I will disallow any daylight call if the SO does an IPSC squat when checking. One knee must be on the ground.

Most standards are also time killers.

IMO the only standard we should shoot is the Classifier.

I just got off the phone with IDPA headquarters. They stated that unless there is an excessive amount of gap/daylight evident in the belt tunnel the holster is legal. Who knows what excessive is? They stated that MDs were not expected to get down on their knees to examine the belt tunnel.

Never seen anything wrong with the stock barrel. Both of my G35s will shoot golf ball size groups at 25 yds.

I too think Standards are just filler = boring.

I generally do not include the story book dribble in a COF. It takes too much time. I like to design stages that allow more than one way to shoot them. I like to give shooters choices. There will usually be one best way to shoot the stage. Shooter needs to figure it out. I am a BIG believer in high round counts. Shooters are our customers. They pay good money to shoot and have fun. Most of my stages will have 16-18 rounds. I once received an email match notification that gave the date and location. It ended by saying bring 26 rounds. Passed on that match. Was not worth the 1 1/2 hour drive. If you think about it we spend 2-4 hours at a match that may have a raw time of 60-100 seconds. This may sound a bit odd, but I feel all IDPA stages should be blind. You do not have a "walk through" in the real world. One thing I absolutely hate are Standards stages. Where does it say that all big matches must have a Standards stage?

Just a reminder for those that have not noticed the new rule. Two -3s will get you a FTN. There must be a least one -1.