MemphisMechanic

And what about when you just gave Scott's plaque / trophy / etc to Tim in front of everyone, because Scott's 13.45 second run was mistakenly keyed in as 31.45? Use software that lets you instantly print scores when the the last shot is fired. Print at least 3 copies that go up in multiple places. Leave them up for about 15-20 minutes. Then make a loud declaration that you'd like to waive the one hour period unless someone has an objection to their score. Everyone quickly agrees once they've had time to confirm their squad's scores look right. Then hand out plaques and handshakes to the right people.

The reason many guns throw the first round by a small amount is simply because the gun loads itself very consistently. And not the way you load it manually.

Shoot larger-populated groups. If 14 rounds go true and 1 is a full two inches off, it's much more likely that it's you. Also, work hard on learning to call your shots. You should know you threw round #3 high and left before the bullet reaches the target.

Try shooting it strong hand only. Then GASP! Weak hand only. The weak hand is relatively speaking, a total idiot. You find you're paying attention to HOW to pull a trigger. Amazing what you notice when shooting offhand.

The same gun is not going to be competitive in both Limited and Production. To have a weapon optimized for USPSA Limited it's got a magwell, 40cal Major ammo, and a sexy single action trigger. In 3-gun it's that gun but in 9mm minor. In Production it's got to be double action. You need to decide which divisions you're honestly going to shoot in which sports and choose gun(s) that are competitive. How many matches total have you shot at this point, and in which sports? I suspect your cart is far ahead of your horse.

I do that anyway, and simply push the bullet further back into the crimped case over and over until I find my max OAL for that gun and that bullet. You don't really want to do that with live ammo for a variety of reasons, but with dummy it won't hurt anything. Then it goes into my dryfire dummy round collection.

First: do you grip your gun hard enough?

Every bullet has a different profile. Something that is very long tapered and pointy can be loaded much longer than a bullet which is short and fat. So each individual barrel and bullet combination needs a plunk & spin conducted: You can load some 147gr bullets to 1.130+ in a CZ with it's notoriously short chamber. With others ... you're stuck down as low as 1.090 due to the shape. Plunk test is simply: 1. Size a case, seat a bullet into it, and then crimp it. Without crimping it, the flared mouth won't chamber. 2. Drop it into your barrel and make sure it spins freely. If you can't spin it effortlessly, the bullet is stuck in the rifling and you're loaded too long. 3. Shorten that dummy round or load a new one shorter, and repeat. That's it. It's not rocket science. Note also: sometimes you can load all the way out to perhaps 1.150 on a certain gun. My Glock 34 would let me, with their generous chambers. But the most accurate load for that gun with a 124gr Bullet was generally around 1.125" The plunk test is to figure out how long you can load. From there, you need to work on ammo shorter than this to tune your ammo to your particular gun.

Given the two "almost in the foot" ADs I've personally seen a novice shooter commit while going faster than they should have? I'd rewrite the rules to say "those POSs are banned unless the retention button is removed" if it were up to me.

If you are hitting 6" low at only 27 feet, there are two possible causes: some sort of mechanical issue with the gun's sights or lockup or something like that. Let others shoot it and change the ammo used. If that's not it, and it likely won't be the cause... You're pulling the front of the gun down before the bullet exits the barrel. Stop doing that. (From the "simple solutions aren't always easy solutions" file)

He meant 3pm, London time. Sorry...

Step one: Decide which division(s) you want to shoot. Step two: Pick gun. The super-curved trigger looks funky in the double action guns... but looks deceive. Everyone who installs the straighter trigger comes back to the factory one. Just ask @B_RAD.

For IDPA I slide the ghost pouches off the outer USPSA belt (they do slide right off if you set them up that way) ...And then use the inner belt as your belt at the IDPA match, and simply slide the belt through them.

You're correct in that 147s loaded lighter are the softest shooting choice. There's an additional factor too, however. Handloaders choose their powders specifically for the softest recoil impulse: My 147gr loads are softer than a factory 147gr load. Partially due to the fact that they simply aren't traveling as fast, and partially because I'm using a fast burning shotgun powder so that more of the gas has been expended by the time the bullet exits the barrel.

The Shooters Connection (.com) belt is only $40 and absolutely worth the $$$. I've shot with both the higher priced CR Speed and DAA belts, and don't feel like I'm giving up more than 5-10% of the utility of either of the name brand ones. I also highly recommend the Ghost 360 pouches. They accommodate Glock, Tanfoglio, and M&P magazines without changing a thing: they have two leaf springs which apply pressure on the magazine in order to retain it. They're also the best deal going on cost. When it comes to a holster setup, I don't think you can beat the BOSS hanger and blade tech holster pouch setup in Production. Unless you splurge and put an even stiffer Red Hill Tactical double-thick holster body on that hanger. Here it all is as a package, though you can save even more $$$ by using a Shooters Connection belt with this: http://benstoegerproshop.com/bsps-boss-doh-holster-5-x-ghost-magazine-pouches-double-alpha-academy-daa-belt-deal/

As a fellow lefty I think it'a honestly an advantage. Since only 1/9th of the world's population thinks correctly like you and I do, that means most of the stages you shoot will be designed by someone who thinks backwards. We get used to convoluted wrist and body manipulations to maneuver through courses of fire which force you to shoot L to R, and to shooting with hard leans around the right end of walls much more quickly. We have to shoot stages "backwards" of the convenient path much more often. Just learn from it, and get out of the habit of being so close to the wall when you arrive that you have to swing your gun around the corner. It sounds like this is one of many DQs I've seen that involved a newer shooter crowding up on a wall, perhaps?

The Tanfo has a frame that fills your hands more, yet it's easier to reach the trigger for the first double-action pull than a CZ's. I wear the rather average large size glove with pretty much perfect fit, and the CZ just doesn't seem like I'm holding onto enough gun.

Trying to keep your shots 80% As and 20% Cs when shooting minor is a guide I suggest to make it simple for people who are just starting out: In a 20rd stage 15 As and 5Cs is just fine. Over time as you get more skilled, you'll try to clean that up to something more like 17-18 As while actually shooting faster, not 'slowing down to get your hits.' Charlies only costs you 40% of the points an Alpha would have gotten you and that's not the end of the world in moderation. A Delta costs you 80% of the points, so Deltas and Mikes are never to be left behind when you know you shot one. If you know you shot something that may not be inside of the A/B/C zone, make it up.

Practiscore.com view match results sesrch for match name or the acronym they use - like CRSSA or MPSA or the like.

It's 74 here. I just drove to the grocery store with the windows down. I should have worn shorts. (I miss my hometown of Chicago most of the year. Just not when shooting on weekend from Nov-March)

Just shoot it. It'll be fine.

I don't think you have enough mags... Whats this "season" thing you speak of? Down here we've been shooting since the 2nd week of January...

Ask one of the better shooters on your squad to critique your draw and load in the safe area at some point. They're usually happy to do so, and the sooner you learn an efficient technique the less you'll practice poor ones. Also, learn to grip the gun EXTREMELY HARD with the weak hand early on when changes are easy to make permanent, when dry firing shortly after the match is over. Good luck tomorrow! Just go to have fun and not expecting to be fast.

If it doesn't spin freely when dropped into the chamber, then the bullet is already in the rifling and loaded too long. I had to load BBI 135s to 1.090" to run in my gun. After reaming, it eats them at 1.160" without a hiccup.

I typically encourage new shooters to shoot Limited minor for their first match. There's only one reload to remember in most cases. Then, if you want to stick with the venerable and terrific 34, pack a few more mag pouches and mags (you'll need 5-6 mags on your belt for Production) and switch to Production. Production is my favorite division. It's literally the only one I've ever shot. But that many reloads can be frustrating for a total novice. Especially when they mess up and shoot the gun dry four times per stage.