MemphisMechanic

And that's a great thing. There's no reason to put something into a sport that doesn't even happen in the real life shootings IDPA may or may not have been designed to simulate. Find me a robbery or similar defensive shooting on video somewhere - or even a written account - where someone used cover. If you're holed up in your home and bad guys are outside the bedroom it's great to be familiar with the use of concealment (drywall isn't gonna stop a bullet)... but IDPAs cover mindset has never made much sense to me: If you're 98% more likely to be running, screaming, and rapid-firing one handed while moving in a real life scenario... why are the "this needs to be like a real life shooting" guys arguing for cover and patient, meticulous, two handed shooting from cover? Just playing devil's advocate.

The final fitting that occurs with the apex barrel is a pad that rests on top of the locking block, and wedges the barrel between the underside of the slide and the top of the locking block as the gun returns to battery. This accounts for the very wide variation in slide-to-frame fit that you'll find in various M&Ps and locks everything up vastly more consistently. The above is true of both the gunsmith and SDI barrels. If you're truly after maximum accuracy, you'd need a barrel for each slide and frame combination you intend to run.

Yeah - after watching Candice's (Twinkie's) video I can absolutely see that. The Stock-series guns are really different and thinner, and come nowhere near the trigger finger: I think I'd be looking at reshaping the bottom of the safety like @Twinkie suggested.

I agree. That was a pretty solid video. I certainly liked that you didn't dryfire it every twelve seconds, or spend the entire video showing us trigger pull and reset lengths...which is usually all a YouTube video like this focuses on. "Listen to how loudly the reset clicks. Operator grade weapons system, right here." <eye roll> (Next time, refer to it as a competitive weapons system?)

Do you grip the gun so that your thumb is riding the safety, or does hand size or some other issue prevent that from working for you? I can see the larger safeties being very easy to accidentally engage if your thumb is beneath the safety while shooting. Fortunately for myself, keeping my thumb atop the safety is the "oh this feels good" naturally ergonomic way to grip a Tanfo - to the point where I would swap to a wider ambi safety if I could. (And yes, I'm a lefty)

Bullets impacting paper. The first hole punch, and then that exact same spot twitching again.

I've SO'd (it was an IDPA indoor) for one perfect double on a 4yd target that I'm still completely confident was a perfect pair of shots through the same hole. I was focused on the target and it was obvious that it was hit twice. That was the one and only time I haven't marked the shooter down for a miss. Regarding grease rings? If the shots passed right next to a barrel and one of them involves a jagged torn hole with no evidence of a ring... I've always scored those as a miss because it passed through a hardcover barrel in order to get to the paper. This happens whether I see the barrel stack twitch or not - although if I see it rock I will inform the shooter of such.

My gun was actually properly machined with no hole under the setscrew. I guess I got off easy.

I clean my guns with brake cleaner. Let it also be known that it dissolves the fiber optic element itself. I discovered that the hard way when getting into IDPA with my Glock 34. Wet a rag down and scrub the slide around the front sight, and you won't have issues with dim fragile green inserts, or dissolved loctite.

The floating pin is what gives you a reset with no pretravel. The sear dictates the reset instead of the disconnector. Three methods to locate the pin on the floor: 1. Use a magnet. 2. Sweep the floor diligently and check the dust pan 3. Shop vac with your wife's pantyhose tied over the hose. All of this assumes, of course, that the pin has made it to the floor and isn't trapped between the cushion and frame of your chair, or tucked neatly into your pant leg.

Wow. As already stated... did NOT see this coming.

Given how long this is taking to get anything done... you'll take black/black, and you'll like it.

The light plunger springs often let the hammer drop early in DA, so it's possible that you reduced how often you'll have light strikes right there. You won't need to change blocks based on firing pin. That's a factor determined by your sear/hammer combination. My suggestions: Take the firing pin block out entirely. Now that's a non factor. Take it to the range with factory plunger and 14 pound hammer springs installed. If it runs correctly, reinstall your firing pin block. If light strikes come back you've diagnosed it. If it still doesn't run 100% order a heavy firing pin, or switch to a heavier hammer spring. Either the EGD Light, Wolff 14, or wait for PD to release their 15.5

Just keep a ballpoint pen in your pocket. If the gun goes down, holster it and run downrange. Use the pen to poke two holes in each target, then begin kicking the poppers over one by one. Yell BANG as you do so, so the shot timer can log your splits.

My view on this for future reference: Shorten one. Pull bullet. If it hasn't been damaged by stuffing it a bit further into the case, do the rest. Use them as practice ammo. This goes for lead, cast, FMJ, and coated. If it gouges them up due to your crimp, either pull them or see if they'll run in your gun as practice ammo the way they are. <Now let's freak out the safety nazi's:> You won't set a primer off in a 650 by running it back through the press. Even if you lean on the handle. I've done a few dozen reps of the ultimate "no no" and driven high primers all the way into fully loaded ammo at station 2. I wear eyes and ears, and keep my hands out of the machine... But you won't set one off that way.

To be perfectly honest, I started coming out and setting up specifically because at our club, the first members there start setting up things. 1. I was tired of not starting to shoot until noon in 100 degree summers 2. I was tired of a port with 4 targets in it... a port with 4 more... until finished. I wanted more variety and some new things. Lots of targets available from all over the stage - meaning lots of options. Unconventional shooting positions. Difficult short courses. Etc.

650. Mixed headstamp unknown brass. 9mm. If I'm setting my press up at 1.150" and find my ammo measures 1.144" to 1.152" for example... ...and they all plunk and spin? I'm taking them to the range, shooting it to ensure I'm satisfied with the accuracy... Then spending my time working on things in my life that actually matter. My gun routinely groups around 1.5" with this variation in my ammo, as did my M&P with an Apex barrel in it.

Save me a pair, please!

231 Works just fine. n320, Clays, Prima V, and similar speed powders will shoot even more softly. Titegroup even, if you don't mind the smoke and the carbon buildup in your gun.

Something else, too: How often do you set up medium and short courses? An interesting 12 round stage with two walls and one or two movers is more challenging to win than a 32 round "sprint and hose" which features a dozen walls. The kicker is that it's also far faster to set up. Take a look at the Med / Short courses at www.speedslide.com - the IPSC flavored stages often require much less hardware to be lugged onto and off of the range. (Routinely feature some low ports and strong hand/weak hand in there routinely along with offers to allow others to design and setup a different type of course if they don't like these. The older Open guys who want to run and hose will be much more likely to set up... ) This isn't as easy as it looks. But it's fast to put together, and depending where they start, it has multiple ways to shoot it and win:

Honestly, I'd just buy the proper Tanfoglio that was most competitive in Production, or Limited, or Open. Thats a neat gun and I'd live to own it just because. But I wouldn't buy it to compete with.

Titegroup is the worst powder to use behind a coated bullet if smoke is a factor. It actually isn't, for most people. Not unless the sun is behind your targets or you shoot indoors in poor ventilation. Lots of people shoot TG & coated without it bothering them. I have no idea why, when other powders are superior in every way... but a lot of people seem attached to using titegroup. All coated bullets smoke a little, and all coated bullets smoke a lot with titegroup behind them.

If there's a gun you have an inexplicable soft spot in your heart for, pick the division where it makes sense. Reading that post makes me want to push you toward production or CO with a Glock.

I was always happy with 135gr BBI's. Recoils like a 147 fmj at a much lower price. I'm currently shooting the 150gr semi wadcutter (SWC) from Bayou and like it just fine. Recoil is hilariously soft out of my super-heavy Stock 3 over 3.0gr of Prima V... But they actually weigh 146-148gr and don't punch holes in paper/cardboard that are any neater than a traditional round does.

Exact same ammo. If I were to shoot an Area match or Nats, I'd switch to federal primers, and feed it to my gun that consistently goes bang on CCI Mag SP primers. No worries on things going bang with Federals! For all non-locals (state match or similar) I load 750 rounds and choose the 400 that fall into the shockbottle with a rattle and no sticking, and which have the deepest-seated primers. (The other 350 rounds gets used at locals.) The gun eats the tight rounds I had to push out of the case gauge perfectly, and with CCI brick-hardness primers... So I know it'll eat the high quality stuff like candy.