Kevin Kline

Icer, Have you shot the Beretta Elite II? I'm not much of a Beretta man myself, but I'll tell you, that was a pretty accurate and nice gun to shoot. The trigger is not bad at all and the accuracy was damn good. For a Production gun to shoot in Production class, I might have to really look at that if I was going to go that way. John Thompson, Have the Walther P99's been out that long. They told us in armorers class that it was first shown at the Shot Show in 97'.

Detlef, The way it was explained to us in the armorers class put on by SW, SW saw the Walther P99 at the shot show back in 97 or 98 or something. They liked it and started to work a deal with Walther that they would import the guns for Walther and then distribute them for Walther. In return for doing so, SW is allowed to make a copy of the Walther called the SW99. Now, there is one thing I haven't had time to clarify w/ them. The frames (of the SW99) are supposed to still be made in Germany by Walther, but they are not the same frames. The dimensions are the same, but the trigger guard, grip and a few other things are definitely different. SW definitely makes the slides and barrels and other parts and assembles the guns (SW99) here in the US. The Walther is manufactured, made, assembled and everything else in Germany. From what the rep told us, they don't even take them out of the box if they are already sold to someone like wholesalers or agencies. This is also why the Walther guns have tenifer as their finish on the barrel, slide, and other parts where the SW99 does not. The SW99 has some other type of finish. Apparently, the EPA will not allow a tenifer process to be done here in the US because of the way it has to be done and EPA has laws against it. Not sure of the specifics. Tenifer finished guns are allowed to be imported, but not have the tenifer finishes performed here. John Thompson, What did you guys not like about the triggers? I will say we had several guns that were the same model and everything else, but the triggers on some were OK where the others were pretty good. No one really had an answer for that. The triggers on our P99's is DAO and pretty good, for a duty gun that is DAO. They are about 8lbs, I measured them, and very smooth. They are smoother than SW revolver triggers and better in my opinion. They are just as long a pull as the revolvers though. Actually, the Walther triggers we have are smoother than any Glock I have tried. The QA idea is Walther's, not SW's. The QA triggers are pretty nice though. They have a shorter travel than the Glocks and a short reset, not as short as the 1911 and about the same as a Glock or a hair more. So far, our Walther's have done very well. I agree I like the Performance Center stuff, but not that crazy with SW autos, I also like the revolvers. From what we were told, SW already lost the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) deal. Had malfunctions and SW went out to NJ and couldn't fix them so NJ gave the guns back and wanted out.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. Icer, I have been shooting IPSC for 6-7 years and I made Master class in May of this year. I had gone back and forth my first 3 years or so with Open and Limited. I decided about 3 years to go ahead with Limited and see if I could make GM before shooting anything else. It was reading Brian's book for the 4th time and posts on this board that kept things coming into focus and becoming very clear. I just applied what I was absorbing and it all started coming together. I was thinking of having an Open gun built in the next 6-8 months, but maybe being Brian Jr. and sticking with the Limited gun. It's so impressive to see Brian wipe the floor with guys shooting an Open gun.

I would like to thank Brian, Travis, Pat and everyone else on this board who helped with advice. I just made Grandmaster class in Limited. This was a hard road, but it is sweet to make it. A lot of long hours of dry/live fire practice and patience, but it sure paid off. Brian, Your book and advice you gave me from this board has helped immensely. Thank you to all,

Oh, kellyn, forgot about the Simpson sight. Not sure that is what it is called. Someone showed me theirs and said they "thought" that is what it is called. Basically, it is a small fixed circle with the circle you look through to the rear and the rest of the sight is hollowed out about a 1/4 inch or so to shade the rest of it or sight alignment. The try and roughly describe the shape of it, it is like taking a drinking class and turning it on its side and drilling a hole in the bottom of the glass. Then looking through the hole (which is closest to your eye) and the rest of the glass (which are like walls) to the front sight. Any idea about these. My friend said he found a rifle with it at the JP vendor table about 2 years ago at the 3 gun or some other Nationals. Also, what about the newer Trijicon Reflex Acog's with the amber triangle or dot?

The other day I was looking at a buddies AR. He had a C-more Scout dot sight with a 2 MOA dot. It seemed pretty small and I figured it would be pretty quick. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet though. Most everything we shoot here in the Tampa Bay area for 3 gun, is going to be 300 max and in, and mostly 200 and in. I wonder how the Cmore w/ the 2 MOA dot would work then. Kellyn, I was just wondering what the trick setup for the top several guys was, but you answered that by everyone liking different stuff. I'll look into the Leupold and Holosight. What do you think of the Cmore w/ a 2 MOA dot? Does it still have the adjustability problems? How much of a difference should there be in POI from 300 yards to 100 yards? Should it be that much. I probably won't be shooting any further than 300 yards and most likely, 200 and in. That Cmore seemed easy to look through and see with the 2 MOA dot, but who knows until I actually get behind it on the range.

Thanks kelly, I really appreciate it. What do you think about the new compact Holosight w/ a 1 MOA dot or the Leupold scopes? Also, in Limited w/ irons, what is the width of the standard front sight? You said the National Match is between .050-.054, which would you recommend and should I get one a little thinner? Also, have you ever heard of a Simpson rear sight? One last thing, I know I'm asking a lot, but I'd like to try 3 gun and see. I'm a Limited Master class IPSC shooter and would like to know what is the hot setup on the AR's and shotguns. What did the National Champs use this year on their stuff? Thanks

I'm looking into getting a dot sight for my AR. I would like to shoot some 3 gun or Action Rifle matches we have in Tampa Bay area. Unsure which one to try. I've heard the new compact Holosight w/ a 1 MOA dot is nice, but the C-more is also. What does kellyn and everyone else think of the Holosight/C-more/others for some rifle matches as well as still being pretty practical and tactical for the house, LEO work, etc. I'm not saying I want the hottest setup for 3 gun, although I wouldn't mind knowing what it is. I would just like to be competitive in 3 gun, but also have something that will work for home, LEO, etc. Tell me your ideas.

Hey Brian, I saw on another post about Robbie not being on the forum and being incredibly busy. I have no doubt about that, I'm sure he is ungodly busy. Here's any idea, if everyone on this board donates $0.25 cents a month, it would be more than enough to pay for Robbie's air card modem needed to be online anywhere in the world. I think everyone would agree to that.

Tell me about it Bill. I would actually be taking a pay cut to start off.

This is the first time I have seen the qualifications needed for Air Marshals and their firearms proficiency. I was given an application for the Air Marshals and after looking at it, respectfully declined. Being a LEO, I was told by my PD that the FAA representative said they were looking for dedicated, motivated (get this) "shooters." They were particularly looking for good LEO backgrounds and excellent shooting skills. I declined due to the fact that I am not to thrilled about being gone for a minimum of 2 weeks at a time straight and not being able to have contact with my family and when I do, it is extremely limited and short. My kids mean too much to me not to be able to see them everyday and be with them while they grow up. Also, not to thrilled about going to foreign countries with unstable governments, economy, and poor sanitation and health conditions. Also while away on these details, you are working 24/7.

Anyone know where I can get a front sight only or front and rear of Trijicon night sights for a Benelli M1 Super 90? I am wanting to replace the front sight for sure and possibly the rear Ghost ring also. I definitely need night sights. Does Trijicon make them for the Benelli Super 90? If not, who else makes night sights for the Benelli Super 90 and where to get them? Thanks,

Personally, I love Cold Steel and knives and their products overall. I use them at work (LEO) and everywhere I go. The are very reasonably priced, cheaper than most knives and their quality is at a minimum just as good and most times, the quality is better. Rugged and deathly dependable doesn't even begin to describe them. Every Cold Steel knife and product I've owned has been ungodly sharp and almost indestructable. Great price, fantastic quality, incredible sharpness and edge retention with an indestructable quality makes for a great carry/everyday knife. And no, I don't work for the company, just a very satisfied, happy customer that has been assisted many times "on the job" by their products. I like the Emerson, Mad Dog, and Spyderco knives as well, just not as impressed with quality on Spyderco and the price is very high on Emerson and Mad Dog.

I know that when I took Todd's class, it changed the way I look at the local matches and major matches. Todd told us he was no longer going to shoot local matches as much as he did, but he would still shoot some of them. After a hot summer day of shooting in Florida, I finally realized what he was saying. I shoot several matches a month, but do not shoot all of them. I replace that with shooting practice sessions instead. I shoot approximately 3-4 matches a month, but also shoot live fire practice 4-5 times a month and dry fire 5 days a week. I do need to shoot the local matches though, because when I step away from them for a while, I find that my movement, some live fire skills, and other things aren't quite as sharp when I go back to shooting them. I also like shooting live fire practice though. There are things I can do and re-do in practice that you just can't do in matches. I can't try things and re-do them in matches like I can in practice and really get some good work in. Plus, as long as you really concentrate and pay attention, and WATCH or SEE what is happening, the more you do, I think the better and used to it you are. For a match, you are there for 5 hours or so and shoot around 100 rounds. If I shoot in practice, I can shoot for 2 hours and shoot 200-300 rounds. I think it is beneficial to shoot both.

Oh, Ron I forgot to tell you. The holsters we use for duty are the Safariland SSIII. Right now, the best carry or off duty holster for carry or concealment is the Fobus Roto Lock, either in a paddle or belt holster. The Fobus holsters I was a bit skeptical about in the beginning, but I have used one for my HK USP for almost three years and like it and the Roto Lock is even better. IMO, the Roto Lock fixes the only things I didn't like about my other Fobus. The design of the Fobus paddle is the best I've seen. It is easy to get in and out of your pants, but stays put once you have it in your pants and on your side. It is mold injected so it has a little bit of retention and snaps into and out of place. There is almost no weight to it as it is space age thermo mold plastic. The Roto Lock now allows you to rotate the cant any way you want, in a 360 degree circle, FBI cant, or whatever. When you move the cant, it clicks into place and then you tighten the Allen screw back down to lock it into place. I know, the Fobus doesn't look that great and looks cheesy, but they are a lot better now and I think the Roto Lock holsters are the way to go for carry or off duty concealment. You don't have to fight with the paddle to get it out of your pants anymore, real nice.

Pat and Ron, So far, I kind of like it, FOR A DUTY GUN. Pat, if you are looking for one for Production, look at the Walther P99QA. QA is for quick action, it is a much shorter trigger travel and trigger reset, but I think they are still considered DA. It is the same pull weight and travel for every shot and they are pretty short. Besides the shorter travel, weight, pull, and reset, it is the same gun. For Production, I think this is much better than my duty gun. My duty gun is the P990 in 40. It is DAO and the pull is 10lbs, it feels a little lighter though. The pull is the same weight and pretty smooth all the way through, it doesn't not stack or change the weight as you are pulling. You can dry fire the crap out of it to "marriage" the trigger parts together to make the trigger smoother, or at least that is what the armorer class says. I wasn't sure about this gun in the beginning and our Training Unit (TU) did the testing on it, I, being one of the Firearms Instructors, did not have really any input. They shot 2000-3000 rounds, I believe, through it while putting it in mud, dirt, sand and throwing it around and it never malfunctioned. They also tested a Glock with it and they said the Glock failed a few times where the Walther did not. The TU was kind of in a rough predicament. The PD wasn't going to spend hardly any money, they wanted to move up in caliber and quality and they had a crap load of older guns to hand in. Smith and Wesson came in and agreed to take back ALL the older guns, regardless of the pitiful rusted or used condition, and give them premium cost for the trade ins. The would also give us a sweet deal on the new Walthers and let us have them in 40 with night sights. Smith and Wesson does the distributing and/or importing for Walther here in the US and that is why Smith has their hands in this Walther project so much. However, I would make SURE, if I bought one of these, I got the Walther gun complete and not the Smith and Wesson copy (SW 99). Smith has a bad habit of copying someone else's design almost to a tee, and somehow screwing it up so the gun isn't reliable. I don't know how they do it, but I've seen it happen. The only Smith and Wesson stuff I like or would depend on is the Performance Center stuff. Any way, I shot the crap out of the Walther and beat the snot out of it. I ground it into the ground on officer down drills until you couldn't even see the grip, purposely dropped mags in the sand and dirt and stepped on them to push them into the sand more, bounced it around like a basketball and shot it from every position you can think of, upside down, sideways, weak hand, strong hand, prone while pushing on the ground and didn't have 1 single jam all day. That was kind of reassuring. I also shot it from 50 yards freestyle standing. I shot a whole mag (12 rounds) and put them all into a 15 inch circle. Not bad accuracy for a production gun with a 10 lb trigger and about 2 inches of travel. Oh, also, it is pretty light weight, has the same tenifer and polymer make up of the Glocks and has an ambi mag release. I like the feel of the grip better than the Glocks. The TU had asked us to pick ONE gun for use by everyone, taking into account the height, weight, male, female, hand size, strength, etc. To pick a gun versatile enough everyone could use and I have to say the Walther was up there on my list also, taking this into account. It is not my dream carry or duty gun, FOR ME, because what I would want would not be safe or efficient in the hands of a normal shooter, officer, or whatever (probably in the hands of an IPSC shooter it would though) but we weren't just thinking of ourselves, but of everyone and their individual attributes. Time will tell, but so far, I kind of like it.

I've had the Tri Glide system in my STI for 3 years now and it has been great. It's the same system and components and I haven't replaced anything about it. My trigger runs 18oz (1 1/8lb) everytime and hasn't been retuned or bent for the entire 3 years. Thousands of dryfires and live fires and still perfect. I love it.

I just wanted to know if the Burner used optics or irons again. I wondered what happened to Todd, that is unlike him to be 4th. The jam explains it. The Burner is something else though. Does Jerry even shoot any matches anymore, I don't see any scores for classifiers for him for a year or two.

I was just getting ready to post if anyone knew the winner of the Limited Nationals. I didn't see it on USPSA or see where they have tracked the results day by day like in the past years. I always loved to follow that day by day, it made me feel like I was almost there, like watching a ball game. I was disappointed to not see it this year, but I figured there might be problems with what's happened this past week. Brian, could you maybe keep us updated from the Great One during the Open Nationals if you get a chance? The Great One is something else!!!! Can't believe he won another Nationals, how many is that 11 or 12?

Phil, What type of lenses do you use for what type of lighting conditions and why do you not like the yellow lenses? B or anyone else's thoughts.

What type or color of glasses or lenses does everyone use. What color do you guys use for Limited and what do you think is best? Amber, yellow, mirror, blue, clear, smoke. What color is best for Open, amber, yellow, mirror, blue, clear, smoke? Brian what do you use and what do you recommend? I have only used either clear or blue (for sunglasses) before.

I think most of it is the shooter that makes the difference, although the equipment also plays a role. I believe the 1911 type setup cuts the curve quite a bit and makes it a little easier to do better a little faster. I think two equal shooters of equal skill (I know this doesn't exist, but just for discussion sake) and the 1911 shooter will perform better at a faster pace of progressing than the other because the 1911 and its ease of operation and shooting. The 1911 is a very easy gun to shoot and get better on quickly I think. I think most, but not all, of it is with the shooter, but equipment definitely makes it easier or harder. The same skill shooter shooting something else is maybe a A class where the same shooter shooting a 1911 is a Master. Definitely cuts the curve.

Phil, Stovepipes because it was cycling too fast and catching the empties?

Brian, After 20 + years of GM shooting and development, do you shoot with one eye open and one eye closed, both eyes open and weak covered with tape, or both eyes open, both unobstructed? What do you currently use and what do you think? I read the post on Travis' eye exercise and your posts with it. I tried what you suggested in your book with covering the weak eye with tape. I kind of liked it. I have never shot that many A's in my life. I didn't slow down with my shots either. I was very accurate shooting this way. But, I didn't feel as comfortable with other things like mag changes and movement. I seemed a little off balanced and it just didn't feel right because I couldn't see everything with both eyes with normal vision. I currently shoot with one eye open and the weak eye closed. I have done pretty good with this so far (Limited Master with 2 100% classifiers), but always wondered if I should try something else or if I'm missing something. At least when shooting this way, when I want to see with both eyes while doing mag changes or moving, all I have to do is open the weak eye, I can't do this with the tape on the glasses. Brian, what do you currently do and what would you suggest.

Phil, I've never shot 155's at major. How are they? How do they cycle and kick? Someone told me at a major match that they loved them cause they were so fast, but then again, he is almost primarily an Open shooter and admitted he almost never shoots Limited. Erik, I agree with you that I can percieve the recoil difference in 180's compared to 200's. I have not tried a lightened slide yet so can't say there. Also from a Limited Masters viewpoint, I just like the consistency I get from the 200's. A little more recoil in the hand coming back at you, but the recoil seems a little more consistent for me. The front sight seems to recoil within the 11:00 to 1:00 position on a clock everytime. With the 180s, I used to get the occasional shot recoiling outside this range. I just like the pattern and consistentcy I get from them, makes them more predictable for me. I might try the 180's again though with the newer power factor. Although I don't get as much recoil back in my hand, I seem to get a faster cycling, but not as consistent EVERY SINGLE TIME. I also stick with the 11lb spring. Erik, I was thinking of building a second Limited gun with a normal Caspian slide (stirrup cuts) and the long wide dustcover. I currently shoot an STI Edge in 40, with the full profile slide and dustcover. What do you think, how is your slide lightened?