kevin c

Foxbat: That's good to know. Is there an insert for the SDB powder die that has that type of expander (I've only ever had the factory expander for my SDB that I've used for all my reloading over the past 20 odd years)?

I also am liking Bayou Bullets. Used to use Montana Gold, but the coated bullets are much less expensive, use less powder for the same bullet weight to make the same velocity, and have, at least for me with my stock Glock barrels, equivalent accuracy. I have also used Precision 147's, which cost a bit less than the Bayou. A good product, but, like the MG's, they have a flat base (actually cupped for the Precisions), whereas the Bayou's have a bevel base. Even with generous belling, the flat bottomed bullets will tilt on me while loading on my SDB, just often enough that it slows me down or I'll have a jam with a scored tilted bullet and a crushed primed and charged case that now needs to be dealt with. I find the bevel based bullets don't do that.

A fun stage for me has one or more challenges that will either make me laugh and fist pump when I kill it or laugh and head slap myself when I blow it.

Learning reloading is not just learning how to run your press. Do take the time to learn how to work up good, safe loads. Do take the time to learn scrupulous safety and quality control habits as you load (the more sophisticated the press, the more that can go wrong. The more that can go wrong, the more distracted you can get and the more slip ups can happen). If you aren't careful, the least that can happen is that you can load an awful lot of poor quality ammo in a hurry. More concerning is the potential of injury during the reloading process or in using any bad ammunition produced.

Welcome to the forum! Most anything you might ask about action pistol (and then some) has likely been addressed one way or another here - the search function is your friend. Richmond is probably the closest if you are close in to the Bay, has regular Saturday practice, USPSA matches twice a month, and hosts other matches and specialty practices (IDPA, 3-gun, cowboy and rimfire for instance). For other USPSA matches there are other venues further east (Twin Sisters, Yolo, and the clubs at the Sacramento Shooting Center have enough matches to fill all the weekends of the month). Plenty of friendly help at Richmond (I hang out there), plenty of talent too (I dont quite hang there ;^D). Becoming a regular, offering to help and asking questions will all get you quite a ways. Start coming by Saturdays - see ya there!

I like Jake's advice. Sometimes you just have to enter the shooting position on the other foot.

Basic rule of emergency medicine on critical equipment: "One to use and one to lose"...

Two to four level one matches a month, live fire practice once a week occasionally two or three times and sporadic dry fire. Honestly, for me, improvement only becomes evident with more frequent matches, practice and dry fire, especially the latter.

Unless the RO was following the squad, making note of equipment changes, how is the RO to know that it was done when the shooter comes to the line? It's not that the equipment is not in compliance with Division requirements, it's that it's changed during the match. So little chance of preventing it from happening unless the RO directly observes or is told of the violation in advance. Practically speaking, that means retrospectively recognizing the problem. Wouldn't that be a required reshoot, or, if reshoot is not possible, no score on the stage otherwise?

The "behind the seam of the pants" recommendation was made to me years ago by Carl Schmidt, and I am pretty sure that was after that picture was put into the rule book . I was also told on another occasion (I think at RO course I took as a refresher) that behind the points of the hip bones meant #2, behind a line drawn across the front of the body between the two points. I've always done #2, and instructed others the same way. #2 will definitely get me in front of the pant seam though. It complies for sure either way (behind the pant seam or the #2 interpretation) , but I don't know if a more forward position ala #1 is a go.

To a new shooter looking at at the RO helplessly, how about, "you have two minutes to safely fix the problem yourself and continue shooting, but, if you are finished, unload...etc.". If the shooter needs help showing clear, do it after the command is given, That clarifies what the the shooter needs to do, but is it too much to say?

Sure, I'll shoot your provisional divisions, maybe. Production as it is, though, is more inclusive. PCC I'll shoot, sounds like fun. Might be inclusive (least Foley and others seem to hope so).

Production is fine as it is. And I like the relative parity of ten round magazines.

Folks describe the mysteries of the numbers at Chrono as Voodoo for good reason. It does not matter if your load is ALWAYS 127 PF or 167 PF with extreme spreads and standard deviations in the single digits at your home range with your very own Oehler. Elsewhere, changes in temperature and elevation may make a difference, and differing or grumpy electronics even more of a difference. I go 8 to 10 PF points over the Production PF floor. Initially that was because my Glocks seemed to prefer it, but as a result I have not had to sweat Chrono in years (I take that back - I had a gun problem one year but I managed to fix it legally).

The sport originally developed with dedicated shooters. Its membership started out with and grew with dedicated shooters. These people already loved shooting and a lot of their free time revolved around shooting or related activities. They were willing to commit to making what they love to do grow better (and larger) and the people they brought to the range that represented the early increases in membership were largely, I am willing to bet, folks who already were shooting and really into it. Now we are expanding and drawing (inevitably, I think) people who are more casual shooters. They may shoot the way they ski or play tennis or go mountain biking- on occasion, with friends, out of curiosity. Of that potentially large number a lot will give it up as not interesting, too dangerous, too expensive, too difficult to get to where the action is, but there are a few who will like it and pursue it further, trying to improve their performance, like some who will take lessons, get a season pass or buy the high end bike. Of that number a smaller number will be bitten by the bug and dedicate a large part or all of their lives to their new addiction, like the ski and beach bums. An even smaller number have the interest, ability and means to actively further the sport by developing products, teaching, or developing new resorts, building new trails, dealing with the legal aspects and dealing also with the infighting of different factions with differing priorities. Action shooting is no different. I don't find it at a surprising that most newbies don't come back. I have helped run my club's intro course for new shooters for years, and find, as did my predecessors, that 1 out of 10 coming back for more than one or two matches is as much as can be hoped for. But as frustrating as that might be, we NEED the new blood. So I am willing to keep at it, and welcome any ideas that draw new interest, whether from other shooters or folks new to guns. Yes the latter take a lot of time, but all of us were there at the beginning, and I think most of us can think back to somebody who helped us, a parent, a friend, somebody at the range, who introduced us to shooting and mentored us through the first steps. We will just have to winnow through the chaff to find the few who really help the sport survive. If that means finding extra capacity some how to deal with the more casual shooters then we will have to find a way, because to turn away the new people turns away the ones who might make a big difference down the line.

3.3 grains over a Bayou 147 gets me 133 to 137 PF through my G34, which seems to prefer that little bit extra over the PF floor to function flawlessly and so I never have to worry at chrono. With Montana Gold 147's it took 3.7 grains to get 136 to 137 PF. I guess the jacket is that much harder...

Does it really matter if the interior of the groove is not coated evenly or even at all? It's not a bearing surface and it's not at the base of the bullet, so I' think that barrel leading and vaporized lead wouldn't be much of a problem. maybe concentricity might be effected but I don't know if it makes that much difference for our way of shooting...

Brass source? I have a SDB like JB. I almost never get drawback problems with once fired factory ammo brass, but will get a frustratingly high rate with multi-fired range brass of unknown provenance.

Not if you're air gunning with nothing in the hands. I've gotten quizzical looks, but no freak outs where ever I've done that. Other hints for shooting on the move: Bent knees, narrow stance, don't let the feet slap down (think of rolling each foot forward from the heel, along the outside edge of the sole up to the ball of the foot), and remember to turn the upper body as a unit to index on each target (think of a tank turret). ETA: Oops, I see TT covered all that - well, good to know I hit the right points. Couple other little ones, I like to have footwear with a flexible sole and rounded heel when possible. For me this facilitates the rolling of the foot. I also find that I bounce less if the gun is pulled in a little. I am not at the point in my shooting development where I can break the shot from any stance or position. I still need to have my stance/position/movement lead into the shot as I break it, so I am one who needs the water bottle or glass to be steady during the entire time I am engaging targets on the move.

You could always try to do it the way Vogel does - straight across top or bottom and then the other side. 'course, ya gotta be as fast and accurate as he is to do that 8^b. BTW, dont fall for him telling you he's never shot them before. Got me that way the first time he came to the range ;^D.

Bulk ammo storage is in ammo cans or cardboard boxes, labeled inside and out with the load specifics. Practice ammo for the day's shooting goes into a small cardboard box with an attached lid. Empties go back in at the end of the session. Match ammo is apportioned out in 200 round lots into quart size ZipLok bags and have a label tossed in. One bag is enough for a match. Left overs go into the next bag to be used (I try to rotate my ammo stock). Extra ZipLoks get any empties. I was a bit more compulsive about organizing my ammo when I first started shooting, but I think the only pistol ammo I ever put into a fifty or hundred round box nowadays are small lots for test firing (so I could organized the different loads) or small production runs for guns I don't shoot much, like .44 magnum.

Try a small aquarium air pump wired to the side of your measure. For me the vibration seems to keep the flakes from bridging so that I get pretty consistent drops of Clays out of my SDB.

Well, there was the time at the last Area 2 match I shot where I had a mag spontaneously disassemble on a stage. Worn tabs in combination with a beat up base pad. Fortunately, it happened at make ready, but if that table start mag had pooped out just a few seconds later, I would have been SOL. How do you take the base pads off? there are at two or three methods that I know of. I personally just use a punch in the retaining cut out for the base plate and just pry them off.

I agree with StealthyBlagga that getting new blood is essential not only to expand the sport, but also for maintaining what we have. I think most of us know clubs that have faded when the principal MD's and stage building RO's burn out. That needs to be avoided by recruiting and grooming the next generation that will carry the individual clubs forward. It is also those same people that will be the next generation to run the national organization that many here want to be responsive to the current and future needs of the shooters and the sport. I also feel that inspiring a personal passion for shooting (and I think it safe to say that most here will agree to loving what we do) can lead to individuals advocating our points of view on state wide and national venues, because it means more when its personal (but enough on that because I don't want to get the thread closed). For the sake of the sport, then, drawing new shooters is essential. That being said, I have to concede that, beyond a certain point, broader participation not only draws those that we want (the contributors to the sport), but also some that we don't always welcome (the consumers, who just shoot and go, the way most folks will ski or play tennis, play pick up basketball or participate in local league sports on a casual basis. Still, the bigger we are, the better overall, for the reasons mentioned above.

StealthyBlagga: Do you have back up problems with folks coming in big bunches? We have people who really want to shoot together. By itself, that's fine (I like shooting with my friends too), but sometimes though, they are more interested in the social aspect of an afternoon together than the shooting, and slow things down considerably.