bdpaz

.38 Short Colt might fit in the moon clip but you'd need .32ACP or maybe even .22s to load it quickly. The ejector star has a little bevel to it but the cylinders are not chamfered at all - 100% pure 90 degree edges.

We are not talking about a top shooter showboating by beating the rest of the field with crappy gear (and if he or she did win, the crappy gear must have functioned so is it still crappy gear???). Most of the people I shoot with are there for their own reasons, and finishing on the podium is usually not one of their top motivations. If someone wants to see how well they can do with oddball or low end gear, and have some fun at their own expense, I'm all for it - as long as they post pictures!

Dude, I have both and you may or may not need the tritium rear. If it isn't pitch black and the rear notch is even slightly visible, setting that front dot in the "U" is easy and accurate. In that same amount of light I find the rear tritiums distracting, in brighter light where the rear sight is clearly visible they don't bother me. If it is dark enough where all you see are the glowing dot(s) then the rear tritiums are useful. Walk around your house at night with a pistol (standard caution: make sure it is unloaded, then check again) in different lighting conditions and see where you can and where you can't make out the rear notch, then decide what you need. I've recently switched to front tritium only - and I also like the "U" notch in the daylight as eliminating one straight edge seems to make it faster for me to line up the sights.

I've looked and haven't found any so I'm having a local machinist/shooter/friend-of-a-friend try and modify one to a "U" notch. The problem is that the body will have to be modified also because if he just cuts the blade deeper to make the "U" shape the bottom of the notch will be below the top of the body. I just gave it to him a couple of days ago (along with a Dawson adjustable for an M&P and an LPA revolver rear sight - I like the "U" notch!) so I don't have anything to report yet. I had heard that EGW had recut some Bomars to a "U" notch but when I called they didn't recall doing it but were willing to try.

Speaking from the low experience end of the spectrum, I'd change that to "...more quickly make the conditions look right...". I am often too passive when trying to avoid thinking of "going fast", and I forget other things like snapping the eyes and driving the gun. I need to be patient and assertive/aggressive at the same time.

Geissele: True two-stage that requires pressure to pull through the first stage then very little additional pressure needed to break the shot. AR Gold: Like a good 1911 trigger, with some "weightless" pre travel then essentially all the pressure applied to break the shot. Both break cleanly with very little over travel on either one. Both work great for hoser stages but, in my limited experience, on long range stages with the Geissele I would sometimes fire before I meant to as it was easy to pull through the small additional 2nd stage pressure. For slow fire from the bench I prefer the Geissele but when huffing and puffing and running around I'll go with the AR Gold.

I'm confused by the terminology. I think of "riding the reset" as releasing the trigger only enough to reach the reset point, where the gun will fire if the trigger is pulled again, instead of moving through the full forward travel of the trigger. On my 625 the reset point is at full forward travel so I just release the trigger until it stops moving, but I don't take my finger off the trigger. There isn't any pre travel as things start happening as soon as the trigger is moving so I can't prep it like on a semi auto (and I don't feel the need to do them both the same way). So are we talking about feeling for the reset point or just not taking the finger off the trigger?

I'll joke about most anything but I can't find anything funny about statements like these. You participate in some 3 Gun matches with stages where multiple shooters and multiple target are all moving, you don't get to walk through the stages, the target may or may not be clearly visible against its background, you all fire on an external command, and people die if anyone misses. Then your opinion may carry some weight, but otherwise anyone here who thinks shooting 3 Gun is comparable to making a shot like this just makes us all look silly. You can not separate all the external factors from "that shot" and compare it to a competition scenario simply based on target size and distance.

Try grabbing the mag and pushing firmly instead of slapping. Mine go right in with a push but never seem to catch if I slap the bottom. You need to grab it to pull to see if it is seated so your hand is going to end up there anyway.

With 10 rounds fired with my AR Gold trigger (replacing a JP) I can now comment without being much help: they are the same but different. My Geissele is a true two stage with some resistance in the take up (first stage) then just a little added pressure releases the hammer. The AR Gold is more pistol-ish with free movement through a shorter take up, then the full pull weight breaks the shot. Pretty much "1911 like" as stated. The Geissele feels slightly more crisp but I find it is sometimes hard to judge that last little bit of pressure and I'll fire as I'm settling in to press it through, before I'm really ready. 10 shots at an indoor range isn't a definitive test but I think I'll like the AR Gold better for the long precision shots because it is easier to judge the transition from no pressure to full pressure. The Geissele is great for the hoser stuff where I pull through without pausing, basically using it as a super crisp single stage trigger. So I'd say rifle people will like the Geissele and pistol people will like the AR Gold, with the standard disclaimer that it comes down to personal preference and you should try both if you can. Overall I think I like the AR Gold a little better, but would take either one over the JP, as I'm just not a single stage guy.

OK, I'll apologize and be constructive . I don't have anything to add to the list of the best but I will say not to discount any of the lesser known, regional recommendations. Also look for local organizations, find out who their clients are, avoid the ones with the special program for the drop holster camo'd 16 year olds who want to join the army to be a SEAL and fly fighters, and you may be surprised what you can learn from a "no name" who knows his (or her) stuff. A good indicator is if LE and/or military folks spend their own money to attend, and the trainer welcomes private individuals. I have been to several classes taught by current and former LE instructors and, while I'd say maybe 20% of the material wasn't applicable to me, it was still interesting (and fun). They were local so I had no expenses beyond the cost of the classes so I have no complaints. I will be looking for more of them and really don't care if even less of the day is directly useful to me. How can you complain about a weekend day or two outdoors shooting and learning cool stuff?

I don't think anyone is trying to convince you that it is more. I agree with you and that is why some take the tactical classes - because they/we want additional skills. If you are saying that everyone should just shoot for fun and leave the serious stuff to the police because we live in a happy world with dumb criminals, and that anyone who wants more than to "shoot correctly" is a mall ninja, then I certainly do not agree with you. I believe I have seen a certain signature line that mentions that we are all shooters and shouldn't bicker between disciplines.

They are also useful to break you out of the structured match mindset. "Shooting correctly" is a survival skill but so is when to shoot, where to shoot (aim), and when to stop shooting. If you have a practice day or have access to a stage after a match, run through it but with the condition that until the RO gives you a signal you haven't neutralized the target, and let him decide on the fly if he wants from 1 to 10 shots. And make the signal subtle so you have to devote part of your concentration to deciding if you are done or not. And to really make it fun, because you won't have 3-dimensional targets, turn the targets at an angle, and shoot the white no-shoots. See how smoothly that goes the first time! Good shooting skills and good "tactical" skills are complimentary, but definitely not the same. edited because I hit submit instead of preview!

You are not taking it too seriously, just putting too much emphasis on the draw and equipment. I agree with your golf swing example except that I would compare the swing to aligning the sights, pressing the trigger, and breaking the shot. Do that correctly 3000 times and you'll be in good shape. Your draw/presentation is like walking up to the ball - just preparation for the important act (yes, that's an exaggeration but it's the best I can do to make my point!). And I think you'll find that you can make major changes later. The mechanics of shooting are are much simpler than those of a golf swing. I will shoot a match with my iron sight single stack in a plastic holster, then run it again with my revolver with a red dot sight in an open race holster, and the when I go home my CCW pistol is in a completely different position. I won't be a top competitive shooter this way but I have fun and I know that whatever gun I am shooting, and however I got it out and pointed at the target, I have a reasonable chance of hitting because I have worked on aligning the sights and breaking the shot without disturbing that alignment.

It still seems like you are over thinking it all - there is no rigorous presentation scheme that is The Right Way. You don't learn first then demonstrate the skills by shooting - you go to matches and try things, make mistakes, see what works, learn to adapt, listen when given advice (but don't follow it blindly). You will learn to make things work regardless of the situation, and how to do things more than one way. If you plan and practice endlessly, rehearsing for a specific "polished and correct" presentation, what happens when you find yourself knocked on your back or even if your holster has just shifted a bit on your belt? What happens to your carefully practiced stance if you find yourself with one foot on the sidewalk and one foot down on the street? What you will learn from shooting matches is how to make the shot regardless of the circumstances and how to keep going when things aren't going as planned - and those are real world skills. You'll have a lot of fun, and missing just means you get to shoot more that night!

All the advice is good but it depends on you accurately describing your abilities. As nobody has seen you shoot you could be anywhere from a danger to women and children everywhere up to a superstar who just doesn't know it because you haven't been around others for comparison. So my unsolicited opinion, totally unsupported by any facts, is: If you feel confident in your shooting abilities, go shoot IDPA matches to learn concepts of "tactical" shooting and apply them to real life. Don't treat them as training to emulate directly. Not a huge amount of shooting per match. If you aren't sure of your gun handling/shooting skills, start with Thursday Night Steel at Phx Rod & Gun Club at South Mountain. It is smaller and slower paced than Tuesday night at Rio Salado and less intimidating to a novice. There you'll be shooting many small targets on demand and you'll get lots of practice reloading. You'll also learn how easy it is to miss! If you are pretty sure of your gun handling but want to work on shooting more quickly and accurately, then start right in with USPSA matches. Whatever you choose people will help you as long as you admit to being new at it. And for steel or USPSA plan on bringing a lot of ammo initially. When my friends and I started we would go through 200 rounds (each) on a 100ish round course of fire on Thursday night at South Mountain. Like I said, it is really easy to miss. Bottom line: Don't over think it, just start shooting somewhere!

I agree. I had a Tanfoglio with popple holes in it and it would give you a headache in 50 rounds. There is a couple of nice 38 supers in the classifieds for the same mony and they will be much better because they have comps. I'd pass. Makes sense, and I might have figured it out if I had noticed that it doesn't have a comp. I'll pay more attention if/when I start shopping for an open gun.

Why will it be nasty? I'm not disagreeing, just considering an open gun at some point and trying to learn as much as I can first. Brad

My opinion: matches are good but they are not training. But you're in luck because you can take advantage of one of the best kept training secrets in Phoenix - Glendale Community College! http://www.gccaz.edu/justice/leo/files/firearms.html Start shooting USPSA and the local steel matches to get comfortable with your gun handling but look into the GCC classes for training. Their AJS153 Firearms II class is a two day/16 hour weekend class on defensive handgun use and it is true defensive pistol training, including night shooting. The instructors are from a LE training background and some are also past or present adjunct instructors at Gunsite and Thunder Ranch and the entire time is spent on the range at Ben Avery. I took it last year, learned a lot, (and had fun!) and am going to take it again the end of this month as a refresher. The pre-requisite is their CCW class or a CCW permit if you call and get their approval. You can call the program director's office and they'll tell you all about it. And it is in the $100 to $150 range, depending on your residency!

I have used a similar method with my glasses for about six months now: no correction on my right (dominant) eye and my normal correction on my left. I'm only mildly nearsighted so there isn't much difference between the two but I don't have any problems. Works well in daylight when I can almost see anyway but not so good at night with poor lighting when sometimes I see two targets - one blurry with my right eye and an offset sharp one with my left eye. If you didn't have any trouble initially you'll probably be fine. I'm pretty sure it will work well for you, unless it doesn't.

My books show 1.275" max but I've run 1500 or so at 1.300" through my 625 with no problems. 1.300" is too long to fit in my 1911 magazines so I haven't checked to see if they'll chamber in a 1911 barrel.

Brad - FWIW, 4.7 grains of S1000 under a 230 grain RNL loaded to 1.26" OAL went somewhere in the low 160s for PF from my 4" M22. I found my notes and from my 5in 625 I'm getting a 183pf (799fps) with 4.4gr of S1000 and the 230gr Billy Bullets. Previous test loads were 4.6gr at 188pf, and 4.8gr at 192pf (at a little shorter OAL). I need to find time to check them again and also see what the Titegroup/230gr JHPs for my 1911 do through the 625. I settled on the 1.300 OAL as it puts the max diameter of the RN Billy Bullet just at the case mouth. My theory is that a smooth transition from bullet to case will help guide the rounds into the cylinder for quick reloads???

Billy Bullet 230gr RN, 4.4gr Solo 1000, 1.300" Pretty sure it is well into major, I'll look up my chrono data and tell you Sunday. Approx 280 rounds (with no cleaning) at the Monster Match two weeks ago with no problems. Brad

I use a Speedsec for my 625 with a red dot sight for steel and ICORE. I find it very secure but it is a little fussy to get the gun seated properly - but easy enough to check by trying to lock it. If it isn't seated correctly it won't lock. I switched to the Speedsec after knocking the gun out of the (admittedly worn) CR Speed holster that came with it. Although if I had iron sights I'd use a Blade-Tech DOH!

Novak: http://www.novaksights.com/installation%20instructions.html