59Bassman

I've got a Mec-Gar AFC 19 rounder that I've put a Grams spring and follower into that currently holds 21. I've been waiting for a while for CZC to get their "short" extended pads in, with apparently no luck. I just ordered a Pearce Beretta extension to try that should be 140mm legal and get me to 23.

I dunno. I was told that in the same timeframe the USPSA was going to ban any shotshell carriers that were not mounted to your primary equipment belt, targeting the Chameleon, Carbon Arms, and Otto systems that are secondary belts or chest rigs. I can't believe the hate that those things generate.

5-6 stages for weekend matches, total round count about 115 - 125.

I've also got a DAA belt (a couple, actually) with CR Speed pouches for Limited. I've switched them over for Production before, but it's kind of a pain if you have to do it frequently. I am working on getting a full second belt set up with CR pouches. One of the places I shoot allows you to run the course twice with different guns. I really don't want to sit in the parking lot with those small parts futzing around to switch hardware. Too much chance to lose something. Also consider that by the time you add the spacers for 1911's, you're starting to push $40 per pouch for the CR's. Don't get me wrong, I like the pouches, but the versatility comes at a price.

Lots of trigger time in a sport that balances speed, accuracy, and power while rewarding creative problem solving.

Don't know if it matters, but when I'm trying to go fast, my typical miss is low. Were you on the clock, or shooting slow fire? Because I know my miss is low (either low right from squeezing my trigger hand as well as the finger, or low left from a jerk), in Steel Challenge or on a plate rack, I tend to aim for the upper 1/3 of the target. Compensation is a poor excuse for fixing the problem, but it's working for me so far.

Buy a few more magazines for your P-89. Shoot it until you can afford the pistol you really want. Anything else will be a regrettable compromise.

Lest I get this topic locked for discussion, I'll leave it at there are two sides to every issue.

Thought I'd post an updated pic. I didn't care so much for the stock thin aluminum grips on my CTS, so I bought a set of VZ's and trimmed them to fit. This side turned out pretty well, the other side might have a slight gap. The 75 is a Shadow. CZ's got me covered for about all of my competition needs.

Downloading the Kindle version to my iPhone as I type this. Fantastic timing, as I'm going on travel next week and normally have my copy of BE's book in my backpack.

In Eli's defense, I sent him that list; it was what I went through in my decision making process for selecting a limited gun earlier this year. At the time, I was not seeing any SV pistols being sold for under $2500, and magazines were never included extra. Certainly a lower round count SVI was going for $2500 or above at that time. Magazines, OK, maybe not $150 for tuned mags. $125. The comparison was with a CZ TS mag which is built up for ~$100 and will run 20 or 21 with no tuning. Finally, on the loaded ammo, I understand that some folks will sell major long-loaded ammo, but the point was that if you're on your way to a match and realize you've forgotten your long-loaded ammo and you're shooting a 2011 you're likely screwed. There are other pistols out there that will make major with $30/100 Wal-Mart ammo. I've yet to see DC Ammo for sale at any store anywhere near one of the ranges I shoot at. As I explained to Eli, this was the process I used to select my own limited gun, and his criteria weighting might be different. I ended up with a CZ CTS, and I don't regret that choice at all. However as I pointed out, I'm not a M or GM shooter, so my opinions are suspect.

Mike- Welcome to the sport! As a fellow clays competitor, I went through this same transition a few years ago. You've certainly done your research so far by the questions you're asking. I wholeheartedly agree with just about everything IHP said. I went through this selection process a bit over a year ago, and I ended up with a CZ 75 Shadow (fixed sight model). My local club shoots both IDPA and USPSA, and I figured I would be shooting both. The 75 Shadow is a bit easier to use in both, as you really don't have to sweat the weight limits. As it turns out, I've only shot 1 IDPA match in the past year, but have shot USPSA matches at a rate of 1 to 2 per month. I do not regret my purchase. In fact, after shooting my 75 Shadow, a friend saved up and had to have one for himself. This shooter has been competing in USPSA/IPSC since the early 80's, and IDPA since the late 90's. The only thing that I could really add to IHP's suggestions are on magazines, holsters, and belts. On magazines, I like the Mec-Gar AFC 17 rounders rather than the 16's. The 17's fit in the box, have a decent plastic basepad, but are a bit more versatile if you ever think you will want to shoot other sports (like 3-gun). Mec-Gar sells a +2 pad for under $10 that adds 2 rounds of capacity to the magazine. As I've been using my CZ as my 3-gun pistol, it's nice to have a couple more rounds per mag when the buzzer goes off. On holsters, I agree that the Comp-Tacs are a quality holster. I really like the one that I have for my 1911. But be aware that Comp-Tac only makes them for a couple varieties of the CZ, such as the SP-01 Tactical. They don't make one for the non-railed CZ 75 variants, and in fact suggested I buy one from Blade Tech when I asked about them. My Blade Techs have been fine, even if they're not quite as pretty as the Comp-Tacs. If you are going to shoot IDPA rules at your club, you probably want some sort of "riggers" or "instructor" belt rather than a two piece. I use a Bison designs "Last Chance Extreme" belt for carry and IDPA. A lot of other folks swear by the Wilderness Tactical "5 stitch Instructor belt". I prefer to wear my DAA two-piece belts for competition, but I have shot in my Bison before and it works fine. Welcome to the addiction! 59B

I'm using WSF under a MG 165 or Berry's 165 FP bullet. Charge is 6.4 gr, OAL is 1.135. It feels slightly lighter than Federal 165 gr factory, but still cycles quickly. I don't have a chrono to test, but am pretty confident based on the book data that it makes major.

I think this has some applicability in USPSA, at least I'm trying to apply it... What seems like a long time ago, I was shooting A LOT of skeet. While I was primarily a Sporting Clays shooter, skeet is like eating your vegetables for Sporting - it gives you a lot of the fundamental building blocks you need to get better at the game. My shooting partner was AAA in all 4 gauges, and it was a rare, rare round when Bill dropped a bird. I was still struggling with my first 25 straight. I would always seem to get to station 5 and then drop one. Or I'd clear 5 and then miss high 6 (a cardinal sin, it's just hanging right there!) I'd go clean for the rest of the round, and had logged I don't know how many 24's out of 25. After several months of this, Bill stopped me on our way to station #5, and he asked "If you knew you were up against a Japanese Zero, would you rather be in a Corsair or a Hellcat?" Both Bill and I were warbird buffs, and had been going to airshows together. But the timing of the question floored me. I stammered for a while, and couldn't figure out how to answer. By the time I stammered out "Corsair, I think", it was my turn to shoot. I cleared #5. Before #6, he asked me if I'd rather be in a P-47 or a Hawker Tempest in a ground-attack role. Again it spun my head around and I kept working on an answer until I had to shoot. I cleaned #6. On #7, he asked me a question about early jet fighters, and how I thought they would have stacked up had the war gone on a bit longer. I stopped thinking about hitting low 7 and how the German jets were superior to the early Allied jets. All 4 targets broke on #7. On station 8, I think it was a question about light bombers. When it was my turn, I stepped into High 8, broke it. We kept talking about light bombers, and then when I stepped onto low 8, Bill had to tell me to load 2 shells. I had no idea I was clean up until then. I broke both targets, and got my first 25 straight. Afterwards, Bill shared with me that he thought of focus as being like a muscle. As you improve, you have more stamina with it. But what he saw me doing was focusing just as hard watching the targets that everyone else shot as I did on the ones that I shot. He told me that I was exhausting my focus by station #5 or #6, and then making a simple mistake. Even if you're not watching the targets, you're counting score, he said. So by talking to me about something completely unrelated, he got my focus relaxed until it was my turn to shoot, and I knew how to break all of the targets. Bill told me that at major tournaments, he'd do his grocery list, plan the order he'd do his laundry, whatever he could to take his mind off the shooting in between his turns. So my question is, do you all try to "turn off" until you're in the box? Once you've made a plan on your walkthrough, are you able to think of something else until you shoot, or are you focused on each shooter, measuring their plan against yours? I'm not good at it yet in USPSA, but it's something I work on. I often wonder what people thought after that, when Bill and I would be talking about anything other than guns or shooting when we were at major tournaments. I recall one heated discussion about mulching vs. bagging mowers that got us through one in particular.

Funniest thing I've read all week. I still tell people it's amazing how much my Dad learned while I was in college...

At least you're not being forced to take longer. One of the jobs I worked at, while I was getting my initial job training, there was a young man reading a massive library book during breaks. Voracious reader. As soon as the class would break, the book would come out and he'd read a few pages. At one point I mentioned his reading, and he said he read something like 5,000 pages per week. I said that he must not have a lot of free time at home, and he said that no, he was reading this at work. Turns out he worked very fast, and his co-workers had pressured him into reading to fill the time until he'd done the job in the "appropriate" time. Seems there was a "standard" time to complete certain types of work, and none of his co-workers wanted anyone hinting to management that it could be done faster.

You're right, I did learn something. I'd never looked that closely before, and the threads on my dies end before the top of the lock ring. I think I'm not engaging about 1.5 to 2 threads at the top, but the set screw is still on full threads. Very interesting, thanks for bringing this up. I guess I adjusted them without looking very close at where the lock ring and threads ended up. Mine aren't having a problem, but I could see how you might if the LNL bushing was a wee bit thicker.

And convince someone to make 20 or 25 round magazines for it, and sell them for $25 each.

I was going to ask about this myself. I'm no M or GM in Limited (or any other division), but I don't feel like my CTS gives up anything to a 2011-type pistol. It limits your accessory and aftermarket choices in everything, but mags that work are readily available for ~$100 finished and hold 20 at minimum. I'm very pleased with mine, other than the grips. And that I'm about to fix. If you've got a SAO CZ that you shoot well, it's at least worth your while to explore that platform while you're making your choice.

Odd. I use RCBS dies with my LNL in 9mm, .40, and .45 ACP. Mine are adjusted to kiss the shellplate, and I have not had any issues with the lock ring not having enough purchase. My .45 dies are at least 15 years old, the 9mm are at least 5 years old, and the .40's were new last year. I wonder if RCBS might have changed their die lengths?

Tip: Buy more ammo.

I know that mine has a slide stop, extractor spring, trigger return spring, and will have a recoil spring. Don't know if I'd try an extractor or return spring change at a match table, but I at least have the parts if necessary.

I've been using Mec Gar AFC 19 rounders for a year or so with very good results. Depending on your gun, they may not fit in the box. The AFC 17's will. I bought 5 17 rounders to be legal, and have just started using those in the past couple months. I also suggest the 17 rounders because you can convert them to 19 rounders with a base pad swap. Mec Gar does not sell the 17 rounder basepad separately, so if you buy the 19's your stuck with that configuration. Also, with the AFC's, you can buy 5 of them for about what 3 of the CZ 18 rounders cost.

I have been shooting Mixed range brass (mostly Win, Federal, Speer, and R P) 124 Gr. MG CMJ 1.12 OAL Win SP 4.0 gr TiteGroup Recoil in my 75 Shadow feels similar to the 124 gr Speer Lawman load.

I've had a monster-sized Hafner Worldwide bag for about 15 years now. It's been pressed into service as a USPSA carry-everything-you-need-all-day bag, a Sporting Clays bag for two (that's 350 12 gauge shells, about a dozen choke tubes, eyepro, earpro, beverages, and snacks) and a general range bag (I think my max has been 5 handguns and 600 rounds of ammo plus a dozen magazines). All of the original stitching is intact. Zippers and other hardware is trouble free. The only downside to the bag is the size. It's huge, and it really encourages overpacking. I sometimes want to get another that's about half the size for USPSA shoots, which would force me to pare down the spare parts, tools, and backup ammo I carry. Heck, I haven't owned a Glock in 6 years, and I still carry a front sight tool - but only for the two or three times a year that a Glock shooter has to beg a 1911 shooter for a tool to fix the "unbreakable, 100% reliable" Glock.