Chuck Anderson

I've been trying the ICORE website for the last month or two without success. Am I missing something or has it been down. The site that I'm trying is www.icore.org. Is there a new site?

John Pride and Mickey Fowler have been around the sport for a very long time. I think the company is still fairly new but I would be willing to give their dot a try. Looks an afwul lot like every other Optima/Firepoint etc. scope to me though.

It's legal. That comp was designed with a lot of input from a very seasoned three gun competitor. I know that he designed it in part to be Tactical legal.

We've been running carbine matches for years. I've seen most setups and seen problems with them all. The 9mm AR seems to be a good solution. The MP5 was another but they're still expensive and the clones didn't work well at all. Of the 9mm AR's some work, some don't. The Oly's have been surprisingly good with the only problem I know about being one broken ejector (which is surprising if you look at how cheasy it is). The Colt's have magazine issues. Some work, some don't. It normally takes the purchase of several magazines to get a couple that work okay. Colt mags are still a pain to come by and most folks use modified UZI mags. As far as recoil reducing strategies, I haven't found much that works. Putting a comp on the end of a 16" bbl is worthless unless you specially load for the carbine. There just isn't any powder or gas left at the end of the bbl to work the comp. I've found some loads actually go slower out of the 16" bbl than they do out of a pistol. A comp on a 5" bbl might be interesting but I don't know if it would be needed with a 9mm. Keep in mind a 9mm carbine is essentially a 7 pound 9mm pistol. There just isn't a lot of recoil coming from the round. The big problem comes with the method of operation. It's a straight blowback gun and requires a heavy BCA and buffer spring. The moving mass from this is what creates the majority of the recoil. FWIW, I'm using an Olympic Arms 9mm with the GL lower. This one uses Glock magazines. I use 33rd mags to start and the std 17 rd mags reload so fast if I can get away with it on the course of fire. The gun has never jammed and works great. I will be cutting the bbl back to about 5" and adding a suppressor. Jim, if you're looking to suppress a 9mm carbine the sweet spot for bbl length seems to be about 5" if you want it to go subsonic. Any longer and even the commercial subsonic loads will be going a bit too fast. If you're going to use major 9mm ammo though it won't really matter.

We've got a couple clubs in the section now that are paying for setup and teardown. The MD was giving a disocunt of X amount of dollars to folks to come setup. He figured that instead of giving that out he could just pay a couple folks to come out and set up and tear down. It costs an extra dollar or two per shooter but there is a ton less burnout, no one has to stick around for teardown and the match, and this is the weird part for one particular club, actually starts on time.

I've got holsters from Fist and Galco. Both make good quality stuff. But I still like the Fanny Pack idea.

From the USPSA website: 13. 2008 World Shoot team slots will be offered to members in the following order: a. The three highest ranked competitors based on qualification points. Selection will continue in descending qualification order until three team positions have been formally accepted. b. The 2008 National Champion in each division or category will be offered the number four position on the corresponding team only if the following prerequisites have been met: 1. Entered in the 2008 IPSC World Shoot 2. Necessary firearms permits submitted This is from the "Official" WS XV website: DEADLINES Official team nomination closes - May 30, 2008 The deadlines quoted above are final, No Exceptions There is definitely a conflict here, especially in the light of our Nationals not being set yet. Will the number 4 member still be "on the bubble" if our Nats fall after May 30? Is this the most current information, taking into account the change in the World Shoot dates? Or is this from the original dates that were set for August.

Yep, you can register at the range but you'll miss the raffle prizes that we're giving away at the shooters meeting. For those who didn't make it in 2006, we'll be raffling off a lot of cool stuff including a gun at the shooters meeting. Makes it worth coming.

I wouldn't count on that anymore, especially with the World Shoot dates moved.

Yep, it's dead. Don't know why. Our webmaster may be doing some work on it. I know I've been working him like a slave driver to add all the Sponsors to the website.

Since you don't have to be a USPSA member to shoot level I USPSA matches, seem a little odd to require USPSA membership to shoot Level I Steel Challenge matches. Bill USPSA shouldn't make the same mistake again. USPSA needs a new business model. USPSA should be a membership (club and individual) driven organization, not classifier and activity fee driven. Memberships require less time, money, and man power to administer. It is hard enough for clubs to make it running monthly/weekly matches. USPSA should not be taking 20-25% of a club's gate receipts. The problem with this is attracting new members. If you tell someone that they have to be a USPSA member to shoot Level 1 matches then that first match is going to cost $50.00. You'll never get anyone to come out. It's also not feasible to put a cap on the number of matches that you can shoot before becoming a member. What method is there for keeping people honest who shoot at a couple different clubs. It's not perfect but it beats the alternative.

Not sure about how much is required. We use a steel donut to obscure poppers and stick them in a line behind it. This setup was used at the Nationals in Bend, so I'm assuming it's legal. If I had to guess I would say 50% of the Cal circle must be visible.

Yes, in black. It looks like they are still working the details out with the other colors.

Yes. There are two versions of the 21 SF. One with the standard Glock rail that should fit all the regular holsters for the original 21. The other has a Picatinny pattern rail that will require specialized holsters. The Picatinny is real easy to tell. It's bigger, hangs down and has several slots instead of the one.

I'm happy to announce that Mike Seeklander and Phil Strader from the US Shooting Academy will be teaching a class before this years Area 1. The course dates are June 26-27. This is a two day class at a nearby range (about 30 minutes from the match hotel). After two days of instruction from Mike and Phil the students will be squadded with and shoot the match. Phil and Mike will be able to make corrections of actual match perfmormance as well as showing how they would shoot each stage. This is a great opportunity to learn. The price of the class is $495.00. To register contact Brendan Fitzgerald at 866-441-8772 or 540-287-1941. The class will require at least 750 rounds to complete. This does not include match ammo or entry. Call soon as there are a very limited number of slots for this class and I'm guessing it will fill fast. Course information can be found on the website, http://www.usshootingacademy.com/training/competition/110/ Note: When you sign up for the match make sure you choose the Sat PM/Sun AM squadding option and note that you are in the USSA class on the form. That way we can make sure you are squadded properly.

I'm happy to announce that Mike Seeklander and Phil Strader from the US Shooting Academy will be teaching a class before this years Area 1. The course dates are June 26-27. This is a two day class at a nearby range (about 30 minutes from the match hotel). After two days of instruction from Mike and Phil the students will be squadded with and shoot the match. Phil and Mike will be able to make corrections of actual match perfmormance as well as showing how they would shoot each stage. This is a great opportunity to learn. The price of the class is $495.00. To register contact Brendan Fitzgerald at 866-441-8772 or 540-287-1941. The class will require at least 750 rounds to complete. This does not include match ammo or entry. Call soon as there are a very limited number of slots for this class and I'm guessing it will fill fast. Course information can be found on the website, http://www.usshootingacademy.com/training/competition/110/ Note: When you sign up for the match make sure you choose the Sat PM/Sun AM squadding option and note that you are in the USSA class on the form. That way we can make sure you are squadded properly.

All right, I've got my 9mm 627. I've got my moonclips and holster. As soon as I get something to hold the moonclips, Jerry I'm comin for ya!!!

For the same reason Open guys shoot the 2011 design with nice tight tolerances. Because the gun stays clean and maintained and no one shoots at you. How many jams have you seen with open pistols? The AR dominates because it works well when maintained and when 3 gun was coming into the mainstream the 94 ban went into effect and AR were the only reasonably priced alternative. If not for that stupid ban we would probably be shooting something else.

Couple of points. The Safety areas at the Montana Nationals were ridiculously far apart. If the shooter went there after each stage to bag and un bag he would probably miss taping for 4-6 shooters. Couple on the front and a couple on the back side. I'll bag off the line if there is a safety area near by but I'm not hiking half a mile to do it. Many shooters have a reasonably secure holster (not too many folks are shooting from a duty holster so all of them have compromises), but still can lose the gun. How about carrying a bag or a pack and having a strap hook the gun and pull it out. Or sitting down in a chair and having an arm of the chair pull it out. I've seen both happen, and while they may not result in a DQ they still damage the nice pretty expensive gun. Many folks in my section bag/unbag between stages. At the front part it's included in the 30 seconds the shooter gets to prep so it doesn't add anything. If they're going over put them at the bottom. At the end if the ARO is there with the bag it doesn't take more than a second or two. For the ARO's too lazy (yes I said it) to carry the 3 oz of pistol rug to the end of the stage, yeah it's going to add some time. I've RO'd a big match or two and have RO'd thousands of shooters and have never had a problem with carrying a pistol rug. If they want me to carry their range bag that's an issue. The RO should not be carrying the bag for the shooter, the ARO should. If they are unable to carry a small pistol rug as well as the clipboard, well maybe we could find another job for them. Personally I don't bag/unbag much anymore. I do in certain cases like first thing in the morning or after driving to another half of the range. I know lots of folks that depending on weather would though. The open guys in the rain come to mind first. I also bag if I've got a strenous course I'm ROing or if there is some steel or targets that require a run to reset. I'm guessing this is faster than meandering out with my hand on the butt of my gun to make sure nothing happens. Even though I know my holster is more than secure enough to pass any holster test.

I switched to using the Blackhawk Hydrastorm stuff a couple years ago. I've been using the Cyclone for most matches for about 3 years now and it has worked great. It even floats if loaded light enough (fell off the boat in the Galapagos Islands with my wallet, passport, money etc. The skipper was nice enough to turn around and pluck it out of the ocean.) The large central compartment is "okay" if used with some of the Dillon plastic boxes to stay organized. I'm looking forward to trying the new Stingray bag. I use the one of the bigger packs for three gun stuff and it easy enough to switch between.

I had the opposite experience with Waller about two years ago. I had a bag with a broken zipper. It had been sitting around for a couple years because I was too lazy and cheap to pay to get it fixed. When I finally called him, he had me ship it out and replaced it with a brand new bag at no cost. Can't beat that.

I can't speak for New York but we get a lot of shooters out for steel. Small targets or not. Many of them are "steel specialists" I guess in that they only shoot speed steel. Many have made the jump over to IPSC and do very well. Steel stays pretty poplular for us. It's easy to set up, understand, and can be shot with very basic skills. We start a lot of juniors out on Speed steel as well. I think it will be a more logical progression for them into USPSA Action shooting. Not that steel is basic either. Some of the best shooters we have spend a lot of time at Speed Steel to work on the draw, speed and accuracy. There is just a couple less things (movement, hit factor, game plan) to learn at steel.

Oh, and my first ticket came in 1991 (the first year of the turtle Caprices) to an unmarked unit with two 2" square Halogen flashers by the rearview mirror. Apparently he was behind me for a mile before I saw him and stopped. I didn't think it wise to comment on his poor lighting or the fact that this was only 45 seconds. I may have been exceeding the posted limit a little bit.

We had a knucklehead pulling people over in his "undercover police car". Had the flashing headlights, red and amber strobes and blue led lights in the vehicle. I know of at least a couple people that pulled over and stopped for him. We found out about him when he was running "code" up the side of the freeway and passed one of our deputies on the way to work. So word of advice to everyone out there. If some knucklehead in a purple Geo Metro Sedan (yep 4d sedan) tries to pull you over, just keep going. As far as the lights, I don't have a huge problem with the if they are used properly. A properly outfitted vehicle can be very bright and effective with inside lighting. I've also seen boneheads with every light in the catalog strapped to the outside of the car driving like idiots or not using them. My biggest gripe is the ones who run code without siren for no reason. They just give it a little whoop or leave it completely off for no reason. I'm not saying that there aren't good reasons to do it but I've seen lots doing it going to traffic crashes etc.

It will be similar to Nationals. Prize tables will be broken out by Division. Top X will walk followed by class and category winners followed by the remaining in order of finish. The initial top finish number has not been decided and will probably be based on participation. I'm not going to hose class winners with a top 16 in a division that only has 17 people show up. So far everything is looking good for the prize table. We've got lots of companies and folks that are committed to the match and some of the prizes are already showing up at the house. It's gonna be another year of annoying the wife with boxes everywhere. For the folks that are thinking about shooting the match, sign up early. This match may fill up. We also only buy a few prizes for the table and only after we reach the break even point. The more shooters we have sooner means the more money that I can spend to fill up the table even more.