Chuck Anderson

I'm guessing you haven't done this a lot/ever. 1911/2011 barrels aren't drop in fit, certainly not the good ones anyway. If you have never fit a 1911 barrel, you really need some help. This is not going to be a quick process. The extractor/ejector should be OK, but you'll need a link, link pin, bushing, and a few hours to fit it properly. Wait till you get the gun in hand. Try it with 9mm and see if it works. If you'd like I can help you out with getting it set up.

It's disappointing to see this forum used as a venue to simply call each other names while hiding behind fake screen names. The one thing I could always count on from Enos was civil(ish) discourse.

Used to see it pretty common on the last target of a stage at 3GN matches. Shoot and since you are already done at least look first. Sometimes it saved .15 or so for the next shot. Other times you got burned and spent a second.

My take on stage design is that it's all about balance. Gadgets are fine as long as they don't dominate. Same with box to box, standards, hoser, precision etc. I shot a match recently where almost every one of the rifle targets was a mini target with a no shoot covering all but the head. Basically you had a 2" square to shoot at, and if you missed low, which almost everyone did, it was a huge penalty. It took the fun out of shooting rifle at the match. Do it on a stage or two, or even a target or two on every stage, no issues. But when that is the only thing tested with the rifle it becomes a bit of a snooze.

I just shot a match that used one. Had a couple spots you could engage it from. In back you could get enough of an angle with it that you could take about 7ish shotgun rounds and mow it down. Or you could go up if you were shooting PCC Division and have to shoot it 1, 2, 3 each row. It still gave some options. Either find that one exact sweet spot and take less rounds, or run up and try to go more quickly. It was also a very small part of the overall stage. Say 10-15 seconds if you were really slow, 5 seconds if you were quick. The stage itself was won in the 90 second range (if memory serves). If the target is that small of a part of the stage, I have a much easier time justifying it. Make the stage shorter, and that gadget the all important part, less OK with it.

Agree on reset. How about the 18 plate rack from MGM? High round count gimmick target, but super easy reset.

150mm sounds about right. That's about the same dimension as the factory Glock 24 rounder. I think they made them for a military RFP and released them to the Civilian market. Definitely not made for USPSA/IPSC.

I'm fine with the targets. I think the OP was trying to articulate the concern comes when the gadgets dominate the course of fire. Basically doing away with all the other fundamentals of good stage design to just say, look, we bought the thing, we need to use it at every match so we get our money's worth. Personally, I don't think that has anything to do with the target itself and more to do with those designing the stages.

It's as definitive an answer as I would expect without Troy being able to speak to the RO and get his side of the issue. I've seen many of these emails that give, well lets just say a generous side of the story. Not saying this one is, but it causes more harm than good to say the RO was wrong without talking to him.

I've shot in some pretty miserable conditions. Rain, snow, mud, whatever. But when the safety of shooters or staff is at play, it's not worth it for a game. Cancel the match when you know it's unsafe and move on. For the Crimson Trace match we had thunder and lightning one year on the other side of the valley from us. I came very, very close to cancelling on that one. It was pretty much constant watching the radar and watching the cell a few miles away. It was a match with no extra time built in, if we had to call it for a couple hours, it was going to seriously mess everything up. It's probably the most stress as an MD I've been under. Everything else is easy. So if another MD had to cancel an event because of weather, I'm damn sure going to do my best to try and make whatever the make up date is.

And how pissed are people after you cancel it a week out, and then the range is just fine?

There's a big difference between our rain and what A4 got hit with.

Suck it up buttercup. I mean that seriously. Suck it up into your shoulder. The looser it is, the more likely to bump fire. You can also adjust your buffer weight/spring/recoil system. The bump fire happens because the gun moves back enough in recoil your trigger finger comes off past the reset point, then the bolt comes back forward. When it hits home, the gun moves back forward and the trigger hits the finger. Reduce that movement and the potential is reduced.

Never? IPSC is just as messed up at USPSA, just in different ways.

IPSC didn’t change from 10 to 15 rounds. They changed from factory capacity(ish) down to an arbitrary 15. Drawing a conclusion about increasing capacity doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Saw this happen at Area 6 several years ago. Angus Hobdell was at the top of the results page with a time significantly faster than Max Michel and the rest of the Open guys on a 32 round field course. I asked Angus about it like a proper gentleman. He told me he had already brought it to stats attention and there had been an error entering the paper score sheet into EZ Win Score (yeah, back in the dark ages). Quick fix after the looked at the sheet and realized his 1x.xx time should have been 2x.xx. About that time another competitor came up and asked in a slightly less dignified manner. Angus being Angus told him tough, score sheet was signed and he was keeping it. Based on the competitor’s face that was coined “purpling the Dave”. (And no it wasn’t Sevigny). That dude was pissed.

It’s interesting that Kurt sees 3Gun now as more box to box with less options. I had the opposite view. I started in the mid 90’s and most matches were pretty much shoot this with shotgun, go here shoot this with pistol, then go here and shoot rifle. There were some options in style and order, but very rigid about what you had to shoot with. Since 2012 I’ve seen way more options related to what gun to use, and how to shoot stages as a result. The last match I shot I was heavy on pistol, much more so than anyone else because that’s what I’m good at. But there were big time options on which targets to shoot with pistol or shotgun. Rifle you just had to suck it up and shoot 2” targets all day. As far as stage design it’s definitely regional and dependent on who is designing stages. It’s very easy to help out with some ideas and move that feel one way or the other. Most MDs welcome good stage designs because they have enough work already.

Something to think about using a 9mm as a back up to a .40. You will either have to carry ammo for both calibers or buy locally (hopefully). If driving, not a huge deal. Flying is another matter. As far as wanting the 9mm for the non PF matches, what are you using them for? I used to shoot Speed Steel with my .40 major gun. I didn't really care about the Steel match, I was just using it for practice for USPSA Limited. If that's your goal, stick to major. If you are doing it to enjoy the matches, then .40 minor or 9mm are good picks.

Couple things. Your back up gun should be reasonably close. Especially if you are flying to matches. I don't have the space to bring a separate holster, mags, belt, pouches, etc. for a spare gun that it totally different. That said, if I was shooting a Glock 34, throwing a stock 17 in would be fine as well. CZ, main gun is a CZ Custom Shadow 2, a stock one would work until you can get it tuned up. The other option is to travel with a friend who shoots something similar enough to work in your gear. When I traveled shooting 2011's, it was easy because my buddy shot the same thing. I basically had 4 guns to pick from when we got there. I've also borrowed/loaned gear out when stuff breaks. The more common your equipment is, the easier that will be. As far as keeping a match gun and a practice gun, I've never been a fan of this. Bob Londigran from Brazos wrote an article against this. His reasoning was basically if the only time you shoot your match gun is in a match, when is it going to fail? By shooting it in practice as well, not only are you the most familiar with it, but if something goes squirrelly you can fix it before it breaks mid Stage 10 of Nationals. Is that going to put extra rounds on the main gun? Sure. Guess it just depends on how much you want to not have it break in the middle of a big match.

With the 2011 platform capacity is controlled by the length of the magazine and the dimensions of the grip. If a magazine external of the grip is allowed, either in front of the trigger guard, or along the top like the P90, the length stays the same but width dimension could increase. A magazine like the SureFire AR mag or the old Spectre SMG would be possible. For that matter, a simple drum would likely make length. There are legit reasons why this could be an option. That said, the weight of existing systems would likely be more detrimental than the ability to skip a reload or two per match.

Not sure where they are, but keep in mind if you do find them. Arbs are one time events. They don’t set precedent or change rules. I’ve seen arb committees make great rulings and identify weak spots in the rules and I’ve seen arb committees basically engage in jury nullification and completely ignore rules. There are some really messed up arb decisions.

Something interesting to note. I rarely see top level competitors DQ in pistol matches. The Max Michel, Dave Sevigny, Rob Leatham crowd. Even going down a couple tiers. But it seems like just about every top notch three gun guy has DQ’d. Even with a lot less matches to do so. I’m sure they are out there, but I can’t think of one that hasn’t been sent to Dairy Queen. And not just at USPSA matches. But IMGA, 3GN and other outlaw events. There is just a lot more going on, a lot more chances to make a mistake. Not saying anything should change, just saw someone talking about top level guys walking on eggshells.

That rule wasn’t in response to two piece belts. It was a result of the Guga Ribas holster. The one where the little tiny holster body could be removed from the belt. NROI didn’t want people walking around with a pistol with what looks like a barely visible trigger lock attached. The difference is intent between the two. Dropping a gun and having an RO pick it up is not handling. Handling the belt or holstered gun while not attached to anything is handling. There is an area where a line needs to be drawn. That’s where USPSA chose to draw it. Other sports draw it in different spots.

There are also several records that have been eliminated from the record books based on conduct. As far as stopping a DQ before the safety violation many of the rules are designed that way. To stop the shooter before someone gets hurt. Running with the finger on the trigger, breaking the 180, stuff like that are meant to stop the shooter before someone hurt. Break one rule, go home, pay price. Usually takes breaking two before someone gets hurt.

Does the score of the person who was kicked out of the match count to set the stage high overall time? If the match is using hit factor (is anybody?) or stage points it could change the results for everyone. If hero or zero boy wins three stages, then DQ’s it affects the scores of everyone else.