Filishooter

Only thing that might derail JJ or Blake are doing things that isn't shooting....like throwing knives/hatchets/spears, etc. There are also other shooters that make a living with a rifle at 1000 yards. They may or may not have level of skill. I'm just getting into long range shooting and although it's still shooting, its a different game. But I'm pulling for them!

I agree about the arm position, I think you could cut down a lot of recoil and speed up your splits if got up on the gun more. You might want to experiment with rolling your elbows out so everything is in line with recoil of the gun. I like my offhand elbow higher than my shooting hand elbow. People are different though, and you need to find what works best for you.

Final scores can be downloaded here: http://sites.google.com/a/wildblue.net/cfrpc-3-gun/home/match-scores

+1 and congrats to Mark who won HOA for the match! First 5 slots were Tactical shooters!

I have the CED8000. It's much larger but had features that I like (and use). First is the output jack for earphones. Much of my dryfire practice takes place when my wife and daughter are sleeping, so this was a big plus. It also has a jack that accepts input from a stop plate. I use this when shooting airsoft to record my overall time. it has some additional features, but if you don't need any of them just get the CED7000.

Some specific answers 1) Current price is $150 - $200 although one may be developed specifically for action sports with a lower price point, that's why I'm testing it for them. 2) Not heavy at all. 3) Allowed reasonable freedom of movement. Some modifications would need to be made to the current vest though. 5) 2.5 hours > many people carry a cooler of drinks with them stage to stage > toss it in the cooler for 15 minutes > good for another 2.5 hours 6) Cost of the cooling packs are high. Most of the cost of the vest are in the cooling packs.

Thanks for the tips!!! I'll pass it on to the owner of the company. I used the vest during practice last weekend and I'll be damned, the thing works as advertised. After letting them wear it for a while, all my buddies wanted me to try to get them one (FREE)...as you guys said, I'm not sure people would pay the amount that the vest sells for. It's not that its not a good product...a bunch has been sent to Afghanistan, SWAT teams use them under their gear, firefighters use them. But it would be a luxury for action shooting. While a stage might last for less then a minute, imagine all the time spent in the sun pasting or running the timer, etc. The vest can help against heat exhaustion and fatigue. I probably would take it off when I shoot for freedom of movement, but after testing it, any time I'm not shooting I'd rather be wearing it then not!

I'm working out a deal to do some R&D for a company that makes cooling vests for the military and LEO. The vest uses proprietary gell-packs that cool at 59 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. They recharge after 20 minutes in ice water then are good for another 2 1/2 hours at 59 degrees. The company wants to test if its feasible to modify an existing vest to better suit the needs of practical shooters. They already have a concealable version that could be worn under the shooting jersey so I'll be testing that as well as a custom vest that will be worn outside the shirt. Just wondering if anyone has tried one of these vests before for anything? Do you think there will be a market in practical shooting? In Florida, in the middle of summer, I think it would work great as long as its not overly bulky and heavy and allow normal freedom of movement. The vests aren't exactly cheap so I'm not sure if folks would pay for the comfort.

IDPA Principles: IV. Provide shooters with practical and realistic courses of fire that simulate potentially lifethreatening encounters, or that tests skills required to survive life-threatening encounters. Possible IDPA Defensive "Rationale" for lining up 2 or more threat targets...so you are only visible to one threat at a time. Basic principle even in Martial Arts, but because of the COF rules this defensive skill is rarely mimicked in IDPA. http://www.haineskenpo.com/articles_mutiple.htm 5. Line up your attackers and avoid being surrounded. If you are surrounded, you must burst through the perimeter or you will be defeated. By keeping your attackers in a line, you are only fighting one attacker at a time.

Sounds great. I may start shooting some CDP/L10!

Warren Sevigney and Tactical both required some fitting.

Update....we'll I was ready to dismiss my broken guiderod as the nature of being tungsten and move on to steel but Kenny saw this post and sent me another one! I'm getting all my M&P stuff from Speedshooters! Kenny is a standup guy.

I heard a bolt gun is more quite when running a suppressor. Something about the action staying closed unlike an autoloader so all the gas goes through the suppressor and none escapes through the chamber.

I broke my Tungsten SSS guiderod in my Pro during practice last Saturday. I didn't even notice it until after practice when I was going to clean my gun. The long part of the rod must have fallen out and I was shooting with just the recoil spring, 1911 style! Gun still functioned fine but I had to pull the pins to get the slide off as the spring was jammed into the takedown lever. The steel rod is going back in. I didn't even notice the weight was gone while shooting.

I have been using Wolf primers with a few light strikes here and there. Switched to Federals and have had zero problems. I'm using up the rest of my Wolf primers for local matches and saving the Federals for bigger matches. Once the Wolfs are gone I'm using Federals only, they seem much softer. YMMV.

My Lancers have held up great. Here are some torchure videos similar to the PMAG tests that the AR15ers were doing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YPZj3fWSqg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJVgXGP8jTw&feature=related

I had the same problem. Old striker broke and they sent me the new design striker (minus the rest of the assembly). S&W sent me an entire assembly to replace it and didn't want me to send the other one back, so now I have a spare. Looks like the sleeve and spring would work but the cups are different (flat slab).

+1 Nice video MM. Pretty close to my classifiers as well. I can make SSP MA consistently but that ESP MA time is elusive!!! Stage 3 is where its at. I've tried it all different ways, faster time = worse hits, more deliberate (better) hits = slower time. Something tells me when I can get the good hits with the good time, I got it!

I have a couple of those Arrodondo's I use for the occasional 3 gun. They work fine, but if I were going to use them in Limited, I'd also consider the Taylor Freelance extensions. http://speedshooterspecialties.com/catalog/search.php?submit=submit&categories=Smith+%26+Wesson+M%26P+9%2F40%2F357&subcategories=Magazine+Base+Pads

Actually, I don't really think of myself as a Martial Gamesman but more of a Gamer Operator.

RVB, There are more similarities than differences in the MA/Practical shooting connection. Going beyond Martial practice, take a look at the word Kung Fu. Most people relate that to martial arts but what it really means is "skill of achievement." It is applied towards cooking, calligraphy and certainly practical shooting. It is more a concept of training for excellence. In regards to Duane's use of martial art representing "combative use of the pistol" it's still considered a martial art (or a system of practices and training for combat) so Duane was correct in referring to it as such. As I mentioned, sometimes the system becomes bigger than the person practicing, so you have your folks still training,promoting and teaching the Cooper, Applegate, Fairbairn, etc. systems of combat. In comparison, practical shooters aren't married to a particular system of shooting. And yes Duane, excellent article...I was just trying to expand on what you started. Thanks, Andy

If anyone caught Duane's article in the Blue Press it was good read. The article had to do with a martial artist's mindset vs a competitive shooters mindset and their proficiency with a pistol. In the article Duane states that he is both a martial artist and a gamesman. I feel the same way about myself. I have been studying martial arts for over 25 years and am an avid competitor in IDPA, USPSA and 3 Gun. In the article Duane states that the martial artist practices because of a need for self-defense and a good competitive shooter practices because of a love of shooting and that the competitive shooter excels at skill because of this love. This is were I beg to differ. One does not devote a lifetime to the study of martial arts because they fear an attack or for only the benefits of self defense. Ask almost any high ranking martial artist why they do what they do, while they may have started down the martial path due to a need for self-defense, you would be hard pressed not to feel the sincere love in their explanation of "why". I do agree that competition brings out the best, but not because competition shoots love what they do more than martial artists (how can you quantify one person's love of something over another?) So why do competition shooters excel at plain shooting skill vs martial artists? In my opinion most martial artist like to build boxes. They like to establish boundaries and work within a system. In many ways they are trapped by that system and its limitations. Its not about the shooter anymore, but more about how the shooter performs within that system of combat. In addition, there are many skills martial artists practice that don't have anything to do with shooting a pistol. For example, I have considerable impact, edged, and empty-hand skill that very few practical shooters could match. Martial artist also study tactics of self defense. In contrast, a top level practical shooter has one clear, easy to measure goal, shoot faster and more accurate than your competition. Most are not bound by a set system and instead are open to different types of learning. Whatever works to make you shoot faster/more accurate. You will also see less loyalties in practical shooting than in a martial art. Being a practitioner of both has allowed me to expand my skills in both arenas.

I use and ambi-safety. I hit the bolt release with my trigger finger. For the mag release I use cinched mags - grab the mags with the right hand and hit the release with the thumb and switch over. I also use a Stag lefty gun, although its not necessary its nice not have brass in my vision.

Happened to me last year and I took a short break from competition and practice. I did some 3 gun, took my 9 year old daughter shooting and through her, found out that shooting was fun again. I never really stopped shooting, but I did stop trying (ie: putting un-needed pressure on myself to perform) and I looked forward to getting to the range just to shoot. Sometimes we need to step back and think about why we do the things we do. If you're getting frustrated with not meeting your expectations try to let it go, and have fun again.

This is really cool, I need to get one. You guys that have one, how are you using or how has it been helpful it in your training?