Blueridge

It is an interesting revolver for certain, but it does not interest me. Everyone has their own tastes, and it looks like the revolver has a loyal following at this time. I prefer Ruger the SP-101 personally, and do not mind the weight of it. The ability to use .357 ammo also is a big plus to me. I tip my hat to Ruger for coming up with a revolver that incorporates polymer into it. I hope that it does well for them, and more innovative ideas come from them in the future.

Warm weather of Central Florida in October..............Barring no hurricanes..... I'll keep my fingers crossed for the match. Unfortunately I am already going to Memphis TN the end of Oct. for the Charity Challenge. I look forward to downloading the stages for the Florida match when they are available. It's like studying homework, but much more fun.

When I started USPSA I used a revolver from the beginning. I was advised that it would be easier to use an auto first, and then go to revolver. I had competed in IDPA prior to USPSA and began with a Beretta 92D. I then moved to shooting revolver the next year. From my experience I would suggest starting USPSA with the revolver, as the difference between auto and revolver is quite a bit. It might be a bit of "mental overload" at first, but certainly (in my opinion) better than spending time shooting an auto when you want to shoot revolver. Equipment setup, reloading, recoil issues, and a number of other aspects are so different using a revolver than an auto that I really don't see the benefit of shooting auto to get ready for shooting revolver.

I'm not trying to be a smartass - truly - but I have to ask: if you start out with a round in the chamber (and very few people who are truly serious about self-defense start out with the chamber empty on an auto pistol) what difference does it make whether or not your wife finds the slide difficult to cycle? She's not going to need to cycle the slide to ready the gun to fire, right? Instead, like I said, it's grab gun, aim gun, pull trigger, guns goes bang, repeat as necessary. Actually there is a reason for being concerned if the lady can rack the slide. Malfunctions occur with autos, and reloads are sometimes needed. If the lady cannot rack the slide, then she will have problems clearing malfuctions and reloading if necessary. Even the best kept handguns can have malfunctions, and revolvers are not prone to malfunctions of the nature that autos are. It comes to a choice of the lady in question on what she is capable of using effectively, and what does she want to use. It is not a given that a lady should be directed to a revolver or auto, but she should be given time with both to see what is best for her. This is just like anyone else that is dealing with firearms.

It may inconvenience some, but I look forward to the chance to meet all of the shooters Saturday participating in the match. Looking at the class levels of many of those that are coming, I am sure going to have to shoot my best to finish well in the standings. That polish plate rack will be interesting. I'll have to see that contraption in action, so I can figure out how best that I can engage it.

Interesting stages....Looks like a whole lot of fun.

Another vote for the SP-101 here. I have one with the 3 1/16" barrel in .357, and I like it alot. I changed the grip to a hogue grip, because the factory grip was too small for my comfort. I like the Crimson Trace Laser Grip option, and I believe that it is a great option for your purpose.

Yearly match you say......Hmmmm........I think that I have a good shot at talking my wife into going next year also. Now I have to do well enough this year to be able to show my face next year.

I have always used a mixture of 3 to 1 corncob to walnut. I have been happy with the results myself, and do not really see a reason for doing one then the other. I usually use the mix about 5 times, adding polish to the mix the first time. They seem nice and shiny to me, at least as shiny as the brass looked new.

I'll be looking for a squad to join, as I am not picky about the shooters that I squad with (As seen by my being the only revolver shooter in the squad at most matches). I seem to remember that a squad from NC will be going, but I might just pick a squad that catches my eye. I figure that I can squad with the NC shooters another time, but I won't get the chance to meet many of the shooters from other states often. Memphis here I come!

Off topic....Ooops.

Just to be different, and because I reload .45 Colt, I use a Ruger Alaskan in IDPA and USPSA competition. It is not one of the mainstream revolvers used in either sport, but I sure have fun using it.

I probably spend 1,000-1,500 a year normally (maybe up to 2,500 with out of state match travel). I have other hobbies that require financing (olympic style fencing primarily) so I cannot focus just on shooting competition.

Well my application is on the way. I'm waiting to be able to self squad when possible. I hope that the applications start rolling in and it stays a two day match. The more the merrier I say. Now I need to load up the ammunition I will need for the match. I figure that 500 rounds should do the job, with a side match possibly being held.

What fun would a short hill be. I always get attention when I shoot. How many revolver shooters have you seen using a Ruger Alaskan loaded with .45 Colt? Not to mention that 2 1/2" barrel. Do you have any idea how challenging it is to get the ammunition to make major power factor from a revolver with that length barrel? Let's just say that no one mistakes me for any other shooter in the match. Not really "high speed, low drag", but it's fun and I am a better shooter overall from using it.

I know a match..... BITB! Tempting, but I have planned on going to the Memphis Charity Challenge which is at the end of October and don't think that I can fit two trips out of state for matches in. If I could work it in I would. Fact is seeing that match is what brought the idea of competing in production with my revolver to the forefront of my mind recently.

It's all for fun. After all it is a sport and not work.

Ever since my revolver was added to the allowed production gun list I have had the urge to shoot it in production. Not simply go to a monthly match, but in a SS/Production Only match or the like. I think that it would be a blast to be shooting a revolver in such a match, see the looks, and hear the remarks other shooters would make. If there is a chance to "ice skate uphill" I am the guy standing at the bottom of that hill waiting to go. I am curious to see how well I could do in a match specifically designed for production using a revolver.

Yep, 2 years ago at the IDPA Nationals they had it worked out that everyone would have ammo left in their gun after finishing the last string of the standards stage. The SO just had you leave the gun hot, holster and walk over to the chrono guy. It wasn't a big surprise since you knew that you would be chronoed somehow on that bay but I liked the fact that they made an attempt at sneaking up on the shooters. The fact that they felt the need to as you put it sneak up on the shooters is the part that is very disappointing in any sport. What is disappointing to me is that there is a need to do this. There are shooters out there that would be underhanded enough to cheat, as there are competitors that will cheat in any sport. Sports have rules for a purpose. Not everyone is willing to abide by them. What the admin did in this case is not disrespectful to any shooter in my opinion, or underhanded for that matter. Everyone got chronoed the same way.

Another season is over, and a new one is just about to begin. Early on the bright side the US Summer Nationals for 2010 will be held in Atlanta GA. I am setting my sights on qualifying in Foil and Epee for the Division III and II levels in both. For the near future I am getting back to sending lead accurately downrange in a timely fashion.

......And here are the results. I finished 4-2 from the 7 person pool leading into the rankings for the direct elimination brackets. That put me 35th out of 133 fencers in the competition. Only 80% of the fencers qualify to the direct eliminations, so only 107 of the 133 moved on from the pools. In the first direct elimination bracket of 128, I won my bout 15-7 over the fencer that was 95th out of pools. In the bracket of 64, I lost 8-15 to the fencer that was 99th out of pools. The final results of the event showed me 42nd out of 133. Not as high as I wanted, but a good showing overall. I had wanted to make it at least to the bracket of 32 in the event. As a side note, the fencer who beat me ended up 8th in the final standings. In the direct eliminations he defeated (in order) the 30th seed, 35th seed, 3rd seed, and 18th seed before losing to the 20th seed in the bracket of 8. Seeing the number of upsets that he managed made me feel a little bit better about my loss to him.

I am priamrily a Foilist and fence Epee also. Over the past 10 years I have pretty much fenced both about equally. I was told several times in college that I fenced Foil like an Epeeist, and was told after college that I fence Epee like a Foilist. Therefore it made sense to me to compete in both. On several of the past years I qualified to summer nationals in both Foil and Epee, and competed in Division III along with Division II. I have yet to crack the top quarter of the field, with the competition field averaging about 250. I was only able to compete in the Epee event at Divisionals this year, and that is what I am competing in the US Summer Nationals. I made the Division III qualification and missed the Division II competition one place shy of qualifying.

This Thursday I will be off to Grapevine Texas to compete in the US Fencing Summer National Championships. This will be my 9th time in the last 10 years that I have qualifier and competed in same. I'll be competing on Saturday and watching some of the other competitions on Friday and Sunday. Time to put down the handguns and pick up the blade.

You chose to shoot revolver and no one else did. You shot well and that is what matters. Congrats on your shooting. Maybe next time someone else will choose to shoot revolver also and add to the fun. I shoot gunfighter category in SASS competitions, and few others do. That does not diminish my achievements, as I have earned bronze and silver medals in the State Games of NC in 2007 and 2008 respectively. I choose to shoot revolver in pretty much all of the competitions I participate in. It is up to others to choose to compete with me shooting revolver. Hopefully someone seeing you shoot revolver will interest them in trying themselves.

While I can see your reasoning for limited minor, I see production also teaching wise use of resources. The fewer rounds you have, the better use you have to make of them. I became a much better auto shooter once I started shooting revolver, because I knew that misses cost me time by making me reload more. Now I shoot autos much better than before, and make better use of ammunition. There is nothing at all wrong with shooting limited minor to place the focus on shooting, as long as ammunition is used wisely. I personally think 10 rounds per magazine for production is enough to start with and handles most stages fine. Limited would probably only reduce the number of required reloads by 1 on most stages, I would think. Either path is a good one, but with anything you must choose what is best for you.