lmccrock

At my local non-affiliated club, we just had a shoot where the shotgun was to be slung or carried after the shotgun portion of the stage was complete, and a transition to handgun was performed. It was difficult for those who had no training in how to perform this feat. It was not the first time we had done this, but the first time in a year or so that the empty shotgun was not left behind while the handgun portion continued. The club will likely not have future stages where the long gun is retained. Why not have transition stages? DQ'ing new shooters on the first stage is necessary when a safety violation occurs, but it is not a good way to keep new shooters. Even experienced shooters had problems. I wish I had a good answer for this. Different venue: tactical league (2-person teams) but the range owner/league director requires all shooters to have taken his handgun/carbine transition class. At least the shooters get some dry practice with someone watching, and they get to shake down new and unfamiliar equipment. Not practical in any walkup environment such as typical matches, but maybe post an early start time for new shooters for an equipment check? Lee

Sorry not to have a definitive answer, but just be sure that your chosen color works with your eye protection, especially if that protection is tinted, whether a single color or sunglasses. I know my prescription sunglasses (dark gray) pick up my green front sight, and it works, so I left it on. I guess I should try the other colors in the package just for grins. Lee

Neil, I am not sure about the wording here; looks like (for example) Sidesaddles cannot have rounds installed until LAMR. The non-affiliated match I go to has a low enough round count that a full magazine and a few from a Sidesaddle are enough, so many use a Sidesaddle. I guess I am not sure what "Within the provisions of Section 5.1.2" means in this context. Sorry for the thread drift.... My main rifle competition tends to have rifles slung, bolts open, but no flags required. A closed dust cover will get you a good talking to. But that is indoors so dust is not an issue. More than once I have ducked when swept; it is not a good feeling. It would take more than one safety violation (chamber not empty and finger on trigger and pointed in wrong direction) to get shot, but I have seen rounds put into ceiling or floor of ranges from supposedly cleared guns. That is 2 out of 3, way too close. Codifying all the club rules is a good thing. Lee

I have a yellow safety device which locks into an AR magwell. It holds the bolt back, fills the magwell, and allows the dust cover to be closed. Filling the magwell is good since that is another opening for dust to enter. I used it for highpower matches, although it was a local club. So, would this device fulfill the IPSC requirement? Not a chamber flag, does not put anything into the chamber. Lee

EAA sells some barrel liners to convert some of their shotguns to different rifle calibers (45-70 down to .223). Interesting way to make a combo shotgun/rifle. http://www.eaacorp.com/parts/Inserts/index.shtml Lee

How "tricked"? My Para P14-45 is not particularly reliable. The more original Para parts I replace, the better it gets. Well, the 1st 1000 rounds were great, but then the gun wore out. Other Para owners have not had a problem as bad as mine. So ... whichever one works better. Lee

I had shoulder pain bad enough to keep me awake at night. It was left side, and made worse by shooting highpower (and the sling use). Before a match I would dose up with nsaids (tried them all) and ice it down (ice helped some, heat not at all). Decided that it was no fun, and quit shooting highpower. Doctor's orders, tried prescription-level doses of nsaids, then Vioxx. No stomach problems unless I drank a few cups of coffee the same day. Tried the glucosamine/chondroitin stuff. Nothing worked. New doctor, shoulder/arm specialist. He pointed out the bone spurs which the previous orthopedic surgeon and radiologist missed on the Xrays. I am now recovering from surgery. Pain free, unless I do something stupid, like try to move a heavy box from a high shelf. Over the next few weeks this is supposed to get better; it takes time. Handgun (major pf 45) and shotgun are okay now. I have not tried offhand or sling highpower positions yet, and I will wait a while longer before I do. Inflammation will be helped by the chemicals/heat/cold, but if there is something jabbing the inside of the joint, they will not help. There is still some arthritis in my shoulders, and I expect the drug treatments will help if they flare up. Also, it was explained to me that calcium deposits are more like a smear inside the joint, and they gradually grind away at tissue. Bone spurs are little spikes. There are injected treatments to dissolve calcium deposits to some extent (my wife had them) but bone spurs require surgery. I could be wrong; this was just my experience. Lee

Angus, The manufacturers do publish temperature variations, when it suits them: Hodgdon Extreme But this is for their rifle powders only. Lee

Never shot nor reloaded an M2. But M1 carbine was the first cartridge I reloaded. Lead is not recommended due to the lube and lead clogging the gas system. Plated bullets might work, cheaper than normal FMJ, but if those GiBrass pulled bullets are FMJ (which is normal for GI bullets) those look to be a good bet. As for dies, etc., you might check with Dillon, since you are using a 650. I lubed the cases, but my die was not carbide. I loaded the cases twice before they needed to be trimmed. By "needed to be" I mean they would not chamber since they stretched in my RCBS die. I bought a trimmer (that was 3 moves ago; it has since disappeared), and it was a pain to manually trim those cases. If you intend to use the brass more than 1 or 2 times, figure on getting a case trimmer. In contrast, I have never trimmed handgun brass, even with several loadings on some of them. Lee

How costly is testing? I do not know, I asked the doc to add it the last time I had blood work done, so it was covered under insurance. My level was 5, but I have only been shooting indoors once a week, and I shoot plated bullets. I reload, and I am careful in transferring tumbler contents to strainer, which kicks up beaucoup dust. So if I had time for a full schedule (it used to be 3 indoor shoots/week, and 2 outdoor / month) and I reloaded for all those, it might be worse. The local indoor range has facilities to wash up, and most people use them, even when food is not involved. At the member (free food!) or potluck events, the management sometimes remind folks to wash before eating. Ditto on Sig Lady's nose experience. I worry more about mouth/nose/eyes than skin. The skin is a powerful organ. Handi-wipes can help on the hands/face. As for hydration, I usually rinse and spit (outdoors, right? ), then drink. Usually there is enough grit in my mustach that it makes sense anyway. Lee

gbm, a few thoughts. So, it extracts and ejects, ok, just does not pick up the next round? Maybe the magazine is dirty. I cleaned mine once, but it has been so long I do not remember how I did it. It is blowback, so there is not much to go wrong. Maybe a spring is kinked or weak? I have used Hoppe's 9 on mine for 25+ years, not Bench Rest or any copper cleaners, just Hoppes 9. Then just a bit of gun oil on any moving/sliding parts. Lee (Edited by lmccrock at 10:57 am on Feb. 22, 2003)

Disclaimer: I do not use Federal primers. Regardless, 1. Talk to Dillon. If the use of Federal primers was so dangerous, warnings would be all over the instruction manuals. 2. "Listen" to your 550B (never push hard; if there are primer seating problems, like crimped primers, deal with that separately) 3. Wear safety glasses while loading. I will go out on a limb and guess your revolver is a 625. The last time I had trouble with a S&W (highly modified model 10) and apparent light primer strikes, the guts of the gun were filthy and impeding the hammer drop. I am sure this is not your problem; just being sure. Lee

Lead bullets use a lubricant, which is what makes the smoke. It also makes for dirtier guns and dirtier hands. To avoid this, I avoid lead bullets, and use copper plated, West Coast brand. Lead is cheaper; not a factor for me, but an issue for those who shoot much more than I do these days. Some people use different brands of lead bullets which use less-smoky lubes; I am sure others will chime in. Neither of my 1911-style guns shoot SWC very reliably, so I avoid SWC altogether. It is possible to get work done on the guns so that they feed SWC reliably, but I have never had it done. Round nose are ok for me shooting paper and steel. I hear pin shooters may prefer SWC to RN. I use Dillon dies with my Dillon press. When I bought the press, the only die set I had was 30 carbine (RCBS), so I just ordered the dies from Dillon at the same time as the press (.45, .38 spec, 9mm). My powder choice is Win 231 so I will defer to others who use your powders. Lee

gm iprod, if your environment corrodes stainless, what is that doing to your lungs? Good luck. gbm, my gun cleaning regimen depends on the gun and what was done with it. Last year, I went to a desert shoot with an AR; afterwards, it got cleaned more thoroughly than it ever has been; there was fine dust everywhere. The same rifle barely gets the barrel cleaned on a normal basis. If I ever do a thorough cleaning with a copper solvent, it shows almost no copper. Contrast that with one of my older US rifles (M1 or 03A3) which have a copper mine in the grooves after just a few shots. One time I used Hoppe's to clean an M1 barrel and it left behind the prettiest, shiniest copper. I am not sure what you have, but most of my experience is with gas guns. The downside to the M1 (and AR) is that the gas system must be thoroughly cleared when a Cu solvent is used. Any of my guns (even the chrome-lined AR) gets the barrel coated with oil if it is not to be shot for a while. Then the barrel gets swabbed before shooting it. For me, oil in the barrel and chamber are for storeage, not shooting. I use a coated Dewey rod, and neither an ammonia based Copper solvent nor powder solvent (Hoppe's #9) has worn off the coating. I keep some plastic jags and pulls around, to use with the Cu solvents, because I am uncomfortable using Cu-based jags with a Cu solvent. Lee

Alma, I tried loading for my Glock 17, and had trouble getting any reloads to work, either mine or those from a local commercial reloader. My failures were failures to eject, like the ammo was low powered or the cases were sticking. "New" ammo (unfired brass) from that same reloader ran fine (2500 rounds, NO problems). Ditto on the "Glocks don't like sissy loads". With my loads (WSP primer, Win 231), I ran the powder beyond the max charge in Winchester's book, but less than max in Hornady's. Functioning returned! Recoil/blast were less than the NATO loads, and less than some commercial defense loads. But at the time I did not own a chronograph, so I was not comfortable using the load. For me, 9mm is so cheap to buy, I do not reload it now. Interesting side note: Accurate's powder manual says "Some high performance handguns (such as Glock and Sig/Sauer) may not cycle properly with the faster powders". So, if I try to load 9mm again, I may try a powder slower than Win231. Lee

I did not ask age, and I am a bad guesser. But if the gent I met is late 60's, he is in great shape, because he looks younger. So, it could be him. Lately I have known some 80+ year olds who look younger than my grandfather did at 65. Lee

I met Gene at a Reno gunshow. He performed a quick repair for me, no charge. Well, I bought him a cup of coffee. Great marketing! He said he mixes small jobs into the big ones, so you do not have to wait 6 months for a simple reliability checkup/repair. So the small jobs come out in a few weeks. I suspect if you need a repair before a big match he will be sensitive to that. A local shooter (USPSA member since the 80's) has had problems getting Gene to complete work on time, then the work was not done right, and he is still waiting. So Austin's experience is not unique. I am not in the Reno area exactly; I am still looking for a good 1911 smith in northern California. Lee

Mike, What are you going to do with it? Dedicated for 3 gun? What ammo/bullet size? Barrel length, twist, and sights all are guided by application. Lee

Won't elevation play into it as well? Cold day in mountains versus hot day at the coast? But I do not remember which way velocity goes with elevation. Lee

Let's see. In my experience: I had such bad luck with different batches of Win Q3131 that I will never buy it again (did not cycle action, rounds did not extract, rounds hung on the extracter and did not eject). IMI is good but sometimes the OAL is a bit long for the plastic mags (Thermold, Orlite); works great in GI mags. American Eagle and South African surplus and Miwall re-loads are fine; Miwall is a manufacturer/distributer in California. My definition of goodness with this class of ammo has more to do with reliability and functioning, rather than long-range accuracy. However, accuracy issues with these are more due to the guy pulling the trigger (me) rather than the ammo. I have seen enough people with Wolf problems that I will not use it. To be fair, once I saw someone have trouble with Wolf in a Mini-14. Turns out it was not the .223 (5.56) Wolf, he accidently bought 5.45x39. Scary part: he did get a few rounds off but they would not cycle. By the way, my lone experience with Botach was very positive. My order showed up in like 3 days. YMMV. Lee

George, I assume you are right-handed, and that "LH Barricade" is gripping with your left hand doing the shooting, and shooting from the left side of the barricade. I do not shoot PPC, but I have shot a .38 revolver in what is a PPC-like match, albeit at 25 yards. I make no adjustments for aim for left or right hand. Have you tried shooting LH without the barricade? Just curious. As for cleaning, I never cleaned the revolver barrel, just the cylinder (often) and action (occasionally). But I was using plated bullets, so leading was never a problem. For a while, I would always "warm up" before a match by shooting 12 rounds or so. When I was at work until minutes before the match started, it would help me unwind, and get in the mindset. When I had some time to relax before a match, the warmup did not help. So for me, I think it was mindset, rather than a warm gun. Lee

"Shooting Sports USA" That is an NRA publication dedicated (more or less) to competition. Front cover of September 2002 issue: "Koenig Three-Peats Bianchi Cup" with picture of Doug. Three page article with pictures and top scores. My main gripe is that they do not purposefully describe the competition, rules, and scoring. If you know what course of fire makes up the Bianchi Cup is, then great. If not, you have to look elsewhere. But I subscribe anyway. Now I just wish I had more time to practice. Lee