Lycanthrope

Hosing on the run until the front sight melts off! Not very distingushed, but nothing brings a smile like showering the gallery with hot brass.

ENTP for now......

You were shocked about Feinstein and Boxer? Those two are an anti as they get.

For the next IDPA match I attend, I think I'll wear the same gear Ken does in the pic and see what they say....... "......but Hackathorn does it like this..."

No problem. Glad I could offer something here. I took my time and let the iron get as hot as it could between stamps. It burned off the residue. Perhaps the oil helped too, but since this is my baseline I can't make any definite claims. If you need to clean parts of the grip up you should be able to stamp over it again. For loose plastic edges and rough spots, I used the flat attachement to burn them off. It was difficult to cut smoothly (even with a flex shaft Dremel) around the STI logo and some parts of the circle's edge were higher than others. I just took the smooth tip and wiped lightly across it and it evened up fine. Along any clean edges (like the large original grip diamonds) I made sure I had a flat side of the diamond shaped bit up against it to burn a clean line. One would be stamped torward the top, and then the next would be stamped toward the bottom of the grip. You end up flipping the grip upside-down a lot. I did these first so I didn't just work down or across the grip with the pattern. Later I filled in the gaps with random stamping. Many times it was difficult to get a full diamond shaped stamp and you just get a triangle/half diamond. That was fine. You can't see it, but I also stamped the underside of the trigger guard. I found straight lines didn't work well for me here. After trying that, I went to a Chevron pattern by first burning one half of the underside and then the other. It was much improved.

Thanks for the kind words. And to think I've been shooting lead out of my blaster and living on ramen noodles just to pay it off. I should have been taking orders..... maybe I could name it the "wolf grip". Being the generous sort, I'll just share the secret. This little wonder can be found in the land of milk and honey (your local Wal Mart). I found it back in the crafty, foo-foo aisle between the fabrics and flowery stuff.

Mostly. I smoothed the front strap and took the checkering on the sides down to where I could barely see it. I then used Erik Warren's suggestion to use the tool to bring the color back to black by wiping across it. My tool also come with a wide flat point that helped a lot. The oil may also have played a part during the final stamping. The bit I used was very forgiving. You don't need to eliminate all the imperfections as the bit will melt and reform the plastic to your evil will. If you make a mistake you can just hit it again and it "restamps" the texture. I trimmed any high spots with a razor knife.

This is my first grip job. I shaved down the grip with the Dremel and then burnt in the pattern with a woodburner with a diamond tip with 5 rows. I varied the direction of the pattern to maximize randomness and used a high heat setting to make the outside edges of each press higher than the smaller inside ridges (hard to notice in the photo). I also oiled the grip heavily with FP-10 before doing this in hopes of helping the carmelizing process and making the grip harder (through a quenching process). Since I have no baseline to compare to, I cant say what was the most effective part of the process, be it the high heat, the oil or a combination. I also never had to clean the tip as the residue burned off just that fast. The result is a harder and sharper grip than the opriginal STI. I've been handling it nightly for 2 weeks without any of the ridges rolling over. I'm very happy with the results so far.

That's because people who can afford a couple Dillon's usually just have the "hired help" turn any loose screws around the house.....

What's a Dillon? IF you build a bench from a countertop that matches your press, your accessories, your curtains and placemats, you too can convince your girlfriend it's a great thing to reload in the "dining" room. Solves the problem of figuring out what to do with a China cabinet when you don't have any China...... Don't sweat it. We don't eat here. Just got tight on space when we consolidated our apartments.

.....finally giving the world something worthwhile by tearing off Janet Jackson's top during the Superbowl. Best halftime show that I've seen in a while. I'm still not sure if it makes up for his music, but it's a good start.

.45? I'm thinking .45 would only fit one.......

The Edge isn't legal for IDPA, but it would be nice to try it!

If you want to shoot mousefarts try Clays. Clean, even at light loads.

Any scratches or rough spots WILL increase fouling which happen with incomplete or poor scrubbing with bronze or steel brushes. Take a technique from the benchrest shooters and only use wet patches (no brushes) or solvents (used in moderation). If you have a good bore and it's fouling is minimal and doesn't get worse over time..........just keep shooting.

If the bed is especially soft start with your hands flat beside your hips (you can also plant a hand under your small of back to help lever you off). If you are going to the right, roll by rocketing your left knee up and over and let it pull you off the side to low crouch (up onto your right elbow). Grab the blaster and go. Low crouch is pretty easy to get moving fast from.

Lots of great points. Micheal Bane: In my VERY humble opinion, IDPA's major downfall is that it tends to market itself to the tactical or "more practical" side of shooting. "Tactical" in itself is very subjective and when people walk off a course due to it not being "just so" in their opinion are looking for training in the wrong place. Not that it isn't beneficial. The better, and safer, you are with your weapon the more responsible you can be. Under stress you need some muscle memory and you can't get it without shooting, shooting, shooting, with the safety rules being ingrained with overlearning. Those things are integral for using a tool such as a weapon, either for sport or self defense. I won't even get into what methodology is best for self defense. I think it's the shooter's responsibility to be situationally aware and avoid the whole mess. If you can't, do the best you can....safely. Most of us can't afford special training and I won't be snobbish to say you shouldn't carry a weapon if you haven't. Automobiles kill a whole lot more due to negligence and how many of us get weekly safety supervision for them? We should I suppose......... IDPA does put a but too much emphasis on NOT BEING IPSC that they lose sight of some things. Cover is always a good habit. Concealment practice is great (if you carry). Most people carry mags that are flush and don't add weight to the guns......fine. Tactical reloads are no fun, but hey, it doesn't hurt to know how to do it......and the dexterity you gain can't hurt you if you opt for a "speed reload" in a real situation. But......IDPA gods......please make up your minds.......is it a game or is it not? All of the above things are good practice (in my very humble opinion, people), but IDPA makes some weird cultish assumptions like: If you want a large round count or "IPSC" stage you can always call it a "standard" to train a specific skill and (POOF!) everything is OK. You should have low round counts since this more "realistic" (ala Hackathorn's last article in the IDPA journal). So........does shooting 1-2 targets make me better prepared than shooting the limit of 18 rounds? Yes, it's not likely, but what if I'm cornered by 4 guys? Do I freeze up because I have no practice? Seems kinda silly. Many of these people's only practice are monthly matches. Does their right to bear arms mean they should have to put in 1000 rounds a week? Are they better prepared when they shoot 75 rounds a month under supervision of a SO than if they shoot 25? I think so...... So...what if I have a shoot through that may hit a no shoot? I think I BETTER be aware of such a possibility in a "tactical" sense? Shoot it from a better vantage point or don't do it. Getting a procedural for exposing oneself to a neutralized target is BS. So...in the real world are you gonna stop shooting unless the threat is DOWN? As a MD I try to offer as clear a stage procedure as I can to make people practice a certain possibility or I design a stage to offer a LOT of flexibility to train free thinking. BOTH have merits. I don't necessarily buck IDPA rules, but there is always a "tactical guru" to offer opinion it seems. OK. Teach me. I'll use it next match or I'll tell you to try another club. Personally, I think IDPA should be USPSA production class with rules to allow use of cover, concealment and specific reloads. What is so bad about an overlap? 1. Be safe. 2. Be ready for anything. 3. Hope you never have to pull the trigger on anything besides paper and steel. 4. Have a good time. 5. Rack up good scores at matches. How is THAT for a rulebook? Who cares if I have a full length guide rod gun that I have 10,000 rounds through (cause I love to shoot) and it runs 99.9% of the time. God forbid I shoot a 1911 and not the more tactically sound and reliable Glock (hey, that gun works real well also). Do you trust my lowly C class USPSA person/IDPA SO at your back or a total newbie in a bad situation? Both these games make us better. It's a right to own weapons despite training. Wanna give that up? I'm ranting. This wasn't directed toward any of the previous comments so please no one take offense. I'm all for people carrying guns safely. After that I think that the games help no matter what the rules. Flame me. I can take it. Until then, I'll play the games by the rules until I am elected "Holy Emporer of the Muzzle Flash".

www.huntchat.com very good people

Do it. See how it works. That's the only way. It may work stupenduosly. It may not. Do it.

I get about 500 rounds from my .40 Brazos Fiber optic sight on my Kimber .45. I use a mini torch to melt both ends quick and tight. I have also experimented with warping the optic slightly near the center bridge to tighten it further. Any slack will eventually break one of the end "mushrooms".

Isn't the XD classified as ESP (not SSP) in IDPA?

"Accidental" in AD means accidental.....not aimed fire. When he aimed, he stopped his reload. Fired, then continued reload. IMHO.

Mistral404 noted a valid point regarding Maslow. In the "Need Hierarchy", most of us need the money more than the praise. At the very least we can find the praise in other areas and it can, therefore, come easier. To weigh money against praise effectively you must control the other variables such as current salary rate, the size of the bonus and the workplace atmosphere. Sometimes getting respect from the boss in public can have both good and bad consequences for an employee. The motivation of the employer can also skew the results. If the praise isn't indicative of respect, then it isn't really praise. So....if you have all of your bills paid, lots of financial security and all the guns you want.......do you still want the $.05 an hour bonus......or do you want respect? Makes for a different situation. Positive reinforcement is the most powerful motivator, but have you considered that the lack of money to meet one's needs (causing stress) can be defined as a negative reinforcer? Just my 2 pennies. I'm a psychotherapist and a supervisor.......and I want both.