Hi-Power Jack

I've been shooting Limited Minor for years - I have a Browning Hi=Power 9mm, which I love, and shoot it as Limited. I'd much rather have an STI .40, but NYS laws concerning hi-cap mags are such that I can have BHP mags, since I've owned the gun for 45 years, and the mags for more than 15 years, but I can't buy hi-cap mags that are new. I'm only a C Limited shooter, so it doesn't hurt me too much - but I'm getting better, and I still think I can become a B Limited shooter shooting minor - but, we'll see.

+1. Except, I use two sheets. They're free (my wife accumulated too many over the past 41 years), washable, and light.

Three years ago, I went to my first large match shooting OPEN - and I never fell asleep the night before. Not for a second - I was so wound up. Never made a difference - I felt fine the next day - shot as poorly as usual:(( But, no worse:)) As I gained more experience with the gun, and large matches, the sleeplessness (that a word?) goes away.

For recreation - the STI. For carry - the Sig.

TYLENOL. It helps. Super Senior Jack

What are you shooting in Alaska? IPSC, IDPA? Moose:) Where is Wasilla? Near Anchorage? Visited Alaska once, about five years ago - man, that is The Place to live. Magnificent, wide open - just great! But, I wouldn't wander around the bush without at least a .44 magnum ... sounds like even more fun:)

What is a "double feed"? Is that two rounds being stripped off the mag at the same time? Or the new round lodged behind the fired cartridge case? Jack

A few years ago, I tried to shoot IDPA and IPSC, and couldn't do it. Every time I shot IDPA, I'd drop the mag when it was time for a reload, and they penalized me for it:(( So, I had to choose. And I've been shooting IPSC ever since. No more IDPA for me - just too restrictive.

BTW, you're loading to a 142 pf. That puts you at a bit of a disadvantage at an IDPA match. All you need is 125, so 130 should do it? You should be able to load that down to 840 fps and still be fine.

I had a similar problem with my Browning Hi-Power 9mm - shot 5" groups at 25 yards. I tried reloading some 147 grain MG's with 3.8 gr. WW231 powder, and the groups shot much more accurately. If might be that your gun will shoot better with heavier (or lighter) bullets.

Don't know if they can "extend ribs", but I had KGUNZ (Freedom Gunworks) customize a 170 mm mag for me, two years ago, and I haven't had any problems with it since.

A LOT MORE FUN to go to an organized shoot, and shoot with other people - they'll build and set up all the props for you, and you can shoot 4=6 different COF without all the work - get to meet other shooters - and compare your scores against their's. For practice, you don't have to get so elaborate - just a few paper targets and maybe 1=2 steel targets, and you can practice the basics, until you get to the organized shoot (IDPA or IPSC).

What is it you prefer about the 115 over the 124. I thought the 124 was a nice softer feel, and I preferred that softer feel, until I recently tried the 147 and really love that soft feel. I load only 9mm (minor and major) and have a Dillon Square Deal- it's great. You might get away with a cheaper machine if you load only 500 rounds a month or so - I load 1,000 - 1,500 rounds a month, and love the SD.

Dan, I see the advantage of having one gun fit all, but there is also an advantage to having a second complete gun as a backup = if your main gun is at the gunsmiths for a month or two or six, you still have another gun to shoot. When you decide to get into OPEN, just buy an STI TruBor, and you're set = thought I saw one for sale here recently for $2,000?

Probably nothing wrong with 1.125 - 1.130 as a start. Lots of people like to load as long as possible, though, so you might make up a single round at 1.150 and see if it fits in your magazine/chamber. I just load my 9mm minor loads at 1.130 and they work, but if you'd like to make them longer, just make sure they fit in your mag/chamber. You won't experience any negatives/danger from loading longer, only lower pressures/velocity. Possibly better feeding in Your gun.

Do you weat bi-focal eyeglasses? It's possible that you normally sight thru your lower lenses (near sight) to see the sights, but when you're laying down, all you can see is thru the upper lenses - (far sight). Then the sights are blurry. I "solved" the problem by getting a pair of single Rx shooting glasses that's a compromise - I focus at arms length (the sights) and can see "okay" at a distance - that's okay since I want to focus on the sights, anyway.

If you load only 60 -100 rounds a week, you can start with anything. The cheapest press you can find will be just fine - if you have the hour or two every week to load those rounds. And, you'll be able to load rifle on a single stage press - worked well for me for many years, until I started loading 10,000 + rounds/year - then I needed a Square Deal for pistols, or a 550/650 for rifle/pistol. You should get a tumbler to clean your brass, too and a scale? Good luck.

Jack, Try this map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=N38.22812+W77.44230&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=42.174768,92.724609&ie=UTF8&ll=38.228109,-77.442348&spn=0.005124,0.011319&t=h&z=17 Thanks, see you Thursday morning:)) GPS Coordinates: N38.22812 W77.44230

What kind of gun are you shooting? What type of sights? What type of ammo? Are you shooting freestyle, one-handed or from a rest? How large are your groups - fire 10 - 15 shots at 15 yards, and where is the group, and how large is it? It might be your gun, your ammo or your sights may not be adjusted properly.

I've heard others describe problems with trying to shoot both IDPA and IPSC. Before now I had never sought out an IPSC match because I thought you had to have one of those super nice, super expensive 2011's. But apparently that's not the case. Right now I'm just looking for opportunities to improve my shooting and have fun. -Will That's the spirit - just shoot what you have, and have a ball. You'll be amazed at how much you can learn by shooting IDPA and IPSC. If you have the time/$, take a 1-2 day course when they're available, and you'll Really Learn a Lot.

When I re-started shooting three years ago, I tried both IPSC and IDPA, and to me The Biggest Difference is how and when you are allowed to reload - in IPSC, you can reload Any Time You Want:)) In IDPA, there are too many rules/regs/complications for this old head , so I kept reloading Any Time I Wanted - and got penalized accordingly. So I dropped IDPA and took up IPSC. Good luck with both.

Thanks, Seth - now I should be able to find the range:)) Where did you find these directions? I couldn't. I guess I'm the only one who couldn't find them - no one else asked, and the match is next week:(( Jack

Can anybody point me to directions to the range? I can't find them anywhere. Thanks, see you Thursday at 8:00. Jack

Thanks for the option, Guy, I'll check with my local gunsmith Monday, and see if he thinks that could be a problem - have him replace that spring also - I didn't think of that one at all - so thanks. Jack

Joe, sounds like some great ideas there - thanks. I'm not sure that the brass has not "extracted" - it's partially in the chamber, which means that it at least partially extracted, and possibly was forced back into the chamber, partially, by the next round coming up, if the empty case didn't eject quickly enough? No, there's no scratches across the rim of the brass - and don't forget, 99/100 extract/eject perfectly. I'm using WW231 (3.8 grains) behind a 147 grain MG bullet - getting a pf of 132 (at Area 7, last week). So, no, it's not a super fast powder, or over pressure - no pressure signs on the primers. I plan on contacting Jim, but since he's 150 miles from here, I'm trying to eliminate any, and all, possibilities myself before I have to either spend a bunch of money, and take weeks for Jim to look at the gun, to see if I can solve the problem easily. So, before I send it back to Jim, I thought I'd try a stronger spring - have to wait a couple weeks before I can get around to that, though. Just wondering if anybody here, with experience, thinks that too light a recoil spring could possibly be causing the problem I'm having? Is that worth spending a few hundred rounds on before I call Jim?