JimInFL

Very interesting thread. So since the chamber lip stops the brass, then the length of the brass actually determines how deep the cartridge actually seats (the whole cartridge oal) in the chamber. Now when the breech face comes up to it, what effect does the brass being a bit too long or short have ? JimInFL

My son and I are planning to drive up from Orlando. (about 9hrs ?). Will be the first big match for both if us. JimInFL

Thanks for all the great input folks. I guess I'll think more about this. Now I'm thinking in terms of maybe a Kimber with a 4" barrel, rather than a 3". Then again, maybe I should just pick up an M&P compact in .40 and save quite a few bucks too. Decisions, decisions. In any event, thank you. I love this place ! JimInFL

I can only offer up the load I'm using - my son says it's so soft he thinks the gun is broken but it works well and accurate in our M&Ps. 147 gr JHP Zero 3.5 N320 1.130 OAL It barely makes minor though at avg 128 PF - I'm going to try it a little higher (book says I can go to 3.9) to get a little more headroom on the PF. JimInFL

But his last words in the original post were - "Do you ?"

Thanks hk. That follows what I remember reading as well. I was shooting an M&P 9 in Production for a while and really like it. I may just keep it simple and do an M&P .40 compact for carry, although that doesn't buy me much in terms of size, compared to the G23 I use now. I guess after shooting my Open gun for a while now, I'm becoming a 1911 style bigot . But if I can't depend on it in .40 or .45 then no point. I assume the 9s all run OK (like the EMP) - haven't heard anything about them.

I've had my eye on one of these for a new carry gun. Springfield has the EMP and several other 'Micro's in 9, .40, .45, as well as Kimber, Para and maybe others I've missed. However, I remember reading an article somewhere that insinuated that the larger calibers (e.g. > 9) just don't seem to be as reliable in a 3 or 3.5 inch barrel. Anyone offer opinions ? I'm not a rich man - can't afford to experiment $1K at a time. JimInFL

I guess it's in the interpretation. I've always thought of it as a "now here's another side to that point that is closely related, but you may have to look closely to see the tie-in" Not so much "This is more important", as "Here's an interesting, possibly different way to look at it as well" Like I said - I guess it depends on how you interpret it (and if your sarcasm alarm goes off at the time) . JimInFL

Welcome Grant. Looks like you're off to an excellent start. I particularly like the heavy equipment you have stationed on the table for moving around powder and primers and such. JimInFL

(Resurrecting an old thread) After much research, I've decided to go Rudy Project and would like last minute advice. My plan is for prescription (progressive) lenses in the Rydon frame (not inserts). I will put these on at the range, and take them off when I leave. The only thing left is color. After talking with Jim Shanahan, I think Action Brown is the popular color of the day, for shooting in the bright Florida sunshine, IF it's available. If not then I guess Racing Red. I'm not going to invest in 2 sets of prescription lenses until I see how these are going to work out. Is there anything else I should know ? Open to any and all comments. This isn't going to be cheap - I want to do it right the first time. JimInFL PS - another vote for doing business with Jim. Even though we've determined that for the Rudys, it doesn't make sense for me to go through him in my case, he was absolutely willing to do whatever he could to advise/help me. Good guy !

The manual HoMiE lists covers the first question. Don't know if your gun has a Recoilmaster in it or not. If so, pay particular attention to the part about the paper clip. If you still can't get it - contact me and I'd be happy to help you on the phone. For the second, I just use Windex (or similiar), per the guys at C-more. JimInFL

I found this to very readable and understandable on that topic. http://www.38super.net/Pages/Recoil.html JimInFL

Douglas, you're where I was at 3 months ago, so far as concerned about the same type of things. I'm now loading in my garage in Central Fl in the summer - talk about heat and humidity. I'm not having any problems at all so far. I suppose if I had a place indoors I might do it just to be more comfortable. Based on your concerns, I'd have to guess you're a safety conscious guy who is going to take his time and watch what he's doing. I have friends who reload in their den/office/second bedroom and have for years. I'd pick a place and get to it. If you don't feel comfortable in the chosen spot - pick another one. nothing is that permanent. (and if you have primers going off all the time, then I've misjudged you ) JimInFL

Tried to sneak a 29th round into my big stick today. Instead ended up spending 10 minutes picking up 28 rounds off the ground and wiping them off, and searching for the spring and follower in the grass and dirt. I guess you just have to learn some things the hard way. (embarrassed) JimInFL

Got 18 of 20 (at 54 years old)

skip - thanks. And I just read an article somewhere, or maybe it was an old post here - I can't remember. But it was all about visualization, and the tremendous impact it can have on your shooting. I believe they even took it beyond the match, and off the range, and described visualizing shooting during the day like at work when your taking a break, laying in bed, whenever. I need to go find that again. It even quoted an experiment that was done, where they took some shooters away from shooting for a while, but had them spend a good amount of time visualizing, while another group kept practicing. And the results were pretty amazing. Anyone know where I might have seen that ?

You going to do 'high end' stuff Jake ? Or will you remember some of us are still pretty new to this (but hungry for knowledge). JimInFL

Excuse my ignorance about revolvers. What gun is that ? Are those sights after market ? Certainly is a beautiful gun ! Congrats. JimInFL

lugnut - that does sound interesting and I'll try that. Like you say, maybe just observe all that is happening at that time. I like that idea. I too, worry about a possible blink. If I suspect it, I'll usually just point to the berm, and shoot 3 shots bang..bang..bang - two with my eyes closed, then then between the second and third I pop my eyes open. Sounds ridiculous, but it seems to work for me. Although I still sometimes feel it (a blink) MIGHT be happening. I don't know. It seems usually like there is just a lot going on at that moment and the dot is moving, well, in chaos (to use a word from the book). I don't think I've ever seen a simple, vertical motion of the dot, that I could track. I guess I'm just not there yet. Even when I had that great feeling I described at the beginning of this thread, I didn't see the sight 'raise' - more like it simply stood frozen long enough for me to etch the picture into what I was actually seeing. In my mind it wasn't 'raising', it was still - like a photograph. Now I'm rambling, does this make any sense ?

Averaged around 129 PF in my M&P 4". Looks a little lower than some above are reporting, but still passable. Also, my chrono is not my most expensive piece of equipment, so that could be a factor. JimInFl

Still being pretty new to Open, I don't know what my experience is worth, but here it is. I had no mags with my new 9maj gun when I bought it. After talking to lots of people I decided to order 3 140 and 1 170 SVI tubes, and associated Dawson basepads, and Grams springs/followers. My plan was to have someone else assemble and tune them (Howard Smith by mail or Paul Whitacre locally). BUT, I was way too anxious to shoot at least ONCE with them. So I did a small amount of delicate filing and fitting on the tubes and they went together nicely. Been shooting with them since. ('since' being a grand total of 4 matches and many practices - maybe 2500 rounds total). Absolutely 0 problems. Yes I'm still going to get them tuned for my own piece of mind, but until I can afford others to shoot with while these are gone, I'm going to keep shooting. JimInFL

[not hijacking thread - really ! ] I was just thinking the other day about getting my first reloading manual. But then I thought, why ? It's all available on-line now. Is there even a good reason to have a manual these days ? JimInFL

Thanks Brian, and all others ! If there is one thing I do have going now, it's a positive attitude about this. It's amazing how encouraged it makes you feel when you get a taste of what you read about here and in 'The Book'. Waiting on a 6 moa dot right now (mine quit last match). Can't practice very well without that. Boy, you really have NO reference when that dot is gone ! I think I shot half a big stick at 4 poppers about 15 yards out before I gave up

On a couple of different occasions I've found myself browsing around through the videos on the Hosercam site. They make a great tool when describing USPSA shooting to friends - plus they are just fun to watch. Aside from Hosercam (I know he doesn't do that anymore) is Nolan Smyth still around and shooting ? A search here gives only older posts by 'Nolan' which I am assuming (maybe wrongly) was the same person. It occurred to me watching these videos, that he is/was a good shooter ! But I don't see his name mentioned much anywhere (here, Front Sight, etc). Not trying to track him down, or for any other reason - just curious. JimInFL

+1 like EZ Bagger.