Mistral404

My Nowlin always has a higher velocity than my other barrels.

It is not just a distraction. It is not a mental problem, it is a physical problem. There are many studies out there about sports nutrition. The body can not perform adequately much less at a high performance level unless there is the proper amount of fuel in the body. Fuel can be defined as many items that contribute to function of the body e.g., food, water, vitamins, I believe there is a study out there about how a 10% reduction in hydration results in a significant reduction in performance. The same is true for blood sugars. A person with a blood sugar of 40 is going to experience multiple symptoms such as shakes and blurred vision, which will have an adverse effect on performance. Just look at the science behind the creation of Gatorade. I look forward to hearing what Pat's person has to say on the matter.

http://ammoseek.com/ Try this website.

The RO should be looking at the gun and shooter not down range at the targets - IMHO. The score keeper should be looking for foot faults, etc. If I am running an Open shooter I usually double plug so hearing a hit on a barrel is probably not going to happen. Maybe this is the score keeper's job, except sometimes our score keeper is scoring while the shooting is still going - when it is safe and practical to do so. I kind of like the plastic barrels. But I see their faults also. You can solve some of the problems by putting a no shoot or hard cover on the barrel. I prefer no shoots.

Limited, Limited 10 and SS all are .40 S&W loaded to 1.18. I use the same rounds for all the guns. No changes. They all chrono about the same also. I generally have a 170 PF. Next year I will be using 200 gr Zeros and instead of 180 JHP. I like the heavier bullet. But I have to shoot up 6000 rounds first.

Limited, Limited 10 and SS all are .40 S&W loaded to 1.18. I use the same rounds for all the guns. No changes. They all chrono about the same also. I generally have a 170 PF. Next year I will be using 200 gr Zeros and instead of 180 JHP. I like the heavier bullet. But I have to shoot up 6000 rounds first.

I just got an email from Sinclair-a Brownells company. They have Winchester and Federal primers.

I had a Marvel. Every time you take it off the frame you have to re-sight when you put it back on. The guide rod tightens the unit to the frame. No such problem with the TS. I use it on my wide body and single stack frames. The zero stays the same. The ejector needs to be tuned but that is quite easy to do. The mags are great. Spend the money on TS. Look in the Classifieds I think Don Bednorz had a certificate for sale. Also you can buy an additional rail so you can use optics or iron sights.

Once again Scott comes through. He has worked on my guns. Fantastic gunsmith. My gun ran perfectly at Production Nationals.

You actually have a statistical problem. The percentages you see at Nationals have not been normalized so they only reflect the percentages of a small sample of shooters and not the population of USPSA shooters. If you look at the number of GMs that fell below their GM percentages, you might get the inclination there is another answer to the question. Yes Sandbaggers do go to Nationals and every other match. Some people do finish close to their USPSA average but IMHO those people are NOT grandbaggers, they have a solid skill set that is well rounded. I have not normalized the data, but I suspect with the number of GM shooting below their averages that shooting your average would result in a higher percentage once the data was normalized. IMO the classifiers focus on speed of draw and reloads which tend to be negated somewhat at National and Area 2 matches that have more distances between shooting arrays which allow for reloads to occur while moving.

The slide may be hanging on the ejector. I had to file mine somewhat in order for it to slide on. When in doubt get a bigger hammer!

I try and dry fire several times a week. I just leave 3 or 4 targets up in my backyard. I only do it a few minutes at a time. I think it has helped me significantly in terms of improving my accuracy. I really try and narrow my sights to a smaller and smaller area. I am also putting no-shoots on the targets which has helped a lot. Listening to folks like Burkett and Jarrett, I am now spending time on my footwork, which I can do in my backyard. I spent this morning at the range with my .22 doing movement drills from one box to another. I wanted to get my technique down before I start with the timer. For me the key elements were; 1)start to move after the last shot hit the steel, 2) be aware of what my feet were doing--a slow launch, 3), keep the gun up during the movement, 4) slow down entering the box and 5) making sure the gun was strongly in my vision as I enter the box and look for the target. This drill will be an expansion of the normal draw and reload, sight picture dry fire drills.

I had a Wilson extended slide stop on my 45 for awhile. I really liked the confidence it gave me. Then the extended part broke off. Guess what- I did not need it anymore. I do not have them on any of my guns. If you needed, try it out. It is a small investment and you can always ditch it.

Come to A2 - Desert Classic. They use berms and a few courses using natural terrain. It is the best match in the country, their props are unbelievable..

Duane, Thanks for the post and Brian for your responses. At this year's Lim Nationals I had some moments as you described in your email. In the house stage, I scampered over to the first two targets-did not consciously see the sights (2A, 2A), third target (2A) fourth target had a no shoot on top, I hit the A and a no shoot, I was out of the room and down the hall when the no shoot registered. Backed up to make up the shot. The last three targets were exactly as you describe. I pushed and scored well. Learn to trust the little voice inside that will be silent when things are good, and tell you if something went or is wrong--BE I need to work on remembering that feeling when shooting. Again, thanks for describing a recent revelation that I too experienced.

Shred has it right on the money. I have been reading AR since I was a kid and still do. A second generation NRA member. It is a very conservative magazine. The editors have been around for a long time and are very resistant to new ideas around techniques. New ideas for guns, etc. they are good, not great. I still enjoy reading, it is not my bible with regards to all that are guns.

Yeppers $30/1k

I have a bunch of SV mags, with Beven followers, springs, and base pads. Also some with Dawson base pads. One with a Bolen and one with the new SV base pads. I have not modified the followers or springs. The Bolen is 20 rounds reloadable. One each with a Dawson and Grams base pad is 20 rounds non-loadable. All the others are an easy 19. If I clipped the spring, I would get 20 reloadable in them all. I talked with several SV Team members, they all have at least one mag that holds 21. This might entail modifying the follower a little. You might consider a 45 tube with modified feed lips. I thought this years nationals had some 22 round stages. It seemed silly to have one more shot than most SV/STI mags but on the money with a Para mag. I am a firm believer in more rounds downrange equals more fun. I would have preferred more 24-27 round stages with quite a few 32 round stages. But this is adrift.

I just got 3000 primers from Sportsmans Warehouse. They had about 15,000 in stock. They had guns in stock also.

If you are in Phoenix then call Kodiak Precision. Don is sponsored by SV and was the VV technical rep for many years. Ask him. Like BE, I load to 1.185. Works fine in my SV with SV mags. My SV turns to a jam-o-matic with factory ammo and a one hole wonder with VV320 and Zero Bullets when loaded to the correct length.

VV320 at 4.0 gr. OAL 1.14, Zero 125--PF = 132 via two chronographs. Wolf Primers, various brass.

I shot Wolf primers in my production gun. Worked fine. Seated great. I might have had 1 bad seating of the primer in the whole bunch. I can not say if it was the primer or the jackass running the press. I suspect it was the latter.

I got rid of all my STI mags. I run SV exclusively. The quality is excellent. The price is high and they are hard to find. But they work for me without me having to mess with them. IMHO they are well worth the wait time and expense.

I did the Frame kit route once. Not again. Second gun was a full blown custom for a great smith. Third gun was a full house custom from another great smith. The fourth one is in the works. Now, at different times I had some extra money so going full custom was easy. Now, I would look for a Bedell, McLearn, Brazos. All great smith with reasonable prices. There are a lot of standard STIs for a good price. Go to Dawson or Brazos.

I think I read a post on the 1911 Forum about Kart barrels being favored by the AMU for lead. I have Schuemann, Kart, and Nowlin. They all shoot just fine. Pick a top of the line barrel company and just go for it. Have a good smith fit it.