CocoBolo

IMHO Lee Dies are crap, had them sold them. Once fired is fine for Maj loading I've shot a few 100,000+, loaded on Dillon 650 with Dillon dies, or Hornady with Hornady dies. I started out shooting them more than once, but when I saw all the primers in the corn, I made the decision once and done, replacing slides is expensive (breach face erosion). One step I added to the process is the magnet check, since some brass isn't brass but looks like it. I started out running all the brass thru the casepro (rolling), but changed to only rolling the drop check failures. The drop check is your friend, if it doesn't drop all the way in and fall out freely it is bad, toss it or fix it. I also recommend the bullet cases, makes it easy to find that short round or a high primer. For major matches I will do a second drop check, insurance.

I started out shooting Limited with a TS, there were two problems, 1- Not enough head space, you have to load short, I was shooting titegroup and 200gr JHP's. 2- Switched to Precision 185's, didn't blow up cases but the molly coating clogged the barrel. Sold it bought a used taxi tested tuff STI Edge, no problems. Upgraded that one to a Dawson HPF edge even better. Bought an Infinity, it is a good safe queen, the Edge edged it out.

Not everyone goes to the match thinking they are going to win the Hummer. I don't go to a match thinking who can I beat today. I'm more into my hit factor than how I finish. At 73 I know that I'm probably not going to out run a 20 something, I shoot because it is fun. I shoot Open, because I like it, but if the mood strikes it could be Limited, SS, CO, or PCC. Before CO and PCC came along everyone aspired to shoot open.

Once you get the screws tightened up you can move on to solving the infamous brass rain! Or maybe even the once in a thousand upside down case. Both of these appear to be related to the "Case Count", if too few cases are in the hopper it rains more often and the number of upside down cases goes up. Running on High rather than low seems to give the most reliable feeding. 9 mm is more problematic than 38 Super, that shorter case length is more prone to wedging in the funnel leading to the tube, then it rains. If you listen while loading most problems can be detected early.

I've never bought a new CZ, they have all been used (5), but I did buy a couple of Tanfo's new. Back to CZ, my Shadow 01, I never did get a set of sights that could be adjusted to POI to POA, close but no Cigar. Close enough to shoot production. Last year I decided to throw a DOT on it. Due to "political" factors I had new loads to test. My most accurate STI open gun is a tack driver, it connects all the holes at 25 yards with ease. Next up the 12 yr old Shadow 01, with its new dot. Ooh crap it is out shooting the STI. All shots fired from a bench rest. Then comes the real test, free style, same 25 yards, STI open nice group about 2" for 5 shots, next up the CZ, oops my FU is weak on this one, about 4". Not the gun the Indian. The steel test, like a steel challenge stage, on the timer. Not believing it but I'm faster with the CZ, the timer don't lie. On rifle grouping is pure science and discovery just a couple tenths of a grain makes all the difference in the world. In pistol the POI can move 4" at 25 yards just changing to a different powder (major power factor 9 mm), not so much with minor. Test the gun and not the Indian, do some shooting on a bench rest. Nothing wreaks havoc on pistol accuracy like a loose barrel bushing, then barrel lock up. I had a gun that the slide was so loose on it, it rattled when you shook it, but it was still very accurate with good barrel lockup and a tight bushing. When I shoot a strange gun I'm more accurate because I take more time on each shot, the psychology factor.

I've only loaded a few 100,000 rounds, but I've never counted the cases. I keep Brass in a 3# coffee can, I pour in a half can at a time. When it starts to get low, and you can hear this, I pour in more. The amount of brass is a level that is @1 1/2 inches below the clutch. When you let the amount of brass run low you will encounter more anomalies, up side down cases, and the dreaded brass rain. I tighten the clutch as needed. When I pour in brass, I give it a shot of one shot, this keeps the reloading smooth and easy. I clean the case feed when its dirty.

When I started shooting I would by 40 cal 250 rd boxes of ammo for $17.00 that is cheaper than primers today, granted that was two Dem presidents ago. I'm going wait a little longer to see if the price drops.

If you have Federal Primers (SP) you can run a 10# spring, I've done that with 100% reliable ignition in WARM WEATHER. When the ambient temp dropped to about 40, things got weird. I started to get delayed ignition, I would pull the trigger, and it was like a second before the bang. It probably wasn't a whole second but it seemed like it, the first time it happened I was about to reach up and grab the slide when it went off. This continued thru the match. The next day it warmed up and it was all good, but I swapped in the next heavier spring an 11# anyway. I now use whatever primer I can get, and this led to inconsistent ignition, shooting a match I had a few failures. All of those failures were CCI primers, all the WInchesters went off. Some were rifle primers, and the ones with no dent at all were Magtech Rifle, they have a D on them. The good thing was it was steel challenge and it didn't spoil my match, just a few runs. I just got the calibration kit and changed out the 11# for a 13#. Upping the spring did not significantly change the single action pull, but since I have the short disconnect in the gun that makes the double action pull much shorter it did add a couple pounds to that pull. The shorter pull works for me, but you might like the long easy pull better, depends.

LOL AA7 When I went from 10gr to 10.5 grains it tamed the beast. That was 38SC with a 124gr 11.2 gr for a 115. I've shot it in 9 maj with 10gr and it felt good.

There is a point where friction and inertia meet, and when this happens the next round does not make it to the chamber. A 7# may cause the gun to stop feeding. Everyone has to try holes at least once. If it doesn't work out just replace the barrel and try a different comp. If your split is improved by .01 or even .02 this could add up to a full 2 seconds in a match.

If I were shooting at running pigs I'd go for an EOTech or a HoloSun 2 moa. If however you might just want to shoot more conventional game, and I do recall a friend and I bugle up a Sika, he had that Bushnell and he couldn't make him out, I handed him my rifle with a Simmons 44 mag, and he said dam the sun came up and he could make the shot. You need a good pair of binoculars, those little rascals will sneak right up on you so close you can't see them without binoculars. A 3x9 or 3x10 is probably a handicap at 150 yards a good 1x4 with @50 mm would give you a good field of view, stay on 1 till you have a target over 200 yards. No scope will help if you don't know your zero and where it hits at different ranges.

The recoil in stock trim was not conducive to fast shooting, IMHO. There was too much bounce, if it had shot as well as a Marlin Camp 9, that would have been good, but nope it didn't. This specific gun may not be representative of other blow back AR's, having purchased it used, not sure the prior owner didn't muck it up, but he said it was stock, he also said it ran and it did not. The ammo I was shooting could also be a factor, since it only feeds Round Nose reliably, I was using up the Ammo I loaded for Steel in a Glock Open gun, probably about 140pf. Have another 3# coffee can full to shoot up.

I've got 5 of them so I'm gonna say I like them best, if I could I'd put one on my CZ Shadow.

Engineering 101 duct tape or WD 40, I'll go with if it isn't broke don't fix it, or if brute force isn't work you just are not using enough. That load sounds a little rodent methane to me, I'd add a couple tenths and see if it resolves the problem, max load is 4.4gr.

Most of the shooters I see are running stages without reloads, they have 55 round mags, but since I only have 27rd mags that run 100%, I'll be reloading, and I am going to practice your techniques. Thanks for the video.

TexasTactical.org puts on a couple of IDPA matches every month in Bulverde. You could probably make a weekend out of it with IDPA on Saturday and Steel Challenge or Sunday, or USPSA.

From the draw is just one aspect, as is following a reload, add to that you need to practice every common position, like leaning around a wall, crouching in a window, on the move and on and on. The preponderance of evidence clearly shows as you watch shooters struggle to find their CO dot match after match. My own experience making that transition from limited to Open, was within a week I thought I was ready, within a month I knew I wasn't. If you have even one hesitation in a match caused by the dot, well you have not mastered it yet.

Those are all good valid points. I think the myth is that you are going to pick up a gun with a dot and magically be good with it in a couple of hours of practice, oops not going the happen. If one does a lot of dry fire from lots of odd positions and does reload practice I think you could get good in a few months. Just like guitar playing it is muscle memory and that is the same way you build your index.

If you asked me how to find the dot, I'd say look at the target! Exactly your focus needs to be the target then bring the gun/dot into the filed of view. In steel challenge your eyes go to the next steel first as you transition. Tracking the dot only slows you down.

If the field of view is too small that isn't good. I think that our perceptions often mislead us. The Timer can keep us on the right path. Set up a drill and run it with the different optics and let the best time confirm or deny the perception. The drill should be representative to the type of shooting you do, and accuracy needs to be a factor. Don't shoot it with your limited gun, you might be faster.

I've had no problem finding bullets 12,000 in the last month, and powder is plentiful locally. Primers are like flying spotted unicorns. In the past couple of months I've bought 2 optics, a C-More and a Romeo 1, while Optics Planet and Shooters Connection are my favorite places to shop, they both came from Amazon since they had the best price, and it was quick. I'm sure some optics may be scarce, but one thing is for sure, the prices are going to go up!

I've shot a lot of those man on man shoot offs. The last one I shot had two plate racks, one for each shooter and then two small pepper poppers that would fall on top of each other, the action stated with a standard timer. The winner was determined by which popper was on the bottom. Starting position was wrist above. There were a few rules about hitting the wrong popper etc, but it is fairly simple. The initial round was winning 2 out of 3 to progress to the second round, then the third round. I lost in the 9th round, aka the final, the other guy won the Glock, I wound up with a refinish certificate. You can also have the loser's shoot off in a second group to keep everyone engaged.

Maybe you picked up some of my 9 major brass? I use to shoot it pick it up and reload it, but then I started noticing a lot of primers in the corn! Primers would come out during tumbling. I then had a few fall out between the ammo case and loading them in the mags. I went to the one and done and have not had any issues. I don't use Remington Primers, tried them didn't like them went with Federal, Win, and CCI, but I'd buy them today if I found them.

The Devil is always in the details. If the conversation were around the legendary C-More slide ride, I'd recommend a 8 moa dot, because the 6 moa tends to get washed out in the Texas sun, but if the conversation were around the modern Micro Dot like say a Romeo 1, then 6 is plenty too big, as that 6 is larger than the C-more 8, and a lot brighter. Holosun is popular with the big ring and the small dot, have not tried one but I run an EOTech on PCC, in spite of its multi decade age it continues to function, and it is a great set up for shooting steel. A 6 or an 8 makes a good start. For years I ran a 6 moa on one open gun, and 8's on the others, for those difficult matches (one of the clubs here puts on) I'd grab the 6, but for the run and guns I'd grab the 8. My "A" hit percentage was always better with the 6, and that also resulted in better match finishes. Could be a little struggle seeing the dot makes you focus more on shot placement? Pick one an run with it.

When I use AA#7 124gr JHP my load is 10gr, but the OAL is out there @1.170-1.175. Shot thousands with no issues. Since 2008 I've adopted the once and done rule for 9 maj brass. I buy once fired at a local range or pickup at a steel match. Maybe you can get away with loading them up to 3 times, but I find a decade or more of once and done working for me, good enough reason to continue. My preferred load is 7.3gr of Silhouette, at 100f it is 172pf, at 40 it is 189pf, so adjust in cold weather.