CocoBolo
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Posts posted by CocoBolo
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Kahr PM9
Why: Light, Small, Accurate, but still easy to shoot, reliable, decent trigger.
Where - OWB slightly forward
Night Sights - Bad guys love the cover of darkness.
Alternate
Sig P226 9MM
Why - 20 rd capacity, Reliable 100%, Accurate, Good trigger, Heavy for rapid fire, and clubbing
Where - OWB
Night Sights
This was the first gun I shot USPSA/IDPA and Steel Challenge with.
Bug
Ruger LCR 38 SPL
Why - Better than a fly swatter, super light, hard to shoot, accurate to 5 feet.
Where - Inside Boot or on Ankle, or pocket
No need for night sights at arms length.
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My go to cleaner is Brake Parts Cleaner. After using you need to lube the parts as all lube will be removed along with dirt and debris. Works well with the included tube on the nozzle.
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I could be the minority, but after loading pistol for decades I started the .223 journey, loading for my 3-Gun rifle. Everything I learned was from prior failures, meaning they did not feed reliably.
What I learned.
Preparing the cases is a lot of work.
I de-prime as a separate operation, with an old Lee Universal decapper. It just turns out easier overall to do that.
I've tried several sizing dies the RCBS small base was the best I tried.
The sizing is best done on a good quality single stage press. I broke a Lee Press.
I use liquid lube on the outside and a paste for the inside to lube cases.
After sizing clean again (I use fine walnut).
Swag the primer pockets all of the them it is faster than looking at each one.
I use a drill press mounted trimmer WTF trimmer. Easiest part of the whole process.
Drop check is the next step and be ISO 9002 about it.
Next up the chamfer/de-burr with a hand tool.
Cleaning again is optional but I usually do.
Loading -
I use my Hornady L&L because it is easier to hand feed cases, I have also done it on the Dillon 650.
Just Powder, and Seat/Crimp which takes a while to get adjusted perfectly.
Again it is drop check time- and again zero tolerance.
Take a few an see if they feed thru you gun. Seriously you might just find you can't get it out easily.
Getting just the right load on rifle is a challenge but it is trial and error.
Pick a load and load 10 rounds, then change it up 2-3 tenths of a grain load 10, and make several batches.
Go to the range and shoot off a bench rest and see which one groups the best at 100 yards.
When loading 69gr Sierra Match Kings my gun groups best with 24.1gr of TAC.
When loading 55gr Hornady 55gr HPBT 27.1gr of BLC(2).
And for those short range level 0 matches with a bullet of non choice and a powder you found - 50gr Zmax with 24gr of Benchmark, makes good hits at 25 yards no problem.
At $1.00 each, they may still be a bargain, if your time is valuable, being retired it gives me something to do, when I don't feel like practicing guitar.
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Grab a big stick and go for it, shooting minor the comp does little anyway, and be sure to make as many A hits as possible, C's hurt more in minor.
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Talk about Division, it is Red & Blue. Ok at one time I had 2 Dillon 650's and a Hornady Lock and Load, this is a hint to where I am going. I sold one of the Dillions and kept the Hornady.
The Hornady will have more interruptions than the Dillon once everything is set. In rounds per hour you will always win on the Dillon. When it comes to setting up for small runs different caliber, different bullet, different powder the Hornady wins hands down. I load 9 different calibers on the L&L and only load 3 on the Dillon, I've had both presses for over a decade and done many thousands on both. The only thing I load exclusively on the Dillon is 9 major, because there is always powder spillage on both but on the L&L it gets in the primer punch and you have to stop and clean it. Putting 10gr in a 9 mm case well some is going to spill. The Dillon sets primers easier than the L&L, but if brute force isn't working you are just not using enough.
I don't trust scales either, I have two a Dillon Beam and an RCBS 750 electronic, I cross check them. Once everything is set I only weigh if I think I see that it is off, but mostly just when I reload the primer tube. I can load on the L&L for years and the powder never changes, the Dillon another story after a few hundred rounds the charge will increase a .1 gn, then go for thousands of rounds and be off again.
Both presses require you to get in touch with the feel and the rhythm with the Dillon more sensitive to the rhythm a little too fast and you have more problems and with out the developed feel you will break something on both.
The Dillon case feeder has less brass rain and fewer upside down cases, the trick with the Dillon is to not let it get low on cases.
There is room on my bench for both and a single stage press in the middle. Yes it is for sizing 223 cases, and for the GRX for 40. I run 9 mm and 38 super thru the case pro.
One shot saves your arm, I just spray the cases a little in the case feeder, when it turns they get lubed. I pick up a hand full of bullets at a time and find I'm just as fast as using the bullet feeder.
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If everyone does their part it makes the match a lot more enjoyable. That said at the young age of 72, my most important equipment is my chair. Wait for it. That said I make sure that when I am not on deck not reloading my mags, I get up outa that chair and I go to the most distant target or steel tape or reset. The reason for this is to get more exercise and that folks will help me shoot more matches because I will live longer, and each time it will be easier because the more you do the more you can do.
Now back in the day, I worked to set up the match, then was RO a lot and if not scoring and carried tape with me while doing that and hit anything the crew didn't get. When I noticed someone that wasn't helping I might stroll over and hand them some tape, If they asked what that was for, that's when it started. You know the talk about how we are a team.
I RO'ed some majors and yes I handed tape to some super squad members.
A couple of add on items.
1. Don't give unsolicited advice, you can of course ask if some one is open to some constructive tips, or offer to mentor a new shooter if they are so inclined.
2. Save the smack talk for lunch after the match.
3. Don't be that guy that tries to change the RO's call, let the RO and the Scorer do their job. The guy that whips out the overlay, if they need one they will ask for it, it is ok if the shooter asks.
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I started out as a U, doesn't everyone? My rise to B took about 3 years. During that time I dry fired, wet fired, and shot 4 to 8 local matches a month. I could knock out a classifier no problem but it was the match performance, that didn't fit my class.
I would say I was doing the same thing I see a lot of people doing, trying to shoot faster, and my transitions and splits were good and the draw etc. But that's when I started to look at the real things I should be working on. USPSA unlike steel challenge involves movement and positioning. Once I started working on the golden rule, "It is not how fast you get there, it is how fast you get there ready to shoot". In short the first shot when you move into the next position (box) should go off at the instant your trailing foot enters the box. (No squat head tucking or hunting for the target) You had gun up eyes on target in the last step. Then there is positioning that spot you landed in does it give you the most possible targets in the array? An inch in either direction makes a huge difference in your time. Then there is the smooth factor, a charging Rhino is actually slower than a Gazelle.
12 years later after a 4 year break I'm starting over, and that is what it feels like. My wet practice is Steel Challenge, instant feed back, and a great way to build accuracy at speed. When I first started I practiced on plate racks, wish I had one now. I dry fire, draw to first shot, and do reloads about 30 minutes during the week prior to any match.
Any training plan should include all of the skills required from platform to movement and positioning. And there is nothing worse than a slow miss.
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Send me all the long ones, and the short ones, I'll dispose of them properly into a local range berm. Ok I've had my fun. There could be some slight variations in the bullet you are using as well. The Hornady seating Die have an insert that one end is for Round Nose and the other for pointed bullets using the right side helps cut the variance.
I loaded 9 mm with no lube for years then I got old so I started the one shot, I just pour a half coffee can full of brass in the case feed then spray a little one shot, the first few come in dry but as it turns they get lubed. 1 small can of OneShot last about 10,000 rounds.
I put match reloads in those bullet cases, because you miss primer issues in drop check, with them primer up I just run my finger down the rows if one feels short or tall I pull it, throw it in the practice bucket.
I don't consider a small variance a practical issue.
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I highly recommend Benny Hill at Triangle Shooting Sports. You might not have to wait till you are too old to shoot it. Benny guns run, and they are void of expensive fashion accessories, all business and no bulls#!t.
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Well I am shocked at all the bad mouthing of STI Guns. Granted mine are all older than some of you. My first slide to crack was at about 90,000 rounds, and I was on the 2nd barrel. I had another slide crack on another one but that was at around 60,000 rounds. My oldest started out as a Briley custom, I replaced the STI Slide with a Caspian, so I'm sure the slide will outlast me, since the frame has 100K plus rounds on it I made it my steel gun and only shoot 150pf ammo in it. I replaced the other slide with a Brazos slide was cheaper than having a blank butchered up to make it lighter, it is also a Caspian.
In all my shooting I have had one comp crack, it was the cone on a cone comp, and the Legendary Benny Hill said it was caused by the gun builders poor fitting of the cone. He installed the new Dawson Todd Jarrett comp and yepper the gun feels so good now, and ties the holes together at 25 yards.
What I learned from all of this is not to TriTop the slide all the way and leave some meat on it in critical areas and no square edges. Maybe all those fancy fashion accessory cuts on the DVC are the issue.
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It is worse than the OBAMA years, that was a long dry spell 8 years of get it when you can. Small pistol, I shot magnum rifle, match rifle, all brands, what ever I could find except Tula.
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One of the omitted things in dot technical discussion I discovered after a 4 year break in shooting. I took old faithful to a match, at the safe table I pulled her out and couldn't find the dot without the dance. I then changed up the method I focused on a rock on the berm, drew the gun, BAM got dot every time I focused on some object. When I focused on the glass to find the dot it was a no go, but focusing on an object dot every time.
The moral here is focus on the target bring the gun into the line of sight. In weak had we tend to look at you guessed it the gun and not the target.
As a Guitar player the concept of muscle memory is something I get, yes my fingers know where to go and they know the chord transitions of each song, because I practiced it over and over and over again, and shooting a pistol finding the dot is all muscle memory. Put some pasters on the walls and focus on that little square and do the weak hand till you gain consistency. Do it right with the proper stance, how you practice is how you shoot.
If I practiced shooting even half as much as Guitar I'd be a grand master.
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I have 8 mag pouches on my single stack rig. I use the reloading rule "If your feet move reload". Uncle Mike's, I got them on sale. The Barney Mag goes in the last one toward the back. Pony up with 9.
Way more important than the mag holder is the mag, lots of different ones, Tripp is the best of the bunch with the aluminum base pads. You can drop a 2011 mag in the dirt a couple times and it still works, single stack mags have to be cleaned every time.
My gun hates round nose, loves Semi Wad Cutters, 200 gr over 4.3 gr of Clays.
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Looks like my stimulus is going to be in 9 mm, P320 max. Thanks for the input, doing my part to stimulate the economy.
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According to my search of the rules it is a fat boy and won't pass the weigh in. Maybe it could make it with out the mag well that needs to be removed to be legal.
I'm considering giving up Open and moving to carry optics, at $1599 it seems to be pretty darn cheap with the 4 21rd mags. But no sense buying it if I can't shoot it in a match.
Does anyone know if it is legal or is in the process of being approved?
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If it was at 50 yards in a pistol rest, its good, if not it is what we call a Blind Hog Shot in Texas.
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The classic question is did the hammer cock? If it did it could be the ejector, and the slide just shoved it back in. I have one gun that does that if I try to run minor, but then I just rack it out, the front of the AFTEC is slanted in combination with a 9#or10# recoil it recaptures the rim. (my Minor is about 145-150pf)
The ultimate solution is the AFTEC extractor. If you want a real stuck spent round, load up one of those looks like brass but steel cases, the AFTEC tore the rim but the non-brass had to be driven out with a hammer and a rod. I check all 9 mm cases with a magnet.
I went to AFTEC on 3 open guns, all have run for many years, when the slides cracked I just moved the AFTEC to the new slides, yes 2 of the 3 cracked from many 1,000s of rounds. About every 1000 rounds you have to break it down and clean the extractor tunnel.
You won't miss all that time at the safe table trying to bend the extractor to get the right tension.
I started shooting 9 major in 2008, having moved from 38SC, which I reloaded those cases till they split. It wasn't long till I learned that 9 major puts a lot of stress on cases and if you want reliable performance load once and let it go. I pickup brass at steel matches, they shoot minor there, with lots of noobs there is plenty of brass. If it doesn't fall into and out of the drop check it goes in the practice bucket, after I run it thru the case pro if it fails a second time. That round where just a little of the rim sticks up, that is the one that will get you.
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I haven't owned the CZ open gun, but love my Shadow for production. I started shooting open with Tanfo, went to STI and have missed that Tanfo ever since. What I liked about it was the weight and the solid feel but it didn't fit my hand. In my fleet of STI Open Guns I have Bull and Cone guns, when it comes to steel challenge I prefer the lighter weight of the Cone Comp gun and in USPSA I prefer the heavier Bull Barrel gun. This is all subjective if I really wanted to have a lighter gun I would shoot my Glock Open Gun, which I only shoot when I am suffering from over confidence, aka the spray syndrome, it slows me down and makes me focus on hits.
In an Action Shooting major match, aka they called it the nationals, I won the stage shooting STI and 2nd was a Glock, I never saw a Glock Open gun that ran, but his did. In the man on man shootout I lost to the Glock. The secret to a Glock Open gun running is 140-150pf load, My personal load for steel is 5.8gr of AutoComp with a 124JHP. It will shoot major but its a wild ride.
My suggestion is put a dot on your gun and run it and see how the dot works for you. Shooting minor the comp is kind of like tits on a bore hog, more of a fashion accessory than functional. It isn't like the good old days, when it was 9 mm up, the low times are RFPO and RFRO the invasion of the rim fire, I have mine and it has won before, only because it 100% reliable.
I'm working on a Mossberg Plinkster rifle, just to drive all the Volquartsen rifle guys nuts. A $200 gun vs a $2000 gun should be fun.
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Steel Challenge sounds like a good choice to start because the skill set is limited, mostly just the shooting. You have a 22 pistol and I'd suggest starting with that, it eliminates the draw from surrender. You will need 5 magazines that work, take 200 rounds to the match. The trick to the mags is to smooth the surface the button rides on inside and outside the mag and keep it clean. If you have issues with the gun running Volquartson firing pin, extractor, and you might as well do the trigger, but try it first.
What to expect. At my first steel match I had my rear handed to me by an 80 something lady shooting a Bursa Thunder, she mad me look like I didn't know how to shoot, and I had shot other action pistol matches and was shooting a $2000 STI. After a few matches and some practice I was easily faster than her, only because I hit the plates when I shot, which is the #1 thing in this sport.
There are lots of shooting tips on Utube, the ones from USPSA and SC shooter are pretty good, but with 22 your platform isn't a deal breaker but doing it right will make you better.
There is nothing worse than a slow miss. Good Luck with it and have fun.
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Just to clarify a loose barrel bushing (aka when the gun is locked up and the barrel wiggles in the end of the slide) if it is enough you can feel it you need to have a smith check it out and correct if he/she/it recommends it.
Lock up is evaluated with the gun closed (locked up) push down on the barrel hood if it moves it needs to be fixed. Slide slop isn't that important until it is, meaning it can be loose but when it gets too loose then its a problem. If the barrel bushing is tight and the hood doesn't move it should be accurate enough to shoot in matches. I had one that shot well, you could hold it and rotate the wrist left to right and hear it rattle but it had good lockup and the bushing was tight. It only had about 100,000 round down the tube.
Recoil springs, with light loads I've run 7, 8# springs but those don't always work out because you run into feed issues, I'd recommend a good 10# spring, if the gun works well with that you can then work your way down till it stops working and move one up.
Just like when I was racing stock cars, you make one change and only one change go back out and time/test it. Changes to loads changes to the gun I always evaluate those with a timer, establish a baseline then make the change and see if you are faster. Some times it feels good and makes you slower.
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Barrel lock up causes accuracy issues, but the there are two other things that are much worse. 1. Bullets colliding with the comp, if this is happening you will see a shiny spot on the edges of the bore holes in the comp. However I usually shoot the next no shoot in the array when this happens. 2. Barrel to slide, or if cone comp the cone to slide fit, any slack here and you will be spraying a wide path.
Loads and bullets as someone said don't make a lot of difference, well I'll say this ain't horse shoes. Tite Group is my least favorite powder for 9 mm, but I happen to love them bayou bullets, just not in my open gun, although I have shot thousands of them at 1400+ fps, I just keep the drimmel handy to gouge the lead out of the comp. I don't spend a lot of effort on a minor steel load but I use a powder that provides some gas to the comp. Like AutoComp at 5.5gr to 5.8gr with 124gr JHP. If you can shoot an 8" group at 35 yards you should be able to hit all the steel in a steel match, but in a USPSA match those peskie poppers will eat your tamale. If factory ammo isn't working its probably not ammo.
Ok so everything checks out, then what, maybe it is like my old 30-06 deer rifle, when old Ned strolled up with his majestic horns I missed him 3 times, took that rifle to the smith and he did every thing from glass beading to free floating and wallet draining, still didn't work. On a hunch I got a new Scope, Ned's head is in the Den. Maybe you got dot float.
Ooh and if the slide is real loose on the frame AccuRail, I had one done and it was a tack driver after, I sold it right away if it was accurate and I wasn't it had to go.
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I just scored a few thousand Armscor 9 mm 115g FMJ. I've shot them before but they were blemished. The verdict is that in major velocity they leave deposits of lead in the comp, and their accuracy at 50 yards isn't very good, that said in minor for steel they work very well, ringing the gong at 35 yards no problem.. My minor steel loads are 5.5gr of Auto comp, half way between minor and major.
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No love for TiteGroup from me, too snappy, too hot, too dirty. Just about anything works better, my favorite is N320 then WST (because 8# jugs are cheap), for minor I've used AutoComp and I like it. SR7625, HP-38, Red Dot, Solo1000 to name a few. These days like the Obama days you load what you can get.
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Get the Redding GRX, I use to run them all thru it but after a while I just put the rejects thru it. Yeah Yeah putting a loaded round thru it might be dangerous but I don't have any holes in the roof, don't stand over it. I have a case pro, and I roll loaded rounds thru it as well, when they fail the plunker. Primers are too scarce for rejects.
Mag capacity and base pad questions.
in CZ
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The mec-gar mags are the best. You will need to do the modification to allow the mags to drop free. My mags without out base pad don't really drop well, the plain plastic ones work good.