pwalker

Dale, Recently, I researched all the digital SLRs on the market and decided to go with the Olympus E-330. (I am a pro and am moving from Hasselblad / film (the Rolls Royce of cameras) to digital.) The things that I liked about the Olympus was: - The 4/3rd format which prints easily - Lens quality - Live preview on large LCD screen - Ergonomics - fits the hand well - Ergonomics - location of buttons and layout of menus - Portability (anything is better than that huge old 'blad - Underwater housing available. Take a look at it too. Regards Peter

The Primer...

I have a 1 hour DVD of the Thailand 2003 Level III and am about to make a 2 hour DVD of the 2004 Thailand Level III. Professionally edited. Price: $25 USD each. Regards Peter

Bangkok Glock 17 1,330 USD a lot of which is tax Regards Peter

We are going to try the "no sight pictures" approach in our next level III. To do so, we need to add a sentence to every stage briefing but it might help weed out some bad habits that we've seen growing recently. It should stop the "practice draw" bad habit if there is a -10 penalty for taking a sight picture on a target. Now, if only we could find some way to stop some of our guys doing the flip-the-round-in-the-air-circus-trick at the Show Clear command... We've tried telling the culprits that: a. it is rude b. ROs dont like it c. it damages your gun (not sure if this is true) d. there is a risk of an AD DQ. But, to no avail. Regards Peter

Rule 8.7.3 says "When permitted, competitors taking a sight picture with an unloaded firearm prior to the start signal must only do so on a single target, to verify that their sights are prepared as required. Competitors who test a targeting sequence or a shooting position while taking a sight picture will incur one procedural penalty per occurrence. Does the second sentence disallow a competitor from doing a practice draw on the first target after the LAMR? I noticed one competitor at a recent Level I match doing such a practice draw on the first. After the LAMR, he would pull out the gun, check that his optical sight was turned on, place the gun back in the holster, then do a dry draw on the first target. Then he would insert the magazine and load the gun, waiting for the next command. I was not ROing so I did not intervene but suggested to him later that he might get into trouble doing a practice draw with a more knowledgable RO on the line. Before I confirm to him that his practice draw technique is a no-no, can someone please confirm that I've got the right rule and I am interpreting it correctly. Regards Peter

Mai, Sounds like you had quite a day on Sunday. Me, I just enjoyed the match (taking home that big trophy for Production division ended the day nicely). But, I seriously doubt if anyone accused you of cheating, unless it was done in a very joking manner... And, I do suggest that, in future, you don't do any little practice runs after the LAMR. Any out-of-the-usual actions at that time is likely to make most ROs a bit jumpy. And, our Thai ROs have very sweet dispositions, compared with others you might encounter around the world. Regards Peter

Try polishing the connector / trigger bar interface. That, plus a lot of dry and live firing will, after about 300 rounds, smooth out the trigger pull. Regards Peter

I used to have a girlfriend who believed that, if you bought a new pair of shoes and you did not want to get sore feet from them, you should bite the shoes before wearing them. Her thinking went that, if you bit them first, they would not bite you... Try biting your Glock. I suggest biting the bottom of the grip because, if you try biting the barrel, you might make anyone watching very nervous... Regards Peter

I think that it would be simpler and just as effective to change the command to "Make Ready" for all starts. One simple command, easy to say and clearly indicates what the competitor must do. Regards Peter

Vince, Good idea. I'll check it out on my P900. In terms of requirements, what I'd really like is a version of the rule book on a PDA or smart phone. This way, you would have a searchable rule book in your pocket all the time. A PDF file with content tags, modified for a smaller screen would be great. Maybe the WAP site coule provide any easy download point or online access. Regards Peter

We have the best matches in the world here in Thailand (no bias in my opinion). A great match combination at the end of this year (almost 2005), would be the Thai Level III at the end of November and the Australasia Level IV in Bali in early December. You could do both matches with a one week vacation either in Thailand or Bali in between... If these are too early for you, we will run a Level III in June and December 2005. No problem bringing your equipment for these matches as we have a great relationship with the Thai customs and police. Regards Peter

I use a CR-Speed holster in IPSC Production division. I also use the mag pouches - the new adjustable type. Great products. Regards Peter

IMO, in the case oif the RO answering the phone, the shooter should have: a. been offered a reshoot, b. should have received an apology from the RO, and c. reported it to the MD, RM and the head of the NROI. Regards Peter

When I am doing slow target shooting, I definitely position the soft end pad of the trigger finger on the middle of the trigger. Almost none of the finger protrudes from the left side of the guard. This provides for the most exact backwards pull. But, for IPSC, I find that my finger is happier when it is a bit further into the guard, the groove of the first joint touching the right edge of the trigger. Some of the tip protrudes to the left, but my thumbs are further back and so there is no risk of interference. I think that I prefer this finger position because it is quicker for the finger to find this place and the difference in accuracy for 99% of IPSC targets is not significant. Maybe you have very long thumbs or your grip is skewed a bit to one side of the gun... Regards Peter