Bear1142

The only match I've really considered shooting minor in Single Stack is the SS Nationals. One thing to remember is that although USPSA has adopted the SS Nationals, some of the SS rules still apply. The one critical rule that is still in effect (I think) is the rule regarding a maximum round count of 24 on a stage. Basically, that's only 12 targets. Most of the stages are medium sized stages that run from 12-18 rounds. I think you would have a better chance with minor at this match because the potential points that can be lost on a stage by shooting minor are reduced by the smaller stage sizes. When you consider you get an extra two rounds per mag and how soft and fast a 9mm or 38 super SS gun is, you'll make up some ground on the Major guys with faster transitions and a few less reloads. I think shooting minor in SS has some potential and I'll probably play with it a little next year. Erik

George, Do you weight the cases before or after you seat the primers? How much can/do the weight of the primers factor into your case separation? How much tolerance do you give a case before it's culled out of the batch, +/- .5? Erik

Live by the Beta...Die by the Beta Is the risk worth the reward? You decide. Erik

Yep, your 28 will also run and any 30's you have hidden around. Yep, I've done the Benelli against a pole thing also and mine cycles. I don't know why, it shouldn't, but it does. I surmise its the slight compression from the recoil pad that allow the bolt to unlock, but I haven't tested this theory. Without having seen the monstrosity with three tubes (although I'd like to, got any pics?), I can only hazard a guess that there were some internal modifications permit it to work reliably. In any case, I'd think it's probably the exception and not the rule. Oh Master of the Weak Hand, you have it all wrong. I am your humble disciple. I have been preaching the good word all along the East Coast...some are even listening Here's a thread drift for you to think about..Master of the Weak Hand. How come nobody has produced a belt fed shotgun? Erik

Trapper & Kurt, Yeah, I was referring to an Benelli setup for Open division. A standard 26" Benelli will work just fine as Kurt mentioned even with a long tube, but it has been my experience that when you start loading up the Benelli's with scopes, comps, stick funnels, side saddles, etc. as the amount of crap on the Benelli accumulates, the reliability goes down. Especially when you try to shoot the lightweight stuff. As you know, the Benelli needs about 1/4" of free recoil for the rotating bolt to unlock and the action to cycle. The more weight you put on the gun, the more you dampen the recoil. When you combine a heavy gun, light loads, and a strong stance, you have quite a recipe for a malfunction. This is why I recommended that if you are going to shoot open, use the stronger stuff. It will help the shotgun cycle properly. Erik

Smokshwn, If you are using your M1 in Open, then you definitely want the stronger stuff! The Benelli is very sensitive to weight. A longer tube and funnel will definitely push the envelope. I would not try to run the generic Wal-Mart stuff. Stay with the stronger stuff and give yourself that extra margin of safety. Erik

KTyler, Shooting a 260 and scoring major would make a difference in certain matches. I think the 260 would be a loser in a run-n-gun type match with wide open targets. The 223's are just too fast and flat, but a match like we just had at MGN with a lot of tight shots and shooting positions might work out. You'll definitely be at a disadvantage with the 20 round magazines. I know Benny Hill has welded two 20's together and has a 35 round 308 mag, I don't see why it wouldn't work in 260. You'd have to have at least one of those or else you'll take a beating on every 22 to 29 round course by having to reload when the others won't. A good barrel contour and overall setup will also be critical. The 308 platform lowers are noticeably bigger and the overall weight will add up quickly. A good comp and load should make the 260 very shootable. Let us know how it works! Erik

Smokshwn, I have found that I needed at least 1 1/8oz. loads to make my Benelli cycle reliably. I also run the Super Sporting clays load that clocks 1,300 fps. I have a standard Benelli with a reduced power recoil spring, but everything else is stock. I seem to have the ability to stop a Benelli on demand, so I have to run the heavy stuff. YMMV. Erik

Cy, you are not Kurt! He's the bullet whisperer. His bullets can do stuff yours only dream about. Suck it up, stop the murder/death/kill training, hit the weight room, and get the 1/9! Erik

Well, I was trying to keep a low profile, but I guess I'm the proverbial elephant in the corner of the room. Yep, I got DQ'd when a freak accident caused my safety to be disengaged during the transfer from a pistol to a shotgun on a two-gun stage. I want all of BEnoverse to know how professional the matter was handled. My discussions after the incident between the Rangemaster and the CRO were calm and collected. They answered all of my questions and helped me work through what had happened. We talked about the options available to me and they helped me through the abitration process (my first one in 11 years of competition.) I'd like to thank those on the Arbitration committee who were required to take time away from their match and their mental game to come deal with this incident; You know who you are. I'd also like the thank the Arb. comittee again for considering my appeal. It was certainly a weird incident that required some thought and deliberation. I made my case and I lost, but that's the process. I still think I had a valid reason, but that's neither here nor there. I want to thank the MD and the Rangemaster for their fast work and Kathy for lending me her rulebook. I switched range bags for this trip and I forgot mine. The whole process was over about 1 1/2 hr. after the incident. Were the ruling to go in my favor, I would have only had to shoot through one stage to catch back up with my squad. All in all, it was the most professional DQ I've ever experienced! I'll be back next year, even if it's in Antarctica. Erik

MarkCO, Thank you for your detailed analysis. I knew that all along, I was just waiting to see if anyone else knew the correct answer. So, if I understand you quiz, then a comp design with ports having a back angle will not only take advantage of the impact momentum of the gas on the baffles, it will also use the "thrusting" aspect of the gas to help pull the gun forward? Erik

Jimmy, If you're interested in some organized training, PM me and we can talk about arranging an export training class at your facility. Erik Lund USSA

I tend to agree with George, I think the middle of the road approach is best. While it's obvious that a rifle can be too heavy, they can also be too light. Having a really lightweight rifle will solve some problems, but it will create new ones. When it comes to AR's, purchase a good barrel, use good optics (Tactical or Open), and use high quality ammo. The rest will work itself out. Erik

I would take the money and build the perfect 3-gun scope...then sell it to all of you and use the proceeds to open my private ammunition factory, range, and hire a Swedish nanny. Then I'd practice all day, every day, and after several years..I might be good. If not, I'd sell everything and acquire Kurt's dark beer recipe and go public. Erik

I've switched over to the Leupold CQT. I'm very happy with it so far, but I guess the real test will be next week. Erik

As long as I don't have to reload, I think I can get Jeff by .03 Erik

I have always said and will continue to say that the Weaver 1-3x20 is the most underated scope in the 3-gun community. I been using one since 2000 (until this year) and it has served me extremely well. While I will be using a different scope this season, the Weaver still sits on my backup rifle. I would recommend this scope to any new shooter over the Meopta. Not based on quality, but on size, price (you can get 3 Weavers for the price of one Meopta), and familiar reticle design. I actually prefer the Meopta style reticle, but it can be a bit more difficult for a new shooter to use. Part II of the scope selection article is finished and should be in the next Front Sight issue. Many of these questions will be addressed. Erik

Being a closet physics fan, I do find all of this pretty interesting, but let's get back to the task at hand. I appreciate that all of these different formulas have bearing on a design from a laboratory perspective where number values can be quantitatively determined, but what about reality? I mean there may be a real numerical difference in how effective a compensator design is, but what about the practical reality of the design. Even the most accomplished shooters could probably observe no difference in a design that was 90% efficient compared to 85%. Clearly one is better than the other, but with no practical difference how much does it matter? Especially if the 85% is easier to manufacture. All of this discussion about which formulas to use is interesting, but are we splitting hairs? Lets try to move the discussion back to the simplified questions that Eric asked, Again, I appreciate the spirited discussion and I respect anybody's decision to not disclose any proprietary ideas or design, but are there any design parameters we can generally agree upon (Regarding Eric's post or any other design parameters.) Erik

Flex, Where did you get those quotes? Can you post a link to the site? Never mind, I found it. Erik

1911user, This is a common problem with the a lot of shooters. The only real cure is to switch your grip slightly. Maintain the same grip you've always used, just ease your strong hand thumb out to the side just enough so you don't touch the slide stop. If you think about how wide the standard Sig slide stop is, you don't have to move very much. A couple of days of dryfire should solve your problem. Don't give up on the Sig. It's a very good production gun, but like all pistols, it does have it's quirks. Erik

I like the idea about using a closed system with just an end baffle, but what about directing the gas? Obviously, the gas has momentum that can be used, but why can't we use the momentum aspect combined with the vectoring aspect to increase our efficiency? It may not make a noticable difference on a pistol comp because of the limited amount a gas initially available, but what about a rifle system? Another problem we've yet to tackle is how to delay or trap the momentum. We've all seen the video showing the gas venting from the compensator long before the slide begins to cycle. Are there any ideas for slowing this process down to time the compensation effects closer to when the slide actually cycles? Erik

Richard, Yea, sometimes the standard M1 stock can be a little long. If I'm only wearing my soft body armor, I'm okay. When I put on the hard armor plates, the stock is a shade long for me. I still wouldn't cut the barrel under 14". A shorter barrel may be fine for a pump gun, but as others have already noted, Benelli's need full power ammo. I wouldn't be in a hurry to cut it past 14. If you can find on old M1 barrel, it might be interesting to try it out and see what happens, but I wouldn't take the barrel to 12 unless I had a spare sitting around. We've only had one casualty with our Ghost Ring sights. One of our barrels had the whole front sight tower separate from the barrel, but Benelli replaced it pretty fast (2 days) so all is good. Although the front sight set screw does come loose occasionally. Regardless, the other sights you mentioned will serve you well. Good luck with the project and post some pics when it's done. Erik

Richard, Our agency uses the 14" Benelli's and they have performed extremely well. I would counsel against any changes to the factory configuration. The standard 14's are just about perfect as is. I'm assuming you'll be shooting 00 buck as your standard load? Even if you are not. I would not change the recoil spring or lightenen the bolt. The M1 Super 90 series was designed around the 00 buck round. A reduced recoil spring and lightened bolt are just going to beat up the shotgun (and the shooter) and void your warranty. We do these mods in competition because we try to run the softest shotgun loads that will cycle the shotgun. Benelli's are notorious for needing shotgun ammo with a little extra "giddy up" to cycle reliably. These mods are done strictly to run the softer ammo. They should not be done on a duty gun. In regards to modifying your bolt so you can "ghost load" a round, don't worry about it. Yes, it is a pretty simple modification, but once again, it will void your warranty. The only time this you'll use this mod is when loading out the gun to start your shift. If 6 rounds of 00 buck don't solve your problem, then one more probably won't either, or you'll be in a position where your reloading during an extended engagement. I wouldn't worry about it. I would not go through all the trouble to have the barrel cut down to 12". You are never going to be in a situation where a 12" barrel will let you do something the 14" barrel will not. There's a reason Benelli left the barrels at 14", I don't know what it is, but it probably has to do with maintaining the reliability of the shotgun. Considering this will be a duty gun, I would not mess with that. Additionally, you should consider just getting the standard 14" Benelli from the factory on a Form 4. It will probably be cheaper that purchasing an 18" setup and having it cut, crowned, and sights added. I think Bachman Pawn and Guns in Dallas has 14" Benelli's at a very good price. I think I remember seeing them around high 6's or low 7's for the complete setup. Regarding the M4 stock, I've used both the M4 and the standard stock and I find the standard pistol grip stock to be far more comfortable to shoot. The M4 stock is not as comfortable and when deployed it would snag on some of my gear. The only time I would close the stock is for transport. It just didn't offer any real advantages for me. Of course, this is a personal preference. If you want to talk more about this, PM me your phone number and I'll give you a call. Erik

Start with a good compensator. It will be probably cost half the price of the low mass operating system and give better results. You may even find that you don't need the low mass system. Many competitors do just fine with the standard bolt carrier and gas system. Erik

Jaxshooter, If you like the EOTech "Saturn" style reticle, then I would consider the Leupold CQT scope. It features the same reticle with a 1-3 magnification range. It has a good field of view and best of all it's a true one-power scope, so you'll be able to hose all of the up close stuff. Erik