Bear1142

I've been thinking about this one ever since the 45 GAP made it's debut. I want a 34/35 style Glock but chambered in 45 GAP, call it the GLOCK 40 or whatever, I don't care. Just make it happen. Who's with me? Erik

Patrick, Could you clarify exactly what questions you are trying to address. I've re-read you original post a couple of times and I can't really discern exactly what you're interested in discussing? Apparently, Jim, I, and several others got into a discussion that went in a direction that you were not interested in. Could you re-phrase your questions? I don't want to be accused of hijacking your thread. Erik

Flex, time for a poll "Do you support removing the restriction on allowing 9mm/38 Super to compete in the Major scoring catagory in the Limited Division? yes or no Can you make it happen? Erik

Jim, I think I laid out my case quit clearly for my statements, but I'm not the one making claims about how many members are going to leave the sport. I also made no claims as to how many members would support such a decision. I clearly stated why I think my 9mm/Super in Limited is not the ultimate gaming setup you think it is based on my loading, testing, and shooting experience with the caliber and a logical discussion of how it fits into the overall equipment setup in the Limited Division. Agreed It did, but not soley because of magazine capacity. It was a better setup across the board as XRe already discussed. Once again, speaking for the masses without supporting facts. People may just as easily say, "Great, now I can play both sports with one setup and not have to spend all that money on another gun.", (As long as we are talking about what people may do) I don't know what they will do, but lets find out what the masses think first. I guess I'll answer that with another question, "What's the logic behind excluding 9mm based on it being a .355 caliber and not a .400 caliber?" If it makes major in a factory loading, it should be legal for Limited.

Jim, yes I choose to download mags and I allowed that some people will always push the limit and get that last round, but you CONTRADICT yourself in your own statement. Assuming you squeeze all you can in the mag, you're still looking at 24+1=25 and 21+1=22, total capacity difference is 3 rounds. Jim, you are also making the assumption that everything else is equal in this example. Maybe the guy that won got to the box faster than you, Maybe his splits were faster, maybe his transitions were better. The point is, without a detailed review of where he saved that "one second", you can't assume it was a result of not reloading. You don't indicate that you had any problems with your reload, so I'll assume you performed it without any mistakes, I don't think you could save "one second" by eliminating a reload in 10 feet of movement If you can or do, then I would respectfully submit there are some issues with your reloading technique that are causing you some extra time. I think our members have enough integrity to play by the rules. I appreciate that there are always some bad apples, but I don't think the answer is to legislate integrity. I don't think there will be a real problem realizing someone who declares major, uses underpowered 9mm loads. As I said in my previous statement, a 9mm major load is pretty stout. It is noticeably different from a standard 9mm ball round. If it becomes an issue, the local club presidents will handle it appropriately. Another sweeping, unsubstantiated, generalization. Jim, show me the numbers from any poll and I'll support you on your assertion. Unsupported rhetoric is not the way to make your case. As I have made the case before. A 9mm/38 Super will not obsolete the 40. Erik

Okay, I stayed out for little bit, but let's put this discussion back on track with facts. First off, where is the magical 140 mm magazine that holds 25 rounds of Super? I've only heard of 23 rounds and mostly 22 rounds for ease of reloading. Now before I get bumrushed with a barrage of "Well, mine hold 23, and I can do reloads with no problem.", I say, good for you. I choose not to increase my chances of having a magazine related jam screw my match for one round. On the 40 side, properly setup magazines can hold 20 rounds, once again, I choose to only use 18. This leaves us with a realistic capacity advantage of 3 rounds, not 4-6. Jim, what layer of complexity are you referring too? You declare your division and power factor, same as before. That's a pretty wide sweeping statement. It's an apples to oranges argument. IPSC originally permitted the gun in question, then changed it's decision over a year later, but that's not the purpose of this discussion. Where would they go? To a 9mm limited gun? I don't think so, but I'll comment on this later. Another sweeping speculative statement. Jim, back it up with some facts. Which Countries and why? They also may show their respective Countries it can trust the common people with another caliber. (You opened the door to the "may" discussion.) As I have heard it applied to other rule changes before, we are not excluding anyone. You will still be able to compete with your hi-cap 40. Jim, I guess I'm not part of your "shooting public", do you have any facts or opinion polls to substantiate your assertion? You could be 100% correct, but lets find out before you start making sweeping claims of support. As for logical, understandable rules, how much simplier can it be? If you make the power factor, you're scored major. No more conversations with new shooters that go, Well, you score major, but only if you have a 40cal bullet. So, my 357 sig makes the PF, but I can't use it to shoot major Yep. Even though it makes the PF. Uh huh. Why? Well there's this rule....yadda, yadda, yadda. Well, what's the difference between a 9mm and a 40, if they both make the PF Nothing. That doesn't seem right. (Actual conversation I had with a new shooter) 3, not 4-6 You would push ahead of them regardless if your "new" equipment was a 40 or a 38 Super. You're equipment advantage is not caliber specific. Any course with more than 18 rounds will probably have some movement, which will allow for moving reload, negating the 3 round advantage. I respectfully submit that shooting 9mm/38 super (major) in a limited gun is not the Holy Grail people think it may be. Most of the arguments center around the mag capacity issue. I don't think it's as large an advantage as people think, but it is a gap none the less. I have actually done a fair amount of work in this area of 9mm major (for non USPSA 3 gun matches) and it's not the clear advantage people think it is. Consider this, a 125 gr. load needs 1320 to make major. Now that's the absolute minimum. Realistically, we all load higher to make sure we make the PF. For arguments sake, let's use a 168 PF. Now, your looking at a 1344 fps load, call it 1,350 for even numbers sake. Try running a Corbon 125 +P+ @ 1,350 in your 9mm and see how it feels. If you haven't tried it, it has some bite. Even moving to 147's, you still looking at 1143 (168 PF), which is not exactly the same as the soft shooting 147's at 900-950 fps you get in store ammo. I have found that 9mm major in a limited gun is a pretty stout load. I would love to have two identical setups in 40 and 9 to compare them, but my impression is that my 200gr., 40 load is softer and tracks better than the nine, but that's my apples to oranges comparison opinion. Any discussion about equipment advantages must involve all of the aspects of the new equipment. The actual loads and handling characteristics are just as important as capacity. Look at the new "shorty" style open guns. Certainly a new (or reintroduced) technological evolution, but it hasn't obsoleted the 5" open guns. Everybody isn't scrambling to dump their old, heavy 5 inchers. Some people prefer the short/light setup. Others prefer the longer/heavier setup. I see it this way regarding the 9mm/Super, major, Limited guns. Some people will like them, some won't. It's just another option, but it won't cause everyone's 40 to be obsolete overnight. I'm all for 9mm/38 Super Major in Limited. Nomex suit is now on. Gentlemen, fire at will. Erik

Don't overlook the new Chip McCormick drop-in AR triggers. I got to try one out the other day. I was very pleasantly surprised. Nice crisp trigger, short and very strong reset. I will certainly consider them in the future. Erik

The man to find is John Flentz. He's shooting for S&W with a longslide 5906. He was kind enough to let me check out his setup. His trigger was superb. I would put his single action trigger up against ANY sub 2lb. 1911 trigger, it's that good! Double action was about 6-7 lbs. I think John does his own triggers, if not, he'll be able to tell you where to send your pistol. Erik

I hate rotater cuffs that only partially tear and never heal. Not enough pain to get it repaired, but never pain free. Erik

1- Getting shot at 2- Chasing a CBR900RR up I-395 at 140 mph 3- The 3 seconds before you hit a crack house with drugs and guns 4- Having a 16 year old in a stolen car try to push my car into a concrete wall at 120 mph 5- Reserved for things to come Erik

Exactly my point. Hopefully, USPSA will do the right thing and maybe they will shift their support to our Nationals. Erik

I heard it was because she has a real SOB for a shooting coach. Erik

Vincent, The easiest way to find what you're looking for is to use your local talent. Try to squad with a local GM or M shooting your same division. When you break down a stage and devise your shooting plan, compare it with the GM. Where there are differences, ask him why he's shooting it that way. At the higher levels, the top shooters will always have a very specific reason for why they are shooting an array in that particular order. Try to understand their logic for approaching that particular array and apply it to other stages. Eventually, you'll start to develop an overall philosophy that works for you on how to engage certain targets or arrays. Here are a few general examples (that will no doubt be "debated") of what I'm talking about. If you want to know why I believe in these guidelines, PM me and we'll talk. These are just a few, but is this what you're looking for? 1- I generally shoot faster going left to right in my target engagment sequence. 2- I generally try to start with the tougher shots/targets first and work from the most difficult shot to the easiest shot. 3- Try to engage other targets while waiting for activators of swingers to operate. 4- I try to engage targets entering a box, not leaving a box Erik

Dave, Kinda like a runner setting a blistering pace to try to wear down his competition sooner? I don't know. I think most shooters would rather win without having to use that last 5%. While it's there if you need it, it also increases your chances of making a mistake because your getting closer to 100% of your ability and the problem is that our ability is not that definable. Here's an example, what's the difference on a Vice-prez between a 100 and a 101%? Is it a bad transition, a "D" hit, a miss? It's just too hard to put a well defined line on what is 100% of your ability, so I would try to stay in the 90-95% range unless I absolutely needed to step up my performance. Erik

I realize this pertains to IPSC, but if USPSA if going down this road, this has to be one of the stupidest things we could do. We are a fledgling sport at best. We always bicker about not enough industry or media support, then we go and do something like this. We specifically set up Production division to entice new shooters to our sport AND encourage manufacturers who generally are outside of the mainstream of our sport (Sig, Beretta, S&W, Ruger, etc.) to come back to our sport because there is a market and a place for your products to be used. We composed a relatively strict set of rules defining what features are allowed on a Production gun and sat back for the last three years and let it run. Now, major manufacturers are responding to it. They are forming factory shooting teams, they are supporting matches, they are providing product for the prize tables, and they introduced NEW, FACTORY PRODUCED FIREARMS, BASED ON OUR ESTABLISHED RULES!, and we turn around and prohibit them. Do any of our esteemed leaders appreciate how much money is costs to develop, prototype, manufacture, market, and actually sell and new model firearm! And we turn around and spit in their face, and what's our high moral ground reason? Because it has a long dust cover. Oh my god, the humanity of it all! This needs to stop. So what if it has a long dust cover. It's a production gun and it complies with the previously established Production rules! So the SP01 gets banned for a dust cover, but a Glock 34 with its long barrel, larger (heavier, competitive advantage, slide), extended sight radius, 3 1/2 lb. connector, and EXTENDED(!) magazine button, is legal. How do you justify that? Once again, our we find ourselves quickly lining up the front sight to shoot ourselves in the foot, yet again. How shameful. Erik

Having shot on my share of super squads in both pistol and 3-gun matches, I have to echo what JB said. The squads I've been on have always worked together as a group to break down a stage, in general. Sometimes the top guys will keep the last 10% of their strategy to themselves. I don't think it's a real conscious effort to not share. Most of the time it's a minor variation on a theme or a last minute change of plan. I remember one match where there was a low port and everyone was contorting to make the shot. When Robbie ran the stage he went prone, shot faster than everyone because he was more stable and got up and finished the stage. Of course he won the stage, but it kinda threw another option into play that we weren't considering. He didn't advertise he was going prone, but no one asked him either. On his walkthrough, he was contorting like everyone else. Sometimes, plans change. As far as keeping an eye on your competition, I think its very critical to know what they're doing or how they are performing. Many people think if they pay attention to other shooters it might cause them to push too hard, maybe, maybe not. Realize that each person has strengths and weaknesses in their shooting ability. If your shooting within your ability, say 90-95%, then you have a little room to push if you need it, without going beyond your performance capabilities. Call it another gear, stepping up your game, whatever. Most people don't appreciate that the top shooters don't run at 100% all the time. They run in control at that 90-95% range. They all have a little extra *thumb rest [generic]* left if they need it. If your competition is having a good match and starting to build up a lead in points, you might start looking for stages or even parts of stages where you can step up your game and get back into the race. It's not a general, across the board, petal to the metal performance hike. You look to shoot your strengths and maintain your weaknesses. I never liked the shoot your game and let the other guy make a mistake philosophy. It makes me feel like my performance was dependant on how the other guy performed. I don't want to have the win handed to me through a mistake or a poor performance. I'll bring my "A" game and you bring yours. When I win, I want to know it was against your best game, not your average game. When I lose, I want to know it was because I got beat by a better man. It drives me to raise my game up. Erik

Erik, Well, as usual, I will have to take the minority opinion. One of the biggest points that I try to drive home in my 3-gun classes is consistency of technique. The more consistency of technique between the three firearms systems, the more refined your technique will become. If I have a choice, I shoot the rifle targets the same way I shoot my pistol and shotgun targets, left to right (for a right handed person.) I think having a different target engagement preference depending on which firearms system your using opens the door for my Mr. Confusion to pay you a visit. You don't want to be in a position where you're doing your walkthrough, saying to yourself, "Since I'm shooting rifle, I'll shoot this target first instead of this one." On the up close/high speed stages, your going to revert to the way you train. Since you probably shoot more pistol than any other type of round, you're going to revert to what you know. I would stay with the same engagement order you use for your pistol. Erik PS- Nice pic.

Damm boy! Are you like 7 feet tall? Nice rig though. Erik

I thought he was hatched. Erik

Jake, Go to the gym, fine the workout bag, and unleash some Pain & Rage for about 1/2 hour. You'll feel better. Sorry to hear it. Erik

I'll pass along a little advice Todd Jarrett gave me about eight years ago. "Don't shoot at the steel, shoot the steel." Small change in verbage, huge effect. Erik

I thinking about switching to my mag release around so I can use my trigger finger and I'm right handed. I think it has some definite advantages. Erik

Chris, Thanks for the info. Erik

Chris, One more question. At what power does the small dot become usable. I noticed at 4 power, it's as large as it's going to get, but how soon does it reach that size? If you wanted to take a precision shot using the dot, could you do it on 2 power, or would you have to increase the magnification? Thanks, Erik

Chris, Do you have the new smaller version or the older, larger one? Erik