Bear1142

Kelly, While I'm certain that list is accurate and quite impressive. I don't think it represents the recent trend towards shorter, lighter guns. I think you'll start seeing more of the shorter setups. I think (don't quote me) Voight is going to an 18" and I"m pretty sure Taran's is an 18". Jeff Cramblit shoots an 18" and Frank Garcia uses a 16". Of course, don't forget several of those shooters used to shoot iron sights and used the 20" rifles for the longer sight radius advantages, not just the smoother/softer recoil impulse. Once again, don't quote me, but I think Trapr Swonson is also using an 18". While I concede there have not been too many major's won, I think its only a matter of time. I think some shooters are starting to realize that most rifle stages tend to be closer and tighter rather than longer and wide open. Mainly due to shooting bay sizes and lack of long range facilities. On another issue, I will have to respectfully disagree with you concerning the manuverability of the shorter guns. They are faster in setups and transitions. Most of the time it didn't matter or it didn't get noticed because the hit factors were so low, but with the quicker/closer/higher hit factor stages, setups/dismounts/transitions are becoming more important. I think it's a huge mistake to ignore these considerations when setting up a 3 gun rifle. Setups and transitions matter with a pistol, they will also make a difference with a rifle. Erik

Listen, don't get too hung up on the "16 inch gas system is too violent" arguments. You'll should be using a competition compensator with whatever setup you decided to go with and it will tame your rifle movement and recoil impulse. This whole debate parallels the light/fast vs. the heavy/soft pistol setups. The carbine rifles will cycle a little harder, but they track faster. The full size rifles are softer, but a little slower. Regardless, a good compensator will cause both rifles to be a "wash" with very little difference between the two. In the end, it will be the operator's skill that will make the difference. Until this season I shot a 16" Bushmaster Dissipator setup and I still recommend the 16" guns for open or tactical divisions. This year I switched to an 18" setup, but only because I couldn't get a reasonably priced 16 SS barrel in the configuration I wanted without paying $500 for just the barrel. I"m currently using an JP 18" ultra-light barrel, but if JP offered the barrel in a 16" version, that's what I would have. Don't worry about the gas system. I won't go into all the other reasons I like the shorter rifles, there are other threads concerning that topic. Try a full size and a carbine setup and see which one handles better for you. Then get a good practice rountine and make it happen. KellyN, I agree with you on the comps issue. I just love embarrassing the tactical types with my M-4 (with compensator). When they tell me it gives off too much flash, I just reply "that's ok, by the time you locate my flash, I'll have a second round off (if needed) and you won't be around to notice the second one" Good shooting, Erik

I'd like to send out a well earned congratulations to Jason (JLJ) and Turtle for earning their Grandmaster rankings. It's a difficult enough task to accomplish with a finely tuned 1911, but to earn it with a Glock deserves some additional kudos. Well done gentlemen! Erik

Don't give up on those tickets just yet. I'm sure an announcement will be made shortly. Erik

I wanted to take a moment and give a very well deserved "Thank you" to Sam & the whole crew who took on the monumental task of putting on an extremely fun and very challenging 3-gun match. Considering the range only had one bay that could possibly stretch the rifle shots out to 100 yards, I felt the overall match successfully combined accuracy and speed in all three disciplines. I especially liked seeing the Classic targets used on the rifle stages (even with a scope, it's still a pretty small "A" zone at 50 yards), I wished all the rifle stages had the classic targets. It really slows down the hozers as you can drop a bunch of points very fast. The straight up shotguns stages placed the emphasis on shooting and not reloading, where it belongs. The pistol stages had a very nice blend of wide open free fire zones with a lot of shooting on the move and some pretty tough 40 yard targets (which very few people got through without any misses). Did I mention the slug stage with 60 yard target? Not to tough you say, try it prone! Slugs from the prone? My shoulder is still sore, no rolling with the recoil on that one. Although, it was worth the pain as I discovered I shoot about 1 foot high at 60 yards in the prone. Good to know for future reference. I also had the opportunity to shoot with some of the best 3 gunners in the country. It was an honor to shoot with Kurt Miller, Jeff Cramblit, Benny Hill, and Trapr Swanson, to name a few. I learned a lot from just watching these guys. I really enjoyed watching Benny. If you ever get the chance to see him shoot, take a minute and watch. It's not natural for someone Benny's age to shoot and move as fast as he does. It will inspire you to suck up your little bit of old age pain and practice harder. Good show Benny. To all of you who decided to pass on this match, you missed a good one. I would recommend you fit it into next years schedule, you won't be disappointed. To Sam and his hard working crew, excellent job, I look forward to next year. Although there is one thing. Sam, lets talk about switching the prize table to order of finish for next years match. Jeff got my Springfield XD and he won't give it back. Opps, almost forgot. Kurt, where should I send that pistol grip? Your AR is beggin' for it. Erik

I'll third that. I use the A1 stock. Erik

lndshrk, If I were just starting out, I would go for the center of what's available. Don't worry about getting greedy and stealing the "A" right now. Erik

Jack, I prefer the bull barrels as I like to get as much weight on the gun that doesn't move or reciprocate. Erik

chp5, The best way to stop that from happening it to shoot your STI. Erik

What do you expect from the "I Don't Practice Anymore" (IDPA) crowd. Erik

Carlos, Yeah, I've been keeping my load very quiet. Didn't want to give away all my secrets. "Erik: are you using a U-die (or small base die for you rifle reloaders) for .40? A bullet setback with N310/200MAJOR would probably be a real nightmare." Nope, just a standard re-sizing die, but I do use the Lee factory crimp die. I use them for every pistol caliber I reload. It has a taper crimp built into the die and I set my crimp for .20" over bullet diameter, regardless of caliber and have never had a problem with setback. I am completely sold on them and I think they are wonderful. I haven't had a bad round since I started using the Lee die. I've even stopped using my case gauge to check my ammo. I even use glock brass and have never had a problem. I think it's the single most important thing you can do to solve any problems with your reloaded ammo. Erik

Allright, let me start the revolt. I am using N310 & 200gr. bullets in my SV 40. I have been using it for about 2-3 years. I haven't had any problems with high pressure. Although N310 is a slightly faster powder compared to Clays, it has a more consistent pressure curve. Clays has a very steep pressure spike curve. For example, you could use 4.4 grns of Clays with no pressure problems, but at 4.6 you could be blowing out primers. N310 is more stable, meters better, and has a flatter, more consistent pressure curve. I have let several people test my ammo and compare it to other loads to see how they work. There has never been a problem in my gun or any of the others. I'm have never worked up a load with 180's, as I don't shoot them, but I think N320 is probably a better load for the 180's. I could only tell the difference between the N310 & N320 powders when I had them side by side. I couldn't tell the difference If I just picked up one out of the blue. When I've been asked for a recommendation, I always steer people to the N320 load. It's a little more forgiving. You can use it for both the 180's & 200's, and it's probably easier to find in the marketplace. Erik

Roger, What!, no comment on my cat-like recovery reflexes For those of you who missed it, try to imagine a Brontosaurus falling in slow motion replay. I'm not positive, but I think I heard someone say, "Look, he's fallen and he can't get up!" Erik (Gravity is my friend)

Erik, I have to agree with Kurt, go with a 300 yard zero. If you use a 55gr. bullet around 3100 fps, you should be about 4" high at 100 and 5" high at 200. For any plates from about 75 to 250 yards, I just use a standard 6 o'clock hold and be done with it. I put the plate on top of the front sight like a lolli-pop and let her rip. For some 100 yard practice, try using some 4" paper plates or some clay pigeons. It should give a pretty close approximation of a 200 yard 8" plate. Erik

JFD, I don't know. Call Nowlin and see if they will tell you. Erik

The real important question that nobody has asked is, What type of terrain do you plan to shoot on? While most people just look for one shoe/boot to do everything, you should have at least two pairs and probably three pairs of shoes/boots depending on what you will encounter. Boots are good for gravel (large&small), Football cleats (not soccer) are good for grass, clay, & hard mud. The are many other considerations like weight, ankle support, the actual design of the tread, and many others. If I had to choose one style, it would be based on which type of range I'll be shooting on the most. Erik

Tacblack, I have been using the same ISMI SV 40 cal. magazine springs for the last three years. I've never had one "crash" on me. I've also never had a jam in the last three years while I was using ISMI springs. I have a 14lb. ISMI recoil spring in my SV and have to date shot about 25,000 rounds without having to change the spring. I use ISMI springs in all my competition guns and most of my carry guns. They were specifically designed for firearms use. I wouldn't use any other. Just in case the issue comes up, I am a sponsored shooter for ISMI, but if the springs didn't work, I wouldn't use them. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed. Erik

9lb. recoil spring? Is that correct? How did you arrive at the decision to use a 9lb. spring? Just curious. I'm having some spring issues myself and I'm probably going to re-evaluate some different spring rates along with some other choices. Erik

Erik, I notice the difference between a true 1x and the 1.25x-1.5x scopes during my transitions. Having a 1.5x scope and shooting with both eyes open, like a dot, my peripheral vision gets all screwed up. If I do it long enough, my eyes get fatigued and I'll start to get headaches. I would test it out for yourself and see if you have any difficulties before you buy one. Erik

The point I was trying to make was that the adaptation happened without any real conscious effort. My mind processed an unanticipated stimilus and reacted, without, what I perceived as any real imput from me. It just happened. Upon reflection, it's a very comfortable feeling. Erik

Ron, I meant in comparison to whether you choose to SOTM or stand and shoot. Regardless of the condition of your body, you will see some benefit. It was not meant as a comparison between two different people and I did qualify the statement by saying to a degree. You are correct, if you sit on the couch and eat twinkees (and I do confess a weakness for them) all day long your movement skills may diminsh, but even if you move slower and are more cumbersome, you will score higher on certain stages if you move as opposed to just standing still. And congratulations on losing the weight. I have been forced to watch my weight all my life and I can appreciate the effort it took to accomplish what you did. Erik

Intangibles, that little twist of fate that you don't or can't account for, that affects the outcome of a performance/stage/match. Being a very analytical person, they absolutely drive me crazy. How am I supposed to take an unknown variable into account? I was struck by an intangible at the AL State match. I like to characterize intangibles as a striking object, because it can knock you out of a state of mind. It can, and does alter your perception. On stage 4, Front sight city, after the intial bank of three targets on your left. You had to make a 180 swing and move a couple of steps to see two partially obscurred targets to your right. The ranges at AL were mostly covered with semi-large chunks of gravel, making traction difficult at times. As I was breaking down from my two step movement and starting to break my first shot, my right foot (my plant foot, after these targets you had to turn 90 back to the left to proceed down a hallway. The course was shaped like and upside down T) slipped in the gravel and the exact moment I called a good sight picture and broke my first shot. The slip caused my whole upper body to lurch upward, ever so slightly, causing my first shot to go slightly high, directly into the No-shoot. The course of fire also dictated that I shoot 20 rounds before my first reload, with no extra shots available. Naturally, I made up the no-shoot shot and had to reload in a completely different place and time. While reflecting upon this all week and trying to discover how to plan for the unknown, I discovered something far more important; the ability to adapt in the moment. In the time it took to move from this second array to the third (about 1 sec.), I knew I needed to move my reload up one array and I would still have enough to finish the rest of the course as programmed. I executed about a 1 sec. reload swinging from one window to another and was able to continue without pause or being knocked from the moment. I dealt with a future problem in the present without leaving the present. It felt as though my sub-conscious stepped up and took an active role in my conscious mind and fixed the problem. While I'm not sure if I've had a "breakthrough", or if it will happen the next time I encounter an intangible, My fear of the intangible is gone because I now know I will adapt and overcome it. Erik

I think movement is the most underdeveloped skill in this sport. Mostly because people don't have the facilities to allow you to practice moving and shooting, but I think it's more of a mindset. Most people don't treat this sport as a sport. They treat it as a hobby. The ability to move effectively and efficiently is probably the most critical aspect of doing well in this sport, but very few people give it the respect is deserves. Movement has nothing to do with the condition of your body (to a degree, barring a debilitating injury). Every person, regardless of skill level would benefit from paying more attention to their movement skills. kdj, Without knowing your skill level, I used to use a standard guideline of 11 yards to determine whether or not I would shoot on the move. If the rewards were great enough, I could extend that distance out to 13 yards, but never past 13. I developed a chart of different courses and compared the times between SOTM and RIBS. Inside 11 yards, it was faster for me to SOTM. (When available), outside 11 my split times, transitions, and accuracy just weren't there and I scored better if I just stood and shot. Try breaking it down for yourself and find the distance where the two techniques trade off. Erik

kdmoore, Be careful with the turkey scopes. I played with a bushnell turkey scope several years ago. It worked great to about 150 yards, but any longer and parallax became a severe problem. Most of the scopes designated as "turkey" scopes have a factory parallax setting of 50 yards, since you generally won't take any shots longer than 50 yards at turkeys. I would try to get out to at least 300 yards and give it a try and see if you have any problems. I think Cavalier rifle and pistol club outside of Richmond, Va. has a rifle range that goes out to 500. Benny may have already checked this out, maybe he can provide some guidance. Erik

Roger, Yeah, you're right. I got my times mixed up. I was thinking about the next stage with the barrel, but I still stand by my statements regarding the draw. I think Emmanuel has a hidden Doctor sight that pops up from inside the slide when he starts shooting. He puts up some stage times that are difficult to believe with an open gun, let alone a limited one. And on a different note, what the hell is your avitar? Erik