Bear1142

HA! I KNEW IT!!! And Kurt, as your friend I'm sorry to agree with Kelly but..... +1 on #10 I love you man! Erik

I find the TD VFG's a little thick for my preference, but TD makes a good product and if it works for you, then go with it. Erik

You'll have to pardon Kurt's lack of self-awareness. He still has not realized that he is the exception and not the rule. Erik

DP, I won't try to talk you out of a Benelli, I'm gonna show you why you don't need one! Benelli's don't cycle fast enough for competition. And you certainly can't load them fast enough to be competitive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7C0hPICnXk Erik

Patrick, Thanks for coming down off the power mountain and mingling with us wimps! Wow! 45 votes so far and no 75/77 stuff....interesting. Keep it going! Erik

Yeah, I use 55's for hoser stuff, but I'm interested in long range (over 200.) Call it market research. Erik

Take the poll. What rifle bullet weight do you use? E

Ha! Great idea!, but mucho pequeno! Take your idea and make a mount to attach a pistol and adapt it to pistol ARs!! Now you have another rifle under your first one with another 30 rd. magazine!! Same magazines, same ammunition, same parts, total compatibility!! If you practice you can shoot both at the same time for double your firepower!! We're almost there as it is. If I recall correctly, VFG's were part of the first SOPMOD kits issued back in 1994. We're coming up on 14 years and I think it's here to stay. I feel like they give me a significant advantage in several situations when compared to a non VFG setup. If you choose to not take advantage of it, so be it. It works for me. Nope, another two letter company.

I would second the Weaver 1-3x20. It's an outstanding scope for the money, plus if weight is a big concern. Weaver- 8.5oz. Check out the rest of the specs. http://www.swfa.com/pc-2321-256-weaver-1-3...ifle-scope.aspx Erik

Chills, When people talk about the buttstock/sternum technique it's more a figurative reference point rather than a literal location. The buttstock is not placed on the sternum directly underneath the chin. The sternum reference is a way of reminding the shooter that the buttstock should be mounted closer to the center of the chest as opposed to out on the tip of the shoulder. There is an actual sternum shooting technique, but that involves positioning the rifle in the centerline of the body and pushing forward against a sling. The rifle does not contact the body during firing. Sorry for the confusion. Erik

Kurt, You are too good of a shooter for me to concede 25% misses at any range to you. Erik

I like the PG stocks. I'm a big proponent of consistency in my techniques across the different shooting platforms. A PG shotgun allows me to run my shotgun with the same techniques as my rifle. Regarding the handling difference between PG's and straight stocks, I'll only say this, if you try to shoot a PG shotgun, like a straight stock shotgun, you will have problems. Adding a PG changes several handling characteristics of the shotgun. If you try to use your old techniques, its not going to work as well. Think of it like this. Your a road racer and your car of choice is a Porsche. You've raced Porsche's all your life. One day you try driving a Corvette in a race. The Corvette will still go fast, but it will handle entirely different from what you are used to driving. If you try to drive the Corvette like you drive your Porsche, you will not do well. You need to relearn how to drive the Corvette to perform your best. They are two different cars. They both go fast, but you have to drive them differently. The same can be said for PG and straight-stock shotguns. Erik

Chills1994, http://www.downrange.tv/player.htm Watch Part I of the "Bring a Rifle to the Fight" series. It's geared towards the tactical environment, but the technique directly translates to competitive shooting. It should answer most of your questions. Erik

I ran an ultra-light JP barrel for a couple of years and it was very accurate, but I noticed a tendency for it to wander when it heated up. The ultra-light is really that! If I remember correctly, it's .500 under the handguards. I've come to the conclusion that that's a little too thin. I remember having issues with long-range steel at several matches, so I did a test. I attempted to mimick a stage environment where you had multiple close up targets to engage, then you had to settle down and make some long-range precision shots. At the range I fired two 5-shot groups for accuracy at 200 yards with a cold bore. When done, I ran a 30 round magazine on some steel and heated up the rifle. Afterwards I tried some more 5-shot accuracy groups. Not only did my zero shift, but my groups open up by about 30%. This confirmed for me that this particular barrel setup was not going to work for me. I built a new upper with a slightly thicker barrel. I repeated the test and the new barrel contour did not have any issues. Okay disclaimer time. Before everyone warms up their flamethrowers, this was my experience. Not all may have the same issues as I. This was not an issue with the quality of JP barrels. This barrel was quite accurate and I know of many other JP barrels that are wonderfully accurate, I would not hesistate to use them. My issue seemed to be more with the contour of the barrel, not the quality of the barrel. Erik

I have used one in the past quite extensively, but until recently, their legality for use in matches was in question. A little history. I used a VFG until the 3GN in Oregon last year when they were ruled to be "other similar devices" under the no bipods clause in the rules. For the last 18 months I did not use one. Prior to this years 3GN in Tulsa, the issue came up again and Amidon made a ruling on their use. From what I understand of the ruling, you can use a VFG and you can move it around on the rifle, but you can't take it on/off during the match. It can be used in any way except for the rifle cannot be supported on the VFG at the 6 o'clock position, such as using the VFG to rest on the top of a barricade. Disclaimer!- Do not take this as the official ruling. Amidon stated he would post a written rule interpretation in the NROI website. I think their use is safe, but I would wait until the written rule interpretation is posted before confronting anyone regarding its use. Regarding its value in competition, I think it is one of the most underrated advantages in the rifle world. 99% of the people I have seen in both competition and the tactical world don't use them correctly, or maybe I should say don't take full advantage of them. They can be an incredible advantage in several competitive situations, if they are used properly. Several people have already made the statement, "If they are so good, why aren't the top shooters using them?" I can only say that I think its something that has slipped under the radar. The VFG seems to be a very instinctive thing to use, but most shooters don't use them properly. I think this causes most shooters to dismiss their use too quickly. There are many instances of top shooters using unconventional techniques or equipment that seem to go against conventional thinking, only to have said technique or equipment become the standard over time. I think they will slowly make inroads into competitive circles and they are not totally unknown at the top levels. In addition to myself, current 2-time National Limited Champion Ted Puente uses one. I also know of several other very good, national level shooters that are using them. In the end, don't believe all the negative hype. Give the VFG a try and if it works for you and it improves your shooting, then use it! Erik

I've had some pretty good luck with the DPMS 308, although it did need some tweeking to get it 100%, but to be fair, I did have the barrel cut down so I needed to re-adjust the gas hole diameter. Other than the usual mods I do to any competition rifle, it has worked great and served me well. If fact, I remember our own Kurt Miller commenting at SMM3G that it was the most reliable 308 AR he's seen in a long time, but he did temper that with "but it's still not an M1A!" Erik

Looks like I'll have the honor of being the first one... Pistol- STI 40 S&W 200 gr. load Blade-Tech DOH Holster Shotgun- 21" Benelli M1-Super 90 12 Ga. (with Pistol Grip) Remington Nitro Express #8 1-1/8oz. @ 1,350fps Rifle- 20" Colt AR Match HBar. 1/7 twist chrome-lined barrel JP Free float tube Lund/SJC Titan Comp 69gr. Sierra with VV powder HK magazines If you need any other information, just shoot me a PM. Thanks Patrick, Erik

The United States Shooting Academy (USSA).... But I'm pretty biased, so take it for what it's worth. Erik

Bruce, The problem back in 04 was that there were still a lot of rifles with permanently attached compensators due to 94 AW ban. There was no way to take them off to measure. There were also some barrels with integral compensators where there was no definite point to measure from as the barrel and comp were all one unit. The question became, where do you measure from on a perm. attached comp? Do you start at the end of the comp and go backwards or go from the crown of the muzzle and go forward to the end of the comp? Due to all these questions and issues with the inability to just lay the comp on a table and measure, Amidon stated the measurement would be taken with the compensator attached and measured from the crown of the muzzle inside the compensator to the end of the compensator. Trapper, Sorry, I mingled words. I was using crown and muzzle interchangeably. Erik

Trap, I don't know how you'd interpret his ruling any other way. The comp recesses over the threaded part of the barrel, usually by about 1/2". Since the measurement is from the end of the muzzle, not the comp, the overall length of the comp is reduced by 1/2" (when attached) or you'd get a stand alone measurement maximum of 3.5" (which reduces down to 3.0 when the 1/2" of threads is taken into consideration.) Benny, I wish I did. Considering Amidon's less than stellar record when it comes to consistant rule interpretations, it wouldn't surprise me if he did a complete 180 on how the comps are measured and with no record (other than the recollections of several shooters who saw and read the email), there would be no way to challenge him on his memory. Hopefully, he'll remember. Erik

Sorry, but it's not. Back in 04 we went right to the source (Amidon) and asked him for a ruling as a legitimate question popped up, how are the comps measured? Stand alone or attached on the barrel. He responded in writing that measurement was from the end of the muzzle to the end of the comp with the comp attached. The only real issue here is the fact that Amidon did not put the ruling on the NROI website. I don't know what more you want guys want, Amidon interprets the rules and this was his ruling. If you don't like how the rule was interpreted, call your Area Director and make your voice heard. I wish I had saved my response, but after the 04 Nationals, I assumed it would be published in the (then new) rifle rulebook supplemental, but it was not. Erik

RiggerJJ, I wish I did save that email! I do remember it happened just before the 2004 3-gun nationals. We had several interested parties email Amidon about the ruling and he replied in an email. I remember saving the email for the match director...just in case, but it never became an issue. Regarding the IMGA rules, I checked with the various match directors prior to the matches and I've never had a problem, but I've never seen anything in writing other than what you posted. I think most other matches have also adopted the position that the threaded portion of the compensator does not count for overall length. Erik

This issue came up several years ago, sometime around 2003/2004. Whenever the USPSA 3-gun rules were rolled out. There was a question regarding how the comps were being measured, stand alone or attached to the barrel. Amidon made a ruling that the comps were measured from the end of the muzzle with the comp attached. At the time the '94 Assault Weapons ban was still in effect. Several AR manufacturers were offering AR's with permanently attached comps. There was no way to remove the comp for measurement, so the ruling came down that comps could be no longer than 3" over barrel length. This did not take into account that even the perm. attached barrels were still threaded onto the barrel before being perm. attached. Since most rifle barrels have 1/2" of threaded barrel, a comp could actually be 3.5" long (stand alone measurement) and still be legal. Most of the "long" style comps will measure right around 3 1/4" long, but when attached to the barrel and measured will only add 2 3/4" length due to the threading. Unfortunately, this is a ruling from Amidon and is not located in the rulebook. Hopefully, future editions will add this measurement provision. The SJC Titan is 3 1/4" long and is perfectly legal for Limited and Tactical divisions, as is the Bushmaster Y-comp, the TTI Eliminator comp, and the ZM weapons comp. Erik

The website is correct. Half-day formats. Erik

Okay, while I'm not the "Official" spokesman for USSA or the Nationals, I will convey some of what I do know. The longest shots for rifle will be 275 to 300 yards. At this point, that's all we got distance wise. When Phase II is completed, we will be able to extend that substantially farther. Until then, 300 is it. The number of Multi-gun stages has been increased......AT THE REQUEST OF SHOOTERS!! So, for all of the competitors complaining about scheduling, shooting formats, and posting of stages, some things were changed at the last minute in response to YOUR requests. Naturally, this caused some delays in providing match information in the timeline that people are accustomed to seeing. You asked for it and you got it, now please give us the additional time it takes to make sure it's right before we put it out there to you. Additionally, may I remind all of you who feel things are not progressing as fast as you'd like, USSA just held 2 National Level matches less than two weeks ago. We are holding our 3rd National Level match next week. Anyone who has participated in the match administration for any major match can tell you the amount of work it requires. Now consider the level of work needed for 3 matches in a three week timeframe and all of this is in addition to our normal day-to-day business operations and this is the first 3-Gun/Multigun match our staff has undertaken. Show me any other club or location that has undertaken this monumental task. USSA is attempting to support USPSA like no other club of company ever has, please allow for some growing pains. We are still not even fully operational and we've accepted this challenge. Things will only get better. Does USSA bear some responsibility for accepting this challenge? Yes, and we will rise to that challenge. By most accounts the Lim/Prod. Nationals and the World Shoot qualifier matches were outstanding. Expect nothing less for the Multi-gun Nationals. As to the apparently lower match turn-out, I can only surmise that having the other matches in such close proximity to the Multi-gun Nationals is having some affect on the ability of competitors to attend the match. For those that had a choice and made the decision to not attend, you will miss an outstanding match. I hope to see you at future matches. Finally, as Troy has already stated. If you do not like that way things are being handled, you have two choices. Call the USPSA President and make him aware of your concerns, or step away from your keyboard, step up, and volunteer some of your time to make the match better. Others are doing it, maybe it's time for you to take a turn. Erik