TJ1911

I convert other's purchases into guns and ammo all the time-I'll see a guy with a Rolex or a really expensive car, and I'll start going down my list-"I could get X, Y, and Z, for what that cost."

You take care, young lady-we're here for you. One of the great things about shooting is that you're always competing with yourself in the end. So you can set mini-goals for each match, and come out a winner even if you're not at the top of the standings. I think the intro to IPSC course is a great idea; you can get some concentrated trigger time, and work on some of the skills you mentioned. Can't say enough about dry fire parctice for all of the handling skills. I'll send you some exercises you can practice at the range on one target, that work on transitions. Still fooling around with that Safariland holster I bought for my CZ; I'm thinking it's a keeper. I'll send you more detailed comments later. Tim

Very tragic, especially since he was helping a fellow veteran. I remember his appearance on Sons Of Guns and the straightforward conversation he had with Glenn "Flem" Fleming from the shop, where they talked about their experiences and what it was like coming home. In addition to his family, my thoughts are with Flem today. RIP, warrior-thank you for your service.

Sad news; we seem to be losing a lot of our pioneers and masters of the art.

I met Gordon around 1982-83, shooting with the Orange Coast Practical pistol club on the range in Coto de Caza (long since closed down). He was always quite personable, and it was fun to see him trying out prototypes of his new designs at the matches. I remember seeing one of his more popular holsters (the California Challenger, I think it was called-I had one for a while) about a year before it came on the market. I've still got my Usher International crossdraw holster, and a Davis belt (which doesn't fit any more). I like that he used to stamp his work with "G. WM. DAVIS MAKER"; always thought that was really cool. Well if any of the angels need a rig they know who to call. TJ

My wife's mom passed away tonight at the age of 89. She'd been in declining health after falling and breaking her hip 3 years ago. Her passing was not unexpected, but still hard. My wife and her brother spent a tremendous amount of time caring for her-my brother-in-law, who is retired, visited her at the care facility every day of the week, and fed her lunch. My wife would stop by on the way home from work, and help her with dinner. She also went over for lunch and dinner on the weekends, so her brother could go home to his wife. She was not the stereotypical "mother-in-law"; always kind and respectful to me. My wife jokes that "I think Mom likes you better than me." Another member of the "Greatest Generation" is gone. TJ

I believe if you own pre-ban magazines, you can use the high capacity mags in your pistol. But if you've bought the gun recently you are under the magazine capacity restrictions in place in Cali, and you'll only be able to obtain 10 round mags. This unfortunately drives your cost up somewhat, since there are no makers of aftermarket 10-round CZ mags that I'm aware of. You're limited to the factory CZ 10-rounders which run about $40.00 apiece. You can still have a lot of fun shooting L10, though, so give it a try. I would also proceed very slowly and conservatively with any modifications to your gun-once you take metal off, you cannot put it back. If there are other CZ shooters in your club, you can discuss sights and trigger work with them; they may even let you try out their guns. Good luck!!

You and I are in the same boat; I've got a CZ-75B. Love the gun, but didn't think to look at the rules. Not real crazy about manually lowering the hammer, which is exactly what you have to do for a DA first shot with a B model. I'm still breaking mine in-once I get it fully set up with good sights and trigger, I'll just shoot L10 with it, or use it for steel matches. I've got a 1911 I shoot in SS or L10, which is my primary gun. It's a great gun and I think you'll like it a lot, but if you're dyin' to shoot Production, you'll need the CZ-75BD (decocker) model. You can have a lot of fun in L10, though, so go for it!

Esther, You might also look at Safariland and Blackhawk gear, if you're on a budget. The Safariland #567 "Custom Fit" holster is a good option, especially if you're shooting production. Also, their Model 5187 is a nice rig, too. I have one for my 1911, and like it. One of the things I like about Safariland gear is that the holsters are lined with suede-this makes for a smoother draw in my opinion. If you look on the holsters.com website, you'll see that there are a number of belt loop accessories for drop and offset, etc. which allow you to customize the fit of your holster. As for mag pouches, I'm really liking the Blackhawk single mag pouches. Solid grip on the mag, but easy release and you can't beat the price. CR Speeds are great, but pricy. Good luck, and welcome to the game!! TJ

Thank you-in some ways, Maria was like another mom to me. TJ

I read something in the Front Sight about some changes to Limited/L-10 equipment rules. One of the changes (or proposed changes)was to make .40 the minimum caliber. This doesn't make sense to me, since there seem to be so many 9mm shooters out there. Is this a definite change, or are all of these items under consideration by the BOD? It doesn't have a big impact on me right now, since I usually shoot a .45 in L10, but I was thinking of shooting a few matches with my CZ75B. Don't really want to shoot Production with that gun, since I'm not too crazy about lowering the hammer on a loaded round. So, I was thinking about shooting a few L10 matches with the CZ. Anyone have an update on this?

If you're in a state with a 10-round magazine limit, that is what will come with the gun. I'm in California and my 75B came with 10-round mags. The other downside to that is there don't seem to be any after market 10 rounders available and factory ones run about $40.00 apiece.

I found out last week that my friend Lance’s mother Maria passed away on December 7. Lance died in a motorcycle accident in 1999, and I had kept in touch with his mom ever since (see my "Tribute and Remembrance" post in this forum). I last spoke with her in November of 2011; we were planning to get together so I could help her sell some more of Lance’s knives (she still has a lot of his stuff in her house). Sadly, that was not to be, as she got really sick in November and her health went downhill pretty rapidly from there. In the last couple of years, she had beaten back cancer (see “Prayers For Maria” post in Injured Reserve), and was planning to go on a second round-the-world cruise. Unfortunately, she had some financial hard times (just like everybody else!), and did not make the trip. She was an avid traveler most of her life, and her son had definitely inherited that trait from her. Losing her son was the worst thing that ever happened to her, I’m sure. Yet she maintained a positive outlook, strong faith, and a deep devotion to his memory. Lance was a master diver and underwater photographer-there is a little dive flag over his grave. Every week, Maria would go to the cemetery and take the flag down on the day the groundskeepers remove all the old flowers, etc. so it wouldn’t get thrown away. Every week, she would put it back the next day. Maria was a very kind, sweet lady, but one thing about her which will always stand out in my mind is her faithfulness. She had a very strong trust and faith in God, and was devoted to her family and friends. You might say she embodied “Semper Fi” (“Always Faithful”) in her own way. I feel bad that we didn’t get to visit during the recent holiday season, and that I learned of her passing so late. Beyond that, I feel at peace with it. She is no longer in any pain, she no longer has financial worries, and she is reunited with her son and all the other loved ones who went before her. I suspect they will have a lot to talk about.

UPDATE 10 FEB 2012 - Regret to say I learned today that Maria passed away on December 7, 2011. Tribute in "Last Shot Fired" section forthcoming. TJ

I've had good luck with the CED Pocket digital scale-a good choice for a limited work space. Unless you've got vision issues and can't read a dial caliper, I'd skip the digital calipers.

Daniel, I teach ladies how to shoot and I am a petite female myself! The XD or M&P are both good guns for the ladies. The grip is adjustible on the M&P and the XD feels really good in smaller hands also. Of course, a heavier gun will have less recoil so maybe a single stack STI would be a good way to go as well. For great STI guns I recommend Cameron's Custom Guns in Phoenix! But, an easy starter gun would be the XD or the M&P in .9mm. Any other lady shooter questions, please feel free to contact me. I also have great sources for training for her as well! Debbie Oh yeah, the CZ has a nice grip too if she doesn't mind the double action first pull....I've got Angus right here in town that could hook her up! She can always shoot the CZ in Condition One mode, and not have to deal with the DA pull. Even a stock 75B model has a pretty good SA pull (at least mine does). My wife has pretty small hands and she loves the CZ.

If you've got the patience and the proper type of files, you can radius the edges of the blade, and open up the notch. I did that on my 1911 a while ago. I don't think you'll be able to find a complete new Bo-Mar, let alone a replacement blade-pretty sure the company is out of business. :-(

I've been using the Safariland double belt system for a few years now, and wanted to upgrade from the basic nylon belt. Everywhere I look for one of the basketweave or "carbon fiber" 028 outer belts, all anyone seems to have left are very small or very large sizes. Have these been discontinued?

I've got a fairly new 75B (standard model) I bought last year. Thinking about getting a different set of sights (black, no FO). I've got .130/.140" wide rear notches on my other guns, and that seems to be optimum for my eyes. What are my options for getting something like this on my 75B? Somebody on here had what looked like a Heinie rear sight on their CZ-something like that would be perfect for me. Any thoughts/suggestions on sights, and sources for installation? I'm in So Cal...

You can't go wrong with Brownells Magna-Tips, IMHO. I started out with one hollow handle and all the bits needed for an S&W revolver. I now have a set of bits for each of my guns, along with an extra handle (the "Law Enforcement" style), and the storage box. I think all together this cost about 80 bucks, but I look at it as protecting my investment. The Chapmans aren't bad to start out with, but I have broken a couple of them over the years. Use those around the house now.

I've been really happy with B&H products and service-it was the only place I could find a 4:3 aspect ratio monitor for my computer (don't care for the widescreen format for home use). My office buys a lot of stuff from them, too. We've given up on Frys and similar discount retailers; it seems everything we buy from them, regardless of brand falls apart or fails after a year.

One of the things I like the most about Dillon is that they will do whatever it takes to make things right. The really nice thing is that to them, the fact you bought your press used is irrelevant. (I bought my Dillon used as well) You're a Dillon customer now and will be treated as such. Having said that, the primer feed is the most finicky part on a progressive machine, IMHO, and will take some tweaking to get it working right. Sorry to hear about your difficulties-you're probably feeling that you wasted your time/money, but don't give up yet. Good Luck PS-there is a forum on the Dillon web site with a lot of good info (some of it straight from Dillon) on working with their presses.

Don't forget a reloading manual (or 2). Also, I just picked up an EGW chamber checker from Dillon-great little accessory for around 20 bucks.

I learned to reload in the pre-Internet era (early '80s). I actually started out with a Lee Loader; still have it somewhere. Moved on to a Lee turret press, and then bought a used RL 450 in 1987 (which I still have and use). Reloading manuals were the best investment I made; also read plenty of articles in gun mags and found a few books with info on reloading. One of my better sources was Gil Hebard's "Pistol Shooter's Treasury".

Yeah, I really liked it. I like the way Hunter did the short chapters; it kept the story moving and made it easier to keep your place when you had to put it down. Do you think this will be the last one (at least with Bob as the principal character)?