Ahab

This is more of a thought exercise than anything else. Whenever I've encountered an SO that was smoking, I'd ask them to please put it out before running me through the COF. It's just the courteous thing to do. And to answer Jake's question from back on the other page, if the shooter is smoking and it bothers the SO, I'd say that's at least 3 procedurals and 1 failure to do right.

So, here's an interesting question I'm kicking around. Obviously, anyone that's taken the SO class knows that an SO doesn't have to TOUCH a shooter to interfere with them, but this came up in a discussion the other day. Say you're a non-smoker, and your S.O. is smoking WHILE he runs you through the course of fire. Some people are very sensitive to cigarette and cigar smoke. I'm a semi-reformed smoker, so I wouldn't necessarily consider it interference. However, I do think that if your SO is smoking, the shooter is well within their rights to request that the SO put their cig out before running the course of fire. Thoughts?

I shot my first Bianchi Cup in 2009, the first year that Production was an official championship division. It was a really great experience, and I have to echo everyone that says "stay at the match HQ hotel". Also, make sure you attend the new shooter's orientation meeting; I did my first year and it really was valuable. The little things you learn there like "put your gun in the bag at the end of the stage", etc. I'll be back in 2011 shooting production with my IDPA SSR rig; I thought about getting a six inch gun, but I honestly can't get it out of the holster nearly as fast as my 4 inch 686. I figure at the very least I can beat my score from 2009.

I use the Comp-Tac holster for my 686 and a Blade-Tech for my 625 for IDPA competition. For moonclip holders I'm all about the North Mountain moonclip holders; because I can hold 2 moonclips in one holder, I can actually hold all my moonclips for a stage in just two holders. In IDPA you can carry 3 moonclips during a stage, I just put two of the NM holders on, use one from the rear holder for LAMR, then I'm ready to party. Since shooting a wheelgun in IDPA means "treat every stage like Limited Vickers" I know if I have to go for that last moonclip I'm boned hardcore anyway. Also, the north mountain guy is a vendor here at BEnos.

That just makes it easier to shoot other stuff before the drop turner appears, yes? Actually, yeah. The 177 stuff that I use for ESR and USPSA takes poppers down like the righteous hand of god. A 107 PF .38 load is going to trigger poppers really, really slow and let me shoot a bunch of other junk before the turner exposes itself.

As far as steel goes, MDs will just have to set the poppers correctly to be knocked down with the light loads. This will make stages where the popper triggers a drop turner interesting, as my 110 PF load is going to take the steel down a lot slower than my 177 PF .45 ACP load for ESR. And speaking of .40s, does anyone have a 610 they want to sell? I want a new USPSA gun...

Be careful which brand you buy. WWB 130 gr FMJ is cataloged at 800 fps, f= 104,000; UMC at 790 fps, f= 102,700 AE is better, claims 890 fps, f= 115,700. Real gun velocities will vary but not usually higher than advertised. Yep - I had actually looked into this a while back to see if any factory 130 grain FMJ was legal. Independence Ammo claims their load is making 1050 FPS which puts it in the same ballpark at the 125 grain JHP from BVAC I shoot now, which is making 1050. When I was checking around, I settled on the American Eagle because it has Federal primers and I've got a bit more wiggle room in making PF with it. To GOF, I really don't like shooting lead bullets. Shooting lead means I have to clean more, and I really hate cleaning guns.

The other thing I like about it, for purely selfish reasons is that 130gr FMJ ball is super fast loading compared to say, 125gr JHP (my current load). It's a lot harder for a pointy-nose ball round to slam into the cylinder face and just stop.

Like I said on Gun Nuts, I think this is a net positive change. While I don't think that this will get a jillion SSR shooters out to matches, but I do think it will add some shooters, and a net gain is always a good thing.

Them's fightin' words, son. In all seriousness, I don't think a lot of SSR shooters are going to come flying out of the woodwork. However, this makes the bar of entry for someone that wants to dabble in revo to do so, it makes it easier for the jillions of Ruger GP100 owners to play our game, etc. SSR is probably the easiest division to get into in terms of cost, so why not make it even easier? Besides, shooting revolvers makes you better at shooting everything.

When was the last time you saw a popper at 25 yards in an IDPA match?

Shot it for the last time tonight in SSR: total time 54.37. Of all my runs, I liked SSR the best. Also, I clearly need to practice my reloads with a 1911 more, as I was only 2 seconds and change faster with a 1911 than I was with my 686. So my cumulative times for the kit and caboodle: CDP-MA: 51.59 ESR-MA: 63.70 SSR-MA: 54.37 I shot it first in ESR, then in CDP, and my final trip through was in SSR. I knew my CDP time going into tonight's match, so I was really trying hard to beat it and I almost did. Maybe next year!

Honestly, I'd rather have a shooter stop in the open and clear a malf than try and keep moving. People get fat fingers really fast when their gun pukes, and it becomes really easy to break the 180 or flag yourself when clearing a malf and moving if you're not intimately familiar with the gun.

Shot it today, CDP-Master: 51.59 total time for the whole thing. I have proven to myself that all that practice shooting the classifier...made me really good at shooting the classifier.

I just made 5-gun master this year. I'm really proud of the hard work that I put in to making that, especially my CDP classification. That being said, I'd get destroyed by Dave or Ben if I shot SSP at a major match, just like I'd get destroyed by Jerry if I shot ESR against him. I'm okay with that. If IDPA wants to create a GM class, it doesn't change my shooting journey one whit. I'm still going to matches trying to shoot to the best of my ability and beat as many people as I possibly can, regardless of whether it says "MA" or "GM" on my card. I think way too many people are hung up on who's going to win this and that, when all that really matters is if you can shoot to the best of your skill every match. If I get outshot by Dave Sevigny or Phil Strader at Nats, I'm not going to shed any tears as long as I shot the best match I could shoot and didn't finish dead last in ESP Master.

The lightest load I've seen for .45 Colt comes in around 140PF, which is going to knock poppers down faster than some 9mm hits.

You already know how I'm going to answer this, but my definition of cover, and the one I believe that is consistent to the rulebook's guidelines on the use of cover for firing and reloading is "cover is any location within a stage where you are less than 50% exposed to an un-engaged threat target".

Right, I agree with that. The thing is that once those targets were engaged, I was behind cover from all remaining targets in the stage, right? So I should be free to reload at my leisure since cover is relative to unengaged targets in the array. Now, if the stage description had said "retreating to cover at P2 or P3" that would have defined those points as the available cover on the stage and this discussion would be moot.

The nice thing about being a wheelgun shooter is that you generally use both hands to initiate a reload, so it's pretty obvious for us.

Stick is 100% correct. The rulebook should be absolutely crystal clear on any issue that can affect a shooter's performance detrimentally so that there is never, ever an issue of "regional interpretation" in the rules. It should be like McDonalds - a Big Mac is exactly the same no matter where in the country you get it. Like everyone has pointed out, the rulebook specifically allows you to be exposed to engaged targets, that's the issue. If I'm shooting an array, call it T1-T3 and I'm using cover properly for T1, when I shift to shoot T2 then I'm more than 50% exposed to T1. That's okay according to the rulebook, which then states I'm allowed to reload from that exact position as long as I don't over expose myself to T3 (the target I have not engaged). So on the stage in the postal match, following that interpretation of the rules, I would be "behind cover" from all the remaining threats on the stage. That's why this is 100% about whether or not you need cover from an engaged target.

Thanks! Now I need to quit grand-bagging and win some matches.

Right, hence why it needs to be addressed. The way I see it, it would make sense if cover was defined as "not being more than 50% exposed to any un-engaged threat target".

@GIShooter - I agree with the second procedural because the rules addendum says "thou shalt not cross an opening and reload". The 2nd procedural is cut and dry. I'm not even arguing really with the first one, I'm more using it as a talking point to debate IDPA's rules on seeking cover from engaged targets.

jmorris, that's interesting and actually is on topic. The issue that we're looking is specifically do you need to seek cover from engaged targets, and that's directly germane to the topic. @Glock3422 - The second procedural I agree with. I crossed an opening while reloading, I have less of a problem with that. The problem with the first procedural is that I was in fact "behind cover". I was clearly behind cover from all remaining threat targets on the stage, and only exposed to the targets I had already shot. Here's the IDPA rulebook on reloading from "cover": "The contestant may keep his eyes on his next “opponent” as long as he follows the definition of cover and does not expose too much of his body to the next threat target." So again the issue is whether or not it's necessary at all times to seek cover from an engaged threat target. I would tend to say "no you don't", but I've seen it enforced at matches that you do.

EmanP, that's the point - cover is poorly defined. Let's look at a hypothetical stage. You start at P1 with no targets in front of you. There is a wall 20 feet downrange at a 45 degree angle from the start position. All targets are on the other side of the wall, you can't see them from where you start. Are you "behind cover"? I would say yes, because 100% of my body is hidden from the targets regardless of the actual distance to the barrier object. So on the postal match stage, once I engage the first targets, I'm 100% behind cover from any remaining targets. I'm not "in the open" except with respect to the targets that have already been engaged.