JWBaldree

I have a 75 Omega that I wanted to add a SS full length guide rod to. Does any one know where to locate the hole for the guide rod, exactly that is? Or is the location not that critical to where I have locate the spot down to the thousandth of and inch? I don't have a drilled 75 slide to cheat off of, and my SP-01 slide front profile is different enough to be meaningless. Thanks in advance.

Plenty. I started my USPSA experiences at Rio Salado (including learning to be an RO), shot a few area matches and nationals, and RO'd a sectional or two. Locally I run our club's hybrid steel match. Just my observation that more experienced shooters KNOW when they wipe out, rare as those occurrences are. New or newer shooters that have way too much adrenaline flowing are the ones I observe making DQ'able errors and keep on going, mainly because they can't realize the error due to all the other stuff they are dealing with that an experienced competitor will take for granted. However, I can't remember seeing an AD where the competitor didn't show some kind reaction, if only for a split second. I'm not making an absolute statement of fact, just a general anecdotal observation, for what it's worth.

Just an observation, but every AD I've seen at a match was followed by the shooter stopping what they were doing and having a wth just happened look on their face, if only for a second. Most were already into ULASC mode before the RO could say stop. While this has no direct bearing on the OPs 10 foot question, it is a fairly good indicator of whether a shot is intentional or not. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was in the same boat as the OP. I have been banging away on a CZC 2010 Shadow custom, but due to old age and crappy close in vision I was looking to go to a red dot gun. I decided to leave the Shadow alone and bite the bullet and go total retard on an open gun. Mkay, so since I love CZ ergos, I decided to get a Czechmate. This was January of 2017, due to weather I started shooting it in April. The good stuff is that Open is fun, the Czechmate just runs, the red dot is really cool for old blind goofballs like me and I've learned a lot about my trigger press watching the dot. The bad stuff is that the grip frame is NOT the same as your Shadow. The Czechmate was indexing slightly high for me, and I was having trouble finding the dot. I finally got pissed enough that I yanked out the belt sander and removed the fake checkering front and back, and slightly reprofiled the back to make the thing index. You will most likely need to tune your mags, or just send them to Grams like I did and have him do it. While you are mailing stuff to Grams, you can toss in your barrels and have him throat them, or you can order a throater from Manson and do them yourself. Replace the springs and followers with either Grams or CZC, and the base pads from CZC are the bomb. I ordered a CZC magwell, but have not installed it. On my Czechmate, I will need to cut the TS magwell grooves as my Czechmate doesn't have them and that is the only way the CZC magwell will mount. Also, if you go with the CZC magwell you will need to replace the grips. I've been using the factory magwell enough and I'm sticking with it. In my case, the factory magwell is larger than the frame opening, so it looks like I will be filing and sanding on the frame some more in the near future. Plan on running the racker on the opposite side, or bend or replace it. Finally, after three months I have learned to not reload after 10 rounds or run a big stick empty because I feel like I have unlimited boolits. There are three Czechmates at my club matches, including mine. All have been tweaked in the manners above to their respective owner's satisfactions. All just run, no excuses. The 2011 guys, not so much. There always seem to be a few having problems. This isn't to say you won't have learning experiences with a Czechmate, I sure did. But once it gets set up and tuned, it just runs. 4K rounds and counting for me. Oh, and by the way when you switch back to your Shadow, your going to find that it feels light as a feather, and transitions like a plastic gun that went on a diet. I shoot my Shadow better now than I ever did.

Boom. This right here. Ever watch a MLB player step into the batter's box or a PGA player address a ball? Each player will have their own individual routine that is unique to themselves, but the key thing is that each individual will go through their routine the same way. Every. Single. Time. Routines should be designed to get oneself into a relaxed but competitive zone, where everything that you are about to accomplish is just another day at the range.

Thanks for the tips, I'll start chasing stuff down.

Not too aggressively. There is about .05 of the follower protruding past the front of the receiver port. Serial number side of port has been lowered about .125, other side about .225. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The leade was throated out with a Manson throat reamer. The chamber area was not touched.

Loaded round (a FTF) is sticking up .160 from the barrel. Front of bolt to the breach face is .135. Firing pin measures .2.652. Firing pin spring is .840.

FTF round extracts normally. No marks on the cartridge. My normal load for everything minor is a Precision Delta 147 FMJ (Berrys as a substitute), 3.5 grains of 231, CCI primers (but also use Federal or Win), 1.16 OAL. I've been using this load for the last 10 plus years. No anti-walk or rotate pins. Firing pin was pulled and inspected, along with the channel. Firing pin flops back and forth inside the channel with no drag. Any idea what length the firing pin should be, and does any one make an extended length pin?

Should the cartridge drop lever have any side to side play on the trigger pack? I get an occasional double feed, or an occasional shell feeds but the lifter doesn't lift malfunction. I replaced the lifter spring when I added a TTI lifter in March, along with a new factory action spring. Only other modification is a Nordic extended tube and follower with about 13" of spring length past the tube. The carrier latch is stone stock and has not been tuned, tweaked or whatever. I started looking and noticed the play in the cartridge drop lever. is that normal for the part or something I need to replace? Thanks in advance.

I have a PSA colt mag carbine build that has failure to fire issues. One or two cartridges every mag. The bolt is always forward (I checked, watching it run and pushing forward on the bolt after each cycle to make sure it is fully forward), but I wind up with a click instead of a bang and no or very faint primer marks. Repeatedly trying the FTF rounds in the PCC yields the same results. Any round that won't light off in the PCC readily fires in my Shadow with 13# hammer spring. Yes I'm shooting reloads but all rounds case gauge and plunk. 124s or 147s makes no difference. The firing pin channel is clean and the FP moves freely inside the channel. Right now I'm thinking I need to put in a JP hammer or cut a few coils off the FP spring. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Build specs below. PSA Colt lower with JP trigger only (hammer and hammer spring are stock) PSA barrel throated for 147s at 1.16" CMMG bolt NFA (I think) upper and Nordic tube

Just a suggestion, but the rubberized base pads available from CZ Custom and Cajun work really well for me. As a plus, they save the mags from wear and tear from bouncing off of graveled bays and indoor range floors. I wouldn't want to use them with a mag well, but they have been great for production. They only cost $8 or $9 bucks as well.

Another plug for 231. It just works, isn't too particular about bullet weight, and is adaptable through the most common non-open class USPSA cartridges (9mm, 40sw, 45acp). Buy it in 8 pound containers to save money and off you go. I'm not the most thorough tinkerer or greatest group shooter, but past experience has shown that the bullet will do more for accuracy than the powder in 9mm type cartridges. My guess is most people 'find' new powders during shortages when their long time favorite can no longer be found. Of course I could be wrong as they haven't covered this topic yet in climatology school. I started with Herco many moons ago, then Bulseye, Titegroup and then 231. Herco was because someone recommended it when I first started, Bulseye because I switched to 147s for suppressed usage, Titegroup because I started USPSA and it was the newest latest greatest (didn't work for me at all). I wound up with 231 because I can grab any can of 9mm (or 45acp for that matter) plus whatever gun is tripping my trigger and everything works, goes bang, stays quiet, prints groups, doesn't get overly dirty, and just provides an overall enjoyable shooting experience. YMMV Concerning bullet weight, I personally can't tell a difference between 124s and 147s, but I didn't stay at a holiday inn last night either. I generally load 147s as that weight works in all my platforms plus stays subsonic, which is a big deal for me, but not for any USPSA type reasons. If you do other types of shooting with 9mm that might be a consideration for you too. As to bullet type, no real difference for me between plated and jacketed. Since you mentioned Berrys, I have run thousands of those without issue, but for a little less money you might also consider Precision Delta FMJs. One final thought is that if you shoot indoors at all, most indoor ranges seem to require a plated or jacketed bullet. Have fun with your new adventure. Racing pistols is the bomb.

Some low hanging fruit for you: Judging from the cadence of your shooting and the speed of your splits, it appears you are aiming hard at every single target, including the wide open ones at 3 to 5 yards. Take the classifier for example. Watch the video and listen to the splits and transitions. Almost no difference between the full targets and the head box center one, except for getting slower after the reload on the last two full targets after the center target. Learn to shoot faster. For practice, work on Bill drills and El Prezs. Learn to pick up your shooting and transition pace, and still shoot A's. Give the disaster factor targets their proper respect, but hammer the snot out of the easy ones. As for stage planning, stop trying to imitate the cool kids for now. Get yourself to a shooting position, hammer the targets, and get to the next position. My guess is that you are thinking about way too much stuff while shooting (aim, front sight, shoot while moving, reload now, etc). All that will develop over time, but for now keep it simple. Mastery of base skills will allow you to move on and work on more advanced skills. Think of a stage as a series of linked together base skills. If you are struggling with those base skills then everything else that you add in will be noise that further erodes your performance. At least that is what my fortune cookie said last night (got it from the restraunt next to the Holiday Inn Express that I stayed in). Good luck with your new sport and keep working.

First off, I'm just a lowly club level M class shooter, so take that into consideration along with my advice. I'll defer to the cool kids if you get any analysis from them. There are plenty of dry fire drill programs and books out there. Ben Stoeger, Mike Seeklander and Steve Anderson to name three off the top of my head. Take a look at these three and any others that you might trip over, pick one that seems philosophically aligned with the way you think and learn, and follow it. No sense reinventing the wheel. What the hell, steal some bit of knowledge from all three, and any one else you can find. When I'm serious about competing and want to work accuracy and transitions, I do the following live fire and track my progress: 5 Bill Drills 30 rounds 5 El Prez's but with 10 foot spacing between targets 60 rounds 5 Schmidt Standards 120 rounds Schmidt Standards is a regular fixture at the Western States Single Stack Classic. It is fixed time of 6 seconds (set clock for 5.7 sec par time), 4 strings of 6 shots each. String 1 is freestyle at 50 yards String 2 is freestyle at 25 yards, shoot 3, reload and shoot three String 3 is SHO at 15 yards String 4 is WHO at 10 yards Record and track progress. The cool kids will be sub 2 second Bill Drills (all A's), 6 second El Prezs (all A's), and over 100 points on Schmidt Standards. I find Enos Factor Scoring to be useful for analyzing Bill Drills and El Prez, but still record raw time and hits. All three of those are very accuracy intensive. The good news is that you can recreate them all for dry fire using scaled targets for distance. Hope that helps, good luck and have fun.

Since your plates are already cut for carriage bolts, cut a small piece of 1 1/2 angle iron and drill a hole in the center of each side of the angle iron. Bolt one side to the AR plate, and rest the other on the top cap (you might have to modify your top cap with a nub to hold the angle iron bracket). Gravity will slightly angle your AR plate and also allow it move upon impact. Note that you don't need alot of 'angle' to your AR plates, 10 to 15 degrees is more than enough. I use angle iron on my Hardoc plates, but with rebar type stands, and have zero splatter issues.

Quick observation, but your misses are killing you. Then, once you've realized you had a miss, you transition back to the missed target at the speed of sloth and then miss again. Try not to see a big steel plate that you simply wing a shot off at. Realize that every shot counts, and go for the 'A' hit on the steel. I'm guessing you could have made up 1/3 of that time disparity on the plate rack stage alone if you had been clean. Call a good hit, then transition like crazy to the next target and call a good hit. Wash, rinse, repeat. Good luck, and looks like a fun match.

Got it, makes sense now. I made an assumption and had flipped it to the other side thinking that would be proper for the JHPs. Thanks for your help and the photo.

Thanks for the die tips. I was kicking around ordering a Redding Competition Seating Die , but I might try the epoxy trick if using the Dillon round nose portion doesn't work. Actually wrote down measurements instead of trying to remember them. Average case length of .748, and bullet length of .575. Added together that totals 1.323. COAL of 1.16, which means the bullets are being seated .163 into the case.

I've been loading on a 550 for 30 plus years, but this has me stumped. I recently started loading 9 major for my Czechmate (1st open gun). I purchased MG 115 & 124 JHPs and their 121s. I'm loading to 1.16 COAL which leaves about .125 of the bullet for the case to grab onto. I'm getting more than a few bullets being seated at a slight angle, especially with the 115s and 121s. I'm using Dillon dies, don't overly flare cases, and crimp to .377. The Dillon seating die has the insert positioned for flat nose profiles. My last 15 years loading 9mm has been done using 147 Berrys loaded subsonic for Production and Squirt Guns. Even at 1.16 those bullets are deep enough in the cases that they are aligned straight. Maybe the RN profile helps too. Any pro tips on how to fix this?

That will work if you are just starting and want to get your feet wet and see what the sport is all about. Add a couple of Uncle Mikes dual mag pouches and start playing. If you stick with it you will eventually want to upgrade to a inner / outer belt system and individual mag pouches. At that time you will want to lose the paddle and mount the holster with the Safariland USPSA kit or Stoeger's BOSS hanger. Don't worry about the equipment race for now, it won't make you any better. Just go out and practice and play.

Not that there is necessarily anything wrong buying a 'budget' can, but buy the one that you really want, and make sure it is from an established company that will have any mounts you might need and that you feel will be around to service your can if it needs it. Until and more importantly if the HPA ever becomes law, you will be looking at buying a Title 2 device, with the fun of paperwork, approval waits and a transfer tax. As you are purchasing a highly restricted device, get your purchase right the first time, even if you have to wait a bit to purchase what you really want.

You guys need to shoot the Cactus Sunday USPSA match. If they are still running things at Cactus, say hi to Terry and John for me. Cactus is where I started my USPSA adventure, it is a good place to get your feet wet. By the way, get thee to Rio for Tuesday Night Steel as well. Between Rio, South Mountain and Ben Avery you can play at USPSA every weekend, usually both days. The three ranges all have a different 'feel' to them, so be sure to try them all. Jim Baldree from North Idaho.

Here you go. Video covers multiple platforms, in fact he is wrenching on an insert for a STI, but the procedure is the same.