ah1356

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters' April match is a special classifier match. We shoot both days, AM and PM sessions, with registration opening at 8:00 and first shots 9:00ish. Second session begins roughly 30 minutes after first session ends. You could shoot 4 classifiers in 4 divisions in a weekend. For those who don't shoot with us regularly, the range is about 40 minutes west of Nashville, and we are on Central time. We will be shooting the following classifiers, plus 2 regular stages: 09-09, 03-05, 99-28, 99-60 More club info here: www.ntps.org Cheers, Aaron

Sorry this took so long. Here are pics of the grips as requested. I took these without the magwell so you can see the contour. I hand planed these to this shape from 1/4 poplar stock. The 2011 grips aren't any wider than 1911 grips - just more square. It takes a little practice to get the shape right, and the skateboard tape hides a lot of little flaws. These feel very similar to my limited gun grip (STI, also skateboard tape). As an added bonus, they are very light and help this gun make weight easily, even with the beefier Rangemaster frame.

Mine was a unique slide. The DC is longer than the point where the cut starts on a classic slide, so a classic slide would look wrong. As you can see in the pic, other than the serrations we left the square profile alone. We wanted a unique look so since this shoots great and makes weight we went with it.

Great looking gun. How about some details? Thanks. Here are some specs: It's a .40 built by Tim Calhoun based on my design (the rear serrations are "AH" - my initials). It's an awesome build and it runs 100%. I now have custom shaped grip panels on it covered with skateboard tape to mimic the feel of my limited gun (also built by Tim, in my avatar). Fusion frame (STI was out of stock). Slide and barrel are STI. I think the safeties are Ed Brown. It's a Caspian trigger I had lying around. I like the flat face and it goes well with the rear slide cuts. The maxwell is a Dawson no gap with aluminum msh, which helps keep the weight to just a hair over 42oz with a Tripp system mag.

Here's mine: http://www.calhouncustomfirearms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IMG_0539.jpg It's actually a Fusion frame, if that matters. It's cut back enough to be SS legal and makes weight easily.

Thanks for another great match. If it's not too much trouble can you post the combined results? Thanks & see you next month.

Yup - fun match. Thanks a bunch.

September it is. Or come on down to Dickson, TN and shoot with us on the second weekend. www.ntps.org

Thanks for a fun match. See you in August.

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters will host our monthly USPSA match in Dickson, TN on the 14th & 15th of July. Registration will open at 8:00 both days. Shooters meeting at 8:45, first shot at 9:00. Second session will start around 1:00 each day, depending on when the first session ends. Stages will are posted below. Should be a fun and challenging match with lots of steel and moving targets. Roughly 125 rounds plus as many misses as you want to shoot for bonus time. Maps, info, etc. here on our web site: www.NTPS.org Post or PM questions if you have any. See you at the range, Aaron

Same times for registration and start as February? Thanks, Aaron

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters will host our annual classifier match this coming weekend, 10 & 11 March. We will have four classifiers plus 2 long courses, roughly 120 rounds total. We will shoot both Saturday and Sunday with registration opening at 8:00 both days. I'll post the diagrams of the remaining 2 stages when I have them. More info here: NTPS CM 06-03 CM 09-02 CM 06-10 CM 08-06

Total weight 40.5oz Total reciprocating weight 14.0oz Currently running a 9lb spring Thoughts and opinions? Still learning the gun, but absolutely love it. Balances perfectly and shoots very flat. Built by Tim Calhoun, www.calhouncustomfirearms.com

We whittled away a bit more. This is done until it is broken in and off to ionbond.

Tim Calhoun in Kingston Springs, TN, outside Nashville. I don't think he'll be the best gunsmith nobody has heard of for long...

Here's my new toy. This is ready to shoot just in time to still make the centennial. The cocking serrations are binary for "1911" and "2011," and we threw in a Hi-Power cut for good measure. I'm going to shoot it in the white for a while and probably remove some more weight at some point. Right now it weighs 40.4 ounces. This is my first 6-inch gun so I plan to experiment for a while and look for the weight and balance that fits me best. This was built by my good friend Tim Calhoun in Kingston Springs, TN. Happy New Year! Aaron

Major power factor, 8 in the mags, 1 in the chamber for a loaded start. Minor power factor, 10+1. .40 is minimum caliber for major. I suppose you could shoot .40 minor in Single Stack, but only if you're prepared for some serious abuse from the "minor sucks" crowd.

Thanks to everyone who made this a great match. I'll definitely be back next year!

I used to have smileys on the nose of soft moly bullets too. I traced it to the bottom of the feed ramp hitting the top round in the mag as the slide came back, not the bottom of the chamber as the slide went forward. At an OAL of 1.23 I got deep smileys and the occasional FTF as the bullet would hang up on the bottom of the ramp. At 1.95 I still get occasional smileys, but I don't get any FTF's. After a stage the live round in the chamber always has a light smiley. Load a mag with dummy rounds and pull the slide back aggressively, but then don't chamber the round. Release the mag and check the first bullet. If you have a smiley it must have come from the bottom of the ramp, not the chamber. If that's your issue, try loading a bit shorter. Good luck, Aaron

Thanks to all the RO's, organizers, volunteers, and sponsors. I could have shot better, but I had a great time. Thanks again to everyone on squad 2! Cheers, Aaron

I started in SS minor, because that was the gun I owned when I learned about this sport. At most matches, for me with my style and at my level, the advantage of the extra rounds has more than offset the disadvantage of minor scoring. The SS Nat's was a different story, since that match was set up for 8-round mags. Any stage with lots of steel or long/tight shots on paper increases the odds of a make-up shot, and the two extra rounds can save you a standing reload at slide lock. One more advantage is that the 9mm holes are a motivation to learn to call shots rather than looking for holes on the targets before moving to the next array. Minor has its place and most definitely does not suck. If I were not planning to focus on Limited going forward I would get another top end in .40 for my SS gun. I would bring both to every match and decide which to use based on the stages.

Thanks again for another great BitB. Huge thanks to the sponsors, staff, and everyone on squad 5 that made it such a fun day. Aaron

I'll post more details as they develop. Should be 4 classifiers, plus 2 or 3 other stages. North Tennessee Practical Shooters - www.ntps.org

I shot the Single Stack Nationals last year with my 9mm Trojan. At most matches, at least for me, the disadvantage of the minor scoring has been more than offset by the advantage of the extra 2 rounds in the mag. However, the SS Nat's was a very different story. The match was set up for 8-round magazines, and there were very few stages or arrays where 2 more rounds were helpful. If I shoot the SS Nat's again I'm taking a gun that scores major. I'll let others advise you about .40 vs. .45, but either will be far preferable to the 9x21.

I have a 9mm Trojan. I really like the undercut trigger guard, and it has been very reliable since I put in an Aftec extractor. I hate the stippling on the front strap too. But it does had one advantage over checkering - skateboard tape sticks to it better. You're probably going to swap out parts anyway, so why not start with the cheaper platform?