Chris Christian

My eyes are not the best, and I use a FO front on all my competition guns. The semi-autos carry .060. My Ruger GP-100 has a larger rod (I haven't miked it but it might be .080). I am actually more accurate at IDPA or USPSA with the bigger Ruger dot. I can see it faster, and I am always among the Most Accurate Shooters at IDPA matches. This works for me, although wouldn't presume it to be the best bet for shooters with better eyes. Replacement FO rods are readily available. I get mine from Brownells. As inexpensive as they are, and as easy as they are to replace, playing with a "blob" might be worthwhile for you. Chris Christian

You might experiment with the replaceable backstraps. Most of the shooters I know who have gone to the M&P (myself included) found that the larger backstraps "felt better"... but they shot better with the small backstrap because of a more consitent hand position. It's worth looking at. Chris Christian

HP-38 is a good powder for .45... as well as .38 Spl. It's virtually identical to Win 231, and those two are my choices for .38 and .45, and it can work with 115 & 124 grain 9mm. Longshot is a newer powder and the folks at Hodgdons tell me it is not temperature sensitive. I've used it in 9mm (147 grain) with excellent results and in .45. It doesn't do well with greatly reduced loads... but it is very good for the PF loads we have to run in IDPA & USPSA. In the .38 Spl it needs a pretty good loading density to get a complete burn in that larger volume case and minimal ES, but the 9mm and .45 cases are small volume enough that it works well there. Clays is a popular choice for jacketed .45 ACP loads, and I have used it there. Have not used it on 9mm because it burns fast and that small case seems to work better with mid-range powders (WSF for 147 grains is my 9mm favorite, although Longshot is good). If you are looking for one Hodgdon powder for 9mm and .45 I think you'll be happy with Longshot. Chris Christian

+1 to Nik, and others on the subject of new shooters. A lot depends on how the DQ is issued (attitude and justification), and what explanation comes with it. If that is adequately explained in advance it should solve a lot of problems. A new shooter squad with experienced ... and extra... SOs is also a help in preventing them. Both clubs I shoot at in FL place new shooters in that environment and DQs are rare. The ones that do get DQed are not normally people you'd want around you with a loaded gun anyway, so I don't really care if they come back. If they do I (as a SO who often runs a new shooter squad) watch 'em like a hawk. As for building a club... First Coast IDPA in Jacksonville had 102 shooters at their 6 Feb 2010 club match... and that was not a record turnout. Just a couple of years ago, 45 shooters was a good turnout. You build a club through interesting COFs, friendly atmosphere, adherence to safety rules without a Range Nazi mentality... and getting scores posted quickly on a continuously updated web site. Just like running a successful business. Chris Christian

My experience with Hodgdons Universal Clays is that it is not a powder that lends itself to reduced loads... very dirty... unburned powder... erratic velocities.... it seems to need a loading density near the upper levels to get a proper burn. The load you are talking about is significantly reduced (not even close to the proper load density) and is not likely to achieve good results. In the .38 Spl I don't even consider Universal Clays. You might want to look at Clays (for very reduced low recoil loads) or Win 231 or Hodgdons HP-38 for mid to full power loads. Chris Christian

Yup...+1 to Norman... my thoughts exactly. Especially if I'm the SO/RO that wasn't even shooting the COF. I can accept an injury caused by my own stupidity. I can get really irked when my injury was caused by someone elses stupidity. Chris Christian

I'm not certain what is necessary about the "flip N catch" in the ULSC procedure. I do know that it places the gun's ejection port facing upwards (where both the shooter and SO/RO are looking right at it from a relatively close range) and requires a forceful racking of the slide to propel the round far enough into the air for the shooter to catch it in their weak hand (primers don't pop without energy/force applied to them.... if they did we'd all be injured by just routinely handling our ammo). This procedure does create the possibility of the primer popping when the live chambered round is vigorously moved to the rear where the ejector is. The "flip N catch" is not a necessary procedure to ULSC. But, it does create an unnecessary potential for injury to both the shooter and the SO/RO. I find it strange that some shootrs are not only defending it, but advocating it. Seems to me to be a case of "style over substance". Chris Christian

It would be nice if they would tell the SO/RO in advance that they are going to show off and do it. That would give us a chance to back up a bit. Unfortunatly, I've never received advance warning, so I'm left standing there a couple feet to the shooter's strong side and have just become a "shrapnel magnet" if the shooter's vigorous ejection pops a primer. There are some inherent hazards to being a SO/RO, but I fail to see the need for adding unnessary ones. Chris Christian

Robert Ray does seem to be the IDPA HQ source for rules clarification and he does respond quickly, as well as being a very pleasent individual to speak to. I've called him on a number of occasions. The drawback to IDPA HQ interpretions is that not everyone receives them. There should be an updated IDPA web site for "rules changes" issued between rule book publications. There are situations where the Rule Book says one thing, and IDPA HQ rulings say another. I'm not dinging anybody here. I'm a SO. I have to enforce the rules. Most IDPA shooters never read the Rule Book... they learn it 3 seconds at a time. But, for those few that do... how do I, as an SO, tell them that "Yes, the Rule Book says you can do that... but there was an edict from IDPA HQ that now says you can't... so you get a PE". I'm not bitchin' about the Rules. I love IDPA and SO two matches a month. But.... Chris Christian

In order to properly propel the round into the air for the shooter to catch it (assuming a right handed shooter) the gun must be canted 90 degrees to the left with the ejection port facing upward. The slide must then be racked vigorously enough to send the live cartridge into the air. Should a kaboom occur due to the round vigorously impacting the ejector as a result of the vigorous slide manipulation, both the shooter and the RO are staring at it from an intimate distance. No thanks! IMHO it's a stupid show off move that has the potential to place both the shooter and the RO at an unnecessary risk of injury, and I really don't care where the muzzle is pointing. The muzzle direction isn't the issue in this situation. Chris Christian

I have one of the original ones... maybe 20 years old. Haven't used it in a heavy schedule, but it's a VERY GOOD sight. A bit heavy and bulky when compared to contemporary red dots... but a very solidly made piece of equipment. Chris Christian

If the ejector contacting the primer is going to set off the round being cleared from the gun, the ejector has to strike the primer with some degree of force. Minor contact isn't going to do it. A slow, and measured, removal of the cartridge in the chamber isn't going to generate that degree of force. I prefer to remove the magazine first (obviously) then cup my weak hand over the ejection port, with my strong hand pinky under the mag well. Retracting the slide slowly will put the round into the mag well, where my pinky will catch it for retrieval, with no chance of a kaboom. The self-styled " high speed pro shooters" who violently jack the round into the air and then attempt to catch it with their weak hand tend to tick me off (stronger language avoided here) because I am often the SO/RO standing on that side of the ejection port and if a Kaboom occurs from their show off behavior I'm one who is likely to catch sharpnel from it.... I had enough of that in Vietnam. There is no need to "show off" on the unload & clear. Just do it slowly and safely. The shooter isn't the only one who risks injury here, the RO is right in the line of fire.. Although... in all honesty... I wouldn't mind the "jack & catch " crowd winding up with a face full of shrapnel. It will change their behavior to a safer one. Chris Christian

My God bless him and give him a speedy recovery. We don't need to lose Gentlemen like him. Chris Christian

I have a TZ-75 also. CZ 75/85 mags will fit it. Any smith who works on EAA Witness guns can get it runnning right, since they're all Tanfoglios. They are decent shooters. Chris Christian

You might take a look at the Ruger GP-100. They are less expensive, solid, accurate, reliable, and seem to be more accurate with lead bullets than my 686 (although both are tackdrivers with jacketed heads). Wilson Combat makes a spring kit for them that can give you a very nice 8 pound DA pull. Ruger has a model that has interchangeable fiber optic front sights. The square butt factory grips are not properly cut for Comp IIIs, but the round butt is perfect with them. I've shot Master scores on the IDPA Classifier with mine. Chris Christian

+1 to Duane's "heeling the gun". Sometimes in double taps and controlled pairs the shooter is thinking about the second shot before they have properly executed the first shot. The hand tenses to control recoil and break the second shot as they are breaking the first. One way to break this cycle is to run some sessions shooting just one shot. Concentrate on breaking the first shot perfectly...if that shot is where you want it your sights are fine. Once you get the first shot back under full control try six round Bill Drills concentrating on each shot and mark their POI on target. If you can make the first shot good this can show you where your grip or hand pressure is varying. Chris Christian

Drift the rear fixed sight to the left to zero your windage. Fixed sight guns won't shoot to the same POI for everybody. As for the small grip backstrap... I have 3 M&Ps (standard 9mm, Compact 9mm, and standard .45 ACP) all "feel" better with the larger backstrap, but match scores show the small grip is by far the best for me, and I have "average" sized hands. I know a number of M&P shooters (Master & Expert IDPA and M & A USPSA)... with varying hand sizes and grip strength... who have come to the same conclusion. If the gun is for your wife, let her shoot it before you start making changes. Chris Christian

It all depends upon what your gun likes, but I've found the 230s will make the 165 PF with less recoil than the 200s making 165. 230 RN also feeds with a lot of reliability, although 200 RN does as well. The 200 SWC sometimes need some load tweaking. Chris Christian

For the last five years I've used a set of Walker Game Ears. Very light weight... two mics per ear (stereo) and very comfortable. I only use them at matches (two per month) but they are turned on for the full five to six hours, and I think I'm on my third set of N batteries. I'm very happy with them. Chris Christian

I've used the Lyman Turbo Tumbers for the last 20 years and I'm only on my second one. I think they are good value for the money. Chris Christian

"Round dumping" during a Vickers Count COF is almost impossible to accurately call and becomes a subjective judgement on the part of the SO. I've only called it once during the two matches per month I SO, and that was when a shooter cranked five rounds into a ten yard target that was the last target engaged before a mandatory RWR/Tac Reload. That put him to slide lock, he made a slide lock reload, and he was grinning about it. He realized the folly of his tactic when he did the math and figured he could have made the RWR in under 20 seconds. He hasn't done it since. If a shooter fires three rounds at a two round paper target it is impossible, IMHO, to to call it, even if all three hits are 0s. If one hit is a 1, there's no way it can be called since the shooter is specifically allowed to fire extra rounds to improve his down point score. Can that be gamed? Sure... just make sure one of the shots is a 1, and nothing can be said. But, "round dumping" is not an easy call. Chris Christian

I've never reloaded MG (assuming your talking about Montana Gold brass jacketed) 147 9mm bullets. But, I shot enough of them in the factory Cor-Bon 147 grain Performance Match 9mm load (and the Cor-Bon 230 grain .45 ACP load, and the old 147 grain .38+P load) load in IDPA sanctioned matches to know that Montana Gold is a very a accurate bullet in my CZ 85, CZ 75B, M&P 9mm (standard size), Ruger GP-100 and M&P 45. As for reload data, I don't have any. But, a bullet (at least the jacketed variety) doesn't really give a hoot what powder spanks it in the butt and sends it down the barrel ( as long as the velocity/powder burn is reasonably consistent). If it's an accurate bullet it will fly well. I think MG slugs are just fine. Got some trophies to show for it. Chris Christian

I don't shoot bullseye any more, but when I did I "felt more comfortable" with a single headstamp for 50 yard Slow Fire, but didn't bother with it for 25 yard stages. I don't know if it made a difference. I can tell you that for USPSA/IDPA mixed brass can produce some extreme velocity spreads. If you are loading just above the PF you can be "dissapointed" at the chrono with mixed brass. I've seen as much as 100 fps difference in revolvers with mixed brass. Some of that was due to individual chambers, but a lot had to do with differing internal case volumes when loading 130 PF to make a 125 PF. Lesser, but still significant ES, have occured with 9mm and 45. It didn't seem to affect accuracy, but it sure created havoc with the chrono. One solution is to load mixed stuff, then chrono headstamps, and use the fastest ones on the chrono. But, that's sometimes too much to think about at a major match, and you might get the "wrong stuff" run through. Any decent load... mixed brass or not... works at the club level. Sanctioned matches?... I'll stick with one headstamp whether it's 9mm, .38, or .45. Chris Christian

It's not easy to make a reload that beats the accuracy of factory stuff, and almost impossible to do so if you're using mixed brass. But, reloads are more than accuracte enough for USPSA/IDPA targets. As for shifting from 124 to 147 grain, I think that you'll find the 147 grain loads (at 880-900 fps) will make PF easily (129-132 PF) and with less recoil than 124 grain loads. IMHO, the 147 also knocks down steel better. The 147 is my choice for a 125 PF 9mm requirement. I have no experience loading them with TG or 231 (I favor WSF, 3.9 grains) but I suspect there are loads for those two powders (especially 231) that will do that 880-900 fps/147 for you. Chris Christian

DWFan, From reading your previous posts I get the gut feeling that you're gonna have a lot of fun at IDPA. Once the "new" wears off, your stage planning will miraculously evolve to the point where you account for every target before the buzzer and make certain that the appropriate ones get the right number of bullets. I too have gotten a bit too fast, and a bit ahead of myself, and forgotten to shoot a target (10 seconds in penalties... 2 Mikes and a FTN... really sucks!)... but I didn't do it more than once or twice before I figured out that the time to think is before the buzzer goes off. Welcome to IDPA! It's a pretty good match, and in my experience, a pretty good bunch of people. Chris Christian