Captain Wheelgun

Sounds like a neat pistol, got any pics? Do you think you are getting good enough accuracy to make up for being Minor PF? Nice looking pistol.

OK, I see that it won't be ideal for major loads. I'm still interested in doing this because it should be more versatile overall. I was wondering if anyone else had actually tried this.

Muzzle flip seems (to me, at least) to be the biggest factor in getting back on target quickly. I would be OK with reducing that, while handling the straight-back recoil with a proper grip as well as tweaking the load. Some of the open guns I've seen not only have a comp, but also have ports running up to halfway down the barrel, and the users seem to be able to hit major PF. A couple of small ports near the muzzle shouldn't affect velocity too much, I should be able to compensate with the right powder / bullet combo. I will also probably be shooting minor most of the time anyway. What I'm looking at is building one pistol that can be used for USPSA, steel, and 3-gun. I realize it won't be ideal for any of them, but it should be a good 'jack of all trades' gun. The only time I would be using major loads is in a USPSA match.

I saw recently that Jerry Miculek has his 3-gun pistol Mag-na-ported instead of using an external compensator. I'm thinking about doing this when I set up my XDm 5.25 as an open gun. In , it seems to give good reduction in muzzle flip versus a non-ported gun. It should also make disassembly for cleaning much easier, since the barrel can be removed just like normal. Have any of you tried this? Would it be more effective with major PF loads than with minor?

I saw recently that Jerry Miculek is running a slide mounted optic on his M&P 9L 3-gun pistol, and instead of an external compensator, he had it Mag-na-ported. I'm thinking about building a similar open rig on my XDm 5.25. This thread has given me a lot of info on mgs & mag wells. It also sounds like I should go with either the RMR or the Deltapoint for the optic.

I haven't been switching guns , it's just like I said in the title, I haven't shot a match in 2 years. I expect it will get better as I start getting to matches more often.

My local club, ALSPPC, held their monthly USPSA match today, so I decided it was time to wring out my new XDm 5.25. To make a long story short, the pistol ran perfectly, except for an unending stream of malfunctions in the loose nut behind the backstrap. I think I made about every mistake it is possible to make short of breaking the 180 or dropping my gun. Misses, no-shoots, FTE, the list goes on. And on, and on, and on. I even had a miss on the classifier. If I weren't already unclassified in Limited division, they would have demoted me to U. Oh well, the only way to go from here is up, I hope.

At the local gun show yesterday, I found a deal I couldn't pass up on a new XDm 5.25 9mm. I used to own an XD 45 Tactical, and I've been looking at the 5.25 since they first came out. I took it to the range today, and I'm very impressed with it. It was very accurate, though the trigger is a little heavier than I would like on a competition gun. I'm going to run a couple hundred more rounds through it before I decide on a trigger job or a drop-in kit. It's definitely a big change from my Ruger P89. I can't wait to get ot a match with it.

Slightly off topic, but are the IKam's eyeglass lenses rated as safety lenses? I've thought about getting one of these, but I've never been able to find out if they will work as safety glasses while shooting.

Thanks. I've emailed the maker to see if he has any of them available, since 4wheelguns.com apparently only carries the 10 round version.

Does anybody make a good speedloader for the 6 shot S&W 617? I've got a couple of the HKS ones, and while they are OK for centerfire rounds, they pretty much suck for .22. I've seen the DS-10 loaders for the 10 rounders, do they mske a 6 round vetsion?

You might try using a standard front sight base with the sight tower milled off. When done right, this can be very low profile. It's also relatively inexpensive, especially if you do the surgery yourself on a used base.

In my case it's C - None of the Above. The reason for this is that while I am right handed, my right eye is useless for anything requiring detail vision (reading, shooting, etc...).I have tried shooting left handed, but it just doesn't feel right (no pun intended). What I do is set up my long guns so I can shoot right handed, but with my left eye. In some cases, this means lowering the comb on the stock. This, of course, is not an option on an AR. My AR has a fixed carry handle, I have a cantilever mount on it to hold a red dot sight. This raises the sight above the level of the irons just enough to allow the right hand - left eye trick to work. Obviously this is not something I can recommend for everyone, but it works for me. If you have more-or-less normal vision in your right eye, I would try shooting right handed with your left eye closed or blocked.

Hi, Fritz, I'm in the same situation, right-handed, but right eye hosed due to various medical issues. I've tried shooting left-handed, but it just doesn't feel right. I can do it, but I still prefer shooting right-handed whenever possible. My current rifle is a box-stock DPMS 20" A2. I've used it for some time now with a scope on the carry handle. This is plenty high for right hand / left eye shooting. However, I recently got one of those cantilever mounts that puts a scope or red dot forward of the carry handle. I've installed an old Tasco ProPoint 4 on this. It's a 1x red dot sight with a tube that's almost 45mm in diameter. On this mount, it sits just high enough to to use RH / LE, but is much more compact than having a scope on top of the carry handle. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I did a preliminary zero by co-witnessing the dot with the iron sights, which I had zeroed off a bench shooting left-handed. This may work for you if you can find a similarly sized dot sight. If you have a railed forend, you can get the same effect by putting your dot sight on a riser block. Hope this helps. David S

Update - Finally got the EGW extra-long ejector installed. This has made a MAJOR difference. I got through a 100 round box of standard 9mm 115gr FMJ with only 2 jams, and those appeared to be from a possibly bad magazine. This is much better. Now maybe I can use this as a short-range 3-gun rifle.