Zak Smith

The Larue cantilever QR mount is highly recommended. It comes in 30mm and 1" sizes.

Can I pretend to throw out the two stages I screwed up too? Can I, Can I?

I shot Limited at Waco with the JP BC comp and didn't see anything like this.

Wouldn't short-stroking be a symption of not enough gas?

On the way home I noted that I could score the match with a calculator and a couple sheets of graph paper in an hour or two. -z

It was possible to shoot many doubles on Shotgunnery. -z

To motivate the shooters, Shawn could say, "If you don't finish a stage by 2pm Sunday, you zero it." -z

I think this is as much the shooters' fault as the ROs'. More RO's would have worked better, but the whole RO crew deserve a lot of credit for running this with little prior experience. I witnessed a lot of shooters standing around jaw-jacking when they could have been getting ready, fixing the stage, taping/resetting, etc. We got tired of that and defected into our own little mini squad. With four people, everyone working all the time, we flew through the stages on Sunday. My take is that if people wanted to be done by 2pm on Sunday and/or avoid the rain, they should have gotten their squad squared away and blown through those stages. -z

See, there's a funny story there.... We don't know. Without going in to detail, there was some confusion and the plaques will be mailed out. -z

Here's a quick short match report. I'm leaving the pictures as links so load time isn't terrible. Tiger Valley / Cavalry Arms 3Gun Match, 2004 Summary: lots of shooting, mud, chaos, and fun. If you are coming down to the Ft. Worth, Dallas, Waco area, be sure to stop by at TacPro. They are a big Accuracy International dealer and shooting range. Lots of neat stuff is there. Match score was the sum of the shooter's stage times. Penalties such as FTE, FTN, procedurals, etc generally added 5 - 15 seconds depending. TV3G Stages Stage 1. Long range rifle. 120 seconds time limit. 60 rounds fired. Target is a B27 at 300 yards, raised and lowered from the pit. This was shot in groups of about 8 shooters. Each miss added 5 seconds. A perfect score was "0". About 10 Open shooters got a perfect 60. The highest Limited score was 59. I don't remember Trooper, but Alan won this stage for Trooper. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4456_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4460_img.jpg Troopers had to pack their gear & guns all the way down to the 300 line (from 1000) and back to the parking lot. It was probably about a mile hike. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4478_img.jpg It was apparently hard. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4481_img.jpg Stage 4. "Jail Break" Pistol Shotgun Start disarmed locked in the jail cell. Retrieve key with broom, unlock yourself, get guns and start shooting. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4487_sta.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4489_stc.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...44_4490_std.jpg Stage 6. Dark house. Rifle Pistol. Start in the CavArms van (license "DRPSHIP"), it drives forward 10 yards, you jump out. The timer's button is hit when you charging the rifle. Engage the 4 or 5 targets outside, then either ditch the empty rifle or sling it, and enter the dark-house with your handgun. There were 6 targets inside the house, in 4 rooms. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4514_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4517_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4519_img.jpg Lunch. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4523_img.jpg Stage 3. ZOMBIES. Pistol, shotgun, rifle. This was Russell's stage. Each target required on hit in the head, and there were a bunch of head-sized steel plates for the shotgun. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4526_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4532_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4535_img.jpg Stage 5. Shotgunnery. Pistol and shotgun. Two hits on each of 3 steel with the pistol, then grab your shotgun and engage the 27 clays. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4555_img.jpg At the end of Day 1, the Troopers had to secure their gear until Sunday: http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4562_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4564_img.jpg Our mini-squad got an early start on Sunday shooting Stage 9. Handgun only. Carrying a 5 lb ammo box in your weak hand, engage a bunch of steel with your pistol. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4569_img.jpg Oh, it was muddy on Sunday. Mud does not really describe what it was. This was actually clay. After walking about 30 feet, you'd gain a couple inches of height and about 5 lbs of weight. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4578_img.jpg Carts did not fare well http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4579_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4581_img.jpg Stage 7. Blackhawk Down. Handgun, Rifle. At start, engage a bunch of paper with your handgun. Reholster, then run to the helicopter for your rifle and engage the rest of the paper targets. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...45_4601_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4604_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4612_img.jpg Stage 8. Door Gunner. Pistol, Rifle. There were just a boat-load of targets on this stage. Probably at least 40 targets total. Starting seated, you had to start shooting pistol and end shooting rifle, and stay inside the body of the helicopter. http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4634_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4621_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4648_img.jpg Stage 2. Up and Over. Pistol and Rifle. Start with your pistol and engage 20-some poppers. Reholster and run up the ramp with your slung rifle. Engage the rifle targets from over the top of the ramp. Range was out to about 100 yards. There was a steel target requiring two hits, and if those hits knocked out the "body" and "head" panel plates, you got 5 or 10 seconds substracted from your time (bonus). http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4676_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4678_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4684_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4693_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...46_4700_img.jpg http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/...47_4711_img.jpg This was a fun match with good stages and a lot of shooting. I'm going again next year. More pictures: http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/TV3G-2004/

1. TA11. The TA11 has 2.4" of eye relief over the TA31's 1.5", and this really pays off when you're shooting from compromised positions, or need to go fast. I've tried both and sold off my TA31, kept the 3 TA11's. 2-3. No clue, sorry. 4. I always shoot with both eyes open. 5. I don't think the S.D. has been release to the civilian market yet in the US. Some people over on the LightFigheter.Net forums have them. -z

I disagree. The reason to get a TA11 over the TA01JP is because of the BAC feature. For 3Gun ranges (0-350 yards), the BDC differences are academic. Just figure out your hold points in the donut for 100, 200, and 300, and you're good to go. The BDC doesn't start until 400m anyway. -z

Forgot to mention the JP SS carrier. It's similar in weight to a normal carrier, but slightly lighter. It's a good choice if you don't want to mess with the LW carrier, and I highly recommend keeping a spare SS carrier around even if you do use the LW carrier, so you can swap it out if your rifle starts malfing. My Low-Mass carrier made it through Stage 3 at the ITRC this year, but got sluggish (manifest by failure to feed first few rounds) towards the end due to all the dirt/sand in the action. I switched to the SS and it ran 100%, even through the barrel-burner stage.

1. Yes, when I use "qualified" ammo and I can keep the gun reasonably clean. No otherwise. The Low-Mass BC is worth it when it runs, and a curse when it doesn't. At RM3G this year, I ran the low-mass bolt carrier throughout the match and it ran 100%. "Qualified ammo" for me means Black Hills 75gr.. It's consistent enough and I know the gun runs with it. 3. TA11. 4. BAC is totally worth it, it totally speeds up acquisition time. Don't worry about the BDC being off, you'll have to figure out your hold points at ranges out to 350 anyway. -z

Are the published round counts still realistic? 400 pistol 150 shotshells (how many slugs or 00 Buck required?) 450 rifle

JJ, I believe that's affirmative. Limited or Open. -z

He said an SV with a Nowlin bbl.

On the contrary, you can go wrong with an Eotech. They have a higher rate of failure in the field. I've corresponded with several people "over there" and the Aimpoint M2 is the best of the 1x Red Dots right now.

I get no flack shipping handguns, rifles, and rifle parts FEDEX. I just Fedex 2nd or 3rd day air for just about everything and have no complaints.

Even though the wood stock look nice, it's going to wear the G10 Gunner Grips for "work." They are a little slimmer, and provide much more grip even when hands are oily.

Let me add that the AK I was shooting went single-shot on me in the first stage (3 houses). My AR ran perfectly the whole match. Using a super-large-aperture rear sight does not help practical accuracy. I scored better on the standards with the AK.

Myself and at least one other person have been using some JB-Weld like epoxy there for 18+ months. -z

Good catch on the plain FS. I actually ditched the FO FS on my SV. I used to be a fan of tritium sights on carry guns, but I noticed a couple things in the last 18 months and the 15,000+ rounds I've shot through 1911's in that time: 1. I don't really need the sights for COM shots out to 10 yards as long as I have some sort of index. 2. "dots" on the sight surfaces are distracting (also Heinie's are less distracting than Novaks) I figure the likelyhood that it's dark enough that I can't silhouette the black sights on the (ID'd) goblin, and he's 10+ yards away is basically zero. Plus, this way I don't have to replace the FS in 15 years. -z

Ti is about halfway between Al and steel in density, so split the weight difference between those two frames and you have the Ti weight. It won't crack like Al (or even steel). -z

Ted Yost just finished this Commander for me. It's based on a Caspian Titanium frame & Carbon steel slide. Ed Brown 45ACP barrel. Mostly Brown & Wilson parts. Custom-cut Heinies, black on black. The frame was left in natural Titanium, since it doesn't corrode. [ link to LARGER image ] [ link to LARGER image ] The "light" parts are bead blasted stainless and are a close match to the Ti frame in natural light. [ link to LARGER image ] [ link to LARGER image ]