Distant Thunder

Go to brownells.com and enter in 'series 80 spacer' in the search function. It's made by TJ's Custom and lists for $8.75.

But, but Warren. You know we'd never tell ANYONE about this. It'd just be between you and us. We promise.

Congratulations. Enjoy it every chance you get.

Went through the same situation. STI had me send them the slide and they replaced the rear sight.

Agreed. You could always wear a cap.

Hmmm ... the old 'size doesn't matter' argument?

Didn't Rob and Rich both use the 5" 627-4 at Nationals this year?

Now an Accord, on the other hand ... ahhh, still not so much.

I'm not a collector, but if I received something like that from friend/family the only change(s) I'd consider would be a trip to Turnbull for restoration.

Undoubtedly just a vicious and baseless rumor to attempt keeping people from enjoying the shooting sports. Although ...

I like the Nike Land Shark for grass and soft dirt ranges while on gravel and packed/dry dirt I'll use a cross trainer style with an aggressive tread pattern. If the range has a combination of these surfaces I'll go with the Land Sharks.

Pretending the targets are bad guys who are shooting at you and the hostage/no-shoots are friends/family will put you into an IDPA mindset. A healthy dose of common sense will also help (Do I want to be exposed in a gunfight or behind cover and do I really want to do a reload out in the open when bad guys are shooting at me?). Agree with DesertTortoise to use what you've got to see if it'll be your cup of tea. It can be fun.

If this is a gun you're planning on using for both self-defense and competition and you're leaning toward night sights you may want to look into the Heinie Straight Eight sets. Also, if this gun would be used for carry I'd suggest the Slant Pro Straight Eights for less chance of snagging any cover garment. The dot over dot arrangement of the Straight Eights offers a very fast acquisition in low light conditions.

Don't forget 38 long colt as well.

And do they offer range snacks like Tacos, Nachos & Salsa?

Yes, but does it offer Transgender Neutral Shooting? Inquiring minds want to know.

Transgender Neutral Shooting?

So sorry to hear of his passing.

I'd go for the Trojan as well.

Even if you can't afford a backup gun, it isn't a bad idea to have some key spare fitted parts for your firearm of choice. As has already been alluded to, it'd be a shame to put in all the time, effort and money to get to a match and not be able to enjoy it to the fullest because of a broken part.

Murphy's Law. Ignore it at your peril. Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. O'Rourke's Addendum: Murphy was an optimist. Examples: Murphy's Law = President and Mrs. Lincoln go to Ford's Theater to see 'Our American Cousin' and the president is killed by John Wilkes Booth. O'Rourke's Addendum = Two weeks later Mary Todd Lincoln gets billed for the theater tickets. Just something to keep in mind ... or not.

When you hit a point where you feel you've become a slave to your equipment (cleaning, maintenance, upgrading, load chasing, etc) such that you've lost the fun in competing, something's got to change or burnout will be the result. The division that is the most pure fun that you can afford to shoot may be your answer. For me, Production is a fantastic deal as I use my Glock 17 in USPSA, but also use the same gun for IDPA Stock Service Pistol and Enhanced Service Pistol. Heck, I even use it to shoot GSSF matches to boot. That's a LOT of use for just one gun and it's a gun that can take a LOT of use/abuse. It's a combination that won't break the bank for most folks as well.

A friend and I got into a discussion on round count and pretty much agreed we'd like to see stages where those of us who are inclined towards the Single Stack division would need to do a couple of mag changes (18 - 24 rounds). Of course, the challenge of a stage in its versatility across all divisions is the real test for stage designers. God bless 'em all.

Ricardo, You can't seriously believe that people suffering from PTSD/shock/emotional trauma should just sit at home. Medical/psychological intervention can be a huge part of the process to returning these people to some semblance of a functional life. Just telling them to sit at home is possibly the worst thing we could do for them. We can agree to agree and/or disagree on many things, but I sincerely hope you'll retract that statement.

Ouch! Tough crowd.