bigleaf

Really enjoyed the class, Ben. I know how I'll spend this winter... outdoors, at the range, squaring up to the target, with both feet on the ground, while squeezing my left hand white! Bill

I'll do it, Matt. Thanks.

I should have known, Greg. The rules is the rules, and fair is fair. And "positive" doesn't scratch the surface. The stages were great and every SO (you, included) was patient, clear, and happy to be part of such a nice shoot. You all did a superior job. Thanks.

I shot the Music City Cup yesterday. Wow. The stages were difficult but fair, and each seemed to have a procedural ready-made for the unwary (me). Most (maybe all) of the ten stages were SO'd by the designer of the stage, so things moved quickly and smoothly. 117 shooters was the last count I heard. Lots of sponsors and great door prizes. And the mundane stuff, like youngsters on four-wheelers carrying stage scores to the scoring table; or having enough parking, and port-a-potties, a generator, computers and a sound system... everything was well thought through and nicely executed. It was so much fun. It's the odd thing or the unexpected that can throw a fella for a loop, especially under stress. Everyone turned to Michael Breeson with their concerns and unexpected problems; and he handled it all with good grace and an easy efficiency. I hope they do this again soon. They really know how to put on an event. Did I mention how much fun folks had? A ton of fun. Now I'm off to the Mental Conditioning forum, to address those procedurals! I mean, why would I need cover to reload going past that doorway? Those guys have already been shot! Right?! Right?! ;-)

When I first got the 34, and saw the Todd Jarrett YouTube vids on how to grip the gun, I didn't catch that he was shooting a 1911. With the strong hand thumb riding the Glock where a 1911 safety would be, I was keeping the release down and not locking back, then. I cured that problem by changing my grip to rest the strong hand thumb on the second knuckle of the weak thumb. I guess the extended slide release is just too much of a good thing for me!

My eye doctor had me try contacts a couple years ago with my dominant right eye set to focus about 36 inches away and the left one for distance. He told me about a third of the folks who try them can tolerate them. I can't imagine not having them. They work for me for driving, reading music while drumming, for shooting, and for regular reading of books or computers. And I only wear reading glasses for really fine work, like taking splinters out of someone, or cutting itchy tags out of clothes without cutting holes in the clothes themselves. My backup glasses finally broke, and I'm going to get glasses made the same way.

Hello, all. I shot my first competition on Saturday, an IDPA Run & Gun with Music City Tactical Shooters, near Nashville. There were 52 shooters. I thought it would be fun, but it was WAY better than fun! And folks were really nice and helpful to a first-timer. When the scores were posted Saturday night, I was shocked to see that I'd gotten "Most Accurate". I was elated. Then I saw my overall placement and reality hit me. I'm slow. Really slow. Really, really slow. Many problems I can see right off (in the order I think they might need to be addressed): 1) My second shots are taking too long. I know that my sights are aligned for a long time before I actually squeeze off the shot. What practice might I use to get me to go ahead and trust my grip and eyes and pull the trigger? 2) The path I took through the targets was ungainly in places. Just not very smooth, so I figure I didn't plan each run very well. How does a fella look at a CoF and really see the flow in it? 3) I'd forgotten all about shooting while moving. On the one stage that called for lots of movement, I basically ran from one spot to another and shot each position stationary. Only one or two shots while actually moving. (And I'm sure that guy in the outhouse is NEVER going to forgive me!) So, I need some moving drills, too. 4) I was shooting a 34, and I guess my weak hand grip is a little too high, because on three different occasions during the match the gun failed to lock back on an empty mag. Man, that will rattle you in the middle of shooting. I could almost hear the seconds ticking by. Looking at it, I'm pretty sure I was squeezing the release with the heel of my weak palm, keeping it from rising to engage. I don't want to change my grip, because it really helps me shoot more accurately. So, at the suggestion of one of the range officers, I swapped out the extended slide release for one of the flat ones from a 19 when I got home. I haven't shot it yet, but in handling and dry firing, it feels like it's less likely to cause the problem. Has anyone else seen this, or am I really looking at a different problem, altogether? Thanks in advance for your help. I'd better go make some more bullets. This could get to be a habit.

G-Man Bart was kind enough to send me a couple of hundred 147gr Montana Gold CMJs to try. He thought they might do the trick. I'll say! Though it took me some time to get them loaded and down to the range, it was worth the wait. I loaded them up in front of 3.2 and 3.4 grains of Titegroup. It'll take a little more testing to help me decide which of those two I prefer, but I can say that I'd shoot either one any day of the week. Very accurate. No pun intended, but tight groups and soft, smooth shooting. I think I'll order a thousand or two and really give them a run. Bart, you're the kind of guy that makes this place rock. Thanks so much.

I ordered the Comp-Tac and a dual mag holder. I should know how it works in about a week. Thanks, folks.

I really should invest in a chronograph, too. Really document the changes in powders & bullet weights on group size & muzzle velocity. I guess it's like anything else you do... the deeper into it you get, the finer the point you want to put on it.

I called and left a message. Let's see what they say. Thanks.

That's encouraging, because I like the design of that holster. The one I really would like is the KyTac, but he doesn't answer the phone or emails. The last update to his site was back in Feb. or March. The CSR who answered the phone at CompTac said .25, but if it works for your sights, I might just give them a try. Thanks.

I've got a new (to me) G34 that the previous owner had put some Dawson Precision fiber optic sights on. Green adjustable in the back and a red .300" tall on the front. Can anyone tell me an IDPA legal holster that will work with a front sight that tall? I called Comp-Tac and they said theirs had .250" of clearance. I tried to reach David at KyTac to ask him, but he's hard to reach, it seems.

Well, it turned out it wasn't the bullets, exactly. This is the first (of only four) Glocks I've bought used. The rest were new. And this one is a real lesson for me. It seems that the fellow who owned it before me wasn't an armorer, but played one on TV! He even let it slip when it arrived and I called to let him know, that he never could hit anything with it. He'd tried different connectors and springs, had it completely apart, but it was inconsistent. He hoped it'd do better for me. So, I took it shooting, as noted above. And the difference between bullets and powder charges was hard to believe. Dry firing and racking at the house showed me something, too. Trouble going into battery, tough trigger pull, striker letting go upon reset. I made a tiny movie of it and put it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Ylg8RHU8E So, I called Raphael at Glock, and he said to send it in. It turns out that the spring on the firing pin safety lug (that little barrel that blocks the striker from hitting the primer if the trigger's not depressed) had fallen out and was sitting sideways in it's milled-out hole in the slide. It worked sometimes, being crush-depressed, but it seems that if I'd used a lighter load, it could have fired a second or third time without my intending. Yoiks! The folks in Smyrna replaced the trigger assembly, springs, striker safety lug, ejector, locking block, slide cover plate, and slide release. It just arrived, and the difference dry firing is fabulous. I'll get to the range in the next couple of days. I may have to modify my question concerning how different bullets perform, and the mystery of why some just shot like crap. This may be my only time in my life I can actually blame it on the gun! Did I mention how great the folks in Smyrna are? Bright, professional, and helpful. They really want you to have a good experience. I've learned my lesson about used guns. Complete inspection before shooting. Complete. Next will come a question about an IDPA legal holster that'll fit a G34 with a .300" tall Dawson Precision front sight.

Yeah, their site says four to six weeks. If they're the right bullets, though, that's not too long. I planned on being alive and shooting in four to six weeks, anyway! What bullets do you reload?

I know it's a long post and probably too boring to read it all the way to the bottom, but changing just the bullet/load did actually make all the difference. Shots in the same holes or touching with the 147 XTPs. I was amazed. That's why I posted this. To get some real information about bullets which might work like the XTPs in those Titegroup loads. If all loads worked the same in every gun for every purpose, I don't think there'd be any need for a reloading section in these forums. "It sounds to me..." Huh. Thanks. That was helpful information.

A sample pack might just be the way to go.

Yeah, Hornady's proud as a Grandpa over those XTPs. If I'd made something that nice, I might be, too. I looked at their site and couldn't find a 147 JHP in the Montana Gold... the only 147 was a complete metal jacket. Am I looking in the right place? https://secure3.mooseweb.com/montanagoldbullet.com/pricelist.tpl

I'm just preparing to shoot IDPA, and got a new (to me) G34 the other day. I'd found in this forum so much good information about competitive loads (thanks, folks) that I came up with a couple of options to reload and try out. Loaded up some the other day and went shooting yesterday to see how the gun and the loads shot. Here's what I had loaded up: 147 Hornady XTP 3.2, 3.4 and 3.6 gr. of Titegroup 1.10 COAL Federal small primer 124 Remington FMJ 4.1 gr. Titegroup (I ran out of time to load up the 4.3 and 4.5gr. variants of this) 1.10 COAL Federal small primer I had a pile of the 124s, and only one box of a hundred 147 XTPs, so I loaded many more 124s than 147s. So, to get a feel for the gun before I started saving targets, I was shooting the 124s at 7 yards. It was as though I'd never shot a pistol in my life! More like buckshot than pistol shot, and everything... I mean everything... was four to twelve inches low... scattered left and right, too. It was awful. Not what anyone would call a "group", at all. I thought that I'd been sold a bad gun. So, I loaded some more mags and shot the 124s out of my 26. I shoot really well with this 26. That was not quite as bad, but still pretty awful. I know the little gun, so I started to figure out the 124 load wasn't the best. I loaded some mags with the 147s with the 3.2 gr. loads. A locally legendary fellow who owns the range where I shoot (and a real bullseye shooter) came by and I asked him to shoot the gun for me. I was losing my confidence. Five shots in an inch group, right at point of aim. "Man! I like that gun. And I love those sights! Are they Dawsons?" says he. So, I shot again, and it was an entirely different gun. Tight, good feel, right where I pointed 'em. The 3.4s were the same accuracy and the 3.6 opened up a very little, but I'd shoot them any day. I never thought that a load could make that much difference. All that to get to this: Obviously the 147 XTPs fly beautifully out of my 34. And, shockingly, a hundred set me back almost $22, tax and all. Is there a bullet out there that flies like the XTP that I can actually afford to load and shoot day in and day out?