StephensOutdoors

An M1 Garand in 3-gun ... that's awesome! They should award you bonus points for shooting a .30-06, now that's real he-man division stuff

Just finished building my first complete lower receiver. I want to shout out a big THANK YOU to Stag Arms for donating the stripped lower reciever to the prize table at the 2011 FNH 3-Gun Championship & for supporting the sport of 3-gun. The main features on the build are: - Stag Lower Receiver - Vltor Emod Stock kit (milspec) - Ergo Sure Grip - CMC Trigger - Magpul trigger gaurd - Magpul BAD Lever (not installed yet) The Stag lower was absolutely great to work with. All the machining has tight tolerances and provides a firm & snug base for my upper receivers. I love the 2nd ammendment inspription & it definitely adds a little spice to it. The CMC Trigger is really sweet. It's lightest trigger I have and has a crisp short reset. No creep at all in the trigger. I had some problems fitting the c-clips on the trigger pins but other than that I like it so far. The Ergo right hand grip makes it easy to get a consistant hand hold on the gun and in turn makes it easy to get your trigger finger in the same spot every time. The Vltor Emod fits me just right and provides a wide, firm base to get a consistant cheek weld every time. Building a lower is quick & easy. Literally takes minutes. It took me just as long to figure out which pins & springs went where as it did to assemble the unit. If you've never built a lower before some tools that made my life a whole lot easier where ... bolt catch punch with the flat side, roll pin holder punch, & a lower receiver vice block. And certainly a must have is the take down pin detent & spring tool.

I'm running a TR-24 & I love it. I can't comment on the front sight post since I don't have one but in regards to the mount height it really depends on your shooting posture & physical ergonomics. I have & would prefer the 1.5" over the 1.93". Cheek weld would be my main concern with a higher mount, especially in low kneeling or prone positions. If I had a mount that was almost 1/2" taller, it would be detrimental for me in the way that I wouldn't be able to get a firm & consistent cheek weld in all positions which can translate to an inconsistent sight picture

What are you all running for springs in your Para mags? I have some new Para mags that i put Dawson extensions on. The mags came with a 13 coil "tapered" type spring design where the coils at the top & bottom are tighter or smaller than the center. After I turned 2 of those springs into spaghetti while trying to get 19-20 rounds in a mag, I cut the other ones down till they worked, which is pretty close to 11 coils. I haven't tried the Wolff springs but the ISMI springs seem to work pretty but could use a little more power. Are there other options?

I noticed that after I ordered mags & 3 weeks later I still had nothing. Nobody at Para seems to know when they will be back in stock. I find it hard to believe that a manufacturer doesn't know their own manufacturing schedule or needs. I'm a new Para guy but this put a bad taste in my mouth for dealing direct with Para.

Plus one on the Blade-Tech if you're using a AA or CR Speed type competition belt but I've also heard nice things about the Comp-Tac like Duane has mentioned.

I just got an HP Office Jet Pro 8500A from SAM's Club for about $180.00 for Office use & home use. It's a "do-all" machine and seems to do everything with quality and ease. It's even wireless and when hooked to a router, you can even print stuff from your smart phone. It's pretty cool.

I just upgraded from the iPhone 3G (no, not the 3GS, the one older than that) to the iPhone 4. What a difference. i couldn't wait for the iPhone 5 anymore. Some of you will be happy to know that they have gotten rid of Apple Care. Instead, you can pay $9.99/month for insurance if you choose. For cases, i'm a big fan of the Otter Box Defender. Among many incidents, my old iPhone survived a 70 ft drop from the top of a silo down onto a black-topped parking lot. My new phone in the new Otter Defender just survived a 40 ft drop off a conveyor platform onto a grated mezzanine deck. No phone damage what so ever. Pretty impressive.

Good luck shooting.

I have wide feet with little arch support and I'm happy with the Reebok NFL cleats. Same brand and style I used to buy every year when I played football

Flitz & a Q-tip do the job 90% of the time. That's where I normally start.

The std spring is 17#. I'm using a Wolf guide rod (non captured). There's nothing magical about 13#'s, it's just what you like and what feels good for you & your gun. Get a couple different spring weights & give it a whirl. I liked the 13# spring, but I also noticed my groups at 25 yards weren't as tight as they where with a heavier spring so I run the 15# spring

Look for burs, brass shavings or dirt on the trigger itself, the trigger bar, & the connector. That being said, I own 5 glocks (G27, G22, G17, & (2) G34's) & find the glock trigger mechanism & feel very inconsistant from gun to gun. I've modified all of my triggers, some with some very high end aftermarket "drop-in" trigger sets and some myself ... they all have a different feel. I've tried to make them all feel the same, you can kind of get close, but never close to the same.

You can get close sighting in "x" inches high or low at 100 yds to get a 200 or 300 yd zero, but you can't always rely on the balistic charts. I have a 25 yd zero & a 50 yd zero. My 25 yd zero is supposed to get me close to a 300 yd zero, but in reality it shoots 6-inches lower than the balistic chart says it should ... that's why this sport is fun

Good article, thanks for the link. I shoot a lot of steel cases for hoser ammo & practice, they get stuck once in a while and are a little harder on the extractor, it's the price you pay to save money on practice ammo.

Yeah, I kind of assumed that they were the 14" tall MGM Auto Poppers

Lol, It's definately not reverse cowgirl broke-back prone

Steve - if you're going to carry your shells on a chest rig, buy the Mossy, if not buy the FNH, lol. I got my FNH used for about $650, hard deal to find but they're out there sometimes. I'll keep my eye open. I know a few guys w/ 930's & they run good. Biggest disadvantage I see on them is the stock barrel doesn't have interchangeable (sp?) chokes. PS: look how nice my 2's & 4's look on a web post

Jeremy - I'll email you a pic of how I have my Miculek Comp set up Mike

Last fall I switched out my FO & went to a black serrated sight (Dawson) basically because I felt it was detrimental to my shooting. I kept cheating myself with sight picture & was getting sloppy. The black sight helped me refocus & relearn front sight picture, management, & follow through. Kind of like a back to basics step. I just started using an FO sight again a few weeks ago on one of my rigs & I have mixed feelings. I really like the FO for point shooting & short, fast, & close range stuff. But I really like the black sight for longer distances & shots that require more accuracy.

Baltimore is a piece of cake to fly in & out of with firearms. I'd avoid Pittsburgh, mainly 'cause of all the Steeler's fans. In terms of Baltimore traffic ... you're only going to be on the beltway for 5 or 6 miles before you hop on I-70. If you plan to land between 4 pm & 7pm, give yourself an extra 20 - 30 minutes to get over to the WInchester, VA area.

I started out with a PG shotgun and got rid of it real fast for the regular SLP w/ standard stock. I've shot regular stock shotguns my whole life, I just couldn't get used to the PG

I just chrono'd a bunch of factory rounds with various bullet weights and ran them on my Sierra Infinity program. I'll test real world tomorrow or this weekend but per the ballistic chart on 55 gr bullets (PMC Bronze & Federal American Eagle FMJ-BT's) the American Eagle's will hold .57" @ 200yds with a 50yd zero & the PMC will hold -.15" @ 200yds w/ 50 yd zero. As far as where to zero at, my opinion is that it depends on your comfort level & marksmanship abilities. I can get a much more precise zero at 25 yds or 50 yds than I can at 200 or 300 yds. And since I'm not bullseye shooting, I'm OK with making the adjustments to hit steel plates or flashers at further distances.

Thanks all for the tips, I'll check some of these out.