Turtle

bountyhunter, I like your posts. I'm reminded of an English teacher that I once had; I loved the guy but he seemed to be somewhat of an outcast among the rest of the staff. Hmm.

Someone has said, "If it has ascorecard, it's a game..." IDPA and IPSC/USPSA are both games, so as everyone else has said, just come out and have fun. You will get out of it what YOU choose to. I was almost discouraged enough to not come back, after my first match. There were a lot of puffed up, arrogant jerks there but I told myself, "...I'm not gonna let anyone else keep me away from what I love so much..." If you can hook up with some good shooting (USPSA) buddies at a good local club, that wouldn't hurt either. Regards, Todd

Although I agree with L2S and Flex, I will add that on extreme close range targets, what you NEED to see is different. You can get away with gripping and ripping and still shoot alpha's. With training and experience you will be able to switch your focus and let your vision determine how fast you shoot. I would recommend reading our Host's book, "Practical Shooting/Beyoyd Fundamentals" and J.M. Plaxco's "Shooting From Within" if you haven't already. They've really helped me. Regards, Todd P.S. Welcome to the forum.

Trick Magnet G. Flash.

rwmagnus, I wouldn't say that. No matter how fast you are, you are still going to have to shoot 90-95 % of the points on a stage in order to win that stage. Sometimes you even have to shoot 100% of the points to win the stage. Dave proved that point at the Summer Blast a few weeks ago. I thought I had a decent run on a 160 point field course until I saw that he shot 160 points 2 seconds faster than I did! I said "win the stage" but we all know that you can win a match without even winning one stage. As long as you consistantly shoot good points quickly, you'll be on top. Shooting quickly is good, but shooting good points quickly is better...and a sure winner. Hope that made sense. Regards, Todd

Warrior23, I've used Speer nickel brass for about 5 years and I've had the same problem. Larry nailed it; slick up the decapping pin and you should be good to go.

Only the higher of the two will count towards your classification. The other will be flagged as a double.

Flex, The proposed (soon to be official) rules are on the member's page of the USPSA web site. The differences between USPSA and IPSC are hi-lighted in red, if I'm not mistaken. There's not much difference for us, Matt. Pretty much the same game for us Westerners. BTW, Flex is right. I shoot 180 Zero's thru a G22, sprung with a 14lb wolff. I was using a 12lb'er but had a malfunction at the Area 6 with it. Like you Matt, I like the lighter spring to avoid muzzle dip, but reliability is paramount. Thanks for the attaboy Flex. Regards, Todd

Happy Birthday Matt! Did you get any cool shootin stuff? Best regards, Todd

Flex, Practice or not, you're the man. You punked me out like Clint did Gene in Unforgiven! Good job. It was nice to meet you and hope to get to shoot with you in the future.

For sure, but what about being bumped out of Production for a 124.9 PF.... I'd tell you about my spring but I shoot a stubby gun....

Brian, you are the man, thanks again for all that you give to the sport that we all love so much. You made a good call, handled the situation well, and anybody upset about it needs a reality check. I know a GM who was DQ'd from a major match for the same reason, before even getting to fire a shot! Anyway....It was great to see you again at the Buckeye Blast and I look foward to the next time.

As long as the pistol does not weigh more than 2 ounces over the factory weight, you're OK. I can only speak for my setup. I know I'm good to go cause I weighed it.

Another awesome match, drawing a field of incredible talent. Good stages, good variation, great staff, and even the weather was good. The only thing I wasn't happy with was dropping 57 match points to Matt on the dreaded chicken stage and him beating me by 49 points....oh well. Good job Matt, we'll get Dave next time. Thanks to all who helped put on a great match and to all who showed up to shoot as well. Regards, Todd

...maybe it wasn't a Rush reference, maybe you and Neil were referencing the same thing...

Yah, Erik, I agree with that, especially with a Glock. It's just a matter of knowing when (and being able) to turn it on and turn it off. A couple of weeks ago I shot a 27 round field course that ended with a plate rack at about 15 yds. I felt what you mentioned above and went shot for shot.....that was cool. BTW, I like the p/g references....... Turtle

Michael, I'll be there Saturday morning with Phil, Mike, and BJ (among others). Last year's match was top shelf, so at the risk of biting off more than we could chew, Team Shooters Paradise decided to shoot the Area 7 on Saturday and the Summer Blast on Sunday. Whew...this is going to be a weekend to remember! See you there. Regards, Todd

I agree with Cy. The easiest thing to do is bring a spare Glock. The parts all stay together in one neat package. If you don't have a spare gun, then I would carry a: -locking block pin (they tend to break) -trigger spring -striker assembly (striker, striker spring, cups, etc...) -slide catch

Thanks a lot guys! Jonathan had a great time and he looks foward to a long term relationaship with USPSA and his fellow shooters. I'll post a pic as soon as I can, but I can make no commitment on time, I am a turtle after all. Thanks again guys, your kind words and thoughts mean a lot to me.

Erik, Rocket called while I was typing and you beat me to the punch. Turtle

lndshrk, It's going to depend on a few things; One thing being, how difficult is the shot (i.e. how far is the target)? If you have partial target at 7 yards, I would shoot for the center of the available A zone. The same partial at 25 yards, I would probably shoot for closer to the center of the available brown or the perf of the A zone, just to play it safe. It's one of things you have to assess during the walkthrough I guess (where are my danger targets?, etc...), how risky do you want to play it and is it worth it? It's also going to depend on if you're shooting major or minor. I find that shooting production has made me take a little more risk, because shooting C's (don't even think about shooting D's) is not a good thing. I'm still trying to get that into my head. Erik Lund's words echo in my head (sometimes), "...that would have been a smoking run in Limited, but..." The goal is still the same no matter what, shoot good points quickly. It's just seeing what YOU need to see to acomplish that goal. Giving up a few tenths of a second here or there in order to see what you need to is always better than a miss/no-shoot. Hope that made some sense. Regards, Todd

Thanks Matt, it does feel good. Now I need to actually get to work and train or I'm gonna get spanked. I know a lot of us are in the same boat, trying to juggle family, work, shooting, etc., so I don't really have an excuse. I'm looking foward to the rest of the shooting season, It's going to be great! Also looking foward to shooting with you soon (summer blast or buckeye blast?). Regards, Todd

Jonsey, Thanks for the kind words. GM in 2 years, you are the man for sure! It's cool that we made it in the same month... the journey together has been fun, and we're only now just beginning. Congratulations again, and also to everyone else in BE land that has improved recently. Regards, Todd P.S. Sorry that I missed the party, Jonesy. Things for me have been kinda crazy and I just couldn't make it. I honestly thought it wasn't until around Memorial Day...duh.

Looks like 100% to me Jonesy, good job!

Al, I'm pretty sure that you are right. GM's always shoot to win the match, period. Those who have been around for a while know that and it's accepted. Masters are recognized as a seperate class. Combining Master and Grand Master is not right; Shred, you have a completely valid point. I hope that the MD get's it right next time. Consistency and fairness are an important part of USPSA and that's one thing that helps promote the growth of the sport. Regards, Todd