TRUBL

This years Minnesota Section USPSA Match will be held on September 16, 17 & 18, 2005 Plan on a minimum of 8 stages (possibly 10) and a round count somewhere around 192 (but bring 250 at least....you know the drill) This match will challenge all your shooting skills with small, medium and large COF's This is a level II match and is included in the National Points Series as well Entry fee is $35.00 and match T-shirts are availible at an extra cost Follow the link MN SECTION WEBSITE for match info, logo designs and entry form Also, you can be kept up to date on the progress of the match at our FORUM as well. Tim

Monster....we will continue to disagree for sure.....it may have no place in a $2000 race gun....but they are putting those parts in $3000 race guns. Many AR15 manufacturers use a cast hammer in their guns.....that is only case hardened. And....cast is inferior to MIM Yes....I've seen them break (very rare), I've also seen hammers made for plate steel break as well. It was not do to Process of manufacture....in the casting case, bad casting; in the plate steel, bad design....high stress point, broke right in a corner, as predicted. Bottom line......I can design and have made a MIM hammer/trigger that is stronger, cheaper and last longer than many of the 'high' quality hammers/triggers out there now. One more thing, are you sure the Dan Wesson part was MIM?......not sure if that process was around at that time....or perfected. S&W uses alot of MIM parts, very hard.....very long lasting. Personally, on my 646 the parts have 5000+ rounds with no signs of wear what so ever. I would use and/or design MIM parts for firearms anytime.....you get a cleaner, better looking part that can be designed to be as strong (or stronger) than a part that is whittled out of a piece of steel.....and be cost effective to the consumer as well.

"NEVER"....is a very long time......yes, some parts ARE machined (I am talking grinding operations). There is a limitation to the accuracy of the process....and if you need to hold .0002", MIM will not do that.....but MIM is a lot cheaper than cutting something out of bar stock. If you look at any MIM part that is used for a hammer or a sear......you will see that the sear areas are ground......that would be a post process MIM is a process....not a type of steel....you can make a MIM part out of tool steel...and post treating of the metal has EVERYTHING to do with it. Post heating treating processes have everything to do with the toughness and hardness of the part.....whether or not your sears will function for 3 hits....or 300,000 hits. Cryo has significant properties of lengthing tool cutting wear and toughness of materials. Monster....you've been in this type of discussion before on another forum, about a year ago....the things I am saying here pretty much are the same as said there....you know from that forum that MIM is a fine process for Gun parts....why try to beat a dead dog somewhere else? Densities are 95% to 99% of rolled (or machined) plate stock......and at the tensile strengths of the metals in question (A2, O1 or even S7).....if they fail in a weapon....so will rolled plated stock......meaning there is a MAJOR design flaw in the weapon, not the use of a MIM part. MIM is used for Cutting tools, engine parts, car suspension parts.......parts that take a lot more tension and pounding (impact) that our little springs deliver to our hammers on our pistols and rifles Carbide......is actually.....a type of MIM part, starting out as a powdered material as well......cuts lots of hardened tool steel (that would be rolled plate...from a mill, only hardened to a 58-60 Rc)

I believe you guys are misunderstanding the process here......a MIM part can be made out of a variety of different types of metal, just as a die cast part can be. It is the metal used and the heat treat process used that determines the hardness and toughness. Assuming that the injection process works (and it does).....if someone were to make, say a Trigger out of A2 mat'l....that trigger could then be machined afterwards, heat treated (hardness) and drawn back for toughness MIM is denser than casting, and actually, it is just another form of casting....only instead of pouring the molten metal in, it is actually injected. (that's what the 'I' stands for) If you want the strongest raw mat'l possible, I guess you'd have to settle for something like rolled plate steel or hammer forging. Yes....there are many places that MIM parts are used with excellent results for Military, police and self defence areas. What it comes down to is.....the MIM process is not bad.....rather the mat'l used and post processes. Hope this clears some things up.

I heard about the Miculek comp being illegal, so I did a little checking..... The Miculek comp in question is the one for the .308 rifle....not to be confused with the original one. And as I understand it, it is 1.25" dia. The original Miculek comp for the AR15 is 1.00 dia. At this point, the Miculek comp is legal for use in the Superstition Mountain Match and the DPMS tri-gun challenge, in the tactical and he-man divisions....and well, so is the original JP Comp (the howitzer one) for that matter. The Miculek comp (1.25 dia) and the JP comp are not legal for use in the limited and tactical divisions in USPSA or the RM3G. So......if you are only going to use the 308 at the Tri-gun or Superstition, the original JP Comp would actually be a more effective comp to use for recoil reduction. The JP Tactical comp is 1" dia x 2 3/4" long or so and would be legal in all 3 gun matches in all divisions. Getting a 308 down to 8 pounds would be nice to do.....so if you need to put it on a diet, that would be a good thing. I'm not a fan of fluting, but DPMS seems to be having no problems with their fluted barrels......from what I have heard, but do not know this personally. I do know that the DPMS barrel I turned down lost no accuracy what so ever......the barrel is a hummer. I do not really like to recommend one 308 over the other......as the big 3 all have the +'s and -'s depending on your own situation and what you can do or spend. I do not know what sights DPMS has to offer for the 308, I use a front globe and a redfield international rear sight and then a short range tac sight on the FFT at 1:30...which is also legal to do in all division in all the 3 gun matches. This way I have a long range precision sight and short range fast sight that I can use for hoser courses

Well.....I took both the Choates & Competition Works Speed loaders and tried this....it seems to work very well. I first inserted 6 - 20 gauge shells into the caddy, and then procurred...from my son at the kitchen table doing some art project, 4 popscicle sticks. I inserted 2 sticks on each side between the shells and the back of the caddy....perfect fit!!! You will want to make sure that you leave a gap for the rim of the case. Use something like gorilla glue...or Elmers Probond polyurethane glue to assemble this together. Ofcourse, you can try it first without glueing....to see if the fit is what you want. One thing you may want to think about....if the wood gets wet, it may expand and you know what could happen then. So you could coat the sticks first or find some plastic of the same thickness and you will be all set!! And now.....I am really thinking.....I can probably grab 7 of those 20 gauge shells at one time......HMMMMM....watch out Kurt!! I see a loading contest coming on Tim

I believe you are having the classic "steel vs plastic" battle going on there. And the steel is winning. Your rifle has a steel mag catch....and you are using plastic (ok...high tech polymer) magazines. I suspect that the magazine is wearing out in the area that is being held in by the 'steel' magazine catch. Take a look on the left side of the mag and check for wear in upper portion of that little notch in the 'plastic' magazine. I also suspect that because of this....your magazine is seating lower than it was in the begining and your bullet tips are now starting to hit below the feed ramp on the barrel nut. This is common with plastic mags when they wear out, and will also eventually happen with aluminum magazines as well (although the feed lips tend to crack on those before that happens). So.....make sure you check all your magazines in the notch area and feed lip area, and that is not limited to only plastic or aluminum magazines either. Everything wears......and sooner or later fails. (oh...checking the magazine catch would be a good thing too....but if all you've ever used is plastic mags....there probably is no wear, hence it is winning the battle) Another area to check could be where the magazine catch fits into the lower, however, I've personally never that area worn excesively and doubt that is your problem. One thing about aluminum.....something that people tend to over look. It is actually a very abrasive mat'l and dirt or grit can also embed into it as well, and in extreme cases.....can case excesive wear on steel (one reason why we should not use aluminum cleaning rods on our rifle bores either) Tim

Coming from an old .22 rf Bench rest shooter....what ever ammo you buy, you want it NOT to exceed the speed of sound. Here is why: everytime you break the sound barrier, either going up or down, your bullet will wobble as it goes thru that 'wall'. and, the .22RF will break the sound barrier (going down) before it hits the target at 50 yds. So......the guys that shoot .22 bench rest matches REALLY loved the Federal 900B ammo as it only went 1040fps. I found that Winchester wild cat worked sufficient, but not for matches. .22 ammo made for pistol shooting seems to work good. Lapua makes some really fine ammo for BR shooting. Federal does not make the 900 match ammo any more and it is hard to get. for the most accuracy, measure head thickness and seperate, and ofcourse buy your self a set of wind flags......paying attention mostly to the nearest one to you.

Ok....i'll chime in here. I was looking for a pump shotgun last year for a match that required a pump shotgun for the HE-Man division. So that being said....I am going to tell you my choice for the 'BEST' shotgun for HE-Man Division.....if you were to go to a match that will require that. Hands down.....Mossberg 590 A1 1. Ghost ring sight or bead.....depending on the model (I chose the bead.....but will be putting on rifle sights soon) 2. Aluminun trigger group vs plastic on the A500....this would be a good thing!!! 3. Metal Safety vs plastic on the A500 (again....a good thing)....I personally like the placement of the safety over the 870 4. comes stock with 8 + 1 5. NO feed gate!!! (like on an 870) I showed a few people here how I could grab 6 shells out of a choate shell caddy and just drop, push, drop, push.......much faster than I ever could with my 1100 or 870. Also....and this may not seem like much but it is.....the mag spring is much lighter than others.....and it works!!! (lighter pressure = faster too ya know) 6. slide release is much easier to get at than the 870 7. I re-worked the slide and it is VERY smooth....much smoother than I can get an 870. 8. They work!!! and keep working!!!! 9. vent barrel shroud......a very nice thing to have!!!! on any shotgun!!!! 10. very inexpensive......so much so.....I did my own version of a desert camo paint job on it. And....you can buy it, right out out of the box ready for 3 gun competition if you like!!!

Personally.....I'd like to see pump shotguns for He-man. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : And 1 optic for the rifle my eyes are really tired!!!!

Hello Mike, What I thought was great about closing the lid on the boxes was the sign that stated loaded weapon, do not touch (or something like that). I felt the way you guys handled discarding loaded weapons pretty much eliminated the need for an RO to hover over a loaded weapon while the competitor completed the COF. I see can see where more padding could be nice......I didn't much see the need for it, but I was shooting iron....I guess that the optics could take a little beating. Just as long as there isn't so much padding that when Eddie Rhodes throws his rifle in, it does'nt bounce back out Tim

Zak!!.....an excellent Job on the Pictures and the report!!! This was my first match that I have ever shot & RO'd that was at: A. 7000 Feet B. Not on Level Ground Both of which were way out of my comfort zone......however, I would say to anyone on the fence like I was.....DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU!! This match was, with out a doubt, one of the best run run matches I have ever been to......period. I worked with some very good RO's (Garret was one of them) and it was great to put faces with names of people that I have talked with over the last year or so. The experience of the NRA Whittington Center was great!!! I worked with some of the best RO's in the sport!!, the COF's were very challenging!!, some the most friendly people around, a huge prize table........I would have to say as someone else has mentioned......this is THE GO TO match to be at. I will be there next year and will also get more of my Minnesnowta flat lander friends to come out as well. I actually felt more of like a guest out there rather than an RO......so to everyone that worked the match I'd like to say that you all did an excellent job!!! I would also suggest that as soon as the date is nailed down and applications are availible.......get yours in!!......this match may just fill up next year. Tim

HECK....drill and tap the receiver and put a one piece weaver mount on it......the add beneift to this.....if you do it just right. You can actually use one of the screws to lock the barrel to the receiver rather than having it hold the weaver base on. In other words....you'll be tapping 4 holes int he receiver. 3 for holding the mount (C'more is so light, thats all you need) and the 4th one (forworad most) for lockingthe barrel up. Squeeze a little more accuracy out of it maybe.

I was fortunate enough to pick and chose 2 - 40 round magazine from about 12 or so....first thing to do is to make sure they fit the gun properly (easy in easy out....both empty and about half full or so). Then I proceeded to change followers and springs right away......not sure if it was needed. But I have 2 USA 40 round mags that work just fine....to the point that I would use either one of these mags as my 'first' mag with out hesitation. I normally don't as the I feel the added weight is not a good thing.....unless I'm in a COF that requires more than 30 rounds. I have used mine as a mono pod and it works great with no malfuctions......yet.

I believe B-Square makes a canti-lever mount that attaches to the rib.....pretty solid, pretty beefy.....and ofcourse.....a little heavy.

Anyone interested in the 6.8 SPC may want to talk to Bill Alexander at Alexander Arms, he has been developing an interesting little cartridge in 6.5 that should make major with ease (and fit the AR15 platform).....I have heard that Remington kinda pulled away from the 6.8 SPC (from my contacts in the industry), and that the military is not really pursuing that round anymore. Barret is not really doing to much with it anymore and Stoner as well (NOTE!!!: all rumor at this point)......BUT.......if this is all true, it may be a dead cartridge before it really gets out of the gate. I always thought it kinda funny that Remington got into this in the first place....I mean they used to be real big at doing the military development.....but not as much in recent years....more commercial. I suspected that it was sort of a 'pet' project of someone in development and I guess I wasn't too far off on that speculation. But like I said......do not take this all for gospel......"your mileage may vary"......GREATLY

Here is my take on the Rules that I believe Dan Furby and Co. made for the Superstition Mystery Mountain Match. 1st off.......excellent set of rules!!!......are they perfect.....oh well.....find us a set of perfect ones out there. My take is that the RM3Gun, The Tri-Gun, MGM, NAC......use those rules as a basis and then manipulate them a little bit to use for their match. Not saying that is a bad thing or a good thing. I believe that someday......maybe?......all these matches may use the identical rules with no 'little' quirks to them......if maybe, the MD's and RM's and others from these matches can get together and agree on a standard set? And actually.....from what I am seeing presently....the safety stuff, scoring and overall how a match is run is pretty much all the same at any of the tactical matches. The main thing is some subtle differences in competitor equipment. The thing is.....the tactical 3 gun matches are getting bigger....more people going to 1 or more of these matches every year......so maybe we should be looking at getting together and putting our heads together. So people don't have to have a couple barrels for their shotguns, and different set of optics to use depending on which match they go to. I think we all like what we see in the tactical 3 gun matches......but have our own reasons why we may deviate a little bit from the origianl set of rules. Are the people who run these matches on the BE forum? Tim PS......enough rambling....in answer to the question of who governs the rules for these matches......at the present time, really no one. There is no governing council, or overseer for the matches you mention......not sure if anyone wants that either?

OKay......as long as you have the standard magazine tube (hold's 4 2 3/4" rounds).....any 870 12 gauge barrel will fit.....except any barrels made for the "special field" and maybe one or 2 other rarer models The special field only holds 3 rounds in the tube, thus the barrel lug is farther back. There may be some models like a marine style that holds more than 4 rounds in the tube without an extension.....and those barrels would not fit either as the barrel lug would be out farther. That being said.....even if you have an express magnum (3.5".....you can still fit the 2 3/4" chambered barrels on the receiver.....and in reverse.....if you have a 2 3/4" receiver, you can put a 3.5" chambered barrel on that as well......in both cases, you would only be able to use the 2 3/4" shells. The good news is you will probably never see a barrel made for the longer tubes.....the bad news is that there are some barrels out there for the special field and you really need to look to make sure. As for a tactical barrel.......21" RS slug barrel that takes choke tubes would be a good choice IMHO. Then go with a modified choke or skeet choke tube.....I like the extended knurled tubes, personally. Tim

Someone mentioned the JP website and the stocks there......take a REAL close look at the one that you can put a magazine in. VERY FAST.....infact, almost as fast as having the ready mag on the side of your rifle, or having 2 mags taped together. Also, 'the bar'....is lower on the pistol grip than the standard JP buttstock, so no....it does not interfere with your hand position...at all (at least not mine) And....I guess....as I work for JP.....you can consider it a shameless plug (not something I would normally do).....but I've been using this stock and really like it!!!

At this point Green Glocks are an exclusive gun only offered to a distributer named ACUSPORT CORPORATION.......so only dealers that do business with them will have a chance to get them. The only ones they do not have in stock at the moment in the 19 & 37....not sure if they were sold out....still on order They have LOTS of 17's, LOTS of 21's, LOTS of 22's, SOME 23's, SOME 27's

Bob, You will pretty much cut into the threads or past them. Measure the length of your tube....that should pretty tell you When you do finaly decide to re-thread, you will not be able to re-thread the barrel for the stock winchester choke tubes......the barrel is a different dia in that area and you will have to use dsomething like a 'colonial' or other type of gunsmith choke tubes.

I also shot one of those Winchester Select energy......and for me....and maybe this was just that particular gun......it just didn't feel right. I could not get it to come up straight....and consistant. Really had to wrestle with it. SUPER un-comfortable for some reason....I just couldn't put my finger on the problem....but there was something wrong. Another guy there tried it too....said the same thing, although he had tried an identical one and it worked fine for him at another shoot.

I was able to shoot a 28" Cynergy field at a 5 stand event last weekend. It came up nice and fit me well......I am a little short statured....so I would say the LOP probably a little short for most. You can buy spacers for the gun thru Browning. This was one of the softest shooting O/U I have ever shot......and I shot it well. breaking 20 out of 25 for my first ever 5 stand round. I do have to say that personally.....it is one of the most butt ugliest O/U I have ever seen and if i had to buy one of these to shoot SC's.....I'd never shoot the sport. I have been in the market the last couple weeks for a SC gun and have tried a number of different makes and models. I almost settled on a 525 - 32" as I did shoot the best round of 5 stand with that one at 22 out of 25....however on the SC course.....I did not fair well at all.....the LOP was way to long for me. It is a good thing the XS special - 30" worked good for me as it was 3rd best for 5 stand and 2nd on the SC course we have here. And that was the one I end up buying. That too, is very soft shooting although not as soft as the Cynergy....but a whole lot nicer looking.

First off....I need to say....there is no semi auto shotgun that is really better than the other. They all will puke on you sometime (and probably in a match)....period. That being said.....I do shoot the Remington 1100, the biggest reason, outside the obvious is that that there are more accessories made for that one than any other. Also, I don't think that anyone can 'over shoot' an 1100.....even superman (Jerry Miculek) uses a remington....and has no shot to shot problems. We spend 2K to 3K on our pistols and rifles.....but cringe at spending alot on a shotgun......AND maintaining it. You have to maintain it as much or more than your other weapons. A couple things you need to know about shotgun. 1). AMMO --- When you find the ammo that works the best.....DO NOT change....buy cases of it. I've seen shotguns go down because the person ran out of his 'normal' ammo then bought something else before the match......you wouldn't do this with your rifle or pistol ammo.....don't do it with your shotgun ammo. 2) MAINTAINENCE --- Take it apart and clean it, oil it!!! make sure it functions afterwards.....I do not go to a match with a clean shotgun.....I normally will shot 4 or 5 rounds thru it after cleaning it......It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. 3) LOADING (and opinion time)--- Most shotgun stages are pretty much won or lost on reloading....so don't waste time....or money here. It you have belt or banolier or something attacthed to the side of your shotgun, you are loading one at a time.....so you are going back and forth. I use a Choates shell caddy (actually 4 of them) on my belt.....I can grab 3 shells at once.....and load them in. MUCH FASTER than getting one, load it, get another one load it. Bascially, I'm only going to my belt for ammo 1/3 the time.....so I am saving time. -----speed loaders for Open....only one thing to say there....practice, practice, practice, practice, dump shells on the ground and practice some more. I carry 6 of those things when I shoot open and still have 2 shot shell caddys (just in case....and normally a REAL thing!!!) So......that being said.....I am going to shoot in the HE-MAN class this year at a couple matches.....and will be using a (of all things) a Mossberg 590 (becasue hopefully, next year this division will be pump anyways) and shooting the Winchester feather wt loads for birdshot and Remington Reduced Recoil slugs. Was never much of a fan for the Mossbergs for obvious reasons....BUT, the 590 take care of those (aluminum trigger housing, steel safety and holds 9 rounds). The part that intrigued me most is that there is NO loading gate......this has really made my reloading alot faster!!!