davsco

not helping the OP, but IMHO mixing up slugs, shot and/or buck on a stage is somewhat over the top. hard or difficult, sure; practical, not really. this is 3 gun, not 5 or 6 gun. not to mention upping the chance for a dq as noted above (both from hitting the wrong stuff with slugs and burning rounds).

ultrasonic heated bath in kroil has helped get rid of some of the crud, more to go.

a big +1

surprising radio silence? registered, accepted, check in the mail tonite!

wow, smoking hot!!! me likey, but the waiting and especially the paying part would not go well.

I'm (b / c shooter) really happy with my Brazos-tuned .40 Edge for USPSA Limited and Dawson-tuned 9mm Eagle for 3 gun, steel, idpa and similar games. while i wouldn't mind having something nicer/more expensive, these have worked pretty much perfectly as intended. frankly, ditto for my two other sti's that haven't been touched by a 'smith. if you throw idpa out of the equation, and only one gun, it would be the edge in .40 and shoot minor/major as needed with just the guide rod and spring change. as noted above, a couple of rounds less capacity with a .40 in 2 or 3 gun i don't think would have ever been a disadvantage at any of the matches i have done.

yes i have gotten the ASR's for my various bladetech holsters, use the tekloks for the mag pouches.

just got a 1911 STI with a basic post front sight. has anyone monkeyed around with drilling one of these to accommodate a fiber optic rod? and maybe open up the top a little to allow more light? tips or tricks or lessons learned? I guess it can't hurt to try as I'd be buying a new fiber optic front anyways. thanks, david

i'm just a mid-pack guy but got a sti 9mm eagle a year ago for 3 gun, idpa and steel and really love it. got the dawson crp and trigger/reliability pkg. i got a similar pkg'd .40 edge from brazos for uspsa limited and love that also. both are super accurate and super reliable. i could afford a custom and unfortunately am accustomed to waiting for builds, but don't regret the decision to get these over custom guns at all. that said, if you have some time and a few extra grand sitting around, sure you won't be disappointed and it's nice to get exactly what you want.

I think the better question is how many stages or rounds per hour, ie, the match efficiency. I don't mind (and do enjoy) making a full day of it if the round count is high, but I don't want to bake in the sun or rain for five hours for a 90 round match. Local indoor range has a low round count match once a month mid-week, with one hour time slots. It's on the way home, so no additional drive/traffic time, and an hour after work is no big deal. Wouldn't do something like this on a weekend though, when I want to spend the whole day doing something such as a match or golf. most of my "local" uspsa matches are in the 4 +/- hour time frame (ie, either am or pm slots) with 125-175 round counts over 5-8 stages. and where possible I will shoot am and pm with different guns and make a full day of it (no kids and understanding wife). the timekillers are usually getting everyone to help paste and reset every run (other than on deck and just shot/topping off).

a recent update as to when sti will begin shipping to brazos, dawson, able and others would certainly be appreciated! starting to try to warm up and everyone's anxious to play with a new toy this season! this would allow folks that were banking on feb/mar deliveries to go down another road if needed for that new blaster. everyone just wants to make an informed decision whether to wait it out or cut anchor and move on.

i did an idpa match at a new (for me) club last year and they want anyone new to the premises to sit thru the safety/rules briefing, which is fine. the MD or whomever he was that lead the briefing was a total prick, almost to the point of appearing to have the intention of dissuading the newbies from staying, throwing arcane rules out and the like which just confused the new (to idpa) guys that were literally shaking their heads thinking they were in way over their heads and ready to leave. when he stepped away I talked with the newbies and said it was way easier than he made it out to be, just squad up, go last, ask questions and follow what the other shooters do. there are a lot of people out there whom are afraid of trying new things. MD's and RO's and even fellow competitors can make or break their first attempt by being overly picky and rude, or helpful and nice. give newbies a mulligan or two, letting them know what the rules are and that they'll need to be followed going forward. of course safety rules must always be followed.

yep the 3+ rounds per target stages get me every once in a while, I'm programmed for two/target. I had a decent (for me) match going last year and it hit me at the last array of a long stage that all the targets req'd 3 shots, not the usual two. I could have easily mowed down the RO running back to the start and gotten a reshoot but just sucked it up and took the hit(s).

know where all three of your guns hit at various yardages with various loads. at each stage let them know it's your first time and they should let you go last and give you some input/advice. not sure which ruleset you're using, but read thru the rules so there are no surprises.

same here, clean after every stage, even shooting 9 minor. way better for me though than taking a buncha time to find the dot.

http://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/Blade-Tech-Single-Mag-Pouch-BLACK-RIGHT-P129.aspx this is what i use for my various glocks, and they should make them for xdm. get the singles v the doubles so you can space them as you want them, even though a little more expensive. they have tabs that let you fit them appropriately for different width belts. while you're at it, check out the blade tech DOH holsters too, way better than the stuff that comes with the xdms. same recipe for your 1911.

below is an email i just received: Thurmont Conservation and Sportsmen's Club (near Frederick, MD) announces an IDPA classifier match for Sunday, Mar 29, 2015, starting at 11AM ending by 3PM. Please register at: https://clubs.practiscore.com/thurmont-sun-mar-29-classifier/register Once approved you will be allowed to squad. I am registering squads by the hour as I expect to run at least two bays and three people per bay per hour. Depending on response we can either expand the number of bays or number of hours. Please bring at least 120 rounds and $15. If time slots are available you may run a 2nd division classifier. The first squads need to show up 45min early to setup. The last squads will tear down and stow the materials. Please email me at thurmontidpa@verizon.net if you are a new shooter along with your shooting resume: trainings taken, qualifications, other pistol competitions, etc. We will be using practiscore for this match. Thanks, Cody Claxton Thurmont IDPA Committee Chair Weekend Match Director

count how many targets are in each array or shooting position (eg, 2, 5, 3, 4) and don't leave that array/position until you shoot that #. also if you're first or second on the next stage, you can sneak over and watch a few folk in the squad ahead of you shoot it (of course not shirking your pasting and resetting duties). and also you can get to the match early and watch how others are doing their prelim walkthrough's.

I have and use blade tech DOH for most of my idpa/uspsa matches, and their mag pouches also, work great. and, do get out and do some competitions. way more fun than a static range and a good chance to see how you and your gun work together under a little pressure.

Dustin, who probably knows way more than whomever answers the receptionist phone at STI, says end of March so that's probably reasonable info. The DVC's aren't radically different than the Edge's and Trubors they've been cranking out for years, but different enough in manufacturing and materials that some delay isn't totally unexpected. I'm hopeful the extra time they're taking is being used to thoroughly test and fix any issues before they get sent out, vs shipping out what they have and expecting their customers to bear the brunt of that (eg the software world). They should have factored these things into their delivery ETA, but sure Shot Show and bad weather everywhere interfered a little. All that said, I'm anxious to get my paws on one!

so when my squad tells me to go downrange and stand off to the side and hold a popper that keeps falling, that is probably not the way to do it? kidding the whole stand like the statue of liberty thing is a little over the top. we have stages like el prez where the shooter is facing uprange loaded, without doing the statue thing.

unless you need a few extra rounds in your mags, see how the stock mags work for you. no use fixing what isn't broken.

looks like NRA & Magpul are sponsoring the similar event being held at Peacemaker in WV again Sept 24-26.

Love my STI competition guns, looking for a STI 3.0 Lite for concealed carry. Recommendations please. -Lawman - don't care for the adjustable rear sight. -Duty One - don't really need the rail and might hinder holster choices. -Escort? -Guardian? -What else? Recommendations also appreciated on AIWB holster for this. thanks, david

did the COF say to do reload with retention after all targets were engaged at P1 and immediately before moving to P2? maybe that was why the procedural was issued, not that he didn't do a RWR, he just didn't do it immediately before changing positions.