BPiatt

At the 2009 SHOT Show, Caspian Arms Ltd. displayed the first test run of "Bruce Piatt Action Shrouds". It was modeled directly after the shroud I've been using for years. In fact, I took my gun apart, gave them the parts and said... "here, make this". They copied it so exact, that they included some of my holes from previous wing designs. We sat down and detailed the final design. I took one home, mounted it on a gun and confirmed that the angle of the mounting surface was correct. I zero'd the gun at 50 yds. Shot it at 25, 15 and 10 yds. It held zero perfectly. The wing mounts to the top rail and can slide forward and aft. You select the location and tighten it down with set screw. I'm sorry to say that I don't have pictures so share. Caspian is now scheduling their machines for a full production run. Expected retail price is $300. There was a lot of interest at the SHOT Show, so get your order in at www.capsianarms.com Hope to see you all in Columbia in May. Bruce Piatt

Very Cool.... Tough to explain how nice it is. You have to put your finger on one and see for yourself.

If you're using your forward assist to clear a failure to chamber, something is wrong and it should be as a last ditch effort to get back into a fight... Period. I've seen many people use the forward assist after doing a "chamber check" to see if the rifle is loaded, not that I suggest doing chamber checks with an AR. I always teach that if there is a doubt your chamber is loaded, rack the charge handle swiftly. Whether it is loaded or not.... it will be when after you rack the action.

Anyone with access to a shotgun reloader can make a batch in just a few minutes. All you need to do is use a hull color that you never shoot. Put tumbling media into the powder system, spent primers in the primer system and load the shells as you would normally do. When you're done, take a permenant marker and mark the hull and/or bottom of the shell so you can ID them as dummy rounds. Make extra (25) so that when the rims get really dinged up, just throw them away. This method will leave you with practice rounds that load, feel, and weigh the same as your normal load. and cheap too!!

I was teaching a police class a few months ago with both mp5's (full auto) and 11.5" AR's , also full auto. On the same courses, I could shoot the AR faster every time. While the AR has more muzzle blast, it has faster cycle time and less recoil.

Too much headspace can cause the same problems. When the round is ignited, the primer actually starts to leave the case. Then it is reseated when the primer and case are shoved agains that breachface. Too much headspace will have the primer moving too far out of the the case. This sometimes looks like you have high pressure but in reality, it can be a mild load. Take the barrel out of the gun, put a new piece of empty brass in the chamber and see how the case lines up with the barrel hood.

I would bet money that it's the range brass you're picking up. Don't assume someone was just too lazy to pick it up. There's a reason someone left it at the range!!! I often keep my oldest brass for those snowy days, rain days, or local matches that I don't want or need to pickup my brass. It's a perfect time to "let it fly". Someone else's reloads may be a combination of high pressure and of extremely large chamber (as is often with many M4's set up to work in the dirtiest conditions). Now you're picking it up and expecting it to work. It can't hurt to go to your local pd and ask if they'd hold onto their old brass for you. Many departments are just throwing it out.

+1 on the roll of electrical tape around the mag tube.. For those of you who suggest not using a clamp, I've seen two mag tube break at the base when the gun was rough handled. Not too rough.... just transitioning to another gun in a 3-gun stage.

As most of you know, I've been shooting for Caspain for 20+ years. I do not work in the shop but I will say that it is their policy that the slide is guaranteed. Every slide that leaves the factory gets hardness checked and the results are put on a tag that his attached to the slide. The gunsmith "should" forward this tag to the final custom once it's built. On a personal note, us IPSC guys, and yes I'm included, are notorious for not having enough recoil spring. I'm guilty in having pretty light springs but this is the price we pay for "racing" with our guns. I have a one stainless slide on a high cap .45 that shoots nothing but military ball or 230 equivalent.... not ipsc major, which is much lighter. I shoot it while teaching military classes, so their ammo comes at the right price ;-). When we run the risk of running light spings to make the gun feel better, things WILL wear or break. It's a machine like any other. WHERE it breaks depends on exactly how the gun is fit/assembled. Excessive slide speed will, depending out how its fit, will break the slide in various places, break the bottom barrel lugs, or destroy the slide stops on a regular basis. Good luck with your repairs. Bruce

I chrono'd a batch of the army's 77's and got 2780 fps out of my 20" barrel. I obtained the same velocity using Hogdgon's Benchmark powder. You'll have to work up your own powder charge as I can't remember what it was.

I had some imput into Bagmasters new 3-gun case. It is still in prototype phase so check out their website for when it's released. It has a slide in place for the shotgun, a zip open tie down area for the rifle, and three large pockets on the outside mags/gear/ammo. I put my pistol in a soft case and put it in one of the outside pockets. Then it has shoulder straps so you can put it on like a backpack. Your hands are still free for the B-S bag of goodies and ammo. The whole thing fits perfectly in my SKB hard sided golf bag that I fly all over the country with.

I, for one, vote to have that rifle spinner melted down as scap metal !!!!!

Hey, on that Rifle Standards... I'm not up-to-date on USPSA scoring. What happens with late shots? Do they take away a hit or just dont' count that particular late shot hit? What I'm getting at is, say I hit the close targets and throw two hail marry's out at 300, miss AND go overtime, do they take away my close hits?

I hate to throw a wrench into this discussion, BUT.... (yes I'm going to throw out my "old school" SOF Match arguement again) The Soldier of Fortune Matches of old had 300 plus shooters shooting both scopes and irons, had the largest prizes of any match in the country, had one prize table and what I miss the most, an overall winner. They did this by having a set value to each stage, an iron and an optics winner for each rifle stage, and everyone else were percentaged off of their scores. Just like TO and TI, the shotguns and pistols were the same so it comes down to how the rifles were scored. If you wanted to shoot .308, then you did and you were rewarded with Major scoring and less wind drift. If you think this wasn't fair, Jim Clark Jr. and I are the only people to win the match 5 times and I did it each time with an Iron Sighted AR shooting 55 gr. ball ammo. I'm not sure what gear Jimmy won with. When I meet people in the industry (potential sponsors) and tell them about 3-gun competition, a common question is "who won the match". Then I give a sigh and try to explain, "well there's really 4 winners, Optics, Iron, Open, HM...." and they all give me that confused look when I finish. I believe this initial confusion sets a bad first impression and turns off industry execs to the 3-gun scene. For those of you who know me, you know I'll shoot whatever game is around..... but I guess I just miss the old days. Things were easier then. If you wanted to shoot Open, you shot USPSA, if you wanted to shoot "Tactical" you shot SOF. Now, if I can just get to the range for some practice for the Multi-Gun Nationals. Did you see the courses of fire? Finally some "old school IPSC" stages. A 'shooting' match rather than a 'loading' match..... sorry Kurt.

I had DPMS take a standard A2 front sight/gas block and cut holes to match the standard contour of their barrels. Otherwise the .750 holes are too big to fit the end of the barrel. I guess you could shim it but I think DPMS made a small batch of the custom sized A2 sights. You'd have to call the factory to find out. I then drilled and tapped two set screw from the bottom. One thru the material where the bayonet lug is and the other in the rear band where the sling is attached. To make it easier attaching, do not remove the normal front sight. Put the new sight on, look thru the sights to line up the new housing and tighten the set screws. Then you need to remove it, dimple the barrel with a drill so the set screws really have a hold on the barrel. Remove the standard sight, locktite the new one on, and you're pretty close to being sighted in. I don't know how to post pictures here but you can see my set up here. http://www.brucepiatt.com/images/Web%20CMM...rone%20full.jpg FYI, my front sight is .050 wide and is a "sightlink" made by Mounting Solutions. The model is "Ultra-Match". Available thru Brownells. The fiber optic really helps me. I prefer a 6 o'clock hold when shooting steel. When I shot the R&R Racing targets with the front protection plate painted black, and the white target plate all shot up, I couldn't tell what was sight and what was the black plate. Now I kind of make a figure 8 out of the plate and the fiber optic. When you're shooting up close, the fiber optic is like shooting a dot sight.

From what I was told, it takes a lot to conform to the Anti-Doping program used in the Olympics. Once you're on the team, you have to advise them where you are at all times. Anytime during the year, they can call you in for testing. If they can't reach you for testing or you're out of town and you forgot to tell them, then you're considered "in violation". What a hassle.... catch a cold and you just suffer. No over-the-counter cold medicines... nothing. Once you're on the team you have to comply, not just in the Olympic year. Playing the drug game, as mentioned in the other posts, is a dangerous thing to do. Every drug has it's side effects. Most effect you heart and many effect vision, which is in my opinion, pretty important to shooting ;-) I've talked to an International Skeet Shooter from another country who tried amphetamines to enhance his reaction time. He said it worked BUT his attention span became very short. He'd call pull and if it happened to be a long delay, this thoughts would wonder and he'd be way behind the curve.

Things changed here in NJ so...... I'm in. See you in Hamilton. Bruce

I think you're all confusing this guy. Yes, come on out and shoot your 10.5" gun. It will be great practice for what ever you use that gun for. FYI, the majority of 3gun matches, other than USPSA matches, could care less what power factor you shoot. Just put holes in the targets or hit the steel and you're good to go. So your short gun is fine. 3gun matches shoot a lot of MGM swingers and R&R racing 10" round plates at distance. The MGM's are 10" round plate with a 4" head on it. If you're confident to hit those size target at the furthest distance for the match, then you're good to go. Most matches are under 300yds. Ft. Benning, Rocky Mountain, and the Blue Ridge Mountain match had some longer targets.

I've been running Colonial Thin Wall on my 3-gun Rem. 1100 for years. slugs, Birdshot, and slugs No problems here.

FYI, Factory Winchester SXT 127gr. +P+ does 1400 fps out of a 16" Ruger PC-9 carbine 177.8 PF and Not all factory ammo increases velocity just because you shoot it out of a carbine barrel.

The easy way to check the meaurements of a chamber is to take a piece of brass that was fired from each gun. Measure them in an RCBS case guage. Now you can compare the fired brass from gun to gun.

Your best bet will be a "Youth Model" Remington 11-87. They have a shorter stock and a 21" vent rib, Rem choked barrel. You can get a magazine extension from Nordic Components and you're good to go. FYI, the 12 guage shell holders work fine for 20 guage. The 12 ga. California Competition or Progresive Machining 6 round shell holders will hold 7 20 ga. shells.

What a great match, location, and match staff. Andy and his whole crew did a wonderful job. From what I saw, not one problem. Everyone in my squad agreed that this match should have been considered a National Championship. It tested every aspect of 3-Gun shooting. A mix of speed, accuracy, and gun handling that really tested every level of competitors. The use of different targets and their own scoring system added more diversity to each competitors approach to a given stage. I look forward to next year trip to Virginia. On a personal note.... you can drop that spinning target from next years match. I had a terrible time with that damn thing. I finally got it to spin after firing 29 shots at it!!! After viewing the video and hearing my running comments, I now know why my squad had a good laugh. I have to admit, I had to laugh at myself too. Bruce Piatt

One of the AR's I use for my police work is the DPMS Tactical 16. It's a 16" barrel with a rifle length gas system. Kind of contrary to what has been posted here but here's the thought behind this gun. You have the handy 16" overall length, you have a full handguard to hold onto, and what I consider most important thing to me is a long sight radius. Another gun company offers the same configuration however their gas system is actually a carbine length under the handguard and they put a second front sight assembly up front just for sighting purposes. I have found ONE factory load that the gun would not cycle. It was old Israeli Samson 55 fmj, that someone donated to the department. Other than that, the gun eats anything I put in it. From 50 gr HP. American Eagle to 77 gr. military and everything in between. The gun feels as soft as the 20" gun I shoot in Tac. Iron. FYI, Tony Holmes just got the DPMS Tactical 16 barrel with a carbon fiber handguard and is using it for his current competition gun in Tac. Optics. He's already shot a 1 1/2" group at 300 yds with it. He has a titatium BCG in it and he says it's the best gun he's ever had. Now I'm just waiting for my new upper to arrive.... and guess what it looks like ;-) One more comment on the other posts. I've gathered from the posts that people are putting adjustable gas blocks on a gun and expecting to get more gas to the system. Remember that the port size in the barrel only allow so much gas out. What gas block you put on won't increase it at all, it can only restrict the amount of gas.

Search any hotel in Columbia Missouri and you're only 25 min from the range. There are a couple a little closer but you'll have to wait until the match organizer post those.