GOF

I managed to make B Class, but I was shooting my six-shot ICORE Classic gun. I don't remember the times, just the classification. A six-shot is a handicap. You get one miss before for have to get 'real slow & accurate'... or eat a 3 second reload. I found that sometimes is better to just leave the last plate, eat the penalty, and go to the Stop plate. If I was serious about revo in steel I'd get a 8-shot gun.

RE Ruger lifespan. I ran a 4.2-inch six shot GP-100 for about 30,000 rds of 125 PF loads (old IDPA requirement) before it needed a tune up. As for better sights, I have the Bowen Rough Country and am very happy.

In my S&W CORE, with a non-ported 1-16 barrel and factory recoil spring, 3.3 N310 and a 125 coated bullet (Bayou or DG) works well at about 980 fps. The cases are easy to find because they are two feet to my right in a neat pile. If I have to make a 125 PF I kick it up to 3.5 grains.

Cleaning mags is a good idea. But I wouldn't put any oil or wax inside the magazine body. That stuff just grabs stuff and can create feeding problems.

If a company won't take a credit card, and insists on another form of unrecoverable payment... they are likely a scam. In fact, they probably are. Don't deal with them.

Just me, but "How big is the 10-ring, and how much space do you have to work with? X's are nice, but they only break ties, and most duty guns aren't capable of X-ring accuracy at 50 yards. 10s and 9s determine your qualification score. If you zero at 50 yards, where are you at 7 and 25 with the same hold? Do you have the space? If the space is there, why not just zero at 50 and concentrate on your sight picture. Ballistic charts will drive you nuts, but a solid hold, smooth trigger press, and a consistent load will alleviate a lot of problems. Just a thought.

That would actually work, although I know of no one currently making a decent match gun with that loading configuration.

The rules don't specifically prohibit tubular magazines. But there is no way to remove the tube, insert new rounds, and reinsert the tube, without sweeping yourself -- which is an automatic DQ. Tubular magazines don't work in Steel Challenge for that reason.

That 89 PF would be about 720 fps. And I can tell ya that it is a bang/ting, although I use a 158 at 720, so I get a louder "ting". Did get me to B Class with a 6 shot.

+1. A six shot is not competitive. I managed to make B Class in Steel with one, but I'm not going to get any higher. With a 6 you get one miss. Then you have to slow down for accuracy, or eat a 3+ second reload (that's a reload to a HIT... not just the time to refill the cylinder). A second miss and you're best off just getting on to the Stop plate. With an 8 shot you get 3 misses before crunch time. That lets you run a little more aggressively, especially on the first plate, where time can be made. As for mouse loads... consider Long Colt cases (Starline has them). Not as big a jump to the cylinder, better accuracy, less powder, etc. But, my experiments have shown me that to get a Bang/Ting... instead of a Bang-Pause-Ting, I need 720 fps. So whatever you choose, the velocity needs to be there. I got "real clever" one match and loaded up some 630 fps loads... it was hilarious! Bang... Wait... Ting... not fun.

Given that IDPA is allegedly a self-defense oriented event, what's the problem. In a 'Real Life" situation, what's wrong with popping an extra round or two into a deadly threat before you turn your back on it and move away, which also allows you to slap a full mag into the gun to address any possible future threats? I wouldn't want to leave an armed enemy behind me without knowing whether he/she/it has been rendered ineffective. At least, that's what I learned in the military, which came in handy. If round dumping is a negative personal issue, one could always shoot BUG or CCP. There won't be much need to dump rounds with those.

I like a heavier barrel in RFPO. I currently shoot a Ruger MK lV 5.5 bull barrel with a SIG Romeo 6 MOA. A light gun may move faster in transitions, but that doesn't always make for smooth and accurate transitions. Getting to a target fast does little good if you swing beyond it, or trigger a shot before it. You still have to make the miss up. I find the heavier barrel makes for (at least for me in A Class) smoother and more precise transitions. YMMV.

Drive your gun hand foot towards the target by about 15 inches, lean your shoulder and body in behind it. It's like throwing a hard jab punch. Take your strong hand, bunch it into a fist, and clamp the fist to your chest. This focusses the body/gun onto the target, and the power stance aids in recoil control. The right stance can shrink weak hand groups.

I don't know if canting a red equipped gun makes much difference in recoil control. BUT... IMO ... with iron sights shooting support (weak) hand, a slight cant towards the dominant eye can have a positive affect on quicker sight alinement.

I doubt if adding two more stages would draw more new shooters. My 15 year experience has been that new shooters don't know/understand the existing 8 stages that we have. With that said however, I could see where two new shorter... more compact... stages could assist clubs with a smaller range capacity. That might increase participation at the Tier 1 level, although I'm not sure if that would be any kind of a draw for 'new shooters'. The ranges I shoot at have room for the existing 8 stages, but quite frankly, this Super Senior would prefer to see much less of Outer Limits (LOL) but even that wouldn't change the Classifications. Those dadgum 20 somethings would still get in there and mess up the peak times for us "Mature" shooters. Hmmm? Wonder if a new Peak Classifier array could be established for the Super Seniors? They could call it the 'Old Farts' division. I'd be up for it. Every time I get close to MA those damned kids come in and mess it up .

Yes, some do shoot rimfire revolvers, but they stand little chance against a tuned semi-auto with a 2.5-pound trigger pull. A separate rimfire revolver division would level the playing field and likely increase participation. It's an idea whose time has come.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Anything that allows more shooters to compete and have fun is a good thing.

Same here. DG order arrived in 10 days. Had never used them before, but they worked just fine.

I tried calling Bayou on an order I placed months ago, but was not charged for at that time. They said they would contact me for payment when the order was ready to ship. I can't fault them on that! But, I called two days in a row this week. Phone rang 15 times, no answer. Anyone have any info on Bayou?

That is exactly how things go at the clubs I shoot it. I have run into a jerk every now and then, but peer pressure seemed to direct them to shoot elsewhere. The VERY VAST majority of the folks I've shot with over the last 20 years have been very fine folks who really wanted their fellow shooters to do well, and have a fun day. Trash talkers, at least in my experience, are an anomaly and deserved to be pointed out -- chastised -- and ridiculed.

A Big +1!

A BIG +1. Rushing the first shot not only misses the first shot, but screws up your timing (I wish I could spell ryhtem , but I can't) for the rest of the plates. I see it all the time (including a 6 stage Steel Challenge match I ROed today. ) Getting on the first plate positively puts you in position to nail the rest. That first plate can't be rushed.

Ok... I hit the wrong key on the above post... going to where I left off on the FIRST SHOT after the reload, I would say there is a lot of hand manipulation with either Strong or Weak hand reloading, and if the hands don't get back to the proper firing position the fast reload time does little good if you screw the pooch on the first shot after the reload. I think reload time should be measured from the last shot in the cylinder to the first GOOD hit after the reload. That would show, and the score would reflect, that the reload was properly done. YMMV

I feel that the most effective measurement time of the reload is from the last shot in the cylinder into the first GOOD HIT on the target. There's a lot of hand manipulation going on there and if the FIRST SHOT

+1. Mine is great!