GOF

I've heard that Burris is pushing the intro back to 2021.

I have been using the Bayou Bullet (Hi-Tek coating) 120 grain 9mm truncated cone (TCG) bullet. The body has a longer bearing surface than round nose bullets. It is the most accurate bullet I have found in the 1/16 twist KKM barrel on my S&W CORE. It makes no difference whether I load them to 940 fps for Steel Challenge or 1075 for IDPA/USPSA. The price is reasonable and the service is excellent.

What's the rifling twist in the barrel? I have found that a 1/16 twist sorts sucks with anything heavier that 124/125. A 1/10 seems to do well with those, and with 147/150. I have run some 150 Syntech and found it very good to go on 1/10... a little bit (maybe an inch of so) larger groups at 25 yards from a 1/16. Check your twist. I haven't yet figured out why 1/16 seems to be so popular with custom barrel makers and some manufacturers. 1/10 seems to do quite well with everything.

I shoot (A Class RFPO) a Ruger MKIV. It strips and cleans very easily, and cleanliness is important for reliability with a .22LR blowback pistol. It's also impossible to reassemble the gun incorrectly from a thorough field strip cleaning. I added a Volquartsen trigger (2.75 lbs), and a Ruger Picitinny top mount... not expensive. I added Volquartsen grips, a bit more expense, but the basic gun was still well under $1000. On a .22 rimfire pistol, just about anyone's reflex sight will hold up. The G-forces aren't there. I have used Trijicon, Burris FFIII, J Point, and currently love the SIGs. As for ammo, I'm real happy with CCI Standard Velocity... not expensive and quite accurate.

Goggle DreamPlastics. They have very nice slip on rubber covers... 2 for $10. Shipped by mail. Call them and ask for Jinny. She will take a CC over the phone. I have used them on my RMRs, and they work well.

If you get surplus military-type brass in that mix that has crimped in primers, what do you have to do to reload those?

Without an interpreter you're going to have a very difficult time, and tempers could fly. 50 years ago I was stuck in a situation like that trying to teach South Vietnamese, with only some of them having rudimentary English skills. It was not overly productive. Or, as the Viets might say "It numba 10!" Whomever is sponsoring this course should spring for an interpreter.

A BIG +1! As a former IDPA SO and MA class shooter, it has become very obvious to me that the other shooters are more than willing to help a newcomer. Sometimes the advice flys a bit too fast, but the other shooters are well-intentioned and will do what they can to help. As a new shooter, they can be your best friends.

Ported barrel of any type would put you into Open.

Remington is going through bankruptcy. The company doesn't care, and the workers... wondering about their jobs... don't care either. Is anyone surprised that sub-performance products are hitting the dealers shelves? There is no serious quality control at Remington. I avoid anything they make.

Same with Internet Explorer... what the heck! Then they said I wasn't signed it. Then on the second try they said I wasn't signed in. Then, when I made this post I was suddenly signed it... still got the ERROR message, but went right through that.... to Forum... and WOW! There I was. WTH?

+1! It's their gun. They should stand behind it.

Look at the OAL of your loads. The "nose high jam" you describe is commonly referred to as a Tip Up Jam. If the OAL is too short for your gun the bullet nose hits the ramp and jumps up to the barrel hood without finding the chamber. Magazine feed lips could be a factor, but the most common cause is a too short load.

Be careful about dry firing a rimfire without a snap cap or fired cartridge in the chamber. You don't want a rimfire firing pin slamming into the steel on the chamber mouth. It tends to screw the firing pin up. For rimfire fun, try Steel Challenge. It's a hoot, and ya get a lot of transitions!

I know Mas well and have served as a line instructor at a couple of his classes in Live Oak. He teaches Power Isosceles, plain Isosceles, Weaver, Chapman... as well as weak & strong hand... and lets the shooter decide what works best for them. He also strives to have one line instructor per three students. Gunsite could learn from Mas.

I have never been to Frontsight. But I did spend three miserable days at Gunsight on an "industry group" outing. On the very first morning the head instructor, Charlie McNeese, stood up in front of the assembled class and loudly proclaimed " We're not here to teach you how to win medals and trophies in competition! We're here to teach you how to win gunfights. Forget all that competition crap." As the days progressed I was berated constantly for using the Power Isocoles stance that had gotten me to IDPA MA Class, and told I "must use the far superior Weaver stance", even though my targets were the best of the 12 guns on the line (and there were only two instructors per that group... McNeese stayed back behind the line and yelled, leaving the other line instructor to deal with the 12 shooters on the firing line.... commercial operation, keep personnel costs low!) My experience as an instructor (military & LE) tells me that's a bad ratio. Then they got into reloads. The only acceptable reload was the Tactical Reload (grab new mag, bring to gun, eject old mag into hand holding the new mag, insert new mag while juggling both, and then pocket old mag). The only problem was the "industry group" guns we were shooting did not have drop-free magazines. That didn't faze McNeese.... he insisted that we make the Gunsight reloading doctrine work with guns that it was obviously not suited for... no alternatives presented. I choose to say Screw It (I wasn't paying for the trip) and use my shooting stance... and when a mid-magazine reload was called for I stripped the mag out, shoved it in a pocket, and slammed in a new one. McNeese immediately awarded me the keys to his dog house, and yelled at me constantly. But, I didn't care. This was 2013... and they were trying to cram 1970s doctrine down my throat. You'd have to shove a pistol against my head to make me go back to Gunsight... although, in fairness, they did serve a decent lunch.

+1. If you are trying to nail a 50 yard ICORE X-ring (bonus points in some stages).... or making a VERY tight shot around a No-Shoot... the technique can be very useful. However, if all you're are looking at is an open 35-yard (or closer) A or O Zone, then a straight & smooth DA pull is often best. It can pay to learn both, and apply them when needed.

+1. And you can note on the top lid with a Sharpie whether it is tumbled, sized & belled, or sized/belled/primed. A plastic coffee can will hold over 600 rounds of 9mm... a bit less with other calibers. Makes sorting brass for reloading easy.

SIG dropped the ball on direct slide mounting. But.. on a Picatinny rail it is an AWESOME sight for Open, PCC, RFRO, RFPO, and anywhere else a Picatinny mount fits. I have one... and have had it on a PCC and RFRO. Love it!

+1. When looking over the COF it's not hard to figure which plate you want to reload after engaging... or if unexpected misses occur then options as to where to reload. It's just stage planning. My math sucks, so I lock into the target I want to change at or near engaging it. It's no different than picking reloading points on paper targets on a lengthy field course.

Extreme accuracy isn't critical in SCSA. Any gun that will group into 1.5-inches at 25-yards is more accurate than you need. I am getting close to 2019 RFRO Master (would have been a 2018 Master) with a factory Ruger 10/22 Take-Down Lite with an added Ruger BX trigger. Weighs 4.5 pounds and is a joy to clean. Doesn't malf with decent standard or high velocity ammo (read that as Federal or CCI).

That does sound like fun! Step outside the Steel Challenge "comfort envelope" and just start nailing steel... but not too many steel. I think your approach is a good one. And, YES, nso123, this multiple division Steel Challenge A Class shooter does hate Outer Limits! But, zzt's thingy would get me to his match, at least once.

I guess if you need musak then Metallica would be better than Barry White.

For Steel Challenge CO I use a 9mm M&P CORE with a RMR sight. My load is 3.1 grains N310 with a Bayou Hi-Tek 120 grain TCG bullet. Velocity is about 940 fps. It is totally reliable (and 3 inch 25-yard groups) from a clean gun. Recoil is in the .22LR high-speed ammo range. I also don't have to hunt for my brass --- it's in a neat pile 24 inches to my right. That load won't cycle my Ruger PCC. I have to go up to 3.3 grains there. At 3.5 grains N310 it makes a 128 PF from the M&P and there is no significant change in POI.