davidwiz

I read that article, but it more had to do with the bbl chamber differences btwn 5.56 and .223 and using loaded 5.56 military ammo (55gr ball, SS109). But if a 5.56 case is run through a .223 resize die and trimmed to the proper .223 length, then I would think that there shouldn't be a problem with it fitting into a .223 chamber and working properly.

I've been using Remington .223 brass in my AR, and I see that Scharch Manufacturing is selling what is marked at "once fired .223 military brass" (a misnomer, I know). I believe this is Lake City brass of recent vintage. They offer it in various states, including brass that has been deprimed, primer pocket reamed, full length resized and trimmed to 1.75" (+/-.003). My question is, how does military 5.56 brass differ from commercial .223 brass in terms of case thickness? Can I use the same amount of powder in the military brass, or do I have to adjust it? -David

SRT - Do you have a static or dynamic IP? I can try to traceroute back to your IP. http://www.samspade.org is a good tool to use for lookups and stuff. -David

I can get to uspsa.org and the club finder and the classification lookup. SRT Driver - try emptying out your browser's cache and temp folders and rebooting. Oops - posted at the same time that SRT did, disregard what I said.

Not to bash, but in USPSA/IPSC matches, you can shoot whatever gun you want pretty much however you want. Most USPSA/IPSC stages are: "At signal, engage the targets in any order as required to score." If you want to fill a target w/ more than 2 holes, be my guest. If you want to shoot your gun dry and do a slide-lock reload, have at it. All the USPSA/IPSC rules are objective, rather than subjective. Meaning, going into a USPSA/IPSC match, you know what you can and can't do, as opposed to getting penalities in other matches because someone thought that you didn't shoot the stage the "correct" way. With the advent of Production Division, there are quite a few people shooting local USPSA/IPSC matches with their duty rigs. In the end, IPDA, like IPSC and any other shooting sport are GAMES.

What's the fix for fused vertebrae?

Vince, I think you meant 4.4.2; 4.5.2 deals with removing a stage from the match due to chronic malfunctioning equipment. And while your reading of Appendix C, and the paragraph you quoted above is correct, have a look at the first paragraph of Appendix C on pg. 82 where it says, The US rules use the same quoted language on pg. 83 of Appendix C. And, refer to the language that myself and Troy quoted above that says, "In cases where the calibration of the popper is brought into question..." I'm not seeing how a popper can be challenged (for correct calibration) only if the current compeitor (if I'm reading correctly what you wrote) calls for a calibration, as opposed to anyone with a concern about the calibration before the start of COF, as laid out in Rule 4.4.2 and other language in Appendix C. -David

When you get to the range on Sunday for check-in, look around at the various stages. They are bound to be setup a little different that in the posted stage descriptions. If you can (ask permission of an RO first), actually go on the stage and check it out (don't play w/ the props). Some of the ROs will be shooting some of the stages on Sunday, so it might be worthwile to watch a stage or two being shot, to see how some of the turning targets, etc. work and their timing. There is also a fuction check range that will be available on Sunday. I would use it to function test your gun and warm up, so that your first shot on Monday on your first stage isn't your first one. As for the match, it is a marathon, not a sprint. Take each day (like Chriss G. said) as an individual match, not 24 stages that have to be shot all at once. For each stage, find a game plan that works for you and use it. Try to get enough sleep the night before, etc. I'm reasonably confident that once you fire your first shot on Monday, you won't feel nervous about the rest of the match. It's my first time RO'ing at the Nationals, so I'm a little nervous too. -David

Midway carries all of the Redding dies and tons of other reloading accessories. Dillon carries a few Redding dies too.

Omnia1911 - You're right, "In cases where proper calibration is brought into question" is not explicitly defined. However, I think that anyone who has a concern about the calibration of a popper and asks the RM or his/her calibrating designate (as provided in Appendix C) has therefore "brought into question" the proper calibration of the popper under Appendix C. As others have mentioned, worrying about holding up a match for the sake of speeding things along is not the way to go, not when you kick fairness to the curb. As for the on-deck shooter or anyone else touching or moving the poppers to see if they are calibrated, it is prohibited by Rule 4.4, 4.4.1 and 4.4.2 So, from my reading, Rule 4.4.2 is incorporated into Appendix C - giving the compeitior before the COF the right to request a popper check of the popper and the authority to the appropriate match offical to act on that request if necessary. -David

Once the steel is knocked down, it is impossible to reset it exactly as it was when it was shot at, hence the rule that if you knocked it down, you own it and can not challege it's calibration. This is laid out explicitly under Appendix C for both the IPSC and USPSA rules Your Options: 1) If you shoot at a piece of steel within the circle, and it didn't go down, continue the COF. Then, after the COF has ended, ask for a calibration. 2) The problem with stopping if the steel doesn't fall and asking for the calibration then is, what happens if the steel goes down with the calibration gun? You might end up with a lot of FTEs and misses. 3) Keep shooting at the steel until it goes down. If you think that a piece of steel is not set properly or calibrated before the start of the COF, I would ask the RM or his calibrating designate to check the calibration of the steel. Appendix C of the 14th Edition, on page 83, provides: (goes on to detail the steps to do to correct the problem). The IPSC (non-US) rules provide for a similar situation on page 82. -David

EGW usually gets new undersize dies within 1 week when they run out. I would suggest that you order one of their 9mm undersize dies. http://www.egw-guns.com The Lee Factory Crimp die works well, but I my experience, don't get the GlockBuldge out all the time. The last option is to take a normal resize die and have someone grind it down so that it full-length resizes, as oppsed to the Dillon (and most other resize dies) that are designed for progressive presses and ease of operation. Be sure to use a chamber checker and use it to check all the loaded rounds. All Glock bbls do not fully-support the case. Even aftermarket bbls for Glock don't completely support the case like they do in 1911 bbls. Another suggestion is to find the September 2003 issue of Front Sight (the one covering the 2003 3-Gun Nationals), as there is an article by someone using 9 Major in a Glock. -David

I recommend EGW. George and the rest of the staff at EGW are super friendly, not to mention very good at what they do. The other 'smiths that you listed are good too.

There are other Oakley styles besides the M Frames. They make quite a few styles similar to what you're describing: Dartboard, Zero, O Matter, Half Jacket, X Metal, and Wires.

What I try to do, is with my .40, turn the gun sideways (gansta style) so the ejection port is facing the ground, then slowly retract the slide to eject the live round.

Looking at the Top 20 Lists on the USPSA page http://www.uspsa.org/cgi-bin/members/db_top20.cgi there are quite a few GMs in the various divisions that haven't shot a classifer in years, yet their overal classification is still good enought to be among the top 20 GMs. For example, according to the list and member table, BE is listed as the 13th ranked GM in Limited, yet the last time he shot a Limited classifier was in November 2001. He's not the only one.

Doesn't work with some mounts or sights (like the 1st Gen Holosight) - have to grab the slide from the rear.

You're right, plastic grip assembly needs to be removed from the frame in order to take out the trigger. Forgot to add that step.

You really shouldn't have to remove the grip from the frame. I would leave it alone. Be aware of what you use to clean the frame, as some chemicals can attack the plastic grip. In order to remove the trigger, you need to remove the mag catch first, then the back end (thumb safety, grip safety, msh, hammer, sear, disconnect). If you really want to remove the grip from the frame, remove all the parts from the gun, and then with an allen wrench unscrew the grip screws, then the bushings the screws go into, then gently pry the grip assembly from the frame.

Mag release disassembles the same as a regular 1911. The only thing that is different disassembly wise is the 2 (or 3, depending on STI or SVI) screws and bushings that hold the grip assembly to the frame. If you have a compensator, bull barrel or heavy guide rod, you might need a paper clip to hold the recoil spring in the compressed position so you can remove the guide rod and recoil spring. Here is the STI service manual page.

The NSSF ads w/ Doug K. run on ESPN quite a bit, and not just during shooting programs. I also saw them last year during OLN's Tour De France coverage. All of the print and tv NSSF ads can be found here or here on the NSSF's page.

Is the target by itself or part of an array or the last target in an array? It could be that you're already looking for the next target or where to move to when you fire the 2nd shot. Meaning, that maybe you're pulling/transitioning the gun off of the target while you're pulling the trigger. To find out what is happening, I would either have someone very observant watch you, or better yet, have someone video tape you, then you can go back and watch and figure out what is causing the problem.

When I said it happens all the time, I was referring to the showing-off that people do when they catch the ejected round in the air, not guns AD'ing when being unloaded.

In the September/October 2003 issue of Front Sight, someone wrote a review of their impressions of the Docter and the Optima. The Docter seems to be better made, with a higher quality glass lense as opposed to the acrylic of the Optima and the Docter being made of aluminum compared with the polymer of the Optima. Trade off is the Docter is about $100 more expensive than the Optima.

Ben Franklin said it best. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." If anyone wants to debate the merits of racial profiling, please talk to someone who was pulled over/searched for DWB. -David