Crazy Scientist

This is EXACTLY what has always bothered me. Everyone says STI needs some work, get a CRP.....which from what I see is exactly how you describe. Since Brazos is local, it sounds like that may be more my speed. Being my OCD self, buying over the internet is not my thing, and TBH local pickings, even in Dallas are slim.

I wonder WTF they are doing that requires 400 degrees. Not that I ever ran a TiN process myself, but the temperature control ensured nothing over 100C. (We had temp sensitive layers underneath) In fact the higest temp in the system was 120C in the degas. In fact if it is 'TRUE' PVD they have to be intentionally heating the firearm for it to reach that temperature since the process takes place in a near vacuum and it doesn't take much to give a nice coat. And Yes TiN is extremely hard and durable, not to mention a very pleasant gold color.

Spend money on practice, not gear

I have been off and on about jumping into a widebody 2011 (And though I have toyed with Armscorp, the same problems arise, and my cheapskate bone going 'but para/remington' and then my QC bone going 'BUT PARA/REMINGTON'). My problem is I read a TON and half the people swear their out of box STIs run like a champ, and half say FARK IT get a custom gun as STIs always needs work out of the box. This would be for USPSA limited. I don't have a ton of preferences. I like a good trigger, and I love my 1911s (which I've always had good luck with despite everyone crapping on 1911s, I don't have grip safety issues although I did have hammerbite before the beavertail on my main gun), so it sounded to me like starting off with an Edge is the right choice--my only 'upgrade' may be the SVI interchangable trigger. The problem is the half of the group that says you need to load long, get custom work done. What the heck REALLY needs to be done to these things to make them run.

Interestingly enough the squinting thing works. I'll try a real opaque block (masking tape or something) for a while to "train" the eyes and see if I can get it down to a reasonable level. As I mentioned, this is a new skill--I was afraid with all the cross dominant talk about being unable to switch eyes, that I would not be able to strengthen one over the other to make the problem resolve. Thanks for the feedback.

Yes, I can see the front sight "leap" out of my sight picture and then I lose track of it. However the difference is when the sight comes back down, it tends to be misaligned (left to right) and I have to go find it again. (The red dot in the videos was actually particularly helpful). For my own natural progression this is a where I am stuck--I've learned to be slow accurate, but am having trouble speeding up as i really have to work to find that sight again after an initial shot. Because of separate issues, I have a lot of trouble with left-right location of the front sight due to very weak eye dominance--a very slight change in alignment of the front sight to my eyes causes the dominant eye to shift for me. (sometimes I give up and just close my left eye during a match--two eye shooting is still very new to me). But there are (rare) occasions where the the sight settles back down to the notch. The eye dominance issue at the point where I may resort to putting masking tape over one eye on my glasses. The scotch tape isn't enough, or even scotch tape with a big black "X" Those videos did help quite a bit, perhaps I need an improved grip, as my problem seems to be that my front sight doesn't settle back into the notch.

I'll keep working on it. Just test fired a GLock 19 over lunch and I can see the sights at the moment of ignition, but lose them immediately after that. Maybe more practice.

Fantastic. One question, when watching the front sight, as the shot is squeezed off, I don't actually see the front sight raise, even in the videos. It's more like it "skips" or jumps up (especially with iron sights). I see it falling after recoil only. Is that correct, or am I flinching even in the videos?

I apologize for necro of this thread (30 days isn't too bad), but I am having very similar problems to the OP. I have 2 very nearly equal eyes--there is a slight preference for right-hand side. However I really have to concentrate to get one or the other front sight "pictures" to appear. What I've found is that even a slight tile of my head can change which eye is dominant. This happens even if I put tape over the FOV of the left. I even tried to mark on the tape to help make a bigger obstacle. (I tried masking tape, that actually worked, but I dunno how legal or wise that is). SHould I just learn to "cock" my head at a slight angle, run with a bigger "obstacle on my glasses, or is there anything that can help "push" my right eye to be a bit stronger. Again its not a cross dominance, I'd just like to shoot one or the other. Until recently I was a 1-eye guy, but did very well weak hand (surprise) and I am very nearly ambidextrous so it is not just the eyes with the issue. Perhaps it just being new to 2-eye shooting, but I could use some help, even if its "Oh you are so screwed". At least I know it

Factory pistols generally don't go boom. When they do the most likely cause is bad ammo (reloads/overpressure) Is there a reason to think your firearm will suffer a severe malfunction? Normal Malfunctions can be caused by poor maintenance, but guns don't 'blow up' (that is pretty serious). If it malfunctions, clean it. Normally I'd say get ammo, but the way you phrase it makes it seem like there is something else going on.

I've been looking into a 22 conversion for one of my pistols, but can't decide if I should just spring for a 22 pistol. Any pros/cons or each? I'm looking at a kit for a beretta 96 or 1911 to practice my trigger pull--I am definitly "jerking" the trigger and just need more rounds downrange to work on sight picture (I just learned about both eyes open) and trigger pull. But if I had a conversion kit, I could use the same pistol I plan to use for competition. Anyone have input which way to go?

I was just introduced to the "both eyes open" today and it is quite a switch. (I feel a bit like a Stra Trek episode, "THERE ARE FOUR SIGHTS!") I think we learn the 1-eye trick from rifles. I've been practicing trying to get aiming and tracking down all night. I think I better figure out which is my dominant eye. The thing the instructor brought up today was how in competitive shooting having both eyes open helps you "plan" and "move" b, it helps to scan the area with you peripheral vision to plan your moves, start picking up multiple targets etc...

Don't feel bad about this, I'm a physics PhD that sub-specialized in high energy physics like this and it makes MY head hurt. There's even more weirdness but this is the best example. Just think of this, if you ever miss, there is a small chance, that you didn't miss, you bullet just tunneled through the target

I've been trying to soak up as much info as I can around here. Last few days has been new sights. I know I don't like what I have on most of my pistols and I went through the advice here about have "light bars" on either side. being a math/engineer guy I went and got my caliper and measured all of my current pistols. Not a single one was setup to have any "light bars" All of them seem to be set up for precise alignment/zero light bars. Even the "combat" pistols like beretta 92 (mine is a 96), 1991A1, and Makarov. is this just a function of the factory default? The main reason I want to do competitive shooting is I want to develop real-world skill. Now I realize open guns are not CCW guns, but I am a long way from being that specialized and I would think that fast target acquisition would be such a cross-over skill and yet every pistol I have seems to be setup for "target" slow-fire with very slow target acquisition. Is there any pistol that comes with decent sights or is just going to be default that I need to get new ones for competitive shooting (and thus CCW). And shouldn't the competitive picture sight transfer to "real world" sight or is there a reason to do something else (which may be beyond the scope of the boards--I'm trying to ask, shouldn't my "competitive sight picture" by my "sight picture" in general--there is no need to compartmentalize between sport and "real-world"

Where does one purchase the new spring, I searched Brownells and Beretta w/o any lluck

I have a nice (for me) Colt 1991A1 that is working very well for me (no malfunctions). I'm still a beginner but I have picked up a few things I'd like to do based on experience and research. (1) New Sights--narrower front post or wider back. Was going to go 3-dot or FO, but after some search here I think I just need to clean up the pictures. Needless to say for indoor shooting, it stock is not working. (2) Extended Beavertail Safety+Hammer -OR- Bob hammer to remove hammer bite. I have a bad case of hammer bite while shooting, it doesn't effect me much but bleeding during matches is not cool these days. Can these be improvements be done in a DIY manner for someone who is proficient with tools, but may not have a genuine machine shop or should I locate a gunsmith to have them done. Keep in mind this is not a 2k firearm, this is a stock 1991A1, but it works--I'm not too concerned with trashing it (although I would prefer not too).

From a newcomer learning perspective, I agree with the above poster. I have a "fear" of guns. I am so dang nervous that I have zero comfort level. Handguns to the younger generation are just "bad" especially those of us who grew up from about 1970 on even those of us in firearm friendly combines like Wisconsin where everyone had a rifle or shotgun. This leads to a lot of bad habits because of fear. It is absolutly irrational, but that doesn't mean it doesn't go away! What I found is, eventually I can get into that "zone" many talk about in sports where the fear goes away and it is just me and the target. The problem is I get so nervous, that it often takes me a bit to get into the "zone", some times a few shots, sometimes its a whole stage or more. I'm worried about the range officer, my poor score, my poor skills, screwing up, etc, etc... When I finally shut everything out, I found I can actually shoot. So for us new guys much of it is gaining that comfort level with your firearm so that we aren't intimidated by a 2 lb piece of metal and polymer. Once you start to relax, then one can start to make adjustments. I know we all hate to reinforce bad habits, but the worst habit of all is fear for many new people to the shooting community.

+1 for this thread. I was thinking of putting a fiber optic on my 1911 (actually 1991A1) because I had much trouble with finding my sights indoors (where I primarily shoot). AFter review I think my problem isn't the black on black, its the front sight post is about as wide as you can get, no daylight on either side. Even doing my CHL with a 3-dot Beretta 96 didn't seem to make much difference (I had wondered about the blacking out of the dots as recommended by several people, I thought they would be a help, but experience proved otherwise) I do know that putting nail polish helped on my Makarov for a BUG match, but reviewing this, it may be an apples/oranges as it's front site is considerably narrower. Also that may change my opinion of the 629 sight post--bright orange, and dead accurate, but then again, i don't do any quick shooting with it.

In danger of alarming the very pro-Glock crowd, the Glock is not a "Better" gun. It is an "equal" gun. When starting out, more important is practice. Eventually you may reach the point where you find that a certain firearm may work better for you, but there is not a universal solution. Why does everyone shoot Glocks? 1)They are a (very) good value 2)They work 3)Everyone else has them The key is you already have a Beretta. Shoot that now (unless you have a physical reason to change--but you mention you are comfortable). To steal from another thread, "shoot it like you stole it"

Definitely look into some help for your grip. A 45 should not be painful, even with factory loads, and ESPECIALLY a full size one for any adult. Also look for signs of Hammer Bite on your hand between the thumb and forefinger. I have a bad case of it (many do) on a 1911 without the big beavertail (like you mil-spec). However, I don't notice it while firing, only afterwards. I am by no means a "macho" shooter, but I think this indicates that you may have something fundamentally incorrect and its best to correct it now. No shame in posting, if it hurts, it means something is wrong, Can't fix if you don't ask!--Either your grip or possibly biologically in your hands/wrists. Best of luck.

This outta drag down the average: Unclassified Robert S A42434 FYI in the matches I've seen locally there are only 1 or 2 masters per 20 participants or so.

If you watch the Beretta site, they occasionally have sales. I picked up some 13 rounders for my 96 on the cheap a while back. Nothing like factory mags for $20 bucks a pop.

Good tip! Checked around and I guess its something I can do myself and for inexpensive. One follow up, if I replace with the "D" spring the single action pull is now around 3.8 correct? Is that still safe for concealed carry? (Yes I plan to carry this behemoth concealed). I've carried a 1911 condition 1 before, which i think is 5 pounds with safety, so a ~8 lbs trigger DA + safety, this would still be "Safe" Thinking back, it is more a problem of safety "on" that changing it to "fire". Its pretty rare to safety a weapon during/after a course of fire, but thanks for the advice.

I'm fairly new to the shooting sports, my main pistol is a Beretta 96. Is there a "Standard" set of modifications to do to this firearm. I know the grip is eternally bashed, and it does feel big--I don't know if thinner grips on on order. Also for the Texas CHL course, the safety was a PITA (My other large pistol is a 1911)--I had trouble operating it with my thumb--is it possible to get the lever extended? Anything else other than practice practice practice?

Thanks all for the good discussion and encouragement. I spent some time at the range last night for a function check on my beretta (which is now at 100%), and worked on the smooth trigger pull and simply watching the sites/target as the gun fired. WHile I will not make any grand claims, I did see marked improvement and was even able to move my shot around the target a bit. I also setup some 1:1 time for next week with a recommended local instructor.