Jim Watson

A vision barrier is not cover in any circumstance. When the shooter runs the firearm empty in the open or from behind concealment, the shooter may reload and continue engaging targets as needed or move to the next shooting position. 3.5.11.2 In stages with cover, shooters may reload standing still or on the move at any time, as long as they are not exposed to targets that are not fully engaged during the reload. 3.5.12 Vision Barriers provide concealment to the shooter, but offer no protection from a threat. This allows movement through a stage. When the shooter runs the firearm empty, they are considered to be in the open. Which I take to mean that if you go empty behind COVER, you may not move out if there are unengaged targets in view, but you may if they have all been shot, and reload on the move. If you run out in the Open, just keep going, reload ASAP. How are you going to run empty in Concealment behind a Vision Barrier? A fiendish MD could set up situations with alternating Cover, Concealment, and Open areas that would make movement, shooting and reloading problematic.

Here are the rules mentioning vision barriers. I am not clear just what I am to DO with them, either. Concealment refers to hidden from sight. Concealment such as Vision Barriers, and Soft Cover refers to a penetrable barrier used to obscure a shooters position from targets, such as bushes or a curtain. When moving between two positions of cover, no more than 6 shots may be required on "discovered” or “surprise" targets hidden behind a vision barrier or revealed by activation. Vision Barriers provide concealment to the shooter, but offer no protection from a threat. This allows movement through a stage. When the shooter runs the firearm empty, they are considered to be in the open. Vision Barriers [Concealment] Vision barriers are soft cover objects such as barrels, tents, fake trees, sheer curtains, etc., that are used to block or occlude the view of a target or group of targets. Vision barriers are soft cover and may not be impenetrable or designated as hard cover. Vision barriers may not be designated as a point of cover for engaging targets, i.e. no slicing the pie around a vision barrier. Vision barriers may be used by Match Directors to hide “Surprise” targets, which are to be engaged “in the open” (i.e. after leaving a “position of cover” in a CoF). Humanoid shapes that are not targets (as defined in section 4.12), may not be used as vision barriers, soft cover or hard cover. Tactical dummies or mannequins may still be used as props, but not as Vision Barriers, soft cover, or hard cover. So what do I do at the end of a vision barrier? Leap out and engage "in the open" where tactical priority means near to far? I am confused by the usual mesh wall section. Walls are officially impenetrable, therefore hard cover. Which means they should have a fault line to define the point of cover. No problem, but what if it doesn't? Is it now a vision barrier and therefore soft cover? The SO will be pissed if I shoot through it, but I do not see a provision for a penalty.

A PhD here got interested and concluded that "match grade" was a Coefficient of Variation (Standard Deviation as a percentage of the mean) of 1%, maybe 1.5%. That would be 10-15 fps in this case. But he was working with .38 wadcutters and was therefore trying for an SD of 7-11. He got it, too, with swaged wadcutters, same brass, weighed powder.

I think it could be done; I have 9x45 magazines that protrude but still fit The Box. A 12-15 round 9mm magazine that could be cut off like I did those .45s would work, too. I don't think I could special order enough 11x9mm to get a magazine company's attention.

Does anybody make a one round extension for a common brand of SINGLE STACK magazine? I figure that is easier than finding a nominal 11 round 9mm magazine. It would make LAMR simpler for IDPA ESP and USPSA SS; no monkey motion with a Barney Mag. It would also relieve the stress on the reload, yesterday I saw a guy having trouble getting a tight 10 round Single Stack magazine seated on the reload.

Wilson doesn't make them from scratch, but they do mung up distinctive versions of P320 and 92G. But is IDPA really a big part of their business? I don't see many around here. I have several magazines with more witness holes than the manufacturer drilled.

Slow cycling does help, I will just have to control my enthusiasm; not like I have to turn out a case of ammo at coffee break. How many turns left on that spring, DDC?

My Super 1050 .45 ACP is prone to missing the shell plate cuts with brass coming down out of the case feeder, leaving a case laying loose on the plate. If I don't notice it, I get a bent or broken decapping pin. This is not a new thing, but either it is getting worse or I am just getting less tolerant of it. Is there an easy fix? A big fix? It has to be an isolated case, you could not automate a press that behaved that way.

I've seen the picture and I have seen the shooters. Not the same position. Obviously they think they are getting away with something advantageous. This at a small local event. Do they go by the illustration at a big match? i don't know.

A local guy of no national reputation. A good shot but can he impart? I dunno. Liability. I don't know what that means, I only heard it second hand from the prospective student.

True. I assume for wider appeal, they increased the SSP load from 10 to 15 and the CCP load from 8 to 10. ESP stays at 10 presumably to avoid obsoleting the many 1911s out there, and CO is based on ESP. CDP (.45 ACP only) stays at 8 and revolvers at 6 likewise.

I just shoot the IDPA pants belt rig for both. A USPSA oriented coach told a friend that she would have to have a double belt for his class because of liability. ???

So you can swing both ways, CO here, CO there.

Correct, and ESP now has hardly any technical limits beyond make weight, fit The Box, and lack compensator or ports. Oh, yeah, no trigger shoe. CO is ESP with a dot, weight limit raised to allow for that. USPSA CO is Production with a dot. There is surely some crossover but not 100%. Production guns can be heavier than ESP but may not be single action like ESP, which carries over into the different brands of CO. If you want to shoot both, something like a Glock or SW MP would work.

I think so. As long as the light will shine and you conceal it all.

Interesting. Procedure accommodating the gear. 3.7.2 Unless specified otherwise in the stage description, the default ready position requires the shooter to stand erect with the body relaxed and hands resting naturally at sides. We won't get into what The Other Guys do when told "hands naturally at sides."

I am at present shooting and loading Xtreme plated but have trial lots of coated that I expect to move to. Being a .45 dinosaur with a picky gun, I want 200 gr roundnose. I have shot a fair number of Gallant, I notice they are back to full line production, they did not make all styles during Covid. I have some Ibejiheads and Precision. A few have done fine, I will shoot the remaining 400 each at matches and order from there. Ibejiheads are less expensive.

MD (AC) told a shooter Saturday that if the toe of the back foot was within the physical fault line (and the heel within the projection of the fault) line he was OK.

If range management does not consider a bellybutton holster safe, they can disallow it. Just as many places disallow the SERPA. 2.13 Club Safety Rules Ranges that host IDPA matches may have additional or more restrictive safety requirements. These safety restrictions will be accommodated by the IDPA MD and staff provided that they do not interfere or conflict with the Purpose and Principles of IDPA or the administration of the match according to the IDPA Safety Rules. Any additional restrictions or requirements must be published in all match announcements and visibly displayed at the match in a location accessible to the shooters.

I don't know about speed of draw, but at yesterday's match, the bellybutton rigs were blossoming like spring flowers. Guys with drop holsters, zero.

I may take out my sawn off .45 and shoot CCP this weekend, the last gasp of the 8 shot Minor gun.

Other members of the "Taurus" team were in SS. So what were they really shooting?

I saw a blue that Team Taurus did well in NC, KCE HOA high Open. OK, just what is a Taurus Open Gun?

I have recently encountered a couple of layouts requiring me to shoot SHO or WHO around a hard lean. I can recall some hard leans, topple over shots, and going prone so hard it knocked my breath out - but I still got the shots off. That was long ago and far away, I am now one of those "over 65s" (WAY over) that the run n gun jocks make fun of IDPA for supporting.

Not just PCC, we have one MD who delights in hard leans. There was a short lived match design policy to avoid excessive leans and other unstable positions which we Old Fogies (Where's our special trophy?) appreciated, but it did not last long and few even remember it.