Bret Heidkamp

We've always done the 2x4's on a table concept - with carpet or blanket draped / stapled in between to cushion the gun. Generally, their next long gun or even pistol is staged next to there. IMO, the important thing is to design the stage right so the competitor finishes with that one gun somewhere up close to a berm, so when placed it is pointed in a safe direction. Then the next shoot area is in the opposite direction / angle. I don't think a barrel is a good idea, dirt / pebbles / trash in it, people whining about their muzzles getting beat up ... I can hear it now. We've done both empty gun requirements (shotguns as I remember) and hot gun but safety on (AR's) requirements. Don't ask me the rationale, I don't know. Either way, violations were a DQ if I remember correctly. Hope that makes sense. Next trick to really speed up running the courses: don't make the competitor come all the way back to the gun and clear it themselves (usually a multi-gun stage has a lot of running involved around here, and the competitor is 50 frickin' yards away) - we get a "volunteer" with another RO to clear his gun and then take it back to the rack, bag it, etc. This really speeds up the match, and is done usually at the same time the competitor is showing the last weapon clear to the main RO, then the whole range is "clear." I hope this made sense too because it's kind of hard to write this. It makes a huge difference in how efficient the match runs vs. everyone sitting around waiting all day.

That's interesting about using Shoe Goo on scope screws - I've always used blue loctite for those, with good success - just clean everything with 100% isopropyl first (or brake cleaner) and DON"T touch the threads after cleaning the screws. Carbon stops loctite from adhering from what I've seen. That being said, 620 is the ONLY thing to put on a comp (unless you have a P-9 and have to take it off all the time) because even the old standby red loctite will loosen eventually. Unless your thread clearance is really tight, then it might work. However, the first time you put alot of rounds through the gun and get it hot, you'll most likely look down at your gun and see your comp at 20 degrees off center. You don't want to be fretting about your equipment in a match. Also, be wary of using primer with the 620 - it hardened faster than I could screw the comp on the one time I tried it so I don't use primer anymore - still seems to harden just fine. Although 620 might cost more than Shoe Goo you can get it for about $15 a bottle (I think that's what I paid, maybe it was more) at your Loctite distributor, and one bottle should last you a long time! All of the gunsmiths - even the manufacturers such as STI use 620 as far as I know. I remember finding it from a post here by Benny Hill a while back, and it works really well (thanks Benny!). Hope this helps...

John, Are you sure we are going to be shooting from it while moving? I figured Dave would just have us climbing up into it from a 50 foot rope (with all our gear on) just to kick our *sses a bit (as usual!). Bret

Sam, yup toenails are intact this year, thank GOD !! I really wasn't looking forward to that again. The shoothouse, gully course, and Bambi courses were pretty much the same as last year - except last year it wasn't IDPA targets in the shoothouse, we had more time on the gully course, and misses with the AR didn't count. Bambi was the same - alot of the targets on both Bambi and the gully didn't even move from last year. Shooting an open gun was a gas in the shoothouse - although I had more fun last year. The fun part this year was having my partner mess with me in the gully - (for the people that didn't shoot this, there is a rule in the gully course that if you spot a target you have to shoot it from where you saw it) by saying "hey Bret, I think there's a target between those trees" of course, it was always at least 50 yards away! This was followed by snickering and me telling him to only talk to me if I'm about to PASS a target... (another rule is if you pass the 180 on a target, you cannot back up... it's treated as a missed target) Glad you guys had a fun time. Here is a rundown on what the courses were for those people following this thread that didn't get to shoot it (does anybody really care.... oh well, here goes) 1. Arvada - 8" plates for the long range gun hung from rubber belting from 350 to about 650 yards. Poppers for the AR from 180 to 350 yards. 2 shots on each, misses count. + 40 per hit for the LR gun, + 10 per hit for the AR, -20 for misses. Approx. 40 rounds LR, 50 rounds AR. About a 2 1/2 mile hike. 2. Gully - LR gun stays out of this. One shooter shoots pistol, one AR. You both "hunt" for targets through the uphill gully. All steel until the shoothouse. About 380 rounds pistol, and 260 for the AR. All targets are fairly close range. Misses do not count. Only 1 point per hit for both. Max 2 hits per target. (Steel falls in the shoothouse, and counts for 2 pts.) About 3 miles. 3. Bambi - the long course. About 4 to 4 1/2 miles, uphill both ways. LR targets out to 980 yds. AR from 100 to 350 yds. LR targets are all poppers (US and full size). AR targets are belted small plates, USP, PP. About 50 rds. LR and 60 rds AR, with 20 rds. pistol on one shoot area. Process is: hike until you are sweaty and out of breath, see a fire point as indicated by a ribboned stake in the ground, and your RO waiting for you (they get to ride 4-wheelers), drop to prone, shoot and get out of there. It's a must-do match. I just would really like it if the targets were in different places next year, although I realize terrain dictates where they must be to some extent. My ITRC partner and I are considering doing a version of this in Montana - although making people hike sounds cool, it limits the number of entrants just due to the intimidation factor. We're thinking of two classes with 2 divisions: hunting rifle (out to 500 yds) and tactical rifle (out to 1,000) the divisions being: hike / ride. Targets would be mostly the belted plates as they seemed to work really well. There wouldn't be any short range AR stuff at all - this would be a hunting season warm-up / long range shoot only. You would be able to shoot your hunting rig and the goal is to just have fun. Also, people would squad in larger groups (such as 6) to avoid the backlog (I've only shot the ITRC twice, and both times we were badly delayed in our start time... sometimes just due to an RO shortage... anywhere from 1 1/2 hours last year to 3 1/2 hours at the worst this year on Bambi). It would be a one day (or two day, max) event. Comments? Ideas? Probably couldn't do a prize table but would be able to keep the match fee around $40 to $50 bucks and have big trophies. The steel for this is very costly, apparently.

I've used the EGW 9mm comp reamer with great success in my supers. (38 super barrels are built on a 9mm / .355 bore size). It looks like the other EGW size is for .358 bores. This is how I've done it in the past, works for me: Since it is piloted, I don't want to put it in a lathe as would not allow the pilot to work. So, I clamp the barrel in a vise and chuck the reamer in a hand drill. Use lots of cutting oil, and point the barrel down so you don't get chips up into the barrel (which will scrape around). I clean the chips out before they build up too much. Usually that's one plate at a time. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. Hope this helps - the piloted reamer is really easy to use - much faster than boring the comp in a lathe / measuring / bore some more / measure...

So now that it's over... The match was alot of fun. If you haven't done this one you really need to try it out. Good prize table too. 3 custom rifles... unfortunately I didn't bring one home.... We finished 4th overall, and it was by the seat of our pants. Shot terrible the first two days, then had a great run on the last field course which happened to be the biggest point value. Two of the stages were essentially the same as last year with the addition of another new field course. Comments - John and Sam?

John, No that wasn't us with the AR problems. There were multiple times where the AR got super hot, however, so if you care about your barrel, borrow a friend's gun. This year will be harder on the AR barrels as 2 hits on each steel are required. I think I missed about 2 times the entire match and that was due to breathing too hard. The AR targets are very easy as they were only out to about 300 on full poppers and closer on the smaller plates. The long range stuff is much harder, and really makes the match results. Thankfully, that's my partner's job. Anybody going to the match will be able to find us by my partner's rifle - 28" Hart full profile barrel on a camo McMillan stock - to say it stands out from the rest of the guns in the rack is an understatement. I'm bringing my 16" AR this year just for the lighter weight. The toenail thing was my own stupidity. Hadn't worn those boots in about a year and the leather shrunk so they were too tight. Didn't feel a thing until I took them off. Then I actually pay attention to my partner that says "why don't you soak them in epsom salts tonight?" "That should help." So, as out of it as I am, we truck off to WalMart and buy some epsom salts. I fail to notice the keyword in the whole thing --- SALT. The pain of soaking in this caustic solution was, well, excruciating. "Is it supposed to foam up like this when you put your feet in?" I asked between gasps. "Yeah, that means it's working." was the response. I didn't hear the chuckle coming from the other side of the hotel room. I'm still trying to figure out a good payback...

I'll be there... can't believe I got talked into doing it again!! Lost 3 toenails last year (ouch!!) and had heel blisters the size of silver dollars. Serves me right for not using the boots I wore for over a year. Dumb! Some of our shooting buddies got 3rd overall and are returning this year too. We ended up down the list mid-pack (embarrasing, actually) due to some problems on the long range rifle course (almost got passed by the AD guy in the next paragraph, which would have ended our day due to the rules). It's a great match but with kinda odd rules (one guy AD'd with a rifle on the standards into the dirt in front of us and didn't get DQ'd from the match, just the stage). Don't get the impression it's not safe, it is, guns are carried cold, etc. Just not as strict as USPSA which is what I'm used to... See ya there.

I'd give it a thumbs up. I now have a fairly stock (pillar bedded only) 338 win that shoots 5 shot groups 3 3/8" at 430 yards, our club's furthest backer distance :-( Before it would only do about 1 1/2 at 100 yards, I didn't even bother shooting it at distance. It cleans up better, too, as advertised.

Powder coating needs 450 degrees for 20 minutes, on average, to cure. It is thick, much like any painted surface - about 6 to 8 mils per coat if I remember correctly (I might be wrong, old age). Any thicker and your powder coater didn't know what he/she was doing and goobered it on. Secondly, it is pretty tough stuff and the really cool part is that it is very flexible. Although this doesn't apply here to guns, you can coat parts like springs with it and the stuff won't crack and fall off like normal paints would. The other cool thing is any color you can imagine in a regular paint can be done in powder these days. Transparent colors are available so you can do "candy" finishes over polished aluminum (nickel plated works great). I did put a candy purple over my Lim holster. It's tough to beat powder coating - it is VERY scratch resistant and won't chip off. You can run a screwdriver blade along a piece of it and it won't shatter the finish, just peel it. (Hint: if it shatters and chips, it was underbaked!) Good for cars but you should be very sure you want it on a gun. Once it's on, it needs to be acid stripped (CitriStrip), sandblasted, burned off, or otherwise removed. It's very tough to remove. Call a good powdercoater for more info - and mask it yourself if you want to save some bucks and have it turn out perfect. They use a special high temp tape, so be sure to ask for some, most won't mind since masking is labor intensive.

I've used a Springco since they first came out. In Open it is the only way I can run a 9lb spring and have the slide still have enough power to strip rounds from the mag when the mag is full. For me, the slide times well with this setup.

There are several shooters at our local club that use them in limited guns. I can say that the early ones (years ago) were prone to breaking the barrel bushing (looks like a 5/8 ferrule) but I believe that has been fixed. The ones I test fired definitely recoiled less than a standard barrel. Don't ask me why. The guns we compared (both STI) were identical with that exception. Maybe someone with more Limited experience (BE ?) can post about this... I'd like to hear it since if I EVER get away from open class I would probably go with the linkless setup.

A goof-up I did was not paying attention to the door's mechanism during the walk-through (at an area match, of course). The door activated a drop turner and I had the angles all dialed in, but I didn't really look at the knob too much. So when I finally get to shoot the stage, I go smokin' through some targets, race up to the door, yank on the door knob REALLY hard - ready to hose the drop turner. Gee, those knobs are really strong. I stare at the door in disbelief as it remains closed. So, I give it another yank. Still nothing. Looking at the knob with all my ability in full hollywood slo-mo, I see daylight coming through the gap in the door jam. I also see a shiny reflection of the BOLT from the door knob. What the heck? A complete, working door knob. Great. Turn the knob, then open the door. Moral: test every prop if you care about the match outcome, period. Even if you're the last one to do it and the stage crew groans, it's what you travelled there to do.

Erik, I occasionally get loads of grief at our local club about "gaming" a stage. It's frustrating when people just don't get it. But I think that is the problem. They don't get it and feel maybe a little embarrased they didn't think of the solution you did. Their only recourse (besides feeling kinda dumb) is to call you a gamer, etc. So I think it's just their defense mechanisms sounding off so they don't feel bad. Most people I've talked to have said things like "I didn't even think of that" when I talk to them one-on-one afterwards. Maybe I'm way off base, but that's my take on it. Bret

I use 'em. They work - getting the angles right allowed me to do my first sub-second reloads - in practice only :-( TittanDriver says the early models can crack. I don't know, haven't had that happen. Warpspeed and Chris - try pasting some velcro on the back of the mag holder, where it goes against your inner belt. That should stop them from moving and also hold the outer belt more securely. I do this to mag holders and the holster. Makes a big diff. Bret

warpspeed, The old smoking holes were that way, you had to carve on the grip a bit. The new ones slip on. I also like the feel of a big mag well because it supports the bottom outside edge of my strong hand. However, I now mill away the inside edge because I noticed I had to open my weak hand and use my palm more when reloading to fully seat the mag. This was causing me to slow down. Now it has all the benefits of a big mouth mag, with the reload comfort and speed of the smaller mag wells. Bret

JFD, The guys running the match / club NEED to know how you feel. Nothing will ruin a club quicker than backchannel grumbles, no matter how minor. The other shooters don't need to hear it, but unfortunately when someone is upset usually the only people that get filled in are the other shooters, because they are right there. Then everyone wonders why a club is so screwed up when whatever it is doesn't get "fixed". Tell the MD, the club directors, and anyone in charge that will listen. Then be done with it. I've been in charge of our IPSC club and you wouldn't believe the backchannel grumbles that were going on. When I heard about something months later, it was "why on earth didn't that person tell US?" We were the only ones that could fix it, instead they told all the other shooters and that made the rumor mill kick in. I'm not saying that is what you will do, don't get me wrong, but things tend to travel fast and the people that have the ability to affect change usually don't get the benefit of constructive comments until much later and everyone is bent out of shape. take care, Bret

I have the same problems with my Super 1050. I have found two things that were causing it. One, the rubber boot on the primer slide that covers the roll pin was too long. Although this didn't result in crushed primers yet, it did cause the press to come to sudden haults as the indexing pin tried to push through 1/4" of bar stock. Cut the boot shorter or throw it behind the neighbor's raspberry bushes. Secondly, the blue tip on the primer feed tube was too tight. It actually hangs up primers and the result is rounds without primers. Loosen it up slightly by taking .001" off the I.D. with a round file. If you screw up, don't worry, it's only a tip, Dillon makes more. I too have spent at least 4 hours on the phone with Dillon. I have given up on them, and resorted to fixing the thing myself. Perhaps the first clue would have been when I uncased the shiny new press and the handle came off in my hand. The circlip wasn't clipped. It only got worse from there. The index ball would jam in the down position all the time. I took it apart, cleaned, polished, etc. But the thing would stick down with flake powder (!) Finally it quit doing it but I don't know what happened there. The indexing was too fast, and spilled powder everywhere. A new pawl and cam fixed that after waiting at least 4 to 6 months for them to redesign it. (I was an early buyer of this press... note to self... never be the first to buy any new design!!) Then, the cases would not feed properly into the shellplate. A little dremelling to put a nice polished feed angle at each case position cured that (after I had done this, the next time I spoke with Dillon they said they do this too, on returned presses for repair) I agree to tighten the primer tab (the white plastic locator) so the case is aligned and held pretty snug. Last, I still have primers hang up on old brass. The pockets in 38 super get hammered and the edges seem to get pretty square, resulting in primers hooking themselves on the edge of the pocket. Also tighten the shellplate to 1/16 turn off from bottomed. Finally, after much tinkering the thing runs. It will still hook a primer on occasion and that rattles the press shellplate enough to launch powder. My presses are bolted to a stell worktable (3/8" plate) which is in turn bolted to the wall with lag bolts and has steel legs. The table absolutely does not move, nor does the press. The last thing that helps alot (even on my 650) is securing the casefeeder. It tends to get wiggly and the press seems to run better without that weight up there moving around. If I can remember anything else, I'll post it. Does your press work yet? I was about ready to throw this thing in the dumpster. Bret

Both the Nike Land Sharks and the Reebok Pit Bulls work great. I've worn out both. The black pit bulls (actually, anything black) get painfully hot on a pistol bay in the summer sun (for me). I have since switched to white because of the foot-frying temperatures... Bret

Hey Adam! Glad to see you aboard. The dots I've had usually fill with carbon build-up from powder smoke, after thousands of rounds. The Limcat glare shield seems to prevent this really well. Usually cleaning the dot (carefully!) will return it to full brightness and roundness. At my day job, we go through millions of LED's in a year so it is something I know about (albeit indirectly... I'm not an engineer but I run the company). They lose the majority of their potential brightness drop in the first year of use (assuming they are run 24/7), after that it is barely noticeable. So... as far as C-Mores are concerned, the mechanical properties of the LED in my opinion aren't going to affect dot brightness. LED's don't really noticeably fade in our applications here - they just die altogether. Red LED's are the cheapest of all (besides amber) and I don't know which brand is in a C-more but fading shouldn't be an issue. I would say that darned micro-hole in the module getting dirtied up has the most dot fouling potential, and it's really stubborn to remove. I've actually made the mistake of getting too aggressive and have ruined a dot before (a little too much brake cleaner...). I haven't found a good way to clean them besides isopropyl and compressed air. Anyone care to comment on dot cleaning procedures? Bret

Anyone been to this event that can enlighten me on what to expect? I've already talked to the MD, but I would like some other input if anyone has done this match. Here is the link: http://www.dlsports.com/npage7a.html Thanks for any info you may have. Bret

1) Relax your strong hand grip. Trigger freeze usually is because you are strangling the gun. It is tough to relax the trigger finger for speed shooting if your strong hand is super tight on the grip. 2) Make sure the disconnector has enough spring tension to reset quickly enough for your speed, the problem could be mechanical if #1 above isn't the issue. I've gone too light on this part of the spring and had the disconnector fail to keep up with me (I know, weird, but it's a true story!). Bret

16 min. is not at all too big, I've done quite well with one. Just depends on personal preference (and eye strength?). See my post on big dots - I'll find where that was for you. Here is the link to this very discussion earlier in the year: http://www.brianenos.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard...32&topic=54 Bret (Edited by Bret Heidkamp at 9:38 am on July 29, 2002)

I know you're not asking about the dropping the mag thing - but has anyone else noticed that sometimes on STI/SVI guns the barrel ramp can hit the mag feed lips and drive the mag out of the gun? I saw this on a limited gun. Also, the lips can hit the slide and stop the mag from seating properly. Just thought I'd say this because if you had 5 dropped mags maybe it's not your doing. (that would be the good news!!) Good luck, Bret

If the cases aren't dropping, double check everything is aligned. Take off the casefeed tube and look straight down into the casefeed arm (where the plastic bushing sits) - when the press handle is at the bottom of it's stroke those parts should be 100% lined up. They can lose adjustment through wear. Hope that helps. Bret