Kool Aid

I use my strong hand thumb because I have big enough hands to reach the slide stop on my M&P. The slide starts moving forward the moment the mag is seated; sooner than it would if I had to get my weak hand grip in place and use my weak hand thumb. For me, only slamming the mag hard enough to make the slide auto-forward is faster for a slide-lock reload. FWIW, a lot of military shooters prefer to slingshot the slide into battery, using the ol gross motor skill argument. Though I don't believe in the argument, the technique does have merit for those who shoot in gloves or after coming out of the water with frozen fingers. The flippery fellows I've trained with seem most insistent on the slingshot method.

My late 2013 vintage 5" 40 Pro grouped 6" to 8" at 25 yards with a variety of Berrys and Xtreme 180g plated bullets loaded at 155-170 PF with WSF and Win 231. Dropped in a KKM barrel, and groups shrank to roughly 4". Saw virtually identical results with my 9 Pro with stock vs KKM barrels. My 40 Pro shoots high with both barrels and all charges, so a taller front sight is needed. I'm running a 15lb recoil spring, and it does not appear to be stringing vertically.

I take deep breath at the stand by command so I'm exhaling at the beep like a sprinter coming out of the blocks. Coaches in other sports have said reaction times are faster when exhaling, so I try to time my breathing this way.

Just picked up a new 5" 40 Pro (December 2013 spent case) and the barrel has the same two dimples shown on the 9 Pros in this thread. The slide stop assembly appears to be the original design, not the newer version Hilton Yam wrote about that puts pressure against the trigger bar to improve the feel of the reset.

Myself and a few other B classers took a class with Cha Lee last year, and he pointed out we were all transitioning mostly with our arms, not our legs. I suppose this is relatively common for shooters who spend most of their time training within the confines of a single shooting lane. In class, I had trouble grasping the technique because I was transitioning so much faster and harder that I was blowing past targets. It took some practice to dial in the technique, but my transitions are much faster now. I've watched several videos of the best Steel Challenge shooters, and they all pivot hard below the waist on wide transitions.

I dry fire for 30-60 minutes 4-6 days a week. It took almost a month of regular dry fire to see real results, but I jumped an entire class within three months of regular practice. After six months, my shooting buddies all hated me for the drastic improvements I made. I started with Ben's 15-Minute routine, but now mostly set up mini stages to work entry, exits, pick-ups, etc. I've found that if I do only dry fire and not enough live fire I tend to pull my sights off target too soon during transitions. Lately, I've been mixing in transition work with airsoft to break this habit. I use snap caps and dummy rounds to simulate a loaded mag and gun. My draws are most consistent with mags loaded to division capacity with dummy rounds. Empty mags and guns don't handle the same during manipulations. I use the par timer app on my phone wired into the jack in my electronic ear protection. That way, I can practice with a beep as loud as I like without disturbing Mrs. Kool Aid.

Started shooting SSP in 2012 with a DA/SA HK P30L. Classified SS and finished in the top 5 in my first couple matches, but quickly discovered unique challenges running that platform in competition. Switched to a 5" M&P Pro 9mm, and got bumped to SSP EX in my first match with it. Over the next year with the M&P, I knocked 31 seconds off my Classifier time. Now that classifier standards for ESP and SSP are so close, I'm taking a hard look at Trojans and PM9s.

Another vote for an M&P 9c. Mine groups better than my Shield at all distances, and handles more like a fullsize M&P with respect to reloads and manipulations. I've run my 9c through field courses in practice, only dropping a few points more than with my 9 Pro. Dawson sights, an X-Grip and a Comp AEK trigger would make a 9c a serious contender.

Assuming the L10/SS 1911 is a 45 ACP, I'd shoot the G35 in ESP with minor loads. My crew is comprised entirely of pesky gamers trying to place highest overall (blasphemy!), which is easier to do running 10+1 minor loads in ESP/SSP than 8+1 major loads in CDP.

I shoot both regularly, and have no problem switching . It does help to tailor dry fire drills to whatever discipline you're shooting that week. It takes a fraction of the time to program an IDPA stage into memory compared to a USPSA stage, and I treat IDPA stages like elaborate classifiers. To me, an IDPA match is just a compendium of shooting drills where sequence, reloads and shooting positions are already dictated by the course designer and general rules. USPSA stages require you to hash out many of these details on your own. Some components of an IDPA stage may have practical applications, and some may not. In IDPA matches I attend, defensive shooters often complain that stages are not tactically correct, while USPSA shooters complain that the rules slow them down. Since my mindset is that of someone shooting just another drill as it is presented to me, it matters not whether the rules and procedures are consistent with USPSA or the real world.

New Mexico had 54 ESP shooters and 35 SSP, the first time I've seen ESP outnumber SSP at any match. Maybe its just a New Mexico thing since Georgia had 84 ESP and 105 SSP. Nevertheless, my crew is starting to look like team STI/ESP since the new rules and tougher SSP classification standards went in place. Gotta admit I get a good laugh when someone calls my 5" M&P a race gun.

NM was a great match. I got a P for a reload with "both feet off the ground" - I started to leave cover on a reload, then quickly came back six inches to finish. Not only did I get the P, I wasted time coming back to cover. Should have just blazed through the stages taking the penalties as they came. My class was won by a shooter with 5 Procedural penalties, and it has me rethinking my IDPA game plan going forward.

The 15 pound ISMI recoil spring works best in my 9Pro with 147g Xtreme and 3.8g WSF (~130PF). The 13lb spring worked OK when it was fresh, but quickly got too weak to keep the gun in battery. Shooting from odd angles or putting too much thumb contact on the slide would frequently keep the gun from going into battery with the 13lb spring. I've run both Apex and factory striker springs, but settled on the factory spring for reliability.

I shoot the IDPA Classifier like I'm trying to win the overall match, so sandbagging is pointless IMO. Lately, I'm classifying very high Expert in SSP. My initial classification in USPSA this year was B in Limited shooting my SSP gun scored Minor. Some of my Limited classifiers would have been solid A scores in Production. I've gamed and practiced the snot out of the IDPA Classifier trying to make Master, yet my placement in field matches is very similar among other Experts and Masters. Like Rowdy, I think its an urban legend that someone could make IDPA Master by Classifier, then choke in field matches. The Classifier is so long and tests such a broad range of skills that luck and gamesmanship have little bearing on overall score. I've run it both conservative/accurate and fast/loose with similar overall scores. More often, its USPSA where I come across B shooters who choke in field matches.

My range bag contains a striker assembly, fiber rod, recoil assembly, spare barrel (KKM in the gun), and a backup gun. I do a lot of dry fire and replace my trigger return spring every 10K rounds. The 13lb recoil spring wasn't reliably keeping the gun in battery after 5K rounds, so I moved to a 15lb spring. Just replaced the extractor spring at 15K as preventative maintenance. I'll probably replace the factory striker spring and AEK sear spring at 20K.

My best performances always come when I make the leap and just let things happen. Shooting for points is never fun or satisfying, and I leave the match feeling like I left a lot on the table.

Back off cover just a few inches so you don't have to retract/lower the pistol then do another press out on the other side of cover. Your transitions will be faster without the added movement. Move your hands faster when going for the gun on the draw and when going for the mag on the reload. A lot of shooters move at the same speed through all manipulations trying to be smooth. You can make time by being quicker on arm swings and other gross movements that don't require much precision.

Pants: 511 Taclite Pro because they are more comfortable than jeans, have plenty of pockets and stretch a little. Pants instead of shorts because local matches are long and I like sun protection. Jeans work fine, but I'd rather have a dedicated pair of match britches so I don't worry about rips, stains and wear to my casual clothes. Vest: Dickies Storm Wear, which is very similar to the cheaper 511 and North Face vests. Its comfortable, functional and I can wear it around in public. I take it off between stages when its hot. Shirt: Normally just a form-fitting t-shirt that gathers a little at the waist. Under Armor/race shirts are OK, but are sometimes hard to keep tucked in and get stinky fast. Belt: Wilderness reinforced. Not a necessity by any means, but I got it cheap. Its part of the costume

Do you really think that? The whole reason classifier times were adjusted is because people are apparently shooting very similar times with stock guns vs heavily modified ones, which makes it seem like the whole equipment race thing is a waste of time. I certainly don't feel like ESP shooters have any advantage over my SSP gun. I think the easiest way to a higher classification will continue to be practice. Not only do I think it, I'm planning for it. My SSP gun is great, but nowhere near the potential of a lot of the ESP-legal guns I'm running it against in USPSA Limited.

With SSP & ESP Classifier scores so close, there's not much incentive to shoot a stock-ish gun anymore. SSP will shrink and ESP will grow as shooters figure out that the easiest way to a higher classification is via an equipment race. Currenly classified shooters who get grandfathered in will be in for a rude awakening when the next crop of fully vetted SSP shooters come through the ranks. Unintended consequences abound.

I use Predator Tactical's par timer instead of my actual shot timer for dry fire. Their timer is more adjustable for volume and runs a repetitve loop on my laptop while I work through Stoeger's 15-minute routine. I mostly use paper targets on a wall instead of the target on the screen, but sometimes I put the laptop in another area of the room and practice transitioning to and from the on-screen target.

DCAEK is on the way for my 9c. FWIW, I installed the leftover sear from my Pro into my Shield, and the reset retained the nice audible click and improved tactile feel. Breaks at 5.5 lbs.

Just picked up a new 9c this week and have the same observations. The trigger is very similar to my Shield's, and quite different from my Pro and an older 9c I sold some time ago. The reset is louder and more palpable than my Pro with a RAM. The reset is very short like an Apex sear, but the break is 7.1 lbs. Pre-travel is still horribly rough, and it screams for a USB upgrade.

Have done this a couple of times myself. Despite the front pocket of my 511s being dedicated to my barney mag, I've twice loaded and made ready from my mag pouch. Now, I go to the line with my starting mag in my hand.

1) I was trained to "roll the hammer" through the press out, keeping the trigger and hammer moving while the sights settle. On close shots where I may drop below a 1.0 second draw, the pull is fast and linear. On long shots, I tend to slow my roll toward the end of the trigger pull. Roughly 3/4 of the pull is complete when the sights settle, and I try to keep the trigger moving rather than stopping at stages along the way. Starting and stopping the roll tends to disrupt the sight picture. 2) I try to bring the pistol up level while looking for the front sight when it enters my peripheral vision. I start acquiring the front sight before the gun is all the way up. It was brought to my attention in Steel Challenge that I sometimes have a bad habit of "porpoising" in my initial press out, which means my front sight is higher than the rear as I start my presentation. I've worked hard to eliminate this habit because its slower. 3) My weak hand indexes against my lower chest the moment I start my draw. It meets with the grip as the pistol moves toward the high ready position. My focus with the support hand is more on establishing my grip than lifting the gun.