kcobean

Thanks Alma. I'll give those things a try.

I'm having accuracy troubles. I'm dropping way more points than usual and steel is kicking my butt. The grip on the 2011 is heavily stippled, so it's definitely not shifting in my hands at all. The XDm has the closest thing I've ever felt to a single-action trigger in a polymer gun, so the trigger pull/action isn't a huge difference. I think it may be a grip shape issue. The XDm is very flat on the sides of the grip, where the 2011's overall grip shape is much more "round". Perhaps just the change in the way my hand fits around the gun is causing me to pull the trigger differently? I am dry-firing pretty consistently and I don't see the gun moving around during that. Live fire time is hard for me to come by, but I think it's what I need (not in a match!)

I shot my way to A class using an XDm .40 5.25. I recently came across a great deal on an STI Eagle and switched to it immediately. The gun runs like a top, but my performance/scores are WAY down since I switched to it 4 or 5 matches ago. I still haven't done ANY slow fire with the gun, I have only shot it at matches. Anyone else out there experience the same phenomenon? Does anyone just simply shoot a polymer gun better than a 2011? I guess I'm wondering whether this is just not the gun for me, or if I need to give it time to get my hands/brain used to it. Any input greatly appreciated.

I know this is a complicated question because powder selection influences the answer, but I'm curious. I've always shot 165gr bullets at 1000 FPS (or higher) to make major PF. But I know alot of people choose to shoot 180gr bullets at lower velocities. If the goal is to make the softest/flattest shooting gun that will make major PF, which one is better? 165gr @ 1000 FPS or 180gr @ 920 FPS If it helps, I've always shot Titegroup. I'd love to switch to N320, but it's almost impossible to find.

I was waiting for someone to say this. Why not exactly? It was a question about what you do if you are a certified RO but aren't acting as an RO at the moment and in fact nobody is because you're just walking between stages. The same could be asked of witnessing weapons handling at a vehicle, etc. It was an honest question, I'm not trying to stir a pot.

I can see arguments for both cases. A ruling from NROI would be great on this one.

It doesn't need to. It includes to "facilitate loading before the start signal." Kind of hard to have a second string without a start signal......RO gives the "Load for your next string" command, and I'm ok with someone dragging a mag out of the front pocket to accomplish that. If the relaod from the front pocket while the clock's running, that's a different story...... And being ok with you may mean nothing to the thousands of other RO's out there who are reading the rule book and not assuming what something means. I personally am not ok with a shooter taking a mag from their front pocket during a COF. Which seems to be supported by the rule book What about 8.3.6.1 "Reload if required"? If the rulebook accommodates reloading during a multi-string course does that not allow for use of a barney mag in a front pocket. There is no competitive advantage gained by doing this, is there? none whatsoever. But there are other rules that say it can't be done What would those rules be? I can't find anything explicitly that allows or disallows the use of a barney mag during a multi-string stage. One more time. 5.2.4 Should the division restrict the location of the magazines or speed loading devices, carrying them in apparel pocket(s) forward of the restriction point will be allowed providing they are not removed from the apparel pocket(s) between the “standby” command and the command “ if clear, hammer down and holster”. Which standby command, in the event that it's issued multiple times during a stage? The first one? Last one? Why?

Let's say you're at a match and your squad is moving between stages. As you walk into the bay where your next stage is located, one of the shooters in your squad takes his whole outer belt assembly, holster and gun included, off his waist and sets it on a table behind a stage to re-tuck his shirt or something. Many of the shooters in your squad (as in almost all of them) are ROs, so nobody is formally designated to the task and there is no shooting going on in your bay/squad at the time. You're not the only one to see this, but you speak up and inform the shooter that what he's done constitutes a DQ. Several of the folks with you say things like "yeah, that would be a DQ. It's a good thing nobody saw you". He quietly waits for you to either DQ him or, as the other shooters in your squad that have not so subtly hinted, give him a pass. Moral gut check....what do you do?

Same here! My favorite part of the forums. More often than not they are an exercise in futility I enjoy civil discourse about things like this. I think it helps us all become better ROs and CROs just by getting perspective and views from different angles.

It doesn't need to. It includes to "facilitate loading before the start signal." Kind of hard to have a second string without a start signal......RO gives the "Load for your next string" command, and I'm ok with someone dragging a mag out of the front pocket to accomplish that. If the relaod from the front pocket while the clock's running, that's a different story...... And being ok with you may mean nothing to the thousands of other RO's out there who are reading the rule book and not assuming what something means. I personally am not ok with a shooter taking a mag from their front pocket during a COF. Which seems to be supported by the rule book What about 8.3.6.1 "Reload if required"? If the rulebook accommodates reloading during a multi-string course does that not allow for use of a barney mag in a front pocket. There is no competitive advantage gained by doing this, is there? none whatsoever. But there are other rules that say it can't be done What would those rules be? I can't find anything explicitly that allows or disallows the use of a barney mag during a multi-string stage.

It doesn't need to. It includes to "facilitate loading before the start signal." Kind of hard to have a second string without a start signal......RO gives the "Load for your next string" command, and I'm ok with someone dragging a mag out of the front pocket to accomplish that. If the relaod from the front pocket while the clock's running, that's a different story...... And being ok with you may mean nothing to the thousands of other RO's out there who are reading the rule book and not assuming what something means. I personally am not ok with a shooter taking a mag from their front pocket during a COF. Which seems to be supported by the rule book What about 8.3.6.1 "Reload if required"? If the rulebook accommodates reloading during a multi-string course does that not allow for use of a barney mag in a front pocket. There is no competitive advantage gained by doing this, is there?

As an RO, I would not start the competitor until they fixed the violation. It's not like SS or PROD, where they have restrictions on holster and mag locations, (which would bump you to Open.) Same goes for things like the holster and mag pouches being within 2" of the inner belt. (Something that is the same for all divisions.) No penalty, you just have to fix it. I remember a case of Ray Hisrt from PASA calling out shooters because the top of their backstrap was below the top of the belt. Against the rules, so they had to fix it. I suppose if a shooter refused to fix an issue like this, or did it repeadedly after being told not to. you COULD DQ them for unsportsmanlike conduct. Is THAT good enough of a penalty? If they refuse to fix it, the RO should not start the shooter. If the shooter is not started, squad finishes the stage, shooter gets a no score. This is the exact progression I would follow. The shooter is not compliant with the rules and needs to adjust their equipment to be compliant. I would not start them until they ARE compliant. If they refuse, I will issue an unload and show clear, score them a zero for the stage and call the RM or MD to deal with them. At that point, a DQ for unsportsmanlike conduct is appropriate, IMO.

Two thoughts here... First, keeping a mag in your front pocket could, depending on how deep your pockets are, inhibit movement on a stage that requires crouching, kneeling, etc. Just a thought. Second, on a multi-string CoF: The standby command is given once per STRING, but the ICHDAH is only given once per STAGE. It would seem to me then that reaching into a front pocket prior to the issuance of the standby command on string 2+ would be allowed under the directive of 8.3.6.1 "Reload if required and holster".

This is exactly what I was saying in my post above yours. You just did a better job of describing it.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I guess I'm just baffled that I would have so much trouble hitting poppers at relatively close distances. It seemed like I was hitting all over the place despite having an easy time tracking the front sight. I'll be shooting groups with it as soon as I work out a few other issues with the gun. If it proves to be just me, that's awesome because I just loaded almost 2k rounds at a 1.135 - 1.14 COAL.

Yeah, I know I'm way far off from guys like Phil Strader, no delusions that I'm going to win an area championship any time soon. Great idea about the video. I'm trying to squad at matches with guys who are better performers than I am so I can watch and pick their brains.

I would ensure that your press is belling the case mouth adequately when loading and that you're VERY gently crimping (just enough to undo the bell). If not, the case could be pushing the coating up around the neck during bullet seating, causing in effect an oversize bullet that will stick hard in the chamber. If your COAL is correct, this would be my guess. I recently had a round stick hard in my chamber caused by this exact thing, but with a plated bullet. When I got the round out, I found the plating was pushed up around the case neck.

I've been doing some analysis of my performance at the VA/MD Sectional. In Limited division, I finished 31st out of 71 with 66%. Digging a little deeper, I looked at the top 5 finishers and from a raw points perspective, I shot more points than the 1st and 2nd place guys and was within a few A hits of the other three. The kicker is that the 1st place guy (some guy named Phil Strader) shot the match almost 90 seconds faster than me, or almost 10 seconds per stage. WOW. So I guess from now until the Area 8 Championship, I am going to work on being more efficient in my movement and eliminating wasted movement. Things I can think of to work on are: 1. Bringing the gun to target and acquiring a sight picture faster when reaching shooting positions. 2. Better shot calling so I'm not looking at targets before leaving a shooting position. 3. Taking "close enough" targets on the move when possible. 4. Faster target transitions on close arrays. 5. Move faster on long movement areas where no targets are being engaged. I could drop 17 A hits to C hits doing the above and have the same number of raw points as the division winner. Question is, can I make up 90 seconds?

I'm a south-paw also. For me, I shoot left to right because I "feel" more comfortable "pushing" the gun to the next target to the right vs. "pulling" the gun to the next target to the left.

Thanks alot for all the great feedback guys. I'll try a 12.5 lb spring, and will be replacing a few other parts as well.

I shot my "new to me" Eagle for the first time yesterday in a local match and it functioned well using the short-loaded .40 I use in my XDm. This match was literally my first shots with this gun. From an accuracy perspective though, I had a lot of trouble with longer shots that would be no issue with my XDm. I got to the point where I just stood there doing slow fire and was hitting left, right or high on poppers and I had a much higher C count than normal. I'm wondering if the COAL of my rounds is providing too much free space between the bullet and the lands/grooves and this is affecting accuracy. I'm going to get it to a static range for some testing this week, but I'd like to know what other folks are using for a COAL with these guns. I'm using a 165gr plated RNHP.

Do you have to shorten the spring if you use a shock buff?

Awesome. Thanks guys! This site, as usual, rocks.

Thanks. I will check it out. I decided to buy it. I'm glad I could spend some of your money for you. FWIW, I found a local deal on a beautiful STI Eagle....$1200. Then I found 5 140mm mags for $280 shipped. I think I'll buy a lottery ticket next.

Thanks fellas!