kcobean

I had a $90 set of custom molded plugs made in April. They're ok for pistol, but when I put my cheek down on a rifle the plug seal breaks. I seldom shoot 3-gun, so I discovered this unfortunate fact 'on the clock' sitting 3 feet from a guy shooting an Armalite comp. It was painful. I'm thinking for 3-gun, I'm gonna use regular foam plugs because of their flexibility. I like my molded plugs for pistol, though one generally seats more completely than the other. Not sure why that is.

That's a good way to turn an injury that needs a couple weeks of rest into one that needs a couple months of rest... When I say "weight lifting", I mean doing it like the physical therapist recommends in the videos at the link in your first post in this thread...not heavy weight lifting. I can barely "reverse wrist curl" a 3 pound dumb-bell right now. I'm determined, but I'm not crazy.

Really glad I found this. After a hard fall onto my right arm at the Area 8 Championship in August, I started getting some serious pain in my elbow. X-ray showed nothing and working with a physical therapist has been a slow process. I'm at the point that picking up a coffee mug with palm down (fingers around rim) is difficult at best. It's SLOWLY getting better, but it's very frustrating. I'm an IT guy, so my right arm operates a mouse all day long and gets stiff as can be. Time to start weight lifting through the pain....

Did you get the inserts or the prescription lenses? I'm looking at getting the prescription lenses because I'm not a fan of the inserts. They are pricey though (not that my eyesight isn't worth it).

I have traditionally worn contacts and proper shooting glasses, but my eyes don't do well with the contacts in all the dust, sweat, sunscreen, etc. By the end of the day my eyes were so irritated I could barely open them. So, I started wearing my regular prescription glasses. They do not offer the same side protection, but they're much more comfortable and they are polycarb impact rated lenses. I plan to buy some prescription Rudy's here soon, but they're in the $350-$400 range to get them with presc. lenses.

As a lefty, and with an partially amputated left index fingertip to boot, my advice is to stick with the standard release and learn to activate it with your index finger. You don't have to shift your grip on the gun to activate the release and I'm as fast this way as I could ever be using a thumb release. I considered the Mitchell conversion, but I'm glad I didn't do it.

Good points. I'll have to adopt that habit.

My Limcat BattleCat has a 10# recoil spring in it and I think the standard Perfect Sights run the same. But mechanically, they're similar to a compensated gun because of the barrel weight.

Hell yes it did!

I was the last shooter on my squad (or near last) on stage 1 at the Area 8 Championship this year. It was our first stage of the match. Afterwards, I grabbed my stuff and walked over to stage 2. It was staff day, so we were all RO'ing for each other, i.e. you stay busy. When it was my turn to shoot stage 2, I got the make ready command, inserted my barney mag from position 3 (of 4) on my belt, chambered a round, then put it back on my belt. Grabbed my start mag from position 4 and realized that it was empty from the previous stage. So, I pulled it out of the gun, put it back on my belt, grabbed my first reload mag from position 1 and oops, it's almost empty too....it's the other one I used from the previous stage. So I have two full Limited mags in positions 2 and 3 (minus the barney round stripped out of 3) for a 24 round stage, no worries. So, I put the second empty mag in position three, move full mags to positions 1 and 2. All good now, right? Are you ready? Standby! Beep! Bang Click! (tap/rack) Click! Look in magwell...there's no mag! After the shuffling, I never put a mag back in the gun. Spent a few seconds with my brain in total meltdown looking for a mag that had bullets in it, not remembering that I had moved them to the first two positions on my belt. Cost me probably at least 5 seconds. Lesson: If you're not ready, don't shoot. Ask the RO to ULSC and go top off.

Almost like a front pocket, but in the back? They could call it a 'back pocket'!

Never had to think about it on my XDm either. I had the grip safety on my 2011 disabled because my grip is so high on this gun that sometimes I'd rock the beavertail up and engage the safety. Don't have to worry about it now.

I've just started using the 'frosted scotch tape' method to help train shooting with both eyes open ( a habit I know I MUST develop). It's working very well for me. Give it a try.

A nice gun is a nice gun no matter where it's being shot. A Ferrari is a Ferrari whether it's in the parking lot or on the race course. I say go for it.

techj, what's your age, just out of curiosity?

Doing math after the match and realizing that if you hadn't hit that ONE no-shoot, you would have just shot a 100% classifier (as an A class shooter). It's been nagging at me all day. Grrrrr

All true statements. Like Red Ryder, I bought a used 650, bolted it to the bench and just learned on it. They're not complicated machines and it's easy to figure out most issues if and when they arise. Dillons hold their value pretty well. Even if you only keep it for a year, reload a few thousand rounds on it and then sell it, you'll have gotten your money out of it just in knowledge alone, IMO.

This is a flat-topped 5.4" Perfect Sight HBAR from Limcat. Similar to a tracker. Heavy, but recoils like a 9mm.

I don't understand this whole conversation. It's not a DQ to have the hammer back in the holster with the safety on or off, as long as the gun is unloaded: 10.5.11 specifically says "Holstering a *LOADED* handgun, in any of the following conditions: --------10.5.11.1: A single action self-loading pistol with the safety not applied All these conditions apply the entire time the handgun is in the holster. See 8.1.2.4 8.1.2.4 "This safety must be on while the firearm is LOADED in the holster or LOADED inany other location stated in the WSB in order to be in compliance with 10.5.11" So I see nothing here saying a cocked hammer on an unloaded gun is an issue. That said, it still seems like a bad habit to me.

I'm not posting any specific load data, but I will say this, I've shot thousands of 200 grain Bayou bullets, but I use VV N320 powder. It's a fantastic combination, IMO, and N320 requires less powder for a given velocity than Titegroup. It's a slower burning powder, which as I understand it is better for shorter OALs like what the M&P will require (I'm loading Bayou's out to 1.180-1.185. They probably wouldn't even fit in an M&P mag).

Reloading is an addictive hobby all its own. I honestly recommend you don't start with anything smaller than a Dillon XL650. It's an auto-indexing 5-stage press that can do everything except for primer pocket swaging, and if you're shooting range pickup brass that's really of little consequence. As your shooting ramps up, you'll be very happy with this choice. A 650 can do 800 rounds an hour once you really get your rhythm down, and with the addition of a bullet feeder, all you have to do is pull the handle and keep feeding it components. As for the statement that you need to reload to be competitive with the 9mm, there's really no logic in that. If you're going to continue shooting Open division (which I presume you are since you're shooting a comp'd pistol), then you'll want to reload just so a) you can ensure your rounds are making major PF (you can shoot minor if you want, but it's much, much harder to be competitive shooting minor PF) and b ) you can use a gassy powder that optimizes the operation of your comp. As for cost, the difference between major and minor is going to be a few grains of powder, so the price will be nearly identical. I'm reloading .40 for just under 16 cents per round. That's $160 per 1000. You can't touch manufactured ammo for twice that, so is it worth it? Yeah, it is. You should be able to load 9mm for probably 14 cents per round, maybe less.

I recommend a spare gun, just in case.

First things first....WELCOME! My worthless 2 cents to you is this: Don't modify your firearm at all from how it is right now. Bring 5 magazines (one for the gun, four for the belt) and load them to capacity and shoot Limited. You'll be scored using Minor Power Factor, but who cares. As a new shooter, the question you want to answer is "is this something I want to keep doing" and it's not your score that's going to make that decision for you, at least not initially. IMO, you're better off trying to answer that question without worrying about running out of mags on a 32 round stage and only 50 rounds on your person. You WILL have fun, I promise you that. So enjoy the game first, get into 'restrictions' later. If the USPSA bug bites you, there'll be plenty of time to spend stupid amounts of money on gear down the road.

If I may suggest, check out Gravitas Tactical. Both of the owners are USPSA GMs and top notch gunsmiths that produce a VERY nice 1911 that is purpose built for USPSA SS. http://gravitastactical.com

In Enos' book, I believe he talks about the thumbs not being part of the firing grip.