Nimitz
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Posts posted by Nimitz
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Cliff -
thx! I'll pull out the manual & see if I can get it lined up
Appreciate the kind words on the banners! It was/is the single most important training tool to enable the success' I achieved ...
HesedTech - I;ll check out that tread as well, thx!
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so the power was definitely those gray flat disks - didn't see any yellow makers but I didn't look that close.
So thinking back 2 years ago I was shooting with Ben Stoeger and the morning of the 2nd day I loaded up my mags and the first round I fired ended up cracking the slide of my STI Steelmaster. at the time we just thought I somehow had double charged a load but with WST that would have been really had to do ... I'm now thinking that I had grabbed this box of loaded 700X rds and that was the first rd fired ...
This is all starting to make sense now which means I DEFINITELY do not want to shoot these rds ... appreciate everyone's help in getting to the bottom of this - at least I didn't load 2000 rds with 700X ...
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well I pulled a few more and they were all 5.5g with 147g bullets ... looks like I'm just going to pull them all and reload with WST ...
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I'm going to pull a few more bullets to see what's up. I'm sure its 700x and the one bullet I pulled weighed 146.8 grains. OAL is 1.15
since I have WST now I may just pull them all to be safe & reload the cases with WST which is what I've been using forever and have good load data ...
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I'm trying to get my reloading back up and running and I'm having a problem with the cases not being centered on station 2 and therefore on the up stroke I can't seat the primer. It looks like the rotation plate does not center the case correctly over the primer so that will get inserted straight
what should I be looking at to adjust to fix this? thx!
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Hi all
I'm starting up reloading after a long break and found a box of 225 rds of 9mm that I reloaded a while back when I couldn't get any WST. the box says 700x. I pulled one rd and it was a 147 grain bullet w/5.4g of 700X. I looked in my reloading database and the only thing I have is data for 115g/3.6 g of 700X for a PF of 106 (an old steel challenge load).
For a 147g bullet 5.4g of 700x does not seem right to get around 130 PF .... so
anyone have any 9mm load data for 700x with 115g/124g/147g bullets?
If my load data for the 115g is correct I don't think I want to try and shoot the 147g/5.4g reloads?
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I’m in the process of replicating a prop from a sci-fi TV series - Fire Fly. For those familiar with the show the prop was Jane Cobb’s Callahan Full Bore Auto Lock rifle. The prop master and gun smith who built it used the receiver of a Saiga 12 gauge to build the gun around. I am in the process of 3D modeling all the various parts of the gun but what I’m lacking are some good high definition photos of the Saiga’s receiver.
if anyone who owns a Saiga would be willing to take a couple of close up photos of their receiver (left side, right side, front, back, top) I would be eternally grateful! Basic dimensions of the receiver would be a huge help as well. I’ve attached a pic of the actual prop for those who may be curious …. And thx in advance!
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Hey everyone! we're running a Black Friday sale again this year. 10% off our complete 8-stage banner bundle + FREE shipping
Sale runs through midnight Sunday, code is: 10OFF8
we also have over 40 USPSA training banners patterned after many Stoeger drills & 15 official classifer stages
of course you can always hit me up for any Steel Challenge questions which I'll answer & discuss on my weekly podcast as well
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ignore the Comp as I took it off years ago - they do absolutely nothing on a rimfire gun except look cool & their negatives far outweigh the 'cool' factor ...
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Ok thanks!
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I recently saw a YouTube Channel video review of the new rules which stated that it was now legal to use IWB holsters but didn't see any specific reference to it in the rules updates. Did I just miss it or are they specifically not allowed. Please cite the actual rule if you know it, thx!
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just had a cancellation so we now have one spot open in the Fundamentals class on 24/25 April 2021 at the Port Malabar Rifle & Pistol Club in Malabar, FL. see Ben's website for details & email me if interested ..... $375
Ken
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as many of you know, last spring I cracked the slide on my STI SteelMaster while training with Ben Stoeger. I spent a few months unsuccessfully trying to source a new slide and after a while thought I might just have a $3,500 paperweight. Finally decided to contact STI (now Staccato Guns) looking to see if they knew where I could find a slide. To my surprise they said I should fill out a warranty claim instead which I did. a couple of days later I got a notice that I should send in my gun for warranty repair -- nice!
after about 5 weeks I called to check on the status and was referred to Ricky in their warranty department. He told me that he'd been unable to locate a Steel Master slide and that they had stopped manufacturing them last Dec. he even asked his head machinists what would it take to mill a new slide & was told "a new machine shop ...". he told me he had several slides that would work but they were for 9mm major and the gun would not run reliably with minor so that was out. he then said to give him another week or so to see if he could come up with something. during that time I was prepared to tell him to just convert it to 9 major and I'd try to sell the gun to recover something out of it.
just as I was getting ready to call him he calls me and says he's found a slide that will work & is sending to their machine shop to be milled & fitted! Roll forward 2 months & my SteelMaster just arrived in the mail today sporting its new top end. this top end can hold a slide racker which they also installed at no charge. also, because the profile is different, there is a brand new Comp on it as well - also no charge.
Bottom line: when you buy a high end gun you pay more but you also get more - they stand behind their guns - period.
attached are what the the gun used to look like (top pic) & with the new slide & Comp (bottom pic) (didn't bother setting up my studio to take a glamour shot like the original one ... lol)
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thx guys for recommending my podcast!
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There's no perfect place for this but I'll post it here & in the 'other shooting sports' sub forum so if it gets any traction the mods can combine them ....
So, we have multiple , individual action shooting sports: USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Bianchi Cup, 3-gun. they are all different in some respect, have theiur loyal followers & detractors but the one thing they do all have in common is that they are 'Action Shooting' sports -- to excel at any of them you must master the ability to shoot accurately at speed. Given this, I think a great way to grow all the sports would be to have a combined world action shooting championship. while there would be zillion ways to do this the basic concept would be something like say a week long competition where competitors would shoot stages from all the individual sports and then devise some sort of scoring system to normalize between them and at the end you would crown a Combined Action Shooting World Champion. I think this would be an interesting way to grow all the sports and drive more interest and could help quell some of the never ending debate about which is 'better' ....
obviously there are a million things to work out to do something like this and if you could ever generate sponsor interest so that there could be actual prize money like professional bass fishing, professional beach volleyball, professional bowling, etc where the top pros actually make healthy livings, that would go a long way.
So what do folks think? please don't just comment on why it won't work as there are always solutions to roadblocks if there is enough interest but try providing constructive comments on what it might do or not do for competitive shooting is really the goal. if you think its a bad idea don't just say so because it would be hard to do, tell why you think competitors & others would not be interested ....
so let's here what you have to say ...
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There's no perfect place for this but I'll post it here & in the 'other shooting sports' sub forum so if it gets any traction the mods can combine them ....
So, we have multiple , individual action shooting sports: USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Bianchi Cup, 3-gun. they are all different in some respect, have theiur loyal followers & detractors but the one thing they do all have in common is that they are 'Action Shooting' sports -- to excel at any of them you must master the ability to shoot accurately at speed. Given this, I think a great way to grow all the sports would be to have a combined world action shooting championship. while there would be zillion ways to do this the basic concept would be something like say a week long competition where competitors would shoot stages from all the individual sports and then devise some sort of scoring system to normalize between them and at the end you would crown a Combined Action Shooting World Champion. I think this would be an interesting way to grow all the sports and drive more interest and could help quell some of the never ending debate about which is 'better' ....
obviously there are a million things to work out to do something like this and if you could ever generate sponsor interest so that there could be actual prize money like professional bass fishing, professional beach volleyball, professional bowling, etc where the top pros actually make healthy livings, that would go a long way.
So what do folks think? please don't just comment on why it won't work as there are always solutions to roadblocks if there is enough interest but try providing constructive comments on what it might do or not do for competitive shooting is really the goal. if you think its a bad idea don't just say so because it would be hard to do, tell why you think competitors & others would not be interested ....
so let's here what you have to say ...
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On 7/6/2020 at 5:09 AM, Hammer002 said:
Well, I'm coming in late to this thread, but I can certainly help.
1. The grip is something many struggle with. Most all struggle with grip pressure. Especially throughout the entire time shooting. The goal is to first have a grip that is naturally presenting the gun. If all things equal, once you establish natural point of aim, you should be able to bring the gun up with your eyes closed on target. Stance affects this as well, so get that worked out. And for the sake of conversation, lets keep in mind this Natural Point of Aim idea.
2. Sights - ok, you are doing what most do here. The advice given above is solid, you need to be looking at the first plate. "Looking." Staring is the perfect word use for what many do when first learning this technique. It seems like cutting hairs, but its worth pointing out there is a huge difference. Especially with irons. So the difference between the dot, and irons, at least traditionally, is with a dot, you look at the target, allowing the dot to superimpose itself on the target. Top shooters are doing something a little different, be we wont get into that here except to say if you dig deep into this topic, you may find variance. For our conversation, lets keep it simple. With irons, there is an additional step your mind and eye must take if you are "staring" at the target. This also comes up in transition discussion. If you are staring intently at the target and bring the gun up into view, your eyes and mind must make a transition from the target to the front sight to aim. I will also point out, this initial "staring" will make you prone to wanting to return vision to the target after shooting, or worse because the brain likes short cuts, during the shot. This usually results in no ding. So, to keep it as simple as possible, you want to develop the difference between staring, or what I call detailed vision, to just looking. I equate this to making your entire field of view the feeling of your peripheral vision, where you see, but don't necessarily focus. So, good advice for the first plate is aim small, miss small. If there is a mark, spec, or previous shot on the plate, we are aiming for that, not the whole plate. Or, to put it another way, we are aiming for the center of the plate. The center. But we aren't staring at the center, we are acknowledging where it is by looking. The difference is when looking, we focus on the front sight or dot when it comes into view. Rather than staring at the target, where there will be more of an effort to break that stare and move to the front sight. Just let it be.
3. Ok, well, there are other things that need to be discussed here.
3a - We established Natural Point of Aim above as being in a position that fits YOU, allowing for you to draw or come from low ready naturally, even with eyes closed, to the target. This is something that should be practiced in dry fire. But that is for dry fire, I'll get to that later. What's very important to point out here - is natural point of aim IS NOT established on the first plate. Yeah, I know, it just got complicated. No, not really, you will like what I'm gonna tell you.
3b - So, this is pretty much Steel Challenge 101. That is to say, some of the very first things to be formally learned specifically about shooting Steel Challenge or RImfire Challenge. You have to pay attention to several things when you come into the box. The first of which is your mental focus. Another conversation. The next of which is your preshooting routine. Another conversation. The next of which is where you are positioning yourself IN the box. For example, front right on Roundabout and Showdown left box puts plates 1 and 2 very close together, or the rear center of the box on Smoke and Hope, giving you a wider field of view to better make wide transitions. Not gonna go into all of them, but just making a point to find it. Then we are establishing Natural Point of Aim. And its NOT on plate one. Max Michel advises it to be, because he says half of his time on the clock is on the draw from the holster. However, we are not Max Michel. He shoots the plate patterns easily and is working on what makes him faster, considering tenths of seconds. Most of the people learning what we are discussing here are not that level. So natural point of aim is established on the most important shot of the stage. Or the most challenging. Or the hardest. However you want to look at it, I will call it the most important because that can encompass the entire stage.
Lets start easy with Smoke and Hope. Natural Point of Aim must be established on the stop plate. But we aren't shooting that plate first, so we need another term. Indexing. We establish natural point of aim on the stop plate. This is with the gun, physically pointing at the stop plate, whether it be a pistol or rifle. All should feel right here. Everything in alignment as though that plate was 100 yards away and the only target being shot. Once that is established, we rotate with the hips and knees. NOT the shoulders! At the waist and with the knees. l like a turret on a tank. This is another deep discussion, but suffice it to say you will quickly learn two things that affect what we are discussing here - you want to be more upright so you can rotate side to side without an up and down arc. And foot position. Again, keeping it easy discussing Smoke and Hope, the left toes should be pointing toward the edge of the left side of the left plate, and the right toes should be pointing toward the edge of the right side of the right plate. This supports rotation. Rotation is important, because we rotate to our Index. Our index is the first plate. So, establish natural point of aim on the stop plate, then slowly, physically rotate with the run pointed until we have a sight picture on our first plate. Lets say we shoot plate one on smoke and hope. Natural point of aim on stop plate, rotate at hips and knees without altering upper body, to establish our index on plate one. Establish sight picture. Leaving eyes, head, body, knees, etc, all but arms in position as we lower the gun to the low ready cone. No, its not going to be perfectly aimed at the cone. It doesn't have to be, just close. If an RO gives you a hard time about this, make sure you are getting close. If something is said, which is extremely rare, but people like to discuss it when learning this technique, simply restart your preshot routine and make yourself ready to shoot again.
So to recap, physically establish point of aim on the important plate. Stop on Smoke, plate 3 on Accelerator, plate 2 on Speed Option, plate 4 on Five To Go, etc. Rotate using waist and knees to index on first plate to be shot. There are many other things to be considered, but this is as basic as it gets for this discussion.
4. I'm an honest, straightforward person, and I tell it like it is, or at least how I know it to be. So the next part might generate some discontentment, especially from one of the active members here. Ok, here goes - Dry fire IS NOT the way to learn Steel Challenge. I'm sorry. Its just not. I bought the banners. I read the book. Ken's heart and mind are in the right place, and will definitely help some entry level shooters getting up to speed on some of the understanding.
So, hear me out. Some things are best learned some ways, and you will learn some ways are not so great on the back side. A good example is people who practice shooting the first plate only. This is NOT good practice. You may improve your first shot time, however you are creating a mental rut that will affect the rest of the pattern. If you insist on doing this, at least make the transition to at least plate two. And dry fire simply isn't going to get it. Dry fire is amazing for USPSA type shooting. Its also amazing for learning/perfecting the draw. The rest of Steel Challenge simply has to be learned with live fire. There is too much going on with speed shooting to be learned leaving out recoil and true gun manipulation. I'm sorry, you are not going to show significant improvement with dry fire. It actually hurt me. I am a practice guy. I practice A LOT. So when I got the banners, I hit the practice. I used them A LOT. What I learned is I learned how to get really fast in dry fire. I set par times, and beat them. I got better and beat faster par times. Come match day = train wreck. Now I had recoil in something I was trying to do quickly at best, let alone fast. Recoil is at least 50 percent of the game! If you want improvement, its gonna be on the range. There are ways to practice live fire, but that's another discussion and this is already getting lengthy. Just suffice to say, practice for Steel Challenge simply isn't in dry fire. Not that there is no benefit to a couple things done this way, but they are supported by live fire and another discussion. If you want to get better, your focus is on the range.
While I'm stepping on toes, specifically Ken's, be careful with his book. He's a dedicated shooter, and probably means well, but many of the thing he wrote were not, lets say conventional wisdom even at the time written. Now that was probably part of the idea, to put something out there different, that's what most people attempting to make money on something do. Even Ken has to admit at a minimum since the book's release, the game has completely changed. A couple times. There is some good content in there. Mental attitude is a good example. His attitude toward the game can be emulated. But most of the physical things he describes, there are simply better ways. I'm not picking on Ken, hopefully he can even admit his perspective toward at least Outer Limits has changed, even though he was so animate about his way being the only way when he wrote the book. I hope so, because not only did no one do it that way when he wrote it, as I think I remember he admitted, he was completely backwards wrong at the time. I think he could admit that, cause I understand he doesn't shoot it that way anymore. Ken means well, but like he said in his book, he hasn't won anything. He hasn't since then. He isn't one of the influences of the sport. There are better teachers out there. Anyway, look at recent teachings from the actual top players. Max Michel, KC Eusebio, BJ Norris, etc. Some of them have made some good videos. The issue is most are entry level and you wont find many videos of them actually competing. At least nothing that shows their physical shooting, just the plates. They are the pros, and they keep their secrets close to the chest, or only available for a fee.
If you want to learn Steel Challenge. Look at the videos that are out there. Read Ken's book. A better place is to look into Steve Foster. He's the best. He just recently shot the fastest time ever in history for all eight stages, beating Chris Barrett and Grant Kunkel's recent records. Look for videos of Kolby Pavlock. These are the fast guys in the game. If you are coming from a holster, the pros are the source. That's just not where the game has gone. The top fuel racers are using rimfire.
I hope I have helped someone with something. There is so much to learn about this simple sport. It becomes dead simple at such a complicated level. I love to pass on what I have learned to those wanting to improve. These forums are just a bit difficult, because we aren't shooting. Its all text. Anyone can come in here and say this that or the other. Debate, argue, whatever. But if we were on the range, I would easily have your attention over anyone else that I have seen in here. So that's to say, I'm willing to put anything out there or pass on anything I have been taught or learned. But ignorant people acting aggressively ignorant can become taxing. Check out the Steel Target Paint Podcast. So much information there. Steve Foster is one of the strongest ambassadors of the sport. Seek out that level of improvement.
I don’t mind you saying you disagree with me, but please get your facts straight when you make claims about ME personally ... thank-you.
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Pretty good? .....
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On 4/3/2020 at 1:02 PM, Poozinsc said:
Hello. I have been shooting Steel Challenge for several years (RFRO primarily) and had to step away for awhile due to some real life issues. Upon return , and now having plenty of time, I decided to challenge myself and picked my worst division (RFPI) and set a goal of eventually earning an A classification.
I've been doing a lot of dry fire (I bought the banner set -- love 'em), have been doing a lot of the drills in Ken's book and some Enos drills. My transitions have become pretty decent. I have improved a bunch in the last several months. However, the one skill that is really killing me is coming from the low ready to the first plate. I do use a shot timer/par timer in my training.
Any tips, drills or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance....
Speed comes from being relaxed as tense muscles cannot move as fast as when they are relaxed. If you have tension in your shoulders the only way to go fast is to muscle the gun which is not good. remember, you shoot with your hands and you must learn to crush the gun with your hands and relax everything else. also, are you looking at your first target with the gun pointed at the start flag or are you looking at the start flag through your sights? if the latter, that is a major reason for your 'slowness' because at the start signal your brain doesn't know where you want to end up (you're not looking at your intended target) and therefore your subconscious doesn't know when to stop the gun until your eyes do finally get to the target. after sighting on teh start flag & gripping the gun correctly you need to be looking at your first plate while waiting for the timer to go off
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On 5/21/2020 at 8:56 PM, apoc4lypse said:
In reading the above, maybe it's self evident that Open is easier since the GM times are lower than in CO... but what are your thoughts?
your thinking is backwards ...
faster times are MUCH harder to achieve than slower times. look at RFPO as compared to open, then pick up a rimfire gun and try to make those times. that being said, if you are a true GM in one division, with a little bit of work you should be able to make GM in others
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what gun you shoot it irrelevant to your competition strategy (ie - stage shooting order). The items you mention as rationale for using different shoot order are easily over come with training. you don't need to change shooting order, you need to up your training
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yep, Hunters Gold. They are photocromatic and change with conditions. no more changing glasses as conditions change
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when it comes to selecting a competition firearm there is only one feature that is mandatory, a couple that are very important and the rest are just personal preference.
The gun must be 100% reliable. Even one hiccup out of 200 is unacceptable ( without m/u shots you only need 195 rds for a match)
Important things are that the gun fit your hands correctly so that your trigger finger fits correctly on the trigger.
I bought a $350 Browning Buckmark when i decided to shoot SC full-time and replaced the barrel & grips with TacSol parts, added a C-more and never looked back. Why? Because the gun just works. it eats anything and after over 125,000 rds its still going strong.
Oh and ditch the commentator. they do nothing in a rimfire gun (ok, they may look cool) and can cause issues. It won't repeat all the testing i did to reach that conclusion but you can listen to my podcasts from last year or search posts here
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gun is now running without issue ... I'll look into those open gas plugs in the mean time, thx!
Cases won't line up in station 2 on 650XL
in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment
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looks like that was the issue ... thx all!