MGMorden

The Mk IV takedown is certainly an improvement but I'm fine with the takedown of the older ones too. If I could save more than $50 on the gun I'd go with a Mk III (or even better a Mk II) over a MK IV. A Majestic Arms Speed strip kit will speed up cleaning if it bothers you. Not quite as easy as a Mk IV but still pretty quick.

Won't necessarily help. A lot of 9mm Mak reloaders will make brass by trimming down 9mm Luger cases. Generally though they're rare enough that it won't be many that slip through, and case gauging everything is just smart anyways, so you should catch them at that stage. Not quite as easy as .380 though (they feel way different going into the sizing die so if one of those slips through I can generally just tell that something was off on that cycle of the press).

I usually just say "Competitive Pistol Shooting". If they want to know more I try to explain how things work on a very basic level ("we run around a stage shooting at targets"), but realistically the only important thing to get across is that I'm shooting targets with a handgun and they keep score.

I purchased from Brazos, and the transaction went very well.

Sounds like a way to kill the site. Forums are only good if discussion stays lively. Paygated forums don't stay lively for long. Ads or donations work well, but if you're forced to pay even the people who are willing to eventually won't as participation drops off (and the effect will tend to snowball over time). Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Eagle is most commonly a bushing barrel, but available in a bull barrel (usually the bushing barrels are listed as 5.0, whilst the bull barrel models are listed as a 5.1). Edge is bull barrel only. The Eagle in bushing barrel is legal for IDPA - Edge or bull barreled Eagle is not. All has to do with front weight. A bull barreled gun will have a little more weight up front to tame recoil. A long dust cover will have a little more again. If I was buying new I'd pick an Edge every time, though I wouldn't feel too bad off with a bull barreled Eagle. If it was a bushing barrel model though I'd personally pass on it.

Yes - it's illegal to remove any safety device, however per USPSA rules a magazine disconnect is not considered a safety device. Appendix D4 22.1 - For purposes of this clause, a magazine disconnect is NOT considered a safety mechanism, and may be removed.

On a $3000 budget for the whole rig: STI 2011 Edge in .40S&W. $2000. - Hint: if you can buy it from Brazos, they'll sell you their "super tuned" mags for $100 at the time of purchase, instead of the normal $150. Oversize Mag button - $25 Double Alpha Belt - $50 Double Alpha Racer Mag Pouches- $33 x 3 Double Alpha Racer Holster - $130 Double Alpha Magnetic Mag Holder - $55 140MM STI Brazos supertuned magazines with Dawson SNL basepads - $100 each x 4. Total cost $2759. Shipping & FFL transfers will probably take up another $100 or so. I don't think you'll be getting anything better than an Edge on that budget if you also need to get the rest of the gear. Almost all the other options start in the high $2000's just for the gun. That said - a stock Edge isn't bad at all.

I self assembled my backup gun. It works fine but isn't pretty. I think I've got about $950 invested in it total, but that's with picking up some used parts like the hammer, sear and barrel. It also sports some oddball features (a Para Ordnance slide on a 2011 frame just ain't right :)). Honestly - if I had to rely on it for my primary competition gun though, I'd probably look for a decent used gun. Not to mention I've seen some sellers on Gunbroker selling new Edge's for pretty close to $1600 recently. No matter how much you scrimp you're still not to save so much building yourself over that that you can't save a bit more for it.

Generally - I'd say no. I run 2 Brazos tuned mags in my DVC that I purchased with the gun so they were only $100 instead of the normal $150. The gun came with 2 standard 140mm mags so I went ahead and outfitted those with Dawson basepads and a Grams spring/follower. After that treatment, the upgraded untuned mags with the follower will generally hold 19 but not quite give enough to hold a 20th round. It's enough give for them to be reloadable with 19 though. The two tuned mags will hold 20 but are not reloadable at 20. So really about the only time the tuned mags help is for the first mag that I start with. After barneying since I can slam the first mag in hard the tuned mags allow me to start with 21 in the gun instead of 20. For all mags pulled during the stage it's going to be 19 rounds in the mag anyways. Neither the tuned mags nor upgraded factory mags have given me even a hint of trouble feeding. An STI tube is about $55. Dawson basepad about $32. Grams internals about $17. So $104 self assembled. Now, for the $100 each that Brazos charges if you're buying a gun from them, the tuned mags are a steal - even a bit cheaper than the other route. For the $150 that they run when purchased separately - I wouldn't personally bother.

Exactly. The whole thing about this issue is that proponents of this idea state that gender is a "social" construct. Sex on the other hand is biologically based (ie, it's hard to get around hard science when it comes to mating compatibility). As such it's easiest if we don't even get into the gender argument and just say that the awards are based on sex and not gender. End of story. Next thing ya know we'll be arguing with the "you're only as old as you feel" crowd. I've got arthritis already in my 30's - can I identify and compete as a Super Senior?

If that started as a stock Eagle that's the best looking one I've seen yet . But yeah - undercut trigger guard and stippled grip I'd highly recommend. Trigger job and go shoot it. For USPSA I like an oversized mag release button but for IDPA you can't use that and for steel it's pointless.

Well, with a custom you are paying a bit more - not a lot honestly, but it does cost a bit more. You also wait a bit longer. On the other hand, you can pick out EXACTLY what you want. That said - you kind of have to have an idea of what you like and don't like on the guns too otherwise you're just taking random guesses on the build sheet. With that in mind - if you've shot a lot of 2011's and know what you want, I'd go for a custom built. If you're just kinda starting out - I'd probably say to opt for an off the shelf option. Shoot that long enough for you to understand what it is you like and then use that knowledge to get a custom gun later. You can either sell your stock gun if you need the funds or keep it as a backup (which always helps). Of particular note is the 9mm choice: that's optimal for 3-gun, but will be a handicap in USPSA. It's not like its going to take you from the top of the field to the bottom, but pretty much all top competitors in Limited shoot .40's for Major scoring. With that in mind if you foresee being able to afford two guns, it might even help you to pickup the first one in 9mm or .40S&W, and then later after you know what you want have a custom built in the other caliber (or have a custom built with 2 top ends).

Thanks guys - went ahead and ordered 8 pounds of Titegroup from PV. Saw that they had Shooter's World "Clean Shot" in stock which sounded like it'd be a workable choice as well so I tossed in 1 lb of that to try out too . If for whatever reason I don't like the Titegroup with the Blue Bullets between the Clean Shot powder and the little bit of Bullseye that I have left I can probably finish out my stock of Blue Bullets and then switch to Xtreme's or something similar to use up the Titegroup.

Ok - here's my dilemma - I shoot mostly 180gr Blue Bullets (I'm sure most here are familiar with them, but they're a coated cast lead) out of a STI DVC at 1.18" OAL. Previously I had been using Bullseye with no issues, but I'm coming to my last bit of that and nowhere seems to have it in stock. I would have liked to have tried Ramshot Zip, Solo 1000, or AA #2, but all those are out of stock too. What does seem to be in stock that I'm looking at is Titegroup, AA #5, and Alliant 20/28. Titegroup - seems like a good choice but I have some concerns shooting it with a coated bullet. I know it's reputed to smoke bad with lead but is it any better with coated? AA #5 - would probably work fine but seems to be on the slow end of the scale. Of a somewhat less concern this does cost a bit more and would use larger charges for the same velocity so from a cost perspective this would be the most expensive. Alliant 20/28 - seems good. Is reputed to be comparable to Unique in burn rate (slightly faster) and meters better, but Alliant doesn't really market it as a pistol powder so I'd be working up loads from scratch (which I'm relatively comfortable doing, but still). So which would you guys go for? I'm kinda leaning towards Titegroup if the smoking/temperature thing isn't really an issue. Thanks!