robertbank

4" or 4.25"? Take Care Bob

Not surprising really. Your gun performs differently than others. That is the reason why we have to chrono our loads vs just taking data from manuals. Take Care Bob

First the bullet is sized correctl;y at .401 for the .40S&W for lead bullets. Your OAL is to long for that bullet. Take the barrel out of your gun. Drop a bullet into the chamber and measure from the base of the bullet to the edge of the barrel hood where the case would sit flush when a round is chambered. Measure the length of the bullet. Add the two measurements together and you have the maximum length of a cartridge for that bullet in that gun. Back off a few thousanths to allow for slack in your press and you should be good to go. Load a few rounds light and check for pressure signs. Move up to the load you want to use. Take Care Bob

When did'club" events not have to follow the rules of the game and where does it say in the rule book the MD can ignore or waive the rules of the game? If I remember correctly there is something about following the rules of IDPA in the Affiliation Agreement. Take Care Bob

Yes and it also reisizes the bullet as well. The easiest way to determine the optimum OAL for any cartridge is as follows: 1. Remove your barrel. 2. Drop in just the bullet into the chamber and measure, using your veneer caliper, from the base of the bullet to where the case would sit flush with the barrel hood. 3. Measure the length of the bullet 4. Add the two measurements together and you will have the maximum length of the cartridge for that gun using that bullet. 5. Reduce the OAL by a few thousanths to take into account any play in your press and you should be good to go. Using this method you can determine the OAL for any bullet type for your gun. Lastly check to make sure the finished cartridge will fit in your mag. Take Care Bob

In that case, the time it takes to make them and having a good supply of free lead.For the first problem I built a machine to cast for me and have cast and loaded 1000 rounds of 230g 45acp for as little as $18 (a bit more these days with higher primer and powder prices). I am in awe. You have a skill set that most would envy. Take Care Bob

Bayoo bullets when I priced them were almost as much as Montana gold when you figure in the case price and free shipping from Montana Gold. Pat I shoot thousands of 124 gr cast Lyman bullets for IDPA and they are extremelhy accurate at 130ish PF. Guns used are my M&P's, CZ's and an STI Trojan I use 4.1 gr under the Lyman 356402 bullet sized .357. I water quench my bullets and use soft lube. No leading and great accuracy. I would think any hard cast bullet at the same weight and sized .357 should give similar results. I do carry 50 plated bullets for dark/low light stages where a flashlight is required. Take Care Bob

I have had good luck wth 4 gr of Titegroup under the 124 gr Berry bullets. Makes 1079 FPS. Accuracy was very good out of my M&P Pro 5" Take Care Bob

I have been trying to work a decent load with this bullet to make 130 PF for IDPA. The bullet casts out at 154 gr with my alloy. To date results have been poor to say the least out of my M&P Pro and FS. Accuracy has been terrible compared to my 125gr bullet loadings. I'v have tried Clays, Unique, Titegroup, and 231. I don't start to see decent groupings with this bullet until I hit around 934FPS which is faster than I need. The objective using the heavier bullet is to reduce muzzle flip and felt recoil for faster splits. I am concerned the 1 - 18 twist rate of the M&P maybe the problem as far as accuracy is concerned. The twist rate really doesn'r favour heavier bullets. Any suggestions would be appreciated. If your load works for 147 gr bullets it should work for the heavier 154 gr cast bullet I am using. Take Care Bob

This is not true. The Canadian Exemption is for competitions in Canada, only. I wrote the exemption and got it approved by HQ. To addrss the question at hand our exemption really allows us to have a revolver division up here due to our retarde gun laws. Participation in SSR/ESR is really very small but those that do use their revolvers do it with entusiasm. I should add the 5" revolvers are very popular for those of us who have carry permits for "Wilderness Carry". Up where I live bears are more of a threat than humans. Take Care Bob

180gr. bullets run smooth through my M&P at 130ish PF. Take Care Bob

You are using hobby equipment and I would think +or- .01 is well within normal tolerances. I load on a 550 and would be happy to be within that variance. Nothing to be concerned about IMHO. I think you are loading your cartridges shorter than I would. I tyr to load my 124 gr bullets no shorter than 1.10. What do your manuals say? Take Care Bob

3.3 gr of Titegroup under Berry's 147 gr plated gave me avg vel of 927fps over my F1 Chrony, enough to make PF for IDPA SSP Division. I am at 200' above sea level. OAL 1.115 Load shot out of my 5" M&P PRO Take Care Bob

Interesting. I have to wonder why USPSA did not follow IPSC and move to a 5# limit IF they were going to make the change in the first place. I am not advocating the 5# limit but they must have known some folks would be upset with a limit change in any event so why not at least align the decision with your International cousins. The one positive thing a 3# limit does is it will keep striker fired pistols in the game. With IPSC's 5# limit DA SA guns have the advantage of transitioning to a 2 - 3 pound SA pull while the striker fired guns remain at +5#s. Among the truly competitive shooters you hardly ever see a striker fired gun shooting Production in IPSC up here. Too, the Glock 34 is not a legal IPSC Production gun. Take care Bob

Lead boolits should be sized .452 for the .45acp cartridge. You want the boolit to be at least 1 thousandths over bore size to ensure a gas seal to prevent gas cutting and the resulting leading. Take Care Bob

To calculate the max OAl for any given bullet in YOUR gun try this using calipers: 1. Measure teh length of the gullet 2. Remove your barrel from teh gun and drp in your measured bullet 3. Measure from the base of the bullet to the point where your case would normally sit flat 4. Add the two mesurements together and that will be the maximum length of bullet your gun will chamber. 5. Back off a few thousandths from your calculation to allow for variances in your press seating. 6. Load one round and check to see tht it fits your mag with some clearance. 7. Test for feeding. As been mentioned above the bullet olgive will effect how deep you must seat your bullet. Take Care Bob

Not many you can do that with. My CZ 75 has a cocked and locked capability as well as DA/SA but I have made a lot of SOs nervous by easing the hammer down for SSP or IPSC Prod. If my P226 had a cocked and LOCKED capability I would sure use it and be glad to regroup it into ESP. Heck if the gunsmiths could make it SAO, I would be on it in a heartbeat. Jim when you decock your Sig you are reducing the trigger pull a bit from a fully down position just like my 75 D does. The test for DA is whether or not the mainspring is fully set when the slide is racked. The CZ's certainly aren't fully set. When you pull the trigger the hammer moves back slightly, with a good trigger job.... very slightly. This is very much like the M&P does and with a good trigger job even the M&P doesn't move much. The limitation of insisting on a hammer down position for DA/SA guns is exactly the same as IPSC Production Division. The difference is, IPSC has a 5# trigger pull requirement and the CZ Shadow rules Production Division because the striker fired guns have no advantage over the DA/SA guns on the first shot and loose badly on subsequent shots as the CZ reverts to a sub 3# single action pull after the first shot. Contrast the above with USPA Production where striker fired pistols do very well due to the fact there is no trigger pull limitation as there is in IPSC Production. In IDPA land the striker fired Glock and M&P are winning in SSP Division now and the Division will within a very few years be essentially a striker fired division if nothing changes. Given the advantage the lighter guns have in our sport ESP and CDP may well see the same thing develop. For the most part Glocks and M&P's have been winning the US National pistol divisions, I suggest it will continue without a change in the rules. Take Care Bob

BS, every other sport classifies the pistols correctly together. Name one thing DA about the M&P? You can't because it isn't, and it moves the striker in the same fashion as the XD. The Glock moves it a tad further, but it is not DA either. You can only fire the Glock, M$P and XD/XDM ONE WAY. There is no second hit capability. The guns can not be cocked without moving the slide or de-cocked. They are all SINGLE ACTION striker fired pistols. Well you could always classify it on the basis of what the manufacturer calls it ie "DAO Striker fired pistol", hence it goes in SSP. The Xd series was quoted by Springfield as a SA pistol hence it goes in ESP. No BS just visit the manufacturers website. As an aside the DAO only stems from the fact the striker is not fully set after racking the slide. Pulling the trigger completes it's rearward movement before the striker is released. Incidentally the XD series fully sets the striker prior to pulling the trigger hence the SA designation. Should the definition of SSP Division be reviewed as to what guns are allowed in the Division... I would say yes but currently the rules are what they are. Take Care Bob

Steve I wonder if this would change IF they allowed DA/SA to start cocked and locked? You could also include SA 1911's in SSP as well. Make SSP a Division for all stock pistols. Limit the modifications to a trigger job, sights and grips. Striker fired pistols would still dominate - sorry 1911 lovers but IMHO they would. All would start in the condition of readiness they likely would be carried in and all would have the same trigger pull for the first shot fired. ESP would be your modify your hearts out division within reason. CDP would be your .45acp division if indeed we still need to protect the 1911 design. By allowing the DA/SA crowd to start hammer back they would at least be playing on the same level playground as the striker fired pistols. While you are at it remove the weight limit rules or at least make them same across the board for pistols. I know this is outside the box but it certainly would be interesting. If nothing else SSP Division would not appear to be a mirror image of IPSC Production Division. Just throwing it out there. Take Care Bob

Steve I think this idea is worth including in the next rule book. Inspecting the winners guns would speed up matches for sure. As an aside I think you did your members a real favour by doing the inspection. Very interesting well written article to I might say. Thanks. Take Care Bob

The smoke comes from the burning off of the lube used in lead bullets. The only way you can cut down on the smoke is to shoot jacketed bullets. I prefer lead and put up with the smoke that goes along with them. Take Care Bob

I use the thumb roll method to lower the hammer and with care is pretty much fool proof. You just have to pay attention while doing it. I prety much have decided to use my CZ85 and Shadow for ESP and stick to my M&P for SSP as I prefer having to deal with one style of trigger pull. I have sene to many DQ's using just the thmb on top of the hammer method or using the fingers to pinch the side of the hammer to lower the hammer. I have yet to see a DQ when the shooter used the thmub roll method. You must start in SSP with the hammer fully down on the DA/SA guns like the 75B and 85 Combat/Shadow. Decocker models can be started in the decocked position. Take Care Bob

The Tac Five was ruled illegal for SSP sometime ago. The new rulebook addendum now includes the word "features" which applies to the mag well. Had IDPA not taken this stance manufacturers could simply make a model with some feature not allowed and the gun would have been legal. Take Care Bob

I'll ask the obvious question. When did the Texas Star become a legal IDPA target? Fun to shoot, great practice but hardly a legal IDPA target. I would be interested to know how you would defend CoF 1 or IDPA Principles IV. Take Care Bob

During the winter months we shoot what we call idpa vs IDPA with our .22 pistols. We don't care to chase our brass in the snow. It is fun and it gets us out during the wet, snowy cold season. We allow low ready starts as a lot fo the folks don't have holsters for their .22 pistols. We found we had to go to head box shots only to increase the challenge. I would also suggest if we ever go this route that a smaller target be used, With the absence of recoil getting Down Zero hits is not all that hard at typical IDPA stage distances. Personally if it gets shooters out and encourages more to participate in our sport then why not? No harm no foul. Take Care Bob