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Bart Solo

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Everything posted by Bart Solo

  1. I am sort of a snowbird. Come winter I head to Florida. Where I live in Florida USPSA is virtually unknown. They seem to shoot a lot of IDPA. Last year I shot my Glock 35 in a couple of local matches. The 40 S&W round put me at a disadvantage shooting IDPA. This year I thought I would switch guns. I love 1911s and IDPA has a special division just for 1911s in 45, but I thought I would try a single stack 9mm in the ESP category. I have been looking at the Springfield RO and the new Colt Competition. They are really close in price. IDPA has a 10 round limit so a double stack really isn't needed. Does anybody have any thoughts on a solid out of the box single stack 1911 for IDPA. Has that boat sailed? Is everybody shooting something else? What about mags. I have read finding reliable magazines is a real impediment for anybody trying to shoot a 1911 in 9mm. I would prefer 9mm because of cost. While I am in Florida I will buy my ammunition instead of load it myself. Oh, I am thinking the gun would be used to shoot steel challenge as well. Thoughts are solicited.
  2. The RO and the Loaded are both are great guns, but my reasoning for the Range Officer is it is a nice place to start when building a semi-custom gun. Forged Steel frame and slide, match barrel, tight fitting tolerances. I am not a gunsmith so I tend to send guns out for the upgrades I want. The Springfield custom shop's work is as good as any and better than most. With an RO I just add the extras I use. As was mentioned above the only real complaint about the RO is the rear sight. It isn't a bad sight, but it is purely for competition. Because the stock sights edges are sharp I did have them rounded. Because of the way they cut the slide there are not many replacement options, but there are some if you look.
  3. I own an RO. I sent it to Springfield for some trigger/action work, a magwell and a front sight. I have to say the finished product is about the best pistol I own. It is far less money than my buddy's Les Baer and shoots just as well I am thinking about a 1911 in 9mm. I am inclined to buy another RO but am toying with buying a Colt Competition. Any thoughts on the new Colt?
  4. As to a decent rule book, I agree every successful shooting sport has a decent set of rules. Whether a match is stupid within the rules is totally within the control of the Match Director and the individual ROs running a match. Most of it depends on the quality of stage design. Years ago SASS went through a prop fad. I remember having to carry a doll from shooting position to shooting position. On another occasion at the beep we were asked to turn a card and that card would tell us something about how we were to shoot the stage. For the most part after a lot of complaining, those goofy stage instructions have gone away without any rule changes. These days every once in a while a stage designer will ask us to do something fun off the clock, like sing a line from a western song to signify we are ready. SASS shooters are often asked to say a line from a western movie to signify ready. it is no big deal to say "SORRY DON'T GET 'ER DONE DUDE" or "YOU GOING TO DRAW OR WHISTLE DIXIE" but singing "SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW" can be a hoot. The point is if it is off the clock even the gamiest of gamers have a good time. Sometimes we are still asked to do something out of the normal shooting pattern. Occasionally we are asked to stage shotgun shells in a box and load from there instead of from our shotgun belt. We will often be given the option of staging our pistols in holsters or on a table. All of those things are normal shooting activities and it doesn't hurt us to learn how to pull shotgun shells out of a box or pistols off a table. Guess what, the fast shooters win those stages just like they win all the 10-10-4 stages we normally shoot. Which of the IDPA rules mandates holding or carrying a prop while shooting? I don't remember seeing it. I bet most of the complaints can be laid at the feet of Match Directors and stage designers. The complaints about arbitrary RO calls probably have more to do with the position of the RO making a call than anything else. That again is a stage design issue. Instead of re-writing the rules people ought to be working hard to find gifted stage designers.
  5. I have been reading a lot here about IDPA. While much of it is positive, a great deal of the commentary is negative. I have to ask, what do you expect from your participation in IDPA? Is it to have fun with your friends? To make new friends? Do you expect to learn real defensive skills? Do you just want more trigger time with your carry or home defense pistol? Do you want to crush your competitors and listen to the lamentations of their survivors? All of the above? None of the above? Have you thought about it?
  6. Rangerdug, if you don't like a game's rules and have no way to change them, you can always vote with your feet. I suspect there is something about IDPA you like. You wouldn't be so passionate if there wasn't something that kept you coming back.
  7. I started shooting Cowboy at almost 60 to see if I could learn a new skill. A few of years later I wanted something new and added USPSA to my list of winter activities because the local club had a nice indoor range. I wasn't able to run as fast as the youngsters but I focused on alphas so the kids accepted me. This winter at 67 I find myself in a part of the country that USPSA doesn't seem to have an active presence so I have started shooting IDPA and Steel Challenge. I am also shooting Sporting Clays but that is a different game. Funny I don't feel old because I keep learning new skills and games. Last year toward the end of the Cowboy season although my times were improving, I got sloppy with my pistol shooting. This winter I am focused on improving my pistol accuracy at speed. Mostly I have met wonderful people. Come for the shooting but stay for the people seems very wise.
  8. You got it right Rangerdug and you immediately proved my point. All the successful shooting games have strong points. All of them have weak points. I have actually shot a lot of them and now I have shot IDPA. It is a different game. Every shooting game ever invented is first and foremost a game. All games have rules. Except for safety all of the rules are arbitrary. Just have fun within the rules. If you don't like the rules don't shoot the game.
  9. Practice, lots of practice Yep.
  10. I just read the entire thread because this winter I find myself away from home. Where I live USPSA clubs are the rule and IDPA is nonexistant. This winter I find IDPA is the only available game. I read the rules yesterday and don't find them that difficult. I suspect I can live with them. When you read this thread and others talking about shooting sports being fun you quickly realize most complaints involve how people relate to their fellow shooters. I suspect rhat is the case here. Two guys argue some fine point in the rules for half an hour without realizing that while they are having fun arguing they are angering the rest of the group who just want to shoot. Another guy complains about the tacticool people who are convinced the game is deadly serious training for that never in a lifetime shootout. Again a complaint about people. Others complain about an SO favoring his buddy over a stranger. Again a human complaint. There are two things all of us should look for in a shooting sport--safety and fun. Since any sport is a human activity we all have an obligation to look out for each other. We, you, me and the guy behind the tree need to make sure everybody participating is safe and is having fun. When that happens the gripes fall away. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and don't take the game all that seriously. None of us club shooters are going to win a car.
  11. Becoming proficient at shooting requires practice,lots of practice. Most of us have to want to practice. You want to do something when you have success. A stock Glock trigger doesn't give the average shooter a feeling of success. How many people have stopped practicing because of a clunky trigger.
  12. My Glock's trigger isn't as good as the triggers on any race tuned single action but that isn't the point. The stock trigger made accurate shooting harder than it needed to be. Now shooting my Glock is very enjoyable because it is much easier to hit the target.
  13. Depends on the trigger. I normally shoot single action revolvers. When I am not playing cowboy I am pulling the trigger of a 1911 in Wild Bunch. When I play USPSA games I have gotten really partial to my CZ Tactical Sport's trigger. The triggers I normally pull have two things in common--they are race tuned and are single action. The stock Glock trigger is not much like any of the triggers I normally pull.
  14. Somebody once said that an accurate gun is an interesting gun. After the the trigger job my Glock 35 is an accurate gun, so I am interested in shooting it. In fact, I so really enjoyed shooting it at the last match. I can't wait to take it to the range again. I kind of wonder if a lot of Glocks are forgotten in sock drawers across America because the stock trigger makes shooting a chore instead of a pleasure?
  15. A couple of years ago I tried a Glock 35 gen4 in club USPSA matches. Except for some nice sights it was stock. Try as I might I found I was shooting my 1911 in single stack faster than the Glock in limited. I knew what the problem was- the stock trigger sucked. I tossed the Glock to the back of my safe and replaced it with a CZ Tactical Sport. Recently a friend wanted to show me how well his Les Baer shot. On a whim I threw the Glock into my range bag and headed to the range. My buddy and I thought we would shoot plate racks. I went first and took 8 shots to clean the rack. He was able to do it with his fancy 1911 in five. He handed me his pistol and I cleaned the rack quickly. I did it again. The RO who had been watching ask to see my Glock. He pulled the trigger and said you need a trigger job. My buddy introduced me to his gunsmith as we were leaving the range. He agreed with the RO. Since I knew they were right, I left the gun with him for a simple trigger job-a ghost connector and some hand fitting. The next week was a steel challenge match. I had never shot steel challenge and don't own a 9mm pistol. I'm a major caliber kind of guy. My buddy offered one of his 9mm comp guns, but I said what the hell I will shoot my Glock 35. I picked up my gun at the range. The smith showed me all he had done. He was especially proud of the reset. It was like a totally different pistol. A nice smooth take up to a clean 3.5 pound break. The reset is clean and clear. Follow up shots a snap. Off to the match with a gun I hadn't shot much in two years but with a trigger that made it new, a basic holster and a bunch of mags loaded with Winchester white box. I didn't win but I was able to hang with the rest of the competition shooting 9mm baby fart loads. The Glock 35 doesn't hold me back anymore. With new sights and a smooth trigger it does OK. Apologies to all for my dark thoughts and comments about Glock.
  16. I asked the question because something happened to me in my last cowboy match that seems to connect to my USPSA run and gun style practice. I am a better than average cowboy shooter--not a great cowboy shooter but above average. For those of you who haven't played CAS it uses 4 guns, two six shooters, an old style lever gun and a coach gun or old style pump. One of the rules is you can't run with a round under the hammer so you run to a position mount a gun, shoot the target array and move to the next position. The biggest difference between average and really good CAS shooters is transitioning between guns. When it comes to the shotgun, which is loaded on the clock, loading and unloading speed is critical. The tendancy is to practice loading and reloabing the shotgun from a stationary position. That is the way most shooters train. That is what most shooters do. I have been shooting USPSA. For me the hardest part has been learning to run and gun but my times have been dropping as the weeks have gone by. One of the tricks I have learned is to reload on the move. Another skill I have been working on is to keep the gun at the ready as I move to a target array. The last CAS match it occured to me as I was visualing a stage with 6 shotgun target from 3 separate positions was to move from position to position with the gun aimed down range but at my shoulder. While moving from position to position i pulled shells from my belt and positioned them to be loaded the instant I stopped to shoot. The plan worked like a charm and I shaved seconds off my time. Without the USPSA experience I would still be shooting the same static way I trained.
  17. I have heard people say they only participate in one shooting sport. Some say they don't want to be confused by the variety of rules. Others say they find other sports boring or pretentious. Some say some sports are not as "realistic" as their own. Assuming you are not a factory professional paid to shoot everything that might sell a pistol, do you compete in more than one shooting sport and what training benefits do you think cross sport shooting provides.
  18. Polishing the ramp on some low end 1911s is important, but I don't think it is needed on a CZ TS. Mine looked pretty shiny out of the box and I have never had a missfeed.
  19. I bought mine a few weeks ago. There really isn't much needed out of the box. I have changed grips (I needed them a little thinner) and the front sight. CZ sells some mag extensions along with mag springs and followers that turn the 17 round factory mag into a 20-21 mag. Right now the only thing I think I need is an extended thumb safety. If you have bigger hands you are OK with grips and the safety out of the box. I opted to just replace the front sight with a fiber optic because the factory rear is pretty good. I shot a Glock 35 last year. There is no real way to compare the two except to say I am never going back to the Glock. Out of the box the TS is ready to run. The trigger is magnificent. The extra weight is good. Recoil is not an issue. The factory must anticipate some slide stop breakage with competition use. Mine came with 3 extra slide stops and a lot of other small parts. Buying the TS is like buying a factory race ready gun. The Glock 35 was more of a tactical platform that could work in competition with a lot of extra work. I have a friend who has had CZ Custom work over his TS. He has had them install just about every option imaginable and his cost is less than one of the S*I guns before custom work. I really think the TS is a steal.
  20. The front sight worked fine tonight, but between the 2nd and 3rd stage the rear sight moved. Apparently the screw came loose. When I got home I centered it and tightened the screw. Is the screw coming lose common? I guess I will take the appropriate tools to the range to make sure it is right. Should I use Loctite to tighten it down?
  21. Well, I installed a fiber optic front sight from CZ Custom. I am going to try it out tomorrow night. The last big thing needed is the thumb safety. After that it is all optional.
  22. CZ Custom has a fiber optic front sight that is for the factory rear. After shooting the factory sights a while I have come to appreciate the factory rear. A fiber optic front should be just the ticket. I don't know about you but for me shooting alphas fast calls for picking up the front sight fast so I opted for the wider fiber optic.
  23. I worked on my grip a little bit. I am somebody who is always tempted to over think but knows he shouldn't. My guess is I dropped my hand directly on the grip and caught it about 1/4 inch low and carried the pistol out of the holster that way. I am thinking I need to spend some practice time focusing on making sure I don't start to pull until I am sure my grip is right. Actually that shouldn't take any measurable time with sufficient practice.
  24. It was from the surrender position and yes I was drawing my TS. I am sure the draw can be improved with practice.
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