Fried Chicken Blowout

Carbon Arms... http://www.carbonarms.us/TWinS-Shotgun-Loading-Systems/SSL-Chest-Rig.html

Excellent, thanks Mark!

Mark, Thanks for the input and the offer, I'd like to take you up on it. Looks like I'm available 11/21, are you pretty much at all the Steel Challenge matches? What time does setup and the match start, didn't see that on the section or CRC site? I'll talk with my son and confirm with you via email. Thanks, Jason

What's the best way to get young teens into USPSA shooting. Where should they start? Maybe MarkCO can chime in on this because I know he's done a bunch of junior related matches. My son has really limited interest in shooing .22LR guns so I don't want to sink a ton of money into a bunch of stuff for rimfire comps and then have him want to shot in USPSA production shortly there after. I already have all the gear for USPSA for him, but he needs to be exposed to something else before I open him up to a confusing fast paced match like that. The other issue is, he does not take instruction from me well. He's better off with a 3rd party teaching him skills. His training up to this point has been limited because he's a video game kid and wants everything to be moving at light speed all the time which does not work for me so he gets frustrated. Is there something like a steel challenge camp in Colorado or the ability to shoot a few steel challenge matches with borrowed rimfire equipment, then have him use the 9mm for another couple steel challenge matches and then see if he's ready for USPSA? I'm not sure what the normal progression is here before you turn these kids loose with lots of movement on the range. Thanks for the input. Jason

That throat is pretty long, but you're not loading for a rifle. You can pretty much just set the OAL to 1.130 - 1.140 and call it good. I just checked mine and with the same bullet I'm using 1.135. If you're using mixed head stamp brass you're already negating any accuracy gains you would have by trying to shrink your jump because the case volume is all different so your SD will be wide anyways. I just pick a length I know works in all my guns, and adjust the powder load till I've got a safety margin over Minor PF. My 2 cents...

I just wish I had bought a Dillon 650 when I bought my Lock N' Load Progressive six years ago. Can they teleport me back in time to make the decision again?

Stumbled on your post... I've shot IDPA, USPSA, Multi-Gun and long range precision over the last 10 years. Also been a part time CCW instructor for several years. I'm very pro-IDPA for new shooters as well as those that are wanting to carry or have a gun for home defense. In my opinion the vast majority of gun owners are just that. They own the guns and maybe shoot them on a static range a few times a year. If I can push them into IDPA, it's a way for them to experience the disorganized/anxious feeling they get and see that their scores blow. This pushes them into being more than just gun owners, they become shooters and seek out additional training. Without the comparison to other shooters, that actually know what they are doing, the average gun owner could go their whole life thinking they were ready for a life threatening experience just because they had a gun. So that being said, I use it as a tool for others to bring them to reality in terms of their skill level and I also enjoy shooting the matches. It's my belief that all competitive shooting is good training once you have the correctly gun handling skills down. If it gets you some more trigger time with your carry gun that's a bonus. I'll use my carry guns some times, but most the time I'm shooting the same M&P9L that I shoot in USPSA Production with all the same gear. But the biggest thing I think it does it makes you shoot and think, USPSA does the same thing. If you can't shoot and think you don't do either matches very well. The other thing it does is makes you more accurate and faster. There's no getting around the fact that speed and accuracy are tactics that are needed in a real life threatening situation. My 2 cents...

Been out of competitive shooting for the last year. Shot my first match two weekends ago and then decided I wanted to get back into it, so I ordered some targets for planned training tomorrow. After poking around on the internet a bit I placed my first order with letargets.com which appears to be part of Action Target. Well I didn't actually expect to get them in time to hit the range, but I did. Ordered Tuesday morning, 150 targets shipped the same day and arrived in Colorado from Minnesota in less than 48 hours. I was highly impressed. Just passing it along incase someone needs targets quick.

Hello all again... I'm updating the thread to make sure everyone is on the same page. The club has now hosted most of a years worth of matches and all is going well. We've been averaging 20-30 competitors per match for most of the year and have adjusted some of the start times to allow for setup and new competitors to get plenty orientation. Below are the corrected start times for setup and the new shooter meeting. All questions can go to kris@ecoidpa.com ECOIDPA - http://www.ecoidpa.com Hosted at Colorado Rifle Club - http://www.crci.org/ When: 4/27/13 Times: Setup - 7:30 am ($5 Match fee discount for those helping with setup), New Shooter Meeting (Mandatory for all new IDPA Competitors) - 8:45am - New Shooters Register by 8:30am Shooters Meeting - 9:30am First Shots - ~10:00am Cost: Match fee $20 ($15 if you are there and help with setup) Questions: See the website or email the match director at kris@ecoidpa.com Jason Assistant Match Director - Eastern Colorado IDPA (ECOIDPA)

You better believe it!

Lead is not absorbed through your skin. The particles are too large and could never get into blood circulation. The deal with hands is that they always go to the face and touch every thing that goes into the mouth which is the primary way to absorb lead. We also DO absorb lead via air particles into the lungs as that is a direct route into the circulatory system. The smoke you see is mostly make up of the lube. But even in FMJ bullets with an exposed lead base there is some lead burring, how much you could possibly ingest from that little bit would be pretty limited to none I would assume. I would think there's more danger from pickup up brass and not washing your hands after. Furthermore on the subject of lead on skin and lead that gets imbedded into the body through trauma, it's really no big deal on it's own. It can't really migrate into the circulatory system due to the size of the particles. This is why bullet fragments from gunshot wounds are left alone as long as they are not in danger of causing further physical damage from being left in place. More trauma is caused during their removal then is beneficial to the patient. This has been proven so well that gunshot victims with retained lead fragments are not even checked for lead levels as a general practice. More information about absorption can be found on the OSHA website: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=10031&p_table=STANDARDS

IROC Series.... Good comparison. I like the idea based on that concept. But wouldn't that mean you were providing all the guns and ammo? I can't remember all the IROC rules.

To set a monetary value would be tough. The rules in IDPA SSP are already very strict and focused on keeping cost down as are the rules for USPSA Production. But to say that a whole subset of guns are not allowed because they are just expensive would be little limiting. Basically it would be like saying that you can only shoot a polymer frame gun or you can't play our game. But that is essentially what is done in GSSF, but even some of those Glocks would be over the $650 limit.

While your basic question is simple to answer, the total reasoning behind it may not be. Not many shooters use their "carry" gun for IDPA and in fact, my (not based on fact) guess would be that only 50% of the shooters that shoot IDPA actually have a carry permit. You need to remember that there are IDPA clubs in places that don't even have a user friendly CCW law so they likely can't even get a permit. This is "Defensive" pistol, not "Concealed Carry" pistol. So maybe their go to home defense gun is an STI or CZ? Some of these shooters may be LEO or Military who are in fact using their duty gun as well. I've shot with a few federal types (Air Marshall and other smaller agency) and they all used their duty gun which is actually more carry friendly than a Glock 34. So even from a practical stand point you can justify all types of guns. From a gaming stand point, you have to remember that it is in fact a game or competition. There are rules to limit the amount of modifications and to keep the cost from running overboard like in USPSA Open Division (Not a slam on Open, it's just expensive). There are also rules to make the stages and the procedure more "practical" to "real life". But it really boils down to it being different. Not better or worse than any other shooting sport. You need to pick the sport that fits you the best. If you really like shooting with a small carry gun, then look for IDPA clubs that offer Back Up Gun (BUG) side match or complete matches and only attend those. There the playing field will be leveled to those shooting a J-Frame so you won't get much of an advantage for shooting a M&P Shield or small Glock, but at least you're not trying to keep up with the guy with tricked out Glock 34. IDPA was the first competitive shooting that I ever did and it's what got me hooked. I really enjoy shooting IDPA matches and thankfully I was given the opportunity to join the staff of a new IDPA club here in Colorado from the ground up. But I also really like shooting USPSA matches, as they offer a TOTALLY DIFFERENT type of match and hone different skills. I will shot what ever is available on my weekends off of work, because any time I get to shoot a match, it is better than not shooting. You learn something new all the time. You can choose to shoot what you carry but it's hard to judge your abilities vs someone who is there to compete at a high level. My general suggestion is to shoot a gun in competition that is similar to what you carry. I carry either an M&P9 Shield or an M&P9c, but I shoot an M&P9L in IDPA ESP Division and SSP Division. What I do at the match crosses over as the way the guns operate are the same. The larger guns shoot better and my competition gun has a lighter trigger but I'm there to compete, not handicap myself in the name of training. Hopefully my thoughts help. They may not be in line with your beliefs, but only you can decide of IDPA is right for you.

No, I think the number of people shooting Open with M&Ps is so limited it's not worth designing one. If you're shooting Open then you have to get the TF at this point. And from what I've seen of the Open M&P shooters, they only use the 170mm for the first mag and then reload to 140mm mags from then on out. If that's the case you would only need one of them. Not sure how finicky the 170mm extensions are for reliability.

Good to know, what do you use now?

Just got off the phone with Decot, and they suggested to NOT get the transitions lenses. There suggestion is for the polarized bronze. Any thoughts on colors? Dark bronzes vs grays?

I'm looking for some first hand info on the Decot Revel 64 glasses as well as first hand knowledge on using Transitions lenses for shooting. I'm looking to get some more serious glasses for shooting AGAIN. Last time I got two pair of Rudy Project glasses and set them both back. Just didn't like the fit no matter what I did. I've got a normal head, but I'm picky as all get-out. So this time I was thinking about trying the Decot Revel 64 with the Plano (Transitions - Gray) Lenses. Figured if I'm going to blow that much on a pair of glasses I need to be able to use them indoor and outdoors. I also ran into having to shoot early morning and evening match times this year where I had to switch to clear. I really don't want to have to ever changes lenses so I thought the transitions would be worth a try as long as they got pretty dark. So thought me some thoughts on the Decot quality and fit as well as ideas on transitions lenses for shooting in general. Thanks in advance for the help!!!

Taran Tactical for ease of getting them on and off and the additional interior space.

I would shoot the XDm in ESP. At least at our matches the SSP guys score better than the ESP for the most part. I use my tricked out 3-Gun based M&P9L in ESP with a magwell and all the other internal trimmings.

All the ones you listed are too bulky and too short for my likes. I'm using this one... http://www.511tactical.com/All-Products/Outerwear/Vests/Covert-Vest.html I prefer a lighter weight vest that does not have a bunch of pockets. The Eotac vest available from IDPA is also very nice. It runs very large so buy a size smaller than you normally would. http://www272.safesecureweb.com/IDPA/eShop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=LV

That's what I was thinking... As long as it will still hold powder and a bullet... Game ON!

They do have NR on the head. But hey, if you're gonna reloaded aluminum cases, why would a little stamp stop you?

Pretty much... And if you look close by zooming in on the center case that has the huge crack... There's a separate little crack that was venting gas just above the rim that eroded the rim some. Pretty impressive stuff. I wonder if this cases any chamber erosion over time or what. We shot about 200 round of pistol during the match. I would have like to know if there was ejection issues as well.

These are all Boxer primed. It was brought to my attention after we found these that Speer switched to Boxer primed aluminum cases recently to unify their primers across lines.