srf

I never saw the 'slide lock rule' in the book either, but I had a mightly long 'discussion' with an SO about it after being assessed a procedural. One of the problems with the old rules was lack of specifics. The new rules speak directly to this issue.

I use the Arredondo flat basepads but I have to sand them slightly to fit my magwell ( which also had to be narrowed and shortened to fit the box). Slight thread drift - The only problem with this setup is occasionally the slide will lock back with a round in the chamber (which is a bad thing in IDPA - dropping mags with ammo in them- and it always occurs in the dark or low light ). The only good thing about the new rules is eliminating the requirement to shoot to slide lock. I'm eliminating this feature from my IDPA pistol ( just like my IPSC pistol).

If you pay attention, slow hand cycling will tell you a lot about your magazine feedlips and barrel ramp. As a final test I will cycle the slide FAST, WITH ONE BIG CAUTION: REMOVE THE FIRING PIN! I put an over size FP stop to hold the extractor then hand cycle fast. If every thing feeds and ejects, your good to go. Live fire to confirm. This has worked 100% for me. I always do this prior to the beginning of season to check my mags and general feed condition of my pistols. I always do this with dummy rounds so why remove the firing pin? Well s*** happens - I just don't want it to happen to me when avoidable.

I called Benny last week to inquire about a trigger job. He said "send it down". So Wednesday, the 5th, I ship my pistol UPS @ 5pm EST. The next day, Thursday, I'm at work finishing my lunch when my phone rings at 12:30pm; It's Benny - telling me he's done with my sweet 1.5lb trigger job. I was surprised and happy with such fast turnaround, but I was shocked when my pistol appeared today, Friday the 7th. Why? - I live in the Northeast! 48 hours, Aprox. 3000 miles transport to Texas and back, one trigger job, great service, great price, and a customer that will tell all his friends about it. PS: The trigger is SWEET. Thanks Benny. (And don't hesitate to call him!) Edited 2/5/5: Went to the range this afternoon: There's a foot of snow on the ground but I shot a hundred rounds , PERFECT. Thanks again Benny.

I just got my letter. Hey BW? Did I just hear a shoe drop?

Zero @ 25yds with my 40. Confirm POI @ 50 yds for 8" plates (which one of my local clubs always do at the beginning of the season - 'to keep us honest').

Read a great article by an Olympic shooting coach that periodic rest is essential for advancement in shooting skills (or any athletics for that matter). Coaches find that one of the problems (?) with shooters is that they enjoy shooting so much that they have to force competitors to take breaks. For me, shorts breaks renew competitive spirit and is a great opportunity to try new techniques.

Exclusion of 45 GAP, 10mm, and 40S&W from CDP has really become a burr under my saddle. What bothers me the most is that CDP is really 45acp only class. While I love (and have several) 45's, to hold it up as THE prime example of a Custom Defensive Pistol at 165 PF is a joke. If I HAD to pick one of my pistols to bet my life on it would be my S_I with a 20 round mag stuffed 180 jhp's @ 1080 fps. OK, I wouldn't carry a hi-cap, but I feel confident that 8+1 would do the job (or 10+1 as esp legal). If I had a 10mm, I'd feel the same. What bothers me is I KNOW that Bill Wilson knows it too. I feel like he's laughing at shooters for going along with this charade. I'm done with IDPA.

To Mr. Bane, AMEN! (Cool show too!)

I remember some post about 21" 11-87 barrels. I'm not selling it - but I saw one on ebay that was ported with Rem-chokes - if anyones interested.

Thanks Chris. The more I research this the more I'm convinced it's not going to hurt anyway.

Is Slide Glide suitable for use as an anti-sieze compound? Specifically - Can I use it to re-barrel an AR?

Stopped using it last year. I really like a .100 wide front sight and I get more feedback from it than a fiber optic rod. Oh, by the way; my scores improved! I will say this: Never be afraid to try something new in the IPSC game. I've always gained more from an experiment then not.

I started loading .223 with Lee dies and had consistently poor feeding. I switched to RCBS small base dies: POOF perfect feeding.

This might be a little off the thread but it's a related topic: Why is it that every time I bring my shooter to one 'smith or another (local guys - no one mentioned here) I end up spending a hour or two or three fine tuning their work. Don't get me wrong, they generally do good work but it seems like one makes the gun run 100% but never hits the details (until I bring it back and point it out). And the other is creative but always does something I didn't ask for (sometimes thats good, sometimes it's not). I know some of you are thinking 'hey, go somewhere else', but it's not that easy or simple. 'Smiths that do game guns and such are fairly specialized. That bridge you burned ain't going to be open on the Saturday afternoon before a match when your blaster turns up sick. I suspect most of you understand what I'm saying. With 10 or so years of competitive pistol shooting of one sort or another I have a good idea of what works, what doesn't, and what breaks occassionally. With a good supply of spare parts the bright side is that I've become a decent home 'smith with anything that can be repaired or tuned with files (pretty amazing what you can do with these considering how basic they are), emery, stones, and jigs. Not because of a calling, but out of necessity. Before I get flamed by the 'smiths out there: money is not the issue. I never bargain for 'smithing services and it's always COD. It would be nice just to get it done right. Thanks for letting me vent - I'm going to bed now.

Use STI tubes in STI's and SVI's: Work great - especially the Beven tuned tubes!!

I didn't realize I was part of such a common experience regarding P-16's. I too had a kaboom with a P-16 (mea culpa) when I first started shooting a 40 several years ago. Cracked the slide, frame, and scared the h... out of myself. Fixed it and bought a STI a year later. .40AET is correct: The STI is a much stronger gun. I proved this to myself when I had a bullet set back alittle and its detonation was noticeably louder and more powerful than normal. NO DAMAGE - and I was really glad I was shooting an S_I. The pressure was substantial as the case was bulged and the primer was gone. Before anybody pipes in about reloading practices, I've reloaded close to 100k rounds over the past 10 years or so. these were the only two problems I've had.

Ditto Tman33 99. I do this and it works great!

Mcoliver: That's about it. Make sure the slide is stable (I take it off the frame and clamp it in a vise so that the hinge pin is against the top of the vise jaw) and the punch is sharp.

Schmitz, Hey, no problem - I was just passing along some info from my experience with Bomars. Again, from my experience: Even the best parts have a service limit on high round competition pistols. I've broken a fair share of "quality" part (...and I won't even talk about so-called drop in parts which never do..). These types of pistols running on the mechanical edge are analogous to race cars - they all break something sooner or later. A lot of the "big boys" rebuild their pistols every year or two and parts fatigue is an important reason why. DVC.

Sti or Caspian!!

The mags could be the problem but over-inserting the mag is probably the real problem. If you look into the mag funnel of your pistol without a mag inserted you will see the disconnector rail. This is the area where the top round of the mag impacts the slide when the slide is closed. You can feel what I am describing by loading a mag full where the top round is real tight. When you insert this mag into the pistol you've really got to push hard. Remove one round from that mag and it goes in smooth and sweet. Removing that round allows the mag spring to compress just enough to cushion the impact against the disconnector. NOW: When you insert a mag with the slide locked back, and you've got a little adrenelin pumping, it's really easy to drive that mag right past the mag catch. There's nothing (like the disconnector rail) to stop it except that small mag catch. I have seen some horrific jams from over-inserting mags in single stack 1911. I've never seen this occur with 7 or 8 round mags, always 10 rounders. Same with hi-cap 1911's with extended mags. Guys shooting limited 10 with hi-cap frames and 10 round flush mags never have problems. For 1911 game guns I always disable the slide lockback feature. I've disabled it on my IDPA gun and I explain it to the SO's prior to the stage or match. In my opinion (yeah, I know what they're like) 1911's are more reliable without the lockback feature. On my protection 1911's this feature is also eliminated. Good luck.

I've also shot a lot of rounds with a one piece tungsten guide rod (but not as many as BE). I've always used a shok buff and never had a problem. The only thing I seem to crack on a semi-regular basis are tungsten reverse plugs. I take a little time to make sure nothing can scratch or ding the plug and these failures have reduced somewhat. I do keep backups in my pistol first-aid kit.

I really like Bo-mars and have cranked a lot of rounds with them. They do tend to loosen up ( 20k- 30k rounds) but I've found if you remove the blade and ever-so-lightly squeeze the hinge where the blade barrel slides in, you'll tighten the blade right up. I insert a drill bit to act as a stop so I won't crush this. Regarding hinge pins: Take a small sharp punch and stake both sides of the pin and body. The pin can't come out.

This is only slightly tongue and cheek: Sell the Para - Buy a STI or SVI. Had a Para - Bought a STI: Twice the pistol.