tbarker13

Yeah, I think I have some seating issues to deal with on my Dillon 650. Once the shooting season comes to a close, I'll try to work that out. But for now, I'm using Federals, which are pretty close to 100 percent reliable. (I can remember one light strike in the past 3,000 or so rounds. Could have been a high primer)

But then I'd have to use those tiny mags...

So much $$ and hours of tuning, testing. Is it the quest for a lighter trigger or a reliable one that would light up any primer? One of the S2 is flawless the other meh! same set up different results. I don't mind the time spent with the gun at all. I've gotten to know the internals of the gun very well. I do want an excellent trigger and reliability. I feel like I have those now.

I've now tried the Gen 4 firing pin/extended FB block on three different stock IIs. (with one-piece sears) That combination failed on each of the guns. By "failed" I mean that the firing pin block doesn't work. The extended FP block just doesn't seem to be quite long enough to work with the Gen 4 pin. I've gone back to the Gen 3 pins, which work fine.

It's not nearly that clear cut. Your linked article is specifically about fair use in the art world and even there it says: "Prince has managed to come out on top of his legal battles because of the complexity of fair use (and also because he's very rich). Fair use in the art world can be a relatively amorphous thing, because much of contemporary art is built on historical or popular imagery. Fair use requires consideration of the difficult-to-define "purpose" and "nature" of the work, the amount of copyrighted material used, and the effect the appropriation might have on the market value of the original work. Courts evaluate fair use on a case-by-case basis, and the boundaries aren't firmly planted. What Prince is doing with New Portraits, essentially, is testing the limits of copyright law. By divorcing recognizable images from their contexts, if only very slightly, Prince is arguing that he can create new, more valuable art. To be clear: not just anyone can get away with this. People are spending thousands of dollars on these images because they're paying for Prince's name, not because they sincerely want an enlarged Instagram photo." From a link http://copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html within that article: "Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." I don't see that as blanket permission to use copyrighted work as long as it is modified. Couldn't agree more. Both "fair use" and "copyright" are both widely misunderstood. What is clear is that very little is clear in the modern world of social media and shared images/videos. It's always going to come down to legal arguments - and eventually, court fights for those who think it is worth fighting over. In this particular instance - videos that appear to have pretty much zero financial value - it is hard to imagine any boundaries being tested. Unless, that is, Paul plans to file a lawsuit against the guy who compiled that video. I'm simply saying that it is a bit presumptive to state that the compiler of that video is breaking the law. There are arguments on both sides of this issue. As you pointed out: "Courts evaluate fair use on a case-by-case basis, and the boundaries aren't firmly planted." Here's an example. If you were to post a replay of the Superbowl on your own website, the NFL would nail you for copyright infringement. But if you posted a few of your favorite Superbowl plays, there's not much they could do about it.

This is true to an extent. But copyright laws are not absolute. There is an interesting case involving an artist that takes people's images from Instagram. Essentially all he does is add a caption to the images - thereby modifying the work and making it his own. The dude is making serious money doing this - and it's legal. The people whose images have been appropriated are just screwed. Essentially all you have to do is "add value" to the appropriated work for it to fall under what's known as "fair use." Where people get into trouble is when they just use something without modifying it whatsoever. That's a no-brainer. Of course, the issue of you being a jerk for using someone else's work is a whole other matter.

I thought the compilation video was fantastic. Was really sorry to see it go away. My first thought, when I saw it, was that Paul was a genius for putting it together. It's the sort of video on YouTube that would have gotten a lot of views over the next year or two. Let's be clear. There is no one here that doesn't appreciate the work Paul does in producing the videos. But on this thread, a chunk of the intended audience is offering suggestions on how it could be done even better. It's up to Paul to decide if he wants to listen to those suggestions or ignore them.

Spent a brief time in Production when I ventured over to USPSA from IDPA about 4 years ago. Switched pretty quickly to Limited, but moved back to Production in October. I think that's where I will stay. I've also shot some Single Stack. But that was just for a few weeks this year and last - for Single Stack Nationals.

Wondering the same thing. Signed up the first week of June.

Any updates on this?

I've wondered about primer depth. I use a Dillon 650, so I can't adjust it like you can with a 1050. Either way, I don't think there's anything I can do about it. I don't notice anything different when I compare my loads with Win primers versus the loads with Federal primers. So if there is a difference, I don't think it's pronounced enough for me to reliably filter out the ones that won't ignite.

Tried that but I don't feel any connection between the FPB and firing pin.

So I thought I would give Winchester Small Pistol primers a try tonight, just to see if I could use something other than Federals. What a disaster. Both of my guns run flawlessly with Federals. Several thousand rounds so far. But when I tried out the Winchesters, I was getting 1 or 2 light strikes out of every 10 rounds I fired tonight at the range. My setup on both guns: Titan Hammer Henning Gen 3 extended firing pin X-treme light hammer spring X-treme light firing pin spring I realize I could use heavier springs, but I like the way the gun feels now. Guess I'll just stick with Federals. But I'm just wondering if anyone else has had success with non Federal primers - and lighter springs.

I had an Accushadow and a target shadow. While the Accushadow might be more accurate, I don't believe the difference is big enough to notice for this particular game. That said, I think the Accushadow looks cool (particularly with the australian barrel). If I were to go back to CZ, that's what I would get. If you are going to spend tons of time and money (ammo, match fees, etc.) on this game, you might as well shoot the gun you want to shoot. Assuming, that is, you don't have to sell an organ to buy it.

So true.

Obviously, we all see things differently. To me, different grips are a requirement. But it has nothing to do with the gun fitting the hand. I find the texture on the wood grips to be useless. I want a much more aggressive texture. Still waiting for VZ to start making grips for these guns. Same thing with the trigger. I shoot better with the flatter trigger. Do I shoot 50 percent better? Of course not. But considering how much money and time I put into this game, I'll take any incremental improvements I can find.

I agree. Add a Titan Hammer, one piece sear, double wing disconnector, extended firing pin block/plunger, extended firing pin, new springs. That's what I'm adding to mine. And the time to polish in the right areas. But it's nice to find them priced reasonably vs $1800-$2000 like they were not too long ago, then spend another $400 in upgrades. There is one listed on GB right now from TechNetArmory with a Buy Now of $1225, and SS Moore sold one earlier with an auction winner at $1225, and he has another listed. These types of prices were unheard of a month ago. I hope the people who were buying them for $2k were getting models that already had those upgrades. But then, I always figure the cost of the gun isn't all that big of a consideration for people who shoot a ton. No matter what you pay for your gun, it's going to retain more value than match fees and all those rounds we send downrange.

And just $400-$500 later, these guns will be good to go... I'm sure it can be done a little cheaper than that. But that seems to be what mine are running, once I've swapped triggers, guide rods, hammers, grips, FPs, FP blocks, springs, front sights, sears, etc.

No updates. I'm not really throwing in the towel yet. But I guess I'm thinking it may not be a quick fix. I have a couple Gen 4 pins and I'll hold onto one of them at least in hopes that this thing gets solved. I'm getting very reliable ignition with my current setup (gen 3 pin and Titan hammer). But then, I've only been using Federal primers. I need to try it with some Winchester primers to see if it's still as reliable. It would be nice to have options besides Federals.

So I talked with Henning tonight about the issue some of us are having with the Gen 4 firing pins. He said he'll look further into it. Said he might even end up making his own firing pin block. Also said he may talk with Eric about the length of the extended FP block.

I have a set of roll pin punches I used on these guns. They make it so much easier than standard punches - at least in terms of not damaging the pins.

This is what I have been saying in all of my posts. I am glad someone is agreeing with me! I'm sure this is sound advice. But, personally, I don't mind paying for marginal improvements in my guns. I have enough ammo that I'm not making choices between bullets or parts. Shooting USPSA is pretty much my only hobby these days. So I pour everything into it. And tinkering with the guns is part of the hobby. If nothing else, it helps me develop a much better understanding of my guns and how they work. And how to fix them when they go wrong. But I'd also argue that we do reach a point where marginal improvements are what we chase. They can mean the difference between finishing 1st or 2nd, or 11th or 12th or 21st or 22nd, etc.

Yeah, it would be nice to know more about them. That's more than $200 in parts for all four - trigger bar, sear cage, sear and firing pin block.

Yes I handled the gun along side mine and everything was fine on the gun. There wasn't a need, from what I could tell, to change anything. Unless he was having issues but he told me the gun was running fine. If it's running fine, don't mess with it.... But didn't you just say we shouldn't be changing parts? Changing unnecessary parts, see my post above. Besides the BASIC parts list, as I posted in the other thread, you don't NEED all of this other stuff you guys are doing. I see. Unfortunately, in my case, I did need to make a change. My firing pin was getting stuck in the forward position while dry firing. That is not, as far as I'm concerned, an acceptable condition for my gun to be in. When I asked about it, I received a variety of suggestions on how to fix it. And that's what I've been doing. Fixing it. I have a pair and OEM firing pins couldn't be swapped. Meaning one works in both and another only works in one. It will get stuck deep in the channel. So there is variability even in OEM parts. I would take 1/1000th off the firing pin that getting stuck. Try polishing off the finish. I think the problem, in my case, turned out to be the clipped firing pin return spring that came with the gun. The switch to the EG light return spring seems to have solved the problem.

Yes I handled the gun along side mine and everything was fine on the gun. There wasn't a need, from what I could tell, to change anything. Unless he was having issues but he told me the gun was running fine. If it's running fine, don't mess with it.... But didn't you just say we shouldn't be changing parts? Changing unnecessary parts, see my post above. Besides the BASIC parts list, as I posted in the other thread, you don't NEED all of this other stuff you guys are doing. I see. Unfortunately, in my case, I did need to make a change. My firing pin was getting stuck in the forward position while dry firing. That is not, as far as I'm concerned, an acceptable condition for my gun to be in. When I asked about it, I received a variety of suggestions on how to fix it. And that's what I've been doing. Fixing it.