Carlos

We have at most 27 yards to work with indoors (www.shootersparadise.com). That did not stop me from doing a stage w/ a 25 yard target (T1 at 10yards T2 at 15yards T3 at 25yards - shot just like El Prez). I also appreciated one local club (Fredericksburg VA) putting a target out at 40 yards some time ago; it was wide open - the only thing that "caused" a shooter to throw a mike was poor marksmanship (PC version: "markspersonship"). D. Johnson (PC version: D. Johnoffspring)

In the past, we have added such a start position to our indoor matches (www.shootersparadise.com). No complaints so far. It is in the spirit of freestyle.

And while not on the EGW site, they also sold me a Lee U die in .45ACP. You can also call Lee direct; I could not find them on the Lee website but a phone call & CC number resulted in U dies in under a week.

Why? Because when you shoot a match, you don't get your brass back (in Area 8 anyway) & 1000 would last you less than 2 months. If you shoot 2 of the 300+ round Sectionals or Area matches, then your 1000 new cases are gone. Around here we don't pick up brass at a match; takes too long & holds everybody up. If you are afraid of the EGW solution (which you should not be) then an alternative to new would be the cleaned, roll-sized, once fired brass that Dillon (and probably others) sell, but its not exactly cheap. Just buy the EGW die & a can of OneShot like everybody else does. Regards & congrats on the new gun purchase.

BJ forgot to mention that he is using a STI .38 Super w/o ports & a 4 chamber comp. BJ - got any 90 grain bullets? Does steel challenge have a min. bullet weight??

CZ fans: lets see: me Ron Ankeny Vlad CZ shooter Pistol Pete Brian H. Angus Hobdell (Factory Sponsored CZ guru & 5th place Production Nationals) Anyone else?

At the recent Area 8, we were able to post 3 ROs on one of the larger field courses "Twist & Shoot". This was a very challenging stage with 2 long free fire zones perpendicular to targets that were 15 to 20 yards away. Many targets were obscured by hardcover & gaps in the FFZs and shooters had to use nearly the entire length of the FFZs to get every targets. Mikes & FTEs were very common on this stage. Because of the larger number of targets and long FFZs, we assigned 1 RO to specifically watch for FTEs (or FTS in the new lexicon). When there was any doubt, the benefit went to the shooter. Perhaps FTEs or FTSs that cannot be verified by the timer should be abolished as too subjective?

Steve Anderson wrote: "Beretta is using a new 3rd gen. locking block that should make this issue go away. I broke one in 9mm after about 26,000 rds or so. How many cops will ever shoot much?" Yep - that sounds reasonable. Problems were, as I understand it, with locking blocks on .40 cal training guns & on those guns that were issued to tactical teams (who shoot more than average Troopers). In the Beretta's defense, these guns were 1st adopted by Maryland State Police in the early 90s at about the same time as: 1) the .40 was first developed and 2) Berreta set up shop in MD to produce the then-new .40s. As the locking block problems did occur in MD & Beretta's plant is in MD, it is quite plausible that different "generations" of locking blocks were quickly introduced based on police experience. As store rental guns, I have seen these guns break; its often the locking block that goes, but again, these were NOT brand new guns and had been fired more than the average gun. Lesson to me would be: buy a new .40, not a used one. Phil wrote: "If Springfield could come up with a way to keep dust, lent, lettuce, etc. out of that grip safety, I think the XD40 would be an ideal duty gun." You meant to say "lint" not "lent" & forgot to mention donut crumbs. Big C.

Stick w/ straight Clays. I know, I know, it says in the Hodgdon reloading book that Major velocity w/ a 200 is ABOVE the max load for .45 & Clays. I did it anyway for 2 seasons w/ WestCoast 200s. I never had a problem w. clays and a ramped barrel STI Edge in .45ACP. Use at your own risk. Clays is cleaner than Titegroup in .45ACP. Regards, C. PS: BTW, if you look only at the reloading book, you will quickly realize you can't make major w/ .38 super; please inform everyone shooting open at your next match that they can't make major & to please stop immediately. Rules is rules. Never question authority.

"I get Blazer 115 gr for $3.99 a box, and just saw today the Yellow Box Remington 115 FMJ for $49.95 per 500 (or less than $100 per 1000)." Yeah, we have heard this one for over a year - don't get your hopes up. Its one store located in the deep south called "academy sports" or something & no, they won't mail you any Blazer - I looked it up on the internet once & called the store; they welcomed me to stop by in person anytime. That price on Blazer is just some promotional deal they have for locals. Bottom line - Blazer in reality costs $4.89 per box of 50 from Natchez (plus shipping) to the net effect of where its right around the magic $5/box delivered. Another bargain source for 115 (w/ boxer brass) is the new "Remington Mega Pak" of 1k for about $109 plus shipping from www.outdoormarksman.com Reliable company & they use FedEx not UPS - a plus in my book. Still, its crappy 115 & not the 147 load you want. As for Win whitebox, I have noticed the weird rust collored ring on some brass. Must have been 2nds or something. As for 9mm reloads, I am w/ French on this; along w/ hitech redneck I load 147s over V V N310 (don't look in the book for this load!!) for a minor load that is much better than factory 115. Haven't tried it? Try it 1st & compare; we have. You can do almost as well with Titegroup under 147s and still have a load that is in the books as safe. Regards, C.

MD state police use .40 cal Beretta (not sure which model) They tested in the late 80s/early 90s and were all set to adopt another gun - the Sig I believe - when the then-Demorat governor stepped in & declared that they HAD to adopt the Berreta as it was to be produced in MD. The locking blocks on the .40s frequently break, my police friends tell me. Baltimore city recenlty swithed to the Glock 22.

Want to shoot with the best of the best? Area 8. Phil Strader & TJ live in VA as does revolver guru Rudy Waldinger and J.J. Racaza lives (I believe) in PA or someplace nearby. We also HAD forum member & Production powerhouse Eric Lund until last year & rising Junior star BJ Norris is here too. CA may have more people but as a percentage of active shooters, I think you might find more GMs & Ms around here. Then again, I am biased & based in Area 8.

I'd vote to keep things as they are. As to what lengths inovators will go to achieve an advantage, do not limit your imagination. I have a good friend who built a compensated open gun from a CZ 52 in Cal. 7.62 Tokerev - a necked .30 cal that can be loaded to major. Just as there is an advantage in going from a compensated .45 to a comped .40/10mm, then to a compensated 9mm bullet, there are further advantages to be gained from a 7.62mm/.30 cal bullet. Of course his gun is useless in IPSC/USPSA as it is under 9mm and it is so magazine capacity limited as to be non-competitive. However, this case could be necked to 7mm, 6.5mm, 6mm, even .22/5.56mm (though the 121grn bullet limitation would present a temporary problem) and would certainly work in say, a custom SV or Tanfoglio. These things are all possible given a rule change and enough of your money - just to keep pace with the arms race. Should we continue further into the area of "non-practical"?? Anyone care to buy an open .45ACP? How about a "full race" 1911 S.S. in 9x25 Dillon? Didn't think so. Keep the rules as they are, please. As for regional difficulties (such as the use of 7.62 Tok in Asia), I do not see a problem with regional allowances for sub-9mm provided that the World Shoot retain 9mm as minimum.

A word on heavy 9mm bullets: they certainly shoot soft. Compare a Minor PF 147 grn load at 850FPS vs. a 115 grn load at minor (1087FPS) and most will agree that the 147 load "feels" or is perceived as "softer" (nevermind the actual physics here - we are talking about subjective perception, NOT a scientific measure of recoil). I currently shoot 147s over N310 and the load is certainly soft - particularly out of a steel framed gun like my CZ or your Para. HOWEVER, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Say you load down to minor at 827 fps. It becomes slightly more difficult to hit swingers/drop turners and your other accuracy factors (trigger squeeze & followthrough) become more critical because the bullet is in the gun longer - this is why many shooters find it more difficult to shoot match air pistols when they 1st make the switch from say, a .22; the slower velocity is less forgiving of flaws in followthrough & squeeze. I have been thinking of switching to 135s. However, if cutting-edge accuracy is not required for your typical match, you may have found a very, very soft shooting bullet.

I suggest a search on "625" and maybe add "minor" or possibly search on the word "bunnyfart" (I am not kidding). This has been covered. Let us know what you come up with (pref. w/ chrono data). Thanks.

There is a guy on GlockTalk.com who has tried reloading it w/o problems using factory GAP speer brass (though I would not recommend Glocktalk as those people are not so polite). As for GAP brass, it appears to be short .45 ACP w/ a small pistol primer pocket. Last night, I threw away some .45 ACP brass from Federal marked .45 ACP NT (non-toxic) that had SMALL PISTOL PRIMERS. Could this stuff be shortened & shot in GAP pistols? Probably. No comment on whether GAP has a reason to exist.

Hej Even & others! Welkommen! & thanks for the updates from the CZ factory; a purpose built CZ 9x19 IPSC could be the next big thing in production. Why would I say this? In the discussion of IPSC production rules, it was written: “At the World Shoot, Guillermo Jude from Uruguay, shooting a chrome Jericho 941 out of a race rig [production race rig??], was leading Sevigny as of the third day. He ended up third behind a member of the Italian team, which used Tangfolio 9x21s w/factory beavertails and BoMar-copy sights drawn from race rigs. The guns of Glock, CZ, Beretta, and SIG were each used by multiple competitors, and individuals armed with other makes such as S&W, H&K, and Taurus, were in the thick of it as well.” A bit of background material here: The Jericho is known here in the US as the “baby” Desert Eagle & is not as widely used as the Glock 34 & 17. However, the Jericho is made from custom Tanfoglio frame & slide castings that are machined & assembled in Israel w/ an Israeli hammer forged polygonal rifling stainless barrel. Comparing the Jericho to the Tanfoglio/EAA 9mm Witness commonly seen here in the US, is a bit like comparing an STI Edge to a mil spec 1911A1! The jericho also features a full length dust cover like an STI & a FLGR - it is an excellent gun! As for CZs competing in the US (USPSA, not IPSC), Angus Hobdel (sp??) Placed 5th in Production the recent factorygun nationals using a CZ. This was against the Glock 34 which is not permitted in IPSC. The .40 cal Standard IPSC has not caught on here because we cannot get magazines for it at all. Pre-ban CZ mags for this gun DO NOT EXIST in the USA since the mags are unique to the Std. IPSC and the gun was introduced after 1994. That leaves it in only Limited 10 division and most US shooters choose either a 1911 SS, S_I, or a Glock. Sad, really since the Standard IPSC is such a great gun! Regarding the excellent Swedish/Danish 39B steel jacketed military ammo, we received some of this in the US but it was likely a fluke or mistake by ATF in allowing it in to the US since it is apparently very good at piercing armor! A friend shot up 2000 rounds through his SV open 9x19 w/ virtually NO powder residue; apparently from the Vihta Vouri/ Norma powder which we could not identify. Good ammo though we know that it causes 2x the wear on barrels. Thanks again for news from Scandinavia! Please continue to post your progress.

Road raced bikes for about 8 years (www.wera.com) & I remember that all the top road racers agreed that they had the ability to mentally "slow things down"; that is, when they needed to do several things simultaneously, they could actually speed up by perceiving things as if they actually slowed down. As an example, take the sought-after sub-one second mag change. A top racer would actaully speed up his perception so that it seemed to him/her liek slow motion, but it would actually be very quick. Why would this help? The top racer would be able to pay attention to the seperate actions and get every one of them right; the mag release, the right grip on the new mag, seating the new mag, re-acquiring the grip & re-acquiring the sight picture. As to how to actually slow things down while going fast; well, I would guese its a matter of intense concentration but I can't speak from experience as I never made it to the top (racing bikes or guns).

Fair criticism; the CZ's DOUBLE ACTION trigger is a ways out (though not as far as the beretta). This site should be about full disclosure of facts, followed by opinions based on those facts & BE generally does an excellent job of fair, balanced evaluation. Is the 952's trigger reach shorter than a CZ's DA (not sa) trigger? Could be; I have not compared them side to side. I will also add that even w/ a SA trigger installed, my CZ's do have some take up that I can't seem to get rid of; nothing on the order of other guns but its there. Maybe S&W tuned it out of the 952. I looked up retail on the 952 last night & at least one distributor had it at $1500 but I would not be surprised to hear of it being priced as low as $1000. The add also stated the the gun was SA ONLY, so the safety would have to be applied prior to reholstering (at least in USPSA). As for the 9 round mag, I noticed that the 952 shares a mag w/ several other S&W models so I would imagine 10 rounders would not be that difficult to find.

When are they going to import the Tanfoglio 1911?? Its been around for a while. And how about re-introducing the Norinco - that stupid Clinton-regulatory ban could go away w/o congressional approval if Bush wanted it to. I hear CZ is also working on a 1911. W/ the Sig's 6 grove barrel, the thing should be a tack driver & they finally got the extractor right. We need more 1911 designs - esp. in .45.

You might consider the CZ-85 or CZ 75 in 9mm since it is just as accurate as the Smith if not more so (CZ design based on the Sig 210 & it shares the 6 groove barrel) and it costs 1/2 as much or less. My understanding of the 952 is it was a succesor to the 1960s era Model 52 - a strange 5 shot auto designed to shoot the rimmed, .38 Special FULL wadcutter (bullet seated flush w/ case mouth) and was intended to compete in police pistol competition (PPC). Unless I am wrong, the 952 is a custom shop gun w/. a premium price but which does not offer any better performance than a 9mm CZ.

HAHAHA! Point well taken since my bag is black & it is difficult to find things in the bottom of it. Moreover, it happens to be the same bag everyone else around here uses & I often start digging for something I need - only to find out I am digging around in someone else's bag! If I ever need another bag, it will not be black.

Excellent reply! Just what I was looking for. I have been warming up to N310 & the only drawback so far has been cost & availability; maybe TW is the answer. While I am using N310 in Minor PF 9mm w/ 147s right now, I know that V V would not approve of my minor load & I might try to go a bit lighter in bullet weight this winter - maybe the Zero 135 or even 124s; this would move me more in the direction of an approved 9mm N310 load (V V only lists N310 loads for 9mm w/ 90 grain bullets. If Titewad would provide the same super-soft recoil AND consistent performance as N310 (which is VERY consistent in my 9mm) maybe I have stumbled on 9mm Production Nirvana. Please report back on your TW testing & thanks again.

Chriss has it. In many PA public school districts, the 1st day of deer season is a school holiday on account of the number of MINORS who are out hunting (with firearms including handguns). Cabelas is way out on line on this; where is their corporate HQ?? (I know the tax address is in Delaware, but where is the real HQ??). I bet its not in PA. Go get em' Tim!

Yeah, that shoot was one helluva lotta fun, but even more entertaining for me was watching Rudy Waldinger (think Arnold Swartzneger w/ a cowboy hat & boots) open up w/ the mini-Uzi; at first he shot nice controlled bursts at each target but soon enough Rudi "went Hollywood" & was wildly spraying bullets into the backstop (& occasioanally the targets!). I don't think the "spray method" was good sub-gun doctrine or a good combat tactic, but damn, it looked like Rudi was having a good time! BTW, for those who don't know Rudi, he finished 2nd in Revolver at the nationals, loosing only to Jerry Miculek, & his picture is on page 40 of the current Frontsight.