Carlos

"N330?? maybe a 200 grain 40 load! " - yeah, that is Strader's load with a plated 200 grn .40 bullet. Once you work up a .40 Major load, it is very close to N320 in performance with just a little more powder needed. Worth the trouble? - when the powder is free, it is.

"I'll predict that the L10 winner this year isn't shooting a 1911 based gun." Matt Mink is on the squad & he is now on Team CZ-USA; could the .40 cal CZ come out on top? Have to wait & see. Considering the talent on that squad, nothing would surprise me.

Worst one I recall was the section championship a few years back when some RO deviates from the approved range commands & says - "if you understand the COF, load and make ready" - hey, that does not bug me & I understand its a courtesy. However, after the beep I had a mental lapse & fired the 1st half of the COF, started to unload & THEN recalled the mandatory reload & second 1/2 of the COF. A good 5 seconds passed before I realized my mistake, loaded back up & finished. Now here is what pissed me off: After I unload show clear & holster, the RO says in a very loud voice: "I said, IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE COURSE OF FIRE!!" What a prick. I know I screwed up. He knows it. Everyone watching knew it - and the RO has to make a smart ass comment to someone he does not know. I have since become an RO & I go out of my way to avoid embarrasing a shooter who makes a mistake (who among us does not make shooting mistakes?). No need to rub it in.

If you look at the (mostly meaningless) Top 20 list in L-10, the Top 5 includes Super Squad members: Rob Phil and Taran I would think that Rob and Phil have the best chance based on their finishes in the past (Rob & Phil were 1&2 year before last) and on the fact that they just shot the COF in Limited (though with different targets). My money is on (big surprise) Phil. D. www.shootersparadise.com

So what are the predictions for Limited 10? Who will win? Odds-on-favorites? Dark horses? Unknown quantities (IPSC shooters)??? Let's hear your picks & why. D.C. Johnson PS - I just got back from the Production, revolver & ltd Nationals last night & had a great time; thanks goes out to USPSA and especially all the volunteer CRO, RO & admin staff that made it possible; our group from Area 8 had a ton of fun & I will definitely be back next year - maybe even switching from Limited to Production.

Alby wrote: "this was a joke, for all the humor impaired among us, because of the prevalence of these guns at the match." Got it & its all good; most of my Production shooting friends are shooting Glocks & they give me a ton of crap everytime I break down a cz mag for cleaning between stages. Don't even ask when happens on the rare occassions when the CZ jams ; the CZs are definitely a minority in a Division dominated by Glocks & to a lesser extent, de-cocker equiped Sigs & Berettas. In reality, I think its inevitable that lowering the hammer manually will get more scrutiny. Matt - correct you are of course. Keeping fingers crossed as to the GA vote. Not holding out much hope for the TSC. At least CZ has an alternative in the wings. D.

Club match, I got the LAMR command & pulled a full mag from my front pocket. Problem was, I was also using that pocket for spare pasters. Top round in the mag had a paster plastered around it & the top of the mag. Pulled off paster leaving behind a sticky mess; replaced the top round w/ a spare & worried about all the sticky crap left on the top of the mag. The whole while, the RO was chuckling at me. Needless to say, I blew the stage worrying about my mag. Gun & mag worked fine of course.

Before you join the ranks of "gun painters" (shudder to think) please consider parkerizing. Here is an old post of mine with pictures detailing the process: PARKERIZING AT HOME http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=parkerizing Regards, D.C. Johnson

Applies to trigger, not trigger gaurd.

Alby wrote: "I RO'd at summerblast this past weekend and I only had one shooter out of at least 150 I ran that had to manually decock. " If it was the Summerblast, then the shooter must have been Production Grand Master Todd Sindelar from Team CZ-USA; current gun: the CZ SP-01. As for decockers, they are mechanical devices. Every mechanical device can & will eventually fail. Therefore, the use of de-cockers should be prohibited by USPSA or classified as "unsafe gun handling" (no, I am not seriously suggesting such a rule change, but you get the point). Nothing wrong with manually de-cocking a gun; do you trust yourself & your skill, or do you place your trust 100% in a mechanical device that you did not build? "so, the obvious answer here is that you need to get an STI or a glock." Todd made Grand Master with a Glock 22. CZ-USA however, is Todd's current sponsor. In 2004, CZ introduced a gun just for USPSA/IPSC Production division (the SP-01). There is a de-cocker version called the SP-01 "Tactical".

Monster is right. "And while we're talking about it, I firmly believe detonation in small pistol cases with fast pistol powders is a myth. Put a little bit of 2400 in a .30-06 case, yeah ok maybe. A little bit of 7625 in a .38 Super case, notta chance. If the phenomenon were real, it would be documented in every reloading manual. " Its a theory. Call it a myth if you want. It is NOT supported by evidence and has NOT been demonstrated as a repeateable phenomenon. There is NO evidence that anyone has pointed to & I will reconsider if someone can point to credible, supporting evidence. As for Hodgdon's statement, this is another way of stating what they wrote: "If you put too small of an amount of X powder (does not matter what powder) in a case, a bullet could lodge in the barrel. Then, if you attempt to fire another round, the barrel will likely rupture." I do not see how Hodgdon's warning has anything to do with the "powder level below flash hole" theory. Here is Hodgdon's statement: "H110 Loads should not be reduced more than 3%. Reduce H110 Loads 3% and work up from there. H110 if reduced too much will cause inconsistent ignition. In some cases it will lodge a bullet in the barrel, causing a hazardous situation (Barrel Obstruction). This may cause severe personal injury or death to users or bystanders In any event, if there are scientific studies to support the theory, lets see them. As for the cause, Shooter Grrrl has ruled out reloading tool operator error. How about: - possible build up of fowling in the barrel raising pressure? -could a defective primer contain too much priming compound & thus raise pressure? -what about an oversize bullet - as if a .356" or similar-profile .357" was accidentally included in the box of bulk .355" I assume you used? One would think such a round would not chamber properly, but what if? What if you are using 115s & one of the 124s was accidentally mixed in & loaded over the same charge of powder? I think that 115s & 124s look similar. Possible? Regards, D.C. Johnson

"Best advice is to pay a gunsmith with a proven track record of making that combination work." This is important: if you have a trusted STI/SV smith & he responds to your 9Major questions with: "I do not think 9mm Major works nor is it reliable" then what he is actually saying is: "I do not know how to build a reliable 9 Major gun." A look at the Nationals results proves that 9 Major CAN work in the STI/SV platform. Trick is to find a smith with the skill & experience with 9 Major. As for brass, you are not allowed to pick it up at a match - at least not around here & not until after all the props are put away by which time I am ready to go home (not go ratting brass in the hot sun). Maybe my view will change once a sponsor decides to give me as much free .38 brass as I want, but that likely won't happen in this lifetime. 9mm v. 38 Super brass cost is NOT an issue for the rich. For the rest of us, it is a valid issue. C.

Use molybdenum disulfide. What is molybdenum disulfide & where does one purchase some? Molybdenum disulfide is a molecule that bonds with the surface of clean, degreased steel & effectively acts like a microscopic layer of ball bearings. It is found in various "engine assembly lube/grease" and some gun products described above as: "(trigger slick / action-magic / axle grease / whatever-it's-called)." It is also used in the polymer coating on the "black bullet" & most other "coated bullets"Its use in the barrel is controversial (see Wil Scheumann's website). Its use on sears & hammers & newly assembled engines is not controversial. Good stuff.

"Also, who knows how deep the G18 cut is?" There are few, if any, G18s in civilian hands in the US. Of what relevance is the G18's ejection port to your project? Regards, C.

"What a cutie! At least she wasn't chewing on that cat..." I would not trust that dog around my STI. Or my Glock for that matter. Pooch might just yet earn a reputation as a real "gun dog".

Interesting that the terrorists responsible issued a threat to commit more such bombings (they mentioned Denmark & Italy) unless all western countries vacate all of their people from Afganistan. Also today, it was reported that record numbers of young Afgan girls are actually attending grade school & learning skills such as reading & math (something that was forbidden to girls & women under the terrorists). That must really make these extremists angry. I hope we double the number of school teachers in Afganistan. My prayers are with the victims in London tonight.

Funny you should ask about pictures - here is a link to my thread on finishing an 80% frame using the Nowlin/Wilson ramp due to the 80% frame's unique construction (KT Ordnance). Gun is now complete (think Baer Monolith in .40). Will have to put up some pictures. LINK C. PS- for those interested in buliding their own handguns & rifles from raw materials, check out: www.roderuscustom.tzo.com There are seperate sections on home-constructed AK-47s, AR-15, 1911s, Sigs, Ruger MK II, 10-22, etc.

The pressures are lower in 9mm than with 5.56mm so a comp is of less value; but please let us know what you discover w/ the comp you buy. I found that 147s seemed to shoot MUCH better in an AR than 115s or 124s. Accuracy was the same but the 115s had the sights jumping all over the place; 147s kept sights clear & on target. D.

THere are threads on this if you use the search function; I bought a 9mm Colt upper & as long as: 1) the shots are not over 75 -100 yards and 2) you really really know your gun & where it hits at distance, then its viable. I do not think its an advantage though - at least not my 9mm AR.

The only worthwhile pre-show feature they have added in the last 10 years is the fake movie trailer that tells everyone to TURN OFF CELL PHONES. Keep that one - and ditch most of the rest; then show me the movie I paid for.

Here is another suggestion: forge stronger links between people seeking a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP, CCW, whatever your state calls it) and competition shooting (either USPSA or IDPA). I believe that in the last 15 years, there has been a concealed-carry revolution in the USA; now, most states are "Shall Issue" states. More & more people are earning their permits. However, we do not see parallel growth in participation in either USPSA or IDPA. Where is the disconnect? I think we need to get through to the CCW instructors to have them emphasize the importance of maintaining shooting proficiency through competition. Every student in a CCW class should understand that the class is just a starting point & that they need to get to a couple of competitions before hitting the streets. Instead, the Permit class is the end of the process for most CCW holders. Obtain permit, carry unfamiliar gun, hope for the best. Many CCW holders (especially in urban areas) have never drawn a loaded pistol from their CCW holster, let alone fired it & tried to hit a realistic looking target. How do we go about making the link between CCW qualification and competition?

How to grow USPSA? Recruit shooters from IDPA & Cowboy Action/SASS shooting. Many of us already shoot both USPSA & IDPA. This forum has a policy against posts regarding USPSA vs. IDPA - and that is how it should be. For the IDPA shooters who do not already shoot USPSA, here is an article from the Tactical Journal (their version of FrontSight) entitled "The other IDPA; Prodution Division in USPSA". LINK It did not occur to me why I did not see my friends from the local IDPA match I help run show up more often at the USPSA match I run. Then I read the IDPA's website a little more closely. Specifically, I looked at the website's document "IDPA Coverletter"; it addresses a problem that largely ceased to exist when USPSA created Production & L10. Then I looked at the IDPA rulebook & frankly, there are some things there that are not very complimentary toward USPSA. I like to believe these things are just oversights that were not corrected in the last revision of the rulebook. But as is, I think that many new IDPA shooters seem to have a bad impression of USPSA even though they have never tried shooting a USPSA match. The article from the Tactical Journal above goes a long way to explaining why its of great benefit to IDPA shooters to spend some time at a USPSA match. Perhaps USPSA could publish an add in the Tactical Journal along the lines of the add posted in the Cowboy Action journal? And for the USPSA shooters who have not tried IDPA - its a great time & a chance to get in some more quality trigger time with like-minded pistoleros in your area. Regards, D.C. Johnson www.shootersparadise.com

"Some shooters show up late, stiff the club on an entry fee, dont tape or set steel, shoot ahead of their squad, get away with rules violations, and bitch and moan about every little thing they dont like. Yet, because they win the match, the powers that be allow it to continue and treat these people with reverence because they are fast with a pistol." I have seen some of this in my area as well & do not like it. While I am a lowly B shooter who usually squads with my follow B shooters, we have taken to squading with some of the newer shooters (most of whom are not yet classified) when possible because they help out pasting as much as we do & they don't bitch about stuff. Nearly to a man, this group of newer shooters are there to just have a good time & do not take the sport so seriously that it becomes a drag for everyone on the squad. Plus, last sunday, most of the squad got together for lunch after the match. There are plenty of good folks in the upper ranks of USPSA, but also a few bad apples who ought to keep their egos in check & remember that we all volunteer to support the sport when we sign up. Good post & good things to keep in mind.

Erik wrote: "Didn't feel a thing besides an incomplete cycle stroke. Didn't see any smoke or flash, didn't hear a big bang. Methinks I got off easy" Agreed. Glad you were OK Erik! With the old brass I use, I expect that someday, one piece will let go & I hope I am as lucky. That is a scarry photo! D.C. Johnson

Recommended? Yes. Required? No - not unless they are given out by registration/sign up at the start of every competition. In bulk, they cost well under $1 so the cost at a $20 or $25 event is negligible.