Carlos

Agreed, and in getting back to Correia's orignal question about taking an AK beyond the club level, I also agree it is far easier/ more effective to spend $600 for a good running limited AR upper & a good trigger that can take you to the top at the nationals if you have the skill. The AK's just do not have what it takes at the big matches. I'll still shoot my AK locally. If I make it to the nationals one year it will be with the AR-15. As for my Yugo, well that blew up years ago; air filter wasn't such a good idea I guese. D.

As to number 3, errrr . . . chalk that one up to late-night mis-communication on my part (and a beer or two) RE: the new 6.8; What I meant to say is: "The new 6.8 is now available for sale to the public" As to whether the new 6.8 will meet major & be effective in 3gun, my guese is: yes & yes. This may just be the better mousetrap & it would not surprise me in the least to see it place well (if not win) in next year's nationals. Of the options above, it would seem to be the best. Sorry for the confusion. D. PS: Mickster: THANKS! I appreciate the data & thank you for doing the chrono work.

Flex is ON THE MONEY as usual! The info is here & a quick search should reveal it. I have posted info on my load w. N310 and 147s; however, I would suggest that you search instead on N320 and 147s since this should yeild a load that gives you a far bigger safety margin & works nearly as well if not the same. The loads listed in the book w/ N330 and 147s are very good loads as well and the data comes right from V V. As for commonly available powder I have tried & like Titegroup; though with 147s the pressures must be a bit low as it did not burn very clean. But, it works, is consistent & comes right from the book. Regards, D.

"kinda like trying to improve the acceleration of a YUGO with K&N filter and platinum spark plugs" Ouch! Does not SOUND like you like AKs!! Its all good; at least the 40 round magazines are 100% reliable (as are the 75 round and 100 round magazines; speed-mag change? What's that??!). Really, if the AWB expires as it should, a modified Israel Military Industries Galil or Vector R-5 might just prove to be a very potent 3gun limited or open weapon. Until then, AKs were not the winning guns at the nationals. Sad but true. Regards, C. AKA "I'm STILL he-man Douglas Johnson!!"

THis has been discussed here before: 1)Bear 11-something (aka Eric) has tried out a whisper upper; I believe in Open. He used a .223 this year at Nationals so the whisper may still be in development. It ain't an "outta the box" solution. Yet. 2)We have also talked of the 7mm T/CU (necked up .223 to 7mm) and OAL seems to be the sticking point on this. 3) It may be that the new factory Wolf brand russian 150 grain ammo in 7.62x39mm may just squeek by lower major out of a 20" barrel. 4) the 6.8 is out. (see # 2 above). The trouble with these 4 solutions is that they have trajectories unlike the .223; perhaps they can be adapted. Seems like .223 ruled the day at this years nationals though we have no official survey to confirm this. Next year? we will see! Keep up the good work! Regards, D.

Put another way, it is a normal STI grip frame that has had 2 internal polymer spacers permanently pinned in place. STI bevels the spacers on the lower end to form a sort of magwell. THe outside dimension is identical to any STI wide grip frame. I happen to have one for sale (black) in VG original condition; $100. Please PM. Thanks, C.

USA brand steel 40 rounders (only 40's I could afford at the time). SOmetimes worked; sometimes not. Sure were cool when they worked on 34 round stages. "Sometimes works" ain't good enough.

Brings up 3 interesting questions: 1) Will a 9x19 tanfoglio stand up to a constant diet of lower 165/170 PF major 9 w/ 124 grn bullets? 2) Will we be able to get 140mm/170mm 9x19 magazines after September? 3) Will Tanfoglio/CZ gunsmiths come out of the woodwork to offer complete guns along the lines of Dawson/Brazos/EGW etc etc etc??? If the answer to these q.s is yes, there may be a few new contenders in the open gun field.

There will be an IDPA style match (full IDPA accreditation still pending) on July 7, 2004 with squads running every hour from 5 to 9. Where: Shooters Paradise in Woodbridge, VA (just off I-95 north of Quantico). For details/ signe-up information, please take a look at www.shootersparadise.com. Thanks! Douglas

Tom wrote: "mainly out of a 9mm CZ75B in IPSC" That's my gun! I shot most of 2003 season w/ a 75B and now shoot an 85 Combat. 1st: you might want to try 147 grn bullets. I find recoil feels much reduced/softened over 124s. 2nd: whatever bullet you choose, N320 is the way to go. Why? It is faster & I have found faster powders (for this application: minor 9x19mm) are cleaner, present less muzzle blast and less recoil. My CZ-75B load? I go all the way down to N310 (VERY fast) with a 147 at just over 850 FPS; you can do just about as well with a better safety margin with N320 and a 147 @ 850-875 FPS. Don't look in the book for N320 loads & 147s; V V would not approve of N310 or N320 with bullets that heavy. It works for me; proceed at your own risk.

Larry P wrote "You want an animal cookie or what?" I happen to LIKE animal cookies, Larry! I'll see your animal cookie & raise you a valium! (I hope you are smiling; I know I am. Its all good). Larry also wrote: "I REALLY dislike the Fashion Police! Im fighting buying Royal Robbins ANYTHING simply because its become a "fashion statement". " Er, isn't that my point you have there?!?! Kinda sorta seems like we agree on the 511 thing. Animal cookies all around! Seriously though, I think we all need to read this post: IDPA WEAR Regards, C.

Ha ha, very funny Deuce. FYI, that is a picture of IPSC Barbie (featuring "action shooting high-grip" and "IPSC game-face") that Deuce is trying to pass off as "a pic of some hotties". You can't fool me Deuce! Some people.

At the risk of slight thread drift, we shot an IDPA COF that began with a 5 shot S&W revolver loaded w/ 4 rounds of mild .38 special & the hammer down on the unloaded chamber (yes yes I am aware of this, that & the other safety feature of modern S&W revolvers that make the hammer down on an empty chamber unnecessary but can anyone argue it was LESS safe than loaded w/ 5 rounds??!?). See 1st IDPA at www.shootersparadise.com The gun was loaded/unloaded by the RO & placed on a chair. Competitor's other gun was staged unloaded down range. Competitor had to engage 2 targets at very close range (using up all 4 rounds). No competitor failed to fire all 4 rounds; in the event that that had happened, the RO would have called Stop. The gun carried downrange and the competitor placed it in a box & retrieved his/her own gun, loaded it & engaged more targets. No problem that I can see as far as IDPA is concerned (I consider myself an IDPA neophyte having shot exactly 2 IDPA matches). I also believe that under the circumstances, it was not an unsafe COF. However, as a USPSA club match designer, it seems unfortunate that a similar COF is apparently discouraged (if not outright banned by the rules) from a USPSA club match. Vince, what do you think?

Having looked inside 2 Glocks with these triggers & having test fired one gun, I can tell you that Charlie deserves the $$$ he gets. Why? 1) Results. These things WORK! 2) The mod.s are BOTH extensive AND completely reversible. The work appears to have been done to new Glock brand parts; I believe your original parts are returned to you in addition. Charlie actually does a lot of work that is apparent; there may be other subtle changes I did not notice. 3) Reliability. One gun I tested is an Open class GSSF Glock owned by a non-reloader who is one of my GSSF team mates on "Team Blazer" - as in CCI Blazer that features super-hard CCI primers. Charlie's trigger even sets off these hard primers. The other gun has had exaclty one (that I know of) failure to set off a rifle primer in a .40 Minor load. Could have been a high primer; I don't know. In general though, these triggers work great. I do not shoot a GLock in USPSA anymore & don't plan to start back up (I like my SV & CZ too much) but if you are planning on shooting a GLock, consider one of these triggers.

Now THAT is a well-customized gun! I bet that it is as comfy as a well-work pair of Birkenstocks! It might have been Duane who wrote a good article in FrontSight last year to the effect of "Beware the man with the worn out-looking gun!" Thanks for the pics! Regards, C.

Not quite on point, but Wil Scheumann's website talks about barrel heating. Wil does a far better job of explaining this than I could ever do (and there is a link to his site on www.uspsa.com), but he compares the heating of a USPSA/IPSC gun's barrel to that of a sub machine gun. That kind of heat can be enough to cause anealing of the stainless steel used in many USPSA guns. The inside of the barrel is left anealed (and therefor more soft) once it cools. I took Wil's advice & stopped cleaning the barrel at all (though I brush the chamber area sometimes) since the inside surface is repeatedly heated/cooled. Accuracy is fine after 8,000 rounds through the latest KKM .40 barrel in use. Take a look. C.

I run a bull-barrel SV .40 w/ lightened slide; STI recomends the light recoil master for light slide .40s. Loved the way it made the gun shoot; sadly it just broke so I'm back to the cominoli double buffer tungsten until the Recoil Master is repaired. The cominoli is also an excellent part (that is capable of breaking). Carry a spare part or spare S.S. FLGR in your spares kit.

Sig Lady wrote: "Trouble with Eugene, Oregon is they don't like 'outsiders'. They'll let you live here but won't GIVE you anything even if you PAY for it. It's weird here politically, and nearly impossible to fathom" I agree. I sensed this too during my 2 years at U of O as an undergrad (before I transferred). It was why I left. Hang in there Sig Lady! Best of luck w/ the search, Regards, C.

AK74 wrote: "Accuracy, this is the big one, if you cant do better then 4 moa with your AK it is not going to be competitive past 100 yards. I believe this is the number one reason we don’t see more AK's in IPSC 3 gun. " Agreed. Average AK in the US these days has a crap 16 in. pencil-thin barrel. Around here (in the VA/MD Section) that 16" barrel can work since ranges are so short; I shot a 3 gun last weekend in Thurmont MD w/ my AK-47/ Bulgarian SLR-95; no shots were over 50 yards & toughest shot was maybe a 50 yard, upper A/B zone only; all 3 rounds were in there (did not need the make up shot). Out west where targets are out to 300 meters, the average 16" AK barrel w/ crap steel cased 7.62x39 ammo (minor no less) can't cut it against an AR-15. That is the average in the US right now. What else exists in the world? The Israel Military Industries made Galil uses a very very accurate 18" hammer forged .223 barrel; off hand at 100 meters it will break clay birds set on the backstop all day long if you do your part & feed it decent .223. There is even a sniper version w/a scope & bipod that could be a contender in open if it were available in the US (though its a bit heavy). I understand Valmet AKs are also exceptionally well made. Don't count out the South African R5 copy of the Galil. All of these are viable, if a little on the heavy side. Its just that you can't generally buy these guns here since import has been banned since 1989 or so. Old used ones might be out there for a steep price. Even the repeal of the AWB will not allow direct import of Galil/R5/Valmet to resume.

What's a 5.11's & why do I need a pair of 5.11's for either IDPA or USPSA?? I checked the site you posted & all that appeared was a place selling police supply stuff. I stopped looking at the first page. 1) I thought USPSA specifically discouraged "tactical" wear in the rule book. They did not limit the rule to just camo gear. Cop gear should also be off limits for our game. Is this not a game? Did we not do away w/ the LEO scoring category anyway? (sorry Phil!) 2) I though IDPA was supposed to be about CCW practice while wearing "street wear". If you are an LEO who is issued 5.11's, that's great, but how many LEOs finish their shift & change out of their duty pants INTO ANOTHER PAIR OF DUTY PANTS?!?! Please. This has turned into a game of cop wannabe dress-up. Might as well go shoot Cowboy Action if we are all going to play dress up. Seems to me the thing to wear in IDPA is a pair of GAP jeans (Levi is anti-gun) & an untucked polo type shirt. Don't most of us carry that way? I do. C. (I do not own or wear a vest).

Shred wrote: "Yeah, whatever happened to that French guy? Eric something. He did OK with a P9/Witness/CZ style thing I think.. " OK maybe its time for a new thread (perhaps in the HATE section) but why is it that only STI/SV (and the custom gunsmiths who build S_I) seem to be able to supply complete, working open guns? I mean: That French guy wins w/ a Tanfoglio open gun. So, will EAA sell me an exact copy of Eric's gun? No? Just the Gold Team? Will EAA support it w/ warranty & repair? From what L9x25 said, apparently not. OK EAA, just sell me all the parts featured on Eric's website to make my Gold Team into the same gun Eric uses & point me in the direction of a local Glod Team smith. No gain? Its near impossible to buy even a magwell or ambi safety for one, let alone have the selection of parts we have for S_I. Then we see Todd's performance w/ the open Para; ask any Para Ord dealer to order you an Open Para. No? OK - order me one from the Para Ord custom shop; I'm willing to pay up to the $3,000 that I would have payed for a working S_I. Still no? OK, just sell me the Factory race parts. No again??!? Fine, I'll call Springfield Armory & buy the TGO open gun. Not for sale? OK, sell me the Springfield factory race parts to build it. No again? How about a highcap limited gun then, & make it in .40. What's that you say? All you have is a highcap .45s & single stack guns? Not even Springfield mag tubes or mag wells or base pads for sale?? What gives?? Caspian factory open gun? No? Any complete Caspian? No again. I realize that the Open market is small & that fact translates into small demand; on top of which STI/SV has dominated the US market now. However, if the AWB expires as it should, I can't think of an excuse why these companies would not jump into the open market w/ both feet- especially since they invest so much time, $$$ & effort sending the very best shooters to win titles using only their products. This all makes me really really appreciate how much support STI/SV gives to our sport; they even support the average Joe C class shooter w/ the STI contingency program - now THAT is what I consider support! My SV/STI is above all my favorite gun; thanks S_I!

1991? Sig Lady, to borrow a line from Willy Clinton's new book, "I feel your pain"; I graduated from American U. in 1991 & part-time, seasonal work (right along side college students) was the best I could do with my liberal arts degree that year; man, was I thrilled when it turned into a $19/k year full-time position in 1992! Hello big money! (I thought). It took until 1997 & 3 years of hell to land a decent paying job - though that is nothing compared to your search. I agree w/ you 100%: "Truly, the marketplace atmosphere and industries are based on totally different ideas than 50 years ago. Or even 30 years ago" Hang in there Sig Lady & Mark! Good people usually land on their feet & you two deserve something great.

Thanks Travis! The voice of experience - that is what I was seeking; you wrote: "NOT appreciably cleaner than Clays in 45acp major loads. But , that would be a hard act to follow." Agreed! When I started out, it was w/ .45 Major & Clays is THE powder for .45 Major IMHO (though I hear great things about V V N310 in .45). If e3 is no cleaner than Clays, I cannot see a point in using it for .45. Harmon wrote: "Titegroup is no better than bullseye, not any cleaner, not any more useful" I agree that TG is not terribly clean in low pressure .45 but have you tried it in higher pressure loadings like .40 or 9mm? I find TG clearly better. Also, check your SDs for TG v. Bullseye; I think that TG will yeild supperior consistency than Bullseye. Your results may vary. How about e3 in other calibers? .40? 9mm? Always on the search for something better . . . D.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/products/e3.php The above link is Aliant's website where they have a chart claiming their brand new E3 powder is cleaner than Clays when used in a 12 gauge. Could this powder have potential as a USPSA/IPSC or IDPA reloading powder? Here is an excerpt from Aliant's advertising promotion: "Alliant Powder's new e3 represents the next generation of reloading powder technology, and offers the clay target shooter what he/she needs to maintain the winning edge. This 12 ga powder possesses a perfect balance of the qualities desired by competitive shooters. e3 features reduced charge weights, is the cleanest burning 12 ga. shotshell powder available, and has environmental stability and ultra premium quality to provide more consistent and reproducible performance all-year round. It is destined to become the shot shell powder by which all others are judged, and like all of Alliant's flake powders, it is proudly made in the USA. Named after its core qualities of energy, efficiency and excellence, this exciting new powder offers 12-gauge target shooters a high-performance product that stands apart from the rest." I checked their site's data list & there is no data listed for handgun use - as of yet. I am not generally a fan of ALliant products; I prefer V V and Hodgdon, but this new powder looks interesting & its made here. Anyone?

The top 5% at my law school scoffed at my volunteer job with DOJ. They would initially show some interest in DOJ but the second I revealed I was not working for the USA's office, they turned up their noses. They could barely keep in a sneer when I told them I worked on immigration cases ("Isn't that public interest law??!?" It was so much more than that). They bragged about $10 and $15 an hour positions as summer law student associates with big firms & having their own offices. When it came time to interview with the DOJ Honors Program, few of them were interviewed. None were hired. They were incensed that DOJ hired me (at a GS-11/ $34K per year to start). That was 7 years ago. My work as a volunteer payed off. While its preferable to work for compensation, if you can not find the job you want, don't go retail; rather, volunteer at the office where you want to eventually earn a salary. You may need to take on more debt in the interim.