Carlos

Detlef: you got it right. Serial numbered part = firearm. Parts added to it are meaningless to the definition of "firearm" (with certain NFA parts exceptions not relevant here). Fon non-serial numbered firearms its the receiver (yes there are such things in the US & yes they are legal to own but lets not go there either). As ATFE has said on their website: "Handguns are not mailable." I.e.m they must be shipped, not mailed (unless FFL to FFL). Shipped?? How? By common carrier. Who's that? United Parcel Service, FedEx & others excluding the United States Postal Service. USPS = mailed UPS/FedEx = shipped by common carrier Rob wrote: "You need to check the common carrier statutes. " Actually, no. That does not respond to the scenario I described which was: "non-FFL holding person who receives the gun & they are now considered the owner in MD - not you." (see my post above). The common carrier does not "receive" the handgun shipped to MD. Rather, the person to whom it is addressed "receives" it from the carrier when its dropped off & is then considered the transferee. Put another way, it does not matter how long the common carrier actually has the handgun in their possession; it is not transferred to them. Ship it to a friend or family member & they are now in possession of the gun & in violation of MD law. Have it dropped off & waiting for you at your hotel & who is resposible for it - FedEx? Of course not. Its possessed by the hotel who is neither an employee or agent of the common carrier & thus not covered by the statutes you mentioned. Nor is the hotel authorized under State law to be the transferee of a handgun shipped from out of state. I am not aware of any "unopened package rule" in MD so merely putting your name on the package would not appear to allow you to circumvent MD law. When in MD, you are subject to MD law as to the transfer of handguns from out of state. Again, sorry there is little good news in this discussion when it comes to mailing handguns around the country. This would appear to be a suitable topic for an NRA online guide though it would have to be updated with every change in State law to be useful.

A prize what? Don't see those much in Area 8. Can't say I miss them either. Water & money into the props would be fine by me.

Hi Kath! You wrote: "Where are all these stupid rules coming from?" I will not comment on mailing of hanguns through common carriers. However, one source of trouble & confusion is: State law. Here is the problem: several states ban new handgun possession/acquisition: example: California, Maryland & New York. EXCEPTION: permit holders (in New York) or persons the state pre approves & allows to posses a handgun -possibly after a waiting period (Maryland & CA - probably several others incl. Michigan I believe). How does that affect mailing a gun to yourself at a match hotel or just sending it to a bud/family member to hold it for you? Its still your gun once you eventually get to the destination state, right? No, not in Maryland anyway. Maryland looks only at the "transfer". A gun is transferred to the non-FFL holding person who receives the gun & they are now considered the owner in MD - not you. For example, I no longer live in MD but if I did live there and I wanted to lend my pistol to my MD resident dad for less than 24 hours, that's ok, no law broken. Lend it for more than 24 hours and it becomes a "transfer". A transfer requires asking the state for permission to transfer through a long form processed through an FFL and a 2 week waiting period (that often takes longer) and a few other rules such as case fingerprinting for new guns, internal gunlocks for new guns, the gun being on MD's "Handgun Board approved list", etc. If all goes well, the form is stamped "NOT DISAPPROVED" (no, I am not kidding) and my dad can leave the FFL with the "loaned gun". To give it back to me, the gun has to go through the same process & sit at the FFL holder's shop. That's right - in MD you can't lend guns anymore, give them as gifts, or send them to a friend to hold at your destination. Whoever receives the gun in such states must first ask permission of the state to receive the gun. Then you have to ask permission again to get "your" gun back, since once its trasferred, its no longer yours. While lending a gun to a frined may be legal in your state, the laws of your state do not travel with you to Maryland. When in MD, you must obey MD law. Kinda makes you think twice about shooting a big match in MD unless you drive in w/ your gun in your possession. This is what is called the "gun show loophole". If the Dems manage to "close the loophole" then you will have to ask an FFL for permission everytime a gun leaves your possession for more than 24 hours. Does it seem like an important issue now? I think it is an important issue. Anyway, beyond the confusing maze of federal law on top of the even more confusing maze of "policy", there is State law to consider when mailing a gun through either USPS or a common carrier. Sorry if things are more confusing now. Be careful out there. Regards, D.

The Russians did not invent .45 ACP cases made of steel; WE did. They were military issue & are rather rare these days. I have a couple of vintage USA made steel .45 ACP cases & a vintage reloading manual that talks about them. Though old, the manual dispels the old wives tale about steel cases that "they'l break your extractor!!" Pure bunk! USA made steel cases are just fine for shooting & reloading & I can't see a reason that .45 ACP cases made of soft, mild steel in Russia would be any different, save the coating. Now if the goo that used to come on Wolf brand steel cases is causing these cases to stick, then that is another matter altogether. Wolf has changed that recently. As I have said here before, both the US made & Russian .45 ACP cases are reloadable and I have reloaded them several times. My extractor is still in one piece.

Well, until Sept., mags are a big & expensive problem for those wishing to shoot (competitively) at the very top levels in Open and Limited Division. Enter Limited 10 & Production: no mag excuses makes a number of guns viable. As for L10, a friend who shot on our team in South Africa at the last world shoot reports that the CZ single action guns had superb triggers. I have shot a CZ Standard IPSC - a purpose built .40 cal single action - that was very very accurate. The Italian firm Tanfoglio makes a gun imported into the USA as the EAA Silver Team which could be used in Limited 10. Any decent shooters use the Tanfoglio limited gun? How about the World Champion Eric Graufel(sp) - does that count? These 2 guns are viable contenders. Don't count out the Glock. Its a very different gun than the CZ but I believe a .40 Glock placed in the top 10 in L10 at ehe nationals - without the need for "hi-caps". While I would not choose to shoot one, some top shooters have done well with the Sig & Beretta guns. Production brings up even more choices for suitable guns; I have personaly used CZ75 & 85 Combat guns, Jericho 941/IMI baby Eagle, Glock 17 & 19, as well as the often overlooked Steyr M9 in production.

One of the top revolver shooters inthe US (as in finished in top 5 at Nationals) just switched to the Berry's 185 grn Round Nose Hollow Base; this is a TMJ bullet like Speer's TMJ or Gold dot (bullet jacket bonded to the bullet one molecule at a time!). The hollow base is HUGE (think of the hollow base in a traditional 12 gauge slug). He is using Clays powder. Economical & effective. He shoots a 625. I have not tried this but for you tinkering revolver shooters, how about this: use .45 GAP brass w/ the Berry's 185 hollow base & fast powder. Even at the shorter GAP OAL, the hollow base would effectively give you back the case capacity lost to the shorter GAP case; the brass is thicker & unlike an unsupported barrel like the 1911 or partially supported like a Glock, the 625 is fully supported. Not for the beginner or faint of heart but I bet it will work.

Maybe there is a way to stop this (at least this particular guy). Fair enough not to post his name here just yet; particularly without a photo for evidence, but why not copy & send him the contents of this thread? Everyone that has posted seems to agree he is being a total jerk. Perhaps letting him know that USPSA is not the "good ol' boys club" he thinks it is will make him think twice about acting like such a moronic twit. There are few things that would drive me fight a man. Physically assaulting my girlfriend is just such a thing.

Ask Forum member Mike McAleer; his 650 priming system blew with Federal large pistol primers within his first 5000 rounds (650 was brand new). I saw the damage to his basement ceiling. Why would I care? Because I set up his press & taught him how to use a 650; needless to say I felt responsible; as if it were my fault. Dillon replaced priming system for free though their 1st question was: "Using Federal Primers?" Yup. I only use Winchester or Remington (though I have some Federals tucked away somewhere). 3quartertime wrote: "I've smashed some WSP primers pretty bad on my 650 and never had a boom" Me too. Smashed the crap outta dozens of WLP WSP & WSR primers & never had one go off. Anyone recall the Frontsight article on Primers that stated something to the effect that 3 companies use the same chemical priming compound. They are: Winchester, Remington, CCI. One company uses a DIFFERENT chemical compound (basic??): Federal. Coincidence? I dunno.

"5.3 grns of N320 vs. 4.4 grns of N310" Both meet major. Sure, V V is not cheap but w/ N310 you are saving money already! Thanks to all of those sharing load data on this load. C.

We have run 2 dark stages since our USPSA club was affiliated (less than 1 year ago). www.shootersparadise.com Because we supply the shooter with a Surefire light to illuminate the targets on the dark stage, muzzle flash is generally a non-issue since the gun is usually illuminated as well. Lead bullet smoke however, is a terrible problem indoors even with the lights on.

Price no object? That's easy: Class III Destructive Device USAS-12 shotgun. About $1800 plus $200 tax (& 4 to 6 mo. wait); in place of speedloaders it takes 10 & 25 round magazines. A bit on the heavy side but dead reliable. I think Wakal shoots one of these in USPSA. You did say money was no object. Seem a bit steep price wise? How much are pre-ban bennelis or fully tuned open Briley's??Were I in your shoes, I'd just get a Rem competition master & have JP put on their clamshell break & a set of fiber optic open sights; set it up for speedloaders & go race.

Results for Phil's match are up: www.shootersparadise.com EXCUSE TIME: Phil's sear gave it up during the match & me? I will not even tell you my USPSA # or real name I am so embarrased (sheesh, 3 divisions & I still can't figure it out!! I'm taking up golf!).

Bear1142 wrote: " Allright, let me start the revolt. I am using N310 & 200gr. bullets in my SV 40. I have been using it for about 2-3 years." Man, Eric, I was all set to write "you gotta be outta your freakin gourd to try 310/180s to major" & you come along w/ "been there, done that with 200s!!!" (for 2-3 yrs no less!). I am blown away. No need to convince me that N310 is FANTASTIC powder; I use it under 147s/9x19/minor & got an SD of 6 w/ mixed cases, 5.4 w/ same headstamp. Accurate loads too. I also understand that one of the 1911 manufacturers (Wilson??) uses it for his .45/200grnSWC test target load included w/ each gun. The Bullseye competition crowd seems to love this stuff too. But I would have thought it too fast for major .40 until I saw your post. Guess I thought wrong! Erik: "Although N310 is a slightly faster powder compared to Clays, it has a more consistent pressure curve." Starting to make sense; all the VV powders are single base with VERY consistent curves - it is no accident that most of the Open shooters (who really push the envelope) insist on V V; its not the cheapest or the most widely available but it does not blow up guns with pressure spikes either. N320 was safe in .40 at OLD major; I guese NEW major allows long loaded .40 with N310. Erik: are you using a U-die (or small base die for you rifle reloaders) for .40? A bullet setback with N310/200MAJOR would probably be a real nightmare.

Heeeey, I resemble those remarks! Its not funny. You think its funny?!? I don't think its funny. No, its not funny at all. No, not funny!

Thanks for the link Skywalker! Nice gun! I wish EAA would import the entire Tanfoglio line (including their 1911). As it is, EAA mostly offers the low end "witness" and who knows how you get them to sell you a Gold or Silver team. RogerT: I love my 85 Combat but I have seen very few problems with the Tanfoglios - particularly the old high end guns like the Tanfoglio that Springfield imported & re-named the "P9". Nice guns.

Great point. A certain GM in our area shoots with an aluminum mag well that was anodized black when it was new. The outside is still partly black but the chute? It's surface looks as if it were gnawed by mice! Not a spec of black is left on the interior from daily mag change drills. Obsesive drills. Any area of the mag well that can be hit during a reload has been hit, many many times. You might tell your friend that such a piece of equipment will make him faster. Only catch is, he must create it himself.

If I recall my old Edge in .45, I ran a tungsten guide rod with a straight 14 lb Wolff spring; my load was either a 185 or 200 grn West Coast TMJ over enough straight Clays to make about 168 PF. You might consider the heavy STI RecoilMaster instead.

Agreed; under IPSC Production rules (not uspsa) the non-adjustable CZ-75B sights must be retained & you cannot use the adjustable LPA sights that are standard on the CZ-85 Combat. POSSIBLE EXCEPTION: I am not aware of CZ ever having offered the LPA adjustable sight as a FACTORY option on a 75B but it is possible that this has happened (everyone remember Sevigny using Heinie sights at the IPSC World Shoot? It was news to me that they were/are a Glock factory option but he had a letter from Glock as proof). Perhaps one of the CZ gurus here can answer (Angus? Iron9???). Looks like you will have to suffer with the CZ-75B's "Series 80" firing pin safety until you can sell the 75 & get permission to buy the 85 Combat in Sweden (how many USPSA 1911 shooters would tolerate a Series 80 safety? Not many). Sounds like Swedish handgun laws suck!

I have a "dual duty" 1911 in .40 and 9x23. You could get a Springfield .45 on sale, sell the barrel & slide, & you will need the following parts in .40: .40 RAMPED barrel new link new link pin bushing (though I suggest a bull barrel) .40 slide .40/9mm/38 firing pin .40 extractor .40/9mm/38 ejector You will need to fit these parts to your frame. You may need to pay a gunsmith for this unless you have experience. If the frame is not cut for a ramp, I strongly suggest you have it cut & use a ramped barrel; I personally believe that unsupported/ non supported designs like the 1911 should NEVER be sold in .40 without a ramped/supported barrel. JMHO. Then you will need som Para pre-ban mags w/ basepads det up for 140mm (for Limited anyway). You might also ask if Enterpres (Enterprise??) Arms still makes their "Boxer" model; I recal this was a Para clone that came in .40. i thought it was $1100 to $1300 though not sure if its still made. Regards, D.

Loves2shoot wrote: "I don't see as it should pose any safety problems." Exactly. We all agree, rules are rules & have to be obeyed - 100% no exceptions. Only there is no rule against leaving a gun in the safe area. There are also areas not clearly governened by rules. In such cases, let common sense safety dictate. A good example: at my 1st big match (out of state sectional) I got to a stage, went under the stage tent & put my bag on the ground next to the stage picnic table (tabletop was full w/ other shooters bags). Nearby, out in the sun (maybe 6 to 9 feet) was a rifle rack w/ a sign on top "safe area" backed by a berm. No sooner had I sat down to load a mag when a shooter came up & said "You know you could get DQ'd right now for touching ammo in a safe area! Its unsafe & you better stop that!" I thought about that for a second, and said "Thank you for pointing out that rule to me. I happen to know that rule. Would you mind pointing out the safety area boundry?" He blinked at me and said "What?!?" I replied, "I am not inside the safe area, but if I were, then you would be right - loading magazines would present a safety problem." He said something along the lines of "a**hole" & wandered off (probably to complain to the MD). Had he only used a little common safety sense, I think the whole thing could have been avoided but I got the feeling he was one of those guys just looking to throw his weight around & tried quoting rules to do it. I try to ask myself first: is there really a safety problem here?

I wrote: "As for short (1.150") .40 w/ 200s & 320: I have been there, done that, & really, really did not like the excessive pressure signs that showed up even with small rifle primers. If you have it, take a look at the Speer reloading manual intro to reloading .40; not very encouraging as to 200s in general & 320 would seem to be asking for trouble without significant benefit. " You loading N320 at 1.150" or less? Either you misunderstood my post or you are getting very different results than me. Put another way: N320 exceeding major loaded SHORT (standard V V length is 1.126") is NOT a good idea. I know because I have tried it. If you decide to use N320 w/ 180s or 200s, DO load LONG. What is long? 1.20 or more. I shoot 180s & 200s at that length w/ N320. I have never had a problem. That's my choice but you will have to decide for yourself. IMHO, shorter lengths w/ N320 are a bad idea. What does VV say? The fastest powder listed for 200s (AND for 180s for that matter) is N340. See: 2/2002 Reloading Guide referencing: VihtaVouri Reloading Manual, 3rd Edition. Use something faster & you are on your own. I have merely claimed I disregard the manual, load with N320 & have never had a problem loading long. I did not claim any N320 load is safe. You decide.

Strader does use 200 grn bullets - the WestCoast TMJ rounded flat point - but he uses N330 loaded long for a custom STI Edge. As for short (1.150") .40 w/ 200s & 320: I have been there, done that, & really, really did not like the excessive pressure signs that showed up even with small rifle primers. If you have it, take a look at the Speer reloading manual intro to reloading .40; not very encouraging as to 200s in general & 320 would seem to be asking for trouble without significant benefit.

Sgt. Glock wrote "How many people carry one of Wilson's $1800 guns on a daily basis. I bet his (Bill Wilson's) guns will still be allowed for competition. I know alot of people that have money tied up in SVI's. Maybe the BOD is tired of seeing them win so much that they consider them gamey. Unless they follow me around every day to see what I carry, how is someone going to tell me what I carry on a daily basis. Maybe I do carry my Cross comp every day. If this comes to pass it is a crock of B.S. in my opinion." Come to think of it, if you look around on 1911forum.com then many so-called "experts" think the Brown custom 1911s are the "ultimate" carry guns; last I checked the price of admission on a Brown Kobra was over $2300. Suitable for IDPA? Of course. I don't think the money argument holds up. As to STI guns for carry/real world use? I have personaly seen the 2nd place finisher at the IDPA Nationals, Phil Strader, carry an STI wide-body bushing gun in his store, Shooters Paradise. I think when he is on duty, it has to be an issue Glock .40, but once he punches out from his police day job, he straps on an STI (one that costs a lot less than a Wilson or Brown). If this guy is not an expert, then who is?

Quite promising! I noticed that the "long" data for 7 T/CU is all for 14" barrels & while I can't say for certain, it would appear to easily exceed major in an 18 or 20" barrel. Even if 7x40 gives up a little case volume to the TCU, it may still comfortably exceed major w/ a couple of bullet weights. 7x40 cost? For brass, its 223 w/ one extra reloading step (necking up) some trimming and fire forming (plus die cost & bullet expense). There would also be the cost of the new upper. A benefit would be simple practice by switching to a similarly set up top end & using cheap .223 (though the recoil would obviously not be the same). Reloads & trigger would match though. Personally, I have WAY too many projects on the back burners to tackle this one. Erik? Kelly? Erik L.? Mig? Anyone??

I often see warnings about brass cleaning on the web or hear at matches: "you better clean that brass or you'll scratch your dies out!!!!" Well, I have always cleaned my pistol brass for a variety of reasons. However, considering the hardness of carbide, might the old "scratched die warning" have applied to the old all-steel dies? Are all-steel dies even made/sold anymore? Anyone have a problem with adding NuFinish car polish to cleaning media for faster polishing?