Husker95

Rick Hebert at RHF Firearms worked on my 1911 a couple years ago and did great work. Steve Pitt is also really good and has built guns for some of my friends.

I have family in Powell (close to Cody) that hunt and shoot A LOT. When I talk to them about the USPSA stuff that I do in Southern CO I sort of get a blank stare. They think its cool (sort of) but they have no visibility on the sport up there. My impression is that if its not about shooting an elk/deer/antelope/bear/lion or precision long range rifle they just don't get it. From seeing the list of ages of participants at your match it probably wasn't always that way - but it is now. We have a thriving USPSA/3-Gun/Steel Challenge/NSSF/etc., community in SoCo and participation at club matches and help setting up/tearing down is almost never an issue. We do have really good MDs and club leadership......but we also have a population base in the front range somewhere north of 2 million and a lot of prior/former military types who still love to shoot. I know the Cody area pretty well.......there just may not be the base of folks to drive steady participation.

I took Charlie's class with my son when we first started getting into the sport. Was probably the best investment I've made in USPSA thus far. Charlie really takes the time to give you the "Why" behind his teaching points. If you guys come to the Springs to take a class - you owe it to yourselves to hit d_striker's brewery in Manitou. I think they have one of the best IPAs in SoCo.

Wow. I'm the outlier. I'm 48 and I can remember being stopped maybe 5 times in my driving life. Two tickets. Texas LEOs sound pretty cool about it though.....

Charlie, does it only come in the 1.1 pound cans? That seems like sort of a PITA. Do you have to buy it by the pallet then?

I think there's something to the Hornady dies. I load on a 550 and have a Hornady die in station 1 and have very few problems loading for an Edge.

Your quote on mindfulness reminds of Brian's practice of trying to live an "error free day". If your paying intense attention to everything in your operating environment, you have less bandwidth available for babble.

Great advice so far. I would shoot maybe 3 or 4 matches before you buy any serious gear. Watch shooters in different divisions, ask a bunch of questions and see if you can check out some other folks guns and gear after the match and teardown. Find out what you like and what fits in your budget. Buying good gear is expensive enough; whats REALLY expensive is to buy the wrong stuff and then have to buy the correct gear a couple months later.

What 78Staff said. I sold my 44 mag a couple years ago and now only load 9/40/45 so theoretically it would make sense to go 45 SPP and only buy one size primer. But the sorting after match would suck. And so I agree.......45 SPP is the devil.

I haven't had a problem with them going bang, but they run like a&& through the primer tube on my 550. I don't think they're QC'd as well as the premium brands. Plus I don't get that nice playdough squish into the primer pocket like I do with Federals

For me its light tackle up here in CO and NE; casting for trout, pike, walleye, etc. And the ice - I love ice fishing. Come up in January and shoot one of Cha_Lee's excellent Saturday matches and my son and ill show you what the ice is like - probably not much of that in TX

Now that's smart. I'm going to steal that policy myself.

Get one of the cheap hammer-type pullers and make yourself do 20 a night. Your done in a couple weeks or so. No big deal.

Spending time with family. And fishing. I love shooting but I live to fish. When that drag starts to scream its a mental/emotional high that is tough to match...........

What Moto said. Good beer, bourbon, BBQ and fish fries are one of the ways we know god loves us. Life is short. But yes, enjoy all things in moderation, adjust for age and stay active.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. Life got in the way and I haven't been out here for awhile. JimmyN9 I will definitely drop a line to Peter Oliver.

When it starts to get cold, just trailer your bike behind the 4-runner and go to the local matches. Then your nice and warm........

I never understood why if the roller handle is that great, Dillon just doesn't make it standard issue and adjust the price slightly. I love my 550 (12 years now) and still have the ball handle.

Can anyone give me some ideas, hopefully with pictures, on how your club stores and organizes your props and stage gear? My club in Southern Colorado just moved all our stuff from a series of old CONEXs to a new steel building with dirt floor and I am lead for the effort to design the storage and organization schema. We have the standard gear that most have: PVC fault line, wooden target stands, 2x4 walls with fabric netting, a bunch of steel plates, activators, etc. We run a Saturday match throughout the year and typically have a good deal of setup help in the mornings. I want to get this right so it's quick and easy for folks to get to the stuff in the morning for setup and put away when the match is done. I am interested in what others have done to clean up and organize their space. Thanks! Husker (Matt)

Well said, Charlie.

This last weekend I wore one of the Huk full-face sun masks, long-sleeve fishing shirt and a ball cap while shooting/ROing one of our big matches here in So CO. It was wicked hot and we were setting-up/shooting/ROing for 4 straight days. I think it made a big difference - I didn't feel nearly as wrung-out and heat exhausted as I did last year shooting the same match. Keeping the sun off my arms and face seemed to be better than just wearing my wide-brimmed hat. Would probably help if I lost 10 pounds too.

Take your time in the setup and don't rush it. Remember you find examples of most things, Dillon reloading included, on Youtube.

You shot a great match. Interested to see your video - I still think you shot that target twice on the stage Nick and I were ROing!

When my son got into the sport I bought the Midway Shooters bag. About 50 bucks if I remember right and it works really well for us. We haul it around in a wagon and it carries all we need for him to shoot Lim and me to shoot SS. I keep his ammo in the bag and mine in a Dillon Border Shift. Works really well and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Rancher5, that's consistent with what I have heard as well.