TNK

Is an all steel stage legal in IDPA?

Good thread. Great replies. I will say too rules are rules. There is no reason to lower the PF for Minor. A shooter needs to understand how ammo functions in his pistol. Also, a shooter must know the rules when he participates in matches above the club level. No one else is going to do it for him, especially at the club level (as mentioned above). Sloppy club matches do no one any favors. It is the shooter's responsibility to know the facts.

A shooter who started with practical or action pistol competitions in the 1960s (pre-IPSC) told me that the biggest misunderstanding about the old days is that the shooters were not “gamers” but some type of tough no-nonsense martial artists. He said nothing could be further from the truth. From the beginning people were looking to make it a more interesting game with variations on equipment or action to get a competitive edge. Time marches on and the variations on the game have multiplied. To echo a comment above, study stage design and offer a few ones yourself on how you think the game should be played. Such an effort is satisfying, but I can tell you from personal experience it will not please everyone, and someone will be calling your version of the game “ridiculous.” For instance, I have presented stages of my own design with plates or small poppers at 35 yards because I like that sort of thing. It forces the foot racers, at least most of them, to slow down to concentrate on accuracy for a moment. What griping I heard! Go figure. You can’t please everyone. I agree that the trend in stage play has drifted to field courses, foot racing, and more rounds down range. There is no rule though that says it must be this way. It is a fad. Alternate courses can be presented, but don’t be surprised when the complaints follow about what happened to the “good old days” of the carnival events.

As stated above, stage etiquette is more valuable than the classification of the shooters. To have everyone working together to make a match run smoothly from stage to stage is a great deed. To have more than one or two range officers on the squad is beautiful. Knowing how to have fun together without too many disputes or bickering is priceless.

Here is another fan of Jack White. Yes, the statement on how he likes to make things hard for himself itself rocks. I enjoyed too listening to Jimmy Page discuss his career. The scene when he is listening to Link Wray's "Rumble" on vinyl and playing a little air guitar along with it is precious. God bless Link Wray for inspiring so many great guitarists. As for The Edge, I will let that one go. Two out of three ain't bad.

Any decent package store would sell it. It is an American malt liquor. Malt liquor gets little respect because of the idea that it is marketed to poor people as a cheap way to get drunk fast. Yet, it is a strong lager that compares favorably with European versions of the same beer that are more expensive. Steel Reserve is 8.1% alcohol content. It is easy to drink, much like champagne, so it should be taken in moderation. I sip it from a wine glass after decanting it to release some of the carbonation. The 24 ounce can serves two people nicely. Drink more than that amount, and you will know it the next day with a headache that will not quit. I know it is fashionable to run down malt liquor, but I like a strong lager. As along as you understand a little goes a long way everything is good.

It is not just for rappers and home boys anymore. It is barley wine for the bon vivant. Party on.

It was asked why Clooney made the film. I would say it is a vanity project for him. He lives in Italy and wants to be thought of as a magnanimous dude, so he drops some American green around through his production company. Good for him. Really. The script is completely predictable. There is not a single turn that I did not see coming. The characters are trite. I thought prostitutes with a heart of gold perished with Shelley Long in _Nightshift_ (1982). The bit with the priest as a pious hypocrite is a needless subplot. As the Mini 14, really now, and the suppressor too: Funny stuff. I will give it a pass on the PPK because I like the pistol, although it is no fun to shoot.

How did the producers of this film get away with the sentence "Rock out with your Glock out" on the poster for the film? Is the use of word "Glock" in this context fair use, or is Glock finally selling out to Hollywood in the same way that Magnum Research with its Desert Eagle has done for years? If it is not fair use, I doubt Glock would let the advertisement go unchallenged. Glockoholics want to know. As for the film, poor Bruce Willis. He keeps paying his dues in crappy films years after he should be doing the roles Russell Crowe gets instead. I guess he will just have to content himself with the bundles of money and another beautiful (and much younger) woman on his arm. I fee your pain, buddy!

The film is well done, although a little too much is left to the viewer's inference to figure it out. In other words, it could be an anti-war film, but it depends on how a person reacts to issues of war and PTSD to know whether it is. Hollywood films, and this film is one despite being a documentary, tend to focus a little too much on combat vets as mentally unhinged. The film treads a familiar path in this regard. From a gun nut's POV, it provides some excellent footage of small arms in action under arduous conditions. Optics are on everything now, even the M60. Some of the soldiers kept blogs while at Outpost Restrepo. The blogs are still online. Reading them helps to flesh out many issues that the film raises but does not go into depth with. For instance, there is much more negativity among the Americans regarding the war than the film lets on. The film is worth a look. Keep in mind though the film is the Left eating itself because it cannot get past its pacifist fallacies.

Ridley Scott's Robin Hood strikes many simliar chords as his 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven. Both protagonists are largely modern men in medieval garb and settings. Both have participated in the Crusades, have ideas about individual rights and the fallacies of religion, and both tell Richard the Lionheart something the King does not want to hear particularly. Scott is clearly after something to say about our own Crusades and Holy Wars, if you can handle his truth. You may take it as you please. The film is well-made but a little long and complicated on 12th century politics in Europe. It has little to do with the Robin Hood stories we have known to date.

From a marketing or advertising perspective, there seems to be little return on a manufacturer sponsoring professional shooters. I make this inference from the dearth of such shooters now seen in the shooting sports. After all, the shooting sports are hardly media events of any kind despite good (and wasted) efforts to make them so. It is simply a business decision that makes sense when one considers the expenses and returns involved. Why bother? To make a few loyal buyers happy? That's not how the corporate world works. Sorry. As for the Beretta 92's waning popularity in the pistol games, well, it has become all about the 1911 or Glock. Now, the 1911 is traditional favorite, but the Glock appears to be rivaling it in aftermarket support and gamey alterations. I never thought I would see an Open Glock until I actually saw an Open Glock, and, gee, it runs with the 1911s too. I like my Beretta 92 very much. It is my personal challenge to shoot it in Production Division as is out of the box and see how far I can go with it. Yes, the Glock shooters will mock me. The 1911 shooters will ask if my slide has broken yet. But I am resolved to make a go of it because I think it is the best looking pistol on the block, and it has a smooth action that cannot rivaled by the jerky Browning-type tilt action. Shoot safe. Shoot often.

Although it is on the Production List, the Ruger P345 really has no place in USPSA. This situation is true for any DA/SA .45 Auto. There has been discussion on this forum about creating such a division for traditional double-action single-stack pistols in the major caliber, but doing so has not generated much interest. Now were a group of shooters who are dedicated to these pistols to get together and make their own game, more power to them. That effort though is were it would have go to see such models in competition.

Agree completely.

As I recall, Glock magazine followers in different calibers have generated reliability issues in the pistols. These problems have been addressed with improvements to the followers. I have never had any problems with 10 or 15 round magazines in the Glock 19, but my magazines are of recent vintage. I have shot thousands of rounds through my 9mm Glocks. They are great guns. As for the Glock 36, someone who has used one recently may chime in. I have not handled one in 10 years so cannot comment on what upgrades have been made to this model. I will add that I admire anyone who shoots a match with a Glock 26 usings its proper ten round mags. The smallest I have been able to use is the 19. Hats off to Glock 26 shooters.

Let me add that because of the ten round limit in SSP I use ten-round mags exclusively now with the Glock 19. I sold my fifteen rounders because I practice and compete with the neutered mags. I think ten, I shoot ten, I do reloads on ten, etc. It is somewhat difficult to buy ten rounders in a state where they are not legally mandated. When i ask for them, I get the stinkeye. Whatever. Notice mail order suppliers sell the ten rounders at the same price as the same normal capacity mags. What's the deal? Note too that the way Glock modified the G19 magazine to ten rounds resulted in a single-stack design, which I consider to be more reliable. Getting them open for cleaning though is an adventure. It took me about two years to figure it out. On the new ones too the spring is super stiff. It takes a few hundred rounds of using them to get them in shape for carry.

I use a Glock 19 in SSP (and Production Division). When I started shooting local matches, I quickly learned that I would never be competitive, even if I spent money on race equipment. Instead, I have chosen to stay focused on using what is on my permit. My results are always in the lower third of the standings. I do better on the stand and shoot stages in contrast to anything that requires movement. It is what it is. I am confident in what I can do with a Glock 19. I can thank my participation in local matches for this knowledge.

Our club in Reno, WNPL, attracts 40-50 shooters in the summer months and around 30 in the winter. We shoot six stages; the match fee is $20. These numbers have not varied much since I started shooting with the club five years ago. We have a core group of shooters who attend the matches regularly. There is also a fair number of other shooters who show up about five times a year. We see many new shooters, most of whom shoot Production Division. We are also beginning to see more Single Stack shooters. I would say that these divisions present the best possibilities for growth in the club. Whether the new shooters return is another question. I agree with the comments above about how to attract and retain shooters. Maintaining a welcoming environment for the U, D, C, and B class shooters is vital. These people are the ones who will keep the club going.

If a person wants a DA/SA pistol, it is a great choice. It will be left box stock though because there is not much in the aftermark for it. For someone looking for a carry/IDPA pistol, I recommend it.

The Para LDA Tac-Five is not legal for Production Division because of its enlarged magwell. A regular LDA would be fine though. As for the reliability issue with the LDA, the pistol has been improved since its introduction ten years ago. That said, the ones I have seen in matches have been tuned by their owners. With the right touch, the LDA trigger responds well to the work of a skilled smith. As for the question of proprietary parts, this situation exists with several pistols found in Production Division. For instance, the XD and M&P, two of the most popular pistols in Production, are still tied closely to their factories for parts and services. The only Production pistol that has broken out of this chrysalis is the Glock. If you are a DIY-type, consider the Glock. Re: CZ pistols. They are awesome pistols. The CZ-85 would be fine choice. Bank on considerable practice though manually lowering the hammer to the double-action mode. Good luck with your decision. Thank you joining us ranks of Production Division shooters.

I heard it said from time to time that the use of the optic in IPSC was a "testing ground" for its eventual acceptance by the U.S. Military. I have read this claim in Front Sight magazine, and I heard it again last week on Michael Bane's podcast when he was interviewing Dave Thomas. Both were saying it is true. Can someone please provide support or documentation for this claim? It is an interesting thesis, but I am skeptical of its validity because I doubt the U.S. Military needs any help or influence to select its equipment. If anyone can refer me to credible evidence that the claim is true, I would appreciate the effort. Thanks.

Please explain. What purpose does it serve in the game that is IPSC?

Re: "The root of the problem came from using the wrong lubrication." Unless you were using Crisco, I cannot accept this statement. Any grease designed for firearms should be appropriate on a decent service pistol. Sigarms has dropped the ball on quality control in recent years. This change is why your alloy frame 226 is done at 15,000 rounds. The rationalizations that one must now use the right lubrication on a Sig pistol are foolish. If a pistol cannot endure at least 50,000 rounds with the minimum maintainance as outlined in the owner's manual, it is defective. Now, I know the Sig cheerleaders will dispute this statement, but I do not care. I will not waste my time and money on any pistol that must use a particular brand of grease or oil to enjoy a long service life.

In Northern Nevada, we shoot matches year round although an unusually bad storm (as in early 2005) can make us cancel a match. Cold weather shooting just means we must dress the part. Good times.

I like it a lot. I drink it a lot. Light and refreshing, and I do not get wired with caffeine.