djthemac

Most of the open shooters in my area are using bear creek bullets, when I moved to open I jumped on the band wagon. 147 grain BCB with 6.5 HS6 makes for a soft shooting load that doesnt break the bank. You will get some leading with the comp, however I shot a bit of one shot lube in the comp before the shooting starts to prevent build up. My friend told me that he cleans about every 5000 rounds. Also unlike with FMJ/JHP your barrel bore will last forever.

just run a 9mm I got my STI 40 Eagle converted to 9mm major by a local gunsmith and it has been perfect for me. All you need is a new barrel, comp, scope and mount and your in a new division.

thanks for the hookup! got 5k SPP and 4lbs of WST

I also have these marks on some of my rounds... I load to 1.180-1.185 and have put around 15K rounds through this gun with no issues (I do use a LFC die and a U die so I am not worried about set back) I was/am a little weary about the concept of loading long. I have heard rumors that not all STI eagle/edge chambers were cut long, and I can definitely see the bullet contacting something in the rifling even at 1.180 during chmaber checks. I am nervous about going longer then that.

Currently still in stock 1850 PST, however, with the hazmat and 2000 limit, is not worth the cost IMO. O how I loathe thee senor obummer and senora feinstein

I just use this as my primary hobby/obsession and put all my extra coins towards getting better!! Also I only shoot around 250ish rounds at matches, the rest of it is used in practice. I am not sure how into practical shooting you are planning on getting, but there are some great GM's around who have written books on how to practice effectively on varying amounts of ammo. I am currently using the Mike Seeklander book which I highly recommend if you are interested.

I allocate 350.00 a month for all shooting expenses broken down as follows 140.00 = 2000 Bear Creek .40 180 TC bullets 80.00 = 2000 Small Pistol Primers (F U obummer) 30.00 = WST powder (10,000 grains roughly) 20.00 = brass I lose a bunch at matches 20.00 = fuel to get to matches 40.00 = 2 X local club match entry fees 20.00 = random stuff? For you, there are a bunch of variables mostly pertaining to bullet type 9mm 30.00 = 500 bear creek 147 grain 9mm bullets 10.00 = 2000 grains of W-231 20.00 = 500 small pistol primers 0.00 = I assume you will be reusing brass 223 50.00 = 500 XM193 55grain FMJ 33.00 = 500 powder charges (I use ramshot tac @ 25.5 grains requiring 1.78lbs per 500) 20.00 = 500 small rifle primers 0.00 = I assume you will be reusing brass

I noticed you didn't touch any mags but the front one until the very end, I don't have enough experience to tell you that's good, bad or indifferent; just something I noticed. I run through all the mags on my belt, just to make sure the 'hunt for mag' mode comes automatic without any delay. Funny you should say that. In matches for some reason my go to mag is the 2nd (middle) one. I need to move my bels around during practice and see where things make sense. OR I could just train myself to grab and go the way they are. I'll run through the entire belt over and over until I can do a perfect run.I used to do that as well, when I first got my limited set up and was allowed more freedom to place mag pouches. I also primarily practice reloads from the mag that is 12:00 on my belly as this seems to be the shortest distance mag change. I have not found any stages at a local match over 35 rounds so it made sense to me at that time to practice drawing from the one [and possibly] only mag pouch necessary. However, after botching and dropping a few mags, I have made the commitment to practice reloads from all the mag pouches that I have. Also something to consider, most experienced shooters align their index finger along the front "spine" of the magazine almost touching the bullet tip with their off hand to steer the mag into the magwell. From the video it looks like you are primarily grabbing from the basepad of the magazine. Have you experimented with this at all? The steep cant of the mag angle in your pouches may be prohibiting the front index finger grip

what are your draw and reload times individually?

It all comes down to who wants it more. You said you dry fired for an hour... thats great. Do that 5 times a week, and split it into 2 sessions so you can remain extremely focused while you do it. I am currently using the Mike Seeklander program and do draws M/W (sides/surrender/barricade etc) and reloads (all varieties) T/TH, Friday is specialized skills. Getting comfortable behind the gun will be paramount to improving. If you have not purchased it already, get a hold of steve anderson's book "refinement and repetition" http://www.amazon.com/Refinement-Repetition-Dry-fire-Dramatic-Improvement/dp/1930847769 while were on the subject, start listening to SA's podcast, besides the awesome information/advice/and guru abilities, Mr. Anderson is absolutely hilarious. http://andersonshooting.libsyn.com/ One of my favorite podcasts was when SA covered the topic of "focus." He observed a recent match and saw shooters who had a ton of different "focii?" some people were concerned about their times, some people were concerned about their overall ranking, some were concerned about beating a specific competitor... all this stuff is worthless, in the grand scheme of things. You need to focus on yourself, and improving your fundamentals. When you shoot for any other reason, your body will start to add stress (imperceptibly to the conscious mind) causing your to pull shots, outrun your positions, and once you start blowing stages... watch out for the trainwreck that follows.

I started with a 650. Strictly speaking from a hypothetical standpoint, having an extra station for a check die as well as auto-indexing are great safety features to have. Speaking from a practical standpoint I have loaded somewhere in the vicinity of 25,000 rounds over the past year (between 45/9/40 and 223) and my bacon was saved on no less then 2 separate occasions by the powder check die. Too close for comfort? you bet. Definitely glad with my choice.

I got an STI Nov 2012, and I am planning to move to open Jan 2013. I love limited, but the call of the dark side is proving to be too strong!

Sorry to necro this thread, I was just working on some dry fire stationary reloads, and i was wondering if it is recommended to reload "high" (pull the gun straight towards your face at eye level on the same plane as if you were sighting the gun on the target and reload or lower face level) or "low" pull the gun down slightly, (upper chest) and meet the magazine halfway to cut down the on the travel time?

Id say get an aftermarket lone wolf barrel - you dont have to worry about glocked brass - you can shoot lead (way cheaper) - option to thread if you want to get a supressor - ... profit?

Sweet!! I'm quitting my day job