chevyoneton

I'm still running the stock mag pouches just because I have not found anything I like better in my price range. But I really should do something different. I am running an XDm 5.25 with down-loaded .40 for USPSA Production and Outlaw 3-Gun. I ran a XDm 3.8 for several months before I upgraded to the 5.25. I like the longer sight radius but can't honestly say the "better" sights help me a whole lot. I did put the Pwder River Ultimate trigger in because the factory trigger was terrible. I have 4 XDm .40s (3.8C, 3.8, 4.5 & the 5.25) and the 5.25 had the worst trigger of the bunch. The PR trigger is light-years ahead of the previous trigger. That said, the factory trigger in all three of my other guns is not all that bad so maybe I just got a bad one in the 5.25. I used a Safariland ALS (thumb-break) with the 3.8 and was pretty fast as it was nautal for me to manipulate for me. I use a Bladetech DOH with the 5.25 and like it a lot. I have seen guys run the stock holster in matches and they do well with it. I say shoot the thing for a few months and see how you feel before spending money (I know that is hard to do).

Thanks for the replies, but I was a first timer at the same match as Razz and still am unsure on the answer to one of his questions. Rifle AND Pistol, 1 hit in A or two anywhere to neutralize?

Shot my first 3-gun match this past weekend and as I had no other option (besides pockets) went with an old shotgun bandoler that has been sitting around here for decades. While not completely FUBAR, it was far from ideal. It would have been better had I tied the end down to my belt but as it was it flopped and flipped and the old, weak elastic let rounds sink down to the rim. I ended up poking them back with my finger tip first to get ahold of them to load. For the next shotgun stage another competitor took pity on me and loaned me an arm band holder. It worked fine and I think I will probably incorporate one into my shotgun loading strategy. Note that I load with weak hand and will do so one at a time. I have small, fat, clumsy hands and just want to keep it simple by loading one at a time. My plan is a tiered approach depending on how many rounds a stage calls for. Some on the belt, some more in a side-saddle, even more in a arm band, and finally a couple in the "oh shucks" two shell holder on the forend. Back to my first stage with the bando, I think I could have loaded as fast from my pocket..........

That is a GREAT idea and makes entirely too much sense, if you have 6 (or 10, or however many stages) mags. I don't number my mags (yet) but usually take at least 6 (Production) to a match even though I usually only carry 5.

I am very happy with my XDm 3.8C .40 carried in a SuperTuck. I bought it soon after they became available and after shooting several thousand rounds through my “full-size” 3.8. I also have the 5.25 I shoot competition with (USPSA and soon, 3-Gun) and a “standard” 4.5 all in .40. I also have a 9mm conversion barrel (and 9mm magazines) for the 4.5 for cheaper range practice. All this to say, my carry/truck, bedside, and spare/range guns all have the same manual of arms as the one I get the most trigger time on, my competition gun. I suppose I could have just stuffed the 5.25 in my pants and carried it inside every night and saved myself a lot of money but then I would not have gotten to buy the other 3 guns! I do understand your fondness for the 1911 platform and recognize the fact you have a lot of experience with it. That said, I find the XDm to be the best choice for me as a one-platform choice for all my front line handguns. I suppose where I to want a smaller carry, the XDs would naturally fit right in. Humm, I may need to keep an eye out for one.

Tallahassee(Fl)holds a Steel shoot the 2nd Saturday.

I use a Bladetech DOH for my 5.25 in USPSA but previously ran an ALS when I started out running my 3.8. Do you really need the retention provided by the ALS in 3-Gun or is there some other reason you are using it? I ask becasue I am starting out in multi-gun later this month and would like to use my 5.25 in .40 or 4.5 in 9mm and have no other holster than the Bladetech currently.

Ha! A thread I feel informed enough to comment on. Like others above, I have multiple XDms that are similar (all .40 S&Ws) but fill different roles. My first was a .40 3.8 bought right after they came out. I shot it in several training classes including an Intro. To Competitive Shooting and subsequently used it in a dozen or so USPSA matches before upgrading to a .40 5.25. I choose the .40 5.25 for magazine compatibility and since I shoot in Production and reload anyway, I down-load the .40 and am happy with the gun and loads. I negotiated a pretty good two-fer deal and laid in a 3.8 Compact .40 at the same time as the 5.25, back during the mag promotion. I was so pleased with my full-size 3.8 (and my XDsc carry) that I felt the 3.8C was a natural. I was right, I have not shot the 3.8C much but it is not much bigger (longer) then the XDsc so I sold the XDsc. I was pretty happy with three compatible XDms, I had the 5.25 for competition, the 3.8 for home defense (nightstand), and the 3.8C in the truck and for carry. Wouldnt you know it, just about the time I ordered the 5.25 and 3.8C a screaming deal on a like new 4.5 .40 XDm would come along locally. Like $435 for the gun, box with all the gear, two extra mags (five total), an extra mag carrier (two total), and 240 rounds of factory ammo. Shortly, I came into six 9mm XDm mags inexpensively so I ordered up a 9mm conversion barrel for the 4.5 and it is my range, competition back-up/loaner, do-all gun. As for triggers, I pretty much agree with leaving them alone on the social work guns. The trigger on my 3.8 is pretty good as-is (after 6k rounds), the 3.8C is sweet for an out-of-the-box trigger, the 4.5 is very smooth, and the 5.25 was OK but the worst of the bunch. I shot the 5.25 for a few months before ordering the Powder River Ultimate kit. I went with the PR kit only because I liked the trigger over travel method on theirs best. It may be simplistic but it makes sense to me to put the over travel stop on the back of the trigger, like my other competition guns have. We (my gunsmith buddy and I) put it in this past weekend and I am very pleased with the results. We spent about as much time watching the You-Tube videos as we did putting it in. We found that when sanding the trigger stop two men make it an easier task. With the gun clamped upside down in the padded vice one guy pulled the sandpaper to and fro and the other held the trigger back. It took the removal of a lot more material than we initially figured so we did resort to a small file some but finished with the sandpaper. I have yet to fire it but it is definite improvement. I like it so much I am now trying to decide what to do to my 4.5. As it is my range gun and backup/loaner competition gun, I would like the trigger to be comparable to the 5.25s. The pull is not bad so I am considering just adding the trigger with trigger stop and being done but will probably go for the trigger kit sans sear to save a few bucks. My gunsmith bud is confident we can polish the factory sear and get by. All that to say, I agree with not messing (much, if any) with the trigger on your HD or carry gun, do not be shy to use the 3.8 until you save up enough to get a 5.25 for completion use, and I like the Powder River trigger. I was tempted to try a Springer on my 4.5 to compare the triggers but think I will just go with the less-than-ultimate Powder River to save some coin since we are already comfortable with it.

That was my thoughts, or else the RO is extremely observant!

Sorry to hear the Carbine match is postponed, but that just gives me another month to get a carbine ready. Also, the 10th is Saturday, the USPSA match will be Sunday the 11th, correct?

I had not thought about it but it does sound like a good idea if you are switching back and fourth a lot. I have not had to yet but have changed my .38 dies for .357 and .40 for 10mm. I don't envision running much 10mm again, and have pretty much settled on one .40 S&W bullet/load so won't worry about it for that head. I could see me setting up maybe two .38 heads and one .357 head though. A .38 head for 148 wadcutters in the S&W 52, a .38 head for 158 grain bullets in everything-else, and a .357 head. Nah, I am too cheap for that!

Yep, used to be all we had to do was sort the .40 (and the rare 10mm) out from the .45 but now we have to check for the small primer .45 and .45 GAP as well. I am seeing more and more of it (SP .45 ACP) in my range swept brass. I seperate it out and load it first when I swap the 550B from .40 (small primer) to .45 (before I change the primer feed from small to large), and last if I switch from large primer .45 to anything small primer so it is no big deal. Kind of handy to be able to stock and use more SP primers. If I had it to do over, and had to buy brass, I would buy SP .45.

I am considering a second 550B set up just for .40S&W as I am shooting a lot of it in USPSA these days. I am not considering a 650 because: I REALLY LIKE the 550B and have the routine of running it down pretty well and don't want to switch back and forth with another machine (unless it is a single stage for small batches and load development). I am already set up with a ton of 550 toolheads. I don't want or need a case feeder. Spare part because if, however unlikely, I had a problem I would always have ONE machine I could run with all my toolheads, as is. I know the last reason is weak but having machines that could run the same toolheads is a definite plus to me. As is not buying more toolheads since even though I say it would be a dedicated machine, I would want to switch it over to something else (small primer, like 9MM)at some point.

Had some trouble recently with CCI large pistol primers not wanting to go in the pickup tubes, have never had that problem with Winchester LP. Swithed back to Winchesters and the problem was solved. Have never had an issue with ANY primer that was in the press's tube not feeding that was not traced to the primer slide not travleing far enough back to pick one up. Like when a spent or live primer had fallen on top of the slide.

Neither, XDm 5.25. Sorry, I just had too.

PM sent with USPSA member info. Thanks!

I have been thinking a lot about DQs lately, because I took the RO Seminar this past weekend and the class, practice tests, and certification exam are full of opportunities to have to think about DQs. Anyway, something the Instructor, Jay Worden said has stuck with me. He said the first thing he asks someone who has been DQ’d, after the DQ formalities, is if they are a RO. His intent was to get them to stay and work but I think it goes deeper than that. The OP question was on the DQ’d competitor’s etiquette but what about the rest of us that are left? How do we treat the offending party? Is it, “get the h**l out of here you bum” or “dang, that’s too bad, we understand how it can happen”. We all approach the situation differently, and how long we have been competing or how well we are acquainted with the particular group might determine if we stay or haul a**. I don’t have a problem with anybody leaving for whatever reason (except in a huff of course), or staying and helping. Staying and helping does show a little class though. And that brings me back to Jay’s comment above, I would not give a DQ’d competitor the idea that he was not welcome to stay, unless we needed him to be gone because of the circumstances of the DQ. Stay or go, circumstances dictate.

Just got back from there this weekend. A buddy and I went over for the USPSA RO class. We stayed at the Wingate but there are several motels only a couple of miles from the range. Book early as ours was full and the clerk said that happened EVERY weekend. Our rate went up $5 a night just waiting a week to book. Pretty nice Gander Mountain Store and a couple of (tourist trap) "Outlet Malls" but we saw no deals. I will be heading back there at some point for an "Appleseed" and that was one of the reasons I wanted to check the Ancient City range out. Pretty nice ranges although I don’t think I got to see everything. There was a big Cowboy match on Saturday and a Girls with Guns calendar photo shoot on Sunday. The photo shoot was interesting and only slightly distracted me from the RO class. Oh, for pure strange I think the "Ripley Believe it or not" museum is over there. The kids might like that.

Makes sense to spread out the USPSA matches. I am a Tallahassee shooter who is really looking forward to another USPSA venue and some carbine and 2-gun as well. I want to do 3-gun someday but DEFINITELY some Carbine or Carbine/Pistol ASAP. Schedule it, they will come!

I shot USPSA with my XDm 3.8 in .40 S&W for several months before “upgrading” to a 5.25 also in .40 S&W. I had no issues with the 3.8 and really enjoyed the competition but once I got hooked I decided to go ahead and get “better” gear. I am still running the factory mag pouches although I have plans to upgrade them at some point. I say shoot (a lot) what you have now and maybe some deals will come along in the meantime. I snagged a lightly used CR Speed belt in my size at about the half price of a new one. I am thinking now about getting a 9mm 5.25 to shoot in Production and modifying my .40 5.25 for Limited. You can shoot this sport fairly inexpensively or you can dump tons of coin. I would recommend spending the money on reloading components. I am running 3-600 rounds a month average and I don’t practice much. I can barely find time to make it to matches!

Guess I'll pile on: Bladetech DOH, CR Speed Belt, two "XD Gear" mag pouches, starter mag in my front pocket with 11 rounds. Saving my pennies for a couple of the Bladetech double mag pouches, and a trigger job. Honestly though, my gear is not holding me back ; ).

I especially like this quote from your link: "the whole AP match is $20 ($10 second gun) which includes all targets, lunch, and a drink." Ours is $15 but for lunch and a drink I would spring the extra $5!

What made me want to come? I just like shooting and will use any excuse to do so. I had seen the Bianchi Cup on “Shooting USA” on the Outdoor’s channel so had a clue as to how the stages went. I am not a member of the local club (too far and too much $$$) but the $15 entry fee (same as USPSA) is cheap for a chance to shoot this kind of thing with the targets and all the equipment provided. Coming with my USPSA buddy (who is a member of the club) was just me getting over my anxiety of showing up at something new. Membership is not required to participate in the competitions but I felt strange showing up for something new anyway. I am going to go next month if at all possible even if I have to go alone. And I may have to as the fellow I went with this time has accepted a job out of state! It is at the Tallahassee Rifle and Pistol Club (TRPC) in Woodville (South of Tallahassee) Florida. Pretty good bunch of folks down there and I have enjoyed shooting USPSA with them this past year and look forward to shooting NRA Action, USPSA, and maybe a little Steel Challenge this year!

I don’t have any specific suggestions nor do I feel I am qualified to do so. I just shot my first NRA Action Pistol course this past Saturday and came in dead, waaaay back, last. No real surprise about my poor performance although I would not call the course difficult or hard. VERY challenging, which is GOOD, but also very fair. The mover, which I was most worried about, was actually my best stage! And dang if shooting it is about as much fun as you can have with a gun and your pants on (or off). This month there were a grand total of 11 shooters. The Match Director was beside himself with joy at the turn out. Seems they usually get 6, maybe 8 people at the MOST. Heck, we broke into TWO squads! To put it in perspective, there was a Cowboy match running at the same time a few bays over and they had 30-40 people shooting. A USPSA match here has 35-45 shooters every month. 6-10 people from here drive one, two hours or more to a couple of USPSA matches every month. My point is, as many people from here drive two hours to go to a USPSA match as come to the LOCAL NRA Action Pistol match! Every last person I saw at the NRA Action match shoots USPSA every month too. A few also shoot Steel Challenge although it is fairly new (3-4 months) here and has yet to stabilize as to a following. Although I scored very poorly at my first Action Pistol match, I HAD A BLAST! I easily enjoyed it as much as shooting USPSA and more so than Steel Challenge. I read a quote lately, maybe here on Enos, that a lot of guys would rather not know than go to matches and prove how poorly they shoot. On the Practical, Barricades, and Plates I shot at or a little worse than I thought I should. But on the Mover I shot FAR BETTER than I imagined having NEVER before shot at a moving target with pistol! I am going to back off my statement about not having any suggestions. One, get younger shooters involved. I don’t know how to do this but of course it is the best way to sustain anything. Out of the 11 shooters this month 7 of them were over 50 years old, some WAY over! Youngest was 30, compare that to a USPSA or Steel Challenge match. I did notice though that we had a younger average then the Cowboy shooters although they did had WAY more woman! Second, take or at least invite a friend. After only one match I already have three guys lined up to come with me sometime based on my glowing review of the festivities. It is really hard for people to go in cold to something they have never been to. A guy I knew from USPSA said he was going to Action Pistol this month so I offered HIM a ride so I would not have to show up alone! Once there dang if it was not the same core group of people that shoot USPSA and I was right at home! I’ll be back, and I’ll try and bring some with me next time.

I started shooting Production as I wanted to use my “main gun”, an XDm 3.8 .40, just to get more trigger time on it. I did not then, nor do I now mind the reloads required by a 10 round limit and voted accordingly. Since I have gotten hooked on the sport, and I already had scads of mags for the .40, I bought an XDm 5.25 in .40 and continue to shoot Production but now with down-loaded ammo. Rather than the mag capacity changing I think I would like to see major/minor in Production. I know I can always shoot Limited 10 but would probably just step up to Limited if that was what I was going to do. But, I don’t really see it as broke so best not mess with it. I would like a few more points for shooting the bigger caliber though…………………….