smokshwn

FYI for those of you thinking about purchasing glasses do check out the sight George D suggested. Bud Decot has been a supporter of the shooting sports for longer than most of us have been shooting. I grew up trapshooting where Decot is the standard for eyewear. They may not be as stylish as some but they sure out perform any eyewear I have tried. The lens color selection is even greater than what is on the website and the glasses are designed to be changed often. Not to mention there customer service is still the old fashioned kind. My Decot's are 15 years old and they have been serviced for free every time I have needed anything. Good luck Craig

Thanx Pat that is exactly my inclination. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't making a huge mistake. Thanx to you too Steve. Take care Craig BTW I'll still take any offered opinions.

It is time to take the newbie to school again. In doing some load development recently I began to realize that I had no clue as to how to utilize all the info my chrony was giving me. I think I have found the loads that feel good and are accurate at both 125 and 165pf but at what point do you guys start to worry about standard deviation and extreme spread numbers. My extreme spreads vary from 30-50 fps, is this high/low or good/bad etc. Thanx in advance for your help. Craig BTW here is the data for 3 loads if it helps. The bullet is a .40 180gr Berry's primer is WSP OAL is 1.125 and crimp is .420 #1 for 125 pf with 3.2 gr of Titegroup avg vel 756 hi vel 786 lo vel 743 Stnd Dev 12.7 Ext Spread 43.3fps #2 for 125 pf with 3.4gr of TG avg vel 789 hi vel 812 lo vel 761 Stnd Dev 13.9 Ext Spread 50 fps #3 for 165 pf with 4.6 gr of TG avg vel 964 hi vel 981 lo vel 952 Stnd Dev 11.6 Ext Spread 29.1fps

Based on many recomendations from this board I have swithched to Titegroup and am very pleased. I use it for .45 and .40 in both IDPA (125 and 165pf) and USPSA (165pf). I have found it to be able to do all the work I ask of it. It is clean and so far has shown amazing consistency. There is no reason why it shouldn't work equally as well with 9mm. The reason I bring it up is that it seems most everyone has found TG to perform as well or better in the place of VV320 at half the price. Good luck. Craig

You will be more than welcome if you show up and want to shoot. Take your gun mags ammo and holster with you. Try to show up early as their is usually new shooter orientation before the match and all clubs will want you to go thru it before shooting the match. Be honest about your experience level and most everyone will be more than willing to help you out with advice on gear to strategy. Most of all HAVE FUN! Welcome to the world of competitive shooting start padding your budget now. Craig

I just got done building some dummy rounds that rock! I took 12ga dummies from ST Action Pro and then filled them to match the weight and balance of actual rounds. The ST Action Pros are such that you can put three 180gr .40 bullets in them and seal the end with epoxy and the weight will be within 40-80gr of an actual 12 ga rd (depending upon the loading of the live rds). They are clear plastic hulls with an orange insert so they are easily ID'd as dummy rds. and with the addition of the bullets and epoxy behave exactly like live rounds while practicing loading drills. So far they have been more durable than other methods for me. Good luck!

I'll chime in here as well. I have had my oakleys for about four months now. They definitely have the comfort of good sneakers, with good support of the instep and ankle. However after four months it is obvious they are wearing at about the same rate as my all leather merrills. So at $225 keep dreaming they aren't even close to worth it. At the regular hiking boot pricepoint of $80-$100 I think they are a good value and more comfortable than most. BTW if you want Danner durability coupled with more comfort than the acadias try the GTX's. Great compromise for the durability of a danner and more all day everyday comfort.

Has anyone here had experience with tungsten carbide finishes on a gun? TC is used extensively in the aerospace industry, especially in high rpm parts of the compressor of jet engines. After researching a little there is no doubt of its durability. I have talked to a smith who claims to have had good luck with it, but as always it is nice to get opinions/experiences from those who aren't shuckin and jivin for my dineros. TIA Craig

Any opinions on briley barrels? good or bad? I am building a new gun and was given one by a fellow shooter free of charge if I could use it. It is a ramped bull barrel in .40 and I would need to have it turned down so a bushing could be fit for the new gun. I'm sure it is possible but is the cost of turning it worth it? TIA Craig

Keep the replies comin! Warp the SX2 is running just fine, thanx again. Craig

I am a newbie to the whole custom gun process and although I have read posts until my eyes bled, I still have many questions about the process. I was hoping you guys would be willing to share the collective knowledge you have earned to help my process go a little better. I have been shooting competitively for about 2 years and have decided to get a gun built that I can use for all disciplines. I hope this will let me focus less on the tool and more on me (where most of the work needs to be done). Above all else I would like to have a gun that runs like a sewing machine so that I can spend my time shooting and not tinkering. The following are still a few of my main questions. I do know I want a wide body cross competitor type of platform so that I can use it in IDPA ESP and USPSA limited and L10. This necessitates a short dustcover, bushing barrel, no radical slide cutting, etc. May good Karma come your way for helping me out. 1. Stainless Steel vs Carbon Steel (slide and frame) 2. Hardchrome vs. Tungsten Carbide vs. Gunkote vs. Blueing 3. SVI triglide trigger system vs. Koening vs. EGW vs. anything else 4. Fixed sights vs. adjustables (bomar, wilson, STI ) 5. Any advice on barrels, Nowlin, Scheumann, Bar-Sto, etc. 6. Which magwells actually fit in the IDPA box? 7. And ultimately who is your gunsmith of choice and why? I know this is long and I apologize for all the repeated info but I have done the searches and I just would like to hear specific answers from those who have "walked the path before me". Thanx Again Craig

awesome thanx everybody!

Come on guys. I know alot of you are using a S-I's for Idpa. Which magwell fits the box or do I need to modify an existing one? Some one here has got to have an answer. Thanx again

The owner and president of surecycle is Jeff Hajjar. He is great to work with and has always been prompt and patient with all of my questions. David Neth uses an SX2 that is tuned by Jeff with the surecycle and their mag tune kit. He swears by it and claims cleaning the gas system is cut way down over the stock gas unit. Surecycle website take care, Craig

I have an STI Eagle (2011 frame) with a bushing barrel and short dustcover that I want to shoot both limited and IDPA ESP with. Which magwell still fits in the IDPA box? or will I just have to get my smith to cut one down? thanx in advance Craig