LGator

The only thing I lost was my UM holster. I bought it as it was a cheap, fast and easily available holster. On me it didn't conceal very well at all so I can't personally complain about this. I was about to by a comp-tac holster and mag carriers for my new ESP gun, glad I waited on that. I can understand why many people are upset though. -LG

That depends on how we set the targets. Usually it is a target rich hose fest but sometimes they are few and far between so competators never fully know what to expect. I'm sure we could set it so there is no more than 10 yards between targets but the 15 yards total movement is the killer. Vincent; If they aren't allowing more than 15 yards total movement in a stage then they need to come up with a new classifier. Stage 2 requires 10yards forward movement and the same going back for a total of 20 yards. I guess they have some bugs to squash yet. Maybe we shouldn't be worried about any of this yet. -LG

Do scenarios set up inside the full-size shoothouse require people to run more than 15 yards between shooting positions? Duane Well, from the front of the house to the back is about 30 yards. Targets are placed in various locations that require shooters to move in and out of the numerous rooms in the house. We usually run it as a par time stage so as long as you keep moving you can do the house under time. I think the no shoot through target placement is a big deal also. I forgot to mention it earlier. I always thought that needing to be aware of possible shoot-throughs was a "real life" aspect of IDPA. I hate to say it but I think these new changes will result in more clubs doing their own thing outside of the IDPA guidelines, which isn't bad until you go to a state or national match. -LG

Ok since everyone is beating the revolver and holster stuff to death I thought I'd start another mess. Read Appendix 5 of the new rules and tell me what you think of the new additions. My comments are in [boxes] Mainly these two; 1.The distance that a shooter must travel in any scenario is clearly an issue. Any movement of the shooter between firing points must not exceed ten (10) yards. Few self-defense scenarios require the shooter to run or cover a very long distance. We do not wish to see IDPA matches turn into track and field events. By allowing courses of fire to exceed fifteen (15) yards of total movement, foot speed, not shooting ability, begins to be rewarded. The Vickers Count scoring system is very good when applied to shooting, but it becomes distorted when time is excessive for long distances of travel or the need to negotiate obstacles requiring more time than the actual shooting. [ I guess our fullsize shoothouse is no longer considered tactical] 2. Slide Lock reloads are the recommended type of reload in IDPA. Statistics show that this happens in the real world, regardless of intention or training. Tactical reloads and reloads with retention are intended for use during lulls in the action and should not be required on the clock. [ So we are only doing speed reloads now? So should everyone only load 6 rds now and shoot to slide lock? I don't see how you can design a course for this when we have 5 divisions (plus BUG) that all have different ammunition capacities. Input appreciated, 'cause I don't think I'm reading this correctly.]

Good points made by all. I don't have the slide yet so I'm not sure how much, if any material I will need to remove. I planned on ordering a new STI slide from Brownells this week and just wondered if there was anything else I might need. I guess I should get the slide first to determine if this is something I want to tackle myself. Thanks again. -LG

Another post discussed fitting a 1911 slide to a frame by using JB lapping compound, beating the slide on with a mallet and then working it until smooth. This might be a dumb question, but how do you hold an S_I frame in a vise to do this? Do you remove the lower plastic section and just put the metal part in a padded vise? Would it be better to get a mag well filler and put the whole thing in a vise. Thanks in advance. -LG

Shortly after I read Brian's book and began to digest the mental advantages of Zen I was trying to explain to my Dad the concepts of focus, awareness, etc and he didn't understand it. The mental aspects of shooting that I found so interesting I couldn't explain. A few days later I was watching one of my favorite shows, The Simpsons and a classic episode about mini-golf made the points better than I ever did. The show's transcript is listed at the link below. Dead Putting Society Some selected parts: Lisa: I want you to shut off the logical part of your mind. Bart: Okay. Lisa: Embrace nothingness. Bart: You got it. Lisa: Become like an uncarved stone. Bart: Done. Lisa: Bart, you're just pretending to know what I'm talking about! Bart: True. Lisa: Well, it's very frustrating! Bart: I'll bet. Lisa and Bart sit atop a mountain. Lisa: What is the sound of one hand clapping? Bart: Piece of cake. [claps with one hand] Lisa: No, Bart, it's a 3000-year-old riddle with no anwer. It's supposed to clear your mind of conscious thought. Bart: No answer? Lisa, listen up! [claps with one hand] Lisa: If a tree falls in the woods and no one's around, does it make a sound? Bart: Absolutely! [makes the sound of a tree falling] Lisa: But Bart, how can sound exist if there's no one there to hear it. Bart: Wooooooo... Lisa: [hands Bart his putter] It is time. I remember the first dozen times watching this episode it meant little to me. Understanding Zen and its implications in sporting events really opens this episode up. Enjoy. -LG

Thanks, it was a good read. -LG

If you are using Wilson mags the factory .25" plastic bases work fine. They stick out below the magwell so insertion is easy. For a few dollars more I'd go with the metal .25" bases as they are stronger and the little extra weight helps the mag drop free of the gun. -Luther

Mike, I didn't see your post about your mugging incident. I'd like to read it if you remember where you posted it. Since you were able to type it up I'm assuming everything worked out realitively for you. You know what they say, "train hard so it is easy in real life." If you think filming in a 360 live fire shoot house is high pucker factor we'll let you be an RO next year Stay safe. -LG

Mr. Bane, I've been told you have next year's NTI on your list to cover. I think you could make a few episodes out of that alone. That and a few area IPSC and IDPA matches and your work is done for the season. BTW, all the NTI team enjoyed your coverage of this year's event. Hope to see you next year. -LG, random ATSA village thug

That was one kickazz episode of mail call. It was cool to see most of Team Glock, but a few seconds of TGO would have been nice to round it all out. I know one has become grossly apparent to me and that is that I am glad that I am not the cameraman for the History Channel when they are doing gun shows. Hell, not just the camera guy but everyone seems to be muzzle swept excessively. Duck and cover I guess. -LG

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I used to think I was super tactical with my badass training. Then I started shooting competively. I initially discounted my horrible scores since I was "doing everything tactically correct." Then I saw a fellow IDPA shooter clean a stage (zero points down) and beat everyone in the match by a good 30 seconds while doing everything tactically correct. At that point I realized equipement didn't mean squat. Skill won the match. It wasnt' until then that I could go from novice to marksmen. Marksmen to master. I love IDPA the way it is, for the most part. I guess Colby needs to shoot at every local match to teach people this. (not that everyone would learn it) You get out of it what you want. Excuses do not make a winner in sport shooting or in life. "losers go home and talk about how they tried. Winners go home and nail the prom queen."-SC, The Rock -LG

This is exactly why I don't talk to hot babes that I see at my range. I might say something incredibly stupid and prevent them from ever wanting to visit a range again. Even more reason is that they usually have a moron boyfriend with them that is trying to impress him with how manly he is while not informing her how stupidly unsafe he is acting. -LG

I was at a stage game commision range the other week practicing for an upcoming action pistol match. When I pulled into the range I saw the parking lot was jam packed. I was about to leave but I realized that everyone was in the clubhouse for a hunter safety course. (hunter safety can be an oxymoron in itself, depending on how the course is taught, but i digress) There are other people shooting .22s so I know the range is open. I go to the fartherest pit away from the clubhouse, which is over 400 yards away and I figure no one will bother me. It is getting closer to dusk and I just want to make sure the gun runs and groups at 25 yards. After a short amount of practice I notice "elmer fudd" is watching me. I make eye contact and he assumes this is an invite for conversation. It turns out he brought someone to the hunter safety course but he got bored and wanted to see what I was doing. Of course he doesn't have eyes or ears with him. I wanted to keep practicing but he wouldn't stop talking or leave. I started picking brass and he starts helping. At my home club or at a match I would have appreciated it, but not here, not now. He was picking up everything!!! I told him I was only shooting the .45 brass with a black line across the back. He continued to dump wolf and blazer cases of various calibers into my bag. I was super pissed and went home to sort out the mess. This wasnt the first experience at this range. Before I was practicing classic El Presidente's only to have half the game commision officers park their trucks and watch me for half an hour. I guess they figured I was either totally nuts or not a threat since they didn't get out to talk to me. I find having a timer and pasting targets makes you look much more professional. Hell, actually having targets sets you far and above most others who come to the range and shoot whatever junk is laying around or just bump fire into the backstop. Anywho, over the few years I've been shooting I've learned to always have a loaded spare mag on me and be able to top off the gun whenever neccessary. Oh, that and to frequently look behind you to see who is watching you or messing with your stuff, or handling a loaded gun or being a range stooge. Be safe out there, life is a hot 360 range. -LG

I remember reading over a year ago that the board was working on new holster rules. We have yet to see them and I'm not holding my breath. I'd rather not address internet rumors, but I can't see them making a rule that applies differently to everyone. If they want people to use real carry holsters and real carry guns they should get rid of all the equipment rules and just state that you have to be able to conceal it from the clubhouse to the range. This would get even more interesting for open carry states, but you get my point. Maybe then my friend could compete with his hybrid comped 10mm S_I carry gun. -LG

I had done some initial comparing of brass prices and thought they were closer than that. Starline sells new 10mm brass for $3 more that .40 per 1000. I hadn't thought about once fired .40. I can understand that it would be a lot cheaper since there is alot more of that being used than 10mm. This is why I asked here first. -LG

I'm looking into building a new S_I pistol for IDPA ESP, Limited and Limited 10. I was initially thinking about just doing what everyone else does and have it chambered in .40S&W. The more I think about it the more I like 10mm. From what most people say 10mm is easier to run and keep running in a double stack 1911. I already load .45 on my 550 and I think it would be easier to switch to 10mm as I only need to change the tool head and shell plate. With 40S&W I'd also need to switch to the small primer components. 10mm brass seems a bit more expensive but not dramatically. I figure on only loading 165sih PF and using it for everything. This would be a slight disadvantage in IDPA but would give me a reason to bitch that 10mm isn't in CDP. Ok, before I really start rambling...anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? TIA. -Luther

Sorry Sig Lady but add another INTJ to the collection. -LG

I have been using Vincent's breakdown as a roadmap to master for the past few weeks and have found it to be invaluable. I usually take longer on the transitions, but make up for it with faster draws and reloads. My personal best time in practice so far is 71.93seconds, 36 pts down for a total time of 89.93seconds. I just shot the classifier match two days ago in 72.37s, but blew some of headshots landing me 71 pts down for a total of 107.83. I know I can make M, just need to kill that tension that creeps in during the match. -LG BTW, TDean's time for stage one string six is f'ning incredible.

Vincent, thanks for the reply. I'm thinking of building just what you have in .40 w/ a bushing barrel for ESP, L10 and maybe Limited once this silly ban expires. -Luther Edited because I finially realized Vincent addressed my questions in an earlier post.

Thanks for the info Gabe and Mark. So, how did Rhino classify???

I love mine. I must say that seeing .03 second splits does do wonders to the ego. Actually I found that if I crank the sensitivety way up it would catch the sound of the hammer dropping during dryfire. It is nice to see your dryfire draw times, you just need to remember to turn it back down before you livefire with it. Now I just wish I knew how to quiet it down so it wasn't so loud during indoor dryfire. -Luther

Darn. Well, back to doing it the hard way. Thanks, -Luther

Mmmmm, gun porn. How do you like those low profile mags? They look a bit hard on the hands. Can you still grab the base of the mag and rip it from the gun during a type-III jam or when doing a TL or RWR? -Luther