LGator

Not to hi-jack the thread, but when you shoot the Classifier are you allowed to shoot over the top of the barrel? The rule book says 50% of torso behind cover but the stage description says either side of the barrel. I consider the top of the barrel a side, (ya know the top side) so shooting over the top should be ok. Half my torso would be behind cover, so that should be ok too. ( I guess) Just trying to figure out the details on my quest to M. thanks, and good luck Rhino -Luther

Rhino, you're kidding right? For the Los alamitos? The match was setup for open sight autos, revolvers and snubbies. No open guns. Everyone, but myself, was using the barricade for support on both barricade strings of fire. Giving everyone else two procedurals really makes my score better.

Ok, got the gun back from my 'smith. He didn't cringe when I told him I run a trimmed 12.5# ISMI spring. He did tell me to keep an eye around the front of the frame rails for cracks, but didn't think that would be a problem. He is not a fan of buffs and from my experiences with them I agree. He did change my mainspring (or hammer spring) to a heavier one. I was running a 16# ISMI. He said he's found a light mainspring can cause erratic primer ignition or FTF's. I think he installed a 19# spring. I don't think his heavier mainspring changed the way the gun runs or the sights track so I'm going to keep it in (for now). -Luther

I tried to practice using a cadence and found it didn't work very well. I either shot too slow or tried to shoot too fast. Letting the front sight be my guide still works the best. The match was yesterday and I did alright. I never shot a D-1 tombstone target before and noticed I tended to aim higher on it than I should have. I figure that is a habit from shooting IDPA/IPSC targets that have a distinct body and "head." I also noticed on the 25 yard baricade drills everyone else used the baricade as a support. I never liked doing that as it hinders my nuetral grip at speed but with the given time constraints it might have been worth doing. Thanks for the advice. -Luther

Thanks for the information and advice. I've been practicing the stages and a cadence to maximize the amount of time allowed. I need to practice my long range game some more, but I'm really excited about shooting this match. Thanks again. -Luther

Hello everyone. Since everyone on this board wants to get more people interested in NRA action pistol I thought I'd give it a try this weekend at a local club. I was told they'd be shooting the Los Alamitos match and have been trying to get ready for it. I'm not sure I understand the scoring correctly. Are the given times for each string time limits (max times) or are they minimum times (ie par time). If they are par time I guess only your hits count as long as you don't go over time. Doesn't speed count into the score for this type of event? Should I not worry about praticing .75 draws and instead work on good hits at 25 yards? Do all strings start from a surrender start? Thanks for the info. Why doesn't the NRA put this type of info on their website... -Luther

Thanks for the advice. I thought it through and took the gun to my local 'smith to have him fit a Kart barrel and do some other work. He is a 1911 guy and didn't even scream when I told him that I had installed a 12.5lb recoil spring and planned to keep using it. -Luther

Yes. Pennsylvania state games include lots of shooting sports, but it isn't very well advertised and most of the participants come from the host clubs. They offer the typical .22 bullseye rifle matches, trap and NRA action pistol. I'm hoping to make it to this years action pistol event. PA state games -Luther

I was flipping through the Brownells book the other night and the Wilson drop in barrels caught my eye. Anyone have any experiences with them? Do they drop into a Kimber 1911 without much trouble? Can you get 2" or better groups at 25 yards with them? What barrel link is suggested since they don't come with one? Thanks in advance. -Luther

Dumb question, but is that an offical rule? Initially I figured that GAP would fall into ESP (since everything else is) but after reading more about it I'm not sure. The new Winchester loads launch a 230 bullet at ACP velocities. Except for being 1/8" shorter than the ole ACP there doesn't seem to be any difference. Well you could also argue that 10mm is more of a cartridge than .45 acp and that isn't in CDP. I don't know where GAP will end up, but I'm sure there will be much complaining and nashing of teeth about it. -Luther

The magazines I have that are setup to lock the slide back, do so very well. You may want to check the slide travel to make sure that it is the same with and without the spring in place. If the slide travels less with the spring in place, then it may be binding. I have been running the same Cominolli guide rod and ISMI spring in 3 different guns. It seems to be the only thing that I want to keep. That is a great point. Fortunatly the instructions with the ISMI springs tell you that this may need to be done and how to check spring fit. I needed to cut 1.5 coils off to get full slide travel. The slide will lock back, but releasing slide to go forward is very difficult with a buff installed. Someone posted a while back that Kimber didn't make their slide latch cuts to JMB specs. It was mentioned that even a thin buff may prevent the slide from being able to be slingshot. I've come to realize this is true. Thanks for the input. -Luther

Ok, I'll look into that again. I had a Cominolli buff in and destroyed it after 1000 rounds. I guess if you use one you need to change one as often as they suggest (haha, imagine that ). I had made a few .0625 buffs out of nylon/rubber but even they made it tough to drop the slide after an IDPA slide lock reload. Plus, ISMI suggested not running a buff and just running their springs for dependablity. Does anyone make a buff around .050 inch thick? Could a bad muzzle crown be my culprit? Using the same ammo my 4" 1911 is shooting better groups then my fullsize with bo-mars. Thanks again. -Luther

Sorry, forgot to mention this is a .45acp gun. I am not running a shok buff as they don't allow me to slingshot the slide on an IDPA slidelock reload. I did have one in for awhile, but the dust cover really cuts the buff apart and clogs the gun. I guess this spring combo is light but I know of lots of guys on this forum runnning even lighter setups. I have tried shooting different loads off of sandbags and am having a rough time keeping them within a 12" group at 15 yards. I assumed it was the "indian, not the arrow" but I'll need to have someone else shoot it to confirm. Thanks. -Luther

Hello. After reading everyone's advice here on the forums I started playing with lighter spring weights a few months ago. After some experimenting I am now runnning a 12.5lb ISMI recoil spring and a 17lb ISMI mainspring in my Kimber 1911 with 170 PF loads. I was discussing this with a fellow shooter after a match and he advised to use a heavier recoil spring to prevent frame damage. He joked that running a light spring is fine in a racegun if you don't mind buying a new one every few years. Is there any truth to this? I understand that a lighter spring might pound the frame more, but enough to do serious damage to a quality forged steel frame? On a semi-related note this gun doesn't seem to be as accurate as was before messing with springs. I had initially thought it was operator error, but I could have sworn it used to shoot tighter groups. Could this be a result of recoil pounding the frame more? Thanks for the advice. -Luther

Well, since it is IDPA it must be tactical in nature. How about Thunderwear? The most tactical underwear made. Inline with the VS shooting team there was a picture on AR15.com of someone's girlfriend wearing a Glock in Thunderwear and nothing else. It was slightly edited but still interesting. -Luther

IIRC, the instructor at our CSO course specifically told the class that cleats were not permitted as they were competition only equipment. He said "if you wouldn't wear it out to Dennys or Walmart" it probably wasn't legal for IDPA. On an ironic side note, he was from Ohio before they had CCW and technically he couldn't have carried his IDPA legal gun and holster out to Dennys or Walmart either. As for shoes, I wear what I wear nearly everyday...Nike ACG boots. The ruggedness of a boot with the comfort of a sneaker. Gives good traction and ankle support without hindering speed. -Luther

Vincent, 501 Levis seem to be about .1 faster on a RWR than anything else I have tried. I bought 10 different pants and 10 cover garments (the only thing I really noticed about the shirts was they need to be tight to the body...) anyway I found that just plain old levi 501s are .1 faster on the RWR, however I also found that they move the loops around some and that changes the postion of the holster and mag pouches some. The movement of the equiptment sometimes negates the advantage of the .1 RWR improvement.... SO Now I am not sure what to wear! What to do... what to do THink its legal to remove and resew the loops? Larry P BTW man I Take my watch off to shoot. I shoot Commando because the chafing really helps me into those WEIRD shooting positions. And my socks are of the "wicking" kind "athletes foot" ya know! Interesting. For the same reason I like Lee Dungarees, especially the painters type with the extra pockets. They are loose enough for unhindered movement and sturdy enough to withstand slidding into a kneeling or prone position. I've found that dumping my partial mag during a RWR is very easy with the style of front pocket found on these jeans. I've also found that a thick clip knife helps to keep the pocket open to accept mags and singlestack tubes just fall in. No one will accuse you of gamming if you have a big honking "tactical clip knife" either. -Luther

I used to be one of those guys. I told myself my score sucked because I shot the match "tactically correct." I believed it until I saw someone shoot the same match more "tactically correct" than I did and 90 seconds faster. I've been working on shooting better ever since. I guess I am part of the minority. "Losers will always look for a way to lose. Winners will always look for a way to win." Cheers -Luther

The consensus seems to be that covers aren't needed for the classifier and most standards stages. As long as everyone seems to be doing the same thing I don't see a problem. I had the impression that half the clubs were requiring covers and half weren't. That doesn't seem to be the case. Next time I classify I think I'll do it without a cover. Mark, I agree with you that it should be up to the shooter as to wether or not they want to wear a cover. In some ways I think IDPA should mandate use of covers, but I'd rather not have any new rules added either. Thanks to everyone for their input. Cheers -Luther

Mark Perez, I've been reading and re-reading those passages from the LGB. I agree that it doesn't say anything about wearing a cover. Then again it doesn't say anything about not wearing a cover and the interpertation is where I see a discrepency between clubs. smoney, Nearly all the guys at my club(s) carry either midsize Glocks or cut down 1911's and none of them are police or security. Maybe that is a Pennsylvania thing since we have easy CCW laws. Ok, so if this is all just a game why wear covers at all? If there is any shred of realism in IDPA (which I think there is) shouldn't we be wearing covers during standards and the classifier as well?

Polite Society doesn't hold matches, they call them events. They consist of lecture, training and some shooting drills. It is a slightly watered down copy of the National Tactical Invitational. There is minimal emphasis on equipment rules. Basically it is shoot what you carry. It is intended for people who carry guns daily and are looking for expanding their wealth of knowledge. I've yet to attend an "event" but I highly doubt anyone there is a wacko. Then again, isn't wacko what the media calls all gun owners anyway? Did you ever read what the Violence Policy Center thinks of IPSC? I have RO'd at a 360 degree hot range for the past four years now. I wouldn't do it if I thought I'd be killed. Then again the RO must be much more alert and reponsive than typical. If it isn't your cup of tea thats ok, but don't assume too much. -Luther

I know I read that somewhere, but I can't find it in the LGB. Where is this stated? Thanks. -Luther

Hello. After reading posts on numerous shooting sites I've gotten the impression that most IDPA clubs do not require shooters to use a cover garment. There are lots of pictures in the tac journal showing stages being shot without covers being worn. I remember reading someplace that the classifer does not require a cover garment to be worn, but many clubs insist that shooters wear one. I can see this resulting in skewed classifier scores. I've always shot the classifer from concealment but know I could do it faster without. What is the norm at the clubs you shoot at? Just wondered. -Luther

Erik W mentioned in another post about IDPA's tac journal so I assume you guys read this on occasion. In the latest edition there is an article by David Monier Williams from www.quickshoot.com outright bashing IDPA and IPSC. As I read it I thought it was satire or a late April Fool's joke. He calls both freestyle isosceles and weaver stances both crap and useless for anything but shooting games. He says, and I quote, "to engage multiple targets using the above stances you must turret ie torque your body, taking it further out of skeletal alignment. This leads....to becoming even more off balance." He further states 'In order to get in touch with reality you need to adopt a stance that is ergonomically and dynamically in balance at all times." ( I should get into a physics lesson here, but will refrain) He ended the article by goading the editors since they probably wouldn't print his article. The editors of TJ tried to one-up him it seems by printing his letter. What really irks me isn't that he wrote a letter that shamelessly promotes his own technique and school. It doesn't irk me that the pictures of his technique on his website very closely resembles straight arm weaver stance (or chapman stance), which is nothing new or revolutionary. What pisses me off is that TJ printed his steaming pile of crap! Many other trainers (like Matt Burkett) have to pay to run advertising that promotes their techniques or products, so why should this guy get a free two page ad? I know IDPA doesn't want to look biased or seem partial, but what is the point of publishing an article that the entire sport shooting family will read that does nothing but bash sport shooting? As an aside, I accept that there are many shooting styles. I doubt I've tried them all so he might be on to something new and fantastic, but he doesn't have the phrase "six time IPSC world champion" behind his name either. Sorry for the longwinded rant, maybe I should have put this in the hate section. -Luther

That's some nice shooting Rich. Congrats. What type of reload did you do? I think 1.5seconds is impressive for a slide lock reload from concleament and really smoking if you did a RWR or tac load from concleament. Kudos, -Luther