DanWalker

Yep, I did this during my first Area level match. Our squad was running behind and in the rush I put a mag with 4 rounds on my belt and found out on the next stage as the last round in that mag took down the popper that activated a disappearing Maxtrap. At least there weren't penalties on top of the two mikes.

I think this would be a bad idea from a training perspective. I'm still learning to call my shots so if you train to listen for your shot instead of calling it you are robbing yourself of learning a very precious skill in this game. I double plug when I shoot steel just so I can't hear my shots. Just think of how your mind will react in a match when you shoot paper and never get a "ping" after each shot.

Amen. I shot a lot of steel before I shot my first USPSA match. I quickly found out that I had developed a nasty "Alpha/Charlie" habit due to poor trigger control. Both shots would be vertically centered but the second shot would pull left. Shooting steel exclusively didn't reveal this pattern for me. I do mix steel in with practice to remind me that a 6" plate at 20 yards requires me to confirm the sight picture if I want to hit it on the first shot. I also practice steel gimmicks like plate racks, stars and rotating plate racks to develop the proper cadence.

Well, obviously the are not blowing up the guys gun that is shooting them routinely. Why is it a risk at all? As far as the pennies, yeah every penny is important to me. I watch my pennies and that way I don't have to worry about my dollars. I shoot Production in 9mm. My gun has a factory spec firing chamber which means that it is capable of withstanding a certain industry standard chamber pressure when the cartridge is fired. Factory loaded 9mm just barely make MINOR power factor of 125. Some open guns are chambered in 9mm as well but they have been designed to withstand considerably higher chamber pressures so that cartridges can be loaded hot enough to make MAJOR power factor of 165. That means that a 9mm major round is 33% hotter than a minor round. The SAMMI spec for a standard 9mm (minor) round states that it should produce roughly 36,000 PSI of chamber pressure in a firing chamber that is rated at 40,000 PSI. Sooooooo, if you load a 9mm major round in a factory spec gun you are going to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 45,000+ PSI in the firing chamber. Do you begin to see the problem this can cause? Blown up firing chamber equals shrapnel in very close proximity to many body parts you hold near and dear. Just so you know, 9mm+P loads are only 10% hotter than standard loads and produce an average 39,700 PSI chamber pressure.

I case gauge every round I reload. It gives me a chance to inspect primer seat depth and double check for split cases. Besides, I'm loading range brass and I get 15-25 per 1000 that don't pass so I use them in practice and discard the brass.