Carmoney

I think that's exactly correct. Measuring the depth of the primer won't mean much--unless you're using all identical brass with exactly consistent primer pocket depth from one piece to the next. What really matters is consistently seating the primers against the bottom of the cup.

Most serious revolver people already have at least one 8-shot revolver that they use for ICORE, steel matches, or whatever. Chris, all you'd need to do is take the scope and comp off your 8-shot open ICORE gun and you'd be all set to go for 8-minor. There you go -- problem solved! Let's all admit this is not really about money. We all know that over the long-haul the gear is the least expensive part of the equation. If you can afford to be playing this game, $1500 ain't gonna break you.

Wow.....ICORE is a totally different game, with a totally different scoring system with no differential between major and minor! We really have no idea where 8-minor fits into USPSA Revo, except the flawed data from my Iowa 3DR match, some of Bubber's informal testing, and the special matches at Rio Salado this year. Everybody has an opinion on the subject, but mostly it's just been a bunch of talking so far. What better way to test the impact of the 8-minor option on Revolver Division than a charity match that is attended by revolver shooters at all skill levels? I think Sam should be commended on his willingness to use the MCC as a test-bed for the concept, and I see absolutely no down-side to it at all.

Chris, when I started the thread on allowing 8-minor in Revolver Division, you were one of the first to respond. You seemed pretty positive about the idea: I;m with 343.. I very seldom shoot a bottom feeder so it wouldn't effect how often i shoot revolver. i would think that allowing 8 shots should draw some of the die hard icore guys that don't own a 6 shooter. I'm not sure what has happened since then, but I would encourage you to keep an open mind on the subject. It's hard to imagine anybody would actually choose not to shoot Sam's MCC match simply because he is interested in collecting information on the 8-minor concept.

Bill, I went to that link and it appeared to be a post by somebody named Bubba on one of the IDPA forums. I'm unclear on whether that clarification is a request for a rule change, a decision by the "Tiger Team" that is not actually in the official rules yet, or what. The rulebook posted on the IDPA website is still the 2005 version. It's all pretty confusing, frankly. Can you clarify where a person could find a comprehensive set of the current official IDPA rules?

And they haven't: It's been deemed a "storage" device, and may be removed. That must be new. It wasn't all that long ago that IDPA declared the IL to be a safety device that had to be retained and functional.

Sounds like baloney to me. I own hard-chromed handguns in every category from revolver to open, and they have all performed excellently--in some cases, for more than 20 years and counting. APW does excellent work, and has a history of supporting our matches. They also are capable (and willing) to plate guns with aluminum alloy frames, so that can be a plus if you have a need for that. Mahovsky's Metalife is the best value for the dollar for hard-chrome plating work. One of the pickiest custom gunsmiths I know uses Metalife exclusively for his custom IPSC/USPSA and Bianchi pistols.

Just be sure to stay away from Bubber when he's in one of his dark moods. If his left eye starts twitching, just get as far away as possible.

HOWEVER, sometimes it's actually better to eat the standing reload if it allows you to move through the rest of the stage more quickly and surely! Sounds strange, but it's true. My advice: Shoot bigger matches, get squadded with Cliff Walsh and Matt Griffin, and pay close attention. They are two of the best stage strategizers in the game today. I have learned plenty from both of them.

Here are my recommendations for you: 1. When shooting, always make every shot count. Use full power match ammo. No plinking. 2. Strengthen your grip in both hands, and always hang onto the gun hard when shooting. Seriously--hang on hard. 3. Be able to call every shot. If you miss, you should know exactly where that bullet went based on the sight picture when the gun fired. 4. Be able to shoot a 2-inch group offhand at 15 yards on demand, and have your gun sighted in so that group is exactly where you are aiming. 5. Work out a reloading technique that is motion-efficient. Get the gun close to the belt while it's open. Look down and use your visual focus to watch the reload go into the cylinder every time. Do most of your reloading practice while moving. 6. Get comfortable shooting from weird angles and positions. 7. Don't be afraid to run hard. Shoot on the move only when you are sure you can get decent hits, and when it is actually saving you time. 8. Understand that most of your time savings will not be while you are actually shooting. Learn to come into and out of shooting positions quickly. 9. Play racquetball twice a week. 10. Smoke only good cigars. Life is too short for shitty cigars.

Yeah, I think that's true. It's usually not a drop-in proposition.

Mike, I know you are a good shooter, so how do you practice to cover the key fundamental shooting skills in ICORE and USPSA? What do you do in a good shooting session to cover these? Thanks. Practice?? I don't have time for practice. I do shoot a lot of local matches--so I guess that is my practice! I do make sure that my equipment always works perfectly, and is properly sighted in. That's about it.

That said, I don't dispute the fact that Far and Near is an excellent test of many key fundamental shooting skills. And I do think more shooters need to learn how to make difficult long shots under time pressure--which is the real challenge of the stage.

Well, movement and course strategy are HUGELY important skill areas for the action shooting disciplines, aren't they? Let me add a few other items to the list: Drawing from various positions. Shooting from odd positions. Shooting on the move (different than mere movement from place to place). Reloading on the move. Engaging targets at various distances on the same array. Transitioning to multiple targets placed at various spacing on the same array.

I do agree with this. You could say the same with Bianchi, too. But pin shooting is dead (RIP). And Steel Challenge and Bianchi, while not dead, have been on life support a couple times. One thing that would immensely improve Steel Challenge is to mix up the stages--there's no reason to do the same dang stages over and over. Boring. For Far and Near, you certainly have to know how to shoot precision shot at longer ranges to be successful. But you can definitely get grooved in on the par times--I would like to see those mixed up, to make the shooters adjust on the fly. I would prefer the distances vary, so the groovers don't know exactly how many clicks to adjust their sights while moving from one shooting line to the next.

And most of them can't shoot at a true GM level against real competition! Lots of grandbaggin' in Revo when the newer classifiers came out with really easy HHFs a few years ago.

And of course, this is what they look like before the ugly stuff gets chopped away.

Here are some "after" photos of genuine Carmonized hammers.

Yeah, I just wish practicing for a match meant doing all the things it takes to be a better shooter overall, rather than setting up the exact stage (down to the frickin' inch!) and then standing there and shooting it over and over and over...... As I always say when this topic comes up--the IRC would be a better test of shooting ability if the Far and Near Standards were tossed in favor of a Surprise Standards--where nobody knows the distances or the par times until they get to Morro Bay, and then no getting in the groove on the "practice range"! Make it nearer, make it farther, I don't care--just make it different from one IRC to the next, and don't announce it ahead of time!

Yes. The Colt Python is the classic example. Randy Lee had a conversation about this awhile back. He confirmed that the Apex hammer uses the same functional geometry as the stock hammer.

It's not that they can't be figured out.....it's that they can't always be figured out within the 5 minute walk-through while 18 confused shooters are all trying to occupy the same sweet spots. I'm pretty experienced, and fairly decent at breaking down stages....but I vividly remember a few couple stages over the years that I could not get figured out within the 5 minutes (one at Area 5 when it was in Kentucky, one at the Summer Blast in York, PA are two that come to mind). It's no fun to be the first shooter in the squad and have that panicked feeling!

This raises an interesting question--should you be forced to arrive early and walk the stages the day before in order to be competitive at the match? That can happen if the stages become overly complex or "memory-reliant."

I don't want to sound critical, but it sounds to me like you are cleaning your gun to death. Seriously, you are putting a great deal of additional wear on your gun with all that scraping and scrubbing. Good God.

Hmmmm.....wonder why you would need exact dimensions? Planning to "groove it in" a little?

Allocation is up to the discretion of the Section Coordinators. They do it a variety of different ways.