WildWillie
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Posts posted by WildWillie
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For our first match this Sunday at AIM, I have chosen 5 good stages, and will be designing a 6th while I am out there tomorrow. All will be long courses of fire, we will not have a standards stage or classifier for our first match, I want a lot of lead flying down range! Round count will be 185rds. The area that we will be using for competitions is separate from the bays used for everyday shooting, meaning no tear down will be required from shooters after the match. If anyone wants to shoot certain stages again for fun/extra practice once the match is complete, they are welcome to. Before I leave at the end of the day I will pull down cardboard. I will see if I can get stage diagrams loaded onto this forum right now, if you don't see them plase email me. I can be contacted directly if anyone needs anymore information. dustin.rademacher@gmail.com or 912-704-6994.
- Dustin R.
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Gentlemen, some more information about this weekend's match...
I will have 6 stages set up, totaling apprx 175rds. I will be down at AIM this week (probably Wednesday), and will be finalizing/confirming stage designs. Stage designs will be emailed out before the weekend. On Saturday, myself and other AIM employees will set up all stages, no assistance requested. We ask for help taking down targets and props once the match is complete.
I have permission to allow any shooters interested to utilize the unknown distance range after the match. Starting at apprx 300yds, there are steel targets as far as you can see. If you are a 3 Gun competitor or long-rifle shooter, this will be a great opportunity to get some good data on your rifle prior to the season kicking off.
By typing Sherman Rd, Blakely, GA in your GPS, you will end up at AIM's front entrance. Signs will be posted to lead you to the pistol complex. Also, you can find a map/directions on AIM's website. I hope to see a lot of shooters on Sunday, we promise to make your day well worth your drive.
Thanks for supporting our match,
Dustin R.
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Registration 9:00-9:45. Shooters meeting 9:50, first shots at 10:00. I'll be pushing out tentative stages and round count early this week. If anyone has a general question for me, please post on here as others may have the same question.
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I've been shooting an M&P 40 Pro 5" for about a year in Limited. The softest AND most accurate load I've found is a 180gr Bayou Bullet with 4.6grs of Solo 1000.
I load to 1.135 and have had no problems at all, and the gun stays very clean. I have found that Solo can vary a little lot to lot, so start low and work up. This load consistantly makes 168-169 PF. I shot Standard at the IPSC National Match (requires 170 PF for major) and bumped it up to 4.7grs Solo just to be safe. I ended up cutting it a little close, and chrono'd at 171.5. With a standard length M&P, your load may require an extra .1 gr. Again, especially with Solo, start low and work up.
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I have the 1.25-4 VX-R "HOG". I really like the scope, and for $450 I feel like it's a lot of glass for the money. The illuminated dot is just as bright and crisp as my Aimpoint. I couldn't find specs for the reticle measurements, but once zeroed with the center cross, it's 5 MOA to the next line down (bottom of the circle), and 5 MOA to each line after. Not ideal, but it's workable. I zero at 100yds, don't think about the 2" drop at 200ys and in, and use the the bottom of the circle at 300yds, holding it slightly low on targets. Same thing for the next line down at 400yds, just hold it a little low on target. I wouldn't mind a slightly finer reticle, and could do without the "PigPlex" writing, but other than that I would recommend it. I have the 1-5 Mark 4 MR/T too, and it's a toss up of which one I like better. For half the price, and with the better illumination, the VX-R is hard to beat.
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It seems strange to me that the 40 Pro is still not on the production list. It seems even stranger that no one can explain why. Why can't S&W just comment on the reason behind the delay? A simple response like, "at this point we have only produced about 375, so have not met the required numbers" doesn't seem too much to ask of S&W. My theory is they don't really care about putting in the effort to get it approved, because it just requires some people to buy two M&Ps if they want to shoot Production and Limited using similiar guns. I have the 9 Pro and 40 Pro already, but it would've been nice to have just bought the 40 Pro and load some 40 minor for when I shoot production. Instead, I had to buy two guns, which I'm sure S&W doesn't mind! I put about 15,000rds through the 9 Pro this year, and it is starting to get pretty sloppy. I put a KKM barrel in it, so accuracy has remained pretty good, but parts are definitely extremely worn. My 40 Pro has far fewer rounds through it, it would be nice to start using that for Production,,,but I still can't. Julie Golob, you seem very involved with the sport, how about an answer? Surely there is someone you can talk to for some information, assuming you can find time for a phone call or two. Thanks for the help!
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Oops, found a scoresheet I missed and another I entered wrong. Updated results posted.
I know it doesn't really matter since the results are shown combined, but I was using a magnified optic. It should have been written down, but I'm listed as Irons. No big deal, just wanted to let you guys know.
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*Link to some clips from the match.
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A few of the guns I'll have there if someone needs to use something.
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Thanks for the replys. Since the accuracy hasn't diminished too much, I probably won't go through the extent of welding, filing, etc. Next season I will most likely get another M&P, and use my current one as a back-up anyway. If Apex comes out with those parts, and the price isn't too out of line, I may have to give them a try.
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In no means do I wish to bad-mouth S&W, I have had good success with both the M&P Pro 9 and M&P Pro 40, but there is definitely a quality control issue. I got a few military friends into USPSA, and recommended the M&P to them, so that's what they got. They both bought new M&P 9 Pros from the local gun shop, new. One gun had the front sight on backwards, yes,,, backwards! And no, no one in the store messed with it. The other friend had both his sights shift almost completely off the slide his first time to the range. I took a look at it, and you could literally push both sights left and right in the dovetail with a push of the thumb. Except for sloppy slide to frame fit, I have not had problems with my two pros after at least 10,000 rounds each, but I did buy a third M&P this summer for my wife, the Julie Golob edition, and it arrived with a broken trigger spring. Again, I do not wish to bad mouth S&W, the design of the M&P is great and ergonamically there is no better gun for me, but there are certainly QC issues somewhere in the chain. Honestly, how does a gun ship out with a backwards front sight, a broken trigger spring, or sights that you can push out of the slide with your thumb????? Because of how well the gun fits my hand, I am willing to work through these types of quality issues, and one last time, I do not mean to bash S&W, but apparently someone is not doing their job before these guns leave the factory.
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Hey guys, I had a question, not sure if any of you have experience messing with the fit on a M&P. I have a few M&Ps (2 Pros and a standard fullsize), with the 9 Pro I used throughout the year having about 12k-14k rds through it. Mid-season I put KKM barrels in both the Pro 9 and Pro 40, which really improved accuracy with certain loads. Some loads shot ok out of the factory barrels, but as I approached 10k rounds through the guns, most factory loads seemed to really be spreading out. One fix before the new barrels was to use MG's .356 130gr bullet in the 9mm. The bullets actually measured .355 to just under .356, and proved to be very accurate. On some factory loads, pulled bullets measured .354, and shot horribly out of the stock barrel. Anyway, the KKM shoots everything well.
Ok, back to my question...slide to frame fit. I know the guns are not tight to begin with, but my Pro 9 with the high round count is getting very, very loose. It still shoots well, but you can actually see where the frame rails are getting rounded and significantly worn down. Anyone have any suggestions to give this gun new life? I thought about ordering a new sear block and locking block, hoping the new parts closed the gaps up a little, but I imagine the slide rails probably are pretty worn too. Anyone know a smith that has a method to tighten these guns up? I have also been reading up on the new Bar-Sto/ Apex barrel and locking block, but I don't want to buy another barrel, I am happy with the KKM. I appreciate any suggestions, thanks guys!
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Anyone in my squad is welcome to use my 22" SLP, and I'll have a second AR to loan out if needed.
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I was charged soon after I placed my order with BBI, but didn't receive my bullets for 2 months. When I finally got them, about 1 out of 10 were completely unusable. Either the coating had dripped and hardened, or something had obviously been messed up when they came off the mold. The bases were so misformed that I couldn't seat them if I wanted to. Also, a handful were very undersized. I have received no response after multiple emails and calls, which is the same customer service I experienced when I was trying to track on my order. Every time I see a complaint on here, someone always makes excuses for what has been going on, and then someone from BBI comments how they will make it right ASAP. Well, BBI, I don't think it should take attention on a popular forum for you to finally respond to customer concerns.
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Looks good, I have the same stuff for mine. I think I get 20rds in all of my mags now, if you only get 16 or 17 the follower may be catching where the mag meets the extension. Just round the edge a little where it catches and it'll be fine. It's probably just due to variances in factory mag dimensions. Other than that, you should be ready to go whip up on some $2500 guns! jk, jk.
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Thanks guys, and that is some impressive/extensive data, I appreciate you sharing it. It's interesting to see how loads perform especially when human error is removed by locking the pistol into a rest. Solo is still one of my favorite powders, I use it for 40 major with 200gr BBIs, 180gr JHPs, and like it in 9mm and 45. I'm sure if I had played around with my Solo load and slightly adjusted charge weight, OAL, crimp, etc., I would have been able to get a little better accuracy. Now that I know what my gun is capable of, I plan on evaluating loads a little more in the future before I settle on something. Also, I feel that I now have a pretty strong and consistant grip, so there is no need to settle on a load that simply shoots the lightest. With all components alike, if I have to bump a load from 130PF to 135+PF to achieve better consistancy, that is a compromise that I'm willing to accept.
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I know it's a little late to plan a trip, but are there any slots left for the mstch? I'm considering traveling from the Ft. Benning area, and unitl this point wasn't sure of my work schedule, but it looks like my weekend is free.
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I have been shooting off and on for a few years, and have been handloading for about the same amount of time. Since I mainly shoot in USPSA, I have never really cared whether my 9mm loads would shoot 1.5 inches vs 3 inches at 25 yards. I found a load I liked the feel of, had little smoke, and that's what I used. Once in a while I would shoot offhand groups at 25 yards, mainly just to check my POI. On good days, I would normally be able to shoot about a 3in group (5 shots), and that was good enough for me. Shooting a Glock 34 and now an M&P Pro with Sevigny sights, I didn't expect much more than that. I just kind of accepted that 3in was probably the best I would achieve with that gun and sights.
The other month I bought a couple pds of N320 just to experiment with. I heard that people were getting better accuracy with that vs the powders I normally ran(Clays or Solo 1000). I never got around to messing with it, and figured it may improve my groups by a half inch or so, which made no differnece to me. Today I was bored so decided to try some out. I ran 3.6gr N320 with a 130gr BBI at 1.130. I also ran 4.1gr N320 with a 124 Win FMJ at 1.150. I shot one 5 shot group with each at 25 yards. I was paying attention to the feel of the load, so I wasn't shooting as carefully as I could,, but it didn't matter. When I went to check the target, each group measured about 1.5 inches! The 124gr FMJ was centered perfectly on the orange circle I had stuck to the target. The 130gr BBI load was just on the edge of the second circle I had placed on the target, about 1 inch high/left of point of aim. Figuring I must be having a good day, I shot some groups with my Clays loads and Solo loads. On average, my groups were about twice the size, and I could get no better. One more group with the N320, not as good as the first two, but still noticeably better than my other loads.
I am not saying that N320 will shoot better in any gun that you load for, but I am now a firm believer in experimenting with different powders and matching a load to your gun. I shot thousands of rounds over the years and accepted the average accuracy of my production guns,and now wish I hadn't settled on a load so quickly. Like I said earlier, I doubt it will really make a difference in most matches, but to me it is simply the confidence in knowing that if I do everything right, my gun is capable of hitting exactly where I want it to.
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I routinely browse certain gun classfieds on the internet in search of that occassional great deal for an item I may be looking for. I am so sick of seeing Glocks, M&Ps, and other firearms that have their perfectly durable factory finishes stripped off so the owner can apply something 'better' or 'custom'. Items such as Dura-Coat are excellent products for refinishing firearms that have significant ammounts of wear and tear, or for easily applyng a finish to a new build. What I hate is when I see an almost new pistol that the owner claims has something like less than 100rd through it, and then he goes on to say, "factory finish on slide stripped/sanded and duracoat apllied." It'd be one thing if the owner was trying to acheive a new look by using a different color, but to strip the finish off something like an M&P, and then apply something that looks exactly the same is beyond me. The worst part is when their headline for the classified add reads 'Custom', because they put on this 'better finish' and probably did something else pointless like strip the finish of the slide release so it looks silver,,,until it corodes at least.
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I don't have any issues/complaints with products being backordered from companies, or when something takes a little longer to ship because of high demand. The problem I do have is when I am charged for something, and am still waiting after 3 weeks....no email, no notice, nothing. I'm sure they have their reasons for being behind, but if there is a next time, I'd prefer they do not charge me until they are actually in stock/ready to ship.
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I'm sure there's similiar data on here, but I thought I'd post my load.
Gun is STI Edge, close to stock
180gr MG FMJ. OAL is 1.22. Taper Crimp set at .420
Solo 1000 5.0gr. Mixed Brass, Federal SP.
Got a 940fps average at the Area 6 in about 65 degree weather. PF about 169 if I remember right.
This load has not varied in temperature swings of 40-85 degrees. 10 shot strings have <10 SD.
Great load, check Accurate Arms' data first and work up. My load is over max, but works at the longer OAL.
Also, 4.0grs gets me major with a Black Bullet International 200gr moly at 1.20 OAL. Gets me about 835fps.
4.2-4.3grs gets me major with SNS Casting 180 TC lead, or BBI 180gr moly. Gets me about 930fps. OAL at 1.185(longer gets the lube grove to close to the case mouth.)
I bought a couple pounds of VV N320 just to try out, the Solo runs extremely similiar all around, just doesn't meter quite as well, but not bad. Similiar charge weights for lead, moly, and jacketed. Just as clean, accurate, little smoke, and not temp sensitive.
New USPSA Club in Blakely,GA
in Match Announcements - Pistol Only - USPSA, IPSC & Misc.
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