Aiden

I think the USPSA books say it's "notch and post" sights only for Production. Are you describing a rear sight with a circle aperture, like a ghost ring? Or are you describing something like the FT Bullseye?

One of the benefits of sanding/stippling your own is that you can shape it exactly to your hand and get the feeling you want instead of just getting used to someone else's idea of what the grip profile should be. I did my own reduction/stipple, and while I'd certainly change up my stippling the next time around, the grip profile and undercuts work just right for me. It's rounded off at the corners, reduced circumference significantly, and fits my hand exactly the way I planned. But if you sell your factory grip and grab a different one, you might be a lot happier with the attention to detail and stippling. Less work too.

Aka, the cool part of Central Illinois, shooting with the cool guys in the area. Welcome to the site! (Vince here)

Another vote for the Brazos kit. Is there an echo in here? Installed it with an EGW safety, once I fussed with my pretravel and got it settled where I wanted, I'm incredibly happy with it and wouldn't trade it for any of the other triggers I fondled.

Hi guy I've never met, glad to see another Area 5 shooter here. Do you know my buddy, he wear shorts and shaves his head to cut down on wind resistance. Super slick with a 1911 and usually able to count to 8?

Well, the paddle is installed. It's clocked to about 1:30 and there's an extra power mag release spring on the way. No flipping necessary! But might just go the route of the big Dawson button and cut it down since I only need another two millimeters of length over the lopro. Reloads are sitting comfortably in the .8-.9 range in tonight's brief, post-install dryfire, and weak hand is sitting comfortably "off" the paddle. The Nitro Fin has been removed until I can properly do a detent. Went back to flagging my thumbs since it works, why mess with it. And I kinda wish it was further out, so I'll lend it to a buddy in the meantime. Brazos Big Mouth is ordered and on the way. Goodbye beaten up STI magwell! EGW ambi safety is ordered and on the way. Opted against the shielded safeties. Pressing my strong hand thumb up against the slide while riding my STI safety did not result in a malfunction, so I deemed it unnecessary. Weak hand thumb dragging would still cause malfunctions, so still flagging it. Brazos ignition kit is ordered and on the way as well. I had an instance of hammer follow to half-cock at tonight's match. While I replaced the sear spring (because I bought it used, who knows what was done to it), I saw it as a good a reason as any to order up all the aforementioned goodies. Will fit my STI safety to it for a backup, then fit the EGW to it afterward. Undecided if I'll install or a local smith. Sticking with the flat MSH for now, since it's free, blended, and I'm kinda used to it. But now that the paddle is back on, possibilities are endless! Might grab an Arched at some point just to try it out, or steal it from an SS gun. Same goes with the trigger, I might try the gunsmith blank and get creative down the road, but for now I'm turning my Edge into ... a much more expensive Edge haha!

I also need a drill bit capable of making the detent. Hah.

Hahaha, well I learned my thumb is definitely too far forward on the fin It's past the pivot point and leverages the slide stop into position. Spent some time fiddling with my grip and live fire, now I know what sort of a thumb position I'd actually need.

I'll be trying it out tonight at the weekly shoot. We'll see how it goes.

But I am finding it's not quite as forward as I'd like compared to my Glock hand.

I've considered that, I figure the fin was a safe investment since it involves no drilling, and since I didn't need to fit it I could get most of the cost back if I went with a frame mounted rest.

Thanks for the input! The thumbrest is helping me get a similar grip. Mostly via the shield keeping me from contacting and giving me a index. When I didn't have the fin, my weak hand grip was the same as my Glock, but a lot lower because I kept touching the slide.

Fun indeed, even if my bank account is yelling at me. "You were supposed to just get a cheap Edge! Why are you buying this stuff!?" Do you find yourself needing the shield at all on the thumb safety? I tend to ride my safety on the draw, then the joint rides on the back of the safety and my thumb is flagged more or less straight up. Here's a video of my last match with this gun, you can see my weak hand thumb riding along the frame and my strong hand thumb flagged upward. Stage video showing thumb position sans Nitro Fin With the Nitro Fin installed, the weak hand thumb is more upward due to the fin, but it's nicely settled into the Fin/Shield. But my strong hand thumb is still flagged. If I position my thumb in the way I want (picture below) I rub up against the slide. If I move my thumb slightly away from the slide, I lose firm contact with the safety. I feel as though a wide safety would remedy this, as long as I can get my weak hand underneath it. With my Glock, my thumbs easily rode alongside the frame and my strong hand rested on top of my weak hand. I never touched the slide and I never had to worry about having a *thumb rest [generic]* or anything, it just worked. So, same question for you as above with the wide safety vs the shield. You've managed to fit weak hand underneath the wide safety so no need for the shield, right? I've beaten up the STI one, it could definitely use a facelift. Does the Dawson ICE take up more room on the grip than the factory STI? Can you fit your weakhand in there without issue? I have a double undercut so I could probably get a bit higher from the magwell. I've been making do with the Dawson Lo Pro, the last classifier I did was a 1.3s shot to shot mandatory reload with good hits. But if I can do it without shifting, I feel as though it removes a variable. But I wouldn't want to add the "drop a mag" variable haha. Still rocking the STI medium curve, can I just swap out the trigger and keep the trigger bow? Gunsmith blank would be a good way to experiment. I did swap out the recoilmaster for a DP tool-less and a 12lb spring. I haven't considered swapping out the STI sights yet, but I could do with a slightly thinner front sight post. The Manny was saved on a list somewhere... I don't think I've ever seen anyone (aside from one person on Benos) actually owning the Double Tap safety, but it seems potentially worth investing in (it's in stock!!!). Don't think I'll add the heavyweight version since I like the balance of the Edge currently. But that's another vote for the ICE. Same question as above, do you find it pushes your weak hand higher up than the STI?

What springs are you currently running? If you're pairing springs/followers/basepads, I wouldn't change the formula.

I'll admit, that has never crossed my mind ever. Trigger finger to release? Any recommendations on how strong of a spring? All of em and see what I want? 10 dollars in parts versus changing up everything else... tough call haha.

But is there anything wrong with a mechanical engineer saying "this doodad I've stuck to your gun will make it easier to develop consistency while you invest the projectiles and practice"? So that's a vote against the shielded safety. And a vote for more practice.

I have 4 140mm MBX mags. I usually bring 3 with me to the stage. First mag loaded to capacity, second mag loaded down a round, and the third mag loaded down a round which I use as a barney if I feel inclined.

Hi all. Currently in a quest to turn my Edge into the ultimate gun for consistency. I'm a C limited shooter who swapped from a Glock 34 in Production. Needless to say, it's a fun transition. I've had it for two months now, shot two or three matches with it, and I've reduced/stippled/undercut it. But now I'm ready to take it from stock to slightly more "me". Also I want to install a new ignition, so if I'm gonna fit a safety, I may as well fit a safety I want and get it all done at the same time. I've been researching a variety of parts and mixing and matching to try and get the gun fit to me as well as possible. I have medium hands and shot the G34 sans backstrap and could just barely hit the mag release without shifting my grip. Boxy and inelegant as it is, happens to fit me perfectly out of pretty much every Production legal gun in existence, so I'd like for my 2011 to fit me at least as well. I tried a paddle to keep from having to flip, but I hit the magazine release once inadvertently and promptly went back to my Dawson Lopro and flipping. My primary goals are to: Have my grip as high as possible on the gun. Consistently. Maintain my trigger finger position with flat MSH and medium curve trigger (where it is currently). So far, I've purchased a Nitro Fin, which arrived a couple days ago. I love the index for my weak hand thumb but now I feel as though I should make some more changes. Currently in the running for my love and money: Shielded ambidextrous safety of some sort? Swenson, Double Tap, PT (unobtanium)? Wide ambidextrous safety? EGW, Ed Brown, SVI, Wilson? Shields are a gimmick? I rack the slide from the rear as well. Additionally, I'm wondering about swapping around some other stuff to get my hands up higher and maybe angled a bit better. Arched MSH/Wedge MSH to push my hand up the grip? I currently flip the gun to hit the mag release, so I can increase the grip size slightly. And it'd be a similar angle to my Glock so I'd adjust quick. Short curved trigger to compensate for the increased distance from the Arched/Wedge MSH? Enos curve? Magwell choices? Dawson ICE would be higher up than the factory STI. What about Brazos Big Mouth? I handled a friend's DVC with both the Nitro Fin and Swenson safeties installed, and I really liked the wide shelf of the Swenson along with the shield. It seemed to match perfectly with the Nitro fin. But I wasn't particularly impressed with the Swenson itself. For the price, it seemed... less refined? I quite liked the Ed Brown extended safety back in the day, but that was on 1911. I also used to use a short curved trigger with arched MSH on 1911 and standard grip panels. I realize the best option is to simply try everything before I buy, but the choices around me are pretty limited. Everyone rocks flat MSH, STI/Cameron magwell, with medium curve STI trigger. Any opinions would be welcome!

I'm gonna see if I can borrow a paddle and try before I buy. Thanks for all the input guys

I see it more as potentially removing a variable from the reloading equation. When I shot my Glock I didn't need to flip, so wondering the best way to replicate that with the 2011. I'm not yet shooting at a level where I'm counting the fraction of a second flipping takes (which as Gooldylocks said, isn't really affecting overall speed), but I definitely could use all the help I can get in establishing consistency. Would a thumb relief in the grip to access the button easier weaken the grip too much?

Hi all! So I'm a relatively new owner to an STI Edge and just getting started in Limited. I just recently did a grip reduction and stipple along with a double undercut. I still can't exactly hit the magazine release without flipping the gun/shifting my grip. Close but no cigar. I have a Dawson lopro magazine release currently installed. I like that I don't accidentally hit the mag release with my weak hand. Should I be looking for another magazine release? Or should I try and add a mag release "scoop" on the side of the grip? Thanks!

I use Petzl liquid chalk that I use for climbing. I have a brick of climbing chalk and isopropyl alcohol as well, but I've yet to find a container I like to store it in, so I usually end up grabbing more of the Petzl. 15 bucks for 200ml, isn't *tooo* bad.

Picked up a G34 off the classifieds, swapped out some springs and ran it at a local match last Tuesday. The dryfire seems to have helped, and I managed to get out to the range to see where it goes on paper. Shot 94.53% of the Production points with 13 A 1 C, trailing a couple seconds behind the first two shooters (though I did lose a second or so by almost falling over). Successfully upped the speed and threw a mike with some Cs and Ds for 72%, of which I have a video. Reloads are getting better and stage planning is getting better. Still working on keeping my focus when the buzzer goes off or when I mess up, I'm guessing my inexperience shows when I can't salvage a bad run and get flustered (unnecessary reloads, shooting 3 when I already had 2 As). Still occasionally losing that front sight and pulling the trigger anyway, mostly when I'm trying to speed up. Second round video Currently looking at shoes that grip the semi-slick concrete better. Using my trail running shoes/whatever I was wearing from work but I've slipped and slid too much for my liking.

Dry fire sounds like the way to go! Aside from being free, which is always helpful. I've taped up a variety of scaled targets in my room for practicing transitions and dry fire. I also have a timer to work on draws and reloads. Now if only I could figure out a way to stop looking for the holes and call my shots instead... soon as that buzzer goes off half the time I completely forget I have a front sight.

Well, I'd been itching to get started shooting competition of some sort for the last three and a half years now, and a variety of factors have just kept getting in the way (life, school, work, grad school). I ended up selling almost all the guns I had picked up in anticipation of the variety of shooting sports, and slimmed down the collection to just the essentials. Finally on a regular schedule, with both the budget and a bit of time to get out and shoot the local USPSA matches half an hour away. Shot 4 matches with my G17 and active retention holster, managed to take a first and a third in Production and placing "not horribly" overall. Just grabbed a G34 from the Classifieds. I'm hooked. I've yet to shoot a classifier, but very excited for whatever it may be! So I guess my question is: How does one practice with very little actual range time (or indeed, in general)? I've managed to fit one club shoot every week or two, but aside from that I don't have a lot of spare time for getting out to the range, and even less once the semester starts again. Give up a club night and work on establishing point of impact? And since every thread is worthless without pics... my G17