jwhittin

Don't waste your ammo. See this post for a simple and proven method to meet power factor. Shoot with any questions.

I find the nearest larger drill bit size (metric or standard) then I fit it. You might be able to find a 1.8mm bit. I use a dremmell and fine paper to reduce the diameter and cut to length. It doesn't take much time once you find the right bit.

I didn't realize the match barrel I bought was drop in. Wasn't happy with the accuracy at first. It had front to back and side movement so I had the hood welded for $30 and I refit the barrel snug. Now able to get about 1.5" bench group at 15 yards. Last round in mag doesn't feed sometimes. I still need to tune my mags so that may be the problem. Im using STI mag body with Gram guts and Dawson base pads. 20 reloadable before tuning. Im also running a Springco recoil system with a 10# spring. Runs very smooth.

A couple notes. I went with the Briley spherical ring and barrel bushing. Easier to install and works great. You can order one at powerfactorshooting.com. I prefer a flat trigger but the SVI trigger and insert is pricey so I use the curved STI trigger but installed a steel bar into it. Don't know if you noticed that. I like it a lot. It gives me better trigger feedback than just the flat (and much wide) triggers.

I wasn't able to ensure perfect frame to slide trueness even using a frame fitting jig. Had to manually remove a couple high spots and just went a tiny bit too far. Should have stopped when it was snug and then hand lapped it. Still got a smooth fit with just slight movement. I prefer no movement and glass smooth fit for my competition guns. Besides the front not lining up, the rear of the slide overhangs about a 16th of an inch and is not blended to the frame. Both are purely cosmetic. Nothing I can do about the front and I don't want to refinish the slide so it's good for now.

Yes I have. I did basically the same thing last year and use it for limited now. I bought a para pro comp 40 slide and match barrel and put it on the CK arms classic frame. Runs great and got into limited for about $1400 with mags. Tricky part is fitting frame to slide. I assume your frame is new. It came out better than box but not as nice as I hoped. Running it in the raw this season and will hard chrome the frame at end of season. Will post pics when I get a chance.

I had the same experience as d_striker. Didn't get much out of other instruction but when I took Charlie's class I had a notepad full of stuff to work on. I found Charlie's style of teaching to be exceptional. He is very well organized and very thorough. His class is very reasonably priced and the quality of the instruction is outstanding!

The declared bullet weight is allowed if a properly calibrated scale is not available or an acceptable bullet puller isn't available. See Appx C2 10 and 13.

Rowdy, what's your bullet weight?

See this posting which will give you a simple way to know you will always meet PF using your first 3 rounds. It doesn't matter what you measure at home, comparing it to the official chrono results is like comparing apples and oranges. The link between the two is the confidence level. Bottom line is you should always use your measured STD to calculate the min average velocity needed to make PF. I recommend adding 2 to 3 times your measured STD to the average velocity required to meet PF for your bullet weight. There are three reasons why you DON'T want to just add a few power factor points. First is using just the average velocity of your chronograph can introduce significant error as you don't know how accurate your chrono is (see this article http://www.appliedballisticsllc.com/Articles/ChronographChapter.pdf ). Second, for consistency (and PF) the STD is the most important parameter. The difference in STD between chronographs is very small (typically <5 fps) because it is a variance. Lastly, if your reloading process changes, it can cause you to fail PF. If you don't monitor and use your STD, you would never know.

I don't compete in minor but yes, just purely from a physics standpoint less recoil = less muzzle rise = faster acquisition. At the elite level I can see it might not make as much difference.

In my mind, the lower scores for minor loads levels the playing field. But why on earth would you give the minor competitor 2 extra rounds? That's a HUGE advantage! Where is the logic in that? What am I missing? I wonder what the founding fathers had in mind when they made that rule. I'm a purist and love SS. I would hate to see it changed (except for the rules for minor). Seems to me having a lighter polymer gun (hence more recoil) and the same # of rounds as a steel gun would put a lot of competitors at a slight disadvantage.

Good post! It was recommended that I try to relax strong hand thumb. I didn't even notice it was so tense it was driving the gun. Correcting that, and working on a firmer grip has really helped.

Its not too bad. You can do it mostly by feel so it goes pretty fast.

Same here, 100% mixed range brass. For major matches I chamber check all my ammo using the barrel.

+1 The scoring I can understand. Extra rounds makes no sense to me.

So technically speaking the DQ offense happens the second the competitor removes his hand from the firearm without engaging the safety, correct? And this applies to any firearm with a hammer back (SA or DA). Or in general any condition in violation of 8.1.

Ok, I have to ask. Why bother? A little dry lube on the ammo will help it chamber. Are you doing it for looks?

As I mentioned, for load consistency the SD is what matters most. As the Applied Ballistics study showed, the SD difference was only 3.6 fps among the typical optical type chronographs. Keep in mind, at a match, USPSA procedure is to measure bullet velocity (3 samples) and then calculate the PF based on your bullet weight. Since low estimates can induce failures, I think it’s reasonable to consider the velocity error (negative values only) from the study and the potential impact to PF. From the velocity error data (Figure 15.17) I get an average of -22.7 fps (average of all units) and -11.9 fps without the outlier. So it would not unreasonable to see under reporting velocities in the 10 to 20 fps range. So for a 124 gn bullet you need 1331 fps to make major. Adding 2 to 3 times your SD (2*10 and then 3*14) means you should be somewhere in the 1351 to 1375 range. Then you can adjust from there for accuracy, comps, or preferences. So your data looks good except for columns D and H.

Balmo, what's you bullet weight?

This post answers the question about the differences between chronograph. http://www.appliedballisticsllc.com/Articles/ChronographChapter.pdf I highly recommend reading, especially the section on Trends and Chapter Summary which explains the main takeaway.

Balmo, what matters most in the case of making power factor is the standard deviation. That doesn't vary much between chrono graphs. What's your SD? Add 2 to 3 times your SD to the velocity needed to make PF and you will be fine.

Don't the EMPs use non standard parts? How about a Dan Wesson Guardian in 38 super. Gives you 9+1. Great value for the $$. You can also get it in 9.

+1 for CCI. 20k rounds and never had a primer failure. I have had Winchester primers fail to fire not due to a light strike.