CSEMARTIN

mda, With 4.3 grains of N310, I'm getting 730 fps. How are you getting 771 fps with 4.2 grains? Did I read your post correctly?

harley45, do you have any chrono data using 4.2 grains of N310? chris

yes, it does work better than Nu Finish.

dajarrel, I've wondered the same thing, but what I'm seeing seems excessive.

I am loading 230 FMJ Zero's with 4.3 grains of N310. OAL is 1.255" with barely any crimp. I use Federal #150 primers. Power factor is 168,000. My concern is that, even though my cases are not bulged, the primers are completely flat- more so than I've ever noticed with any other load. I'm concerned about it. Is it possible to have a load that has too much pressure, but still just make power factor?

Starline for matches. Federal or Speer for practice.

I have been using Nu Finish "The Once a Year Car Polish" to tumble my brass after reading a post on this forum. It has worked great, but I ran out. I decided to see what I had laying around in the garage and found a bottle of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Deep Gloss Polish. It comes in a 16 ounce bottle for about five bucks at Auto Zone. The results were pretty incredible.

I'm fairly new to this forum, but I've taken full advantage of the information found here. I started shooting IDPA a couple years ago,and it seems that I always learn something invaluable at every major match. Certainly, everyone here learns something at every major match as well! I've been thinking about writing a book exclusively discussing the lessons we learn at major matches for quite some time now. I wasn't sure it was a good idea until I discussed it with friends. Since the response has been quite favorable, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. My plan is to spend the next six to twelve months compiling information from my own personal experience as well as from anyone that wants to input their own experience, ideas, observations, etc. Anyone that sends me their input, via e-mail, U.S. mail or whatever method of transferring information, will receive full credit for their contribution. After the book is complete, I will sell it at cost plus twenty dollars. Every penny from the sale of this book will go to BrianEnos.com This will be my first contribution to this forum. Chris Martin

Steve, That was a great post. That is exactly the thing I'm likely to do. I never even thought about the possiblity of the round being someone elses.

Thanks Steve! I really appreciate it coming from you. I remember the 2004 IN State Match!!!!! I wasn't surprised to see that Bob Vogel took HOA- Congrats Bob!!! Thanks Dick! You guys in Linden put on a really fun match yesterday. The fun house was a blast. If anyone in Michigan that shoots IDPA hasn't been out to Linden for a match, you need to. I shot the Midwest Fall Regional in Havana, Il with Bob (ESP Division Champion, High Law Enforcement, Most Accurate Shooter and a really humble guy) and I can honestly say that I shot their match faster because he was in my squad. Incredibly, Massad Ayoob was also in our squad that day, and I pushed myself even harder because he was there! My buddy, Bret "Gunshow" Gushow had a great day in Ohio so I need to say congrats to him as well!! I also have to give some praise to my Italian, 610 revolver-shooting friend that's been pushing me harder and harder in practice, talking smack about me when I go to the line because he knows I can hear him with my new electronic ears, and he knows it will make me shoot better- Gary Cuttitta!

simonsay, I bring a backup gun with me to major matches. It seems that anytime I have a major problem, it's at a major match.

The match was full in february. I really wanted to go!!! Congrats to my friend Gary that won ESR.

I started with a Glock 21 and switched to a Les Baer.

Last year at a local match, another shooter had a round detonate while unloading and showing clear. He was shooting a .40 Para. I didn't realize, until I read this thread, that this is so common. Perhaps we should change how we unload and show clear? Why not drop the magazine, fire the last round down range, show the SO and empty chamber and holster?

I found a great supplier for revolver gear, etc. Take a look at TKCustom.com if you're interested in great customer service. Tom is a nice guy to do business with. Chris

I just learned today that Dawson is no longer making a .060 width FO. I bought a .040"/.125 front sight. I have been shooting the Les Baer factory FO front, and I've noticed the Dawson's are brighter. Should I switch from a .060" to a .040" FO width? I don't know what to do? Chris

Padron '64 Anniversario is the best cigar I have ever smoked.

I am always amazed at new shooters that come to our range and start to gear up without asking anyone what the 'rules' are. I always thought it was common sense, especially when I was a new shooter myself, to ask someone about the 'rules' of the club. We have practice night every Wednesday night. Most of the time, when new shooters show up, they handle their guns outside of the safety area, load mags in the safe area, etc. We need to encourage new shooters, but they need to be watched very carefully.

revchuck, Thanks for the trick on retrieving the ball bearing. I dropped one down the 'hole' a couple of years ago. It's still there peeking up at me when I take everything down for cleaning. I'll give your idea a try. It sounds a lot easier than unbolting the whole machine and tipping it upside down. The spare parts kit sure did come in handy. Also, I had another tip to add. My neighbor suggested using a little graphite lubricant between the shell plate and machine. It works great. Chris

I became a master of the squib round when I started reloading on my own. I figured out how to improperly adjust a Dillon 550 so that it didn't drop powder everytime. It turned out to be an expensive lesson. I loaded about a thousand 9mm rounds, went to the range, and the fun began!! That batch is sitting somewhere.......... Chris

A couple of years ago, I found a cell phone lying on the ground. I looked through the phone's memory and starting calling people to see if I could figure out who the phone belonged to. I got ahold of the phone owner's friend, and he told me that it was probbly his buddy's because he knew that his friend (the owner of the phone) was in the area on a motorcycle trip. The only problem was that he didn't know his real name. Apparently, the motorcycle crowd he hung out with all used nicknames. I finally got ahold of the guys sister, and I gave her my home phone number. A couple of days later I got a call from the owner of the phone, and he was irrate. He was apparently ticked off that it took so long for me to find him. Despite this, I sent him his phone overnight via FedEx, and I paid for it. In his defense, he did send me a thank you card a few weeks later, but no $$.$$ Chris

We have practice night every Wednesday at our club. One night a shooter had a squib round go off. He didn't know what had happened. As he was in the process of chambering another round, three of us yelled, at the top of our lungs, SQUIB. I think it scared the hell out of him, but an unfortunate circumstance was avoided.

The phrase that irritates me the most is when people make a statement such as, "it must be so much harder to be a veterinarian (as oppposed to a medical doctor) because they have to know about all of those animals". It's such a ridiculous statement. Chris

Of course TSA is saying that the guards were justified, but I can't see how it was necessary to use a taser on the guy.

Just saw this on the news. A 78 yr old man was returning home. His plane landed, but he couldn't find his car. He spent five hours looking before someone decided to tell him that his car was impounded because his license expired while he was gone. Apparently, this pissed him off. I'm not sure how things went down from there, but he ended up getting hit with a taser and was subsequently subdued by three security guards. Did they really need to use the taser?