cypher

OK... So the general consensus seems to be that it was the lighting that was making the Chrono go buggy. I accept that and I will take the necessary steps to avoid that situation in the future... But just for my own edification can someone offer an explanation why the buggy readings only happened with centerfire ammo and not with the .22 LR. I'm just curious why it would happen with one and not the other. Homero

Everyone who's been in the game any amount of time has at least one gunsmith horror story... Can you share the name of Gunsmith #3 in case we ever need something done right? Thanks Homero

I need help figuring this out. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. I took my new PACT Chrono to the range today to Chrono some rounds I had some old stuff (200 L-SWC over 5.7 of 231) and some stuff I just loaded (same bullet over 4.2 of Clays) brass on both was mixed. All firing was done in 5 shot strings. I started out with the 231 loads. Nothing surprising here, in fact, the performance was very consistent. Most of the groups averaged around 810 fps for about a 160 pf. This was around 10:00am in Pinellas Park, FL. My largest extreme spread for all the groups (10 groups) was 52.8 fps. I was pretty cool with that. Next I fired the rounds I had loaded with Clays. Again the results were not surprising. This time my loads averaged about 840 fps for about a 168pf. Largest ES was 73.6 but most were around the 25 to 35 range. I was fairly happy with the results up until this point. I took a break fired some other rounds over the chrono (38's, 357's & 40's) just to see. The guy I was shooting next to told me he had just attended the Area 6 Nationals and the load he had been shooting (172-3 pf) when chrono'ed at the Nationals only got 165.9 pf. He said I should chrono my loads again (because now the light had changed) to see if they were different. Well I thought "Why not?" By this time a couple of hours had passed since I had first started and the light was indeed different. So I was curious to see what effect if any it would have on the readings. This is where it gets weird... I shot my new loads first (4.2gr Clays) the avg. velocity was in the 1200's!!! This equated to a pf of 240 or thereabouts... The rounds didn't feel any hotter than those I shot before. I checked each round for signs of pressure everything seemed OK though. My ES for this string (I only shot one at this point just in case something was horribly wrong) was only 23.7 fps! I quickly loaded a magazine with 5rds of the 231 loads and shot that... they averaged 1137 fps... and again with a very low extreme spread. (something like 36 or so). I shot some commercially reloaded 230 FMJ just to see what that did; 1089 fps and very consistent from shot to shot. I had brought my 11 year old son to the range with me so asked I asked to borrow his .22 rifle (Ruger 10/22 18" bbl). I was curious to see how fast these would chrono... He was shooting WW Wildcats... Guess what? 1129 fps, also with no wild variations. Now up until shooting his .22 I was sure that it was the lighting that had thrown some a monkey wrench into the Chrono's accuracy. After this I wasn't so sure. Those readings seemed about right. I had some Stingers in my bag so I decided to shoot a few of those over the Chrono as well. They measured in the mid 1600's in fps. That seemed about right too. I shot some more of everything including some .40s it was all in the 1100's (the .40 loads had chrono'd high 800's before). I should mention that the light had changed sginifcantly during this time. The sun was almost directly overhead now. I had the diffusers up the entire time I was Chrono'ing. The temperature had risen a bit too. But I and my ammo supply were both in good shade (no direct sunlight) I would guess the ambient temp. when I started shooting was about 77 or so and about 91 when I finished... Could someone offer a logical explanation for what happened here. I mean I could see if the light was playing havoc with the Chrono's sky skyscreens and I was getting all these crazy readings, but why didn't it affect the .22's. I've had light play games with my chrono readings before but usually the readings were all over the place or they were something totally unbelievable like 6576 fps or something like that. This is a new one on me. Thoughts, comments? Thanks. Homero

Dude... you are cheap!!! I should know because I do the same thing! I create most of my targets on my pc. Sometimes though, it really helps to set up and shoot stages or standards like you'll be shooting them in a match. That's why I buy the IPSC targets. They last a long time when you use pasters... Regards, Homero

Daniel and GM, Happy to meet the both of you. And both of you are absolutely right, this place is the shit. Homero

Brad, I got mine from Hot Shot Guns http://www.hotshotguns.com They sound a lot like the ones that DB mentions he gets from Tillman International. They are thinner than the ones I'm used to, but they are official. Ditto on what DB said about storage and them holding up pretty well... They are $22.50 for 50 and $42.00 for 100. Hot Shots also has pasters of the same material (pasters blend in perfectly) 1000 for $3.25. Hope that helps... Good shooting. Homero

My everyday blade is a Benchmade AFCK, black finish, M2 steel blade. Scary sharp and I use it on a daily basis for just about everything. It replaced my Spyderco Delica about a year or two ago. The Delica was/is a great knife but I got the AFCK because I wanted something a little more substantial. Homero (Edited by cypher at 4:09 pm on May 15, 2002)

Nice to meet you Ron. I agree with your assertions about this forum. It is a wonderful resource. Good luck with your goal. I'll see if I can't catch up to you one of these days. BTW, what is your classification now? What helped you the most when you started up in IPSC/USPSA? Do you shoot IDPA as well? Thanks Homero

Just curious where everyone is from... I live in Tampa, FL., and I shoot... well, will shoot soon, in Ruskin, FL. I know there are a couple of shooters here from the area, but maybe there's more. I know there are others from around FL, and a bunch are from AZ. Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about everybody. So why don't you sign in and let us know where you are and maybe a little bit about yourself. I'll start. Like I said, I live in Tampa, FL. I used to shoot IPSC about a million years ago (actually more like 17). I was an "A" class shooter back then. I used to shoot mostly in NJ and PA. I used to shoot with fellows like John Ricco, Walt Rauch, Frank Behlert, and at about the time I was leaving the sport, there was this new kid shooting that people were talking about; Jerry Barnhart. I even got to see him shoot once (man, he was fast) Anyway, I just have started getting the itch to get back into competing again. I attended my first match (didn't shoot) a couple of weeks ago. I was curious to see how much the sport had evolved since I dropped out oh so many years ago. A lot has changed, but even more has stayed the same. The camaraderie and good natured ribbing is still there as well as all the good things that I remembered. I will start competing again in a few weeks, as soon as I can iron out a few equipment issues. I must say I am really looking forward to it. I came across this forum a few weeks ago because I was trying to read up as much as I could on the sport and just for grins I started typing in all the names I remembered and of course Brian was one of the first. This site is an excellent resource and I have to commend BE on not only having it but also being so active a participant and so willing to share his knowledge with us. The same goes for all the other members of this forum who are always so willing to share and help whenever they can. This is how I remember the sport... only it's better now. Homero

gm Thanks... I guess it's worth going through the stuff I have then... Homero

I've read all the threads on SG and FP-10. Both seem like excellent products, and I intend to try them both in the near future. However, I still have a good amount of Tetra Gun Oil and Tetra Gun Grease. They have been mentioned here before but, no one has really given them a solid endorsement or trashed them either for that matter. I am trying to determine if I should just work through the stuff I have or if you guys think that SG and FP-10 are so superior to Tetra that I should just order some right now... Homero

Thanks Carlos... Good info. I'll be sure and check out that forum. Homero

Just curious... as I don't plan on going to Open class any time soon. What do you guys think? I mean as I understand it you can't make major using the the .38 Super or it's 9mm cousins (or can you). So why wouldn't you pick a .40? I have heard that the caliber of choice for an open gun is .38 Super and wondered why. Is it mag capacity. How many more does the Super hold in a 140mm mag v. a .40 in the same length mag? Please enlighten me.. Homero

Thanks Duane... Good advice. I think I'll take it. Although, I have to tell you I have used the Devel followers in two Devel mags and about 8 Colt mags for the better part of two decades without so much as a hint of trouble. But I like the strength of your conviction. So I'll buy the Wilsons... Thanks for the advice... Homero

Thanks Duane... that is exactly what I'm going to do... The only reason I asked about the holster was that all my 5" holsters are either iwb or concealed. My only competition type holster was for my comp. Guess I'll use one of those to start with, after a while I should be able to figue out what's out there now that would suit me. While I'm one the subject of equipment. I have ten mags for my .45... all eight rounders but they all function flawlessly. In fact in the over 17 years that I've owned it, my gun has never jammed... and I have to tell you, I have fed it everything under the sun. Not so much as a hiccup. Anyway, getting back to the mag question... I guess I'll need to buy some 10 rounders. I've done some searches on the forums but I would like to know a little more. Which 10 rounders are best? McCormick is substantially less than Wilson or Brown... Thoughts? How many do you think I should start with? Maybe I should just be old school and shoot with the eight rounders.... Nahhhh. I gotta buy something... =) Homero

Bonedaddy, Thanks, that's exactly what I intend to do. Can you recommend a good holster to go with my Safariland rig. Should I just get whatever Safariland is offering now for a 5" 1911 or is there something better? Homero

J... I have to apologize... I mistook you for someone else with those same initials. My bad. In any case I still appreciate the warm welcome. Thanks, Homero

Well thanks J... I don't know what after all these years I would be able to offer you guys in the way of knowledge (you guys are SHARP). But it is very refreshing to hear you say that and I really appreciate it. I saw you shoot about a million years ago at a match... Stroh's/Crowfoot in Ohio... I think it was in 1985... I was in awe. I'd seen a few good shooters but you were on whole different level. It was both educational and inspiring, not to mention a little intimidating at the time. It was my first big match. I traveled all the way from Jersey just to shoot it. I had major butterflies and blew some stages, but overall I had fun. I shot against your dad, he came in HI-C (I was a C shooter too at the time). I was a little bit further down the rung. =) Of course it didn't help that my loads chronographed under the power factor floor for major and I lost some points because of that (but hey, if I had done my part, it should not have maded a big difference). When I got home, the first thing I did was plunk down some do-re-mi for Pact Mk II Championship timer w/chrono. I think I ended up finishing 10th in C and maybe Hi 40's overall. I was encouraged by the results and I returned to my training with new vigor and sense of purpose. Anyhow... didn't mean to be long winded. Thanks for the kind words... Homero

Thanks Flex... good info. Looks like I'll go with Limited ten to start. Question: How do people get around the High Cap mag ban if you are getting a new gun built? Thanks, Homero

First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Homero Gonzalez. I used to shoot IPSC competitively about 17 years ago... at which time, marriage, a new job and relocatiion pretty much caused me to stop shooting altogether... After this long hiatus I have decided that I want to start competing again. I was an "A" class shooter back then. I hear now they have additional classifications of Master and Grand Master. Anyway, I stumbled across this forum today, and in reading the articles, I was very impressed with the level of knowledge and excellent advice being dispensed in this forum. I want to get up to speed and be competitive again as quickly as possible (who doesn't). I will be using my old IPSC comp gun in .45 ACP. I get the feeling not too many people use that caliber anymore. .38 supers and 9 x 21 were just hitting the scene when I got out. I have dusted off my old Dillons and gathered up my old leather, sent my Pact Mark II off to be upgraded to a Mark IV and am ready to give it a shot. Any advice you can give this old timer would be most welcome indeed. My competition .45 has three slides. The comp, a regular 5" slide and a .22 conversion. I am not sure of the different classes yet and which my gun qualifies to shoot in. Open and Limited I guess... (what's Limited 10?) maybe Production. I'll have to research that some more. Of course if any of you guys have any advice to offer I'd be more than willing to listen. Oh, and I'm sure I'll have about a ton of questions... but they can wait. Think of me as a newbie, cuz that's how I feel... ;-) Thanks in advance, Homero

Well, typical newbie... I posted this in the wrong forum. I meant to post it in the IPSC/USPSA forum... I will repost it there... It's been a long day... =) Homero

First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Homero Gonzalez. I used to shoot IPSC competitively about 17 years ago... at which time, marriage, a new job and relocatiion pretty much caused me to stop shooting altogether... After this long hiatus I have decided that I want to start competing again. I was an "A" class shooter back then. I hear now they have additional classifications of Master and Grand Master. Anyway, I stumbled across this forum today, and in reading the articles, I was very impressed with the level of knowledge and excellent advice being dispensed in this forum. I want to get up to speed and be competitive again as quickly as possible (who doesn't). I will be using my old IPSC comp gun in .45 ACP. I get the feeling not too many people use that caliber anymore. .38 supers and 9 x 21 were just hitting the scene when I got out. I have dusted off my old Dillons and gathered up my old leather, sent my Pact Mark II off to be upgraded to a Mark IV and am ready to give it a shot. Any advice you can give this old timer would be most welcome indeed. My competition .45 has three slides. The comp, a regular 5" slide and a .22 conversion. I am not sure of the different classes yet and which my gun qualifies to shoot in. Open and Limited I guess... (what's Limited 10?) maybe Production. I'll have to research that some more. Of course if any of you guys have any advice to offer I'd be more than willing to listen. Oh, and I'm sure I'll have about a ton of questions... but they can wait. Think of me as a newbie, cuz that's how I feel... ;-) Thanks in advance, Homero