TheDude27

Update: Cleaned and lubed the gun, and yesterday Ran 350 rounds (around 600 total now I think) through it 150 factory of 3 types Blazer/Fiocchi/PMC, 0 malfunctions from the factory rounds (those are the ones I fired first), out of the 150 of my reloaded ammo I had one FTE (barely) and 0 FTF. Used both the MBX and factory mags(one note the mag that had a ton of problems had a good amount of sand in it not sure how I managed that). I will say my longer reloaded ammo seemed more accurate (minus one flier) grouped ~1/2" at 30ft with 10 rounds, and more like 7/8" with factory but that just might be me who knows but I noticed the difference immediately after putting the reloads in. Slide seems much smother now, and I doubt there will be many issues with it from now on, I'll probably put 1000 more rounds through it between now and the match the following weekend to feel 100% confident. Also fixed the holster issue with my heat gun, works great now and is adjustable from rattle around in the holster to enough friction that it pulls the belt up and everywhere in between. Now I gotta find the smaller inserts for my mag holders so my mags will fit. I swear the modding belt stuff is never ending. Great gun would buy it again even with the 4 month wait. only minor complaints I have are with the left side safety would fit me better if it were cut back further from the grip the web of my right hand rubs a bit on it and the trigger could use some very minor changes for me (less take-up, maybe .5 lighter, and slightly cleaner break although that may help provide less anticipation of the break so maybe not). These are really nit picking although I may have some work done on the safety, I'll probably leave the trigger alone.

Just got mine yesterday, for those of you still waiting it was from brazos and was a 9mm LTD that I ordered the end of February, to give you an idea where you might be in line. Put 250 rounds through it about an hour after I got it and I'm extremely pleased with it(coming from a FNX9 so yea night and day difference) aside from the 2 fte's and 4-5 FTF's (most of them out of one of the stock mags(found the rounds nosed dived in the mag) I have MBX mags that worked much better). The loads I have are girly rounds that were setup for my previous gun (Im a 3-gunner so I dont care about power factor much except for the occasional lvl 1 USPSA shoots I do) and I expected this to be the case given that. Current rounds I'm shooting are 115 Xtreme plated rounds with 5.1gn of unique (it will actually run on 4.7gn) with a very long OAL of 1.165 that run flawlessly(probably 1 ftf/e in 8000 rounds) in my previous gun as well as 2 of my buddies guns (M&P core/ruger). I'm going to run 500 or so factory loads through it and heat cycle it a few more times (I can feel it loosening up already) then redo my handloads specifically for this gun. I have complete confidence this gun will be 100% reliable once I finish break in and design a new load for it as I expected a lot more trouble with the ammo I was using. All the ftf's were the nose of the bulled catching on the ramp, but the ramp looks good so a combination of very long OAL, tight gun, and wimpy loads I'm certain is the problem. I'd be willing to bet factory ammo will cycle fine. One note I ended up getting a G-code holster (the lvl 2 retention/thumb brake version) for it (5" edge version) and the gun wouldn't go more than 1/3 into the holster when I got it. I drilled out the last two fasteners and now it fits although too snug at the moment (was catching on the frame) going to get some rubber spacers for the holes where I drilled fasteners as its formed to be kind of "V" shaped being tighter at the tip of the holster and I'm sure it will work well once I get that sorted out as it seems to be formed well to match the slide/frame once its in there. Anyways after some minor tweaking and break in that I anticipated I expect this to be a fantastic gun, it shoots very flat and I was cleaning plate racks so much faster than my previous gun I cant wait till the next match in 2 weeks. Hope this info helps.

This might help you understand what you are trying to achieve: https://youtu.be/w3UVLm2GajI

well that means im one step closer...congrats

I'm thinking since 3-gun is such a fast growing sport, they should probably make those first, to insure the continued success of the company and all. Ordered in early Feb, I'm thinking I might not get to use it much this season...bummer.

Good luck ppl

Yea Made it, first ever major match...really excited

Same here

Good luck gentlemen (and ladies).

The thing that sped me up was ensuring my arm was loose. When I tried to work on speeding up the draw I found myself tensing up my arm in an attempt muscle my hand there quicker, quite the opposite happened. When I draw in the first step of the draw (getting your hand to the gun and getting a grip) I think about being loose (shoulders, arms, wrists). On the buzzer I keep my wrists loose and almost flick my hand to the gun, think light quick motion, not firm strong motion. Then I take a solid grip. I figured this out after watching Burkett's draw where he keeps stressing loose shoulders/etc. Before I figured this out my absolute best draws(draw gun, stop when I have an acceptable sight picture) were .9-1sec. After I figured that out I got down to .6-.7. Also I make sure to index my arm before the draw, hands down my inner forearm is touching the grip, hands up I touch my head at eye level to get my hands at the same height every time then rotate my arms out about 8in or so bending only at the elbows. I'm nowhere as good as many of the ppl here but that was a breakthru for me, I just couldnt figure out how on earth anyone was drawing under .9 till I stopped trying to power to the gun and got more cat like/nimble.

I use a piece of cardboard or beach towel when I'm practicing in my basement with a concrete floor.

Thanks Jshuberg, This was very helpful, I've been struggling to a) grip without steering the gun, b> to apply each side grip with the right amount of force. I've been gripping straight back with my hands (squeeze fingers into fist), if I tried to pinch more (inward pressure) I would lock up my shoulders or straighten my arms too much(applying force using my shoulders which is no good). I didnt think about rotating them. This seems much easier to accomplish correctly (it seems easier to rotate without completely tensing up or locking out my arms) as well as it really gives what feels like a more positive grip without apply as much conscious force. This seems to feel a lot more natural and it feels like I'm holding the gun a lot more securely and exerting less force than before.

May I suggest: 1) open book 2) get timer and gun 3) skip to around drill #8 or so 4) do the full speed drill, check your time 5) look at steve's times 6) Think "Hrm that must be a misprint" 7) Go to next drill 8) Look at steve's times 6) cry into your pillow till you fall asleep.

After looking around on the internet my understanding is that 9 out of 10 times you are probably fine. Apparently the times it does happen ppl seem to have double base powders in them. Here is a couple examples I found: http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=350300 http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-653674.html From what I gleaned it most likely has to do with the type of power and its age or perhaps higher humidity.

Ok thanks for the help, I'm actually familiar with visualization from way back when I used to swim, I never thought about doing it for shooting but that makes a lot of sense.

I'll check it out, thanks Bill

SE, Brighton area. I shoot at Livingston Gun Club(I'm a member there), havent done any of the bluewater matches yet but will probably hit the zombie match next year if my schedule permits.

So I started shooting 3-gun and tactical shotgun matches this year. I've made some good progress so far, I'm actually pretty pleased with my shooting progress and shotgun reloading I'm making up time on many competitors(down to around 6sec for 8 using load 2 method). However, after analyzing numerous stage videos, I'm realizing I really need to come up with a more solid plan to make sure I can find all the targets and not fumble around as much. On the walk thru I generally do something like "go to this mark shoot everthing I see, move to next mark shoot everything..etc". Many times at my club they have targets hidden behind barrels/etc and Ill forget one or see it on my way out of the area and have to come back/etc which kills my time. What techniques do you use to smooth out this process and try to remember everything on those longer stages?

Hi, Figured since I've been lurking here for the last year or so I'd post an intro. I'm a fairly new competition shooter here from MI(started 3-gun early this year, although I have been shooting clays for a long time). I shoot 3-gun and shotgun (tactical and sporting clays) matches, probably will do some USPSA next year to hone my handgun skills. Mike

Funny thing I just had this conversation last weekend when a guy told me about his Lee melting the hopper from powder left in it, Lee gave him a bunch of greif about it after saying you arent supposed to do that but eventually sent him a new one. I dont know if it was due to a specific type of powder combined with lee being a cheap brand (there were also a couple ppl with dillon loaders that said they leave it in reguarly with no problems) or what, but there you go.