Gurkha

Hi All, Does anyone have pictures, drawings or plans of the style of steel poppers which are used at ranges such as Universal Shooting Academy and others? These are the popper which do not have a hinge, the popper is one separate peace of steel and then there is a base which is a flat piece of steel which has a bolt and a ledge where you put the popper in and lean it against the bolt. Thank you

Hi guys, Thanks for the help, with some small files, sand paper, polishing paste and working on it little by little over the course of a week while testing it out each day I ended up getting it to work perfectly. Now it is perfectly reliable.

Okay sounds good, what grit would you suggest. I have some 2000 grit, is that fine enough? I'll clean the barrel and take a comparison.

Hi, I fitted a new barrel for one of my CZ 75 SP-01 Shadows today. It took a bit of work but I got it to fit good. It was working nice at the range until I started getting failure to feeds. This gun has over 30,000 rounds through it and I have had no failure to feeds with the original barrel. With the new barrel I shot 500 rounds and had about 10 failure to feeds but I also have a lot of rounds which felt like they almost didn't feed properly, it I had a sluggish feeling when some rounds were feeding. At the end of the range session, I switched back to the old barrel for an additional couple hundred rounds and I did not have any failure to feeds. Do any of you have suggestions on what could be causing this in regards to the new barrel and what I could modify on the new barrel to stop the failure to feeds from occurring? Thank you

Awesome!

There is so much great information here, thanks to everyone for sharing your input and experiences!

I appreciate your apology for the shift but don't be, it is all very interesting to me, and yes this definitely relates to why I am interested in where the "mecca" is located.

Yeah, definitely a very huge advantage, we are very fortunate.

Great info everyone, very interesting stuff! All the places listed sound very good. ummm, I didn't call The Object in Moscow a "mecca" I said it was the best indoor range for practical shooting from my experience. It is an amazing facility for IPSC and they put on great matches for an indoor range. I do agree that it would not be as easy to get to for an American as Arizona, that goes without saying, but I am not just talking about Americans. There is a huge world of IPSC competitors outside of the United States. There are lots of international Practical shooters who use this forum. There are many international shooters who travel to Russia regularly for matches. I do agree, it is a more strict to bring your guns into Russia compared to some other countries but I have been to far worse countries. As far as what you said that it would be a "serious legal and logistical hassle, involving much planning, forms, approvals and bureaucracy" I do not agree with that statement at all. It is actually pretty simple if you are going to an actual match. If you are going to a match at The Object then they will do all the paperwork for you compared to a foreigner coming to America who has to get a form 6 from the ATF by them self without the help of the match organizers. Then when you land, an employ from The Object will meet you and handle everything with customs so you don't need to know a word of Russian. I have never heard of someone from a match doing that for foreigners coming to the States. The employees at The Object treat you extremely well. The only thing I don't like is you can't keep your guns with you because of their laws. They need to be locked up at the range so you can't do dry firing in your hotel room or anything like that. It is actually not a big problem though because they have dry firing areas at the range and they also have an entire bay set up during matches where you can shoot all your want and warm up all you want. It is a pretty amazing facility and it is great meeting all the international competitors who come to their matches. Still, no country in the world even comes close to America when it comes to anything gun related, America is certainly the gun mecca of the world, no doubt about it. Just about every practical shooter from around the world wants to come to the States to shoot matches and train but for some it is not very easy because of the countries they are from.

What are the three main outdoor ranges called? What is "TNS"?

Hi, Where do you guys think is the practical shooting mecca of the world? My guess is somewhere in the States but if you think otherwise then also list where you think the practical shooting mecca of the U.S. is. I have heard two place be thrown around, one is Arizona and the other Florida. More specifically Frostproof and Mesa, but I am just guess on Mesa. The obvious range in Frostproof being Universal Shooting Academy. I have never been to Mesa but I am guessing Rio Salado Sportsman's Club. As far as the best indoor range for practical shooting in the world, I would personally have to say The Object in Moscow, Russia. That range is super crazy and a great practical shooting facility. Also, if anyone knows more about Arizona, where would you say is the best place for practical shooting specifically in Arizona? You might be wondering why I am asking this. Well, just for fun and also to add place to the list for future trips!

Cool, well that is who I went with, they were good to deal with. I can't wait to get it all.

Anyone tried the MGM, GT or R&R swinger? I can only find a video for the MGM and it doesn't move as much as I would like it to. I also wouldn't mind poppers that come with a hook on the back so you can attach a cable to activate a swinger but none of them seem to have that option.

Okay, I was checking out their website earlier, are their products good quality?

Hi, Where is the best place to buy swingers, drop turners, pepper poppers, etc. from in the States? Both for price and quality of what you are buying. Thanks

Okay, thanks guys.

Hi Everyone, Thanks for all the advice. Sarge, I really appreciate your detailed explanation. That really puts everything into perspective and a lot of that makes sense in relation to the types of people I see having major problems with their open guns at matches. At least in regards to the guy I personally know and how they take care of their stuff as well as how much "tinkering" they do. Shit, I really want to try open but it sounds a little intense and very expensive! Maybe I should just stick with Production... I'm going to have to think about everything for a while and see where my priorities lie.

Hey guys, What gun did J.J. Racaza shoot at the World Shoot this year to take second place in Production? Thanks!

Hi, I have a friend with two Infinity Standard guns and they are amazing, nicest guns I have ever shot. He got his a few years back and the wait times were crazy! What are the wait times like nowadays?

Hi, Who do you guys think are the companies who make the most reliable 2011 open guns? I'm talking about good track record, consistently building reliable guns from what you have heard, seen and witnessed personally? Lately I have been hearing good things about the stuff Akai is currently making, I have also seen some guys running there stuff without any issues at matches recently. I have no personal experience with their stuff. I am wanting to have one built but I'm a production shooter and reliability is what I am use to. One of the reasons I have stayed away from open is because of all the super unreliable guns I have seen. Let me know what you guys are thinking. Thanks

Haha, don't worry, I won't be taking the beretta to any big matches overseas! Yeah, I'm just silly like that, like to add more challenge on the smaller matches and mix things up to keep it interesting. Okay, thanks for all the advice. Yeah I was wondering that about the VZ grips, they don't make any like the ones I use on my CZ's.

Hi Guys, I shoot a CZ Shadow in IPSC Production as well as USPSA Production. Despite that, I have a few extra IPSC Production legal guns laying around such as a couple Beretta's, a couple Sig p226's and a few Glock 17's which I rarely use so I thought it would be fun to set one of each up as good as I can for IPSC Production. That way I can try them out at some small matches just for the fun. Now, I am talking about making this Beretta legal for "IPSC" Production, not "USPSA" Production. All the parts other then sights and grips have to be made by Beretta. I have a 92FS and a 92A1 so the A1 is the better choice for this little project in my opinion. So far I have the set that comes with the steel trigger, D mainspring and new trigger return spring. Is there a lighter firing pin spring or extended firing pin made by Beretta or do I even need it with the D mainspring? I also bought the skeletonized hammer, I am not sure if that is like a CZ comp hammer or if it is just for looks, I haven't taken the old one out and compared the hooks yet. I want to get an extended mag release but I haven't been able to find one yet, I see Beretta makes two options, any preferences? What about other internal parts? I would like a steel guide rod but the one I bought from Beretta only works in the 92FS, I can't seem to find one made by Beretta which will work in the 92A1. Then also a lighter recoil spring might be nice but I can't find any made by Beretta. CZ definitely has a lot more options for factory parts. Grips, I might go for VZ cause that is what I like to use on my CZ but I am not sure. Sights, I would like a fiber optic front, I see Dawson makes them for the Beretta 92A1 but I haven't been able to find a blacked out rear sight I like. Then finally, any advice on good places to "de-bur" to improve trigger pull? I can just rip it apart and figure it out myself but any good advice is always appreciated. Thanks all!

Zhunter, you are thinking USPSA, and for that you are correct but I compete in IPSC internationally as well and you have to use only factory even if it is internal. The only none factory parts allowed in production are sights, grips and magazines.

Thanks brisix, only problem is I shoot IPSC production so I need to stick with CZ UB parts.

Okay, thanks a lot for all the help!