Just4FunLP

I just got an email announcing an IDPA match at my range next weekend. I'm an A class production shooter in USPSA. I have an XDs 9MM for carry, run 4-5 mags through it at beginning of every USPS practice session. I always thought it would be fun to run it in a match of some kind. I've been reading up a little and it looks like I'd be in the BUG division. Do they have BUG in every match? I have a total of 4 mags and various holsters, but no external mag pouches. I usually carry a spare mag in a leather pocket holder. Will I be able to shoot the match? Should I scrounge up a mag pouch or two? Will I be able to run the courses with a BUG gun in a non BUG match? This is just for fun. I'm even thinking of alternating from ITWB, ankle, and pocket holsters if it's allowed. Thanks.

WOW!

As luck would have it, a friend that shoots the same gun just happened to have the RLN holster. This holster is the stock drop offset holster they have on their web store https://shop.rlncustomgear.com/products/dropoffset-holsters . I was able to borrow it for a little dryfire practice. I really didn't like the looks of the belt attachment, and thought it would be a little wobbly, but it fit my 1-1/2" AAE belt super snug and turns out to be very stable. I did about 45 minutes of dryfire and didn't have one hangup throughout the entire practice. I even tightened the screws so the gun was very snug and had some resistance coming out, but during fast draws, both standing still and turning, the gun shot right out every time. If you've never had issues getting your gun out of the holster it's probably hard to appreciate how big a deal this is... It's huge! He's making me one for the BOSS hanger. Cant wait. Thanks for the help!

My friend can get a 4x8' sheet of 3/8 AR400 for $338, so I think I'm going to give it a try. I did a quick layout to get an idea of what I may be able to squeeze out of it. It looks like a lot. It's enough to setup every classifier in the book, plus a few extra round plates. I'm not sure of the spacing, but I'm sure they can give me some guidance at the shop. Either way, I think I'll be making out pretty good. Steel Target Layout Model (1).pdf

I've been using a Comp Tac International holster with my Shadow 1 for about a year and a half now and have always had problems with the gun hanging up in the holster on the way out. I'm really working hard on improving my draw speed and found that if I really concentrate on pulling straight up the gun comes out super fast and smooth, but if I pull it at an odd angle it hangs and pops the holster outwards. This is particularly problematic when I'm doing a fast turn-draw. I've always thought it catches on the bevel in the frame just in front of the trigger guard, and I run it very loose. Has anyone else experienced this problem? I think that trying a new holster is way overdue. Please let me know what you think. being able to get smooth draws consistently would be a great help. Thanks

I'm interested in building some steel targets for personal practice. My wish list includes 6 full size poppers, 6 mini poppers, and 3 round plates (8"). I have a friend with a metal fabrication shop that can purchase the material for me and let me use their plasma cutter. I plan to only use them on 9mm minor. A friend that owns a range said that if I was only using them for 9mm, 1/4" AR400 would be fine. I also found a flow chart on choosing steel targets that also said 1/4" AR400 is good for personal pistol targets. (no magnums). They don't recommend them if you're buying them for a range or club. I assume that's because there's no way to control what people will shoot at them... I understand that the heat from plasma can make the edges a little brittle, but I think if I had to buy time on a water jet it would break the bank... If I can get a good deal on the material and free access to the fab shop I think it's a no-brainer. Please let me know if you have experience with 1/4" AR400 pistol targets. Thanks

So, they will have to build 2,000 of these things before it can be on the list. I wonder how long that will take..??

I've got an Accu Shadow with quite a few miles on it, and have planned to replace it at the end of the year. I really wanted to get another identical Accu, but now that they've come out with the Shadow 2 I think I should make the switch. I just looked on the CZ Custom website and they're selling the Accu Shadow 2 now. That's the one I want. Any idea when it could be approved? How does it work? Seemed like the Shadow 2 made the list pretty fast. Thanks

Thanks for the reply Lior. This morning while doing dry fire I tried to make my mag eject by pressing really hard with my weak hand, and really couldn't make it happen. The only way i could get it to do it was to hit it with my first thumb joint. I'll try some more experiments. Maybe I'm hitting it with my middle finger as well. Didn't think of that...

I think I'm accidentally pressing my mag release button when running stages in a match. I'm running an Accu Shadow from CZ custom. It doesn't really happen any other time, so I think it may be adrenalin. This weekend it happened again, and in the video I could hear my mag go in pretty solid and it came out after two rounds. Another guy I shoot with says he had to change to a stock button in his Accu. Anyone else have this issue? https://goo.gl/photos/JdemT1RtohhENAYNA

I've been shooting my Accu for about a year and a half now, and I really love it. I was planning to buy a new one in December, but I guess I should go with the 2. Hopefully they'll have a Accu version by then. I've read a lot in this thread, and from what I'm hearing (correct me if I'm wrong) is that the trigger will need some work. From the list a few pages back most of the internals are the same, so I would assume the trigger on an S2 ordered through CZC with all the bells and whistles will be just as good as my S1. My first gun was an XDM 5.25. One thing I noticed with Accu was that the mags seemed to slide right in during reloads. I had struggled quite a bit with hitting my reloads before then, and the new gun seemed to help a lot. How are the mag changes with this gun, about the same? For me the big question is about how the gun cycles and comes back onto the target. Is there a noticeable improvement over the S1? I know this kind of stuff is hard to put into words... Lastly, if the difference isnt all that noticeable, would it make sense to just buy another Accu S1? Thanks.

Yea, I couldn't find red. I emailed them and this was their reply. You might be on our old web site. Here is our new web page along with the link to the Red in 1mm. Thanks Dawn FOP http://shop.fiberopticproducts.com/ The red 1MM is the last item on this page. http://shop.fiberopticproducts.com/Fiber-Optic-Lighting/Fluorescent-Fiber?page=2

I Just placed my order for two yards of red fiber. The site has changed a little, so this is the link to the 1mm red fiber. http://shop.fiberopticproducts.com/Fiber-Optic-Lighting/Fluorescent-Fiber/1mm_or_039_Fluorescent_Fiber_Red_3ft_Gun_and_Archery_Sight Thanks for the tip SlvrDragon50.

D'OH!!! What a dope! Thanks for setting me straight. That'll save me a few bucks. When I read your post I looked up red fiber on google and it shows a photo of one of those fiber optic light things you set next to your lava lamp. Must have 60 feet of the stuff. It would probably cost $500 at $1.50/inch. Got any other suggestions?

Yea. That's pretty bad. Where's a good place to get it?

Yea. I've got the same question. I plan to replace the Accu in December and would like to fix up the old one and use it for heavy practice and as a backup for the new one. The idea is to have two guns setup exactly the same. Or if the Shadow 2 is a major improvement I should just go with one of those.

PaladPrecision. I think we're on the same page. I'm a maintenance manager at an ISO 9000 manufacturing plant, so I get it. "Run to failure" is normally a term I use to warn a production manager when he or she can't seem to find time to shut down a machine for maintenance. But in this case I've found (so far) that a broken slide stop doesn't cause damage or a safety issue during practice, and as you've noted, the extractor starts to have hiccups slowly. Both are easy to change, so I have a (tested) new parts I use for matches, and I'll eventually rotate them into practice parts when the current practice part has a problem. This way I think I save a few bucks without risking a failure big a match. The thing about maintenance in a manufacturing plant is that the place is full of all kinds of equipment, and each machine is usually state of the art for its task. It doesn't matter if I was a PHd engineer I'm not going to be able to calculate the failure of every machine. There's just too many different technologies. And even if I could, it's usually not worth the effort. The best thing is to start some kind of PM program and make changes as you go. Tighten up the interval when things go wrong, and stretch it to save money whenever it's safe to do so. Fortunately I was able to get 90% of the info from the guys on this forum. My hope is that this spreadsheet will help other CZ guys. After shooting the crap out of my XDm I found this tuned Accu to need more maintenance, but it's definitely worth it. The trick is having a plan that's easy to follow, doing the maintenance on schedule, all without going broke. ?

FWIW, I updated my PM sheet for 2017. Added an interval called RTF (run to failure) and applied it to the extractor and slide stop because they're super easy to change. I scribe a "P" (for practice) on my older parts and install my new spare for matches. I rotate in a new part when the practice part fails, or annually. Though they haven't lasted a year so far... I think this approach may save me a few bucks. I have had better luck with my last HAJO rear sight hing pin, so I increased it's interval from 3 to 6 months. Hope it doesn't bite me in the butt during a match. When it breaks part of it slides out a bit during the stage, but I can simply push it back in between runs. Maybe I've just had bad luck with this in the past, or perhaps they can be fractured during installation causing them to fail prematurely...??? I'll start using an arbor press at work rather than the hammer at home. DUHH!!! I know it's best to have a gun for practice and a gun for matches, but that's just not an option for me right now. I'm scheduled to replace this Accu in December. I've been running it since about November of 2015 and I think the wear is effecting accuracy a little, but maybe it's just me.. I don't spend a lot of time shooting from a rest (wish I could borrow a ransom rest). Also, I know I shoot an insane amount through this gun, but it's what I love. 500 rounds on the weekend, plus matches, plus 3 hours of dry-fire a week. But that's a subject for another thread.... I wanted to change the spreadsheet so it automatically updated the intervals based on average rounds per month, but... I'd rather be at the range shooting. 2017 PM Sheet.pdf

Awesom! Thanks. I had had an old sticker over my reloading bench that says "www.TalonGrips.com" but this doesn't work anymore. Seems like Google would direct you to the correct website.

I've been buying Talon Grips from their website for a few years now, but it appears to be shut down. Anyone know what's going on?

Found some. https://www.precisionreloading.com/cart.php#!l=WN&i=WSP

I need to buy 10,000 winchester small pistol primers for practice. I've got enough Federal to use for matches for a while, but I hate to start using them for practice. I haven't been in the market for a while, but haven't seen squat in the last week. How long has this been going on? Any suggestions? I'm watching GunBot, MidSouth, and Powder Valley. Thanks

I have an ACCU and love it. I like to shoot a lot of rounds, so I think reloading 9MM is about as cheap as it gets. The ACCU was expensive, but nothing compared to the ammo. I do think that a regular shadow with the CGW bushing sounds interesting and may save some money. The ACCU was my second gun, and I didn't want to compromise to save a few dollars on the gun.

Ok. Tried the butt clench in live fire practice today, but really didnt see the improvement on paper. I think I was consentrating too much on my booty, and not enough on my sights. I did notice that simply pointing my knees out seemed to naturally tighten everything up. I see people (really good shooters) shooting like this on YouTube, so perhaps this is what I need to practice this until it becomes a habit. In videos in can definitely see that my a$$ keeps moving after I've transitioned to another target. Maybe I need some Tactical Spanx.

Well. The performance of the gun is very good, and I can't imagine shooting anything else, but it does require maintenance. Granted, I torture a gun with a lot of rounds, so other people may not see the need for all this. The one thing that really surprizes me is how often the hing pin on the HAJO rear sight breaks. When it breaks I notice the pin sticking out a bit, so I just push it back in between runs. It's nothing that will keep me from finishing a stage. I also had a failure to extract today, so perhaps I won't be able to get 6 months out of an extractor. I may treat it like the slide stop and have one I run in matches for a year and use the older ones for practice until they fail. This will probably save me some money. I may also do this with the firing pin. I was at a match a while back and another guy with a shadow had his firing pin stop plate fall out along with the firing pin and spring. It was the last stage of the match and he was having a good day before this happened. Nobody could figure out what caused this. Back home during my next practice session the exact same thing happened to me. Once I found the firing pin spring I compared it to a new one and it was noticeably shorter. I guess the moral of the story is that these parts, especially the lighter springs, wear out and must be replaced. When it has fresh parts it eats ammo. I think I'll buy me another ACCU in a year, and save it for matches. It's a chunk of change.