Pat Miles

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. You too Nanci. I learned a long, long time ago (yeah I'm old) to never, ever give a thief any kind of a chance anywhere, anytime. I follow that idea religiously. The thieves will appear out of nowhere and do their dirty deed. You will never get any help from anybody including the local police. I watched a thief walk out of a friends store with a high dollar flyrod. Gave the cops the license number of the truck he drove off in. We were told to our faces by the cop that came to take the report that he could not follow up on the license plate info. Why? The only way they would arrest the a$$hole was IF THEY caught the theif! True story! My son (smart kid)told me something years ago. He said the police a just historians. They show up after the fact, take notes and then leave. Not dissing the police as the good ones are handcuffed by laws that protect bad guys and the bad ones just don't give a damn. CYa, Pat

Did a 92 mile, 11 day backpacker last summer in the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch (northern New Mexico) with my son and our Scout Troop. First night was spent in base camp. Lots of noise. Troops pumped about hitting the trail the next day. Troops that returned from their treks and felt like supermen. Some nights we were the only group in camp while other nights there were other groups in camp. No campfires due to fire restrictions so about an hour after sunset everybody was in their tents and quiet. Might have had something to do with the 8-13 mile hikes that day or the fact that we were up at 6:00am, breaking camp and on the trail by 6:30am. Ten nights of peace and quiet sleeping hard. Fun time! CYa, Pat

Low 60's here in Albuquerque. Been on the scooter, Suzuki DL 1000, for the last couple of days. Even washed it! CYa, Pat

Now you'll look like you're doing 100 mph just standing still! CYa tomorrow, Pat

So that's what 3N37 looks like in an Open gun!! CYa, Pat

FBay probably won't do a thing. They got paid. That's all that counts! CYa, Pat

Needless to say the son and his friend are not the sharpest tools in the shed. Then there is the idiot dad who is too stupid to see the alternative to you not calling the police which would have been the death of his son due to freezing. Compare the two outcomes and you should be walking a lot taller knowing that you made the obvious correct decision. The father should be on his knees thanking you for giving his foolish son another chance at life. I would have been. Then I would have been kicking my kids ass to Timbuktu and back. My hat is off to you sir! CYa, Pat

I bought a nice Bridgeport 2 HP Varispeed mill with an AccuRight DRO, factory X axis power table feed and complete set of R8 collets about a year ago. Sold off my Clausing 8520 which covered about 75% of the cost of the BP. I kept all my endmills and everything else that would work with the BP. Had to buy a phase converter as it's a three phase model. Fired it up and had some slight unusual noises coming out of the head. Long story short I spent about $300.00 on new bearings, belts, bushings and a variable speed sheave wheel. Nice and quiet now. Okay, so last month I spend a couple hundred bucks with George (EGW) on a gunsmith plate, hood guage, trigger guages, firing pin stop guage set, etc.. Well, the gunsmith plate is too large for my 5" Kurt vise. Damn, I'll just have to buy that 6.75" Kurt vise I've been looking at. Enco just happens to have them on sale with FREE shipping. Woo hoo! Three days later it arrives at my door. About an hour later the 5" is off and the 6.75" is dialed in and set to go. Now the first order of business is to cut a Wilson frame for a Schuemann barrel for a 40 Single Stack that I'm building for myself. Can't do that tonight as I need to talk to Wil tomorrow regarding measuring the Wilson frame for doing the Para cut. Okay, lets fit the slide stop (barrel hood is fit to the Caspian slide (did that on the mill), bushing is fit to the slide and barrel). Measure the slide stop groove and the EGW oversize slide stop is as it should be, oversize by .007'. Not a problem! Set it up in the vise on top of a parallel, set the power table feed for 2"/minute and turn it loose. Turn the slide stop upwards and cut .0110" off the top so it's flush with the Bomar cut in the slide. Knock the sharp edges off of it and it's almost done. Pop the small sine vise in the Kurt and make the chamfer cuts down the right side of the slide stop for the Aftec extractor. Yeah I know these cuts are maybe about a 1/2" long each but being able to do them with some degree of precision and ease is a hoot. Being retired and able to work into the wee hours of the morning and then sleep in the next day is kind of nice also. CYa, Pat

OW! OW! OW! OW!!!!! That hurts all the way back here in Albuquerque! Do yourself a BIG favor and give your fingers a chance to heal before doing too much with them otherwise you'll bang them on something and be right back where you started. Patience grasshopper. CYa, Pat

Got the help and info I needed. Problem solved! CYa, Pat

Never had any of my dies come loose. The powder die is the same diameter and TPI as your other dies. I adjust mine where I want it and then use a 10" all sixteenths, all metric, all Whitworth left handed adjustable spanner (a crescent wrench) and put some muscle on the locknut. I wouldn't think that a second lock nut would be necessary. CYa, Pat

My hat is off to the Penguins. You stop and think about it and this effort was a small one in the Penguins organization but a HUGE day for that young man. I see efforts like that and I will go a great distance to tell the organization how great they are. Standing still with hand over heart and hat off during the National Anthem is such a tiny effort on peoples part. You lead by example. And we wonder why kids these days are the way some of them are. CYa, Pat

What a simple, inexpensive alternative for an activator! I'll be welding up a couple for our club. Won't be one piece like MGM's. Probably use 1/2" x 1" steel strap with the 1/2" edge facing the shooter. CYa, Pat

I like the holster but mine has/had a couple of nagging problems both having to do with the friction adjustment knob at the bottom of the holster. Trying to snug it down where I felt comfortable that the gun would not come out when unlocked has proved to be an ongoing PIA. The knob is chrome plated and slippery. Snugging it down was a slippery effort. I cured that problem by filing serrations perpendicular to the face of the knob with a 30 LPI checkering file around the circumferance of the knob. Second problem was the knob staying at the position I set it at. Always backs out some how. I plan on popping the holster apart and drilling the detent holes deeper. One other problem was the height adjustment locking knob would continually come loose also. A drop a Loctite Small Screw threadlocker fixed that. Seems a shame to spend big $$'s and have these problems. CYa, Pat

I have a set of their pouches. Unless you are specificly looking for a mag pouch that orients the magazine facing outward instead of upward there are others out there that are less expensive and available. I modified mine with a button head screw that clicks into the mag release window for a bit more security. The brass adjustment thumb screw stripped out on one of mine (they haveitty bitty diameter brass screw shafts. I retrofitted that one with a 6-32 machine screw. Drilled the thumb wheel and tapped it 6-32, loctited the screw in the brass thumb wheel. Next I drilled and tapped the brass hex head nut on the back of the mag pouch for 6-32. Easy to do if you have a lathe in your garage. I'll modify the other pouches some other time. CYa, Pat

To pop the button off of almost any ball cap just take a pair of dikes(diagonal wire cutters) and put the jaws between the bottom of the button and the cap itself. Squeeze the dikes and the button will pop off. Most likely you will be left with a stiched hole in the top where the button stem passed through the cap and was pressed into another flat button. Cake walk! CYa, Pat

How does one determine the width of the flat top cut to have the serrations come out correctly at the edges of said flat top cut? CYa, Pat

As far as changing the sear spring pressure consider what the sear spring is anchored in...the slot in the polymer grip. The (from the rear) left and center leg of the sear spring act on the sear and disconnector which are "mounted" in the frame with the sear pin. Any change in the relationship of the grip and the frame will cause a change in sear spring pressure on the sear and the disconnector. Loose srews will cause this problem. Not saying this is your problem but could cause it and it takes about 30 seconds to check. CYa, Pat

What type of gun is it happening to. If it is an S_I polymer gripped gun make sure the grip screws that attach the grip to the frame are tight. Found that problem with my gun today. Interesting that the disconnector tang is losing pressure as it has to provide very little due to it's tiny movement. If your gun is a Para keep in mind that they require a unique sear spring that is longer in overall length. CYa, Pat

Welcome to the forum! You will find a good amount of info regarding Limited class and the guns used in said class at Rio and Ben Avery. Introduce yourself to some folks before the match and explain what it is your looking for. You will probably find more than one Limited gun for sale. Don't rush to buy one. Do your homework, ask questions, ask for explanations and info regarding everything. Take your time shopping. You will probably find more than one shooter who will offer to let you put a few rounds through their gun once they know you are truly interested. If your not already familiar with IPSC style shooting go online to the USPSA website (www.uspsa.org) and read the rules of the game. Be double damn sure you know the rules on safety for obvious reasons then live by them. Let us know how everything progresses. You will find about a bazillion years of experience on this forum and everybody will be more than willing to help. CYa, Pat

Yeah, call us!! What the hell am I saying! I'm 60 and turtle slow. I've been known to take a short nap in the middle of a stage. RO's clear my gun and take it . Shooters after me just jump over or go around. My squad mates wake me up when the stage is torn down and put away at the end of the day. Don't worry about being slow. Go shoot and enjoy yourself. You will probably find that most folks will offer you good advice regarding the stages. CYa, Pat

I don't have an answer for you but the good folks at Dillon can answer that question in just a few seconds. (800)223-4570. CYa, Pat

I use heavy duty plastic gloves and spray outside into the big black trash can/dumpster that the city provided for curbside trash pickup. Compressor after that for quick drying. I use the cheap spray brake cleaner from Wally World. Lots of ventilation! CYa, Pat

My CV 500 has been tumbling along for about 15 years. I am sure it will die some day (duh) so I picked up a newer used one to press into action when the inevitable happens. I noticed the newer one does not vibrate as harshly(?) as my original. Takes longer to clean brass it seems. CYa, Pat

If you have any mechanical knowledge and common sense you will have no problem with a 650. I started with one about 20 years ago and love it so much I added a second when I found a smoking deal here. Don't forget about Dillon's toll free help line. They know their stuff! Also, you have about a zillion years of loading and 650 experience on this forum. CYa, Pat