MetropolisLake

I can't imagine that hoser stages wouldn't be nice with a short and lightweight upper. Also can't imagine that one wouldn't be able to hit stuff like 8" plates within 200 yards.

Starting to think about a new rifle. I've owned an 18" JP upper and it just seemed pretty beefy based on what I typically use one for. I realize there's the whole rifle length gas system deal plus accuracy and velocity for matches out west, but beyond that are you really gaining anything except weight? I've heard a 14.5" mid length is also very soft shooting. For club matches usually well within 200 absolutely no more than 300 yards once in a blue moon, are you really gaining anything by getting an 18" rifle length vs. a 14.5" mid length?

That's odd. I've been hesitant to get them due to thinking it was way too tall for prone rifle shots.

I tried to run them in my Benelli SBE II and it jammed in the most glorious manner with nearly every shot.

At the Rockcastle club meet this past Sunday, I rearranged my belt for a shotgun only stage, which included unclipping my BladeTech Tek-Lok with my unloaded Glock in a WRS holster attached to it while it was in the trunk of my car, and simply left it there in the trunk of my car. I deserve a DQ for that? It's somehow safer to unholster it with people around at the safety area then stick it in a bag and walk around?

I have a cheap $50 light from Gander Mountain, was advertised at 225 lumens, and test it on my farm. With fresh batteries and it being pitch black, I can illuminate stuff enough to make out what it is over 200 yards away, and can easily use even cheaper magnified variable scopes (those aren't the best light transmitters) usually at least 100 yards, sometimes much further. An ACOG works great and I could shoot something at 200 yards with it in good conditions. The bigger problem is when it is dusk or there are other light sources. Certain light wavelengths such as the more blue light work great if it's not competing with other lights, but I can't see nearly as far at dusk or if I'm competing with headlights and whatnot. When I'm in a hunting environment, I can see seemingly forever. We have 12 fields on 450 acres and I can stand in any of them and illuminate the trees on the other side. Also learn from me before you make the same mistake - usually the best place for a light on a rifle is right where the shockwave from a compensator hit. I smashed my lens due to this. Otherwise it would still be perfect for my needs. You can back off a bit, but then you get this weird half moon light shape. You really just need to invest in a weapon light that can take the shock.

In response to the last two posts... this is for an STI Eagle I plan to use for 3 gun. It only has two 124mm mags. Trying to figure out if I need to get the $60 stock STI 140mm mags or if I should just get tuned ones from a reputable gunsmith from the get-go since I'm having to get new ones anyway. I'm not really upgrading my old ones. I will probably just use these 124mm ones for IDPA and get a whole new set for 3-gun and USPSA. If I get stock ones then decide I should have gotten tuned ones, then I just wasted some money if all I can reuse is the mag body at that point.

I realize that many think that tuned mags are well worth it, but they always seem to be .40. Does the same ideas apply to 9mm? I know it's done a bit differently but don't know if 9mm has the same issues that are tackled by tuning them.

I was about to order some AP quad loads until I saw this. I don't know that I can quad load and may be wasting my money by getting them thinking I can load 2 for now. Did you ever find a system that works? The chameleon belt seems pretty cost effective but the stiffness worries me.

This was at 20 yards that day.

If this is mostly for fun, if they're going to read out loud it would be cooler if you found ridiculous passages in various books, bookmark and highlight them. Or, even children's books, have them read Dr. Seuss or something. Surely that would crack a few more smiles.

A local club had a stage where you had to be in the middle of changing a tire on a car, literally on your knees and turning a tire iron.

It's silly once you are familiar with both. What I ran in to is not knowing a single local person within a 3 hour drive that would be cool with me shooting their stuff. I couldn't even find a single STI in a gun shop, anywhere, within probably 5 hours. This Eagle I got was literally only the second 2011 I had ever even laid eyes on, the other being an expensive custom rig that I held for about 5 seconds. Nobody around here has any Glock modifications either, had only seen a couple of very mild builds at matches. I really had no clue how either would feel or shoot. I would have done some things differently knowing what I do now, but without some exposure it's aggravating when everybody else has their own idea of how things ought to be.

Who brought the bottle at the last club meet and what was it? I need to stay away from whatever it was. Didn't work out too well the next morning.

Happened to a coworker in Nashville. One wrong turn and found himself next to a freshly ventilated body.

It sounds to me like you are suggesting some type of Wiki as a cohesive knowledge repository versus digging through forum topics for tidbits. I think this is a great suggestion as you frequently see the same questions come up again and again. I don't think a Wiki and an associated like to a FAQ page would be difficult to put together but it could be very valuable for forum users. Yes, a wiki would be awesome. I want to read about things that I have never thought of asking about before. I also want to go to one place and get the "official" definition and explanation instead of sorting through random and potentially incomplete chit-chat or having to ask questions non-stop. There's so many things that many people seem to expect you to know, but nowhere that just lays it all out for you all at once.

THIS. Technical people don't understand it but I do. Rednecky hobbies keeps me from going insane.

Sounds familiar. I live a double life. I grew up on 2,400 acres, help manage a 450 farm, currently live on a mini-farm, have a business that revolves around welding, drive a truck, ride around on a tractor quite a bit, hunt, fish, go mudding, blah blah blah. Does that make me a redneck? Well, I have a degree in telecommunications, with basically enough credits to have a double major in electrical engineering and computer science. I've built stuff that was used in the design of Patriot missles and military communication systems, doing contract work for several top semiconductor companies on aerospace and defense projects. I'm a programmer in the financial sector. Can't decide if I'm a rednecky geek or a geeky redneck.

Nope. Thanks for the feedback.

I went to a match thinking that accuracy was a huge factor. So, I aimed hard and tried to poke two little holes right in the middle of every target. Didn't always do that, but, I did end up with the second highest point total. Much to my embarassment, this really didn't help much at all, as I came in towards the bottom in the results, which is totally fine being the first match, but still, the point was that I was rather shocked to see that the accuracy portion didn't help nearly as much as I expected. So, that's what I was getting at, I've never seen a decent explanation of how to score better other than "go faster, stop aiming as hard".

So basically I've been trying to learn up on stuff the last several months, and have found that there is apparently this huge learning curve on gun stuff. For example, there doesn't seem to be a place that just defines basic terms, such as what the 180 is, or what an "out of battery" loading modification for a shotgun is, what the basic strategy for scoring decently in USPSA would be, etc. Google and forum searches often bring back random and vague chit-chat that wastes time for one, but more importantly, sometimes lets you get wrong ideas in your head. So, is there a book you can study that just lays it all out from scratch? I know there's a 3-gun book but it seemed to be mostly a list of the pros and cons of purchasable equipment as well as the history of the sport. Is there anything else worth reading that would jump start someone's understanding and cut out months worth of wading through forums asking dumb questions?

Don't shoot my shotgun... with my other guns. Got it. I'm not exactly pushing the limit enough to have to worry too much about such things yet. But yeah it is way long. Surf cast fishing rig is a good analogy. It feels acceptable with a typical number of shells in it but am worried about inserting and extracting from barrels a little and how it would feel when fully loaded. Better pic from the other thread:

I just came from rifle sights on my FN, don't care to go back. I like the vent rib, with the mid bead if I really feel the need to align it better for slugs. The Hi-Viz fiber optic sight is a little large though, which is great for low light field use, but I hope it doesn't jack with the accuracy of slugs.

Haven't had a chance to fully put it through its paces but can say it eats cheap bird shot just fine which is the concern of some people with SBE II's. Loads like a dream, could instantly load 2. I can shoot and load it much better than my old FN. Do have somewhat of a snag with the mag tube, I think the original spring is a little weak, getting some jams when the last round pops out of the tube. Going to play with that, may have to get a stiffer spring.

Since there doesn't seem to be too awful many built SBE II's out there I figured I'd show mine off. Built by master shotgun surgeon Steve Rose. 26" barrel, Nordic +9 tube, tube clamp with both a QD socket and rail for a light, welded lifter, low friction follower, opened up the loading port, trigger job, ghost loading / out of battery mods, green fiber sight, QD socket in the stock, Arredondo carrier release bar, Nordic bolt handle, lightened bolt carrier... probably other stuff that I can't remember.