Flash74

Burris has always treated me well. They fixed a scope and a FF II for me. Neither one cost me a dime and they turned them around pretty quickly. About two weeks from sending to getting them back. Both still work like new .

Nevermind, I need to work on my reading comprehension.

Gloves are for those with girly hands. Real men have callouses and dont need gloves!!! Now that all the bravado is out of the way, I always have a pair of gloves in my bag, can't believe I forgot them on my list. I think I single handedly keep Mechanix in business.

I know I am late to the discussion, but don't ever lock your joint if you dont have to. There is absolutely no benefit to doing so. If you've locked your joint then it is hyperextended and at a weak point. You take the joint to a point if it goes any farther then damage will occur. If locking elbows makes sense, then locking knees when shooting should also make sense. By all means please shoot with elbows locked and knees locked. I would love to see the video. If you agree that shooting with bent knees makes sense, then wouldn't shooting with bent elbows make sense. Your body has built in shock absorbers with a pretty good suspension system. Use it.

Nope, no passes on being a girl. I believe everyone who has shot a rifle in competition has put a round or two through something they shouldn't. Sight height over bore has gotten me a few times. I usually catch the shower of splinters in my scope letting me know the error I made, however there are no splinters flying when you crease the metal when shooting over a car. Just a target with no hits. Thankfully it was just a range junker already full of holes.

Yes, a frame weight is legal in limited. Since I posted this I have shot the Para in many more matches. It took me a few matches and practice sessions to get used to the larger grip, but once I did, I started doing much better than I ever did before. The combination of the heavier gun and the really short single action trigger has made a difference for me. I have been more accurate, recoil control is much easier and I can get the second shot off much faster. You could of named me alpha-charlie when I was shooting my M&P, now the charlies are reduced by half of what they used to be. I was always searching for the softest load to shoot in my M&P. Running right near 165PF to be able to control the recoil better and not have my hands and wrists hurt (arthritis) so bad after a match. With the Para I have increased my loads to 170PF for some cushion and they still shoot pretty soft in the gun. While I do believe that the Para has helped me, I don't think the M&P is a bad gun for Limited. It is very reliable with acceptable accuracy. There are lots of aftermarket parts for mags, triggers, guide rods, mag wells, etc. to make a fine competition pistol, but it is just not as easy to shoot as a heavier, single action type pistol. (At least for me anyways)

Precisely!

I would love to see that popper mandatory or even a stick with a circle. Too many times I have had to wait through a calibration when the shooter was told that they hit low and everyone knew they would fail calibration. I was one of them at my first USPSA match when I was shooting limited minor and didnt know better. Now that I have been shooting for a few years, I believe the peanut gallery should be able to tell the shooter that they are full of you know what and take the miss. True calibration issues are readily apparent and usually result in the RO calling stop and resetting the stage.

What bag is this? I must have one... Check out this thread. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=219056&hl=range+heads+up#entry2446111 This pack has been working very well for me the past few months. The piping near the bottom is starting to wear and fray from moving it around on tables, but the rest of the pack is like new. Since I got this, I noticed there are a few more "tackle box" backpacks with similar layout/construction that come in more appealing colors other than red for the same price point.

Factory mags are cheap enough there is no reason to save $5 on aftermarket mags.

Since I started this thread I have acquired 8 SPS magazines. IMO this is the best approach to acquire competition magazines. Buy a $52 SPS magazine, add a $32 TTI basepad and you have a 20rd (40) or 23rd (9mm) reloadable magazine with a tool less base pad for around $85 total. It is pretty hard to match. If you have stock magazines, by all means get the Dawson basepads and an extended spring. I chose to keep my stock mags stock for the short, quick reload stages.

Yep, profile of the bullet is important. I always loaded 1.16" for my M&P 40 because that is what would fit in the magazine. After acquiring a Pro Custom, I tried my regular loads and they would stick in the chamber. I had to shorten them to 1.13 before they would plunk & spin. I ran out of BBI (TC profile) and switched to Acme (RNFP profile). With the different profile bullet I could load out to 1.2" and it would fit my Para, however, that was to long for my M&P magazines so I settled on 1.160" again. Everything from factory, 1.13", 1.16" and 1.2" length has fed and shot well in my pistol as long as the cartridge passes the plunk test.

I was sure nervous when I got my first "race" holster. After using them for a couple of years I figured out they work like they're supposed to. Sure they wont handle bumps when unlocked but are secure and safe when locked. I still spend a lot of time at matches with my hand on the pistol's grip out of habit though.

Another vote for Racer/Racemaster from DAA. I have been very happy with mine as well as DAA's racer mag pouches and belts.

I have not used one, but Raven Concealment makes kydex concealment holsters for pistols with red dots. Everything else I have seen for red dot equipped pistols has been OWB.

Typical loadout for mid summer match: eyes & ears spare eyes and ears pistol w/rug 6-magazines 300rds ,40 pro grip parts kit tool kit squib rods spare mag pouch brass bag timer and charger hand towel sunscreen bug spray booboo kit (bandaids, tape, tissues, etc.) blowout kit (nitrile gloves, tourniquet, olaes bandage, etc.) 3-16oz water 3-20oz gatorade ice pack granola bars banana chilly pad My range backpack has a built-in cooler. It has been great not having to carry the bag and a separate cooler. The bag sure is heavy at the start of a match but after all the liquid has been consumed and the ammo is shot, it's pretty light when leaving.

Small slides are tough to get a good grip on. In my 9mm Shield I have no trouble inserting a full mag and racking the slide to chamber a round, but I have some difficulty locking the slide back. (Even with being a big strong burly man, ha ha) There is a lot of resistance right at the back of the slide travel when you are trying to push the slide catch up with your thumb. I find it easier to insert an empty mag and rack the slide normally to lock it back. The double captured spring system is pretty stiff to handle +p duty rounds and prevent frame battering. My gun handles weak factory white box fine (120-125pf), but had some failures to feed with some really light (100pf) hand loads. The slide would not move far enough back to pick up another round. I wouldn't put in a lighter spring unless I was certain I would only be shooting light loads.

Don't use fireclean to lube the shaft. After having a bad experience using it on a shotgun where it froze the firing pin, I threw it in the junk box. Figured I'd keep it since it cost $9 for the little bottle. I cleaned my 550 shaft one day and decided I would use up the fireclean to lubricate. I let the press sit for a week and when I went to use it something did not feel right. There was a drag as the shaft went up and down that you could hear and feel it in the handle. I had to use a degreaser to get the fireclean off the shaft and relube with motor oil. The fireclean has since been filed in the round receptacle.

This is what I was going to have done to my 9 and 40 slides. Tooth and Nail gave me good pricing to have the work done but I ultimately decided to just have my 40 slide nickel boron coated to match my 9 slide.

Yep, the Stoeger is inertia. For gas guns you have the 1100/11-87, Franchi, and a host of Turkish cheapies. The only 20 gauges that have aftermarket support will be the Remingtons and the Benelli/Stoeger. Will a Daves easy loader fit on the 20ga? It's the only way to run a Remington in 3gun.

I know you shoot IDPA so you are limited in the mods you can do. For me the DCAEK trigger kit a big improvement in triger pull. The biggest improvement in the new firing pin block plunger. It really smoothes out the trigger. The FSS trigger kit is a game changer, it takes a good gun and makes it a great gun, but wont work for SSP.

The 9 came with a Guncraft trigger and I purchased one for The 40. It is an oversized trigger that you fit your self. Not too bad at $28 dollars. It makes for a smoother trigger pull without all the slop the factory triggers have. I didn't buy mags tubes, I purchased complete mags that came with a plastic wedge base that doesn't quite fit the mag gauge. SPS mags come with good followers and decent springs. The mags come to $53 and the basepads cost me $32 using the discount code from Jesse Tischauser. So $85 for a complete mag. SPS has mags with an aluminum base pad that cost around $85, but they require an allen wrench to remove. I prefer TTI's base pads for looks (important, hee hee) and their method of removal.

With a 550, make sure you look into the case everytime you place a bullet. If anything is off, pull the case and start over. Maybe this is why I only get 200 rounds an hour done with mine. (Crossing fingers) Thankfully, I have not had any issues with squibs or double charges since I have had my 550.

It would probably be OK for local matches, but I would not take it to a level 2 or higher. Maybe sell it and start from scratch.

Maybe I am missing something, but I have never reached the mag release with my thumb on any pistol I have shot. (Big hands with short sausage fingers) I rotate the gun in the hand to hit the button while reaching for a mag with the weak hand. By the time I get the mag to the gun I have the gun rotated back into position in my strong hand.