Flash74

The pouches look good. I dont know how they can print them at this price point. How do they attach to a belt, am I missing something in the pictures.

Yep, stay away from the 10 rounders. Most of the time it is tight to get that 10th round in and will be difficult to load on the clock. If local laws allow go with the factory 140's. I have never heard of a 3gun match that only allows 10 rounds per mag. Is this a club rule?

Run what ya got, especially for a provisional division. If the slide is feeling sluggish go up on your recoil spring. For me a 15lb spring feels the best in 9mm. The 13 and 11lb springs just felt too slow. In 40, a 13lb feels the best for me. Run all the spring weights you have on the clock. I bet it won't make much of a difference. Pick the one that feels the best to you.

Agreed, the balance is fine though. My 9mm with stock barrel would shoot 8" groups low and right at 25 yards. Dropped in the Storm Lake and had centered 4" groups. My 40 always shot 4" centered groups. I love the reliability, but wonder if the accuracy would have improved if I had better reloads. Since my original post, I polished the chamber of my Para since it had a rather sharp transition into the throat. Just a little work with a felt wheel and some jewelers rouge. The rounds that stuck a little will now drop in and out, but the 10% that were tough are still tough to get in and out. A 10% failure rate us unacceptable, time to work on the reloads.

Depends on your disposable income and whether you like to tinker. I would go Glock for the reliability, cheap parts and magazines. There is no need to send it to TTI, parts mostly plug and play. I would go with the longer 34 or 35. That site radius is nice to have. The DVC will require more attention, mags cost more, but a nice running 2011 is hard to beat. It depends on how much work you want to put into your pistol. On another note, I would get a 40 if you are planning on shooting limited. Major power factor scoring is a plus and it can be downloaded for 3gun. You may only get 20 versus 23 rounds in a mag, but I have never seen a stage in either sport that didn't have a spot to reload.

I do use a Udie. The "bulge" is at the bottom of the bullet after seating, not the bottom of the case.

I got a false sense of security reloading for my M&P's. Everything I cranked out fed and functioned just fine with the factory barrels. I never got a case gauge since all my reloads would drop in and out when I used the barrel for a case gauge. Once I got a Storm Lake barrel for my 9mm, I realized my reloads were not up to snuff. I had rounds that would not chamber at all in the Storm Lake barrel, could barely be pushed into a Glock 17 barrel, but would drop in and out of the factory M&P barrel. I have since refined my 9mm reloads and have had no issues making quality ammo that fits the tight chamber of the Storm Lake barrel. I am experiencing this same thing again. I just got a Para P16.40 and tried my reloads for my M&P Pro 40 in its barrel. 10% of the rounds do not chamber without a strong push, 15% chamber but stick a little and will not spin and the rest (75%) drop in and out of the Para barrel. I tried the rounds that were really tough to get into the Para barrel and put them into the stock M&P 40 barrel. They would drop in and out of the M&P barrel. It's time to refine my 40 loads and get a case gauge. At first I thought it might be the length of the rounds. I load to 1.160" for the M&P. I measured the Para chamber and found it could take at max a 1.190" loaded round. It definitely wasn't length. I turns out the rounds that were really hard to chamber were a touch out of round. It really makes a difference on how you sit the bullet on the case before seating it. When I load too fast the bullet might sit a little crooked on the case and I let the die collar (Hornady) straighten the bullet before seating. This made a bulge at the base of the bullet that couldn't be seen but could be measured. If you are reloading for a factory M&P barrel you might find they don't work so well in another gun. Check your reloads!

Unless I am mistaken I think he meant the rounds were 1.131 to 1.139 and he was trying for 1.135. If you are really getting 1.310-1.390 then you have some long loaded rounds. I don't think a variation of 8 thousandths is that bad, but it could be tightened up. Make sure your seating die has the proper profiled seater that matches your bullet tips. I get the most variation when I am running the wrong seater. Also make sure you run the handle on the press all the way to the stop points firmly, but don't beat up the press. I usually vary 5 thousandths on my rounds, anywhere from 1.158 to 1.162 when I am trying for 1.160.

Loading long is typically done in the 2011 type pistols to improve feeding. Another benefit is lower pressure when reloading. Also getting the bullet closer to the land and grooves to decrease the jump proves to be more accurate in a lot of firearms. Loading long is not necessary in a M&P especially if you have a stock barrel. The chambers are huge and in my experience feed everything. I found out I could load to 1.21 for my 40 and loaded up a 100 rounds. Then I tried to put them in the magazine. I got a few in before loading got real hard and I realized the rounds were too long for the magazine. I tested length for the magazine and figured out 1.16 fits and feeds so that is what I have used since. I just got a Para Pro Custom 16.40 and all my ammo loaded at 1.16 is too long. Time to work up another load.

It is not KKM but Midway USA has Storm Lake barrels for $150. When I got mine from there they were $129. I am very happy with the accuracy out of mine but it does have a tight chamber. A Udie and Lee FCD makes very good ammo for the barrel.

Yep, stippling will lose its "tooth" over time. Over the winter I re-stipple my grips to bring back the aggressiveness. I use a pencil tip on my iron when I stipple so going over it again in worn spots simply refreshes it instead of changing it.

There is an easy work around for that. Plenty of beer and hot wings and sports on the TV. Maybe 3-4 times a week. You will have a tactical shelf in no time.

SPS out of spain fit and function. For $53 you can get a 140mm mag that holds 20rds reloadable. Only problem is you have to file the base pads since the mag is 143mm. Or replace with aTTI base pad. It only took a week and a half to get from Barcelona to Ohio.

Unless the grips have changed in the last year the "stripes" on the plastic grip are an insert that are made out of a rubber material with the rest of the grip being a hard plastic. I purchased a Witness 45 with those grips and after a few uses the stripes started to come off. The glue that holds them on does not hold up to heat very well. I ended up pulling the stripes off and stippling my grips similar to yours with a pencil tip on my iron. Since your "stripes" are stippled into the grip you may not have an issue with them separating, but it is something to look out for. The Witness pistols do not have any checkering on the front or back straps, just vertical lines milled in. I ended up stippling the smooth part of the grips next to the front and back strap. That made them much more "grippier" for me and I was able to hold the pistol better.

I use the CED 7000. I like the small size and how quickly I can get through the menus to set par time. The screen is small, so I can see issues with older eyes. The beep has a high and low feature. I use low with a piece of tape over the speaker when dry firing at home for a soft tone. The belt clip with hinge works great for me. It is easy to flip up and look at the screen. It is easy to pull it off the clip and make menu changes and put it back on the clip when needed. When I RO 3gun matches I wear it on the lanyard that comes with it. I don't have to go searching for the timer since it is always with me. The battery is internal. It can be charged with the included wall charger or car charger. Battery life is good, on a full charge I can use it for a 3 day match and still have battery life. I have used the big blue and brown bricks when RO'ing at other clubs. They work fine but I find them cumbersome. They are durable from my experience. I have seen many cracked lenses on the screens, gouges on the cases, lettering wore off, etc., but they just keep working. Don't trust the clip on the larger units. They don't seem to hold too well and I see a lot of dropped timers. I don't know if the 7000 can take the abuse I have seen the other timers take. I have dropped mine a few times with no issues, but it definitely doesn't get the abuse I have seen others take. If I had to do it over again, I would get the Shotmax for personal use. It wasn't out when I got my timer. I always wear a watch so it would feel natural. I like the features of the unit but I don't know how well it would work for RO'ing.

I am not a fan of 1.5x optics for the low range. I have to close one eye to use them and it slows me down on close and intermediate range stages. For me, having a true 1x is more important than what the upper range is (4x-8x). I use the Burris XTR 1-4x on two of my rifles and have been happy with them. Their BDC reticle is accurate for me using Federal AR223 out of an 18" barrel. One of the scopes had a washer come loose on the inside. Burris has a lifetime warranty so I sent it in and got it back in about two weeks. No further issues with the scope since.

The tubes are basically the same size between Para and S_I mags. I would think the springs would work for either but I don't know for sure. What I do know is that Dawson Precision has springs specifically listed for Para mags. They are 11-coil for the 140mm mags. If you need stock length then a coil could be cut off.

I had the same issue when I first got a Storm Lake barrel for my 9mm. It turned out to be oversized rounds. Factory fed and shot fine but some Freedom Munitions remanufactured 9mm had issues with stuck cases. I mean pound the case out stuck. I chamber checked the rounds and factory dropped in and out, but many of the FM rounds would have to be pushed in and then pulled out with pliers. Interestingly these extreme oversized rounds would drop in/out of the factory barrel (huge chamber). Once I got my 9mm dies I ran these oversized rounds through a Lee factory crimp die and they would drop in/out of the tight chamber in Storm Lake Barrel. I never had a stuck case issue since. I wish I would have measured the oversized rounds but I never thought of it at the time. My 9mm reloads currently measure 0.371-2 at the case mouth. Edit: I just looked again and read that you use a Lee FCD. If your rounds measure the same as factory along the full length of the case then I think you are on the right track with the bullet ogive. Keep shortening the rounds with coated bullets until there is no sticky feeling when removing the rounds during the plunk test.

I stayed at the Best Western last year and was happy with it. I like the ranch style with no noise above/below. The room seemed like it was updated within the past year or two and was clean. Since I travel often for work it has become habit to do a detailed check for bed bugs so I don't bring anything home with me. There were no signs of any bugs in my room.

I shot my first IDPA match this weekend. It was the only match within a reasonable distance from my house. I normally shoot USPSA and 3gun but there aren't matches the first weekend of the month. I have dogged on IDPA in the past mostly from rules I deemed as silly and comments I have read from others. I thought, what the heck, I will go check this out for myself and if I don't like it, I will still get some trigger time in. The only pistol I have that would be legal for IDPA is a 1911. I read through the rules the night before and everything seemed simple enough. My only question was when to use sequence versus priority for target arrays. I found out at the match that the COF tells you which one to use so it wasn't a big deal. I found the match fun and will be back for more. I found the stages small, but much more technical than what I am used to. I would go too fast and drop too many points. (USPSA Limited ha ha) When I slowed down I shot well but it just felt wrong. I could have shot the stages in less than half the time I did if it was USPSA. I enjoy the speed of USPSA, but IDPA makes you think much more which is not a bad thing. Remembering to retain mags, shoot this side one way, shoot the other another way, retain this mag-again, reload behind this, etc. will help to get you thinking quickly in any shooting sport. I was surprised I never received a procedural or even got a "cover" call. It was pretty easy to shoot within the rules. I learned that choice of cover garment makes a huge difference. I wore a loose shirt that took some effort to get out of the way. When I tried a guys "starched" vest with "keys" in the pocket it was much easier to draw and get to mags and the huge pockets made it easy to stow. (who says there isn't gaming in IDPA) I worked out of my pants pockets, but it was slow compared to a vest. A gamer vest will be my next piece of equipment before my next match. All in all I had a good time and enjoyed the match. If you realize that it is a different game and can think on your feet you will have fun. If you only like to run and gun, then then you will probably get frustrated and not have much fun.

1.160" is the longest I can load and have it reliable out of my magazines. I tried 1.170" and it worked most of the time but there were some hang ups. The factory chamber can accept much longer, but you are limited by the magazines.

If your 40's are coming out of the box during transport, you may have gotten some 44/45LC boxes. They are taller than the ones for 40/10/45, but are dimensionally the same otherwise. I have been very happy with the Plano 100rd boxes in 380/9 and 40/10/45. (gray bottom/yellow top) They have two latches which are very secure but it takes two hands to open. They hold the rounds well (they wiggle) and hold empty cases without them coming out and rolling around.

9 out of a 40 would only be restricted in production. For limited or lim10 it would be fine. The 9 and 40 M&P pistols use the same frame. The tolerances are loose enough on these pistols that switching top ends works well.

Glockster35, If you go to Greg Cotes website there are instructions on how to get the ACT mags to work in the Pro Custom. It is a combination of changing the baseplate and opening up the mag catch slot towards the top of the tube. The ACT mags seem to be the cheapest option so far. $21 for mag, $35 for DP basepad and $9 for spring comes to $65 for a 19-20rd reloadable magazine. All the other options are closer to $100 to get the same.

In response to the OP and racingjoe27 about measuring the mags for swell. Were the mags measured both loaded and unloaded? I have had a mag that measured fine when unloaded, but swelled when loaded. (Stay away from cheap after market mags) I should have included this in my original response.