dcloudy777

Okay, I've had some of the 140mm "short" basepads (for 18rd SP-01 mags) from CZC for years. Love them, lock on very solidly, work perfectly. I got a couple of new SP-01 mags in a trade, and ordered 2 new CZC basepads. All of the hardware looks the same. Everything looks the same except for the cool new CZC logo. But neither basepad "locks" into place like my old ones, and one in particular really doesn't want to seem to stay on... in fact I got hammered by about a dozen rounds and a spring while loading because it slid off while I was loading the mag. Have I forgotten some step? Did something change? DO I have out-of spec mags or parts? Thanks.

The 3rd party product (or collaboration) I want to see is from someone like Silencerco... An integrated barrel/suppressor package just over 16", chambered in .338 Fed, or maybe some even bigger-bore .308-based cartridge.

$550 for an M1 is pretty unbeatable if it runs.

Hornady is a pretty big ammo company, and they do 4 or 5 different loads for 6.5C. I think Winchester has introduced a factory Creedmoor load as well. EDIT: I just actually used both eyes to read the above post... you said 6mm Creedmoor... that's a whole different animal.

Someone at Ruger went all-in with the smart pills. I haven't seen a new gun design this well thought-out and "end-user" oriented in a long, long time. Initial caliber offering is excellent, the magazine well system is genius. The barrel retaining system is awesome, very easy to swap barrels. Trigger adjustment bolt takedown tool onboard the gun, 20MOA scope base standard. It can take most any sort of AR furniture, including grips and selectors. This is some killer market-driven product design. Good for Ruger.

Bryan, just pretend the whole target IS a head... and he's sticking it up from behind cover.

I agree that 3-Gun isn't the best way for someone to start out in competitive shooting, but how do you fix that? A lot of folks have spent a ton of time and resources making 3-gun as fun and appealing as possible. I don't think anyone wants to make the game less attractive to new shooters... that's a recipe for disaster in the long run. Maybe clubs that run 3-gun and some other game (USPSA, IDPA, whatever) could offer free or discounted match entry fees for shooting both disciplines, a "bulk discount" entry fee schedule, if you will. A "mentor" program at the club level might not be bad idea. A shooter shoots his/her first 3 (or 5, or whatever) club matches basically joined at the hip with a club member that's a more seasoned shooter. It doesn't even have to be that great of a shooter, just one who has been around the block a thousand times. This could bring a lot of other benefits to a club too, if you have the right kind of volunteer mentors. Every club with even a modest flow of new shooters should be doing "intro to competitive shooting" clinics. Again, you don't need GMs and pros to do this, just experienced shooters that can teach folks about range commands, administrative gun handling, moving safely, the basic "I don't scare ROs anymore" stuff. Write a simple curriculum (somebody here probably already has one they'd be happy to share) and find people willing to take a day. Maybe even have a little 1-2 stage "match" at the end, give away a free match entry, or a hat or something. Just thinking out loud.

I'm in Open anyway, can I use my night vision gear for the dark stage?

Sight offset shouldn't be much different then the bottom barrel of an O/U gun, and people hit with those just fine. (Other people... not me ) And probably less offset than on an AR. I admit it would probably take some adjustment, but I think the speed you could pick up reloading might be worth it.

What I really wish someone would do is put the barrel on the bottom and the mag tube on the top... Weak hand deuces and quads without having to turn the gun over.....

I shot a pump gun on that &*^%%$* Benning stage. My elbows haven't been the same since. Prone + pumpgun = pain.

16MOA or better sounds good to me for slug targets. And they should almost always have an option to engage it with the handgun. In fact, any target designated as a "single projectile" target (rifle or slug, basically) should have a handgun engagement option. Say 1 slug = 1 rifle = 2 handgun hits.

A couple of thoughts.... Reholstering handguns on the clock is a terrible, like felony stupid terrible idea, whether they are loaded, unloaded, on safe, off safe, or whatever. There is never a legit reason to put a pistol into a holster quickly. Ever. As for the "2 anywhere" scoring... No doubt it's crazy fast and easy to score, and I think it can still make for challenging stages, designers just have to be a little more creative. Hard cover, distance, steel (which you just seem to see more and more of at matches) and those wretched little 1/2 size USPSA targets can be combined to make "2 anywhere" still a challenge. Pump shotguns only in Limited.... love it. There needs to be a place for pump guns to compete. 8-round shotgun tubes... probably a good idea.

Cool... a lot of the elements of "Open Light" that Sterling White and I were theorizing about in a thread last year. I like it.

Interesting.... and close. Have you tested whether timers are going to reliably pick up the shots from the suppressed guns? I know that can be tricky sometimes. And also, purely out of curiosity, why the "divisions" between suppressed and nonsuppressed? I don't really see either configuration having a competitive advantage. But hey, if it gets suppressor companies onboard, I'm all for it. Something like an OAL length-restricted "PDW" division would be pretty neat though...

It's a pre-charges pneumatic system. The body of the gun is an air tank pressurized to around 250-300 lbs/sq in. The spear is launched by a captive-piston system, so the reservoir stays fully pressurized. You insert the spear to "cock" the mechanism, pull the trigger and ZING!!! As for power factor... I'm going to try and chrono the spear next range trip. Hopefully I don't harpoon my chronograph.

I'm ready...

JJ, one of these days I'd love to make it out there. I'd probably dig out the gear and shoot the Garand, just for kicks.

They've already watered down HM to the point of "why bother"....

Whether it "fits" you or not you'll just have to try to find out. But the quality is excellent... I used one for years.

You guys need to get some hose-clamp decals printed up.

I like it. Any solution involving a hose clamp is worth looking into.

Okay bear with me, those of you who know me already know that I've shot a few too many matches without a helmet... but every once in a while I'll have a thought worth repeating. I'm sitting here putting off practicing my shotgun reloads, and I start thinking about what a pain it is... spend a little time loading, a lot of time unloading, rinse, repeat. Tedious. Time consuming. How about you uncrew your tube extension, take out the spring/follower, and screw on the NeverFull load practice device. It's an oversize cylinder that screws on the end of the tube, with stiff plastic "bristles", that put enough tension on the shells going through it to simulate spring pressure. But it's open on the end... as more shells go in, the shells at the end of the tube just drop out, hopefully into a bucket or some such. You just keep stuffing shells in. 50, 100, 200, whatever. No unloading, no fumbling with a shell release or jacking rounds through the gun, you just load. No complete mental "gear-shift" every 8-12 rounds, you just load. Naturally, it wouldn't be a perfect simulation (no increasing tension, no magazine follower), but I think it would be close enough to bulid the correct muscle memory. I can see something like this easily doubling the number of "reps" you could get from a loading practice session.

UPDATE: Well, I finally got around to ordering one, it should be here Friday. I'll get it installed and report back.

My two cents... I'd like to see either: One division -- 20 round .308s with irons/1x, pump shotgun, 10 round .45s or Not have a standalone HM at all... Allow the "heavy" guns in to all divisions with a scoring advantage. The heavy gun must conform witht the rules of whichever division, except for a limited magazine capacity. I think shooting Open with a .308 space gun and an old-school comp/dot single stack .45 would be a hoot!!