BeerBaron

finally I would always suggest bolting the safe to the wall and/or floor. even if it's big and heavy.

i tend to agree with the guys who say go bigger than you think you need. partly because (as someone already mentioned) a lot of safe makers overestimate how many guns you can actually fit in their safe. Like a safe for 12 long guns often only really comfortably fits 6. Having extra room is nice as it means for example you can store your pistols in their case inside the safe rather than having to stash the empty cases somewhere and the pistols naked in the safe. makes it easy than unpacking and re-packing every time you want to go shoot them. Other than that don't be fooled by really thick doors. they are mostly hollow and often a 2inch thick door like that will offer less protection than say a 1/4 thick door that is of good quality steel plate... so do some research to understand exactly what it is you're getting for your money.

anyone with a CED 7000PRO? would love to hear your thoughts.

I really like the CR speed pouches. come with a range of inserts to fit almost any mag, and if you go single stack later on they also sell single stack inserts now too. I've never had to adjust tension with them using them with CZ shadow mags. once set-up the first time they have stayed fine for a number of years. They are my pick for the money. The DAA racer pouches are nice too and have a good tension system. I'd rate them about equal. the DAA racemasters are nice but I've no idea why anyone would actually prefer alloy pouches over plastic? they are heavier and they will wear your mag finish off much quicker... it's also really easy to attach a magnet to your front CR speed pouch if you want to (and if the division you are in allows it). I run with 5 CR speed pouches on my belt with no problem.

great thread. love hearing all the old stories. I was still in nappies in the early 80s and only started IPSC in recent times but they stories are fantastic. thanks for sharing.

You are dead right. When starting in USPSA or IPSC there is one thing you need to do well. BE SAFE. First and most important things are these 2: Be conscious of your muzzle direction at all times (the guy who mentioned keeping the gun up high when moving between targets gave a good tip) Trigger finger, it should come in and out of the trigger guard naturally. basically if you're not taking a shot it should be well out of the trigger guard. Whilst thinking about that stuff also work on shooting A's. Once you have the safety stuff to the point where you no longer have to consciously think about muzzle and trigger finger then it's time to start bringing up the pace. As you shoot more you will get more comfortable and start to move quicker. but as always safety is what's important. it's much easier to be an accurate shooter who needs to work on speed vs a fast guy who gets mikes here and there. so work on the other techniques and the speed will come up when you're ready.

I get a good grip with dominant hand during the draw then add the support hand and tighten it. so sequentially. that works for me.

I have no doubt you will love the pro-ears. they have a much better NRR than the peltors. my personal experience (which is fairly limited) with pro-ears was the overall fit and finish (quality if you like) wasn't up to the peltors. the sound dampening was very good, but the cut-off was more noticeable than the peltors (I think the peltors have better electronics). BUT for the price you paid for the pro-ears that puts them in a whole different light and for that money they are probably the right choice. Here in my little convict colony they cost way more than the peltors. Troy, hold out for the pro-ears or some peltors tactical sports. The howard leight are really a bargain basement model. good for the very occasional shooter but for a regular shooter it's worth spending more $$ for decent protection and comfort. one other thing they don't have that the peltors do is auto-off. anyone will the howard's will tell you how many times they have gotten to the range only to find flat batteries as they forgot to turn them off last time. not a problem with peltors...

Zerwas, I believe you are correct. no difference in external dimensions between small and large frame, though I thought I felt a difference in grip between a mates 9mm small frame stock II and my large frame stock II. could have been in my head! accuracy wise the stock II is definitely the better. the cone lockup for a start is sure to help as is the bull barrel which has a better crown. however all of them are pretty much a tack driver at 25 yards. 50 yards is a bit tougher ask on a short-ish semi-auto but they still punch above their weight at that distance. sight radius in australia our stock 2 is slightly longer I believe as we have a 121mm barrel (same as stock 3) that fits flush up to the slide/dust cover. they made a special model for us as the regular stock II barrel was too short. I believe the stock II's you get still have the competition type crown. off the top of my head sight radius is the same stock II to stock III here. our CZ shadows come with a slightly longer barrel (sticks out about 10mm) but sight radius is the same as everywhere else. overall there is very little between the 3 in terms of sight radius. for someone like yourself who cares about accuracy above all else. I'd say the stock II is probably the best choice. it's the only one with a bull barrel. have a look here at the specs on the aus versions: http://www.tanfoglio.com.au/c/122/stock.html

in your price range I would have recommended the peltor tactical sports. they are not bulky at all. very nice quality. The howard leight impact sports are cheap for a reason. they are rubbish (I have owned them and still have a pair I never use). the pro ears are great too I have heard (no pun intended) but I haven't had much to do with them personally. The best set-up on a budget (if you can't afford $300 MSA Sordins etc) is this: Peltor tactical sport (around $100) buy a set of peltor HY80 gel cups (around $40-$50) - these are what is used on the $1000 pilot type muffs. The gel cups improve the NRR. They improve comfort, they create 2 seals which is important since we are always wearing shooting glasses. and they are just so comfy. So for $150 you have a set of muffs that will easily match a set of $300+ muffs (most of which don't come with gel cups either). oh, you dodged a bullet on the tactical 6S. They are rubbish. Most peltor stuff is great, but these are a cheap bottom end of the market type product. Don't bother with them..

Is anyone using the CED 7000PRO? I like the idea of being able to use it to score too. At practice matches we obviously don't print score sheets or use winMSS for scoring so being able to do it with a timer as you walk around to score and patch would be nice. A lot of guys here (australia) use the CED 7000 and they seem to work great. my club actually has an old pocket pro for loaner timers and it works fine too. At matches a lot of clubs use the yellow IPSC timers (speed timer 3000). I've not seen anyone here use the CED8000. They look a little awkward to use? I thought about the PACT but for that money you can buy a basic timer and a separate chrono. so for me I think I'm looking at between a pocket pro II or a CED7000 pro. Would love to hear thoughts on the merits of the CED7000 pro. here is the pro: http://www.doublealpha.biz/timers/CED7000PRO/ced7000pro-shot-timer

mah bad! carry on.

I was a little disappointed in the review. I thought it would be more in depth, but the price was right. so I can't really complain I own a CZ SP01 Shadow and a Tanfog stock II (mine is a large frame 38 super but I also shoot it with a 9mm barrel). I have shot the CZ a lot in IPSC, have not shot the tanfog as much but will be shooting it more. Have not shot a stock 3 but have played with one and dry fired one. Some of my own thoughts. The stock II (and stock 3) feel much more tightly 'fitted' than the CZ (mainly slide fit). Out of the box the CZ trigger is much nicer and the tanfog trigger does stack. out of the box the stock 3 trigger is nicer than stock 2 (less pre-travel). apparently Eric G shoots a stock 2 with a stock 3 trigger parts.... Stock II is the only one of the 3 with a bull barrell (cone lock-up). this should help accuracy and also adds a bit of weight at the muzzle end. it also helps account for it's higher price. stock II is the most expensive of the 3 guns. stock 3 was apparently built to compete more directly with the CZ shadow (hence why it comes standard with just a blued finish and is cheaper than stock 2). checkering on stock II and 3 is much more serious than the CZ (I run skate tape front strap and back strap on my CZ, no need on the tanfog) The nickel GK finish on the stock 3 special is beautiful and definitely worth the extra money over the regular stock 3 (for that extra money you get the nickel coat and alloy grips) Yes mag-well on the tanfogs (both small and large frame) is a bit nicer than the CZ but the CZ is also decent for a production spec gun. I have also found a lot of the trigger jobs people do on the stock II's means they struggle to ignite harder primers (noted in the test they found that problem). stock 3 trigger parts will fit straight into your stock 2 and are still IPSC production legal. stock II and 3 both come with adjustable rear sights (and they are buried into the slide and are decent to use). CZ comes with fixed rear. CZ comes with a fibre optic front. stock II and stock III do not. CZ comes with rubber grips (which are actually quite good if you have medium to large hands, not good for small hands), the stock II and 3 come with nice wood grips, stock 3 special has nice alloy grips. the slide serrations in the stock II and stock III are much deeper and wider than on the CZ Shadow is poly-coat (not blued, it's a very durable finish), stock 3 is blued (not sure how durable it is), stock 3 special is the GK nickel coat, stock II limited is hard chromed. CZ shadow and stock 3 have a rail, stock 2 does not. all 3 effectively have a full length dust cover I find the stock II is the heaviest of the 3 pistols. still not overly heavy if you're used to say a steel 1911 etc. Overall the tanfogs feel nicer quality. Better finished and better assembled. the CZ's can sometimes be a bit off, but mostly are also very nicely put together. Put it this way. the CZ really does look and feel like a duty pistol with some nice bits to make it an IPSC/target gun. The tanfogs feel like a IPSC/target gun from the ground up that happens to somewhat resemble a duty gun. In the hands of most shooters I'm not convinced there is much difference between them. Plenty of guys shoot very, very well with a CZ. My own CZ is nearly 6 years old and has been shot a lot. I broken a couple of front sights, but still has the original slide stop (can see it's getting worn though, I keep a spare JIC). There is a difference between a CZ and a large frame tanfog. Some will much prefer one grip over another. With big hands I like the large frame grip. I like the CZ grip too though. Both are nice to hold for me. In Australia we pay $1350 for a CZ shadow with 4 mags. We pay $1495 for a stock 3 (with 4 mags, custom negrini case etc) We pay $1695 for the stock 3 special (also with 4 mags, custom case etc), Stock II was $1950 (also with 4 mags and custom case). All prices are AUD so approximate to USD within about 10%. For me if I was starting new the choice would probably come down to a Shadow or the stock 3 special. for the extra $200 (in aus) over the regular stock 3 you get nickel coating (which is usually a $200 option on guns anyway if not more) and alloy grips. It's a really nice looking coating. The stock II is very nice and realistically the best featured of the 3 pistols. but at least here it's a good $600 more than a shadow. So if money is no option it would probably be a stock II with stock 3 trigger set-up. At the end of the day, try and see if you can at least hold all 3 as they all feel different in the hand. buy the one that feels best in the hand. You won't be disappointed with any of the three.

I'm not sure it has anything to do with the mag release wire. what happens is the slide has locked back and the slide stop is holding it. when you push in the new mag it jolts the slide stop and slide is release. it's of benefit for fast reloads. the real question though is why are you running dry all the time!?! you should be planning your reloads and still have at least 1 round in there. then it becomes a non-issue.

ok, a couple of pieces of advice from me. Most of it is grip for sure. as others have stated it's the support hand that should be controlling the muzzle lift. BUT loads definitely have an influence. don't forget your glock being polymer framed and light at the muzzle end is going to always lift much more than a steel framed 1911 etc. My experience with loads is as follows. let's assume all loaded to 130pf (so heavier bullets have less powder, lighter bullets more powder). assume a medium fast to fast burning powder. and we are talking 9mm. a heavier bullet with less powder will have less felt recoil (push back into your strong hand palm). the gun will cycle more slowly. and you will get more muzzle lift. a lighter bullet with more powder will have more felt recoil (push back into the hand) but will have less muzzle lift and the gun will cycle more quickly. try a 120gn or 125gn bullet with enough powder to make 128-130pf. then load up a bunch of 135 or 140gn pills with a slightly reduced powder load so they make the same 128-130pf. try both. even shooting from a rest you will clearly see and feel the difference. bettween recoil pushing backwards into your hand, and muzzle lift. they are 2 very different characteristics. with your grip work on getting your support hand thumb cranked nicely forward along the frame,. the further forward you can get it the better chance it has of controlling the muzzle nicely.