GunBandit

I've got a G23 for carry and a G17 for USPSA production. I'd probably go with a G35 (for limited), G22 or G26. I need to join GSSF and shoot a match. Sounds like fun.

Which can be very costly, had two in one stage in the weekend. Tell me about it. I had 8 in my first match and 4 in my last one. I hate mikes so much I almost told my shooting buddy, whose name is Mike, he needed to find another ride home.

I'm loading Berrys 147 gr RN over 3.3 gr of TG to a COL of 1.160 for my G17. Seems to work well so far. I haven't seen any feed issues. I got the load recipe from my shooting buddy who is running the same gun/load combo. One thing I will point out is that the plated bullets will give you some minor differences on COAL and from what I have read that is due to the plating thickness from bullet to bullet. It's not a lot, but I have noticed it when I check every 10-20 rounds.

Welcome to the forum. There is a whole section, General Reloading, dedicated to reloading. Check it out. I have learned a lot from others in that section. Just remember start low and work up. Good luck!

I am definitely leaning towards shooting it. I have been to the first two matches at South Central and freakin love it. Thinking about going to Silver Creek for a few club matches too. I've been practicing some and plan on doing more. Dry and live fire.

Thanks all. It is an awesome sport. I shot the April match yesterday and had a blast again. I didn't achieve my goal of no MIKES. But I did cut down on the amount that I had. I need to do a lot more dry fire practice and live fire to work on following my sights. I need to get Ben's book and probably Steve Anderson's book and of course Brian's book and then put that to practice. I had several A's followed by C's higher up in the target. I am making an assumption that the C's were my second shot and I wasn't waiting on the gun to settle. Either way I love it and will keep on working. Oh and I hate that I have to shoot the classifier first, only because that is where our squad started, but I can deal with that. I just wish I could get warmed up first. Good luck Shel on your match. I'm sure your club will take care of you and don't be afraid to ask questions throughout. I look forward to meeting and shooting with you too Chris. Now I've gotta reload and get a pratice plan together and work on that until the May match.

I shot this yesterday for the first classifier of the year. I put up a 5.4274 hit factor. Can't remember my hits, but I scored 80 points in 14.74 seconds. I think that's in the C range. Still can't believe that time, but it is what it is. I need to work on efficiency with my reloads across the board. And work on acquiring sights better. I was happy that I didn't hit a NS or have a mike though. I'll take if for my first classifier and it was the first stage of the day for me. Motivation to improve.

Shot my first match today, finally after weather cancellations. It was AWESOME! Shot at South Central Gun Club and had a blast. The squad was very accepting of me as a new shooter and were also very helpful. I didn't meet my goals of no mikes, but that will hopefully come with time and practice. Oh and patience. I out ran my sights when I logged 4 mikes on one stage. Good guys like Owen, Jared, Jake Martens and others helped me slow down and also work on a good stage plan. Thanks guys! I knew I would love it but didn't realize how much fun it would be. I jumped in and pasted and helped keep score. The latter was a little intimidating because I was afraid I would screw something up, but everybody helped out and it's not too hard. All I have to say is, if you are holding out because you are worried about how you will look or if you will screw up forget about that. People get mikes, FTFs, forget their plan sometimes, but at the end of the day we have a blast. So if you are on the fence get a gun, some mags, ammo and gear and get out and shoot. You won't be sorry you did. Can't wait for next weekend and the April match. Had a few takeaways. 1. Don't outrun your sights. Let the gun settle and focus. 2. Don't try to run at the same speed as the faster guys in your squad. 3. Take as many opps as you can to walk through a stage. 4. Help out with pasting and scoring. Makes it smoother for everybody in the squad. 5. Don't be afraid to ask questions. People don't judge and are more than willing to help. 6. Leave a mike or ns behind. Take what you learn from it and practice. 7. Practice, practice, practice. I did some before, but can always use more. anyway enough rambling. I just wanted to share a little of my experience. thanks, Matt

Welcome. +1 on what Chirpy said. There are also several threads on here dealing with rules, setting up and what to expect when you get to your first match. Good luck and happy shooting. Matt

Welcome John. I' hoping we get out of the deep freeze pretty soon. I found this http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9352&hl=%26quot%3B200gr+rainier%26quot%3B#entry114456 in the reloading forum. Just type "Rainier 200gr" in the search box. There are several posts/threads with loads for this bullet. There is a wealth of knowledge on the forum. Good luck and happy shooting. Matt PS you may have to copy and paste. I can't get the link to paste correctly.

Silver.

I would like to see it continue if you don't mind putting in the time. I won't start shooting until next month. Either way thanks for putting in the time to keep us up to date.

I have a G23 with a 3.5# connector and glockworx spring kit and love it. I will probably do some mods to my G17 that are production legal. I've never had a problem with the sights, but I've never shot them in competition either. I suspect I will end up changing the G17 sights.

The Walking Dead Justified Killer Women (ABC) Top Gear (History Channel) Grimm The Americans Last Man Standing 24 Live Another Day (on Fox in May) any 24 really. Two Broke Girls Everglades Duck Dynasty Orange is the New Black is pretty good. You can catch it on Netflix.

Love shooting stuff. Milk jugs, pop cans, 2 liters, anything really. Shooting stuff is therapeutic.

I'm using Titegroup under a 230 gr LRN. It was the only pistol powder the local shop had and I wanted to try some loads. I have read that isn't too temp sensitive. However I know some are, like the H414 I use in my .243 Win. I used the load tables in Hornady's 9th edition and from Hodgdon's site. I'm pretty confident in my loads making PF and I agree with TTOliver that the loader should be aware of his loads and keep a keen eye on the process as you are pulling the lever on the ram and the powder measure. I'm doing these on a single stage so I am paying particularly close attention.

I agree. I used average here because I was lazy with my typing. I fired 7 rounds that I had worked up and had a high-low spread of 20 fps. I had one round at 732 and several at 745-746 and one at 752. Needless to say I increased my charge by 0.1gr to make sure they were good and I need to check those to see what the increase is. It is about 13 fps higher on paper, but that is not rounds down range. I did go back and weigh some of the bullets and random selection I got was about 2 grains light. With the increased charge I should be ~PF+7 but we will see. I'm probably overthinking this by trying to build a lighter load that still makes PF. Like ZackJones said, I probably couldn't tell the diff between 165-175 PF loads , but I would like to think I could tell the difference between my loads and say WWB that is making 190+ according to their posted velocity and bullet weights for 45 Auto. I appreciate everyone's input on this and I will try to keep it 10+ to be on the safe side.

Quick question. What margin do you give yourself for power factor when you are reloading? I ask because today I chrono'd some .45's I loaded and the AV was 746 fps. That comes to a PF of 171. I shot them over the chrono in 25 degree weather so that could mean they are reading a little lower than they would in warmer weather, I just wondered if that was cutting it too close. Appreciate your input.

I'm a newbie to this so don't take this as me being a smarta**, but the classification system seem pretty practical to me. Sure it may have it's flaws, but it is a way to gauge where you stand against other shooters on the classfier stages USPSA has offered. And, if I understand how the HHF is determined, how you stand with the top tier shooters that shot the Nationals on those particular stages. (I don't have the answer to how the HHF is determined, but I thought it was based on how those COFs were shot at Nationals.) Then you can take your D, C, B, A, M or GM card and sign up for a Level II or III match and see how you stand against the other competitors there. Based on funds and logistics I may never make it to an Area or Nationals, but I can still shoot locally and see how I stack up against the best in the classfier stages. I do agree that classfiers can be gamed and people could practice them constantly until they are very profecient at them and still not place in the top 50% of their division at a match, but how many people can practice that many classfiers that often? I don't know. Just a new guy trying to figure this out. Just adding my .02.

Get a good reloading manual or two. Talk to some folks that have been doing it for a while like Hi-Power suggested. Watch some youtube videos. I started reloading metallic rounds a year or so ago and was a little intimidated but it wasn't bad at all. I had only reloaded shotshells prior to that. Start with min loads and work up taking your time. And I'll reiterate don't be afraid to ask experienced people. That worked for me and I love reloading now.

I'd go XDm. I have an XD 4" 45 and love it but after handling the XDm I think grip feels even better. Unfortunately I haven't fired an XD in 9mm or any XDm so I can't comment on the trigger personally but have read comparisons that show the XDm has a better stock trigger. Having said all of that, if $$$ is an issue the XD would still be a good pistol for a little less money.

I know it's still 8 months off but I was thinking about shooting in the Indiana USPSA championship. I wanted to get some opinions since i am a newb and didn't want to bite off more than I can chew. Or maybe I am overthinking it and should just do it. Any thoughts/advice???

Great read. I'm glad I found this piece! Great stuff for a new shooter like me to use and think about. Thanks for posting Skroggster.

It bothers me when I'm with people I don't know really well. I break mine open and try to keep it pointed in as safe a direction as possible. I have probably swept a few people though. Best bet is to put it on the rack if you are waiting on your turn and if it is close enough to not slow down the group.

One of my favorites. Got it on the DVR too. Gotta love Raylon's attitude.