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ChristopherG

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Everything posted by ChristopherG

  1. Hey, thanks to everyone for your thoughtful replies. I'm looking over every one, studying all the recommended gear and considering all the suggestions about priorities and goals. Reading at m4carbine.net, too. I think I'll end up with a 16" middy w/rifle length handguard; something that either is or looks a lot like the JP VTAC. Is freefloating necessary on a patrol rifle? In all likelihood, no. But if it's not going to hurt anything, and if it will increase the pleasure I take in shooting the gun, I reckon--why not? I'm thinking at this point I'll end up with a JP sight base way out at the end of the barrel and a DD fixed front sight on it--if, that is, I can't twist the department's arm to change policy NOW and let me mount a RDS. That would make things a lot simpler. Again, thanks for all your ideas and advice.
  2. I'm a longtime wheelgunner and loyal to S&W; I'd probably already have bought one of the VTACs from them if the dang thing had a front sight! I like the VTAC handguard as a solution to achieving free floating and a long grip (I wear a 36" sleeve; when I hold a carbine-length forearm it feels like I'm tied in a little knot!). I'm surprised there aren't more dissipator-style guns out there; maybe there just aren't many people who care about open sights enough to get real excited about sight radius. To me, though, it's essential. There are a lot of LOOONG, open spaces in the county I patrol, and I want the most range-capable package I can squeeze onto that little barrel! I had been thinking I'd end up with a modified mid-length gun of some kind--with a VTAC tube over the mid-length gas port and a front sight clamped onto the end. But if a rifle-length system will work as well, I don't see any reason to go shorter. Bruce Piatt's choice is obviously one informed by competition! I'll keep my eye out for that DPMS tactical (though it's an A2 as far as I can see, and I would prefer an A3 for possible future adaptation to optics). If I could get my hands on a CMMG 16" w/rifle-length gas, could the 1/7 twist be relied on to shoot 55 gr bullets accurately?
  3. Interesting; I knew CMMG produced a 16 inch gun with rifle-length gas system, but are they as reliable as a mid-length? Do they have enough dwell time to work every time?
  4. Perhaps I should add that I understand 3-gun rules and the game well enough to know I'm talking about a far-from-ideal competition gun here. But my thinking is that the best competition gun that fits within these parameters will be pretty close to the best patrol rifle I can select. If I'm thinking wrongly about that, please help me see why!
  5. I'm a LEO who believes in the value of competition shooting--both in its value for officer training and in its contribution to firearms technology development. I played a little at 3-gun a few years back, but have gotten into Law Enforcement since then. Now I'd like to do 3-gun with duty weapons, including my patrol rifle, which is what this thread is about. I don't have a lot of AR15 experience apart from departmental training. My issued rifle is an Olympic Arms A2 M4gery. I can't complain about it because it didn't cost me a dime and has been highly reliable. Still, I'd rather shoot my own gun, and I know the department's guidelines will allow me to assemble or select a rifle that will be both a better 3-gun tool and, more importantly for me, a better patrol rifle (not that it matters, but the other 2 of my 3 guns are a Wilson Combat CQB and a Police 870 with Wilson mag extension, both duty weapons I'm happy with). The parameters--a combination of departmental and personal requirements--are these: Gotta be 5.56 x 45 NATO; duty load is 55 grs (departmental) Gotta have a 16" tube (departmental) Gotta fit in a rack that will take a free-float tube, but will not--I don't think--take a quadrail (departmental) Gotta be an open-sight-only gun (departmental; I hope this will change to permit a RDS and would hope the gun would be able to stay with me through that change--hence an A3) Gotta have a front night sight (personal) Gotta be able to mount a good white light (personal) I'd like to ask your suggestions, within these parameters, for the best, most capable gun for duty--and for the competition that helps me train for duty. I have some ideas, but would prefer to hear what you think you'd build or get. Thanks for sharing your experience and insights.
  6. The 586 doesn't give anything away to the 686 per se--though more options are available in the 686 line. For example (the example I would be thinking of for SSR anyway), the 686 SSR with the partially lugged barrel and interchangeable sight. The lug is not such a big deal--but the sight could be, for me at least. What's the sight like on the 586 you're looking at? Is it pinned or integral? The ability to put on something like a SDM fiber optic might matter if you really want to be competitive at some point.
  7. They are slightly harder to detonate than a regular primer, 'cause they're slightly harder. They will increase pressure. They should not be used with extremely fast powders like bullseye, clays, N310, etc., to avoid unpredictable pressure spikes. If you want to sub them for regular primers the only way to do so safely is start with a reduced charge and work up cautiously observing for indications of overpressure and, preferably, observing changes in velocity using a chronograph. The amount a mag primer might change your PF is an equation with too many variables to figure out in any way other than with the use of a chronograph.
  8. I too am using a home-grown cast 230 LTC. I loaded them to 1.200 because that appeared to be SOP from a mix of manuals and bullets, though I didn't have data specific to the LTC. Haven't had any feed or reliability issues in my CQB. 3.7 Clays makes major very comfortably (and I've been doing my chrono-ing at 25-30 degrees f.) and with good accuracy.
  9. The 686SSR is not moonclipped (though the 627 also in the 'pro' series is). That's okay; with a pile of practice, he'll be able to dazzle his shooting buds with the proper use of the comp III's! (Moonclips would bump him out of the IDPA category the gun is named for--Stock Service Revolver--anyway)
  10. I found a thousand at a local shop yesterday (large pistol) and SNATCHED them up. Embarrassed to say what I payed for them (not QUITE twice what one should expect), but I've been buying FACTORY .45 ball for practice, and it's still a whole pile cheaper than that!
  11. Congratulations on a great piece of development. To me the experience of tachypsychia--the way time distorts itself when you play with your attention and experiment with extreme focus under stress--is one of the real draws of competition. Makes you wonder what it feels like for the great shooters; does time eventually stop? Here's to building on your new level of sight awareness!
  12. Actually Hodgdon lists up to 5.0 g of Titegroup under a 125 gr. XTP (i.e., a JHP) in their separate section of 38+P loads (which obviously will not do any harm to a 686). I use 5.2 g Titegroup w/a 125 gr JHP (Montana Gold) for 1050 fps from a 4" 627; it's very consistent and accurate. With a 6" barrel and a lead bullet, you should be safely over a thousand fps at 5.0g. Because of gun-to-gun variation, I wouldn't try to cut it any lower than that if you're needing to legitimately make a power factor for competition without being able to chrono your load. The only caveats would be that lead and Titegroup are a little bit smokey together, and your barrel is going to get messy quick if you're using swaged (rather than hard cast) bullets. Don't have any w231 data to help with, sorry.
  13. That 255 LSWC Carmony mentioned? I've taken it to 1100 fps with no adverse signs, using 45AR brass, from a 4" 625. I don't shoot a ton of them--it's a lot funner at 900--but it'll kill anything that needs killing in my part of the world. Certainly shoot through any deer longways. And the 45AR brass from starline is a lot easier/cheaper way to avoid sticking your high power loads in the wrong gun.
  14. Bringing this one back up just to give it some closure. Bought a slightly used Wilson CQB w/rail from a Deputy in an adjacent county (black slide/green frame). I love the gun and have enjoyed the few rounds I've put through it so far immensely. I'll spend a couple months shooting it recreationally and in a couple of comps before I talk to our firearms guy about getting qualified with it. Meantime, lots and lots of drawstrokes from that Safariland 6280, and lots of dryfire! Thanks again for the advice!
  15. Hey, I appreciate the honest feedback from folks that think the Glock is the right way to go--and you know, they may absolutely be right. I have shot Glocks enough over several years to have great respect for their durability and reliability. I am an IDPA RO and have thus been able to benefit from watching many other people's guns run, or not run, as well; and I know Glocks run. It may be--and these posts are helping me to prepare to come to terms with this--that a 1911 will prove to be better suited as a recreational and competitive gun than a duty weapon for me. Fortunately, I can afford to purchase one, give it a try, and find out (the department supplied my Glock; a 1911 will be on my own dime). If I do decide to carry the 1911 as a primary patrol weapon, I may still keep the Glock 35 for use on our Special Response Team, which I hope to be able to join in the next year or so (i.e. when going into scenarios where round count is more likely to be an issue). Great feedback and suggestions, all. Thanks again.
  16. Hmmm. Maybe $2000 is a more reasonable goal.
  17. Folks are raising legitimate concerns, and I appreciate them. E.g. : Alloy vs. Steel: I know I want a steel gun because I know I like to shoot my guns a lot. But the idea of a lighter gun for full-time duty carry is, of course, appealing. Maybe two guns is the answer here. I expect the way I'll want to start out, however, is steel, and see how it goes. I can always get a lighter analog to add to the armory. Department policy: Fortunately, my dept will support pretty much whatever I want to carry if it is safe. I don't WANT to carry a 2.5 lb trigger, but I know at least one deputy who does, with departmental support. I have a good bit of experience shooting Glocks, and enough shooting (and considering) 1911's to recognize the significantly different requirements in user training, care and maintenance. Carrying a 1911, I recognize, is a commitment, one that's different from carrying a typical modern service pistol (e.g., a Glock). It's a commitment I'm prepared to make. Of course, I could be wrong in forecasting that I'll enjoy carrying the 1911 over other available options: but that's a chance I'm willing to take. You only get to go around once, and becoming 1911-proficient is certainly on my list of things to do in my go-round, whether I end up using it as an on-the-job tool or not!
  18. This is all great and welcome advice. It also puts me in mind of a few other things I've already decided but didn't list above. I do know I want to go with a .45; and I've decided on a steel 5" gun--partly from having read some at 10-8 and partly from shooting them. I'm looking avidly at all these suggestions; thanks for making them and any others that come to mind!
  19. I have been a competitive shooter for just a few years; a little USPSA and a good bit of IDPA. Mostly wheelguns, a bit of production/SSP. I've been a LEO for only the most recent couple of those years. I'm now a Deputy Sheriff in a department that will allow me to carry either a Glock (currently a 35) or a 1911. I haven't shot 1911's much, and don't yet own one, but believe it will be the platform of preference for me. Because I want to continue to shoot in competitive settings, I want to make my first 1911 a good choice for BOTH duty (priority #1, of course) AND competition (though I don't expect a duty gun to be a 'race' single-stack gun). I'd like to use it in both USPSA Single Stack and IDPA CDP. So my constraints are: I need a 1911 that is duty-reliable. I need either stainless or another very durable finish. I need sturdy fixed night sights (and prefer Heinies among those I've used). I'd prefer to spend an amount that's closer to $1,000 than $2,000. Beyond that, I don't really know what I need, or which models and manufactures of 1911 are best suited to the overlap I'd like to achieve. Thanks--Any and all suggestions or discussion would be very welcome!
  20. The winningest platform for SSR--if you care about that--is gonna be the 686 (6-shot version). I like a k-frame better, myself, and so shoot a 66; but the biggest diff. between both of those and the 10 is decent sights, which you would sorely miss if you shot this gun in IDPA for any length of time. The ditch-and-post is great for carry and hell for stout, but a lot harder to pick up quick--never mind the problem of adjustability. I'd snoop for a cheap K or L frame, 4" and adjustable, if I was shopping for an SSR gun. And yes, SSR is the cheaper way to shoot wheelgun, for sure. There ARE no cheap 625's.
  21. Let me just say... AhhhhHAH! Ken is addressing exactly the question I raised at the top of this thread, and confirming that there is a real ambiguity. He says: "Of the new rule changes that IDPA is gambling with is the issue of allowing reloads in the open. The theory is that if you are caught in the open, between firing positions that offer cover, you can execute a slide lock reload without having to be behind cover AS HAS BEEN THE RULE UNTIL THE 2005 RULE BOOK CHANGES (my emphasis)."--TJ, p. 6 "Just saying that we will give penalties to those that are guilty of dumping rounds to get an 'in the open' reload is far more difficult than it may appear."--TJ, p. 7 These both assume that emergency reloads in the open, WHILE moving to cover, are legal and permitted when the situation arises. So the rule book acknowledges the possibility (see top of thread); and Ken Hackathorn clearly thinks it's a rule in effect, not an editorial inconsistency (even if it's one he is writing to express reservations about). The funny thing is, he reads the situation in reverse from my experience. At least locally, we WERE permitted to reload on the way to cover under the LGB; now we're not (see all caps in quote #1, above). So I put my question again: what's to be thought and done?
  22. Yikes; that competitor moved 1.1 yrds too slow.
  23. ...because he didn't have any questions about that part, or because it's not muddily written in the rule book ?
  24. Okay, that makes sense of the inconsistency. A good edit would have cleaned that up; but in the absence of such, we interpret the unclear by the clear. I'll get used to sprinting for cover!
  25. As long as you wear them behind the midpoint of your body, I can't see how anyone would object (even though the book does not explicitly consider this possibility). It only covers one possible array that 'may' be worn--does not prescribe that it 'must' be so. Concealment and position behind your frontside are the overriding principles.
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