moostapha

How hard is it to change guns on the real ones? I was plenty happy with my other one, but I don't want to have to buy separate holsters for each gun I shoot. This thing takes a few minutes at most to switch between, say, a 2011, an M&P, and a glock.

Mine has not fallen out. I did tilt it a little farther backward so it would feel a bit more confidence inspiring, but I haven't had an issue. The grip is also closer to being parallel with the ground this way, which feels somewhat natural to me. Between this thread and people IRL, it also seems like a lot of people leave the holster locked of they have to move too much before the draw. So, whatever you get, I'd say to make sure you can disable the lock during your draw stroke. There are some that work by a thumb push and others by a finger swipe. Also, I think it was a safariland that I saw that will allow you to pull it straight up for the first half inch of travel to disable a lock that keeps it from rotating forwards.

Yeah, it's been fine so far. None of the draws have been complicated, and it sits there just fine.

That conflicts with my observations. I've watched people just do nothing at unloaded starts and almost rip the holster off the belt trying to draw with the lock on.

I'm not convinced it was actually supposed to be used that way. The thing also comes with a belt hanger for "duty" use....because apparently you're supposed to be able to use it for something other than competition.

Yes.

No, it's a cheap hogue thing that is theoretically adjustable to different guns. It makes some kind of sense because I usually shoot an m&p primarily for fun & training, but I'll be borrowing a 2011 every now and then. The trigger guard just kind of sits on/between some pieces with some magnets to kind of hold the barrel. It "stays", but I wouldn't want to walk let alone run with it unlocked. With my big stick in, I feel like bumping it would let the barrel twist straight forward. I haven't tried a turn & draw yet, but just a straight draw definitely feels faster. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Being a lefty means I don't get to try anyone's gear.

Is is normal to be concerned about your gun falling out of a race holster at first? With the lock on, I know it will be fine. It hasn't fallen in dry firing, but...it feels like it's just sitting there. I've also only had it a couple hours.

I run one on an M&P PC Ported Core. I also shoot minor and do it almost solely because it's also my carry gun and its fun. The RMR is really expensive for what you get if it's a pure competition/recreation gun. And, yes, it's small. The RMR is probably still the only one worth trusting on a defensive gun.

I agree. I have never noticed the gas when shooting close to a wall. I also use a charging handle operated from the right side. As for the shotgun, I would not buy a left handed model. Definitely not buying a left handed shotgun. The idea came up to just offset the sights (open division) and shoot it right handed so I can more easily reload with my left. But as long as local 3gun seems to devolve into a shotgun reloading competition, I think I'm just going to hold off on it entirely.I'm beginning to think the AR I borrowed was just over-gassed. Do you mean you are going to hold off on 3gun because of the shotgun reloading? I wouldn't let the shotgun deter me from getting into the 3gun sport. The bolt release prevents me from quad loading with my right hand but loading 2 is no problem.Just remember, the longer you wait the slower you get. I'm more so that I'm not that interested in shotgun for some reason. The idea of a competition coming down to something I don't think I'll ever train is off-putting

I agree. I have never noticed the gas when shooting close to a wall. I also use a charging handle operated from the right side. As for the shotgun, I would not buy a left handed model. Definitely not buying a left handed shotgun. The idea came up to just offset the sights (open division) and shoot it right handed so I can more easily reload with my left. But as long as local 3gun seems to devolve into a shotgun reloading competition, I think I'm just going to hold off on it entirely. I'm beginning to think the AR I borrowed was just over-gassed.

Ok. So....don't worry about it. It has never been a problem before, but up next to a wall it made it hard to see through my glasses. It also wasn't my AR, though I trust the guy who built it. Thanks.

How so? Do you get used to the gas in your face shooting near a wall?

I'm looking seriously at getting into 3gun but definitely interested in tactical carbine matches that are run locally. I'm also left handed. I've shot with a borrowed AR and enjoyed the heck out of it. But, I'm wondering how much it's worth to avoid getting a face full of gas. I haven't had a problem with brass hitting me yet, but the gas is really annoying...especially inside...like the small local matches. I can probably borrow a good bit of stuff to try out before I commit, but as I see it...a left handed rifle limits me to a stag arms upper or something like a Tavor (I actually shot one with a good trigger a couple weeks ago...it was just an extra $400 or so). I'm not worried about the controls...ambi everything is easy. It's really just wondering if the ejection port is actually worth it.

I have an RMR RM07 on mine. I EDC it and will be competing with it soon, about 800 rounds through it so far and around 2000 dry fires with no problems of any kind....strangely, my IWB holster came in before my competition rig. The only way the dot will be accurate is if it co-witnesses with the irons. That's not special, it just happens...think about how sights work. If you don't want to see the irons, take them off or add a spacer and longer screws so the optic is higher...but I wouldn't actually recommend that. It does seem easier to learn the dot with irons there...you just do the same draw/presentation and half a moment before you'd be on target, there the dot is. Plus, they're there so you don't completely bomb a stage if there's a problem with the dot...just use the irons. Fwiw, the rmr and the PC ported core does have the co-witness location at the bottom of the reticle. It's really easy to ignore the irons, but they do occlude some of the bottom of the reticle.

Based on Brian's book and some advice I've gotten in the past, I think I actually have an answer for figuring this out, albeit not a particularly satisfying one. It does seem to be helping me so far. Please keep in mind that I'm a beginner when it comes to practical shooting and pistol in general...but I think the important (mental) part of this advice kind of falls under the "shooting is shooting" category. You need to shoot as fast as you can without outrunning your sights. I think everybody I've asked, talked to, or read has said that. The big piece of advice came from a former Olympian and (then) US National Olympic Team coach (I was shooting Air Rifle and Free Rifle at the time). You never need your shots perfect...striving for perfection on every shot is self-defeating. You just want your shots good enough. The advice was to shoot quicly enough that the time limit twice what it needs to be for you to shoot the match...then just pick the right ones to actually fire. I already shot quickly enough to do it but wasn't thinking about it that way...I was throwing away ~half the time available to me. That advice/realization made a huge difference to my shooting...literally overnight. The time pressures are different for practical shooting vs. olympic precision (as fast as you can vs. finish within a very generous time limit). So, the thought process is correspondingly different. In the practical world, you don't abort shots and start over, you decide how long to wait for a better sight picture vs. breaking the shot with what you've got. The core question: is a better sight picture worth the time it costs? I worked out a drill that seems to get at this for practical pistol....it's helping me so far. Concentrating just on 1 target at a time, the first step is to decide how good the hits need to be and how long the string needs to be. AA? AC? AAC? AAAACC? AAAAAA? It's up to you. I'd recommend a goal of Draw to AA, just becuase it saves ammo. But, keep in mind that this measure of 'good enough' is based on results, not your performance, which is what matters. Remember...do your thing and the score will work itself out....you're trying to figure out the performance you need to get the results you want. The drill is to set up a target at basically contact distance...close enough that you can shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger and won't miss your goal. If you hit your goal, tape it up, increase the distance a yard, and repeat. Each time you miss the goal, leave the target where it is and repeat that distance, but wait for a slightly better sight picture than what you were using. Watch your times & splits to see how they change...if it's not a small change in time from X yds to X+1 yds or your shots are on top of each other, you probably had a better sight picture than you needed and should probably figure out something in between the 2 attempts before you move on. Or, you might be okay with it depending on your level. Tthe first change (for me) came at about 4 yards...where instead of just looking at the A zone and kind of seeing a gun in front of me, I had to peripherally see that the slide (in profile) looked basically like it was pointing straight-ish. That got me out a little farther. I was using a dot sight when I did this, so the next step was to see the my focal point (on the target) through window (the dot itself was there but not being paid any attention)....then watching the same focus point in the window, noticing the dot, and not really caring exactly where it was...then the dot in the A zone....then the dot towards the middle of the A zone...then the dot on the marked A...etc.....progressively moving towards smaller aiming points, more precise alignment of everything, and more focused trigger control. You do the same thing repeating it if the shots didn't match your call (even if it was a good result). Shooting AA when you called AC is a failure for that step...'cuz you did something wrong, it just turned out in your favor). You're looking for better (and slower) performances as the shots get harder, essentially trying to figure out the worst performance you can make that gives the result you want. This is the definition of a good enough performance that I've been trying for. Then, in a match, you'll at least have an idea of what you need to wait for. It seems like a good exercise for learning to shoot as fast as you can but no faster, which seems like what we're getting at. After that, improving seems like it's a matter of refining your technique so that each sight picture level happens faster (or works for a harder shot)...which is something I have no idea how to help with....I'm still trying to figure that out, just like we all probably are. Someone please correct me if I seem way off.

I've definitely just run straight by targets because of faulty planning. I got the FTEs and hopefully learned something. A few weeks (months?) ago, we had a new guy at our weekly local. He seemed new to USPSA but not to shooting and had obviously read the rule book...and he was competing out of his CC rig, so not much ammo for a long course. Half way through the stage, he started intentionally dropping mikes and just shooting clean AMs on each target to finish the stage. If he can do it, anyone can, and a lack of preparation (in reading the rules or stage planning) on the shooter's part should not constitute an ethical debate for the RO. It's a game. Score it right.

That seems to be the right answer for competition...I'll watch and see if anything is different....dry firing, it seems positive. Is it going to be a huge crutch for general pistol use, or will my eyes eventually figure it out? Or is there no way to tell?

I used a (very thin) blinder throughout my rifle career (Olympic air and sb).....at first blocking the whole eye and eventually an ~8mm wide white plastic thing that just blocked the sight but let me see wind flags, spotting scope, etc.. I am not cross dominant (left, left). But I'm still having problems either forcing (which doesn't work) or letting (takes forever) my eyes work right. I finally managed to see muzzle flash indoors yesterday, along with a very clear image of the FS rising and settling (but lost it at the top of the recoil)....into a dark berm. I just barely saw it when there's a light target in front of me, and definitely not all the time. I can't tell if I'm missing the flash and recoil because I'm flinching or because my eyes race back to the target, but my suspicion is a bit of both. I do pull some shots down and right (left handed), but its a few inches at 10yd, not feet. And it is getting better. Also, I can "force" my eyes to work "correctly" for type 4/5 (FS focus, no doubled target) but it feels like it takes FOREVER on a stage. Obviously, the answer is to train more....but would using a blinder help to train the correct vision or act as a crutch?

I shoot SS for competition, and I'm 90% decided on having a glock 26 milled for an RMR for carry. When I feel like I'm good enough to move to open, it will be with a 2011. If I have problems switching, I'll adapt the glock grip, but its not a huge problem with my SIRT. I suspect I'm not good enough yet for the small difference in grip angle to actually be a problem.

I've been dry firing something like this. Before part 2 it was in the high 6s only counting runs that seemed clean (aggressively scaled dry fire targets at ~20 feet...less than half size). After reading part 2 and with a SIRT that came in today, best runs were just over 5 seconds....the ones with misses still mostly stayed under 6. That works. sent from a device without a real keyboard...sorry if something doesn't make sense.

I wouldn't mind it collecting the data, but I wouldn't want to see it while shooting. Also, my sirt just came in, and I'm looking forward to training with it and dry fire targets (with video givingscore, times, splits, etc after the fact). I think its worth using it, partially because I already have it and wear it most of the time anyway. sent from a device without a real keyboard, sorry for things that don't make sense.

@glockified the positions with and without are basically the same except that right after the draw, my head sometimes tilts lower without them. It depends on the day and how aggressive my body reacts...and I'm not sure why. One thing I realized is that what's actually distracting is glare from the bottom of the prism. I'll probably mask that with painters tape and just wear it higher and see if that works....really, I just don't want to seek out new safety glasses....because I really have never seen better. @alma yes, but I already own glass. I don't see myself buying another camera. sent from a device without a real keyboard...sorry if something doesn't make sense.

Its not the thing limiting me yet, and the safety "shades" for it are closer to optically neutral than any safety glasses I've ever seen (well....the Mec glasses I used for rifle were better, but I doubt they'd be considered protective). My vision also gets worse when I look up (head tilted down/forward) because my eye lids don't open that wide....I used to tape my eye more open for prone and saw an instant improvement (about half a point air, a couple points smallbore, both long term averages and stable). So, I probably shoot better that way anyway. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't "wrong", per say. sent from a device without a real keyboard, sorry for things that don't make sense.

I'm nor really sure where to put this question or even if its worth asking. I'm not exactly new to shooting, but I'm new to USPSA (a couple months) and taking pistol anything like seriously...really enjoying it. Is there a "correct" forward/backward head tilt? The reason is that I wear Google Glass and very much enjoy taking first person video of stages. I'm left handed/eyed, so it doesn't interfere with my sight picture, but the screen has to be on for it to record. If I tilt my head forward like feels natural, its distracting having the relatively bright light in front of my left eye. If I keep my head erect, I never notice it until the stage is over and I realize it's still recording. It seems like a lot of people tilt their heads down/forwards while shooting, and that feels natural, probably because of martial arts training and because my head was always tilted a decent bit forward for rifle as well. sent from a device without a real keyboard, sorry for things that don't make sense.