Sporky

Yep I do have a gas pedal. And yes to new gun, new to open, and new to thumbrest. No slowmo video.........I will keep all those suggestions in mind and do some work. Thanks Guys

At my last range session, I started speeding things up and I noticed that the 2nd shot was low. I attributed that to the spring being too heavy but I wanted to ask all of you just to make sure. I have no idea what the weight is on the recoil spring now so there is that.... Where do I start on an open gun when I am looking to try new springs? Thanks

What about using VV powder for match loads only? I found the AA#7 is a bit more accurate than the hs6 load I had. Maybe because it is a tiny bit hotter? My 650 already spills enough powder. I can only I imagine the spillage with a nearly full 9 case...

My first load was HS6 and I saw another user say that AA#7 was cleaner so that is why I am giving it a try. This is my first open gun, so I don't have a frame of reference as to what is "dirty" or not. It just seemed that the HS6 was causing the dot to get dirty so I guess that I decided that it was a dirty load because of that. I will see if I can find some other powders to try before I stick with one. That is my usual method. I do some work in the beginning and find one I like and then never change. Long live the Dark Side!

I also just started with open and I am using 38 super/comp. I was concerned with the 9mm load spilling powder on my 650 and all of the "Dangerous" comments about 9mm major. But to be honest, I have not loaded 9 major on my press so I am only speculating about that. I have tried HS-6, and I just got some AA#7 loaded up and i will be testing that tonight. I can't bring myself to spend the money on the VV powders when I am already buying Starline brass. But your mileage may vary. Just my .2 cents from some limited experience.

Whooo hoo! The Zero 124's came in and I hammered out 200 of them to take to the range today. Laser beams....... So now I think I am going to give the AA#7 a try since some people are saying it is cleaner than the HS-6. I did notice that it is pretty dirty, but this is my first open gun and I didn't know what to expect. I have another question..... Will my 38 super dies work with super comp? I had some trouble with the super feeding from brand new MBX mags. Looks to me and my shooting buddy that the rim on the super is dragging on the round below it in the mag. I would just barely tap the slide and the round would feed. I was thinking the super comp brass would eliminate that issue but I wanted to ask. Much happier now guys, thanks for the support I appreciate it greatly. The Dark Side is feeling pretty nice right now.

Ok I picked up some 115gr in Blue, 115 in Extreme, and I have 124 Zeros that will be here tomorrow. Here are the powders that I have on hand: HS6 Autocomp AA#7 Anyone got a load for 38 super and a 115gr bullet with those powders? I want to get some made up tonight so I can hit the range for some testing tomorrow. Thanks in advance!

Everything is tight........don't really see any build up that is jumping out at me. Looks like I'll be looking for different bullets from what everyone is suggesting Montana seems pretty pricy. Is precision delta decent? Could a lighter bullet be the answer? Can I use super comp brass in my super gun? Thanks every one for the help!

I picked up my first open gun and now I'm turning to the dark side! I am happy with it but the accuracy could be better. My first range trip was strange.....first 20 rounds out of the gun were super high. I thought it was the dot needing died in, but I moved in close to check it in paper and found it was all overy the place as well as high. I move it up a few clicks a d tested some more. That seemed to fix the low part but still a bit shotgunish. I had my range buddy shoot it and he got the same result. I am wondering if it is the load or break in? Load: HS6 8.5, 1.240 oal, 125grn Bluebullet. Gun: SPS 38 super with 3 port comp and 2 popels Comp seemed to work decent Not sure what to do to find some more accuracy. Lighter bullet , different powder, different OAL? Oh and I am using Starling 38 super brass. I was wondering if I can try super comp brass? The rounds stack weird in MBX mags. Thanks in advance

Should I get a 38 super sizing die? I have one from my 9mm set.

Mine is just super as far as I can tell. I just ordered some Starline From Midway today and it should be here by the end of the week. Hopefully I can get some rounds made up and can get some rounds down range. I think I am going to start saving up for a custom now and maybe switch to 9mm on that one. I will wait and see how bad the Super is cost wise and go from there. I am excited to just get shooting already! I don't remember this much fuss when I started shooting limited, but this is just another animal all together. Thanks for all the help

Awesome reply! Any thoughts on finding 38 super brass? Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I am just about to be A class in limited You could say I am serious, yes. I make one match a weekend (usually) and we are planning on 4 majors this season I am saving up for a full custom gun now, and I have a SPS gun at the moment. Thanks everyone for the advise, I appreciate it. The money part of it is killing me at the moment. Switching everything over to open is expensive. Mine is 38 super, where do most of you get your brass from?

I am moving to the dark side and I was wondering what advice people might have on the subject. I am moving from Limited so I am hoping that it won't be too crazy of a transition for me. So what things did you wish you knew sooner when you switched? Thanks in advance

I hate you right now..........

I think that "growing" new shooters is a good idea. We are holding 2 open practices a month aimed at getting new shooters, but the attendance is not terrific. The matches are on the 3rd Sunday of the month and that doesn't interfere with any of the clubs within an hour an a half or so. Don't really think that is an issue there. I just think that we are missing some of the "regulars" in the area and "growing" new shooters is going at a snails pace. I go to all the other matches within about 2 1/2 hour distance or so on the weeks we don't have a match. I am not "in charge" of anything except running the check in so I don't really stick my neck out there too much. But I do make friends here and there and mention the match when the opportunity arises. I am thinking that I will donate some new stage props for next season seeing as we have a new shed that is being built at the range. Maybe if the props look more respectable that will help out some. These are all great recommendations so keep it coming please! I really appreciate the input. I am going to travel a lot more in the next shooting season and I want to make sure I can help out our home club as much as I can now before I get too busy.

We are doing the normal social media stuff, Facebook INGO ( indiana gun forum ) and here on Enos. I was wondering if the general condition of the range would make much of an impact. Or the quality of the Props used for the stages. We have some trouble with weeds growing in certain bays, and some of our props are not in the best of condition. So I guess I am asking; if the range was "pretty" and the props looked nice, would that make a difference to shooters?

We are at the end of our USPSA shooting season and we are throwing around ideas to help make our matches better. There are always compliments after the matches saying that we have great stages, but for some reason we don't get the number of shooters that we should. In general, what are the things that make you decide to visit a match over another if you had the choice? Thanks in advance for any help.

Last weekends match went pretty well. I have still not shot a clean match this season, but I am getting much closer. I only borked up one stage after missing my first two shots on a mini popper. After those misses I was frustrated and it showed on the rest of that stage. That was towards the end of the day, so I am starting out better than I was, but I need to finish strong at the end of matches. Pulling shots on steel seems to be a real weakness that I will need to turn into a strength in the future. I did start the match off well, and I was ROing and running the scoring trying to make myself focus when I was in the hole. Hopefully this will help my concentration in the future. One stage really came together well and I think I was 2nd or 3rd overall on that one. I really wasn't pushing, but I was just trying to be efficient and focused and it showed. That makes me feel better knowing that I can do it and all I need to do is make that consistent. New Atlas gun build sheet is done and I will put the down payment on it this week. It should show up around the first of the year, so I am hoping that will light a fire under me in the off season so that I don't loose too much of what I gained this year. Practice tomorrow and maybe on Saturday. Then a match in Michigan this weekend. It is a nice range and the stages are different than the normal club matches we shoot around here so that will be a challenge. I am guessing that there will be some longer shots like the last time, so I will need to focus on that before we go.

I had some success with the timing drills last night. I found myself really pushing the gun around to get back on target and I had several good strings with a consistent split of 23 or so. I see the value of doing that over and over to put the gun and the sights back where I need them to be. It isn't a very exciting drill, but I do believe that if I can get a ton of reps on it, there will be benefits for sure. I did a few movement drills as will just to break up the time at the range so I didn't get too bored reloading mags and doing timing drills. Defiantly need to work on that as well, but I was pretty happy with that drill in total. I threw much fewer shots left on that drill, but there is room for improvement. I think the time saver for me will be small movements in a position so that I am getting my momentum going to the next spot that I need to be in. Moving backwards seemed to be more accurate for me than moving forward so "Easy Exit" might be the strategy on stages when the opportunity arises. But generally I think that moving and shooting isn't the best idea for me at this point. But if I can really get my butt moving between positions, I think that I can make up for some of that. I am going to try to get a ton of ammo loaded up so that I can really hammer those timing drills and not worry about having enough to finish up a practice session. I normally take about 400 rounds and burn through most of it. When I get working on something and start to see some improvement, I want to just keep pushing forward. The timing drill is going to make an appearance at every practice session now. It is very similar to the Bill drill, but putting the focus on the timing aspect really changes things up quite a bit. Thanks for the heads up on that one Ryan. Finalized the config for the new blaster this morning. I am looking forward to a lighter gun in total. I found that the added weight that the CK grip adds, makes the transitions a bit funny. Seems like I blast past the target and have to pull the gun back. I don't remember doing that with the plastic grip, but I could be wrong on that. Atlas does internal and external lightening so that should help with the reciprocation and the total weight at the same time. I am going with a narrower front sight, and longer trigger as well so I am excited to see what that does. Oh and the new EVO grip from PT is going on it too! The initial reports are very good and it is supposed to be better for smaller hands so that will be nice. The ACC match is this Sunday so I will get to get some more "Match Mode" practice in, as well as see if I can get some vision work in during a match. It isn't usually a difficult match, but they tend to have a stage or two that has some steel or decent leaning going on. I just need to get the correct mindset going and try to shoot the match Clean! I am really going to try to keep a regimented dry fire schedule this off season, and make up for my missed goals this season. After the first month or so of next season I am going to take another class so that I can make sure that my practicing is focused in the right direction and set myself up for success right from the start.

OK I think I understand now. I am going to live fire practice tonight, so where should I start with the timing drills (what cadence)? Do I shoot at paper, and if so what distance?

For the timing drills, what is the best set up for that? Do I get a metronome on my phone and just put earbuds in? what you are saying makes sense after I realized that my vision was a place where I could really make some gains. I don't "see" what I need to see at speed. So I need to train that.

I have been doing bill drills and some dot torture, but I haven't been logging anything with that. The timing drill is the only one that I haven't been really doing. I will try to start that up for live fire sessions. I was doing 2 live fires a week. One would be Mini stages, and the other would be just fundamental drills and transitions. Or something that I screwed up on at a match. Dry fire has been hit or miss. I was on a good schedule for a bit and then the kids went crazy so that threw a wrench in the works. I am thinking that I will start dry firing in the garage later at night to help with that. Thanks for the input, i appreciate it.

Well........ This year didn't really pan out the way I expected at all. I didn't reach my goal of A class at all, my big match performances were not great, and I still haven't shot an entire match "clean" yet. Right now I am wondering what the best course of action should be? I am feeling like I should maybe take a break, but then I am afraid that I will loos what progression that I have made so far. I just don't know. On the bright side, I really did make some mental improvements this year. Just wish I would have taken that Anderson class sooner so I could have spent the whole year working on those things. Too lake for what if's. Looking at some of my match videos, I realized that I am not moving between positions quickly at all. I think that was the result of getting into "match mode" but letting that deliberateness carry over into my general movement as well. So i need to do the shooting and shot calling in a deliberate manor and do everything else quickly. Easily said, not easily done by yours truly. I also realized that there are fundamental issues that are going to take a lot more work to allow me to move to the next level of my shooting. My trigger squeeze at match speeds is GARBAGE. If I am just shooting groups, I can make nice pretty groups. But that second that I shoot at any kind of speed, poop-fest! I am going to try a longer trigger to see if that helps, but that is all I can figure out with that one. I am feeling that this season was failure. I know I learned some important things, but my progress is a real disappointment. Still going with a new gun for next year, just because I have shot the doors off of my Edge, and I would need to replace all the internals and also have the frame repaired. I will keep it as a back up for the new one just in case, and I will have all the work done to it as well. I don't really care so much about how it looks, but I am shooting so much, that I just don't have the time to baby my equipment at all. I just want to not think about the gun at all when I am at a match. I just want it to run so that the focus can be on the shooting instead. It will be nice to be able to look at a purdy gun, but now that I am really shooting a good number of rounds, it really isn't a concern at all. I am going to take the Dillion apart this winter and re-allign it and get it cleaned up. I suppose it has over 10,000 rounds this year alone on it and I haven't taken it all the way down for maintenance since I have owned it. Hopefully I will get out of this funk and get to work on improving again, but right now, I am just disappointed.

Well, the 400 is coming up this Friday... Live fire was on Saturday and Monday, and I will hit one more before we leave on Friday. Saturday was just trigger control and transitions, Monday was noting but Bill drills. About 350 rounds or so of them.... There was a great deal of learning going on there. Grip, sight tracking, vision training.....but it was a long practice session for sure. I noticed that squinting was causing me to throw the 2nd shot consistently. I came up with the analogy that it is like driving your can on the highway. If you stare at the road 2 feet in front of you, then you over correct and try to make too many changes. But if you look out towards the horizon, then corrections are much smaller. When I was squinting, I was over correcting slight changes in the sight picture that was causing me to throw the 2nd shot. I would then correct again and get back on track. Not a good thing when the majority of the targets require 2 shots. If I concentrated on keeping both eyes open equally and changing my focus from there, then the groups tightened up significantly. Next issue was my grip.....more grip pressure on the support hand really helped the sights track so much better. The problem is, that I have to keep telling myself to grip the gun harder each time. For some reason I can't get it burned in that I need to apply more grip pressure subconsciously. I will try to get some dry reps in tonight and focus on grip pressure and see if that helps out at the next live practice. I am planning on taking two classes next year. I want to take another Steve Anderson class to have him assess the changes since that last class, and I would also like to find a trainer that can help me with the more specific technical issues that I have. Maybe just a different perspective on them would help me speed that improvement up. Ideally I would like to take a class from Ron Avery. I really like his style of teaching from the videos that I have seen, but maybe I can find someone a little closer to this area first. Maybe Vogel or someone else.... Wish me luck this weekend!