TexzDiver

Well Joe D, tell us how you really feel I realize that Glock seems to be the answer to every pistol question, and I guess I will ultimately at least go out and try one if I can. I just do not like the way the Glock feels in my hand. Whenever I am checking out guns in the local gun shops I always pick them up and sort of instinctively point them, then I look down the sites. I can tell you that after doing this with many different pistols that the only guns that are pointing right where they should be are always 1911s or Browning HPs. I am not a gun expert, and I don't know why those two gun styles just seem to feel better to me, but they do. Now, I don't know if that means that I need to be shooting a 1911 or Browning HP or if I simply need to try them all out and see what works best for me. Having not played the pistol games before I don't know how much intstincts are involved with the sport, but if the pistol games are anything like shotgun sports or unaided 3-D archery(both of which I am pretty good at) I can tell you that I will do better with a gun that points more like the 1911 or Browning HP. I have not yet held an XD or a CZ gun yet, and I have been told by many who also like the feel of the 1911 that the CZ and XD point more like a 1911 style gun than anything else. As for the STI guns costing so much I really don't have an opinion on that. I do however know that the best of anything is usually the not ever the cheapest. Joe D, You also talk about all the problems with the S_I type guns, however when I talk to people who have had guns built by reputable builders on S_I frames they don't seem to be having all of these problems, and I seriously doubt that if the S_I guns had all the problems that you are trying to lead me to believe they have that they would be the dominant force in pistol shooting that they are...Nope, I just ain't buying that one buddy!! Now does that mean that a man can't go out and whip up on everybody with a Glock, hell no it doesn't. Oh well, I can't wait to attend my fiorst match tomorrow at the Double Tap Ranch, and I am hoping some folks will let me check out their gear.

I am just now trying to get into the pistol shooting sports and will be attending my first ever match just as a spectator at the Double Tap Ranch here in my hometown this weekend. I have pretty much decided that I am going to shoot Limited 10 and Limited with a custom or semi-custom built STI based gun. I would however like something I can shoot in the production class as well that will not break the bank since I will already be laying out the big bucks on the Limited/Limited 10 gun. What would some of your suggestions be and why? Also, should I get a production gun that is .40 S&W so that it shoots the same thing my Limited/Limited 10 gun does or would it be better to go with a 9mm. Thanks in advance for any info!

In no way did I mean that Bob was not personable, because he was, he just didn't seem like one to stand around and shoot the sh*t. That isn't neccessarily a bad thing. He may have just been too busy. Has anyone had Tripp do any work??

I am new to the pistol shooting game and I am looking for someone to build me a gun for IPSC Limited 10 and Limited classes. I am in Texas and so far I have talked to Bob at Brazos Custom Guns, Virgil Tripp at Tripp Research, and Benny Hill at Triangle Shooting Sports. They are all Texas based boys and that alone goes a long way in my book, but I would like to know what y'all's thoughts are on these smiths or any others that might be worth talking to for that matter...Oh Yeah, I am not interested in waiting 8-12 months for a gun either. Of the three that I have talked to Virgil Tripp Definitely has the best prices of the group. I am not trying to be cheap or cut corners, but I don't mind saving a little money as long as the work is of the same quality. I really liked talking to Virgil as well, he just seems like my kind of guy. I also liked the no bullsh*t approach that I got from Benny Hill. Bob at Brazos Customs is definitely all business and doesn't really have time for small talk, but I have heard good things about him and he does build some nice looking guns. Have any of y'all dealt with any of these guys and if so what did you think? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I agree with you on the above statement. I am currently debating on which gunsmith to use to build my Limited/Limited 10 gun and the three I have narrowed it down to are, Brazos Custom Guns, Virgil Tripp, or Benny Hill. Interestingly enough though, all three of them have very different thoughts on slide lightening and whether or not I should do it....Hmmmmm...decisions, decisions, decisions!

Hi guys, I am new to this forum and the pistol shooting sports. I found out that there are a couple of places close by that do the IPSC shoots and I decided that it would make a fun new hobby while maybe helping to improve my gun handling skills.(I come from a shotgun and bench rest rifle background). I originally decided I would shoot in the Limited 10 division because I was going to purchase a Les Baer Premier II and that is the class it would fit in, however, after talking to several gunsmiths about pistol choices most of them have tried to sway me toward the double stack STI so that I would have a gun that could be shot in both Limited 10 and Limited competitively. Once I decided to go the custom built STI route I was then faced with the slide lightening issue. To tell you the truth I am so confused right now I don't know what I am going to do . Noone that I have seen shoot locally has a lightened slide gun that I can try, so I think I will probably start out with a non lightened slide, who knows??? I have been involved in motorsports racing of all types,(boat, stock car, dragsters, motorcyles, mud drags) and in my experience any time there is a "limited" type class designed in the hopes of reducing costs it almost always has the opposite effect. Competiters will instead spend even more money trying to make a "Limited" class product run it's absolute best. When you are "limited" in the modifications you can make you have to spend more money and time trying to eek out every last bit of performance available, and it costs more to do this than it does to just bolt on an unlimited array of parts. An example of this is the Pro Stock division in the NHRA drag racing scene where their naturally aspirated 500 cubic inch engines are making in excess of 1300 horsepower but cost over $50,000.00 to build. On the other hand you can build a 500 cubic inch Top Fuel engine that will make over 7000 horsepower for about $40,000.00. The difference is that it is way easier to make big power when you are not "limited" to the add ons you can use, i.e. superchargers, nitromethane, so on and so on. I realize that motorsports is not the same thing as shooting sports, but from a newbie on the outside looking in I see some of the same trends. I hope I didn't bore y'all too much with my first post!