andrewcolglazier

Went out in the backyard and test-fired my G22 set up this morning. The pistol is set up with these recoil-controlling mods: 1. Brass THE magwell 2. Tungston guiderod 3. 15 lb. spring All I can say is "DAYUUMM!!!" This experience is decidedly un-fun! My G24 soaks up recoil MUCH better.... NPHD, why did you lighten the slide on your G22? Do you feel this helped with the recoil? Would a heavier recoil spring (18, 19, 20 lb.) help with the recoil? Is this even worth messing with? Andy C.

I'm shooting 4.4 gr.s VV320 under a 180 gr. Zero JHP from my G24. From the 22's shorter barrel, I'm thinking 4.6-4.7.... I haven't made it to the range with this combo, but I'm looking forward to it! Just need to order some sights...... Andy C.

If any of you handload, what loads are you using? Thanks! More people than I thought using the G22..... Andy C.

Anyone ever try a G22 in Lim/Lim10? I just picked up a G22, and though I've been shooting a G24 and love it, I think the G22 could be a fun little pistol in some applications. Andy C.

I'm a MA... do I have to shoot the classifier? Too much reliance on the classifier to stop sandbagging. I see "paper" masters get their tails handed to them by MM and SS all the time. Doing well on the classifier don't mean much to a shooter who has moved up by winning their divisions at major matches. There is no provision for unclassified shooters in IDPA. If you aren't classified in a particular division, you aren't supposed to be shooting that division in a major match. IDPA could go the way of USPSA and award trophies for an "Unclassified" division shooter. It would allow shooters who are just starting in a particular division to have a reason to shoot, rather than excluding them. Andy C.

I understand what you are saying, but my point, and the entire reason we have different divisions, is that I don't shoot one gun in three different divisions. I shoot a different gun with different manual of arms in each division, which makes a great deal of difference when it comes to making a difference in match performance. Andy C.

I haven't tried in 5 divisions, but I have shot 3 divisions. I'm in the camp of classifying 1 down in other divisions from your highest. Much of the skills (both the classifier and match) that put a shooter in a class are very much transferrable from one class to another (Indian, not the arrow). This is especially true of match skills (very few matches are won or lost on split times being 10% different, except maybe between Burkett and Langdon). Lots are won or lost on procedurals, mistakes, approach to shooting a stage, etc. That stuff translates. Split times are equipment dependent and don't translate. Sorry - continued the drift... True, many things are transferrable, but many other things are not. Going from a soft-recoiling, 10-11 shot 2.5 lb.-triggered 9mm ESP pistol to a 3" fixed-sighted, round-butted .357 K frame with a 10 lb. double action pull, and a completely different method of reloading loses a fair amount in the translation, I'm here to tell you! Not only are the weapons completely different, but so is the manner of approaching a course of fire, with almost half the available rounds before a reload. It is easier to make MA in SSP than ESP... the ESP guns are easier to shoot and therefore the scale is correspondingly more difficult. The difficulty of shooting a DA/SA SIG is substantial when compared with a custom 1911..... I find that most people advocating handing out similar classifications in all divisions based on performance in only one are usually people who don't shoot in all, or even most divisions. If you shoot an auto, pick up a revolver some time and see how you fare... let me know if you still feel the same after about 6 months..... Andy C.

Hows that? I don't understand how someone can be a master class ESP shooter, but be a Sharpshooter class SSP? Or CDP expert, but ESP Marksman? Sometimes with the same gun.... To me, in IDPA a Master shooter is a Master shooter, no matter what div they are shooting in that day. The old "its the indian, not the arrow" thing. I think its just too common to see someone when their class at a sactioned match and get bumped up a class, just to see them at the next major match shooting a lower class in different div. And yes I'm a SSP Master, just so you guys don't think I have a personal stake in people "bumping down." I just think its wrong. people should shoot in their highest class. I guess I could make the same argument for some of the USPSA div. also, but thats a different sub-forum. IMO, one should work from the standpoint that every person shooting in his/her class/division is doing the best they can. When I shoot a particular division, I am trying to "marry" the gun I am shooting, meaning, I am going to make every effort to shoot as well as I can with the weapon I brought that day. That doesn't mean that the weapon is up to snuff competing in that division. And it doesn't mean that I have enough time with that weapon to get the most out of our combined performance. For example; SSR. I've been classified SS in SSR since 2000 or so. Since then I haven't put any time into the division, though I shoot the division occasionally at club matches, where I am usually theonly revo shooter. Should I be an EX in SSR? Objectively, I'd have to say no. I don't have the skills. Can I shoot the gun fast? Yes, but my reloads are slow as molasses in January. I'm no EX with that gun. Take ESP; I have a CZ75SA. Lovely gun, accurate, well made, ergonomic. But the mags don't always drop free as they should. It's extremely annoying to be ready to leave cover while performing a slidelock reload... and have to jump back because the mag didn't drop free when it was supposed to, or on a speed standard to have to pull the mag out of the gun when you should be shooting already.....! I have a G34 I shoot also, but I just added a magwell to the gun, which (d'oh) I don't have on my SSP gun, and guess what??? It does make a difference! It's taking me some time to learn how to use the damn thing with the mag guide on there, because it doesn't feel the same as my 17 and it's distracting. I've had to change my reload to assure that I seat my mags consistently, relearning technique. I could go on. The fact of the matter is that I don't have the time or the inclination to move up in all these divisions as I have with SSP. And in fact, I won't be able to because so many EX level shooters have dropped out of the sport. I have shot the Classifier numerous times, and never shot above EX in any auto division, and never above SS in any revolver division. Objectively speaking, my class standings are right where they ought to be. And right where they deserve to be. Andy C.

I disagree... Usually the difference is tha tthe shooter is classed higher in CDP or SSP than ESP or revolver, but there are lots of reasons why you would see differences in classification. I shoot different guns in different divisions... G17 in SSP, G34 or CZ75SA 9mm in ESP, Glock 21 in CDP, 3" .357 in SSR, 4" moongun in ESR. I have much more time in SSP than the other divisions, I'm learning the CZSA but haven't the knack for SA yet, the 21 is larger than the 17, and the round count is different, I haven't ever shot my moongun for classification since the division break, and have you ever shot a 3" gun with fixed sights at 20 yards??? Gimme a break! Lumping someone who is a master into master or even expert in all divisions is making some pretty hefty assumptions! I assume that folks who want to do that haven't tried shooting for score in all five divisions.... Andy C.

I have Dawson adjustables on my G24. I have red fiber on the front, black target on the rear. I don't like fiber front and back, too busy for me. The red picks up very nicely and drops into the black without having to search. I don't like fiber indoors, no need for it. My indoor guns have Heinie sights. Andy C.

I shot it the same way you did.... Max shot all the steel, then the paper. Andy C.

I knew better.... but did it anyway.... Changed outmy 15 lb. recoil spring for a 13 lb. in my G24 just before Double Tap... I didn't think my cases were ejecting far enough. So, I put in the 13 lb. and shoot a mag into the berm... yup, cases are ejecting much better, I'm happy! Go to the match, shooting just fine. About half way done with day one, I get a failure to fire.... strange, trigger pulls, click, no bang, unfired round comes out but can't find it after the stage. Oh, well, must have been a high primer. Happens again next stage, and I notice that it happens just after a reload, like the first time... still too stupid to think "SPRING!!!", so I live with it one more time. Get back to the hotel and take my gun apart to clean it up a bit for day II.... and notice that the recoil spring is a full inch shorter than the day before. Then it clicks. Back in goes the 15 lb. spring, no mrer problems..... Dummass..... Andy C.

Nope, I don't agree with this. The different classes truly call for different techniques. And it makes no sense to classify someone in a class/division that they have never shot, calling for handguns they may not even own. Nossir, I agree with the various classes/divisions, I have no problem with them. Adds variety.. Andy C. Personally I think people spend waaaaayyyy too much time worrying about what they other guy is doing.... Pay your match fee, shoot the match, see where it shakes out. If you've done your homework, you'll be happy with your performance, whether you win or not..... Andy C.

Move up just because you showed up?? Noooo, not a good idea. Andy C.

I have to disagree. I have had a very few SOs who have warned me about muzzle direction while reloading, and it was always while doing reloads with the muzzle mid-high left and pointing over the berm, at slidelock. Being an SO, I want to see the gun while the shooter is going through a course of fire. Noobs bury the gun in their navals when reloading.... I want the gun high so I can see what they are doing (it's better for them, too). Most SOs ROs who have been doing it very long at all know better than to jump on a shooter for lifting the muzzle while doing a reload. Of course, there are limits..... Andy C.

I have a frame and a slide I won at matches, and I'm thinking about having a .40 Lim. gun built so I can try something different than my Glock 24. I'm considering Benny for the work, I've seen a lot of his guns around and a lot of satisfied people shooting them. My only dilemma is that Brazos is just down the road from me and I could just drive down and see them if I needed something..... What to do.... Andy C.

Robert and the whole staff: Thanks for a fine match!! I had a lot of fun, and really enjoyed myself and the fine stages. You can leave out that whirling wall of death next year, though! Oh, and the dust, too! Glad I shoot a Glock...... The water stage was a hoot, not nearly as problematic as I expected. Can't wait for the sectional.....? Andy C.

My feeling is that those of us who have been in the shooting sports for a while owe it to new shooters to be as helpful and give as much guidance as seems needed. I think it's a great idea to offer an introductory course. If the more advanced shooters in your club are generally MM and SS, then I would suggest keeping the class to basic issues oriented to the sport, for example, in IDPA, explaining the equipment rules and the purpose of the sport. Beyond that, it may be somewhat of the blind leading the blind. Andy C.

I really like this load. If it weren't for the obvious, I'd be a GM because of that load! Andy C.

I'm shooting 4.4 gr. at 1.35. I'm getting right at 170 pf. Andy C.

The main differences, IMO between a real match and the classifier match, are that no match I have ever been to were you allowed to shoot the stage more than once, and no major matches have consisted entirely of limited stages with no concealment. Being able to shoot a particular stage over and over until you get the score you want never happens at a major match. Or a club match, for that matter. Andy C.

There is no "expectation" to perform, except that which you put on yourself. Every time you move up, the whole point is, you deserve to be in that higher classification. So, since you are supposed to be there, the only "pressure" (read, ambition) you should have in your mind is the next goal you have set for yourself. Moving up should be a challenge, and then a reward, a thing to be enjoyed, not a burden to your avocation. Going into competition, just concentrate on those things which got you where you are, and those things which you wish to improve. Nothing else matters. Andy C.

OK, a few pointers. Generally, you did pretty well for your second match. I've seen more than a few people who have been shooting for years make all the same mistakes you made. 1. Know the stage. Do the best you can to run the stage in your mind as many times, and in as much detail, as you possibly can before actually shooting it. You will usually have plenty of time to memorize the stage before you shoot... pay attention to where targets are, where your reload should be, etc. Also, plan in exactly what the course asks you to do. For example, if it requires you to move to a particular position, or to shoot while moving, be aware of where you need to go and how to get there fastest. Make sure you know what you are supposed to do so you don't have to think about it while shooting. 2. Don't crowd cover. You should have about 6" clearance, at least, from the end of your muzzle to the nearest barricade, while firing. This will allow you to have a proper stance and be able to move from position to position without becoming entangled in barricades, etc. 3. Keep your shooting stance, as much as possible. I noticed that during a couple of your stages, you had one foot off the ground. Keep a stable shooting platform and your accuracy will increase. 4. Don't duck back behind cover while reloading. You don't have to (it ain't required by the rules). Keep your position behind cover just as if you were shooting, do your reload, continue firing. Ducking behind cover makes you lose sight of your target, and it takes time. 5. Have your gun up and ready to fire before you get to your shooting position. If you get to your shooting position and your weapon isn't ready, you cannot fire until you bring it up.. which takes time. 6. Shoot zeros. Take the time to see your front sight on the zero, and press the trigger. While moving, move fast enough to satisfy the SO, but slow enough to control your sights. Make it your goal to shoot as clean as you can. Accuracy counts a great deal in IDPA. 7. Keep an eye on the SO and what he is allowing when it comes to cover and other procedural points. Do what he allows, don't tear the envelope. Hope this helps.... Andy C.

This is usually the culprit when I experience trigger freeze.... I can feel it coming on in a stage, and if so, I use the space between positions to breath and make an effort to relax and just smooth out. It comes from trying to go too fast, and it always results in going slower. If "trying" to go fast makes your trigger finger give up, imagine what it does to the rest of your body? Andy C.

I trimmed out a little of your post just for space. For a primo IDPA ESP gun, asuming your don't reload and won't be shooting USPSA any time soon..... I suggest the CZSA in 9mm. I have one, and it is a great gun. Matt Mink did a trigger job on it, and it runs about 1.5-2 lbs trigger pull. I had adjustable sights put on it. The pistol is a double stack, so reloads are faster. It has an ambidextrous safety, and it is accurate! The only downside is it doesn't like Blazer aluminum. It eats everything else. It is far, far cheaper than a 9mm 1911, and it has higher capacity. I really like mine! However... if you have any intent to shoot USPSA at all, or intend to take up reloading, I suggest you either purchase the CZSA in .40, or you get the Glock 35. Andy C.