boo radley

Here's my latest: STI 'Lawman' purchased from a forum sponsor (CPWSA) a few weeks ago...I added an SVI aluminum magwell. I'm still uncertain how I feel about this. There's some good and bad. The trigger is really rotten: it crunches during the take-up, then creeps, then finally breaks at about 5lbs (guess). She doesn't like the 8-round 'ACT/Novak/Armscor' mag that came with it, at least not from slide-lock, though my McCormicks work fine. I also had to crank the sight up almost as high as it would go to get zero. I should probably file the front down a bit. However, so far it has run smoothly for 500 rounds (more than I can say for my Baer), feels good in the hand, and I like the sight picture. Slide to frame fit feels excellent, and the price on this pistol was very good! I think with a trigger job this will end up being a very nice gun for SSD.

I hate mechanical mysteries, so I messed with this some more. Wrapped a rubber band around the GS, and replaced the factory MSH with the SVI magwell/msh combo. Grip safety no longer worked. Switched back to the factory, it worked. Ah ha! Emailed SVI, and received a prompt reply from Brandon Strayer (gotta love companies that respond quickly to email) suggesting the geometry of the tops of the MSH was different, and the tab on the factory MSH was cut back, allowing the grip safety to pivot farther backwards. He suggested an easy fix would be to bend the engagement tab of the grip safety downwards a bit, allowing it to engage sooner. Hmm...broke everything down again for like the 27th time, studied the parts, and decided to file the tab back on the SVI MSH rather than tinker with the grip safety. Damned if it didn't work.

Man. I *love* threads about seeing, because it fascinates me with this game more than any other aspect.... I'm not anyone with any right to offer advice, but I will share this experience: When I first joined this board and started shooting, I received a lot of great instructional tips, much related to "seeing the sights lift," but when reading, I became anxious, as I wasn't seeing *any* of this cool stuff, nor the "slide cycle," nor "hammer fall," etc. In fact, I became downright insecure for a bit, especially with the dire warnings of "blinking" or "flinching" or otherwise closing one's eyes. I spent a lot of time at an indoor range forcing my eyes to stay wide open, really trying to hammer the issue out. It wasn't until months later, when practicing a drill I learned during a class w/Frank Garcia (just a bill drill w/zebra target), that I suddenly understood what it meant to see the sights lift, and I had probably been seeing "it" much sooner than I'd thought, but I wasn't relaxed and comfortable. I guess what I'm saying, in this ramble, is -- be careful to simply be aware, and not create a problem you might not have.

I bought a box not too long ago from Shooters Connection, who's a forum sponsor, also.

Never mind -- fixed. Spend another 1/2 hour dicking with it, then put the original MSH on, instead of the SV/Magwell combo. Go figure it works. Odd.

Thx Venri -- might try that way, first...I assume I'm going to need tape/rubber band or something to hold the grip safety in place while I put the thumb safety in? It's hard enough trying to wiggle in the thumb safety while depressing the plunger with two hands. For me. So here's the other question -- the relationship between sear and disconnector. I try to put the parts in so that the two arms (or whatever they're called) of the sear are just resting on the spade-shaped surface of the disconnector. But by the time I've wiggled in the retaining pin, they've seperated a tad. But since the pistol is otherwise functional except for grip safety, I assume this doesn't matter? I need to take a picture, if I'm still having problems tonight....Man. I really have done this before, just on other guns, and don't remember it being this tough. All the fault of the SVI magwell, that led to this.

Well...I, uh, did bend on the sear spring a bit, and polished the trigger bow (trigger on this STI Lawman was really gritty and horrible from the factory), but I don't think I did anything really dramatic. I will take a careful look this evening, and see how it all goes together -- I appreciate the tips!

This is freakin' embarrassing -- I can't seem to reassemble a 1911 after complete stripping it, and getting the $%*(#@ grip safety to work properly. Trigger, mag release installed. Put in the sear and diconnector... Put in leaf spring being careful of fingers. Partially put MSH on Install hammer Install grip safety, push MSH up, and pound in the pin* Install thumb safety* Install grips, and admire my handiwork. Curse and fume when I can drop hammer w/out touching the grip safety. * somewhere here, something is happening. When I use an MSH w/out a spring, so I can easily install it, the grip safety does seem to work. I can't drop the hammer w/out engaging it. Hell am I doing wrong??

Thx Gary! Don't know why I had 1/4" in my mind, but anyway....As you can see, with this holster, the cut is about 1.2", so I have some patching to do....May not be as easy as I thought; I'm not sure where one can get a small piece of kydex.

I have a Kytac KT-1 holster. It is not legal for IDPA, nor is it legal for USPSA's new Single-Stack division because it's cut lower on the front than 1/4" below the ejection port. My thinking is, why couldn't I cut a small square of some material (more kydex?) and, using plastic epoxy, glue it over the cut-out, so that it now confirms to the 1/4" rule? From what I can tell in the IDPA rule book, specifically modifying holsters to be compliant is legal (page 33). But not sure about USPSA. Gary, any thoughts? I can't imagine -- especially if I'm not just sticking a piece of tape there -- this would be an issue, but wanted to check. Thx Steve

Before I started this sport, I didn't realize how many references to IPSC escaped me, in popular songs... For example, 80's New Wave artist Adam Ant sung about the challenges of fixed-position shooting, and difficult classifiers, in his powerful anthem: "Stand and Deliver." Recently, I learned Sheryl Crow is no fan of shooting minor: in her song "Soak up the Sun," from the album of the same name, she lets listeners know she prefers the heavy metal when she ends the chorus with -- "I'm going to soak up the sun... Got my .45 on So I can rock on"

Dragging up an old thread, but...any long-term problems with silicone? I ran out of One-Shot this past week, and tried 100% silicone spray. Very cheap. Worked great, if not better than One-Shot. Any reason to avoid?

Hey congrats! I'd like to break out of B, myself, and I know that doing so means you're shooting both cleanly AND quickly. Good job!

Steve J -- that's exactly how I understand the rule. However, it's still confusing because the rule also states: Competitors must use the same capacity magazines throughout the competition I don't see how that means you can mix and max and just download, even though that's an understood practice. It seems to me that if you have 7-round mags, you must ONLY use 7-round magazines; not a combination of 7-rounders and some 8's downloaded by one. IMO, only, of course.... I guess an 8-round mag downloaded is == to a 7-round mag.

I'm totally confused, now. Let's take CDP and suppose I have a couple 7 and 8 rounds magazines. If I read the rule you quote, Jane, it seems to me that if I start with a 7-round magazine, I can't use anything else *but* a 7-round magazine. "...you must use that capacity magazine throughout the match..." How does that rule allow me to use 8-round magazines, but downloaded to 7? This is something I know everyone does, but still don't see how the rule supports it. That aside, if Jim Taylor is correct: I can show up with 8 round magazines, but decide to just load them all to 7 rounds? I don't even need to bring a 7-round magazine with me? That doesn't seem right... I'd appreciate any clarification on this. Thx!!

#98 ? While rehearsing the stage is verboten, you can sometimes get a feel for the positions when pasting, or while on deck. If nothing else, *visualize* -- with 18 rounds max, there simply aren't that many targets and shooting postitions to remember. How many times have you seen (typically MM and SS) shooters come around a barricade, and not *know* where the targets are, and jerk the gun around, as they hunt for them? #99 Never leave a long target without calling the shots. Two -3 hits plus the 5 second FTN penalty is a killer.

Thx, H -- makes sense. I figured there was more to tuning than just a judicious squeeeeeeeeze, here and there. I do have them numbered, but 'cause I'm a water-head, I only numbered the base pads. Lasted all of one match, before they got jumbled. I can live with the current status-quo: 19 reloadable and one or two that can hold 20, so on some stages I can start with 20+1.

So I keep reading "tuning", but how exactly does one do that? Out of 6 140mm STI tubes, 1 doesn't drop free, and only 2 can hold 20, with Dawson +1's, and Grams spring/followers. So I'm assuming the other 4 need to be "tuned." I don't mind sticking the tube that doesn't drop free in the bench vice, but...what, just squeeze (side-to-side? front-back?) for a while? All of hte mag lips are to spec, and I've polished the insides as best as I can.... Thx

I'm not wild about dwelling on my screw-ups, probably because I have so many. But I had to smile when I saw a clip from a local match this weekend. You talk about having a "speed focus" -- you KNOW your head's in the wrong place when you get into your IPSC monkey, and take a FULL SPEED SIGHT PICTURE. I've never done this before in my life. But I was ready to burn this down. Was simple: S1 from box A, T1 and T2 between box A and B, S2 from box B, then back to box A....Everything gets two, so you should end with 4 hits on S1, T1 and T2, and two on S2. Oh yeah. I couldn't wait to shoot this. Ended with two mikes and a procedural for one shot out of box A. It also took 9 shots, total, to end up with 4 hits on a huge steel rectangle that was no more than 10y. I saw the sights for exactly two shots -- the steel in box 2. Had my focus been on "get those easy A's".....<sigh> Better link --> (BellSouth is killing me with Bandwidth Exceeded messages....)

This is getting ridiculous. I shoot Limited, Production and will probably start shooting SS. And, from time to time, CDP and SSP in IDPA. I have two CR-Speed belts. I have a freakin' drawer full of various Kydex holsters, and at least 5 different types of mag holders....Yet I *still* find myself constantly needing to pull this holster off that belt, or make sure THESE holders go to the IDPA match, because they're the only legal ones, or shuffling things around so they'll match.... It's ludicrous that I don't have enough gear, but the truth is, I don't. I'm coming to the realization, that I need to a complete belt set-up for each USPSA division I intend to shoot, and, for each IDPA division, a loose holster and two mag pouches. So right now: LTD: CR speed holster, 4 x CR speed pouches, but only have 3 on a CR Speed belt. Production: Comptac holster (share w/IDPA) and convert 4 CR pouches to Glock (a royal pain in the *ss), and have a single cheapo pouch, on a second belt. SS: Bladetech, and 3 x 771's and 2 x CompTac pouches I just bought (thx Stuart!). No dedicated belt. IDPA: 2 x cheapo Kydex pouches. So I think I need: Ltd: 3 mag holders. Do I really need 4?? I *rarely* go to a second mag much less a third. Production: Nothing. SS: CR Speed belt and 1 more 771. This would give me 4 771's, plus a cheapo double-pouch. I think I would only rarely need to grab a fifth magazine...? IDPA: CDP: holster. One I bought recently wasn't compliant, so I sold it. SSP: holster. Stupidly sold a Glock Bladetech, and now I'll have to buy it over again. Two pouches. Boggles my mind, it does. Anyone else wrestle with this? I can make everything work now, by shuffling, but I'm really feeling it's worth spending the money and getting it right.

It's a decent area. I'd think the cost of living would be less, but then the pay is probably less, too. It's considerably more "Real South" than the Raleigh area, which I'm partial to, mostly because I can't stand being far from the ocean. In general, it's a terrific State, with terrific people, too. You'll shoot year-round, but still get 4 seasons. Taxes are higher than I'd like. Reasonably gun-friendly; while I don't have a CCW, they're no big deal to obtain. I keep meaning to shoot the Statesville match, but never get around to it, as there are plenty of good matches around Raleigh, too.

Ah! And dine at a Waffle House. (Hit one of those places, myself, at a Sectional match this year. Arrived at 0-dark-thirty. It's an awful lot like what Hell is going to be like, I'm afraid. )

Man, Sunday was like the Charge of the Light Brigade -- I think we started with 11? 12? folks on my squad, and after riding into the Valley of Death, ended up with 5 or 6. At least 3 guns went out of commission. One KIA, another was a borrowed STI someone was shooting (it recovered miraculously with a few drops of oil) and the other was a Glock with trigger issues. I felt bad for this shooter, since he was doing pretty well, until then. After a couple horrendous stages, I simply quit caring about results, and decided to hose (this is NOT a happy place for you 'mental management' fans, but perversely enjoyable, nonetheless), and only did a half-*** job cleaning mags, and gear. In fact, my cheapo mag-brush broke, so I gave 'em a quick swipe with a muddy towel -- man, that Caylor did not hiccough once, and it was criminal how much grit and mud I was probably shoving up into her. I'm impressed: the STI system is a lot more robust than I've been led to believe. I think Sunday will be nice for the Carolina Cup. I wish I were shooting it; d*mn it filled up fast!!!

Out of curiosity, anyone "throw" shots on the first pass in Stage 2, then plan on making them up from the kneeling position? Ie, from right side of barricade, shoot the first 3 carefully, then the next 3 as fast as possible, go forward, and shoot it normally, then from the kneeling position, start on the left side (which should have questionable hits) and hammer double-taps at the first 3 targets from 5 yards....

Anyone familiar with either of these pistols? I need to send my Les Baer PII back for work, since it's not running reliably, and would like to get a second 1911 for Single-Stack and the occasional CDP foray. The "Lawman", ( I guess the name is a bit better than "Trojan"), seems interesting. Forged frame, no-nonsense single-stack? I think I could hack my way through adding an ambi-safety. Is this the same gun as the Legacy, minus the ambi and PVD finish, but ~$400 less? Anyone have one of these? Would like to hear any pros/cons re: reliablity, accuracy, etc. Thx