boo radley

Every match I shoot is scored "heads-up." There's the top shooter in the division at 100%, then the rest of us at some percentage of him/her. Major match or local. As far as awards, prizes, etc...Life is class system. There's "Varsity" football, and "Junior Varsity." There's "Major, Captain, Colonel..." Etc., etc., etc. Where it goes horribly wrong, is if a meritocracy doesn't exist -- the bright kid can't take AP Biology, because, see, he's a *freshman.* You can't win high-overall, because you're an "X" class. Or worse, "Gee, you're female/Black/Asian/****? so regardless of performance, you're in a special class." Fortunately USPSA isn't like that.

Thx, all -- I need to load up a couple hundred for an upcoming match, and will go back to a basic 230gr lrn (which I know feeds, for a fact), but later this Fall might play around and see if I can get these to work reliably. So basically -- DON'T get out the Dremel. <grin>

I don't remember problems when I shot Laser-Cast 200gr SWC's out of my Les Baer PII, but recently I bought 1k Meistercast cast SWC's and 1k Ranier plated SWC's and am having jams with both of these -- about 1/20 with the cast bullets, and 1/10 with the plated bullets. What's happening, is partially inserted into the chamber, and tipped slightly "up" preventing the the slide from going into battery. If I hit the back of the slide with my hand, it will go forward. If I examine one of the rounds this happens with (they all case-gauge, btw), I notice the nose of the bullet has a distinct "smile" cut into it, almost as if it were made by a knife. I guess it's getting this cut from the sharp edge where the barrel meets the feed ramp?? I do notice this problem is worse when the gun is dirty. For example, I'll clean, and the first 100 rounds chamber fine. But after 200, or so, I'll start running into problems. Is there an easy solution? Or just shoot a different profile? Thx!

I think "scenarios" require a very light and careful touch, IMO. My bias is, I think simply shooting targets is a sufficiently fascinating challenge to stand by itself. Folks can imagine whatever they like, if they need additional motivation or interest. The other problem is, I'm perverse enough to be annoyed when scenarios are created with traditional cliches at best, and at worse themes that can elicit some racist or ugly comments from participants. When I create scenarios, they're something along the lines of: "You're a UN medic trying to deliver insulin to a dying child in Sudan..." or: "You're selling cartons of cigarettes illegally, out of the trunk of your car, when a customer returns with his friends, and ill-intent!" <grin> All that said, I really like some of the ideas for activation here. Using a dropped weight, as Roy suggests, might be perfect, and eminently fair for all shooters. Now I just have to find time to build the swinger.

I like mine, but be attentive to issues with scoring, and certain springs. I had a devil of time, last year, with periodic feeding problems that was ultimately traced to a tight-fitting, square-shouldered ISMI recoil spring, and wear on the CGR tungsten rod. When I polished the rod as best I could with 400 and 600 grit paper, and went to a Wolff spring, no more problems. I like having the extra bit of weight out front, and I like being able to easily replace the 15-lb recoil spring. You certainly don't *need* it, but a full-length tungsten or steel rod is simple, inexpensive addition, IMO, that's easy to try.

Thx Flex -- that makes sense...It's probably a lot more fair, too, than having another squad member pulling the rope. <grin>

I sometimes design stages for a very small local match. Props are extremely simple; a couple barrels, a barricade or two, and target stands. I'm thinking of building one of those PVC swinger stands, per Ken Reed's plans, but wondered about an efficient and safe way to activate it.... There aren't any poppers that could be used to fall on the string-pulling out the stick-activating the swinger. Nor doors, with one end of the rope on the handle. And I'm a little leery of setting up a "trip wire." I'd appreciate any thoughts!

*Awesome* shot, though seeing the muzzle like that makes me cringe a tad... How are you - or any of the photographers here - getting these shots with the POV in front of the shooter? Using telephotos, and just setting up in the right place?

No dog in this hunt, except to point out you're right...until the match begins. At that point, it's 50 "B" shooters against one another, etc. Winning one's class then become beating 49 other shooters, regardless of the statistics that created the "B" classification in the first place. That's a big +1.

Bruce -- those strike me as *awesome* ideas. With one classifier, would you even bother maintaining seperate breakdowns by division? Or could the single classification be created from two revolver scores, two L10, one Open and one Limited? If so, it would be even easier to maintain a "valid" status, by shooting 3 classifiers a year, as Norman suggests -- wouldn't even matter if they were with the same gun.

I'm in a similar situation. I'm shooting a "real" IDPA match, for the first time in a couple of weeks, and need something better than a Polar Fleece thingy, which is the only vest I've ever worn. Saw some heavy shirts / light jackets at WallyWorld the other night. I think I'll get one, and perhaps cut the sleeves off. It was cheap $14.99, and the fabric seemed heavy enough to get out of the way. I tried an untucked dress-shirt over a t-shirt, and that sucked.

I use this stuff on my outboard motor, and other parts of my boat. It seems to leave a pretty heavy, wax-like buildup which I like for corrosion protection, but not so sure I'd like in my reloading system. And, it causes squibs, if it gets into the case?? That's a pretty serious negative, no?

Nice job, Mike!

I don't have a lot of major match experience, but in my first one (the '06 Fl Open) I came in 2nd in my class to a shooter who, by any objective standard, should NOT have been there. It rankled, initially, but I quickly realized the whining -- err, discussing it -- always reflects badly on the sandbaggee, and only sometimes on the sandbagger. If that is as bad as it gets...life isn't too bad, and even other shooters don't care to hear a long story about coming in "2nd C" or "4th B" or whatever. And, in another major match this year, I was fortunate to win my class/division, but realize there's some truth to the statement that if you do so, you probably shouldn't be there anyway. In fact, the USPSA dB hadn't caught up, yet. That's got to be true all over the place -- what is more dangerous than a B-class L10 shooter? I like the classification system. The only tweak I'd make is to have shooters be classified at their highest level, across all divisions. Become an "A" Production shooter, and you're an "A" in everything else. Otherwise, it's a good thing, and if it goes away ( which I doubt it would) to handle the 1 true sandbagger out of 100 accused, so would match attendance. In fact we all DO shoot head-to-head, as far as I know. There's no rule preventing a B shooter from winning HOA in his division, and, to win his class in a State Sectional, for example, he'll have to beat out 25 other B shooters instead of 2 or 3 other "M's" or 10 other "A's".

Congrats to Chris Tilley, as well....I think of him as more of an "Open" gun shooter, so, along with Dave, it's clear proof that it's the Indian and not the arrow. It boggles my mind that after that many stages, the ending could be so close.

+1 It's tough to comment on this, since no one wants to be unfair to the men and women who are working hard to put on this match. But this is a showcase event, and for those of us NOT at the match, it would be nice to just have scoring updated once or twice a day, and possibly a blurb and photo, or short video on the USPSA 'Nationals' page. Web-cams, TV coverage, live interviews...hmm, maybe a bit much. But I think the above is reasonable...

I assume "yes" in IDPA, because they don't say anything about conversion barrels, whereas the rulebook DOES expressly forbid them for SSP. As for USPSA, I would think US Appendix D9, rule 17 would apply. I vaguely recall this issue coming up before, and I believe Amidon offered his opinion that conversion barrels weren't legal in Production. Do a search across all forums here -- I'm sure it's come up before. All that said, I doubt anyone would ever notice, and it would be a matter of your conscience. That, and the risk of unreliablity. What are you gaining with the conversion barrel, except being able to shoot cheap (and hot) factory 9mm?

No, yes and yes.

That's with an extension and spring -- you can buy these as a kit from Dawson, Arredondo, Taylor, etc...About $30 ea. You don't modify your factory 15-round magazine beyond removing the baseplate, and substituting the new extension. (And swapping the spring).

Well...not lazy, then -- but a moment of mental carelessness. <grin> This is like that damn game, Whack-A-Mole®, in which as soon as you think you've got one aspect working a little bit, something else hops out to bite ya'. How we learn, I guess. After some retrospect, I'm filing this into the same category as lessons such as, "Well, I know this magazine doesn't drop free, but I'll still use it, but just need to make sure I grab it last...." Etc. A moment of carelessness, or inattention, but that's all that's needed for dire consequences.

Not sure what to call it -- just venting; granted it was a local, club-level match, but it still rankles, especially because I went into this with the mindset of shooting it as seriously as anything I've shot prior. Anyway. First stage, and I'm in the zone. It's never happened to me on the first stage of a match before, and I like it. Arrays were covered with no-shoots and hard-cover, and I still shot 'em in type-2 focus, collecting alphas. Second stage, the "zone" went away, but it was still decent, and so were the next two stages... Then I get lazy. Did a half-ass job of figuring out a plan, and came up with something preposterous, where I'd take one out three targets, on the move at 15yards, while I set-up for a mover, which I'd catch at the very end of its motion, then clean up the other two targets...Etc. It was moronic, and it was lazy and beyond the skills of my shooting ability. But because I was having a good day, it seemed reasonable, and it was more fun to shoot the sh*t with another squad member than really take a look at the stage, and *think*. So I end up being second up, I think, and it all goes to hell. I'm trying to shoot this 15-yard target while running up to the fault line, all the while this mover is streaking across my peripheral vision, and the short version is, mikes all over the place. One of those deals where the stage is over, and you're just hoping for your hits, 'cause what you saw behind the gun was ugly. While I'm reloading my magazines, furious with myself, I see the next squad member shoot the stage cleanly and easily, in a much more efficient manner that was obvious, had I given even minor attention. I'm finding you have to let the shooting *happen* in this game, but in stage planning, practice, attention to equipment; in short everything else, I'm not so sure you can try too hard.

I suppose that would be me. (Although I'm not planning on selling my G35 -- just its accessories, depending on how well I shoot an STI. Planning on using the G. for Production). The problem is, IMO, once you *start* using the add-on's, it's hard to stop. Before I had the Dawson magwell on the G35, it felt cavernous compared to a single-stack 1911 w/no magwell. But now that I've added it, on the rare occasion that I've removed it, not only does the weight feel imbalanced, but the magazine openign suddenly seems awful tight. Same, same with the tungsten guide rod. Necessary? No, but after 5k of major pf rounds, the gun feels funky w/out it in. Nothing that can't be unlearned, but... I do agree that I see lots of high-$ used G35's out there, and knowing what I know now, would rather pay $400 for a lightly-used stock model, than $650 for one with a KKM barrel, sights, Lone Wolf this-and-that, etc.

To keep beating this horse.... 2006 PGA season: 14 events played 7 victories 10 top 10 finishes 12 top 25 finishes 1 W/D ( was sick) 1 missed cut (since he was an amateur he hadn't previously missed a cut in a major). I just am not seeing where the record supports the assertion that he doesn't have the mental toughness to "hang in there" even if he's out of it. Granted 2nd is better than top-25, but top-25 certainly does not imply slacking it, given the caliber of the players on the Tour. And, if he's in a position where 2nd is a possiblity, he usually wins. 7 wins, 1 "2nd", and 1 "3rd", this year, out of 14 events. Finally, consider this: Woods -- playoff record: 10 - 1 Nicklaus -- playoff record: 13-10

I see there are a number of options for treating a standard STI grip, and, in getting a Limited gun built, I'm wondering what kinds of pitfalls / advantages are out there. I seem to see 3 things -- 1. mostly just stock grips, with the standard (polymer?) checkering. Any downsides to this? How long does the checkering last? 2. Grips that have...stippling? Either they seem to be covered with all kinds of dimples, or squiggly groves. Sometime the STI logo is left alone, sometimes it isn't. I assume this is done just by melting the grip with a hot iron...How does this treatment hold up? I've seen some examples look good; others are kinda ugly, IMO. 3. Grips that just look like grip-tape. I assume the checkering is ground smooth then something like TruGrip, or equivalent is applied? I'm leaning towards #3, just because I'm use to TruGrip with my Glock. I also think that would reduce the grip size some -- I'm hoping with an extended-release button, I'll be able to mash the release w/out shifting my grip. I can do that with my Glock; on a 1911, and std button, I do have to shift my grip *slightly* to get on it. OTOH, much as I like supporting EricW, I seem to go through the tape pretty quickly. A set lasts me 1-2months on my Glock, in the summer. What do you like and why? Thx!

Well, I'll disagree with you there. Going down the stretch, how many players faced off against Jack, head-to-head, and beat him? Plenty -- Watson, Trevino, Johnny Miller, etc. How many of today's players -- who, based on numbers, should be superior to Jack's peers -- can say the same? Put Tiger in the final pairing on Sunday, and who is beating him? Why do you consider coming in "2nd" a sign of mental toughness?