boo radley

I don't have that problem with my G35/Dawson ICE/10-round mags. I *do* have a problem with some magazines no longer dropping free, but that's a different issue. You might want to take a picture and send it to Dawson? BTW, I've found with 10-round mags and the ICE, they seat pretty d*mn flush. Adding a urethane bumper pad, like the Jentra, makes a big difference.

Hmm...no love for the Les Baer(s)? I have a stock PremierII -- the most basic model -- and in the $1k-1.5k range, I'd put it up against most anything at that price point. I really do think you need to specify a price range, too. IMO, Kimber's strength and value is more in the lower range. For $700, or so, a plain CustomII, is going to be accurate, and run. Forged frame, made in USA, and the full-sized models shouldn't have problems with the external extractor. Yes, MIM parts, but you can replace them as they break. <grin>

Great points, Lurper...Heh, but there's still no consensus. I see shooting "ABC" first, and that's an excellent tip about moving so that the feet will be set for the inside shot on the 2nd array, but why would you then shoot "D"? Because it's your preference for transitioning the gun L->R?

You know, I shared this anecdote, which I believed humorous, with my wife, and I strongly suggest others do NOT do the same, unless you'd care to hear more specifics than you'd like, about sleeping together and age.

Thx, Tony -- I see what you and L2S are saying, I believe -- the time needed to index initially on the most difficult target is offset, by being able to move to the *next* position (ie, other side) more quickly. Interesting. I need to set up a barricade in my garage for dry-fire. Seems like I run into a stage like this in every match. Weird thing is, on high-round field course stages, with lots of movement, I've been shooting above my class, in matches. But on the stand-and-shoot, or, more commonly stages with limited movement, like a barricade stage, I'm giving up major time (and some points) somewhere. I need to stop the bleeding.

Thx, L2S! If movement is required, I see what you mean about the order. I'm still not sure, though, why you start with the hardest shot "C" ? I need to experiment, I guess: I've been thinking it's faster to start with the easiest shot on the side of a barricade, and move/adjust into the more difficult shots.... I hadn't thought about leaning/indexing into the most difficult shot, first, then releasing out.

(I did a search, but didn't quite find what I was looking for). One of the things I seem to constantly encouter are barricades with multiple targets behind them. For example, imagine 6 targets behind your basic barricade, 3 of which you shoot from one side, and 3 from the other. The barricade is wide enough you have to move your feet. Like this: .. a.. b.. c.. d.. e.. f ------barricade----- .....shooter...... I've been shooting it outside-in: f, e, d then a, b, c. But I'm wondering, especially if there is another array to move to, if it's not better to take the harder (c or d) shots, first, so you can end more or less standing up? Thx

When I reload .45acp, I want all my rounds to case gauge -- I'm using an LE Wilson that is a bit tighter than the barrels of either my Les Baer or Kimber. This isn't to say I bother gauging everything, but just use it from time to time during the reloading process, as I do calipers or weighing the powder charge, as a QC check. So I guess the question is, *why* aren't the cartridges passing the gauge? I have the same set of Dillon dies, and if I had to guess you don't have the crimping die screwed down far enough, but that's just conjecture without you providing more information and the critical measurements of one of your reloads.

HSMITH -- I don't know that answer. I think you'd have to start looking at individuals. Here's a complete breakdown by Area matches of participation from 2001->2006. I put "?" where I was uncertain of the figures, and an "X" where there isn't data, yet. There are probably some typos in there, but I think it's mostly accurate. What's great, I think, is that 6 out of 8 Area Matches have had their highest attendence either this year or last, since 2001! I hope it's ok to post this -- I don't have any particular agenda, other than I think it's interesting, and I want to see ALL divisions do well, and increase in size. 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Limited L10 Open Production (I apologize for this being hard to read, but the 'tab' character isn't preserved, when I post). Area1 111 64 89 69 103 102 47 39 49 40 46 64 122 92 69 89 71 86 12 12 21 21 27 43 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 292 207 228 219 247 295 Area2 157 156 172 143 ? X 21 28 45 37 ? X 162 158 157 135 ? X 10 11 16 24 ? X -------------------------------------------------------------- 350 353 390 339 Area3 ? 67 81 72 75 X ? 26 27 46 37 X ? 58 87 75 68 X ? 10 27 29 40 X -------------------------------------------------------------- 161 222 222 220 Area4 104 118 84 102 98 X 14 25 22 19 14 X 123 91 96 114 104 X 4 7 11 15 21 X -------------------------------------------------------------- 245 241 213 250 237 Area5 81 88 83 66 83 X 21 43 53 36 53 X 103 77 64 75 73 X 9 19 33 39 53 X -------------------------------------------------------------- 214 227 233 216 262 Area6 133 145 102 95 139 128 21 29 39 43 36 53 119 101 116 97 115 93 8 19 27 37 67 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 281 294 284 272 357 348 Area7 72 67 68 55 66 80 25 24 27 38 53 42 58 72 49 62 90 83 6 16 26 23 42 55 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 161 179 170 178 251 260 Area8 99 ? 95 86 113 X 22 ? 44 55 46 X 97 ? 126 122 112 X 8 ? 28 46 57 X --------------------------------------------------------------- 226 293 309 328

This is actually pretty interesting stuff.... I looked at all the 8 Area matches from 2001->2006, inclusive, just now, and looked at attendance for Ltd, L10, Open, and Production. (Yes, I know, I should have included Revolver, but I didn't). I don't have time right now to chart them, but a couple things stand out. 1) Production is King, in terms of growth. With a *single* exception (2005, Area7), it has seen remarkable growth each year since 2001, in the Area matches, where it was largely in the single digits. Production: 2001 and either 2005/2006 (if applicable) A1 12 / 43 A2 10 / X(?) A3 X(?) / 40 A4 4 / 21 A5 9 / 53 A6 8 / 74 A7 6 / 55 A8 8 / 57 2) L10 *seems* to be the 2nd healthiest division, in the Area matches, in terms of overall growth.... 3) IMO, there are some fluctuations, but most of the Area matches have shown decent growth over the last 5 or 6 years, but a lot of this growth is owing to Production and L10. Open hops around, up/down, up/down, and Limited is fairly stable (and flat). If anyone is interested, I can put this data in a simple spreadsheet.

I just wanted to get once-fired casings, in more or less once-fired shape -- I don't care if they're dirty. Brassman's brass was "OK", but I got tired of picking out the 9mm (and worse, .380 and .22lr casings). It was also surprisingly filthy for once-fired. By far, the best brass I've found is from sellers on eBay. Go figure.

I was idly curious about the impact of the new single-stack division on match participitation. My hypothethis was that some L10 shooters would switch to SS, when offered, so I could expect to see a decrease in L10 participation, in 2006. I also tracked Limited. I just picked 8 major matches -- no real reason for these 8, except they seemed largely attended. <shrug> Much to my surprise, for these 8 matches, anyway, there has been a small but significant *increase* in L10 participation, with the number of Limited shooters being essentially flat. Here's a snapshot. Not sure if any of this is meaningful, but kinda interesting on a Friday afternoon:

I go back and forth between the G35 and a 1911 from time to time, and certainly find the change pretty dramatic, given the differences between .45 and .40 recoil, grip angle, grip size, sights, magazine well, trigger, slide release, etc. A couple months ago, I blew one of the "4-classifier" matches, when I brought out my 1911, instead of my Glock, because I was having .40 reloading problems. It's not the gun's fault, of course, but I hadn't really practiced with it as I should have, and couldn't hit the magazine release button cleanly, because I wasn't used to shifting my grip slightly, and slide-lock reloads threw me off, and of course the trigger and sight picture were all "wrong." Since I practice lightly, I'd like at least 1 month of only using one platform, before shooting a match I cared about. <shrug>

I had the THE brass magwell, and didn't like it too much. OTOH, I really, really like the Dawson ICE magwell that I have on, now. Never tried the SJC -- I'm not sure how much larger a well one would need -- the Dawson feels cavernous! IMO, things to also consider: How hard it is to install? Need to cut the plastic? Will magazines drop free without modification? Half of mine don't, with the ICE. What sort of impact does the magwell have on your grip? Good/bad/none? Weight -- how much does the magwell change the balance and feel of the gun?

Nah -- gunfighter's cheat-sheet. In fact, to this very day you can see something similar on the wrists of some NFL quarterbacks. Clint's probably reads something like: "Padre- gr8 1st sht, Bware holgun SF tuff town, gd jzz! THINK--ask re: chimps!!!"

Great match, and thanks to Larry, Linda, Henry, and the rest of the staff. I shot it Friday afternoon, and couldn't have been in a more terrific squad of folks who were great sportsmen. My father drove up from DC, and he had never seen a USPSA match (or any shooting match, for that matter) before, so I put him to work collecting/organizing the score sheets....<grin> I thought the stages were a great mix, though I hit rock-bottom on that Standards stage (4?) with *six* mikes. Ouch. But I haven't shot in a while, and otherwise felt pretty good. Terrific weather, terrific company and terrific match! I also liked how easy it was to get to -- flew into BWI via SouthWestAir for under $100 round-trip from RDU, and rented a car. Since I had a car rental voucher, I don't think I could have driven to the match from NC as cheaply! And I like how there were IPSC target signs and arrows right off Exit 10 -- I wonder how many folks not going to match saw those and wondered, WTF? "Propane bottle sale?" Out of curiosity, it was a bit hard to get a cold beer with dinnner, in that area. Went to a Chinese restaurant, who steered me to some "beer store" way out of town, who (because I didn't want to buy a *case*, which is all they sold) steered me to another restaurant, that sold by the 6, then back to the Chinese restaurant. Apparently, brown-baggins is fine. Felt like a degenerate alcoholic, but just wanted a cold beer with dinner after the match. Is that area around York a dry county?

I understand the rational for the word, "artist." There IS art in a superb performance, whether an IPSC stage, a critical birdie, great game of pool under pressure, etc., etc., (although self-labling one's peformance as such might be a stretch). But calling oneself a "martial artist," based exclusively on IPSC ability, is a bit of a stretch, I think -- especially if otherwise the person in question couldn't climb a flight of stairs w/out struggling and wheezing.

Yeah, but you can't drink beer while shooting IPSC, or shouldn't, anyway. <grin> I see lot of folks, of all shapes, ages and sizes. More than a few are pretty large, which makes me scratch my head a bit when folks refer to themselves as "martial artists" because of IPSC: when "martial artist A" gets destroyed by "martial artist B" who comes in around 300lb, and chain smokes....um...

indeed!! Genghis, reading your description of tubing, I laughed until tears ran down my cheeks. About 6 or 7 years ago, I purchased a tube on a whim, to amuse some family and friends while camping on a freshwater lake (I'm a saltwater fisherman, and this tubing stuff was new to me). In short order, we learned how you can absolutely terrify a 220-lb adult male, and risk divorce when you send your spouse careening outside the wake, towards...Lo! The "gentle" waves of another boat's wake. Not so long ago, I found the tube, and had the idea of using it in the ocean, where there would be [a] lots of waves, and an even greater psychological pressure to "hang on, no matter what", because I've found many people scared to go swimming offshore, especially out of sight of land....But after an experiment or two, it just doesn't work right with swells and chop and so forth. But you're right -- tubing is all about amusing those in the boat. The tuber is the amusee.

I agree, mostly. It's hard to phrase the question in such a manner that it's both interesting to try to solve AND doesn't descend into a mere equation with a set of rules an agent must follow, etc. It's a one-time shot -- who's to say the RO/Monty Hall/whomever, will offer this specific challenge again? But once you start assigning rules this party MUST follow, it becomes a non-puzzle, though still somewhat interesting, I think.

That's my understanding too. Think of it this way, the game was ALWAYS about two poppers... No, you both are wrong. Look at it like this: A 1/3 B 1/3 C 1/3 You would agree when you intially get to pick a single popper the chances of winning the prize are 1/3 no? Say you pick "a". And if you could pick TWO poppers, the chances of winning would be 2/3, right? For example, if you were able to pick both "b" and "c". So the diagram would look like: A 1/3 B 1/3 (+) 2/3 C 1/3 Now, what happens is the RO knocks down a NON-prize concealing popper, every time, from the pair that you didn't pick ("b" and "c") and because of that, the 2/3 chance of being right "shifts" to the remaining standing popper you didn't pick. Like this: A 1/3 B 2/3 X Make sense? Suppose the RO didn't knock down any poppers, but offered you a choice to switch and pick BOTH of the two poppers you didn't select. That, in effect, is what he's doing.

Made a magic trick years ago, as a teenager. Just drilled a hole through a quarter so I could tie on a couple pieces of heavy rubber bands. The idea is, you'd secure one end of the elastic inside your coat, or something, stretch it out, show the quarter (concealing where it was attached to the other end of the rubber bands), then PRESTO! You'd let go, and it would "disappear". You get the idea. Forgot about this, and found it a few months later, in a drawer. Decided to shoot it across the room, into a couch. Held the end of the rubber bands, stretched the quarter back to my ear, released and...to this day, 25 years later, my thumb throbs if I think about it. Quarter caught my thumbnail edge-on, going about 948 fps.

That might be true, but in the local matches I've shot, the shooter doesn't sign *anything*, and as a new shooter it's criminal you were allowed to accumulate that many penalty points without an explanation from SOMEONE on that squad.

What is a Cooper Tunnel? I did a search here, and saw a couple mentions, but nothing clear...Google didn't help. Some kind of tunnel we're going to have to crawl through?

When I first got my G35, I tried a THE brass magwell, and didn't like it, and just shot the gun w/out any magwell for a couple months in L10. Compared to a single-stack 1911, reloading was effortless. I ended up putting on a Dawson ICE magwell, which I absolutely love. Is it necessary? Nope. But it's more forgiving of a sloppy reload, and adds some necessary weight, IMO. The nice thing about Glocks is parts are relatively cheap and easy to DIY, so try one, and if you don't like it you can sell it and be out a whopping $20.00 or something. <shrug>