boo radley

Thx -- I just realized, too, that I could simply buy new floorplates @ $2.00, so that's a simple and cheap enough solution to make this issue moot....

I shoot a local match occasionally that's run under IDPA rules (although not sanctioned) and the scoring aspect is one of many things that drives me crazy, because I think there's a logical disconnect between "keeping score" and the rule book which states in many places: p44 "Always award any question on the scoring to the contestant. If you have to look at the target very closely to determine if a shot has broken a higher scoring line you will automatically award the higher value to the contestant. At NO time will IDPA SO's use scoring plugs or overlays. When in doubt of a scoring call, always award the higher value to the shooter. This also applies to doubles." p74 ..."If you have to closely look for more than few seconds at a hit, the higher value should be given to the shooter." Sometimes I *do* think you have to study the d*mn target. <shrug>

I searched, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for... I have 6 urethane Jentra "bumper pads" glued to the botttom of my G35 magazines. They're approximately 1/8" thick, and handy only because they're colored, and I don't confuse them with mags for my 9mm. Would I need to remove these pads to shoot Production Division, legally? Or get new magazine? Thx

I shot my first match today, as "Limited", with my G35. I'd been shooting L10, but both Limited and Production have far more shooters in my area. I had been really looking forward to reloading -- ah ha! -- at my discretion, in a relaxed manner, but discovered only the math has changed, and instead of trying to squeeze out 10 before reloading, I'm now sweating out 19. I also totally lost count on two stages, and was thinking, "please, please, please don't run dry!." Went 1 for 2, and since I'm used to seeing and reacting to slide-lock, maybe I'll keep mine working for a bit, until I get better at stage mgmt. Then...is it as simple as just removing the part from a Glock?

I use them all the time, instead of rice, when cooking a quick "stir-fry." As a bonus, you can use the flavor packet as "stock" when making the cooking liquid. For example: "weird Chicken flavor Ramen packet" --> 1/2 cup water. Heat in microwave. Add soy sauce, dry sherry/vermouth, dollop of sesame oil, and tbs of corn-starch. In wok, or skillet, stir fry shrimp (or pork, sliced chicken breast, whatever), in oil. Towards the end, add minced garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Remove meat, and replace with snow-pea pods, asparagus spears cut into sections, or whatever you like.....Once these are cooked add meat again, then the cooking liquid. The corn-starch will thicken the liquid. Serve over Ramen's. Or, hell, throw a hot dog or two in with the Ramen noodles, and ignore all of the above.

There's nothing more fun than loading a *bunch* of ammo, and during the process checking the charge weight a couple times....Then, at the end when you're cleaning up, noticing a charge still in the pan on the scale.... Sooner or later, I'll shoot that round. <sigh>

Yes. To cultivate the feeling, imagine, instead of a pistol in your hands, a straight rod sticking out of the center of your chest, ending with a set of sights on it where your gun's sights would normally be. Now, acquire targets. be That's a very strong and easy visualization. I tried that for a bit tonight. It certainly locks the upper body into a unit! I appreciate your, and everyone's, input.

Then you'd be...a little lucky? I like this thread. Be interesting to look back on it in a year or two.... My primary goal is to maintain interest and enthuthiasm in this sport. Right now, everything's exciting, and because it's my first year, I'm improving in large chunks, but that's because there's also a lot of low-hanging fruit, to mix metaphors. In the past with other ventures, thinking specifically of golf and guitar, among others, I got to a certain level, say "A" and "high B" respectively, but could never make the push upwards to "M", or sustain my interest, and in short, the pursuit was no longer fun. Specific goals are 1) work on mental laziness during matches, or "maintaining focus," for a more positive spin. 2) work on visual patience. Get the shot off when I see what I need to; no more or no less. 3) shoot at least 3 major tournaments next year, and hopefully one area match.

Thx again, all. I think I'm still making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be, although RayKu opened up a whole NEW avenue of consideration with focus on the feet/weight. I'm just trying to build fundamentals. One of the drills I try to do for at least a couple minutes each day, is draw and aim at 3 dots I have on the wall, about 3' apart. I'll draw and aim at one, then transition to the other two - std stuff, I guess. When I've been doing it, I haven't concentrated on doing...anything, really, other than moving the gun (driving it, I guess), and stopping it where it needs to be. I'll over/under-shoot, or almost always have to make small corrections, to get a perfect sight picture, but I'm hoping time and practice will help develop this skill. So my real question is, is this fine, in of itself, and it just takes the time and repetitions? Or are there conscious thoughts to keep in the front of the mind like "Whip the hands to the next target," or "Drive with your feet?", that can speed this up? Or is this way over-complicating a simple move - a sight-picture *here* then a sight-picture *there*, with no need to think about how to get the gun from here to there? Is that making any sense?

Dillon -- thx for the tips. I added some grease, but neither the indexing lever nor the primer system are the problem, it turns out. The sticking appears to only happen when the powder measure is installed. Without it in place, I primed about 20 cases, perfectly smoothly.... JD45 -- you might be right!! The sticking does seem to coincide with the case coming off the powder die. It would also explain why it happens sporadically. I wonder why it's only really noticeable with 9mm? Maybe I'll really back off on the bell? The sensation is annoying, but worse, the slight jerk when the handle comes free, causes some powder to be thrown from the case when it moves to station 3.

Thanks, SR and Erik. I didn't explain myself very well, and I'm not sure even I know exactly what I'm asking..... Suppose I'm standing facing three targets. With *no* gun in my hands, it seems as if I can move my empty grip very quickly onto each target -- faster than with a gun in my hands. I realize this is a "no s***" kinda observation. But I also wonder if maybe I should pretend that there's *not* a gun in my hands, when transitioning, even when there is? I wonder if that would be an effective way of practicing and keeping focus? A mantra of "aim the hands -- not the gun."

Does anyone focus on driving not the gun to the next target, but instead the hands or thumbs or something? I was experimenting last night and it *seemed* quicker to concentrate on snapping my hands to the next target, then doing a micro-adjustment to get the sight picture, than the usual way, which is to...well, just concentrate on driving the gun. Or not really concentrate on anything -- just drive the gun, and pick up and adjust the sight picture as needed. Is that making any sense? I'm guessing this way (ie, driving hands, then picking up the sights) is going to be slower, ultimately, but it just feels fast because I've been pointing at things with my hands for 40 years? I assume all this become subconscious, anyway, at some point? You see the next target and the sights appear?

Hi folks - noticing something recently, with my Dillon Square Deal, loading 9mm.... On the upstroke, approximately 1/3 of the way up, there's a noticeable "sticking". If I work the handle up quickly, the momentum is such that it's slight, but there's still a hitch. Does anyone know off the top of their head what might be causing this, or is out of adjustment? I don't think it's from the powder assembly, and it "feels" as if it's coming from the primer assembly, or the somewhere else in the guts of the press. I realize this is vague. Thx

I agree with that, absolutely. I *never* want to wonder -- is it the gun? Given the cost of everything else, the slight additional cost is pretty painless all-in-all. Anyway. Blowing hot and cold on this issue, in a serious way. Shot yesterday and carefully. I now think I might have *lost* a tad of accuracy with the G35 barrel, but not enough to worry about. OTOH, I started getting some decent groups (finally) with the G34 for the first time since I've owned it. They ranged from 1.7" in this picture, at 25y, to about 2.5". All were shot with Blazer 115g brass case. This is a significant difference, from previous experience, and I'm delighted. It's a shame shipping a pistol is such a hassle or expense, or I would have sprung for a fitted Bar-Sto.

What does "hell for leather" mean in the context, though, of shooting IPSC? Excusing unfortunate S&M innuendos, I'd like to be hell-for-leather on myself, in terms of mental discipline, like avoiding getting lazy and letting my concentration lapse, avoiding mistakes, etc.... But I'm finally starting to shoot with a little bit of visual patience, and don't want to lose it. I started off this game trying to shoot everything as fast as I possibly could and discovered: the bottom of the standings.

Interesting post. Clay1. As I read a lot of threads here, I wonder sometimes if the amount of work needed to succeed is: a) minimized? taken for granted? c) greatly cerebral, if natural talent exists. It's seems very little advice is along the lines of, "Do XYZ, and after 50,000 rounds, you'll start seeing...." I don't even know if that would be * good * advice, but just wondering. ( == "b )" )

Had two KKM barrels arrive this week, and last night got a chance to try 'em. The .40S&W was brand-new, for my G35, and the KKM barrel I bought for my G34 was "as-new" with only 200 rounds through it. Both barrels dropped in, and I had no problems -- shot about 100 9mm rounds, and 250 .40 rounds. Started off shooting my usual group target: paper plates @25y. If the .40 KKM barrel was a more accurate than my factory barrel, I didn't notice. The 9x19 barrel seemed a *little* bit more accurate than the stock barrel in the G34, but this could have been wishful thinking, since I so badly want this gun to shoot well. Shot about 4 groups with each gun, then moved to something else. Bottom line, at least so far, I didn't get the impression that I'd hit either pistol with a magic wand. G35 was pretty accurate before, and so it remains. G34 less so, which I believe is a combination of gun and shooter -- I really fight the stock trigger, compared to the Ralph Sotelo job in the 35. It will be nice shooting SWC's out of the 40, and not worrying so much about reusing cases. Oh, and the KKM barrels sure look elegant in the guns.

+2 I used some fishing wire and wrapped it around the holster's hanger and the first magazine holder, though using velcro would have been cleaner, and I might put Velcro on everything. No matter -- these are the only two items I *really* want in the exact same spot, since I align the mag pouch under my belly-button, for reference. Once nice thing about the Versa-Pouches is that they'll work for Glock mags, 1911/2011 mags, CZ...

It's a good thread, and I've learned some great things that *will* benefit me, and I thank you for starting it. Out of curiosity, I wonder if you don't have yourself in a nasty loop condition? That is -- (and here's where the unfair part comes in) -- as a woman, you receive an inordinate amount of unwanted advice and attention on your performance when you shoot. I'm still pretty new to this, but I'll bet almost every squad has a self-appointed IPSC "Guru", telling you how not to worry about time, etc..Perhaps someone else has a wife or girl-friend shooting, and they're taking a painfully careful sight-picture on *every* target, coming in dead-last, but hey, that's the 'right' way, and you should emulate HER as an example, etc., etc. That's got to be frustrating as hell. However, until you start spanking these folks -- not literally, or perhaps literally -- they won't shut up, or at least become less offensive with advice. A vicious circle, that I don't see a wait out of, without improving match peformance, which goes back to all those things you're really burnt out on. Ugh.

I did this when I bought my G35 at a gunshow. There were three to choose from. I didn't know about your exact test, but I did buy the one that seemed the "tightest." I like to think it makes a difference. That is both an extraordinary pistol, and uncommonly good shooting -- you must admit. I have a pistol that can, in fact, shoot 1" groups or less @25y -- a stock Kimber Custom II. I know, because I've done it, but I can count the times on one hand, and probably still have extra fingers for future use. Sitting down, and shooting her cold, my groups are < 3"; when I get warmed up and really focus -- and this isn't something I can maintain long -- the groups shrink to approximately 1.5-2". Only on some very rare occasions, when everything is perfect, are they better. So I know this pistol outshoots me. The G34, however, I can easily outshoot. Try as I might (and yes, this is with a thin Dawson F/O sight post), I am orders of magnitudes away from "quarter size groups." I'm hoping the new barrel will improve things. I am eager to find out, and hope you're not right -- that I wasted my money.

John -- check your settings in "My Controls." This morning, I just got notification that my email to you bounced (after 3 days only - thanks Micro$oft!). Anyway -- you've got "yagoo.com" as your domain name. I'm not sure that's what you intended... Thanks to both of you, but I think at this point, it makes sense just to keep the 34 as is, for now, and I found a decent deal on a KKM barrel.

I have a pair of KKM barrels coming for my G34/35. I'm reasonably pleased with the accuracy of the 35. I haven't shot for pure groups in some time, but when I first got it, it was shooting 2-3" 25 no problem from the stock barrel. The KKM barrel is so that I can shoot lead SWC's. I miss 'em from my .45 -- there were good for an extra 10 points a match, I swear. The 34 has never seemed particularly accurate, IMO -- *maybe* 3" at 25 with CCI Blazer, what it seems to like best, and significantly larger groups with anything else. Be interesting to see what happens here, with the KKM

Thx, replied to both of you!

I have a G34 and G35, and would just assume stay with .40S&W. My G34 is a 3rd generation pistol, and I bought it new 4 or 5 months ago. I'd consider swapping the top end for a 3rd generation model of one of those I listed....I'm *pretty* sure they're plug-n-play, with the exception of the trigger housing/ejector (we can exchange these, too....). I'd expect a 34 to be pretty much a straight swap with a 35 in similar condition, with +/- $, for variations. I have Henie/Dawson sights in my upper, which I'd like to keep. Barrel is factory. Something to think about. Send me a PM if you're interested. Thx! Steve

Or they'll pull a bullet and know it's a 357 Magnum.. and not a 38 SPL... they're good. I do like the 20 minute DNA turn around times.. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I remain astounded at the computer technology displayed in these CSI-type shows, and the training the technicians must undergo. CSI 1: Whatcha doing? CSI 2: Well, I digitized the evidence, and wrote an analysis program -- look! <shot of 27" LCD flat-panel displaying wire-frame of half-eaten banana rotating around 3 axis> CSI 2: "Now...." <clicks a few keys rapidly. Screen zooms into bite mark on banana, colorizes a blotch of something and flashing window appears: MATCH--CHIMPANZEE--MATCH > Heh. Most lab equipment, they'd be lucky to get a hard copy of something that looks like a piece of adding machine tape, with results. I do confess, though, I watch very little TV, but have a soft spot for CSI. In my area, the OTA broadcast of digital tv for CBS is so strong I can pull it in, in high-def with a pair of cheap rabbit ears.* * This should fall into "what I love" -- You mean High-Definition TV is *FREE*?? Over the air as we speak?? Gotta be the worst-publicized piece of information out there.