boo radley

I don't, but I don't have the patience to stick magazines into a pouch then put the pouch somewhere....I did quickly realize, however, that leaving expensive magazines out and under foot, so to speak, was a Bad Idea. Here's what I did -- just used 4 of the largish bins from Home Depot. One for each gun I'm shooting, though I need to put the Glock stuff away. The bins hold an amazing number of magazines: for example, there are 14 single-stack mags in the lower-right bin. This isn't what you were looking for, but just a thought.

I'm changing my mind, as well.... I think Shooterready's numbers are valid. I went back to the 2007 Nationals, and the winner of Master class was whupping the average Master shooter by about 30% on average for SSP/CDP/ESP. In EX and below, the pack was much tighter. The class winner was only 15-17% above the average (except for some Ex shooter who was up there with the top Masters in one Division....). But I think there are two fundamental truths: 1) At some point, we all have to shoot for high overall, and if that happens sooner rather than later, so be it. 2) There will always be a handful of shooters who are simply "better." They will cherry-pick certain IDPA matches, and win, but that's not a bad thing either. However, I really like Bones's idea of making the entry criteria into Master being "X seconds" AND "place in a major match." Of course this would create additional burden on maintaining classifications, etc, and is Michigan Shootist really that far off in his assessment?

Aaaggh. Doctor just called me this am. Level is 20ug/dl up from 11/ug/dl three years ago. I'm bummed, but not surprised. In the last 3 years, I've been shooting a LOT in an indoor range. Despite it boasting state-of-the-art filtration, I have some serious doubts. Also been reloading, picking up range brass, etc, etc, and while being conscious of hygiene not fanatical about it. Looks like I'll need to be. Any value to those D-lead wipe things? Is there a cheaper alternative?

I'm coming to the conclusion that if you can buy 100,000 Zero or 'name' bullets, you can pretty much sell them in a year or two, and get a brand-new Open gun for free.

Regardless of what you think of the New York Times, a more complete and comprehensive article on the subject is interesting: Sucky Ammo Warning -- not for the faint of stomache.

Looks nice -- there's a certain functional look to it....A "this gun WILL be lighter, and I'm not screwing around," vibe.

In small "major" matches, all bets are off....But in big ones, such as the S&W Nationals, I think ShooterReady has a point: For SSP in Master class, the average was: 212 seconds. But the winner shot 65% of the average. For SSP in Expert class, the average was: 262 seconds. The winner shot 85% of the average. I didn't do other matches, 'cause it's tedious. Does this matter? Probably not -- I doubt anything will change, but it's clear when USPSA GM's or the IDPA equivalent is in a match, there's a pretty big gap between the average master and the GM. Besides -- looking at results, I'm not sure either you OR Gary is a poster child for a working classification system. You're a competitive USPSA GM, and yet only an ESP Expert? (in the 2007 Oregon IDPA match). And you destroyed everyone by like what, 20 seconds? And Gary, who's a top IDPA shooter, and places well in whatever USPSA matches he shoots at...is B/C class?

Thx guys....Howard, I understand (kinda) what you're saying and will take what I don't understand on faith. It was just startling to realize not only would I not be dropping the charge a couple tenths, as I'd imagined, I'll need to *add* a couple!! Heh -- last weekend shot her at a steel match using some 40 minor I have on had, which is around 145pf in my G35 and STI....No wonder the cycle would barely cycle, and there was a noticeable *pause* between firing the far steel ringing on stages like "Showdown." Disconcerting as all hell.

Holy cow -- I've been raving to anyone who'll listen about this used 6" SV I bought a few weeks ago. Needle accurate and a joy to shoot, and SUPER soft. Well, it doesn't diminish the joy any, but I found out why it's so soft. <grin> Despite the 6" barrel it's running about 30 fps slower than my 5" STI build, depending on the bullet. Just got back from the chrono, where I worked up some loads for a 165 gr bullet. My guess at the high range was 5.1 n320. Not even close with either gun: STI 900 fps and SV 888 fps. For a benchmark I tried my 'standard' major load a 180gr bullet over 4.6 of TG. With a Ranier JHP this usually runs ~173 pf. STI: 965 and SV 931. Weird, no? Wonder if the STI is just fast, or the SV barrels run slow?

Probably a dumb question, but what is the difference between a 126mm STI magazine for .40S&W and a 126mm 9mm mag? I'm assuming the follower and mag lip dimensions....anything else? Would it be possible to convert the 40 to 9 with careful bending of the lips? Thx!

I am using Safari on a Mac. It is odd to me that the 2007 works and the 2008 doesn't Yeah, that page won't work with non-IE browsers. Click on the page, and "select all" then copy to an empty text file on your PC. Edit that file to remove the header junk before this tag: <!DOCTYPE HTML Save the file and rename it with an HTML extension, and you can open this local copy just fine. Looks like it was a fun match! I'm delighted it's going to be in Fredricksburg in August -- even closer!

Hmm...I don't think my question was clear. OK -- Zhunter wants the top tier of shooters to be able to compete for 'serious' money, for whatever reason. Forget for a moment, where that money comes from. It seems to me that once a sport/recreation becomes popular enough, the issue, above, takes care of itself. Take fishing for catfish, for example. I'm guessing the first person that caught one didn't think, "Hey! Let me start a Tournament Series." But as smaller tournaments became popular, etc., etc, thus formed "www.uscats.org." Or whatever. But with practical shooting, as I understand it, that period is already *over* -- the days of making a living wage shooting a pistol, and significant corporate sponsorship have passed. But if -- and this is what I don't know -- the membership, and popularity is still as high, or higher....Why? What changed? Fix that, and you would have $ for a some kind of pro-tour, no?

I know. My question was rhetorical to "gmantwo" who said the ATF doc didn't mention anything about FFL's....

What does this mean, then? ....or to a licensee in any State...

Of course. So, what do you do? Tank the Classifier? The problem is, the specific strings in the Classifier, especially when you remove the cover garment, are skill-sets that are meat and potatoes to USPSA shooters. It's just test-taking, as, in USPSA, you're constantly taking similar tests -- every local match, in fact. By contrast, from what I've seen, contrary to some opinions here, many IDPA shooters loathe the Classifier and do NOT practice it. I won't say "sandbag," but in the top 3 classes, sure doesn't seem to be much deliberate grandbagging, either!!

For whatever it's worth, I classified as Master on my first attempt in SSP -- I was a high B in USPSA Production at the time. It's a bit embarrassing -- on the rare occasions I'll shoot at a very large and popular IDPA club in my area, I usually get my butt handed to me. The classifier limits are out of date, regardless -- CDP tougher time limits than SSP...why? Makes no sense. A GM class would make sense: achieve it with: and extremely low classifier score, OR top 3 at the Nationals, OR if the shooter has USPSA GM status.

So here is my question: I wasn't shooting then, but I've heard about the "Golden Age" of the mid-80's, or so ( not sure of specifics ) when Action pistol shooting was extremely popular, and there were factory sponsored teams, and Dillon was sponsoring our host, etc, etc. Were there that many more shooters at matches than today? I mean, some local club matches in my area are pulling in over 100 shooters from time to time, and rarely attract fewer than 60. IF there are approximately the same number of shooters, what has changed? Why the lack of outside interest?

I'm new to steel, and very fortunate in that a club that's an hour away has started a monthly Steel Challenge match. I've shot it twice, and really like this stuff. One area that seems erratic is how/when to call hits or misses for people. Is this even legal? I'm finding when I'm shooting, I really prefer NOT to have anyone say anything, but others want or expect to hear if they've missed a plate, or have an edge hit, and this can get confusing, quickly. The RO will be saying "Miss!" and someone in the gallery yelling, "Hit it!" (!)....etc. Then the shooter gets all grumpy and convinced it's YOU who's screwed him into eating a 3 sec penalty.... What is the policy on this?

Splash -- I, too, am looking for 6" loads (going to try 165gr zero flat nose, and 5.0 n320 to start), but your chrono results are amazing. Can you share details? Assuming a 180gr bullet, you've not only gained 50 fps, but with .3grains less powder?? How can this be?

I hear ya Chills, but I know I wouldn't want to buy a full page, 4-color, cover ad. Would it be better or worse, if, hypothetically, they off-shored production to a shop in Asia, and gave away a couple guns at matches? I'm coming to the conclusion that you and me and the rest of us who pay $20 for local match fees, and spend $15 in gas to get there, and $30 in ammo, rinse and repeat; keep memberships current, and buy brass and bullets, and powder and primers, and gear and more gear, and carefully save money and vacation time to shoot big matches....I'm thinking WE support the sport.

You know, looking at that link MPolans supplied to the ATF FAQ's....I don't see anything about the oft-quoted "copy of the FFL signed in blue or black ink." I would seem to me, as long as you ship TO a VALID FFL, you're set. All you'd need from the buyer is the FFL #, and you could ensure it's valid, and get the proper shipping address from the ATF website's EZ-Check. No?

It's hatefully complicated. I've sold a few on gunbroker, here, etc., and in my experience few transactions are identical, but.... 1) If you sell to an out-of-state resident, you must ship to his or her's FFL. Now. His or her FFL may or may not want to give you a copy of their license. So the flow chart becomes: <[Yes] copy of FFL License, either by mail or Fax> ---> validate with EZ-Check on BATF website ----> send FedEx priority overnight from a depot to the FFL. I have *not* given my copy back, but instead stapled it to the Fedex receipt and filed it. I want *proof* I sent it to an FFL if this ever comes back. <[No] FFL won't give you a copy for whatever reason> ----> go to your local gunstore/FFL holder. Pay a transfer fee, and the FFL will send the gun directly to the other FFL, usually by priority USPS mail. They also might not be really quick about this, so that's why it behooves the buyer to try to get you a copy of their FFL. 2) If you sell to an in-state resident, you can do a face-to-face transfer, but they must provide either a valid pistol permit (which you retain) or a valid CCW license. I have never heard of that "unless you know them personally" clause, JFlowers cites, above. I'm thinking you do NOT want to sell a gun to someone who hasn't furnished proof they can legally own one. It can be a minor to major pain in the ass, no doubt, and Firemat100 is dead-on with 1/2 the time, FedEx, etc, won't know the rules. (minor edit).

boo radley, I design and manufacture a Follower Kit that covers a wide range of mag tube designs (SPS/STI/SV), a wide range of calibers (9mm/38/40/45), and different length mag tubes. First priority for my design is function, then capacity. My follower is designed to be "aggressive" on slide lock, so one can tune for slide lock function the way they want it. With the wide range of applications, and the wide range of the tube tolerances themselves, you can see why some slide lock function tuning may be needed. As I stated before, if you have questions, you can call me. Hiya TeamGE -- my fault, came out wrong, and that makes sense. Probably we all share the frustration that $60+ magazines, right from the start, can be capricious. Steve

So, I'll agree I'm ignorant, but for whom are these followers designed that they work without modification? 5 new STI mags, 5 new Grams follower/spring kits, and I had the 'lock-back-with-one' issue with 4 of them.

That *does* suck. How is it, then, that Angus won Production in Area 6? Doesn't he shoot primarily in Area 2? It strikes me that if you win the match, you've...won the match. If the match cares to give out High Latin American, or High South Dakota Senior, etc, that's cool, too.