DogmaDog

I dunno...do they work? Do you think you'll need spares? Keep what you have, then swap it out when it fails. We still have green followers in the military, and they work fine for the most part. DD

Do EOTech, C-More, and Aimpoint use red because it's better, or just because red lasers and LEDs are more readily available, or because red just happens to be what has been used in the past, or in the movies? I like my red EOTech reticle fine, but I like my green fiber optic on my Ltd gun more than a red one. I don't have an answer for you, just suggesting you may not be able to rely on prevalence for your answer. DD

I was totally fine with putting english on bullets. ---SPOILER AHEAD---- I'm just completely stupefied at: 1) Raising an army of exploding rats to assault The Fraternity, 2) The co-location of a big meat locker with a textile mill (I suppose because grabbing the shuttle from a loom, and curving a bullet around a side of beef are the two critical assassin skill drills out there), and 3) The basic premise (That otherwise intelligent, cunning assassins decide whom to kill based on swatches of cloth spat out of an autonomous loom...huh?) Ah well. If they'd made it a comedy outright, it would have been Grosse Pointe Blank. I wonder if they tried to get John Cusack. DD

Yes, you have to guesstimate what your hit factor will be on a stage, and then you can figure out how much time a point is worth. I think the "neutral" hit factor depends on your skill level. For me, (B-Class Limited), neutral is more like 5 or 6. At a hit factor of 5, it's worth it to make up a D hit with an A if you can do it in less than 0.6 seconds (3 pts x 0.2 seconds per point...or 0.8 seconds if scoring minor). I wouldn't consider it worthwhile to try to make up a C, because I'd only have 0.2 seconds to do it, which is faster than most of my splits, except on very close targets. A miss is worth a lot of time. 3 seconds at HF 5 (to cover the -10 penalty, and the 5 points you didn't get). I would consider a standing reload to make up that shot. Most of this calculation is worthless if you aren't calling your shots. It just takes too long to look at the target, see a lousy hit, then re-engage. You have to know it didn't go where you wanted because you saw the sights in the wrong place when the trigger broke. You also have to learn from experience how to predict what your hit factor will be, or shoot after shooters of similar skill level to you, and calculate their hit factors before it's your turn. Then you can maybe call the stage "accuracy intensive" or "speed intensive", and allow that qualitative assignment to guide your spontaneous decision making during the stage. Hmmm. Sounds kinda tricky. May be better just to focus on calling your shots well, and shooting As as fast as you can be sure you're shooting As. DD

I think the coolness factor falls on the side of the guy shooting minor. But shooting major isn't any slower, and you get an extra point for a C or D hit. Shooting minor could be cheaper, and you could get more rounds in a mag. Shooting minor might be worthwhile training to encourage a focus on accuracy. It might not hurt you to do it, and you might save some money or be able to practice more...I think the benefit of shooting minor is what it gets you outside of shooting matches. DD

Check out Religious Shooter's post on this thread, which I found doing a search for "Meopta": http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...0&hl=meopta He has two nice diagrams showing his sight picture relative to POI with the Meopta. DogmaDog

Do you mean a ring about the same diameter as the bullet around the edge of the bullet hole--if so, that's just schmutz left by the bullet as it passes through the cardboard. If you're talking about a larger disk of gray "splatter", that's soot from the exhaust gasses, and/or grains of powder still burning after they leave the barrel, causing "stippling" on the target...this can happen at close range (though I would have thought 10' at the outside). Your charge of Titegroup is more than 1.5x what I use to propel 180s to 135 PF in my production gun. Also, I use WST in other loads, and find I need more WST to make the same PF as with TG...but I only need 4.6gr of WST to make major with 175gr lead bullets in my Ltd. gun. Apples and oranges. You've probably nothing to worry about. DD

A couple thoughts: 1) You'll always reduce pressure by loading a cartridge longer. Load close to the max length for you gun (but leave a few thousandths, as you'll probably see some variation...I get +/- 0.002 or so on my Dillon 550) 2) I haven't noticed inconsistency resulting from air space in the case. A .40 minor load of mine with Titegroup chronographed very consistently, despite a small charge weight with a dense powder...it doesn't come anywhere near filling the case. The idea sounds plausible...I just haven't experienced it. A powder like WST has a low bulk density, so fills more of the case with the same weight charge, if you're worried about such things. 3) Changing anything might change something. Changing primers, or switching to a similar type bullet (jacketed, lead, plated, etc) of the same weight probably won't change pressure or velocity...probably. If you're at the low or mid-range charge, you can probably try it without worrying...if you're at the max load, back it off! 4) The seating die on a 550 will pretty well right a bullet that isn't sitting square on top of a case. I usually try to set the bullets upright nonetheless. 5) You must chrono your loads! You can't afford to not know whether you make power factor, and the chronograph may be the first indicator of something crazy (like if you expect 1100 fps, and you get 1300...something is up, and probably dangerous). 6) I don't know any way to unload the primer mag on a 550. Hmmm. I've never had a problem just leaving primers in it, but I suppose you might want to unload it some times. DD

I say one procedural, period, because that's what the stage briefing says. It's a really iffy call to say someone has to "attempt" to thread the needle..."I looked in the box, didn't see the needle, so couldn't thread it...did I make an "attempt"? "I reached in the box with both hands, and tried to grab the needle and thread...both hands missed (I only spent two tenths of a second trying)...did I make and "attempt"? At a major match, this kind of thing should have been discussed and thought through by the match officials beforehand. DD

I don't like the "baby Glocks" The 26 and 27 are really thick and bulky. The grip is too short to get all of my fingers on it (though a mag extension of some kind would help). For me the answer is a Kahr. I carry a P-9. It's a lot thinner than a 26, it's a bit lighter, and the grip is just long enough for me to grab it with my whole hand. Obviously, there are lots of people out there who like their 26 or 27. In my opinion, Glock's cutting down a full-sized pistol to make a "pocket gun" doesn't produce as good a solution as Kahr did, designing a concealed pistol from scratch. DD

Conquorer, I like your style, dude. I might only be saying so because I've been drinking too much of this "Georgia Moon <30 day old whiskey" but I still like it. There's a lot of dogma out there that even the pros preach and don't practice. You're right...the forearm and the eye cannot both be aligned with the bore at the same time. In many posts on this site you will see outstanding shooters advocate a stance with both arms bent to a greater or lesser degree, and often dissuade shooting with your arms locked straight. The answer is that you're right; you can't align your forearm with the gun while looking through the sights. The answer also is that your skeleton plays a role in your stance and grip, and you need to make your skeleton, and muscles work in such a way to minimize the time it takes you to accomplish shooting tasks, like aiming, recovering from recoil, transitioning, etc. Consider also that shooting isn't a 100% intellectual task. What we describe and what we perceive is seldom explained completely in words. What Mr. Jarret says may be a pedagogical device, rather than the absolute truth. "Pull the trigger straight to the rear" is a highly exaggerated shorthand for a precisely timed sequence of muscle contractions of various strengths and speeds which probably have never been accurately quantified. Nor is there any point, as each shooter perceives that act differently, and each shooter may accomplish it with a different visualization. So, you're doing well to ask the question, and to experiment with different answers out on the range, with your timer. Talk to as many great shooters as you can, and listen to how they articulate what they perceive and how they visualize what they do while they shoot...none of it is "true"; all of it is informative and useful, and worth pondering. DD

The physical equation describing the behavior of a spring is F=kX, where F is the force exerted by the spring (in pounds), k is a spring constant (expressed in pounds per inch), and X is the length by which the spring is compressed (in inches). There is no mention in the equation of the total length of the spring. Therefore, it doesn't matter how many coils you cut off--the spring constant remains the same! If you cut off coils, the distance, X, by which the spring is compressed is reduced when the slide is in battery, and reduced by the same amount when the slide is fully retracted. Therefore, the force exerted by the spring on the slide, both in and out of battery, will be less than it was before you cut the coils. I suppose its possible that the act of cutting the spring might, for example, harden the steel immediately around the point of the cut, and possibly increase the spring constant for that little teeny length of spring. I don't think enough of the spring could be affected to produce a measurable difference. This has been covered before: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5006 DD

Lol! That video is funny. Did anyone notice the RO giving bogus scoop to the guy who says he's "kinda new to USPSA shooting" (and is obviously a skilled shooter)? DD

Figure out what division you want to compete in, then buy the best gun you can to fit it. There are phenomenal shooters in every division, but locally, you might have stiffer competition in one division over another. The fastest way to improve (I think) is to put yourself in the most hotly contested division. Seems like limited and production are the most popular these days, but it depends on where you are. Either of the guns you have will rock. Spend some time shooting in a division where you have to reload all the time, and hit a skinny little mag well, and then when you can afford a limited or open gun, and decide that's what you want, you'll burn things down. Me? I started with a Kimber single stack in L10. Shot a bit of production with a CZ, just for giggles. Bought a 6" Benny Hill 2011 (used) that rocks in limited, and now shoot a Glock 35 in production, since I became a police officer, and carry a Glock on duty. I could shoot any of those guns at a match and have a good time, face a difficult challenge, and meet stiff competition...I would approach stages differently depending on which gun I were using (major vs. minor, 10 rounds vs. 19) but it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. If you think you do want a 2011 in the future, then sticking with a 1911 might help...the transition from a Glock, with its weird grip angle, to a 1911, is kinda tricky. DD

Ripley: "Lieutenant, what do those pulse rifles fire?" Lt. Gorman: "10mm explosive tipped, caseless, standard light armor piercing round, why?" --Aliens "I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine; this is an M41-A Pulse Rifle, 10mm, with over and under 30mm [pumps action] pump action grenade launcher--feel the weight!" --Cpl Hicks, Aliens

LFisher, Well done! Going to the range and really just becoming AWARE of what you are actually seeing and doing, and not confounding that with what you think you WANT or SHOULD be seeing or doing is a great big step toward improving your shooting. I think most of us here, if we're honest with ourselves would say we re-learn something about the most basic and fundamental aspects of shooting every time we pick up a gun. Realizing what's actually happening is the first step toward altering what happens to achieve a better result (an A hit, sooner). It's one of the mesmerizing things about shooting that it can be intellectually understood so simply ("align the sights on the target and pull the trigger without disturbing the alignment of the sights"), yet still require our full mental and physical capacity, and lifelong study and practice to do it well. As Brian said, "you can never learn how to shoot...you can just learn about shooting", or something to that effect. DD

It sounds like the answer to your question isn't to go look at scopes...it's to go to the range and shoot some targets at 300 m with the Simmons. I shot my EOTech at 200 yd the other day, and hit A zones fine with it, but the eyes do have to do some things they don't normally do during pistol shooting. If you're shooting a 20" barrel and a round similar to M855, then a zero at 36 yards will also be on at 300. DogmaDog

One point we haven't discussed about Brian's different types of focus is that you don't consciously choose which type of focus you're going to use, then acquire the correct sight picture, then break the shot. What you do do, (I think) is go through a targeting process, in which you refine the sight picture until it is good enough to make the hit, and then break the shot. For me, my focus begins on the target, then the gun comes into view, and the focus starts to shift back from the target to the sights. On a tight shot, this process goes on until the front sight is sharply focused, and centered in the rear notch. If it's a close, easy target, the focus doesn't come all the way back...just far enough to know the sights are good enough to make the hit. That might be a "soft focus on the front sight, which is a little low in the rear notch" or wherever it happens to be when I realize it's "good enough". The visual refinement keeps going, it's just the shot gets sent down range when it's good enough, not when it's finished. The goal is to have your trigger finger wait just long enough for your eyes to tell it the shot will land in the A zone. I would think that needing to see something as specific as "two thirds of the front sight above the rear notch, with the front sight tip in the lower third of the A zone" would take just as long as seeing the "front sight centered in the rear notch, in the center of the A zone". I also think you don't want to have two (or more) different aiming techniques you must consciously choose among. Locate the target, refine your aim until it is good enough, break the shot, repeat. And getting away from the complicated stuff, you could consider enlarging the rear sight notch and or narrowing the front post in order to allow you to see more through the sights.

After shooting many USPSA stages, and seeing your results, you'll start to get a feel for what your hit factor will be on a given stage. 24 round field course with a few shots at 15 yards...I'll get about a 7.000 hit factor on it. 1 second is worth 7 points. A miss costs bit over 2 seconds. A D costs a bit less than half a second. Unless I know it's a D immediately, don't make it up, but a called miss is worth making up. How do I know I'll get a 7.000 hit factor on it? Just because I've shot lots of stages. On a real close hoser stage, hit factors will be very high. On a course with lots of movement and long shots, HF will be low. A long field course with lots of tight or long shots, and some swingers might be as low as a 2 HF, and then it's just like IDPA--each point dropped costs you 1/2 a second. Some shots you'd consider making up: A Mike/no-shoot. -25 points costs you 2.5 seconds even at a 10 HF stage (which is a really high HF stage)...nearly always worth making up if you called it. If you have to look, see it, then re-engage, it might take 4 seconds--only worth it at HF 6 and below. A miss. -15 points 3 seconds on an HF 5 stage, only 1.5 secs at HF 10. IF you called it, and can fire another without missing a beat (say 0.4 secs), then worth it to make up. A D. -3 points. 1 second on a very low HF 3 stage. Only 1/2 second on an HF 6 stage. Usually not worth making up, unless this is a course that takes a long time to shoot anyway, and has a lot of long shots. Only worth making up if your reasonably sure you can get a better hit pretty quickly. A C or B -1 point. If you can replace a C with an A hit in 0.2 seconds, then it's a wash on a HF 5 stage. Seldom worth it, except on a very low HF stage. You won't be able to do any of this calculation during a course of fire, and make it worthwhile use of the analysis. I gather that if anyone benefits from this sort of thing, they kinda decide whether a stage is a "speed stage" (high HF) or an "accuracy stage" (low HF), and then tune their visual patience accordingly. Really good shooters just do this shot to shot...seeing what they need to see to hit an A, and NO MORE. So, yeah, what they said earlier...shoot all A's as fast as you can...or shoot only as fast as you can hit A's. (But if you do shoot all A's, speed it up a bit). DD

Wow. Charging a higher fee for major shooters? That is definitely NOT a USPSA match. The major/minor concept isn't all that hard, and it looks like it's been explained and understood. That said, I would hold off on spending ~$1600 on a gun until you've had a chance to shoot enough matches to have a real gut feel for the distinction. The 1911 you have now is fine for L-10 or SS divisions, and you could put many thousands of rounds through it before you reached your full potential (even though you are a faster than average learner). I used to shoot a single stack 1911 in USPSA matches, and also in local plate-rack matches. I shot major in USPSA, and I shot very wimpy minor loads (155gr bullets going sloooooww) in the plate rack matches. Eventually, I ran out of light bullets, and shot the major bullets at the plate racks. I discovered I wasn't really any slower shooting the higher PF vs. the lower PF. What I think was going on was that I just stiffened my grip and forearms more when shooting the major loads. The sights came back on target just as fast. I wasn't quite as consistent, but my typical runs, and best runs were equal...I just tanked a run slightly more often at the higher PF. If you want to shoot limited and be competitive, you really should run a .40. If you need to buy factory ammo, and want to save money, then a 9mm would work. If you want to really train yourself to shoot As, then shooting minor isn't a bad way to do it starting out. DD

I'd advocate just shooting whichever division is more popular at your local club, just so there's more competition. The other consideration is the minor scoring of production is more challenging, and will punish you more for going too fast. Shooting production will help you build the discipline to call your shots and shoot As rather than spray and pray. Tougher challenges produce steeper learning curves. DD

You really need to decide what division you want to shoot in. A single stack 1911 in .45 won't do for Limited, for example. So decide if you want to shoot Limited, Limited 10, or Single Stack, and start from there. It certainly wouldn't hurt to spend a while shooting your G-34, and just ask people at matches to let you try out their guns. Most will let you fire off a few rounds no problem, and maybe you can get someone to lend you one for a whole match. Then you'll get a much better idea of what you want. Ultimately, you'll probably wind up with a single stack .45 AND a high cap .40 if you stay in it long enough. After that, buy a good quality gun. Any of the major brands are fine. Kimber, Springfield, Sig, S&W, STI, all make good single stack 1911s in .45 caliber. If you want a double stack, or you want a .40 cal, or something else, then the number of choices decreases. DD

The rail is a standard picatinny rail, with a trough down the center so you can look through it. If you mounted a sight on the rail, it would be pretty high up, so you'd need a new front sight too. You could mount a dot or a scope to it, though, and the trough works as a rear sight notch by itself. DD

If you've got 17, 18, or 19 round mags, use them. You most likely won't suffer for it. Having 20 will, once in a while, be a benefit. Probably better to spend the $100 on practice ammo than to buy a 20 round mag if you don't need another mag, though. DD

I tried some rechargeable 123s in my M3 light (sorry, don't remember the brand) and returned them because the light wasn't as bright. One of my co-workers got a special LED bulb for his surefire flashlight, specifically designed to run on rechargeables, and found it works great. He was a little surprised when I said the rechargeables I tried didnt' blow out the bulb on my M3, because, as the last poster said, they have a higher voltage than the Li 123s DogmaDog