dlaroe

Do it, eliminating a good reload won't make a difference but eliminating a bad one will. I had great fun shooting a Limited qualifier with an IPSC Production spec gun with full mags and a slightly heavier trigger. Ended up classing exactly the same as I did in Production despite reloading half as much.

I heard this on NPR the other day: http://americanhomefront.wunc.org/post/army-embraces-psychology-zen-traditions-train-paratroopers I'm working on getting back into shooting so it was apropos. A few days before there was also an accurate and de-escalating conversation on the facts and laws surrounding class 3 stuff, go figure. Dale

I love the Gen 2 look of the new single stacks. The comparison really highlights the bar of soap versus grenade checkered/athletic shoe motif of the other two pistols. -Dale

I'm a USPSA shooter who had to take a financial hiatus from the sport and I'm just getting back into shooting. To that end I looked around and what local matches were going on and found Caswell Ranch about an hour away. I spoke with the very nice Beverly Brevit, she and her husband Dean own the range. She explained they had just stopped doing USPSA matches due to low attendance. Bummed about that and with the next local USPSA match a couple weeks off I tried their Pocket Carry match. As an aside, I haven't been avoiding IDPA-style matches as much as enjoying the freestyle nature of USPSA. I've only shot one match drawing from concealment and using cover. That was an unsanctioned match at Shooters Paradise in VA (RIP) just before they started doing IDPA matches using the one pistol I owned at that point, a Makarov. That was the match that got me hooked on this sport. . PCCA just recently added a Service Division which allowed for full size pistols. The only other shooters in the Service Division were shooting Glock 26s so my Glock 17 was the only full size gun on the range. Both of the 26s were run by SOs, one of whom was Dean the range owner. It looked like most of the other guns were 3" or less carry pistols. The guns I recognized were a couple 1911 variants, a Ruger SR45c and a CZ 2075 RAMI. I was hoping to see a 5 shot revolver because the rules seemed geared that way but one was not in attendance. The rules were pretty simple and reflected the intent of sport focused on getting trigger time with small guns. Service Division started with 10 rounds in the gun but everyone else starts with 5. Slide lock reloads only, draw from concealment and shoot from 50% cover. You could reload wherever you wanted as long as your gun was empty. The rules allow for stronghand/weakhand and tactical priority but none of the stages used either. Wanting to get into the spirit of the match, I wore my tactical cardigan sweater and used a more concealment oriented holster and mag pouch than by Bladetech gear. Dean Brevit, the owner and course designer has been around, and the stages reflected that. They included shooting on the move, obstructed seated positions and some really tight shots using more props than I'm used to seeing at a normal monthly match including shooting through a pickup truck. The round count was low but the shooting was interesting. The only reload I forgot the slide lock rule and dropped the mag moving between positions, just like I'm used to so I could avoid the standing reload on the last array. That same stage was my only "Cover" call too, the SO was surprised when I thanked him as I tucked back against the wall. I ended a couple stages at slide lock so I had to be sure to get my "A" hits. All and all it was great fun and an awesome was to get back into shooting. This will be the first match to which I drag my nearly non-shooting CCW holding friends. The simple rules and focus on carry weapons make it ideal. Going back just for Dean's stages would be worth it and nobody said a thing about my full size "cheater" pistol. -Dale

My first was a Makarov, my first pistol ever, in a IDPA type match. My mag pouches were hard plastic multi-tool holsters and an used a Nylon Uncle Mikes holster. Had a heal mag release, good thing I had to reload from behind cover. The one and only match for that pistol as I sold it to buy my next gun. The funds from the Makarov went towards a Tanfoglio TA-90. Loved that gun but I could not get it to run 100% and I was tired of sweating through blued guns finish. After a brief fling with a Steyr S-9, too small but sexy. Sold the Tanfo for a G17 added good sights and a slightly improved trigger that I still shoot today.

Grandfather Oak lists the M9A1, maybe they'd do a open bottom for the L9. http://grandfatheroak.com/Stockdesigns.html

I started with a Tanfoglio TA90, loved that gun. It had a slide mounted decocker/safety that made grabbing the rear of the slide much more substantial. That was handy when clearing the gun. Apropos however because I got sick of it FTFing on factory ammo. I was not in a position financially to reload short for it or send it off to a smith and I had tried everything I could do myself. Sold it for a police trade-in G17. I don't love the Glock but I love what it does. Its funny, around the same time I had the same epiphany about my old VW Golf. I'd rather be a shooter/driver than a smith/mechanic. -Dale

I saw a Blade-Tech email ad with a picture of Joe Mantegna with a shotgun over his shoulder and I had to find out the back story. Turns out he is a shotgunner, reloader and likes shooting sports in general. http://www.shotgunworld.com/celebritytalk.htm Sweet...

Tech and installer for a small rural wireline/wireless ISP and computer support/repair shop. I need a second job to pay the bullet bill! I tell computer newbies, "If you can break it, I can fix it." It seems to help them relax about using their PCs.

Welcome, If you want to try USPSA shooting there is a monthly match on the first Saturday at Sir Walter Raleigh Gun Club in Creedmore. http://sirwaltergunclub.com/ Enjoy!

For seeing black sights on a dark background I read somewhere (Brian's book maybe?) take a single file swipe to the very tops of serrations just to brighten them a little. Not enough to glare but enough to see. I didn't even do it uniformly but its enough to pick the front sight out of a dark background. -D

G17 w/ Glock 3.5LB connector, trigger spring, $.26 trigger job. Wearing Ameriglo Combat sights and 3M stair tread tape. Worn in Bladetech injection molded holster & mag pouches on a Wilderness 5 stitch instructor belt. I feed it the cheapest factory ammo I can find.

I shot Limited Minor with a IPSC Production legal G17 just to try it out and to earn a classification. It did help me focus on the shooting and movement and less on where to reload so it was useful. Classifiers were on about the same upward trend as they had been. Improving because of study and trigger time not necessarily more rounds in the magazine.

Lennox tool bag for me, got it for next to nothing. Its got several covered pockets on the outside, 6 mag sized pockets on the inside and a center divider. Oh and holds some tools too... Does the job for me. -Dale

Another vote for the 3m Safety Walk stair tread tape. I like the 1" width as I can do a couple of strips starting just below the trigger guard with minimal trimming. Leaving the top free of tape makes the mag release pivot easier for me. -Dale

I can't tell if the new ones use three hole mounting (think telephone keypad buttons 1,3 and 5) I think the older ones used that. If your existing holster uses 3 holes to mount, I bet it would work. The older Tec-loks had slots where numbers 4 and 6 would be allowing a little more adjustment for different hole patterns. The new Tec-loks are just 9 holes. I added a Tec-lok to an old BT injection molded holster in place of a height adjustable belt loop that used keypad #s 1, 3 and 7 or 4, 6 and *. I tried just using the 1 and 3 holes and it would pivot on that axis during a hard draw. I ended up putting screws in holes 3 and 4 (i.e. offset), it just barely works and gives the holster a slight drop and slight rearward cant. It works well enough that I can't bring myself to spring for an actual DOH.

I wonder what the OP went with? Just in case you haven't seen enough in 3 pages of responses. I did it pretty much the cheapest way possible after several false starts and stuff that didn't work. $375 G17 Factory Refurb +2 mags (Summit Gun broker, he's out right now) $75 3 more mags $55 Blade-Tech Combo pack (Injection molded holster and double mag pouch) $35 two Blade-Tech Millennium IM Single Mag pouches (easier for me to grab singles) $40 5 stitch Wilderness Instructor Belt (don't overlook a good belt) $2 roll of 1" 3m stair tape (two strips around grip, one down the back) $48 Ameriglo plain black sights (Serrated front, flat rear) $20 3.5lb connector $5 Increased power Trigger spring $.25 trigger job (well, I already had the Dremel but gotta give the $.25 some love) (the last 3 give my gun an easy, just over 4lb, trigger pull) Total $655.25 Oh yeah, my range bag, eyes and ears came from the hardware store. I do not feel my equipment is holding me back at all but I'm only in C class.

I use a 5 stitch Wilderness Tactical belt shooting Production. Works well with my Tek-lok stuff, which were also chosen for the same easy on/off and multipurpose-ness reasons as the belt. They've been secure enough but I can see a point in my development where a inner/outer belt and fixed holster/mag pouches would be better. -Dale

I learned to shoot USPSA at a commercial indoor range. It was the matches at Shooters Paradise Carlos mentioned in fact. I also became a member of that commercial range because they supported the sport and were just generally cooler than other commercial/indoor ranges in the area. I would imagine that hosting USPSA would be a win/win for a new range. -Dale

That is great advice JimmyM and pretty much what I'm doing. I must credit Flexmoney though on beating "pick one, go shoot" into my head back when I was starting out. I should have given a little more background and asked the question a little better. I think that given my skill level I'd be no faster with Limited gear than I would with my Production gear. I can reload fairly smoothly, my splits are slow because of what I'm not seeing yet and I move like a grandparent behind a walker. I feel that none of my lack of speed or accuracy is due to the gun or gear. I think that it would take a shooter more skilled than I to not be the weak link and to utilize the advantages of the more modified gun. So I guess some better questions to ask would be: At what skill level/classification does it even matter what gun you shoot? Given equal skill and trying to minimize the capacity and Major/Minor scoring gaps, what do all the gimmicks and gee-haws that separate a Production and Limited gun add up to in time spent on a stage? Thanks!

For those of you that shoot both USPSA Limited or Limited 10 and Production, are your times that much faster with your Limited guns? If major/minor scoring were taken out of the picture would your score be about the same or are you significantly faster? I did a similar experiment a while back and surprisingly found that, as a "C" class shooter, I wasn't much faster. That wasn't with a full house Limited blaster though and was really aimed at comparing IPSC vs. USPSA Production.

I shot my Production gun (G17) and gear with a 5 lb trigger and full, flush magazines in Limited. I wanted to try what IPSC Production felt like. This was back before we knew how the whole USPSA/IPSC thing would turn out. I second the opinion that you should try other Divisions with a similar gun to the one you shoot in your primary Division. I learned a whole lot from the experience. My scores didn't change much, C class in both, and on most stages I only avoided one reload. It totally changed my perception of USPSA Production and fancy shooting gear and helped me focus on making myself better rather than my gun "better". As I've seen in someone's sig, "All competition guns meet the criteria for Open division". Your gun may even fit in the box for Modified. -Dale

I have set of Ameriglo Combat Target sight set on my G17, serrated front with plain rear. I like them a lot, quick for me to find and keep track of and easier to call a not so perfectly aligned shot. Were I to do it over again I might have gone with a taller sight front and rear to allow for a deeper rear notch. If these were any deeper you would just start seeing the slide. I ordered from their web site and I think I even got them in about a week. From some advice somewhere, I took a small file and just brushed the tops of the serrations to provide contrast on dark background targets but not enough to shine in sunlight. I chopped up my stock sights to approximate the size of these before I bought them. I trimmed the front sight width till it was even with the part that inserts into the hole in the slide, reinstalled it backwards and trimmed the rear sight to the inside edges of the white "U" and blackend it out. It was pretty close but the front sight would have fallen off quickly with use. That is why I remember them taking about a week, I had a match that weekend. I've attached some horrible pictures that might give you a vague idea of what they look like installed. -Dale

To see if you like the feel of grip tape, try 3M's tread tape from your local store. I've had two strips of the 1" tape around the middle of my G17s grip for months. The one inch width works best due to the Glock's curvy grip and with two angled cuts at the back of the grip the tape lays flat. Not much trimming involved and it provides enough friction to keep the gun from moving around and still allows you to shift your grip a little if your draw wasn't perfect. If you want any more coverage get Eric's pre-cut tape. I found it way too much trouble to try and cut it myself. -Dale A-55351

Kydex and plastic straight drop belt holsters or "race" holsters that just cover the trigger guard (and you have to lock and unlock) are what most people use. The double belt desctibed by XD niner is very popular. After dorking around with some other cheap stuff that I already had, I got a Blade-Tech injection molded package (holster and double mag pouch and a Wilderness Tactical 5-stitch Instructor belt. Both of those plus a Uncle Mike's double mag pouch I all ready had cost me less than $100. The injection molded set is only for Glock, Beretta and 1911 style pistols. Blade-tech makes a DOH holster if you want the arguably the best standard holster. www.blade-tech.com Edit: I saw from a previous post you may be shooting a S&W Sigma, Grandfather Oak also makes a decent holster for those pistols. http://www.grandfatheroak.com/Stockdesigns.html I think for more than my first year of competeing I won't be beating anybody by the less than a second advantage one holster will give me over another. Practice will make you faster. -Dale