Nightops

There is no bump to Limited. You could change your division before starting the match, but if it is an equipment bump, then it is to Open.

Don't confuse "essential" with "convenient" It is convenient to have 40 round mags, so you never sweat a makeup shot, but not essential. LRBHO is probably essential for IDPA, since they will stipulate downloaded mags to force an empty reload. For USPSA and 3gun not so much, and unloaded starts would most likely be bolt forward. It would be convenient since there is a different feel when you run dry, but at that point, things have already gone sideways. The optics could be debated too as a convenience or an essential

The 9mm double stack mags are Mec-gar P18 mags. If you have the factory magwell, you will need new basepads though.

The only RO command that changes is that "Holster" now becomes "Insert chamber flag", not a tremendous amount of training required for that. A clear but detailed definition of "low ready" and "port arms" in the rulebook would be a great idea, but no reason to limit to just those 2 start positions. You can still do table starts, aiming at a mark, muzzle touching mark, and plenty others.

The long and wide dust covers are to put more non-reciprocating weight in the gun. Milling out the rails reduces weight, and adds time/cost to production. And a lot of limited/open shooters use holsters that just grab the trigger guard and are incompatible with rail mounted gear.

It would just be L10 without magwells, and still have the equipment position rules.

The rounds will sit a bit high, and if you have a gun set to lock open when empty, it may lock open with one round still in the mag. If the rounds sit too high to feed is going to depend on the exact particulars of each gun. Also know that some combinations of magazine, basepad, and follower will allow 9mm to roll past the follower under compression and make the mag go all salt and pepper shaker.

If legal, then all 5 CO shooters will have to get slide racker striker plates, or rear sights with a finger hook to be competitive.

Definitely get the membership so you can start working towards a classification. But starting out at an area match is a bad idea. These should be very difficult stages, and more opportunities than normal to get DQ'd. Dropping $100+ in match fee and going home early would be a really bad experience. Go to club matches, get the new shooter briefing. Let your squad know you are new to USPSA so they put you later in the shooting order and you can see how other shooters break down a stage. Above all, be safe and have fun. Learn what works for you technique wise and equipment wise, and next year be classed and ready to shoot area and state matches when you are prepared for it.

If the shooter was in production, it should be a bump to open, where the mag placement would be legal, no need for procedural penalty. If they were in limited, then no penalty as that is an allowable location for spare ammo. If they showed up for production but had a comp on their gun, you wouldn't give them a per shot procedural and a bump to open, you would just bump them to open and it is done.

Slide lock reloads on 2011 pistols are a bad idea. Standing reloads are a bad idea Shooting to slide lock is a bad idea. If you absolutely have to have slide lock on a 2011, do it with the short 126 mags and floorplates that won't allow over-insertion.

Why would you think an MD would stick an aiming point cone/rod in the middle of the shooting area? You stick it next to the leg of a wall or something where nobody could get there feet to without tripping or running through the wall Kool-aid man style. Or set one on each side berm far enough back that the shooter still has to transition to get to targets, but not breaking the 180. If figuring out how to start a shooter is just too hard, then is is some pretty thin straws to be grasping at for not offering PCC.

The best practices, just defines a default/normal start position and only roughly does that. Putting an start cone or aiming mark on the stage is an easy way to have competitive equity from squad to squad, and not have someone try to say that aimed at the bottom of the first target is "low ready"

Taking a misbehaving gun and turning it into open gun, be sure to get a slide racker on it. The crystal ball says you will be spending a lot of time clearing malfunctions.

It is already mix and match. Revo and Open are not competing against each other. You are only competing against other people with like equipment, in the same division. There is no competitive equity between divisions. And all pistols don't use the same start condition, yet we are able to figure it out.