rpm8300

135 Blues with Titegroup or equiv powder may work; TG or N320 is a great balance of bullet weight and burn rate. They definitely feel different than 147s with fast powder but will generate enough energy to reliably work the Shield.

NP

As a former firearms instructor for law enforcement officers and Glocks, we would generally say 'thumbs pointed to target along the frame.' Doing is one way for shooters to get the best utility out of the Glock's grip angle and have your support hand angled aggressively forward. A great demonstration of this is any of Robert Vogel's videos - outstanding grip mechanics. That being said, I personally prefer having the support thumb a little closer to 45 degrees and not touching the frame.

Just additional data points - I run 147 BB FP at 1.08 in both my CZ Shadow 2 and IFG Stock Master - neither have been reamed. Thousands of rounds fired with no issues, just FYI. Powder wise, I've tried everything from Titegroup to Autocomp - again, no issues.

I can't stress how important orthotics are - after 18 years in the Army, jumping out of planes, and 4 deployments to Iraq/Afghanistan, my feet are completely flat. The only way I'm able to do USPSA or any physical activity is through custom orthotics that were made for my feet. Green Feet off the shelf can work but custom orthotics are the way to go. I should also note, I had to do years of physical therapy to get things strong and balances from my toes all the way to my neck.

I've had multiple CZ/Tanfos milled by J&L Gunsmithing out of VA. I don't know if he does 1911s but his work it top notch.

FYI, I have used CZ75 grips with my Tanfo Defiant Stock Master small frame but they will require some modification on the bottom. It wasn't a ton of work but I had to use a dremel to take some material off the bottom of the grip.

HS6 is primarily used for Open Division - the slower burn rate allows for more powder and more gas which works in conjunction with Open guns and their comp. For any non-comp gun, I wouldn't use HS6. It is pretty dirty and unnecessary - I would say it is 'safe' in that as long as your keeping it around 1200 fps, the powder used won't approach dangerous levels. It certainly won't be the softest or flattest non-comp setup.

I ran a Pointman 9 for a while and was very happy with it - once I got it dialed in, it was completely reliable with 147 Blue RNs and stoked out Mccormick mags. I would also consider the ROs and the S&W 1911s - both seem to do very well. A used RO may be the best bet - for very little money you can get it at the same level of any of the other premium guns.

Lots of great info has been posted - for dot brightness, if you're shooting a USPSA or other related action type course, try to index off the brightest target and set the dot brightness as low as possible to effectively engage that target. In some courses, there are different sun exposures and a dot set for part of the course can get lost in a bright target. For target focus, put some dry fire targets at 10, 12, and 2 o'clock and run one drill at 50% speed where you move your eyes deliberately to the next target, and then the gun and dot. Speed it up until you get a good rhythm of the eyes finding the target and the dot right behind. THEN put the gun down, and simulate a grip with both hands, with your right index finger extended. Do the same drill but move your right index finger with your simulated grip to the next target. You'll see how naturally and quickly you can move the right index finger to the target - the delta between this and the dot is where you can focus.

Dave W and Kevin G are the best of the best. One thing I try to do with transitions is get my cadence for my eyes during my walkthroughs. Once you have your stage plan figured out, try to get a couple walkthroughs where you'll mimic the shot splits and eye transition. It may sound a little odd since you don't have anything to index off of to let your mind know you have what you need and keep your eyes moving even though the gun and trigger may have a little business still remaining.

Are you looking for loads for just plate rack shooting? Any 9mm load at power factor, regardless of bullet weight, should easily knock down any plate on a rack. Some times, plates will literally bounce back up after being hit. Generally, at the same PF, heavier bullets are better for steel impact but again, anything 125 PF should easily defeat a plate.

100 yards with any USPSA set up pistol is going to be a challenge - once you get back USPSA distances the ammo and gun become factors. I have a CZ Shadow 2 Orange that shoots about 1.5" groups across all my loads, at 20 yards. I haven't printed it but at 100 yards, hitting an 8" round will be inconsistent due to gun/ammo limitations.

The bands with different weights, every day like clock work, will really help. I would function on functional exercises and reps - i.e. , hang a very light band over something above you, and wrap it around your hands in front of you like your gun presentation; work the up and down and slight bend and tightening of the elbow. After many Army related injuries, I realized that you can retrain your body to allow for USPSA but you have to re-teach it to do certain things. I would also do a little warm up prior to a match - slight band warm up, stretch, and then go.

I would say switching every 6 months is very safe, and 12 months would be the longest I would go. As mentioned, if you're running Federals and have a 13 or higher, that thing will probably work well past 12 months. I run an 11 and Federals and haven't had an issue - I will say I had a light strike on a Remington slightly high primer - i.e. barely above the case.

I think dry fire without the timer can have value - I use this along with 50% speed dry fire to really strip away things and focus on the basics. We train ourselves to spring in to action with the buzzer - if you take that away, it may allow you to get a little more insight on your draw and presentation. I would add the buzzer back in to see if anything changes - what percentage of the times with the buzzer and without the buzzer do you have a less than perfect grip for your first shot after draw? The point of aim exercise is also great to measure with and without a buzzer.

The stage prep/writing of the stage plan to short term memory will change as you gain experience and reps. One thing that helped me as a relatively new shooter (Total new shooter through B class) was basic numbers of positions on the ground. This was facilitated by the fact that I shot production and reloads often go hand in hand with positions. For example, in a complex 32 round long field course, map out position 1, 2, 3, etc. and literally where you want your feet to go (ideally). For positions that aren't as forgiving, identify a reference point on the ground or other nearby physical reference point. For example: -Buzzer, standard wrist below belt draw -I will move to this corner and put my right foot on the fault line right near this stake, that is my position 1. -Then I will move to this port and try to index my first engagement where the gun is just to the left of the right side of the port -Then I will move to the middle of the stage and use a visual aid of this popper being revealed to the right of this wall. You can try and tack on # of targets you will engage at each position but as a beginner, if you can hit your positions/marks, it should be enough to get you going. Hope this help, Tom

1.19 is super long - I agree that 1.10 is a good starting point. I have seen some feed ramp / angle feeding issues but those were almost entirely due to mag lips and springs. I would start with the OAL and go from there.

That depends on the load as well as the hammer spring; I would say the lightest that would make sense is an 8lbs recoil spring with an 11lbs hammer spring. That would only make sense with 147s and a fast powder, and you may find the overall cycle time and dot movement is 'too slow.' I run a 10 recoil and 11 hammer with 135s and medium powder - it seems to be a good combo for my Shadow 2 Orange in CO.

In my experience, Blues are some of the best as far as running similar to plated or FMJs. In my MBX PCC, they don't gunk anything different than plated or FMJs. If I had to list a 2nd option, I would go with Brass Monkey Bullets. They are very quick to ship, consistent, and accurate.

I never had a problem with the stock hammer spring, and then later the Volq TG9. I had some Federal SRP that I ran through in addition to SPPs. I doubt this will fix it, or you have already considered it, but I would check to make sure there is nothing preventing the free movement of the firing pin in the bolt block.

Sorry for the slow reply - I load 1.11 but they could be loaded longer.

For those wanting to get their feet wet with PCC to see if it is worth their time , I highly recommend the Ruger. It is decent out of the box; if you throw on a decent optic and trigger, it is pretty much going to carry you until you are outrunning the gun. At that point, you can use it for a backup PCC, since we all know PCCs are 100% reliable and never go down... At that point, you can shell out the big bucks for a 1500+ PCC and have one you trust as backup.

The ETS 40s were surprisingly reliable out of the box - they look suspect but they actually worked very well for me. I ended up using them for practice mags - for match I recommend the MBX mags. If you keep them clean and with fresh springs, they are pretty bullet proof for PCC.

This came with my MBX carbine and it was OK; I played around with the buffer internal springs and the overall buffer spring to get it fairly flat. That being said, it wasn't as good of a feel or as flat as the hydraulic Blitzkrieg buffers. They were fairly close but the dot was a little more stable with the Blitz.