RickB

If you are engaging targets from around cover, you engage the first target that becomes visible - the outer-most one - then move incrementally inward, in "slices", for the remaining targets. You can also express it as engaging right-to-left if you are shooting around the right side of cover, and left-to-right from around the left of cover. The assumption is that if you are using proper cover, you will be able to see only one target at a time, so you must reposition your body to see the next one, and this series of movements, increases your view downrange in "slices" of a circle as you increase your view by degrees.

There's all sorts of stuff that you can do that will bump the gun to ESP, magwell funnels among them. A stock Glock 34 can be used in SSP or ESP.

that is a solid time for the classifier...high expert, just failing to make master...but if you haven't seen anyone shoot a better time than that in 7+ yrs, you need to get out a little more...it isn't like a 3.50 El Prez or a 1.35 Bill Drill. A WOW factor time is 18 to 20 seconds faster than that... Maybe there will be a Classifier National Championship some day, and I can hope to work it? Truth be told, we do have three or four home-grown Masters in the area, but I have never been present when they've shot a Master-class score. I am surprised that there are no real Master class shooters in your area. When I started shooting IDPA, there were hardly any, anywhere...I was the first Master rated shooter in the Houston area for almost a yr, then there were a couple in SSP then 6 or so months later there was another CDP Master, but long about 04, the USPSA shooters discovered IDPA in a big way and there was a big influx of Master shooters in most divisions. Bet there might be 50 guys in the area that can shoot Master times on the classifier, now. I have shot an 83+ in CDP and a 75+ shooting ESP but I was WOW'ed when I saw Dave Sevigny's 69+ score...now that is smoking...there are quite a few guys on this forum that can burn it down...It has been discussed before, but the consensus is that a solid B shooter in USPSA can most likely turn in a Master time on the qualifier. Making Master in IDPA used to mean seeing your name at the top of the page at most matches, now you are probably looking up at 6 or 8 above you unless you have a "lights out" day or unless you can really shoot the classifier in the mid to low 70 second time frame. Getting tougher all the time. Keep working on it... I've run a half-dozen USPSA M and GM shooters through the IDPA classifier, and none shot a Master score while I was holding the timer. Most of them only dabble in IDPA, and they shoot the classifier only to fulfill the annual classification requirement. Our own Duane Thomas is a Master in at least one division, but he's successfully ducked me at classifier matches. I couldn't disagree more about the B=Master theory. It's a conceit among "IPSC shooters" that just does not play out on the range. Even as my USPSA classification went from 60% to 80%, my IDPA classification was stuck on Sharpshooter. I have seen a very strong correlation in the equivalency of IDPA and USPSA classification, that is, Novice = D, Marksman = C, etc. That holds for the classifier and match performance. We don't have a lot of shooters in our area who really pursue both sports, so it could be, again, that I'm seeing the results skewed by "IPSC shooters" who don't really try to adapt to the different requirements of IDPA.

that is a solid time for the classifier...high expert, just failing to make master...but if you haven't seen anyone shoot a better time than that in 7+ yrs, you need to get out a little more...it isn't like a 3.50 El Prez or a 1.35 Bill Drill. A WOW factor time is 18 to 20 seconds faster than that... Maybe there will be a Classifier National Championship some day, and I can hope to work it? Truth be told, we do have three or four home-grown Masters in the area, but I have never been present when they've shot a Master-class score.

I bought some, and have actually loaded one, but have yet to use them in my gun. It's enough of a pain loading separate ACP loads for revolvers, that I haven't explored the exquisite torture of loading AR on a single stage press, as well.

The scoring system is simplicity itself. I'm confused that you could be shooting IDPA for a year, yet you don't understand the scoring system? If you are using approved targets, there are scoring zone perfs, and their point values, right on the target. If the round is in the "-1" zone, you add a half-second to your elapsed time. If the round falls in the "-3" zone, you add 1.5 seconds. "Just outside centermass" should be the -1 zone. Reading your string scores, it looks like you dropped seven points, so add 3.5 seconds to your time of 89.97 for your total score. I've been running as many as twenty or thirty shooters a year through the classifier, since '01, including Masters, and have never seen a better time/score than that. So, yeah, you're doing pretty well.

I don't know why this continues to be a struggle. Was the hole supposed to be in the head? Is the head part of the body? Etc., etc. Put a strip of black tape across the neck, and score the head as a separate target. That way, you can specify a precise engagement sequence, and a wild shot at the body can't be scored a hit because it hit the head. Or, looked at another way, a shooter can't avoid the transition between the body and head, which is the whole point of the exercise.

Agreed, Whent the questions subside, the walk through is over. kr I know what a walk-through is, and I know what an individual is, so do I need a definition of individual walkthrough? If the SO is leading ten shooters through the COF, there's nothing individual about it. Even if he invites each of them, in turn, to sample the view through a shooting port, because he is directing the access and movement it's not individual. That's a proper IDPA walkthrough. If, after the first shooter has come to the line, other soon-to-be shooters continue to walk the stage, kneeling near positions of low cover, peering through ports, that's an individual walkthrough; one person, miming or practicing the specific requirements of that stage. I'll watch an experienced shooter walk over to a barricade, and assume a quick low-cover position while picking up a piece of brass for the last shooter. That's a personal walkthrough; does anyone need to be told that? If I see that, the guy gets a warning. If you see that, you're a SO, and you don't do anything, you're not doing your job. As a shooter, you should be pushing the edges of what's legal, or you will suffer in the competition, but don't act shocked or hurt when you're caught.

The EMP will take only EMP-specific mags, unless the mags for the similar Para pistol(s) will also fit. I'm a fan of 9+1 for ESP/SSP. Regardless of the reasons, most stages are all paper, engaged two-each, and having an even number of rounds in the gun is an advantage. I shot 7+1 in that same Idaho match as Duane, and did not fare well, at all. For some reason, too many stages, over the course of an entire season, required my having to do a reload when "everyone else" (other than Duane . . .) didn't. I didn't experience that same phenomenon in ESP, loaded 9+1, the year before.

I shot the whole '05 season, including two sanctioned matches, with a Detonics Combat Master, loaded 7+1. I learned a lot about the gun and gear, which I carry every day, and also learned the limitations of shooting that gun when compared to a 5" gun loaded 8+1. I still shoot the short gun a couple of times a year, and for BUG stages, but I don't like intentionally handicapping myself with equipment choices. That said, I don't make much of differences in equipment that some consider critical; only my USPSA "race" gun has a beavertail and magwell funnel, I often use a IWB holster, etc.

The rule is explicit, I'm just lobbying for a change of rules.

I would like to know why the shooter put the gun down? I would never feel "safer" with the gun sitting somewhere other than in my hand.

I tried to fit a Dlask Para trigger to mine, and it was no-go. Of course, I might conclude Dlask 1911 triggers aren't compatible with the 1911, based on the difficulty I've had fitting them.

It says you can use a different pistol of the same type, action, and caliber. It then uses the different Glock 9mm guns as an example. If you start with a 5” 9mm 1911 and it “becomes unserviceable” you should be ok switching to a 4” 9mm 1911. That's my take on it, as well. I used to allow a change to any gun that was legal within the same division, as long as the switch didn't seem to convey an advantage; I mean, if the rule says "the same" kind of gun, and the competitive divisions are intended to separate different types of guns, then any gun that's legal within a given division should be considered "the same". If your Government Model breaks, why shouldn't you be able to continue with a Glock 21, in CDP? Or, if your Glock 34 breaks, why not substitute a Hi-Power, if you're shooting ESP? From the perspective of the shooter, it's certainly more likely that you will have a second gun that's similar to your primary, than two identical guns. If we're trying to keep costs within reason, any gun that's legal for the division should be allowed as a replacement (stepping down from my soap box . . .).

That's scary. There's a thread going somewhere . . . might be here, that Springfield changed from a forged to a cast hi-cap frame, and that the way to tell, is if the plunger tube is separate, it's a forged frame, and if the plunger tube is integral, it's cast. I can't even find a picture of a frame with an integral plunger tube, but I'd be interested to know if the cracked frame reported here has the separate tube? I still find it strange that Springfield would sell that one cast-frame gun, or that Imbel would redesign that one frame for casting, but I don't even have my gun handy to look for any tell-tale signs of the manufacturing process. I really wouldn't consider a single-stack anything as an appropriate replacement for a hi-cap, but at least Springfield is trying to hold to some sort of dollar value equivalency.

I've been shooting 1911s for over 30 years, and though nothing else feels really natural, Glocks are the worst of the bunch. But, there was an out-of-town match that consisted of a single stack match on Saturday and a "plastic gun" match on Sunday, decided to double my pleasure, borrowed a G20, shot an IDPA match as a warm-up, and really, after the buzzer went off, it wasn't a big deal to transition. By the end of the day on Sunday, I could see myself actually owning a Glock. I had the same impression last weekend, when shooting a match with my Hi-Power; the frame is shaped very differently, the trigger reach is different, I don't like 3-dot sights or 5# triggers, but after a stage or two, it didn't really matter too much. Am I really adaptable, or just not so good with a 1911, even after 30 years?????

My question would be, are you winning everything in SSP and ESP? That is, has classification become an end to itself, because you are not challenged in competition? I shoot to the best of my ability, all of the time, and don't think too much about the arbitrary standards of classification. Maybe a goal like, "I'm going to win every match I enter in 2009" would be more productive than, "I'm going to shoot a Master score on the classifier"?

I just trimmed the plastic "star" so the clips nestled 1/16" lower. A buddy stuck a .30 caliber rifle bullet in the center hole. The first is free, the second is easy.

ESR - Smith M22 in a Don Hume 721OT holster on a Mernickle belt, two clips in Shoot A Moon carriers on the strong side. SSR - Same rig, but ammo loaded in Auto Rim brass in HKS slow-loaders. Still haven't decided on a loader carrier, as yet. Will follow the thread with interest.

Sounds like a happy ending, or a new begining, anyway. I call mine the Prize Table Gun. I got it originally for half price, as a prize at the '05 WA state IDPA championship, and didn't really know what to do with it. I then grabbed a bunch of SVI parts off the prize table at the '06 Multi-Gun Nats. Later, I took a certificate for gunsmithing off the table at the '06 WA IDPA match. The original deal was for a "trigger job", using the SVI parts, but the longer the 'smith kept it, the more he was willing to do. The gun came back, a year and a half later, with a beavertail, ambi, sweet trigger, and the Para magwell. In the meantime, I'd snagged another gunsmithing cert off the table at '07 Area 1, and now the gun is having the slide worked on. Prize drawing for match staff at the '08 WA IDPA netted a Schuemann barrel. I suppose I should at least thank the sponsors: Bruce Gray of Grayguns did the frame work, John Larson of JPL Precision is working on it now, and Mike at Schuemann donated the barrel.

I bought a G.I. model in '05, and have been slowly customizing it as I can. It is not the same as a Para frame. The grips don't interchange, and neither does the trigger. The S&A mainspring housing/magwell does fit (was tipped to that by the pics on Robbie's website). I have Para mags with Grams pads and followers, and they're reloadable 18-rounders. My gun also has a Wilson beavertail, and the slide is being fitted with Heinie rear sight, Dawson front, and the ejection port is being lowered. I have only a couple of hundred rounds through it, as it's passed through my hands going to and from a couple of gunsmiths. I'm not really happy with the accuracy, 3+" at 25 yards from the bench, even with a bushing change, so a barrel may be in the works, too.

If a loaded mag is dislodged from its "storage area" (don't want to say "pouch") and falls on the ground, you get a PE, and picking it up won't help you; the penalty is for having your mags insufficiently secured. If you "drop" a mag, and pick it up and stow it properly before firing a shot, you don't get a procedural. If you drop a mag during a malfunction clearance, you don't get a PE, and don't have to pick it up.

And I'm saying, how do you shoot "around" something that is below the level of the muzzle? You, as a shooter, have no reference for where the barrel is. The rule book does not say the muzzle must be below the top of the barrel, but I don't see how you can shoot around the barrel if it's not?

How can you slice the pie, if your muzzle is above the top of the barrel? Once that vertical edge is gone, what are you slicing? It's not only hard for the SO to tell if you are doing it correctly, but as a shooter, how can you tell?

14#, with EGW firing pin stop and 23# main. I wouldn't fiddle downward much, if the recoil spring is the only change from stock. I've tried 11# and 12# in my longslide, but it just won't strip the top round from a 10-round mag.