RickB

If we're going to change the divisions, by deleting some and adding others, or by reevaluating the requirements of the existing divisions, there are needs a lot more pressing than getting rid of revolvers! I do think that turning what was already the least-shot division - SSR - into two divisions was not going to make revolver shooting more popular, but only dilute what competition there was. Maybe SSR and BUG could be combined into a single, new division, for the purposes of including it in major matches? Six shots, minor power, with 4" barrels for revos and 3.5" for autos? I generally shoot two or three matches each year in ESR (and bought Auto Rim brass and slow loaders so I could shoot SSR, some day), so would not want to see it go.

I received a Classic .45 barrel a couple of weeks ago, having waited for it since Thanksgiving. They've had some problem with getting electrical power to the plant, but it's apparently been resolved.

In my experience, Masters often don't shoot matches any better than veteran Experts, since the big difference in classifier scores is usually on stage three, and rarely do you see stage-3 stuff often enough for Masters to get an advantage via their pure shooting ability. Of course, there are 90-second Masters and there are 60-second Masters, but I've never seen one of the latter on the range.

At our club, we discourage stages requiring a minimum of 10 or 11 rounds, so that if anyone has to reload, everyone has to reload. We rarely have 18-round stages, so reloading is the same across the auto pistol divisions. Our "High OverAll" changes from month to month, and there's no telling the division in which the HOA shooter will be competing. It was CDP in April, and SSP in February. I was second both months, shooting ESP and CDP. The action types really need to be realigned, now that the striker-fired guns can often have nicer triggers than stock single action guns in ESP and CDP.

I've been MDing a single stack match the last few years, and decided on a "Last Man Standing" theme for the "5th Annual, 100th Anniversary". Not much use of cover, but lots of on-the-move opportunities! I'd also considered inspiration from scenes from other movies, such as "We Were Soldiers", "Blackhawk Down", "Ronin", "Thief", etc.

I shoot an almost stock Colt '91 in IDPA, and a modded one in Single Stack, and don't see much difference. That is, the guns came with decent sights (I removed the rear dots), and the trigger isn't "match", but it's not bad, either. Get enough (good) mags, and maybe an add-on magwell funnel, and go for it.

I have a 6", single stack .45, built specifically for Limited 10. Mine has a bull barrel and heavily ventilated slide, over a Caspian Race Ready frame. I shot it almost every weekend for over five years, but I've mostly switched to single stack, lately. Robbie shot a 6", single stack .45 at Area 1, when the match was in my neighborhood, and I think he beat everyone but the Open division winner.

I've shot an entire season, and two sanctioned matches with my Detonics Combat Master. I like to stay current with my carry gun, so try to shoot at least two or three matches a year, every year, with it. I shot a sanctioned match last August, and another one in September; the guy who beat me by five seconds when we were both shooting full-size 8-rounders, beat me by a minute when I shot the compact.

Tom, When exactly does slow come into play during your revolver game? I need to know so that I can make my part faster... You are truly a nice guy to shoot with and very sharing of your knowledge and skills. Rock on! Straight up and with all due respect your tone came off as an authority stating that the rules allowed two in front of the holster and you mentioned the spacing and then you went on to state that the rules allowed another on the weakside behind the hip: "This is my enhanced service revolver rig for IDPA. Uhh, the rules allow two clip holders uhh on the strong side of the body. One that sits an inch away from the holster and the other an inch away from the first one and you're also allowed a third one that can be on uhh behind the hip on the weak side for a total of three reloads." I included the uhh's to keep the quotation precisely verbatim, not to be malicious. You then segued back to USPSA referring to having a belt full of clip holders. There was no mention of the other option, under the rules, to carry a third behind the holster or all three on the weak side. You may have had knowledge of this option, but your tone coupled with your failure to mention it came across as though it did not exist. The three behind the centerline were mentioned by Mr. Giddings with the use of the NORTH MOUNTAIN IDPA MOONCLIP HOLDERS a minute later. I do enjoy your efforts in your show and understand that we all make mistakes. Believe me I've got you covered by tenfold. Please be more careful on your facts as you are reaching an impressionable audience and it affects credibility. I'm just some doofus out to make people laugh at matches. I appologize if you take offense to any of this, I am merely demonstrating that we ARE paying attention. I'm not offended, and don't deny that you quoted me with absolute accuracy (wasn't there a "like" in there, somewhere?). You are correct that I did not mention other options, and I'm sure I've been as guilty of not exploring every possible option when discussing various topics; that's why we invite comments and questions at the end of every episode (and have provided links to the rulebooks online). That said, the information in the quote is accurate; if you have two reloads on the strong side, you can have a third on the weak side, and a total of three reloads is allowed. I could have been more complete, emphasizing "behind the hip" rather than "weak side", and it would have taken only an additional ten seconds to do so. Thanks for watching, and thanks for the feedback.

The sentence in which I described the locations for reloads was not especially well structured. I said a third reload could be behind the hip on the weak side, but, of course, it could also be behind the hip on the strong side. All three could be on the weak side. A third belt-mounted reload has to be behind the body centerline, regardless of side, if there are two reloads immediately in front of the holster. I actually carry my third reload in a strong-side pocket.

The case/chamber is included in the barrel length for autos; measure from the breechface to the muzzle.

I think the Mk. IV was the first "Mark" rated for smokeless powder? Grandma kept a Mk. I on the nightstand, loaded with WWII-vintage Canadian surplus ammo, but the latter shouldn't be used in the early guns.

I've shot almost nothing but single stacks, for 14 years, and never had a premature lock-back with any gun/caliber/mag/ammo combo, so have never considered deactivating lock-back function. If my gun(s) did have issues, I'd get them fixed.

My belt and holster were ordered as a set, so they're a match as far as fit goes. As noted above, there aren't slots to locate the belt, but a "tunnel" with tension screws top and bottom.

I now have one IDPA and two or three USPSA matches with the rig, and still like it a lot, though moving around - bending over to pick up a mag - will still change the angle of the holster. If the screws are cinched down enough to ensure no movement on the belt, it's not going to come off the belt, either. I could tighten and loosen the screws each time I put it on or take it off (to run the belt through the pants loops), but that's a hassle. It seems better suited to a two-part belt, but that's a no-go. In looking at older competition holsters, not just from Davis, but from Rogers, Bianchi and others, they all seem to use a similar screw tension to hold the holster on the belt. When I go to the line, I just make sure it's straight up and down on the LAMR.

10th Anniversary Washington State Championship "WASIDPAC's Greatest Hits" Saturday, August 20 - Sunday, August 21, 2011 Renton Fish & Game Club 16 stages, 167 rounds Plaques for division winners, certificates for class and category winners Guns on the prize table $75 match fee includes Saturday lunch Hard cap of 150 shooters http://northwestsection.org/waidpac11/

I don't care if they save time, or not. If the rule book says "don't do this", I'm not going to wonder if that means, "don't do this if you get an advantage from it"; someone above my pay grade decides the why. EDIT: And another thing to consider; if the reload, any reload, is not complete until the spent mag is stowed, how come you are allowed to leave cover with mag in hand when performing what's described in the rule book as the Tactical Reload (such as when moving from the barricade to the barrel on stage three of the classifier)? "Everyone" says the reload isn't complete until the spent mag is stowed, but if you look at the by-the-book definitions of the reloads, they're complete when there's a round in the chamber and the reload mag is locked in the well.

But of what significance is that, if you can do whatever you want? That is, there is no such thing as "specified reload", if the only condition is that the ejected mag is in your pocket? No matter how or where the reload begins, as long as there's a mag in your pocket when you shoot, doesn't seem to comply with "reload specified by the CoF".

Because the rule book says there are three legal reloads and one illegal one, and with step-by-step instructions for each; why bother with the definitions and descriptions, if the rule is truly, "Do whatever the h*ll you want, as long as there's a mag in your pocket when you shoot"? I can enforce it however you like, but don't tell me there are exactly three reloads, if the reality is something else. It'll knock a half-hour off the SO class, if nothing else.

I got a beat-down at the official IDPA forum on this topic. The consensus there is that in spite of the rule book saying there are three reloads, there are, in *fact*, an infinite variety of reloads, and they're all legal, as long as there's a mag in your pocket before you fire a shot. So, grab a mag, drop a mag, rack a round, change your mind and do something else, but put away that empty mag before you shoot!

How about a procedure that says, "Both Tactical Priority and Tactical Sequence"? And no, I'm not kidding.

I load on SDB's and even after much playing with the press I can't get the primers seated deep enough. I don't think a SDB will fully seat them but if anyone has suggestions I'm all ears. After going thru the press the primers get fully seated in a Lee hand primer with the tray cut off. I was getting about 10% failure with Wolf LPs loaded on my SDB, but got 100% ignition with Federals.

I doubt a 16yo Springfield will have any MIM in it.

People have been saying that since the '30s. There was an interesting "review" in American Handgunner magazine, maybe a year ago, in which the author, a renowned Colt-hater, allowed as how maybe he could recommend a Colt - the jury's still out, mind you - because the Gold Cup outshot both a Kimber, and the other gun involved in the discussion.

Can't fix incorrect number of rounds fired in Limited V string. Can't fix loading the incorrect number of rounds in a mag (doesn't matter if you shoot the rounds, or not). Can't fix round dumping; fix it by shooting even more rounds, so there's no way you can benefit?