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That is pretty trick.... looks like it is nicely put together...How's it shooting/handling?? I am starting to get the itch for a new open gun...

RTR good looking.. Heard Rags got his 9mm steel gun from John too.. you going to bring it to Wednesday night steel???

for IDPA.. like my Kytac sooper hooper 2 very comfortable to wear and very fast..

Don't have a 9mm open gun yet..but I have a 5" 9mm gun..as far as mags are concerned..I have several SV 170s, 140 and 126mm mags..all work with factory length ammo and several STI mags with spacer kits and they all work with no problems.. Had this gun built by the same gunsmith that RTR is having build his open gun and so far the gun is tight, real tight, but has had no failures from the day I picked it up.. The ones I have seen are just as reliable as any other open gun..take care of the details and it will run and run... worth it?? not any more than building a gun in any caliber ..big draw is having a source of 9mm brass..

Chris... when you going to be out shooting that thing???..I can vouch for RTR's smith..good guy..know's his way around a 1911/S_I and ARs..a good local hidden treasure.

Thanks..just noticed they are not for sale by Dillon.. if anyone has tried them..be interested in you results...

The latest Dillon catalog I got shows 40 round AR mags..anyone try these?? use these??? do they work, any tweaking needed?? thanks

thanks for all the shooting invites..likely have to save it for the next trip down.. the time has gone so fast spending time with family, looking for work and neighborhoods.. thanks everyone..more suggestions are welcomed..

thanks..for all the replies so far.. if the move is made..will likely work in Mesa area...so living on the east side seems likely.. thanks..looks like we are heading out into the neighborhoods to see what to expect..

Down visiting the Mesa Gilbert area and my wife likes it.. what areas, neighborhoods, and school districts would you look at for living in.. affordable, good schools for young children, good access to the shooting..thanks for all you suggestions..

Headed to Mesa and Gilbert area.. Any matches being shot...during the week or weekend.. can you let me know where and when..any web links?? and any cool stores, or places to go hang out... thanks

Chris...John can build a good gun at a reasonable price..he's got my limited gun right now..he has done all of Rags' guns and they are doing nicely...Betcha Hoser can help out with the ammo too... I know my iron sight shooting is helped after time shooting a dot...it has helped me with seeing the sight lift through its recoil and settle..I think possibly that seeing a dot track has taught my brain what it is seeing with the sights..I know my confidence is up shooting tougher shots now.. I know with shooting production for the 2 or three months that I have..has changed my open gun shooting..when I shot my open gun last month..it felt painfully slow, but my shots on target were all high value except for one I called squeaking past a no-shoot..my shooting wasn't as smooth as it could have been..but the times were fast enought to sqeek a win in open.. anyway...if it makes sense to you and you can afford it..I would do it..sometimes a break in training for you main event..will teach you new ways to learn and open you mind up when you go back to training with you main gun..John builds a gun that works well..so I would have confidence that the gun will serve as a good training and learning tool..

Zak.. very cool..like the fluting on the dust cover..and the serial # is pretty trick too.. whats the hole on the thumb safety...

I had one..really like the shape and feel of the gun ( Springfield P9 LSP) ...but it was termendous labor on the part of my gunsmith to get it up and running..I can remember him dulling cutters because I wanted the barrel to come out the front like a 1911, I can remember having to weld up the sear block to make sure it did not move under recoil and making him checker the frame and weld the triggerguard and the grip safety... The EEA thumbsafety is pretty bad...you need big hands to get to the point where you have the leverage to operate it..Springfield made a better ambi for it..that you could get away with short thumbs. The EAA 38 super version made the grip way too big..so for me not useable... and I could never get my WCPI bigstick to run.. if I found my old one..or a Springfield Custom shop P9 worldcup or a George Huening P9. ..I would get it..but I wouldn't seek out an EAA gun.. just my .02

Just read over a very good article by Michael Bane in the summer issue of Outdoor Life magazine on the US shooting team. A very good explainer on olympic shooting, the different diciplines, history and equipment..nice job Mr. Bane It always cool to go to the shooting center in Colorado Springs and chat with the shooters and coaches..wish I could hang out there more..and learn more of the mental stuff they go through... anyway..nice work

We got a bunch at work...amazing digital storage system works great for music too

So Chris..what did you decide to build?? Is John doing the work??? He builds a really good gun...he can make them run too. good list of IPSC smiths here.. good luck on your build..can' wait to see it..

Kyle...good post... this weekend's match was interesting for me..I had switched back to open from my production rig ( lent it to some visiting shooters). I haven't shot my open gun since last winter..anyway..the things I noticed... first shot of the match.."hey no muzzle lift, what's up with that" I shot it like a I have begun shooting the production gun. really calling those shots..the first stage was painfully slow..but the points were high...on my second stage..the natural speed started to come back.. through the day..I had a couple of problems...but for the most part, my points were high, my speed with the open gun started to return, as I got used to the timing..and my confidence was high.. at a recent state match..I was shooting production and I found my times were about the same as one of the master class shooters..but he would consistly shoot a couple of more A's where I would have C's... Speed is important..but accuracy will separate you on the final results..

Your photography is very nice..you seem to have good grasp of the fundamentals.. everyone has given you some good hints and ideas.. photography needs to tell a story or communicate information..be it action, equipment, emotion.. understanding the fundamental relationship between shutter speeds and aperture, light and light temperature ( color balance ) will give you great control over what you are doing.. things that might help you are utilizing fill flash techniques to help you manage deep shadow areas, also great for helping freeze part of the subject if playing with slow shutter speeds for motion blurs..many of the newer cameras and flash let you trigger the flash at the end of the exposure. another technique that is nice to play with is using remote cameras to put the perspective from a point that person would not normally be..( in front of the shooter, below or above.) both canon and nikon good systems..most my experience is with the nikon side.. the D2 is good in that it allows you a framing rate up to 8 FPS..what is also nice is you can customize your white balance instead of just having to select a predetemined one...pocket wizard also makes a nice remote too that work well for triggering remote setups.. the D1H is almost as nice and you might find one at a good deal since the D2 replaced it..one nice thing that the D1H does that the D2 doesn't is that you can shoot with a flash above the prescribed sync..so you can get away with a high shutter speed with flash in daylight.. anyway..I think you are doing well..shooting a nice variety of action, tight, wide and different angles... keep up the nice work..

here's the USPSA club schedules.. http://www.ecouspsa.com/schedule.html#schedule here is the steel and IDPA http://www.ecouspsa.com/schedule.html#steel give a shout when you are in town to shoot..

lots along the front range.. six USPSA clubs, two IDPA clubs, some steel and 3 gun too... let me dig up the info for ya..

Man..i feel for you.. I just helped a guy finish my basement...we hauled down 20 sheet of 1/2" and 10 sheet of 5/8 for the ceiling..then I helped him cut and hang it... glad I don't do that for a living..

couple of videos.. http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/amu/gallery/Movies/Action.swf http://66.221.79.203/PistolsDougK.wmv

bring lots of other ammo too.. 22, shotgun, rifle as well as your primary pistol good luck and have fun.. with the match a month earlier..weather should be great...

Noah.. that was a good win..very close race... 3 match points....again..congratulations.. 1 Noah Yetter A50113 C Limited 10 Major 958.0492 100.00% 2 Kevin Eberle TY31561 A Limited 10 Major 954.9332 99.67% 3 Craig J. Aikin TY1696 U Limited 10 Major Senior 944.5353 98.59% 4 Paul Clark Sr. FY20707 B Limited 10 Major Super Senior 897.8442 93.72% 5 Marc Connolly A28444 B Limited 10 Major 881.5989 92.02% 6 John Boeker TY22629 B Limited 10 Major Senior 866.7655 90.47% 7 Mike Taylor TY29737 B Limited 10 Major 774.5224 80.84% 8 Peter Froemke TY36794 B Limited 10 Major 773.0106 80.69% 9 Tom Phillips A16481 C Limited 10 Major Super Senior 741.9226 77.44% 10 Marc OConnor A47591 B Limited 10 Major Senior 598.9844 62.52% 11 Mark Ballard Pen U Limited 10 Major 550.0692 57.42% 12 Mark Kain A49766 U Limited 10 Major 486.2114 50.75% 13 Kardean Johnson TY48426 D Limited 10 Major 484.9200 50.62%