swordfish

lol. lmao

Ok so ammo is.... a problem. Moonclips are also probably a problem. I'd have to rebarrel both guns. Then maybe find moons that will fit their brass OR somehow convince them to make me special ammo with starline brass instead, if they can even get it. They have starline brass for some of the other calibers so maybe it could work.

Not to mention I've only found out that I have a slot this morning, 7/14, since the team has all backed out. No passport yet, because why get one if they're not gonna have it. Ok cool I'll call the State Dept. They told me to book a hotel in Canada in two weeks so I could say I have urgent travel and need the passport within 2 weeks, which should work? Then I can drive up to Detroit and they can try to expedite my passport so I have stuff to give the Thai gov't for my firearms permit.

Small update. Looks like the WS is happening this year, and from what I'm told, it's going to happen whether anyone shows up or not. The revo team has all backed out, sans yours truly, so there is no revo team. I've been informed this morning that I've received an individual slot now instead of a team slot. Not entirely sure what that all entails though, as it just came with a list and no other information. I assume it means no more USPSA stipend. Ammo is still a problem, even after 2 years of waiting, the boys in Thailand have just now released a list of "possible" loads, none of which would probably work in my gun. And ammo can't be imported, and you can only bring 5kg. Honestly the whole thing is turning into a s#!tshow, and the bigwigs at USPSA don't seem to be very helpful, with emails being sent out with conditions that you have a single day to reply or be booted, and IPSC gives you 20 days to book a flight and give them the info so you can register for the Thailand firearms permit. "Oh but you knew it was gonna happen!" Kinda. But they've been dragging their feet and keep delaying and postponing it for 2 years and they're still not ready, so why should I assume it's gonna happen this year? "ok well it's happening!" Ok great, I wonder if I should even go at this point.

Well hey if you want to go to Thailand, allegedly 2/3 of the US competitors have declined or backed out so just send them an email asking to go and you might get a chance.

Pics?

No problem. And yeah if you already have a hanger, the sky is the limit. I switched from Blade Tech to one of the DAA holsters because I could adjust it how I wanted. It has its downsides, like if you forget to unlock it, and it's not always easiest to reholster, but it has the ball joints built-in so my drawstroke is natural. I like it but I don't like it. And one of my friend's DQed because he thought it was reholstered after the "make ready" and ended up falling, loaded. I'm extra careful but it would be nice not to have to be, and to support some local dudes making quality products.

Problem with the cheap holsters is that they hang funny and I can't get the grip I like, so you have to add a holster hanger to get the right fit and end up spending a bunch of money anyway. I don't think anyone has reinvented the wheel yet, and if you don't mind full wraparound maybe there's a local guy near you that does custom kydex semi-professionally. He might even be able to get the cant and camber the way you want so you can have a more natural/comfortable draw stroke.

I think most are. Mine is .358. Kind of a dick move if you ask me.

Go to the range or stay after at a match and pick up brass. Dealer cost only saves me $3 or $4 per 1000. Not a ton, but it does help. And remember I'm using heavy bullets. Lighter bullets are cheaper.

Blue bullets with discount. Already have the brass or it's donated to me for free, and since I shoot revolver I get to keep all of it until it cracks. 3.20gr bullseye and the heavy 147gr Blue bullet, but I get a 10% discount on them because I put their logo on my shooting shirt. 12% if you buy 10k at a time, so I try to find a couple other dudes running the same bullets and get a group order. I was getting dealer cost on Federal primers but my distributor got bought out by Brownells and they basically gutted the place and moved everything back to Iowa or wherever, so I bought as many primers as I could and then the price will go up when I finally run out. Cleaning media gets reused, cleaned, whatever. Been using the same stuff for years, I add a little metal polish sometimes and leave it in an industrial sized tumbler for like 4 hours. No problems yet.

Are they gold plated? I'm at like 9.3 cents with the heaviest bullets. It'd be around 7 cents if I used 115gr but I like the feel of the 147s.

Like the United States?

I've seen it happen to a buddy's gun at a match. Immediately after he had me modify his gun for the Power Custom style set screw.

"Pythons" Just like the new Detec.... I mean "Cobra"

Hot damn been looking for these. Brownells is always out of stock. Couldn't find anything when I looked for Weigand like a year ago. Thanks!

I use Dillon

Oh hey there he is

Yeah the new TK pins are a problem. One of my squadmates ONLY fired live ammo through his, I think about 2k and it broke. No dryfire. I've broken a few, thankfully not at Nationals. I've broken Apex before as well. Happens. But the TK ones are currently being refined like MWP said. I'm still running TK in mine even after 2 breaks, and I'll run TK in mine when the new version comes out. First pin lasted 2k. Second lasted 8k. Don't remember how long my Apex lasted but TK is the bomb and really supportive so I'll go with their parts first.

Yeah.... that's not actually a thing.

You should be ok. I was fine because I shot first. Really depends on start times, they don't have to start super early if they're not running AM/PM format.

I try to prep, but there are 2 chambers that pull straight through. This oftentimes results in an AD during a transition, but my transition speeds have picked up so it usually hits a target. Which means I need to make my vision faster. I don't like that there are 2 chambers that do it, so I'm sending the gun back to Smith to have them fit me a new extractor. My hands aren't long enough to stick my finger all the way through unless I have a crappy grip and I'm just screwing around with an empty gun. But my finger does protrude a good amount past the pad, maybe almost to the first knuckle. Not everyone's grip needs to be exactly the same, just find something that works and is comfortable. I've seen all sorts of super weird grips that don't work for me, or my hand size, or my hand strength. The prep method is really great for some applications though, if you can pull it off. JJ Racaza taught me that method, and I like it for fast moving steel or hard shots. I've seen Josh Lentz use it too.

Thanks man. UPDATE: I'm back home. Very tired. But after each day of shooting I wrote down things I needed to work on, and I'm sort of continuing a list of principles or "best practices" that I have a rough idea of. I'll list them here later. On the short, it appears that I have accomplished my goal, and I have a lot of work in front of me, with only 1 year to become a world-class competitive shooter capable of winning. Jeez. Now I need to go sleep for 12 hours.

s#!t, you mailed it? Dude you know you're only allowed to use pony express...

I'll at least partially vouch for her. Disclaimer: she's my friend BUT! I've not taken a class, just talked with her about stuff and she's helped me out. Most people, when told to run to a place, just go and do it. But running isn't JUST running, there are better/more efficient ways to do it, and she works on that at least. Also I have friends who are M/GM shooters that have taken her class that I was.... skeptical I guess, about, so I talked to them about what they learned and they said she was legit. It has, at the very least, convinced me to go take her class and give her money at my first opportunity.