38superman

1972 American Pie - Don McLean Rocket Man - Elton John Heart of Gold - Neil Young School's Out - Alice Cooper Burning Love - Elvis Presley Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie Now you know why it says SENIOR next to my name on the score sheets. Tony

It will perform quite well with your jacketed loads. Recoil is mild and accuracy is top notch. It is relatively cheap and widely available. There are only two caveats in my opinion. If you use it with your cast bullets it will produce a lot of smoke. In the .40 it generally takes around 4.7-4.8 gr. to get to major with a 180 gr TC bullet. YMMV. That won't take up much space in the case so you must take care not to drop a double charge. Some will tell you that it heats up the gun more than other powders. That may be true but I have never found any extra heat to be enough to cause a problem. Bottom line,... I like it. I suspect you will too. Tls

Say it ain't so Boz. Say it ain't so. I hope Nemo doesn't read this thread.

Boz, as you are a member of the Single Stack Elitist Snobs, I can't imagine there would be any doubt. The only confusion should be which single stack to pull out of the safe and shoot. Come and join join us. The match in October was awesome. The match in April will be just as much fun.

Accuracy matters and not just to GM's. Consider this. A typical metal plate measures 8" in diameter. Let's think about taking a long shot at a plate with a gun & load capable of 4" accuracy at that distance. The net effect is that your aim is resticted to the interior 50% of the target. If your sights stray outside that sweet spot, the gun may do the rest and throw the bullet completely off the steel. For all intents and purposes you are now shooting at a 4" target instead of an 8" target. Think of it this way. The difference between a handgun that groups 1" and a gun that groups 4" is the difference between shooting at a 4" plate or a 7" plate. That's going to translate into mikes or make up shots. I want the bullets to land where the gun is aimed when I break the trigger. I need to know that if I missed, it was because I missed. Is a tack driving gun an absolute must? Of course not, but it will make a difference. Only the guy behind the trigger can decide how much importance to attach to it. Tls

CLONE WARS!!! I may show up to shoot in a Han Solo costume. :roflol: "A plastic gun is no substitute for a good blaster at your side, kid ".

I just don't know if I believe it's realistic to think you can get by with a $1000 on a gun for Single Stack. I will be the first to admit I don't have experience with all the major manufacturers, but I do own a wide variety of 1911 style guns. In my experience, most production model guns run anywhere from about $700 on the low end and up around 11-1200 on the high end. I've yet to buy a gun that I felt was race ready without some trigger work, sights, and in most cases accuracy work (match barrel and bushing fitted by gunsmith). That just doesn't happen for $1000. The closest I have come is my S&W 1911. I haven't worked with it that much but early testing has it grouping about 3-4" at 25 yds with factory ammo. The trigger is decent for a factory production model gun. Add a fiber optic and you would be in the ball park on your budget with performance I could live with. I'd still rather shoot my tricked out Springer. It cost about $800 but probably has about that much spent on upgrades. Maybe a Kimber or STI single stack would get you where you want to go. I just don't have experience with those particular guns. I think your best bet is to find someone on the forum with a quality used SS (with upgrades) for sale. You might be able to find a low mileage tricked out gun in your price range. Tls

Being jerks about it is not good for the sport. Many clubs are "run" by Open shooters, 2 that I shoot at in FL are this way. Sure, you showed up with an 8-shooter, and yes, 10 round arrays are fine, let's face it, SS'ers are NOT competing against anyone but fellow SS'ers, so it is really all equal. But...... Kneeling reloads at NO FUN, I don't care what gun ya brung No matter. Nobody likes to squad with a shooter that's always whining and I don't want to become that guy. I made my point, so I'm just going to shut up and shoot. [sorry for the drift] we now return you to your regularly scheduled program. Tls

I can't see burning the time for an extra reload. I don't have enough rounds on my belt to dump a full mag on the ground. Better to go to slide lock on the next array and keep pressing forward. BTW, I wouldn't assume 8 shot arrays. Yesterday I complained about a stage with two ten shot arrays (both arrays had to be taken from below waist level) which forced me to do two static reloads while kneeling. I was quickly chastised for bitching and reminded that it was my choice to show up with an 8 round gun. Ain't no 8 round friendly where I shoot. You bring your open gun or cowboy up and deal with it. I guess I'll deal with it. It will only make me better. Tls

I'll take a stab at answering this question with the preface that it is pure speculation on my part. IPSC is a relatively new sport and I'm sure it was dominated by men from it's inception. When women started getting involved there were already quite a few very experienced men around. The ladies had a lot of ground to make up as they entered the sport. There is also the fact that many males have gun handling and marksmanship skills that go back far beyond their first IPSC competition. A lot of the men have firearms experience gained in the military or hunting experience that literally goes back to childhood. I suspect a lot of the women that take up the sport don't have that edge. As the sport matures and more women get involved I expect things will start to level out. I routinely get waxed by a lot of the more experienced ladies and there are young guns coming along all the time. It's just a matter of time. Tls

I might relax and shoot something else for a couple of months just to give the POG shooters a chance.... I will tell you one thing, this match is still the talk at the local matches. Expect more blue to invade the orange! Yeah, right.....blah,blah,blah. same old crap. Just like that SS you cling to as state of the art. Yeah, after 30 revisions from the original. bring an honest original as designed SS. no fancy sights, safety, magwell, beavertailed, precision machined SS weapon and I will shoot a first generation POG and see who gets left in the dust!!!! Thanks for the support Andy, I was actually just trying to keep up with you! I think the SMACK has officially started! Bill W. Bill, I need a little clarification on what constitutes an "honest original as designed SS". If I bring an off-the-shelf Colt 1911 Series 80 will that satisfy you? Hmmm. Would you allow me an ambi safety? (I am left handed) or must I shoot the match weak hand with the original design? If the Colt doesn't work for you, do I need to raid a war museum to be on equal footing with your first generation POG? Let the games begin. Tony

This is sounding better and better. This time I am actually going to practice. Who knows what could happen.

Okay Hop, I for sure know what a POG is. But PAG? That's a new one on me. Please enlighten me. Tls

I will look forward to it. Maybe this time I can get my mags to drop. Tls

SS nats. Hmmmm. That's a major I've never been to. This could be the year. Yeah, I could see that happening. Why not? I'm up for it. You convinced me bro.

Me too. However, I shot in 5 major matches this year (no humans or animals were injured in these events) before I reformed and rejected all instuments of potential havoc. I expect next year to be about the same. I may not be as willing to travel quite as far as in past years. I think I will stick to matches within 200 miles. (Assuming, of course that I can borrow a handgun water pistol to be used under close supervision and returned promptly to it's owner.) Tls

Looks like I spoke too soon. There will definately be more pictures, a lot more. I have posted all the pics from the remote camera but none from the mobile camera. Keep checking back. There were almost 1000 pictures taken at the match. I will process them as fast as I can. Tony

Okay, Photos are posted. There may be a few more later, so check back often. BTW, I'd have to agree that Stage 7 was pretty unusual. I've shot stages where I've jumped out of cars (real ones and mock-ups) shot over, around and under cars, retreived guns from trunks of cars, but that,...... that was the first time I ever shot at targets through a car. Tony

I have received inquiries regarding match pictures. Please note that some but not all have been posted on my website. I haven't finished processing all of them yet. I hope to be done and have all photos available later tonight. Thanks, Tony

That could happen. I'll have to see where my initial classification puts me. Doesn't look good for A class in limited this year anyway. 70% seems to be the glass ceiling for me.

True, I am not yet classified in Single Stack. There are basically two reasons for this. One is that I spent the entire year shooting limited because I'm trying to push my classification higher. I've been stuck in B class for way too long and I'm trying to get my A card. The other thing is that in the clubs where I shoot there is almost no participation in single stack. One or two guys maybe. There are a lot of folks that play this game just for fun and to socialize. I am not one of them. I am there to compete. That is what keeps me interested. I wish I was competing at a higher level, but make no mistake, I am playing to win. I just need more SS guys/girls to compete against. That is why I thought it was such a great thing that a local club sponsored a major match restricted to SS & production. It got folks to break out of their comfort zone and shoot in a division that they normally wouldn't think about. Those same guys were oiling up their 1911s, doing upgrades, and in some cases having custom guns built in preparation for this match. I was really surprised at my accuracy in the match. I went 1 for 1 on every piece of steel, had only one mike and very few Deltas. That is reason enough for me to want to keep working with the gun and see where it leads. I will surely pick up a classification at the next classifier match that rolls around. Shooting my Springer was great fun and I want more. I hope that a lot of others feel the same way. Tls

My SS barely cools off..... Of that, ..... I have no doubt.

One thing that I would like to ad. I asked for and received permission to photograph the match and shoot on the same day. This required me to bounce around all over the range and shoot through the stages while trying to take pictures. The match staff went above and beyond to accomodate me. They made me a squad unto myself for scoring purposes and reprogrammed the Palm scoring on the fly. My apologies to the squads that had to wait on me to shoot. Many thanks to everyone. That's what I love about this sport. No one works harder or plays harder. NTPS hospitality does Tennessee proud. Tony

I think these results are pretty interesting. SS shooters took 9 of the first 10 places. I think that it is worth mentioning that most of the polymer shooters were using the same rig they shoot in every competition. Quite a few of the 1911 shooters were hi cap guys shooting rigs that had to be dug out of a safe somewhere. I entered the match so late that I did not have an opportunity for practice of any kind. On Saturday I just had to strap it on and go to work. You can't make too much of it because there weren't enough shooters to have a big enough sampling. However, if this match teaches us anything, it's probably strong evidence that 2 extra rounds at minor power factor just isn't enough of an advantage to overcome major scoring. That debate has been going on for quite a while. Now maybe that argument has a little more to focus on. Tls

What the * is going on? I check in and find you guys squabbling like 40 kids locked in a room with one Playstation. We must restore order quickly. I suggest everyone grab a 1911 and fire eight rounds at the nearest target of opportunity. Take 3 deep breaths. The sweet smell of burning gun powder should return sanity in a matter of moments. We now return to our regularly scheduled program. I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday at the Tennessee Hillbilly Classic. The match was restricted to Single Stack and Production divisions. This was a fine opportunity for the Classic vs. Plastic crowds to go head to head. Having seen the results this morning I'd say that JMB would be proud. I shot a 1911 in competition for the first time in four years. It is the most accurate gun I own. The penalties that have plagued me disappeared, only to be replaced with alphas. The big .45 was mowing down steel plates with extreme predjudice. Now I remember. It was spiritual. I am born again. Rejoice, for it is good.