38superman

I have several of the guns you mention so I will add my reply to your question. Look at my avatar and you will see my limited gun. It is an SVI that I bought in Sept '04. I also own a Brazos open gun (which I really like) and an Edge in 45. The SVI gun has a great look and feel. I really like the Scheumann Ultimatch barrel. It has a gold colored titanium nitride coating that's really slick and easy to clean. The accuracy is phenomenal off the bench. It ran flawlessly through three years of hard service until it developed a crack in the breechface. SVI repaired it at no charge. I highly recommend it. You can't go wrong with Brazos. My open gun is nothing short of art work. Bob stands behind his work as well as anyone in the business. The Edge is a decent firearm but had some accuracy and reliability issues when new. The reliability problems were traced back the magazines not the gun. The accuracy problem was solved by STI who put a new barrel in the gun at no cost to me. It is a nice gun but expect to spent several hundred dollars on upgrades before you will be happy with it. All the guns you mention are high quality well built shooting machines. Any of them would probably give you excellent service. It really comes down to which one appeals to you the most.

This definately should not be posted again until hell either busts loose or freezes over. By the way, where can I find this Teresa person? I like the ones that are vocal. She's my kind of girl. Tony

I guess the real question here is what is the difference. Good design? Unusual design? Espescially challenging? Weird props? Good mental programming? Why do we mentally discard some stages like a used flashlight battery while others stay with you forever. What is it that makes a stage really memorable? T

I don't understand all this angst. Stop worrying about it and just shoot the match. Let the chips fall where they may. Even if he doesn't do well it's a big step toward getting back to a high level. Every time I enter a match I know I'm not going to win. I don't have the skills to do that just yet. I still jump in there and scratch and claw and fight for every point. Wherever your *friend* is in his shooting career he won't get better sitting at home on the couch. Tls

I'm not too sure why you've been told not to run 3n38. I shoot a Brazos Pro Sx which is a shorty. The short barrel, comp, and poppleholes do factor into the powder selection. However, I ran this by Bob Londrigan and he told me that 3N38 would be fine in my gun. He simply doesn't prefer it because it gave a lot of flash. I am quite content with N105 but if you can't get it, you can't get it. There has to be a good alternative. I just wish I didn't have to expend time, and money to find it. Tls

Sorry man but I'm afraid you're going to have to face the fact that there's just not any out there. Time to start looking for a suitable substitute. I just ordered 4 pounds of 4756 but haven't had a chance to test any yet. If I don't like the 4756 I plan to try 3N38. I don't have a choice. The N105 has run dry and I'm down to less than 200 loaded rounds. Tls

If you're going to shoot an STI widebody frame in USPSA it only makes sense to go with a .40 That gun wouldn't be legal in production were the 9mm is king. The 38 super would be the way to go if you were building an open gun. Non-comped wide bodies live in Limited and L10 were 40's rule. Shoot the Kimber in IDPA and turn the STI into a limited gun. I'm not sure how it would work trying to build two uppers in 38 super and 40 for the same frame. There's more to Open than just a comp. Most competitors would want an optical sight as well. If you do that it's likely you would have to drill the frame for a C-More. Tls

Randal, good to see you're still around. Hope the leg has healed okay. T

After 3 years in USPSA I couldn't begin to guess how many stages I have shot. The number has to be well up into the hundreds. The ones that are the most memorable are not the ones I really trashed or the ones I burned down. The stages I remember well are the ones that were the most fun to shoot. These are the ones that I can describe in great detail, target placement, how I shot, etc. My personal favorite has always been the Dark House at Pasa Park. Theres just something about running though a dark stage with a flashlight that brings out the kid in me. Man that's fun. What really suprises me is how many I can remember as if I shot them yesterday. The interesting part is that I can't really recall too many stand and shoots. It's the field courses (and bubble gum) that tend to stay with you. Weird Huh. Tony

So how come Merlin gets to have his own thread?

I'm not a smartass (usually) but I am willing to learn. Do you guys have a secret hand shake or something? T

Amen. When I was in Basic I can remember being told alot worse than u suck. Angel You guys make a good point. I went through boot camp at Parris Island during the VietNam war. I understand the harassment of recruits and the reasons behind it. The constant hazing is meant to break down recruits mentally. It is meant instill the idea that the only way to survive is to do exactly what you are told. In short it is meant to build discipline. However, in watching this I did not get the sense that this was meant to do anything constructive, merely to demean the trainees. Hard to say, but I will not second guess the Sgt. who is there on the ground. The bottom line for me is: At the end of the day could these guys hit the target or not? I hope so. At some point I'd like to see our guys come home. T

Oh yeah, one other thing about this match. The half day format rocks. Running through 9 stages in an afternoon with small squads really keeps things flowing. I like the quick pace and not having to wait so long between stages. With less standing and waiting to shoot I am less fatigued at the end of the day. I like it. Tony

I'm really pretty disturbed by this, mostly because I don't know what to make of it. I get my fair share of penalties, but usually they come from trying to go too fast and clipping a no shoot or getting a mike. Yesterday I shot the match pretty clean but got eaten alive by procedurals, something that has never happened before. On a classifer, the first string was free style, reload then strong hand. I drew and shot the freestyle targets and just stopped. I was standing there contemplating my hits when I realized I wasn't done. That episode of vapor lock probably cost me 3 or 4 seconds. In a panic I slammed the reload and raced though the strong hand pulling a mike on each target. On another stage there was a boundry stick on the ground between two partitions at the back of the stage. I blew right past it and picked up 4 procedurals. Icing on the cake was the last stage. The first array offered 4 paper targets and 3 steel. When the buzzer went off, I shot the paper and took off, leaving the steel standing. Result, 3 mikes + 3 FTE I normally program the stages pretty well, but yesterday it was like I left my brain in the truck. It cost me dearly. I want to figure out how to keep it from happening again. Pretty tough to do if you can't see why it happened to begin with. Tony

Maybe I'm wrong but I think that if these guys can't shoot, train them. Work the problem. What is there to be gained by insulting them? T

Just got back from another great Georgia State Match. I love this sport and it wouldn't happen without guys like Carlos and Roger that are willing to saddle up and do the hard work. Thanks to them and to all the staff and RO's that make this match go. Tony

Inadvertantly walking under a chandelier while practicing with Nunchaku.

I practiced and taught Okinawan martial arts for many years. There are many, many variants, styles, schools, etc. It was sort of an unwritten law that we never belittle someone elses efforts. You could call it professional courtesy or perhaps a point of honor...... but really. If we went down on the ground it's usually because someone put us there. There are a few defensive techniques that can be used if that's where you end up but it's not the preferred location. Hard to fight when you are on your belly or your back. Forgive me but I just don't see the wisdom of doing cartwheels with a firearm. Considering the hundreds of movers and swingers I have drilled, I have no doubt I can hit a moving target. If someone wants to roll around on the ground in a gun fight, fine by me. While they're doing that they're not shooting back. I will give these guys at least some credit for trying to blend ancient and modern fighting skills. Very imaginative. A for effort. C- for tactical implemetation. Tony

I have three belt / holster / magazine rigs set-up. One is for my production gun, Para P9-18 with a Safariland holster and Cr Speed mag holders. Another is for my 1911 single stack with Blade-tech DOH holster and Safariland mag holders. The only reason I only have three instead of five is that my Open, Limited and Limited 10 guns are all S_I guns and share the same rig. Tls

ObNote, I'm not an FFL, but I'd be very surprised if a dealer worth his salt would "transfer the gun" without knowing who/where it was coming from. I suspect it would have to cross his bound-book, and he can't just leave the "transferor" side of the ledger blank.... B I'm pretty sure the same individual can be the "from" and the "to" in a firearms transaction. For example, if you pawn a gun it has to be logged in and out to the same individual and the 4473 form + background check still applies when picked up. If you sold or traded a gun to a dealer and later decided to buy it back, that would be another example of a gun coming from and going back to the same person. It happens all the time. Suppose this individual turned it in and no one claimed it. If it was given back to him as "found property" by the authorites, at some point he still has to go through the registration process/background check by an FFL doesn't he? Tls

The "wanting to keep it" part assumes that there is no way to find the rightful owner. Getting it back to the rightful owner would be the preferred option (even though one has to wonder about the responsibility of someone that loses a loaded gun in a public place). Personally, I would turn it in, but that's just me. I have quite a few firearms already and don't really need it anyway. Since I'm not the one that found it, it's not my call to make. Any of you guys / gals ever lost a firearm? Tony

I thought about advising the guy to go to the local sheriffs office but I'm having a hard time with that. Every jurisdiction is different, but I have first hand knowledge of officers confiscating handguns during traffic stops. The legitimate owner never gets them back despite their best efforts. I'm afraid they would just keep it. If I were in his shoes I think I would just bypass the local sheriff and take it up with the Feds. On the other hand, if it were recently used in a crime it could be a critical piece of evidence (fingerprints ???) I'm at a loss on this one. Torn between civic duty and mistrust of officials. Tls

A friend of my found a gun (in a holster with a loaded clip) along side a public road. There is no possibility for him to find the owner. It apparently is a pretty nice S&W and he would like to keep it but wants to do so legally. My advice to him: Contact the local BATF office. Give them the make, model and serial number and ask if they can verify that the gun has not been used in a crime, or reported stolen. IF the gun has no "bad history", take it to a local dealer and ask them to do the background check and transfer the gun to you, which they should do for a small fee. Any other relevant thoughts? Tls

+1 That was exactly my reaction as well. I can't believe they ended the series by just pulling the plug without any closure. If the writers and producers are willing to rip us off like that then good riddance. I'm now sorry I bothered to watch it. Tls

David, I suggest you have someone smack one of the little white things with one of those weird sticks. Once the white thingy is airborne, go ahead and shoot it. Should give a whole new meaning to the term "mover". If you get good at that, Texas star will be a joke. Tony