38superman

Competition is a crucible. Bad ideas and wishful thinking get burned away until we are left with what works. There are plenty of guys that like to experiment in hopes of finding some kind of an edge. There's nothing wrong with experimenting, thats how we learn. Sometimes we find something useful but mostly find ourselves swimming upstream. Try whatever you like. At the end of the day, 40 major rules Limited. There is a reason for that. Tony

Before I started shooting in USPSA three years ago, I was an avid rifleman. I did a little hunting but was never real big into it. My thing was punching paper and seeing how much accuracy I could wring out of a production rifle. I did this with a little tweaking and exhaustive load development. Now all my free time (and disposable income) is directed toward USPSA shooting. I have dedicated my efforts toward helping my local club, shooting the matches, building guns for different divisions, etc. Today I took note of the fact that working my way up the IPSC food chain has caused me to set aside all else. I haven't launched one round downrange with a rifle since my first club match in April '04. The rifles that once saw so much use are now safe queens. I won't say this is good, bad, or indifferent. It is simply an observation. I love action pistol shooting and have no regrets. I simply wonder if others have experienced this phenomenon. If you pursue other shooting sports, how does one find balance? For me, I would need three lifetimes to do all the things I enjoy and do them well. Tony

You could not hit the grill of a car driving pretty much straight at you with a rifle from 300 yds? Slight exageration perhaps, but I was trying to make a point. Looking across my parking lot, I seems the average grill size is about 1 1/2 to 2 ft wide and maybe 6 to 8 inches tall. Thats way smaller than the average whitetail and they make a pretty small target at 300 yds. I am a mechanical engineer and often use a hand held laser meter to measure distances in factories. Its harder than you think to hold a laser steady enough to take a reading off of something the size of a clipboard at much more than about 100 feet. 900 ft.? ..... I won't say it can't be done, but its a pretty good trick. Tony

Kathy, Do the LEOs in your area use Laser? If so, nothing will help. I learned the hard way last week. Our City PD just converted to Laser (a very advanced one). The officer got me and I never got a peep out of the radar detector. He told me that the laser is emitting a beam that is 8 inches wide at 300yds. He aimed at the grill of the vehicle and the signal never came near the detector. He told me he had pulled people with all kinds of detectors and they never had a chance. Bummer. I just learned that our Highway Patrol will be getting them soon, too. Take care. 8 inches at 300 yards? Aimed at the grill of a moving car? Wow............Here's a cop that can aim a hand held laser gun better than I can aim a rifle.

Okay, I'm up for it. I'm not worried about "representing the US". The designated team will take care of that. We'll just be there to shoot and have a good time (my favorite things). The only question I have is how do we obtain these extra slots. Since Dirtypool came up with this idea, I suggest he is the designated driver squad mom. Tls

IIRC, I joined USPSA at my first club match. The club treasurer took my money and info and sent it in for me. The card and documents came in the mail within a week or two. All the classifiers I shot counted from day one. Tls

I now have earned a classification in every USPSA division except revolver. One of the things that I have learned is that every division is unique and has something to offer. Open - Pure Speed, run like the wind. Limited - Pure Speed with open sights. Limited 10 - Thinking man's game. Shoot whatever you like. Production - Those that can't shoot straight need not apply. All present different challenges and SS will be no different. All the divisions are great fun and I see no reason to limit ourselves to just a few of them. SS will find it's place. Have a little patience. Tony

Okay, I guess I'm just clueless. I thought the World Shoot was by invitation only. Don't you have to qualify by winning the preliminary matches to be offered a slot? Am I to understand we can put a team together and just show up? What are you talking about DP? Enlighten Me. Tls

+1 Let's not go there.

Shooting and reloading has brought me a lifetime of enjoyment. If you get half as much out of it as I have you can count yourself lucky. It's a good day when someone joins the party. It seems today was a very good day. Welcome. Tls

My advice: Get a trigger job and shoot the 40 in Limited 10 rather than production. That way you wont be disadvantanged by shooting factory ammo in a division that is minor power factor by definition. There are all sorts of guns in L10, and you can certainly compete well with any of them with the M&P. If the 40 is your carry gun, that is another reason to stick with it in competition. The more you shoot the gun in competition, the better you will shoot it in defense. I see no reason to go for a 9mm unless you are married to the idea of shooting production. My $.02 Tony

On a more serious note, I wish more people would post. I know there are a lot of Forum users out there that just log on and read. Perhaps they are too shy or afraid of having their opinions ridiculed. I don't know. If you're interested enough to read...... write. Everyone's opinion counts for something. Join the party. Tls

If I come across as pompous and arrogant, it's only because I am. Tls

Revolver? 4 Rounds only? Sorry....... I tried but I just couldn't restrain myself. T

If USPSA allowed full cap mags I would shoot my Para LDA (18+1). I don't shoot production often so I'm not advocating changes. I will leave that to the will of the majority and to the shooters that have a stake in that division. That having been said, my LDA is an off the shelf, unmodified production gun. It seems a little absurd that I am required to come to the line with my magazines loaded to 55% capacity. Seems kind of like making a rule that revolvers have to come to the line with two empty chambers. If an extra round or two doesn't matter, why are limited shooters so obsessed with it? Try getting those guys to dump a couple of rounds and go with 17 at your next match. Good luck. Whenever I hear the "capacity doesn't matter" argument I am reminded of a stage I shot at Nationals with my limited gun. I ran my gun dry on the last target only to look back and discover I had left a popper standing. I still remember that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and thinking "just one more round". Yeah I know, I shouldn't have missed it but I did. I should have made an extra mag change somewhere but I didn't. Forgive me. I was trying to win. Tls

I'm no expert but I would think stretching and warm up would go a long way toward preventing this type of injury. Athletes in about any sport you can think of routinely do this before the competition. If anyone that thinks athleticism does not play a part in this sport needs to watch the video again. There's more to IPSC than pulling a trigger. Tls

Man, I didn't realize leg injuries were so prevalent in this sport. I tore a calf muscle at the Florida Open and had to withdraw from the match. It took about six weeks to before I could shoot again and I had to skip the Alabama Sectional. Even with the best case scenario, I would guess that there will be no race gunning for you until at least the end of the summer. I really hate it for you. Best wishes on a speedy recovery. Tony P.S. War Eagle

This is a recurring theme and I have to say I would agree with it. The shooting skills of most law enforcement personnel could not match up with competition shooters. I think this is mostly due to the fact that most departments don't provide much ammo, if any for their officers to practice. I typically burn thousands of dollars in ammo every year. That would be tough for most LEO's on a cops salary. That having been said, as a group they seem to shoot well enough to take down the bad guys when they need to. I think there is a lot more to being a cop than shooting a gun. I can probably outshoot about any officer I know, but I still don't know if I would have what it takes to be a good cop. It's a tough job and for what it's worth, my hat's off to them. (As long as they stay out of my rear view mirror.) Tls

I felt I was a pretty good marksman when I started this game. After 3 years, 50,000 rounds, a kazillion draws, transitions, mag changes, etc.... I would like to think my shooting skills are pretty good. If there are any B class shooters out there that think they are mediocre, take a trip to your local indoor range sometime and just watch. Half of them would miss if they were trying to commit suicide. Tls

21st Birthday? I have tennis shoes older than that. It seems to me that it is beneath my dignity to compete against children. We need a new criteria for the match...must be at least 45 years old to enter. No.... on second thought make it 50. Tls

For sure: Fla Open. (done) Area 6 Limited Nationals (If I get a slot, ...#14 on wait list) Tennessee Sectional Maybe: Georgia Sectional Tls

I have 13 ahead of me for the Tulsa Match. Been sitting there for about 3 weeks now. Doesn't this line ever move? Tls

The Atlanta Airport (Hartsfield International) is nearby. You can't miss it. It's roughly the size of Portugal. Tls

+1

Rudy's are excellent and I recently bought a pair for my wife. However, you shouldn't overlook Decot HyWyd. Decot makes prescription or non prescription shooting glasses with interchangable lenses. They are specifically designed so that the frames don't come into your field of vision when you are bent into odd positions such as shooting under a low port. I went to them because I have "old" eyes and farsighted vision. They made a set of lenses for me that brings the front sight and the downrange targets into decent focus. It's a compromise that isn't perfect but works well enough. Theres no way I could compete with open sights without them. I just ordered a second pair. Check them out. Tony