38superman

I have a Schuemann AET Ultimatch coated barrel. Without seeing it I can't be sure if were talking about the same thing, but my barrel has a discolored area about halfway down the bore. When I first saw it I did have some concern about it. It could easily be interpreted as a defect but I don't believe that is the case. If it is a defect it certainly hasn't affected the gun's performance. The barrel has been extremely accurate and has held up very well after more than 10000 rounds. I wouldn't let it stop me from buying the gun. If it does prove to be some sort of defect or damage, I'm sure Strayer will make it right. Tony

I have used Precision Delta almost exclusively for about a year now. They have performed reasonably well in my guns. My only complaint is that the jacketed bullets have an exposed lead base. This creates a fair amount of smoke regardless of which powder I use. That is a major issue for me. I have developed some loads for my open gun using a Zero JHP with excellent results. I bought 1000 Zeros to try in my limited gun but haven't had an opportunity to test them yet. I have several excellent Montana Gold loads for my limited and L10 guns and will continue to use them until I find something cheaper that performs as well or better. I spent about a kazillion dollars every year in IPSC competition. I'm not going to undercut my own efforts by compromising on ammo quality to shave a few bucks per 1000 Price matters. Performance matters. The trick is to find a way to get both. Tony

I don't have any load data at hand so can't speculate about the viability of 10.5 of Blue dot behind a 300 grain LSWC. I do know that a 300 gr bullet is way heavy for a 44 mag and would have to be seated pretty deep. I can't help but wonder if you had a bullet set back in the case. I also notice that you had quite a lot of variance in velocity from your first three rounds. Are you quite certain it was Blue Dot? Any possibility that the powder was mis-labeled or contaminated by being accidentally mixed with some other powder? Tls

This is a difficult situation and I understand the desire to be fair to the guy. However, you also have to be fair to the other members that he routinely puts in harm's way. I think the officers of the club need to take him aside, point out the concerns. Explain as cordially as possible that his safety issues must be brought under control he will become inelligible to compete at club functions. What else can you do? If there is an accident, how will you justify that you new there was a problem but let it continue? Tls P.S. I'm not a MD or even an RO but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express at my last match.

Okay,.... I'm sorry but I don't get it. When something is broken there are two choices. Fix it or toss it. The BOD took a vote and decided to kill it. Why the ongoing discussion about how to rearrange the deck chairs on a ship that already sunk? I don't see the BOD reversing a decision that was almost unanimous. Am I wrong? Tls

I had the good fortune to watch an early morning launch a few year ago. It was from about 30 miles away but even at that distance, an awesome sight. The thing that struck me the most about it was that I always thought it went more or less straight up until it got quite high. Such is not the case. It began a long arc out over the Atlantic almost immediately after lift off. I would love to see it up close. Tony

I thought the series was a worthwhile effort that added a little spice to the shooting season. The people that were in it followed the results very closely. It made for some good rivalry and competition among shooters from different parts of the country that never face each other in matches due to geographical issues. There were several different formats and formulas tried to get more involvement but it never materialized. Perhaps it would have made it with a little more tweaking. Perhaps not. What's right or wrong with the series has now become a moot point. The BOD has voted to kill it and that's the end of it. R.I.P. Tony

I'll take it. Kind of makes up for the 3 matches I shot that were supposed to be in but weren't. Tls

IMHO, There are a few basic flaws that need to be addressed. I shot Lim10 last year and decided I would stick with it all season so I could do the series. The thing I found most objectionable was never knowing for sure if a match was in or out. Just because it is listed as a "Point Series" match is no guarantee that it will be. Some matches jump in and out from one year to the next with little or no notice. It makes it impossible to plan your match schedule around the series participation requirements. In one case, I entered a sectional which was advertised as a Point Series match. I subsequently had a conversaton with the MD and was told they had decided not to be in the series after all. Based on that information, I decided to shoot in a different division. Much to my surprise, that match later showed up in the point series standings anyway. I could have used those points but because I switched, they didn't apply to the division where I really needed them. Another issue is scores that are artificially inflated because of smaller sectionals with little or no participation by anyone above B or C classification. I'm going to have to see this addressed before I bother with it again. BTW, Rocket ..... that is a really nice looking blaster in your avatar Tls

Okay, what's the story now? If there is to be any kind of an announcement I should think it would have to come pretty soon. Are we having the thing or not? If so, are there rules/format changes or is it to be generally the same as last year? Personally, I can't see doing it again without some form of an overhaul. Tony

First gun was a Savage 410 single shot at age 8 (almost caused a divorce but my dad won). I wasn't allowed to shoot it until I had all the gun safety rules memorized. I was also required to break it down and clean it after every firing. If it didn't pass inpection, I had to clean it until it did. Marlin .22 at age 11. First Centerfire rifle was Win Mod 70 at age 20. First Handgun: S&W Mod 15 at age 21. Since then I couldn't begin to count them all. Tls

If the gunsmithing thing works out you can move up to dental work. Rumor has it that Carmoney had already filled 6 teeth and done a couple of root canals. Practice on your friends guns then practice on your friends. Tls

I often hear shooters say you are better off to pick a gun and a division and stick with it. I wonder if the multiple GM's and Masters got there by sticking with a division and then branching out after they made it to the top. Perhaps they bounced around and tried to advance their skills across mulitple platforms until they were proficient with them all. Does proficiency in one division automatically create proficiency in another? The rules would seem to support that theory since advancment in one division drags your classification up in others. I shoot primarily in Limited and Lim 10. No big deal to switch back and forth there since I can shoot either one with the same gun and holster. I am getting ready to broaden my horizons and step into Open but I can't help but wonder if this is a mistake. This begs the question: If being competitive in multiple divisions is your long term goal, are you hurting or helping your cause by "division jumping"? Tls

This discussion brings into focus something that bears closer scrutiny. I often hear shooters say you are better off to pick a gun and a division and stick with it. I wonder if the multiple GM's and Masters got there by sticking with a division and then branching out after they made it to the top. Perhaps they bounced around and tried to advance their skills across mulitple platforms until they were proficient with them all. Does proficiency in one division automatically create proficiency in another? The rules would seem to support that theory since advancment in one division drags your classification up in others. This begs the question: If being competitive in multiple divisions is your long term goal, are you hurting or helping your cause by "division jumping"? Hmm.... This could make for some intersting discussion. I think I'll break it out into it's own thread. Tls

"L-10 Minor PF only, Mods OK, or not as you like, Now, other than the DA first shot, what is the difference between L10 and Production?" There are still meaningful differences, such as speed holster vs. duty/carry holster. Holster and magazine placement. Tls

I guess you would have to use the braille method of lip reading. T

Steven, It's interesting that you brought this up because I have been thinking about the same thing. Not so much to improve my limited shooting, but I recently bought a Pro Sx and I'd like to spend some quality time with it. I went back to lim10 and shot it all of the past year. The idea was to force myself to think a little harder about breaking down the stages and work on reloads. It seems to have helped. Now the dilemma is whether to go back to limited and work on my A card or jump into Open. I sure would like to make A in limited and I think it is within my reach this year. I know that it will take a while to get up to speed in open and the idea of taking a step backward right now feels a little hard to swallow. Maybe I'll just stick with limited and play around a bit with the open gun. That way I could get real comfortable with the Brazos before I make another division switch. On the other hand, why did I spend all that money for an open gun if I wasn't going to compete with it? But then again......... Arrrrrrrgggggghh. +1 Why do I do this to myself? Decisions, decisions. Tony L Shores P.S. Let me know what you decide.

Hmmm.... Comped gun, close quarters, no hearing protection. Good luck at the school for the deaf. Lip reading can't be that hard. Tls

Wow. How did we get from "Better Course Design" and "B.S. Rules" all the way to Major vs. Minor. This thread drifted so far it's Lost in Space. "Danger Will Robinson" Tls

"B.S. Rules"??? Let's not forget how we got to where we are. The different divisions were implemented to give shooters with different types of guns a level playing field to play on. It was done so the guy that wants to shoot his revolver doesn't have to go head to head with a 30 round high tech shooting machine. You could do away with all that and throw everybody into open where anything goes. There's no doubt that many platforms can go "high tech". There are folks out there now shooting open competitively with highly customized Glocks. It's not about this gun or that manufacturer. That's not why the divisions and the rules that define them exist. What we now have is because of all the criticism about IPSC turning into an expensive arms race that Joe average couldn't afford. We took a lot of heat about how our matches were just track meet hose fests that had nothing to do with "practical" shooting. We didn't want prospective members to turn away because they didn't want, didn't understand, or couldn't afford a full blown race gun. Our divisions and rules also reflect the ever-changing political environment and federal laws that come and go. Furthermore, we have to be reasonably compatible with the International organization to support International competition. All of that either matters or it doesn't. We can't have it both ways. Tls

Don't mince words Bill. What do you really think? I don't really have issues with the rules or with most of the stages I encounter. I do think that as long a we are going to embrace divisions like Single Stack and Revolver, it would be helpful to have smaller arrays. True, the wheelies and 1911's are competing within their own divisions. However those divisions might attract more shooters if it wasn't quite so tedious to constantly have to deal with large arrays. You can still have the high round counts and everbody is happy. I keep hearing about how short range hoser stages are eroding our shooting skills. My feeling is that a shooter should be able to hit the A zone or a plate at 25 yds on demand during slow fire. If you can do it with slow fire, you should be able to do it on the clock. You just need the discipline to slow down and aim. If you can't get good hits during slow fire, you need to do some serious work on your fundamentals until you can. Development of shooting skills is up to the individual shooters. If they fail to do that, it's their own fault. I don't think it's fair to blame stage design, trends toward high round counts, or the sport at large. Tony

The MG 200 FP is a truncated cone shape with very short profile. To keep the base of the bullet at the same relative location, you have to load this bullet quite a bit shorter than a FMJ RN design. However under 1.200 is probably too short. I normally load 230 FMJ out to about 1.255. I load the MG 200 to about 1.210. In my STI it is a very accurate bullet (with Titegroup) and punches nice clean holes in the cardboard targets. That makes it a lot easier to see your hits. It is a little more finicky about feeding properly in some of my guns. Tony

I can see the stage description now. "Prior to the start signal you must unzip your fly and insert the frozen gel pack". Thus giving a whole new meaning to "Load and Make Ready" Thread Drift Mode: [OFF] T

In the immortal words of Yoda....."Hmmmm, so certain are you?" T

I appreciate your viewpoint but I'm not quite sure I agree with the "practical reason" aspect. Let me give you a real world reason. My carry gun resides in the console of my truck. I am left handed. If I ever needed to retrieve it, I can only reach it with my weak hand. If threatened (carjacker?) there simply may not be time to shift the gun to the strong hand. It would depend on the circumstances. I have no wish to drag everyone back into the endless tactical vs practical debate. However, if one wants to invoke practical reality as an argument, it seems to me that the possibilities are endless. There is simply no way to predict what may be required of a person fighting for his life. I just think that weak hand freestyle would add a little spice and variety to some of our stage designs. That's something we're always looking for isn't it? Tls