38superman

While practicing my weak hand shooting the other day it occured to me that every stage I ever shot with a weak hand requirement was weak hand only. Why? Wouldn't it be fun and interesting to throw in a few stages that require weak hand shots but allow for a two hand grip? We shoot strong hand both ways,...why not shoot weak hand both ways? Tls

What bullet? Tls

I really like the MG 200 fp bullet. It is one of the more accurate bullets I have tried in my 45's. It feeds just fine in my Springfield but is not 100 % reliable in my STI Edge. In my experience the problems you describe often turn out to be magazine related rather than OAL issues. Number your magazines and note which magazine is in the gun when the problem occurs. You may be surprised to find that when the gun fails to feed it's with one or two specific mags. If the magazine is a little out of tolerance it may not seat high enough to reliably feed the bullet. I had a similar problem with a Para P14 and with my STI Edge. Drove me crazy because the gun would feed great when I was shooting off the bench but couldn't make it through one stage in the field. Burned up a lot of components playing with OAL etc before I found the problem. I had one magazine that wasn't seating deep enough. On the bench with the grip resting on a sandbag it pushed up on the magazine and no problem. In the field with the mag unsupported, consistent malfunction. Tony

Really good action movie. Well worth the price of admission. Tls

If it's an "open" gun, you shoot it in open. (Good luck with that SS thing). If its a SS 1911 in 38 super you shoot it in SS minor or L10 minor. Glad I could help. Tls

I first came to IPSC with my carry gun which was a S&W 645 (DA single stack with 8 round mags). Didn't take long to develop capacity envy. At that point open and limited guns were uncharted territory. I didn't know anything about them, so I went out and bought a 1911 in 45 and a hand full of 10 round mags. This gun with a speed holster was what I ran with in L10 for the first year. Once I had been around long enough to get a handle on what limited was all about (more capacity envy) I bought one and moved to limited. I now split my time between the two divisions but shoot L10 with a 45 wide body STI. I like L10 and hope it stays. I invested a lot of money building my L10 rig. I though about shooting in SSD but I just can't get excited about running the abundance of 30+ round field courses with 8 round mags. It is especially unappealing with the restrictions on magazine placement. To carry enough ammo I would have magazines wrapped around my waist all the way to the middle of my back. I am not a contortionist. The other thing that keeps me from it is that there's only so much time and money available for IPSC. I feel if I spread myself too thin across too many divisions my advancement will be diluted and slow to a crawl. My single stack will be relegated to the occasional Single Stack only match. That having been said, I hope we keep the division for the sake of those that do want to shoot it. Tls

I've found that the best practice in the environment you described is to shoot double taps at various ranges. I set an IPSC paper target at various ranges, start with the muzzle pointed somewhere off target. Aquire the target and put two in the A zone as fast as you can double tap and still get good hits. Focus on watching the sights rise and fall, calling your shots and working on your trigger control. Each time you double tap try to get your splits a little faster than before. Tls

That was part of the problem. An odd sounding round would tip you off to trouble. This was no sound at all. No recoil at all. No slide movement. No nothing. Just the click of a hammer falling on an empty chamber. Same sound as dry firing. T

Indyshooter, Going back to your original question. Yes L10, SS, and to a lesser degree Revolver have become politcal footballs endlessly kicked around by the membership, on the forum and among the BOD. The margin of L10 supporters over detractors is razor thin right now and subject to change. There is no way to know at this point whether it will survive or for how long. The A6 director seems squarely in the camp that wishes to do away with the division. While I disagree, he is simply doing what he believes represents the will of the majority among his constituents. IMHO if L10 continues, I can't imagine the Area6 match unilaterally removing it. Some of the L10 shooters may switch divisions, others would likely boycott the match. It would be sure to affect participation and create a lot of ill will ...... for what?. Just to make a political statement? There's no upside to it. I had another point to make but "political" discussions are taboo on this forum so I will simply remind everyone that L10 was created for a reason. We wouldn't be having this debate if not for the sunset of the AWB two years ago. I would wait and see what the future may hold before jumping on the "we have too many divisions" bandwagon. Tls

Strangely reminiscent of another pistol packin blonde who works for S&W. Tls

I almost had a catastrophe at the range not too long ago while chronographing ammo. I pulled the trigger and the hammer fell with a "click" producing no other sound and no recoil. I thought the gun must have somehow failed to feed a new round after my last shot. As I racked the slide to chamber a fresh round it ejected a spent case. That spent case was an important clue that something was wrong but I didn't think much of it at the time. I took aim and pulled the trigger, once again the gun didn't fire. I discovered that the slide hadn't closed completely and the gun hadn't quite gone into battery. After further inspection I discovered the first misfire had been a squib. Apparently no powder at all in the case. The primer fired and pushed the bullet into the bore without making a sound. The only reason my gun is still is one piece is that the primer didn't have enough force to push the bullet far enough into the barrel to allow another round to chamber behind it. The difference was minimal. Another 1/8" and my SVI would now be junk. That was close. It was the first squib I have ever had in thirty plus years of reloading and frankly it shook me up a little. I keep thinking about what almost happened and how easy it could happen in a match. My gun doesn't go to slide lock when empty and if the gun doesn't fire its almost an automatic reflex to rack the slide and keep shooting. I will redouble my efforts to make sure a squib doesn't happen again, However, given the many thousands of rounds loaded each year, its a good bet that Muphy's Law will come into play sooner or later. I have seen pictures of a Glock 40 after firing a double charge. Clearly, the when the gun came apart it sent pieces of the barrel and slide flying as shrapnel in random directions. Fortunately, the shooter was uninjured. However, I have to wonder if anyone has accidentally fired a round with a bullet stuck in the barrel and just how bad was the damage. Tls

I voted for Montana Gold but also use Zero and Precision Delta. Tls

I load 10.4 grains of N105 behind a Zero 125 gr JHP. This load fills the case up to within about 1/8" to 3/16" from the rim. The case is so full that you have to slow down and be careful or the press will sling powder everywhere while indexing. Seating the bullet compresses the load somewhat but not enough to bulge the case or cause an audible crunch. You might be able to squeeze 11 grains in there. I believe the case would hold it without overflowing but just barely. Seating the bullet might be tough. Tls

The sun setting into the ocean from Fleming Beach on the north shore of Maui wasn't bad. Once saw a sunrise from Myrtle point at the top of Mt Leconte Smokey Mtn Park. There was low cloud cover but we were above it. It was like looking out over an ocean of clouds with random peaks sticking up into the distance, the sun shining down on it all. To my right the wind pushed the clouds up and over a low ridge in a straight line like a snake. As it crossed the crest of the ridge it broke into a cloud waterfall tumbling down the other side. Not too shabby. Riding my Harley up Highway 14 in Colorado winding along the Poudre river into the Front range of the Rockies was unforgettable. The best would have to be climbing Mt Estes in Rocky Mountain park. It is a long climb and after you leave the tree line you work your way up through an Alaskan tundra up to the top of a ridge at about 13,000 ft. While climbing all you can see is the ridge line above you. When you get to the top you cross over to the north face at a place called the keyhole. When you make that last step up and look through to the other side, you are greeted by a panorama of the front range and the continental divide that is up close and personal. It is a spiritual moment that becomes etched on your soul. Tls

So what's the problem with fat wimpy men? Now I feel insulted Tls

I will confess to being one of the trouble makers that started a political thread. I read the guidelines for the "What I Hate" forum once upon a time but did not realize this was a taboo until I went back and re-read them. I'm sure the rules serve a purpose and I will abide by them. That having been said, this is a shooting forum and I don't know how you can ever separate politics and shooting. If you know the answer to that one, please inform the NRA. Tls

As I watched election returns last night the talking heads were pontificating on the "analysis" of the vote. For me it's pretty simple to figure out what just happened. All you have to do is ask yourself: "are our enemies pleased with the results or disheartened?" As I watched Nancy Pelosi talk about "change" all I could think was "change into what?" I kept having flashbacks to Jimmy Carter in his cartigan sweater begging us to turn down our thermostats. I remember well the days of runaway inflation, record unemployment, energy shortages, and our military in disrepair. The economy and the country was in the toilet. The Iranian hostage crisis lasted for more that a year amid paralysis in Washington as we tried to negotiate our people out. Ah, those were the good old days. By the way, its a good thing we haven't done away with Limited 10 just yet. I only hope it doesn't become Lim 3. Oh well, it's not all bad, Nancy Pelosi will probably look good in a burkha. Tony

Lee, FWIW, here is how I normally handle that situation. You will find that max loads and velocities vary quite a bit in published data for many loads and calibers. I tend to give more credence to the data from the bullet manufacturer if available. When loads vary greatly as in the example you gave with 2400 in the 44 mag, I typically take the max load from at least three sources and average it. Based on that average, I load what I call a pressure series. Back off about 10 percent and increase the loads (in groups of 5) incrementally by 0.2 grains working your way up to your "average max". Shoot 5 rounds at 18 gr, 5 rounds at 18.2 gr,.....etc. Chronograph your loads for 5 shot average as you shoot each incremental load. If you encounter any sign of excessive pressure or reach published velocity, stop there and pull the bullets on the rest of the loads. If you reach your ave. max without any pressure signs and without achieving the expected velocity you have some choices. You can continue to incrementally increase the load until you get pressure signs or acheive the expected velocity. or You can simply try a different powder and see if the results are more favorable. This is something that becomes a judgement call. I would push it a bit it if using a relatively slow powder, probably not with something on the fast side. Under no circumstances would I go beyond the highest published load. In more than 30 years of loading I have never had a mishap. This comes from a simple and unwavering philosophy. Err on the side of caution. Risking getting hurt just to squeeze that last 100 fps out of your load is reckless. If the difference between 1300 fps and 1400 fps will make or break your hunt, get a bigger gun. Tls

I think Todd and Rob are the same age, so is Jerry B What a soft division Senior is going to become!!! That will be an interesting thing to watch. As perennial champions like Todd and Rob age, how long will they be able to stay a step ahead of young men like Blake Miguez.

I don't know Bednorz, but according to my research he's the only one to ever score high senior in 3 different divisions. If that doesn't make him "the man" I don't know what would. Tls

I think most gunsmiths start out as machinists and turn to working on guns. Most are self-taught. I looked into getting formal training once and found that there are very few offerings. If you want to do it be prepared to travel. One of the best seems to be Trinidad Community College in Colorado. It is in the southern part of the state near Pueblo and has a very good reputation. Tls

Gene I know there are a lot of seniors out there that don't venture beyond local matches. Some of them are pretty good shooters. The subject of senior performance on the national stage kind of intrigues me. I was already a senior when I started in IPSC at the tender young age of 51. Turned 52 at Pasa Park while shooting in my first nationals. I just wondered who the best seniors are (in the record books and in the minds of the members) and what they have been able to achieve historically. Maybe a senior super squad at the nats wouldn't be such a bad idea. Tony

Okay, the results are in. It seems that the info on the USPSA web site only goes back to 2001. The nationals matches are listed going back to 1995 but up through 2000 only show stages. They didn't give individual results. Therefore, the info goes back 6 years. Open: The highest place for a senior was Rick Byfield at 19th. Don Bednorz was high senior 3 of the last 6 years. This group included Michael Auger and Dennis Bauer. Limited: Highest place ever for a senior was Dick Berkhardt at 17th. Kert Gaskill was high senior for the last 2 years. Kent Leslie, Don Bednorz and Vance Schmid are also in this group. Limited 10: First place was taken by Tom Campbell in 2001. Since that time the highest finish by a senior was Vance Schmid in 2004 at 9th. Vance also won the category in 2002 in 36th place. High senior in L10 includes Scott Warren (2006), Kert Gaskill (2005), and Don Bednorz (2003). Production: Highest finish ever was Tom Kettels at 7th (2002). Tom also won it in 2003. Other winners include Ron Avery at 13th (2006), Scott Warren at 15th (2005), Paul Hendrix 12th (2004) and Randy Cecil at 11th (2001). Revolver: Jerry Miculek is the ongoing champion of this division and has won it as a senior for the past two years. High senior was Dillard Winters at 4th in 2004. It was James Burch at 4th in 2003, Richard Bitowa at 3rd in 2002, and Richard Timberlake at 2nd in 2001. As far as I can tell, no senior has ever broken into the top 16 in the two largest divisions. If anyone can do it, they make IPSC history. The smaller divisions seem to favor the seniors with Tom Cambell as Lim10 champ in '01. However no one has finished L10 higher than 9th in the last 5 years. A senior has broken into the top 10 in production only once. Revolver is a different story. There has been a senior in the top five each of the last 6 years. That's the story. My personal nomination for a senior super squad would be Bill Cochran. Tls

Jeez, guys. My post was meant to ask opinions about who the top seniors are. Opinions are something that can't be researched, they can only be solicited. The part about the highest finish was something I asked on a whim. Granted I could have looked it up but I wasn't sure the info on the USPSA site went back far enough to be definative. Now that I have been soundly chastised, I have begrudgingly decided to do my homework. I haven't finished my research yet but what I have found is pretty interesting. When I an done I will post the results for those that may be interested. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have also dialed 411 at times when I could have used the phone book. Tls

Anyone that has been in this sport for a while can name the top shooters in every division. Most of us can tell you who the best ladies are. If we had a Senior super squad, who would it be? Perhaps one of you historians out there could tell us the highest finish in a Nationals match for this group. Tony