38superman

I am always surprised by the number of people that don't want to see anyone but the elite shooters get any kind of recognition. Is that what you want? Why bother to make them shoot? Just send Leatham his trophy for the Single Stack Classic every year and save him the travel expenses. I agree that we shouldn't be handing out medals to everyone that shows up because it cheapens them. They should be given as recognition of a great performance. However, every great performance is not necessarily a match winning performance. We should be able to find some sort of happy medium between recognizing everybody and recognizing the same elite few time after time. Tls

I personally think this is a giant steaming pile of B.S. Manufacturers should have the decency to break down sharp edges as part of the manufacturing process. We shouldn't have to pay a smith or spend hours filing on parts,... especially parts that are blued or otherwise finished. Tls

During a match when I am hurrying to clear a malfunction, the adrenaline is pumping and I grab the slide to cycle it as fast as I can. On my STI Edge, this seems to have about the same effect as running your hand across a chain saw blade. My index finger ends up shredded. This has happened at least three times now but this weekend at Targeting Education was by far the worst. My gun which had been running perfectly, suddenly decided to quit cycling in the middle of a stage and had to be cycled by hand on each of the last 8 rounds. When I went to unload and show clear, my weak hand and gun were covered in blood. I don't know if it is the sharp corners on the sights or the sharp edges on the slide cuts that is doing it, but I would like some suggestions as to the best way to deal with it. First option, have a smith mill away the serrations on the slide or at least round down the edges. Second option, replace the slide and machine some less abrasive grip cuts. Third option, have my smith round and smooth the edges on the sights. I'm not convinced that it is the sights that are causing this. They certainly have some sharp corners, but so do the sights on my SV and I don't have this problem with that gun. (Perhaps because it never malfunctions?) I guess I could wrap athletic tape on my fingers before the match. Opinions? Tls

Thanks to all for an excellent match. It was well worth the trip. Tls

I've travel more than 600 miles (one way) twice this year and will do so again for nationals. The first was to the Fla Open, and the second was to Mi. Targeting Education. I went to Fla because it was the first major of the year and I love visiting the area because there is so much to see and do beyond the range. I went to Mi. because I needed the match for the point series and because it is fun to shoot with a different crowd and meet new people from time to time. Always fun to get the "who is this guy?" looks from the locals. Tls

It is mostly the result of the lubricant used on lead bullets melting and burning. Ah, OK. Lube to seat the bullet in the cartridge case? Sorry for the side-track. Most cast bullets have one or more grooves (lube rings) around the diameter of the bullet that is filled with a wax lubricant. I don't think it has anything to do with seating the bullet. It is more for preventing the lead from stripping out and fouling the bore of the gun (which it has a tendency to do) under intense heat and pressure. This is part of the reason that lead isn't typically used in high velocity loads. Under high pressure you start to get lead fouling, deformed bullet bases, gas blow-by, etc. This can be compensated somewhat by a jacketed base called a "gas check". Tls

I am confident the lack of oxygen would have little bearing on the ammunition. I do wonder what effect the lack of atmospheric pressure would have on chamber pressures and the corresponding pressure curve. Would you need to back off on the load a bit to compensate? Probably not. The minimal area of the barrel / chamber affected by atmospheric pressure at 14.7 psi would probably be too small to matter. I look forward to the first IPSC match on the moon to test these theories. Welcome to the "Lunar Classic"? Tls

Not many people seem to get this but on a motorcycle, extreme heat is just as tough to deal with as the cold. A few years ago I took a road trip from Kansas City to Southwest Colorado during August. The temps crossing western Kansas were flirting with the 100 degree mark. When meeting trucks coming from the opposite direction, you got blasted by what I called 100 x 100. That's 100 deg air at 100 MPH. The cattle pens around Dodge City have a really wonderful smell at 100 deg. Tls

This may be a little "thinking outside the box" but you say the reason you need to move is the commercial value of the current club. Perhaps it needs to be devalued. Without a doubt it has lead contamination. With a gentle nudge, I wonder if the EPA might reclassify the county land such that it wouldn't be viable for commercial development due to extensive cleanup costs. Tls

Welcome Dave, I hope you are taking good care of all the money I sent you over the last two years. Tony

Jim, To answer your questions, yes, when I'm at a match I do paste, set steel, paint, etc. I find that most everbody does a pretty good job at that. In most matches I go to, I just about get trampled going down range to reset the stage. Sometimes late in the day when people are starting to get really tired things begin to slack off. I am not an RO but would certainly like to get certified. Unfortunately there have been no level one classes that were available to me in the last year. The only one I know of was in Atlanta this spring (250 miles away) and on a weekend I had to work. I will keep a close eye on the NROI website and jump in when the opportunity presents itself. Tls

I too am just getting set up for open so this is of some interest to me. $80 / 1000 sounds pretty cheap. I wonder if you are getting pricing on regular 38 super brass or +P. As I understand it, most open people shoot +P or super comp brass due to the higher pressures. Tls

I don't belong to a local club. I belong to USPSA and mostly shoot major matches. This because my job requires me to work out of state and travel most of the time. I work 7 days / per week and get 1 weekend per month off, sometimes two weekends if I'm lucky. In spite of this I try to shoot at least one major per month during IPSC season (Feb - Oct) even if I have to sacrifice vacation time to do it. When I show up at a match it ususally involves traveling hundreds of miles, get in and shoot, and hustle back to be prepared to work on Monday. There is little time to build or tear down stages. I would be interested in the following poll for Match Directors. Choose the answer that best applies to your match. [ ] If someone is not in a position to help produce the match I want them to show up anyway and support us with participation, entry fees and dollars spent with our sponsors. [ ] If someone is not in a position to help, you're a slacker taking advantage of the rest of us. Stay home, you're not welcome here. Tls

What?... pass up a guarantee to finish in the top four? I'll say this for you Sam, you're relentless. Jerry Brown (who is a GM) in limited is one of the four L10 shooters. This is one of those strange deals where the 2nd overall could have a 57% score. Tony

There's something even more wierd here. Of the 97 shooters signed up for self-service sqadding, there are only 4 in L10. I looked up last years match and there were 19 of 125. Where are all the Lim 10 shooters? Tls

For what its worth, here's how I do it and why. I shoot the first three targets from the inside out. This because I want to take the target nearest me last. That way I don't have the gun wrapped around the barricade and it lets me get out of that shooting position and on my way a little quicker. When arriving at the other side I take the nearest target first and shoot from the outside in. This because it is the first target visible and also because it takes less time to mount the gun and take aim on a closer target. I prefer a shot to shot index toward the inside target rather than have to wrap myself around the barricade, mount the gun and find the more difficult target first. Tony

It seems I need to qualify my statements. It is true that some viruses are more intrusive and destructive than others. Some can get into the boot sector of your disk. It is difficult to diagnose a problem without access to the machine but from the post it sounds like adware / spyware infection. IF SO, that type of virus will not survive a format. As for the firewall comment, I guess I didn't word that very well. The point I was trying to express was that most people think that they are well protected from malice by the software firewalls that come with the operating system. While they do afford some protection, a hardware firewall is better protection against intrusion. They do not necessary stop trojans and the like. Tls

You have neglected your chores so the lack of clean underwear has you "going commando". You step up to the urinal and when finished, zip up your coveralls. Unfortunately some very delicate skin gets caught and intertwined with the zipper. The pain is not something you can take lightly. The need for relief is urgent and is only exceeded by the fear of what unzipping may entail. I guarantee that you will never allow this to happen again as long as you live. Tls

Reading between the lines, you didn't actually "lose" your hard drive. By that I mean it didn't crash and burn thus needing to be replaced. I'm thinking that you "lost" it when it became infected by a virus and became the electronic equivalent of a drunken sailor. It usually isn't a destructive virus, more likey adware and/or spyware. The first thing they do is disable your task manager so that you can't use it to shut down the offending programs and retake control of your computer. You will not resolve the situation or save your data simply by reloading XP. If your computer still functions well enough, copy your data files onto your new backup drive. After you have saved what you can, format the boot drive and load XP from scratch. Bye bye virus. Reload your application software and recover your data from the backup drive. Problem solved. The best solution for viruses is not to get them. Anti virus software is somewhat successful at preventing them but despite claims to the contrary, not very good at removing them. A hardware firewall is the best defense. Once viruses are there, it is almost impossible to clean them without strong measures. They invade your computer at a very basic level and removing them manually is beyond the expertise of most users. Save yourself the anguish. Nuke 'em and move on. Good luck, Tony

The only advice I can give you about nerves is this: No matter what the stakes are, go through your normal routine. Try not to worry about your performance. Take it one stage at a time and focus on your shooting, not your score card. Nerves are normal for me at a big match. The bigger the match the more nervous I become. I hope to never lose that because it means I am still taking this sport seriously. However, I find that anxiety usually goes away after the first round is fired. If you take care of your fundamentals, your performance will take care of itself. One more thing, .... don't forget to have some fun along the way. Good luck, Tony

My question still goes unanswered so I will ask it again. Where are you buying N105? Powder Valley lists 1 lb containers only. Swartout does not list it at all on their web site. Where, oh where to get 4 or 8 lbs? Tls

Where are you buying your N105? Tony

About any dies will work in the 650 and the only Dillon die I use is the sizer die. This because the mouth of the die is flared and helps guide the cartridge in better than a conventional die. For seating die, nothing I found beats the Redding competition die. It's very difficult to fine tune seating dies because of the course thread and close quarters around the lock ring. The Redding dial adjustment makes this simple and easy. For crimping the Lee Factory Crimp Die does a great job. Tony

What is the advantage of Nickel plated brass? I tend to avoid it because I read somewhere that it is harder (more prone to split) and the Nickel finish tends to flake over time. It also causes more wear and tear on reloading dies. Right or wrong? Tls

You didn't give me a hard time and I hope I didn't come across as defensive. I just wanted to be clear about what I was trying to say. Nobody is handicapped by shooting a revolver against other revolvers. That's the whole point of having different divisions. If you're going to take on the open gunners head to head with your wheelie its going to be pretty tough. Especially on a COF where you have to reload 3 times and they don't have to reload at all. There are some really skilled and dedicated people that shoot in Revolver division and I have nothing but respect for them. I hope you guys are around for a long time. Tls