Part_time_redneck

See USPSA rule 5.2.1. "Their crime"? I wouldn't go as far as to call it a crime. Just a DQ for unsafe gun handling. USPSA rules are not that vague, pretty cut & dried and easy to interpret for most of us. My first match I had no one to hold my hand, offer encouragement, solicit advice, or give me tips on how to stay in the match ( not get DQ'ed ). , I went old school and read the rule book. Didn't find it all that difficult to comprehend either. As a result, my guns were bagged as per the rules. As this rule pertains to safety, I have to abide by it as so does everyone else, seasoned veteran or newcomer. At my first match I knew it wasn't the responsibility of someone else (RO) to ensure my safety, it was mine. To get new shooters the wrong way, not sure how to word this.......but to in any way even make it seem as if a safety rule is too much, remember it's a game played with real firearms & live ammunition. The cost of a DQ and not seeing your results is minuscule compared to the potential consequences of what could happen when a rule is broken. Especially a rule designed with the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of all participants involved. If a new shooter is DQ'ed due to a safety infraction and swears never to come back, oh well. Life's full of these little tragedies. I've been DQ'ed once. 100%'my fault. AD into the berm when I slipped. Match DQ. No results. No second chance. No excuses. My fault. I apologize to everyone. I accepted it, learned from it, and moved on. DQ's are supposed to hurt and they do. That's how we learn. Easy solution, be safe. Don't get DQ'ed.

As far as stage planning this will get you started.

Someone has to say it so I will. "If you like your power factor, you can keep your power factor". Yeah, right. Few thoughts. Major / minor are essentially subclasses within a division. To delete major from open its only logical to then also delete it from Limited & single stack. Since all the classifier HHF's were generated with major scoring utilized, we can throw out all the data that has been accumulated as it's no longer applicable. So now that all divisions that once shot major ( back in the old days ), have no classifications, what do you do with the remaining divisions classifiers? As far as simply changing springs & load, I don't think it's quite that simple. What about open guys with guns specifically built to run major? ( The cheater dot space pistols ). Large comps, poppel holes, steel grips, etc? Several of these guns won't even function with reduced power ammo. But I guess we can still run major loads without the scoring advantage. On not reloading and being competitive in open, kind of sounds like " I want to race Top Fuel but don't like the cost and hassle of nitromethane. Let's make everyone run pump gas." As far as a sore tushy about high overall, it would only be a matter of time before you started to see ultralight, open guns purpose built to run on 130 PF ammo. ( super duper ulticheater space dot pistols ). There goes high overall. Back to square one. Quick, change some more rules! Sorry if I sound a bit snippy, not my intent. Just in my opinion I could see this down the road creating a lot of problems.

Had the same issue on my 650 with the DAA funnel. Polished it into submission & all is well now. About every 2-3K rounds now I pull the funnel and go over it a bit with a polishing wheel as a PM.

I started in Prod with a Glock 34 MOS. Would be a good starting point as you can play in Prod, Lim, or CO. I never tried it in Limited as minor scoring shreds you there. After I started running open I just have the 34'to play with in CO occasionally. Personally, I would get some spare mags, rig, etc, and run what you have for the time being. Take some time, make sure you're going to stick with it, and make an informed decision on a gun later. Exercise some patience. Even after just a few months you'll have a much better idea of the direction you want to go and time / $$$ you're willing to invest. Also will give you time to keep your eyes open for a deal on a good used gun. More importantly if you haven't already, make a dry fire routine and start practicing. Early is much better than later.

Sounds to me like you were just trying to be helpful. We have a tendency to remember bad things and forget the good. You listed two examples resulting in DQ's, both of which were directly the fault of the shooter. I imagine over the years there have been many times when you advised a shooter after a COF that did not result in a DQ. Regarding the first situation, probably would have been better to get it in the holster and clear range then tell the shooter. Still no excuse for sweeping your hand. Personally if I had a similar issue I would appreciate the RO bringing it to my attention immediately after RIC and before scoring targets. Safety is still on the shooter.

Freestyle means the shooter solves the problem. In this case there is just an additional problem created by the shooter. No different than not chambering a round.

If it were me I would continue the dry fire routine you're currently doing but throw in several very short sessions a day just for the mag acquisition. Morning, evening, before bed, and mid-day if possible. Just throw on the belt & do Burkett RL's or even just bring hand down to mag. During the rest of the day remind yourself & reach to the new location. Even just 60 seconds several times a day will pay big dividends quickly. Just making it the new normal. May not be the best / most efficient way but I'm willing to bet it can't hurt.

I have a 34 I play with in CO occasionally. 13lb recoil. 147's w 3.2 Titegroup. When the wife shoots it she has to stop and giggle after about 4 rounds. Then a few more shots / giggle. Rinse & repeat. Same loads through my GMR 15 and a lot more giggling.

Only difference in practice / match loads for me is brass. I use mixed headstamps for practice and same headstamps for matches. Match loads are chamber checked while I don't bother with practice loads. Bullets, primers, & powder drop same for both. After practice brass is fired 2-3 times as major it's then used for minor. Probably a little overkill for some but it works for me. Again, my OCD kicking in.

A few months ago I got my new open gun from Matt Cheely. He recommended break in like shooting a match. @ 30 rounds then let the gun cool. Oil up, & repeat. He had a 7lb recoil in it for break in and included an 8 for post break in after @ 1k rounds. Not sure if it was necessary but the first 300 I put through it were sub major, just to start off a little easier.

Like said above, keep extractor clean. Just take your time, don't rush, and absolutely keep notes on all spring install dates & round count. Set a date or round count to replace springs and stick to it. Like said above, Nic Taylor has a few videos out that detail dis / reassembly. Also, look at videos from Atlas. They have a lot of information out there.

I have 2 170's & 5 140's in my bag. I always reload with a 140. Just what I practiced and have always stuck with. If I'm going to have to RL I would rather start with a 140. Defiantly stage dependant though. If I were starting over in open tomorrow though I would be purchasing a few 155's. Seem like a great compromise. Naturally if a 170 makes it with no RL your golden. ( See PCC hate rants.). Loading to a 170 just isn't for me. Switching to open for the first time I would get 2 170's & 2 155's at a minimum.

At a local match in mid '18 a good shooter runs a stage pretty fast. Guy in the gallery says " man he shoots fast. That gun must be fully semi automatic ".

Motivation doesn't lead to action. Other way around. Action leads to motivation. Best thing to do is like mentioned above. Make a plan, then follow it. Load up some mags and start shooting. Start dry firing. You'll start seeing improvement quickly. Then the motivation will kick in which will lead to yep, more action. Like a diet, exercise plan or anything. Just jump in with both feet and and get to it. Waiting to be motivated will turn into a long wait. You can always modify your plan after you see what you need to work on but the main thing is get to it.

I think it’s just the holidays. I’m waiting on some as well. I live in south MS and normally if I order on Monday AM, Wednesday PM I have them.

A move to Limited would be logical in my opinion. That’s why I asked. Troy was teaching my RO class, I wanted clarification and that was the answer I got. Personally, bumping a Prod guy to limited where he can load to max capacity, 17 or so still has him at a distinct disadvantage when you factor in maj/min scoring, lack of magwell, and still lower capacity. However not the way the rule reads. Is is it a bit overkill in my opinion, yes. If I’m RO’ing someone running Prod and they fire 12 plus without a reload will I let it go. No. Welcome to open. To not enforce a rule is doing the shooter a disservice. The lessons we remember are the hard taught ones. Also, first match or seasoned vet, the rules have to be applied consistently to every competitor in the match. Not the way I would have written the rule, I feel it is overkill, but it is the rule.

All good stuff here. Thanks to everyone for sharing the info. I have mine running & dropping 100%. My problem is with the included powder funnel. On initial setup I basically followed the instructions to the letter. Got it running well but it's a bit clunky. In station 2 after completing the upstroke and starting downward it was hard to disengage the funnel from the case. Ok. No problem. I thought I had it adjusted a little too far down. Began to adjust the funnel upward 1 flat ( 1/6 ) of a turn and experiment. When the machine started to smooth out and run well I started having issues with bullets falling over. No happy medium. At this point I pulled the funnel & inspected it. Looked great. It's polished from the factory but I lightly went over it again. I also checked to make sure it was the correct powder funnel. However that's just the sticker on the box. Personally seems like a silly issue to me and reluctant to post. Generally if it's an adjustment issue I can straighten it out given time, however this is giving me problems. Just can't find the sweet spot. If I can't get it worked out I'm contemplating extending the tube above the dropper as mentioned above to increase bullet capacity / weight. Loading 9 major using PD JHP's, 124g on a 650. Same issue with multiple headstamps. Practice brass is just dry tumbled, match wet and lubed. Naturally the lubed brass does better but problem still exist. Any ideas, tips, tricks, thoughts, suggestions, ridicule, etc is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sell a gun!!!!! That statement is akin to blasphemy in MS.

Practice running with scissors I guess. IMHO, if you're not moving fast when the stage absolutely requires a good bit of movement to get to the next position, my guess is you're not leaving the first position hard enough. A quick explosion out of the first position will set you up for quick movement. Breaking the last shot, slowly dismounting the gun, and easing in the direction is just setting you up for slow movement. Likewise on the other end of the spectrum. Having the gun up and ready to fire the instant you have a decent sight picture is a must. I would work on running but also on entry / exits. Planning the the stage to take targets while moving when possible will also naturally cut down on distance. Speaking of plans, are you programming and visualizing the stage in advance, or trying to "think" your way through the stage. I know you've seen someone fire their last shot in a position and have that brief hesitation with that "where do I go now" look on their face. Then they remember and start moving slowly. Also shot calling practice. Calling your last shot allows you to get moving faster. It's very easy to practice these in dry fire. Just always be aware of muzzle direction and trigger discipline. Even in your walkthroughs, simulate having the gun down range and finger off the trigger when not engaging targets. As far as being completely comfortable running with a hot pistol, I'm not sure I'll ever get there. A little respect is a good thing and will help keep you out of Dairy Queen's drive through. All common knowledge here I know. But sometimes we can't see the forrest for the trees. Just things that have helped me and still all a work in progress.

Matt just finished up my new gun with one. Should have Tuesday. Think I'm going to really like it.

I have a game room with a pool table where the door opens to the back porch. I use a checklist and stage everything on the table. Everything that goes and nothing else. Hands get laid on everything on the list. Once happy with that it all goes straight to the vehicle. Even once loaded up though, I still follow the " guns - mags, eyes - ears, rigs - ammo" mantra.

I have to GoGun on my open pistol and am about to order a second for my new gun I should have next week. I have small paws and it fits me very well. I do think it helps with index & hand placement consistency.

Save money? No no. A bottle of wine & an Ambien for the wife and once she's out of it, lift her credit card and order up! Easier to get forgiveness than permission. Although sometimes the forgiveness can be expensive too. I keep a separate account and dump some in it weekly. Primarily for bullets, primers & the like but extra does accumulate quickly. Simple budgeting. Just have to get in the habit.

Like a few guys above, I went with the bone stock 15. Only additions are 8 MOA Cmore, brand X laser, & a few buffer parts. Ordered the JP 5 spring pack & 2 stainless weights. As is, it's not holding me back at all. I also found the the velocities to be a bit lower than I expected. Little slow but very consistent and extremely accurate so no worries there.