CaliYeti

Everglades makes good stuff. But you're better off making your own for cost and best performance.

I ended up selling mine for this very reason. The person I sold it to tried spraying some dry silicone on the internals and whipped it down to get the excess and they say its magic how smooth it is now. Worth a shot.

Seems like most everyone is one the same page. Start off Limited Minor or Production if you want. Limited Minor you'd need 4 mags and 3 mag carriers and a holster and belt. Production just up it to 6 mags and 5 mag carriers. (this are safe numbers you could scrape by with one less mag and carier in each diviision) If you're starting out you'll most likely be using a different gun than you start with. If you want to start out with a quality match pistol starters are G34, CZ Shadow 2s, Walther Q5's, Canik, etc. Something that has an optic plate from fractory is nice so you can try carry optics with the same gun if you want. It will cut cost of gear down later. Shoot it stock for a bit, tons of guys starting out come with gear they don't even need or would want after talking to seasoned vets. If you want to get into open start shooting carry optics early or at the start. But honestly most people start out thinking they want to do one thing in this sport and go another route because it changes as you progress. Keep an open mind and just go out and shoot and see where the USPSA road takes you.

And I honestly hate saying it. I have the most updated version after going over that with them on the phone. I thought they would be great being the newest and great initial reviews. But when things fail at Major matches it makes you think of just going with what has been vetted with years of use. I honestly don't know what brand I'll land on now. Just started to research and ask other shooters at matches what they think of their gear.

If you're having issues with racermaster I would say stay as far away as you can from the Alpha X. I've had two now break where the ball joint slides into the mag pouch. One during an Area match and another during a local match. Both times I was caught off guard and couldn't get the ball back onto the mag pouch without hammering it with a rock so it scratches the hell out of the Alpha X mag pouch. It's frustrating because I asked DAA when they replaced the first broken one if I could exchange them for the racemaster since they're more proven they said no. They did replace it with another Alpha X which is nice they covered it under warranty. I'm now looking at other brands GR being one of them. I hate saying negative things about anyones products but it sounds like you might run into the same issue I had if you go with the Alpha X so I just wanted to share my experience.

I remember those issues being in Cali. Looks like you're one of the lucky ones that finds what you're looking for. One thing to look into if you're hooked and want another open is that I think Infinity has a way to get there guns in cali and it's not too much of a hassle to do. But you'll just have to wait the year and a half or more that they take. Good luck with the new open gun.

Whenever you're close to an REI they'll most likely have it. I think you can even check local inventory on there website. That is how I found mine.

They make wides now and worked well for me. I don't know how many places carry it but I found them at REI.

Not trying to hijac the thread but I'm looking into open and had the same question as you but wanted to add to it. Maybe this has beend discussed before but does an double sided mount help the longevity of the optic? I keep hearing about small optics going out on people and I didn't know if the double sided mount helps at all?

I went STI Gen 2 with TTI Base Pads and Grams Guts and followed the Atlas tuning guides on youtube. I went that route because they had good videos on what to do and they tested different mags and found this set up to work the best for them. I haven't had one mag issue since switching to Grams Guts from TTI Springs and Followers. The TTI follower and Spring is too flimsy and the Grams is far supperior in my opinion. Go the route you were thinking and follow the guide lines for the mag bodies and feed lips. It will take you some time at first to learn what to do but once you learn it you're know what to do when you need to re tune them in the future.

I got my first 2011 this year and was intimidated by all the mags and how you get different answers on what is the best. So I figured I'd post since lots of people come into this in the same boat. I started with Gen 2 STI's (used Atlas mag tuning videos to put in their spec) with TTI basepads and TTI Springs/Followers. The TTI Springs/Followers held 21 rounds easy for start and 20 reloadable no problem. But the Followers were flimsy and I was worried about them. One TTI Spring follower seemed to get out of spec and didn't work so I didn't use that mag. After 2 months of heavy use one of the other mags started to show the same issue of the follower flipping on the last few rounds. I decided to switch to Grams Springs and Followers and they've been great. It has a more robust spring and follower. I won't go back to TTI guts. One caution is that 21 is tough to get seated. I won't need 22 all the time on the start so I'm not too worried about it. 20 is easily reloadable. To sum up my reccomendation STI Gen 2 Mags / TTI Basepads / Grams internals Do the Atlas tuning method to the STI mag bodies. It takes 15 Min a mag and is not complicated.

Depending on the surface you typically shoot in I think the Lugs might be a little too short to get the best traction when trying to put on the Jets or come to a stop quickly. The cushion looks like it would be nice if that is what you need.

Go with DAA, you'll never regret it. They make the most quality equipment in the game in my opinion. It really depends on what division you're shooting. If you're shooting production go Racer. They're more than enough for what your positioning will be on the belt and there is no reason why you should spend more when you're buying 5 pouches. If it's for limited or open, I'd go with the new Alpha X Mag pouches. They have limitless posibilities on how you can configure them on your belt if you want to place them up front and other places. Lots of guys use the Racers in limited too I'm just giving you what I think is the best set ups for each division

It's still a new powder. I'm sure if you have a more Mom and Pop type store instead of a big box in your area that you use and they sell Alliant they could get it for you. It seems to be growing in popularity because the store I use that always had it doesn't have any right now.

I've suffered from the same thing. For me more cushion isn't always better and typically leads to short term relief but in the long term more pain. I like a little cushion but stable shoe and I use Superfeet inserts. Have you tried out Superfeet insoles or gotten insoles from your doctor? My current set up has lead to my plantar faciatis reducing to the best its been in 5 years (fingers crossed). I use Inov 8s and Football Cleats depending on the surface, I wear vans walking around at home since they have zero drop and help streatch the achilies (one of the main causes of plantar faciatis). Every pair of shoes I have have superfeet in them now and since I've done that I've been on the road to recovery with my plantar faciatis. I've never tried Hoka shoes but I've heard they're great for cushion. UA shoes i've heard mixed reviews but the ones I've worn (trianing shoes) weren't the best.

Haha that's good to know. I'm still fairly new to loading, I've only been doing it a year and with 9mm only. I've just been doing research getting ready to start with 40 cal this weekend. Thanks for the input

Obviously that seems logical. The trouble is that Alliant's max reccomended isn't getting it to major still from what people are saying on here and they don't want to go past the max. I don't have experience with 40 yet it is just something I found on here learning since I'm about to start loading 40 and woud like to stay with one powder.

I feel ya. I have messed up feet and ankles from football so I typically spend more. And only a few companies make size 15.

I've been really happy with Midway products I get. I originally went the route of getting the large and honestly it's too much for me now. I just ordered a DAA medium backpack and will buy the smaller Midway (compact competition) as an additional if I need it and for $50 I think the Midway is a good deal. Having a large / xtra large for so long its been great that I cean bring everything I would ever need but in the summer heat it is a pain to carry around. And when sharing my friends cart when he brings it the bag takes the whole things up so i end up carrying it or having to move it every stage. Just soemthing to consider when you're choosing your size if you haven't ordered it yet.

It looks like Inov8 has put out a lot of new shoes this past week if anyone is interested. The new Mud Grips look like they will have a ton of traction and I think I'm going to pick up a pair.

It's gotta be grip and probably a combo with the recoil spring. Buy a set of 3 or 4 and test out the different weight with the loads you use. See what ends up feeling the best and try that out for a few matches. I wouldn't switch back and forth every match if you're not happy after that. Give it some time for you to get the feel of the gun down. I always favored a G34 with 147 grains, they seem to feel best out of it for me.

It isn't your tools, the hennings are easy to strip. I had the same issue and now just have learn to be as carful as I can and never touch them if I don't have to.

Wow you went all in. Good luck with it, it is a great powder and I've really liked the switch. It is becoming harder to find at some shops I use so I think it is catching on.

Tight Group is going to be your cheapest consistently. I've switched to Sport Pistol for minor and plan to use it for my major. I can't say enought good things for it when using it for minor and I've heard great things for major. It is usually about the same price and I've found it cheaper than Tight Group at times. The benefits are it is cleaner and doesn't burn as hot. The one down side is that it is new and some people are having trouble getting it to major for 200 gr 40 cal. I havne't looked into this more but it is worth diving deeper on though if you're interested.

What powerfactor did it test at? I heard the 40 Cal Major comes out at 190. Not confirmed but it has me wondering about it.