R1_Demon

Is this a new guide rod since you have been having the issues or is this the same guide rod you have had in the gun since the issues started?

Thanks for the help and good info guys. I do appreciate it.

Beef15 - I was just about to crack open the rulebook again to verify if there was any special provision on where the mag holders can go in Limited. If I don't need to have them behind the hip bone, then I'll probably do as you mentioned. Now I only wish I would have thought about that ahead of time and bought a double pouch like I'm used to and put it near the 11 o'clock area with the opening facing 10 o'clock. That is how I'm used to doing it. Then I could always put a second double vertically to hold two more if I absolutely needed them or even horizontally but also faced the opening towards the 9 o'clock/10 o'clock area and could have pulled them out that way if I truly needed them. However, I was initially thinking I was going to shoot production and people mentioned I would need 5-6 mags, so I went with 5 mags for now and four mag holders for the spare mags. But then upon further discussion with others, it was suggested to start in Limited instead of Production so I could fill up my mags and run a bit slower to get used to the stages and how everything works and I could always change to Production later on if I really wanted to. So, now I would have to repurchase some of my gear to truly setup for Limited if I wanted to stay there. Sigh. No buy once, cry once here. LOL! But I appreciate the tip and info. I'll just run what I have until I see what works for me at this point and if I end up liking Limited and want to stay, then maybe I'll purchase double horizontal mags and set them up how I want them and go from there. Then again, maybe I'll just train myself to get used to vertical and be good to go. Who knows. LOL!

eboos - How does the one double, three singles work for you? I didn't even think about that when I was buying my mag holders initially. I ended up just buying four (I only have 5 mags right now, hoping that will get me by) Ghost 360 mag holders to hold four mags and I'll have one mag in my firearm. However, I never thought of possibly having a double and maybe two or three singles. Does that save any room or does the double actually take up more room than the singles would? I'm just curious if I did actually make the proper choice. I'm waiting on a comp belt now, so I haven't assembled anything yet, so I don't know how everything is going to go together yet.

Good point, OpenB. And I agree. It is good to separate the two. It's usually best to use the equipment suited for the job at hand and most times the job is what dictates the equipment to be used; as in the case you pointed out above. I also don't think Dale would have taken his race car down to the local grocery to pick up a bag of chips either. LOL! So, I think it is a point well made.

Welcome from Kentucky! I'm sure you will do well and meet your goals! I wish you luck on them.

Barry, welcome from Kentucky! I hope you enjoy your stay!

Congrats and awesome shooting. You'll make B for sure. Keep up the awesome work! I can only hope to progress that quickly!

Of course I see this forum and post after I just purchased a pound of TG. LOL I was looking at N320 originally, but when I looked at the VV website, it did not show any load data for .40 180gr HP bullets that I had purchased. So, that kind of threw me off as a brand new reloader. However, I did see the reloading data on the Hodgedon (spelling?) website, so I felt a bit more comfortable knowing that the data was out there. However, after reading all this, now I'm wondering if I made a wrong choice. I am running an XDM 5.25" Competition with an FO front site. I really don't feel like melting it off. However, I might have to check around to find out if anyone local carries N320 because ordering it online is insane. You get nailed with shipping and then at LEAST a $20-$30 hazmat charge on top of it. So, it kind of sucks. LOL

When you go to the line or box or whatever it is (sorry, I don't mean that rudely) to get ready and wait for the RO to say "Make Ready", do ALL of your mags have to be in a pouch? (even in Limited Div) I only bought four mag holders, but I was planning on having/using five mags. I figured the first one I would be holding or having in my front pocket or what not because that would be the first one that would be going in my firearm when I started out and the four on my belt were extras for reloads when needed. However, if they ALL have to be in a mag pouch on your belt when "Make Ready" is given, then I'm screwed and have to go buy another darn pouch just for that mag. I'm glad I read this. Crap. LOL!

Oh, I know. I joined because I figured that would help me get in more range time is all. It just happens to be at the same place. Plus, I think I get a discount on the entry fee by being a member. Whooohooo! LOL! Have to look at the positives, right?

MM, that makes a bunch of sense. How can you decide where to reload when you don't know what you need to shoot yet? So, what you say makes perfect sense. Find out what you need to shoot and where and then you can decide when you need to reload and when it makes sense for you to do so.

Exactly...that's why I figured if I can take a quick sketch (or maybe even a picture and then sketch it after) it would help me because then I could do as you mentioned...visualize it from overhead on what is where and where I need to be.

Depends on how fast I can draw. LOL! But then again, you are correct. Maybe it would be quicker for me to take pictures with my phone and then visualize off that and go over it in my head. I'm just trying to think outside the box for advantages that could help me and the OP. But you are correct...visualization/memorization is most likely the best with the time you have.

Welllll hot damn! Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I'm good to go then! Yes, that is where I'm going to be shooting at. I actually just joined them actually. I just haven't had a chance to do my orientation yet. I was going to go last night (they hold it every Wed), but I had to shoot Kentucky baseball instead. So, I will have to wait until next Wed to go for orientation. Anyway, they were the ones that were nice enough (the people that hold the matches there) to invite me to the private FB group, so they definitely know I'm a newbie because I told them and have asked questions there too. I'm glad to hear they are good people. Makes me feel better. I appreciate the info. (we really need to get a thumbs up emoticon here. LOL!)

This is going to drive me nuts because when I was a LEO, I used to hate having my mags vertical because I felt it was much harder to facilitate a mag change versus having my mags horizontal, so I could pull them out with my left hand (I'm a right handed shooter) to the left and already have them going up and the correct way into the magwell as the spent mag was dropping to the ground. I got very fast and very good at this without even having to look at anything. To me, doing it vertical was awkward because no matter how I put the mag in the pouch/holder, I felt I had to turn the mag or my hand a weird way to grip it right to put it into the firearm. So, my point is, if I was only carrying two mags for this type of thing, I would do them horizontally, however, since we normally have to carry like 5 mags, you almost can't do it horizontally (even though I'm a big...okay, fat. LOL guy) because they would be too far behind. So, I'm stuck doing it vertically. Looks like I'm going to have to be doing a LOT of practicing to try and facilitate these mag changes. This is the only thing I'm not looking forward to and I have a feeling I'm going to be dropping a lot of mags and that is going to suck. Anyway, to the OP, I'm new to the sport and bought Ghost 360 (4 of them) mag holders and will hold them vertical. I don't know if I will end up eventually going to Production Div or not, but I'm starting out in Limited, so my understanding is in Limited I can put the mag holders wherever (I'm going to double check the rule book on this just to be absolutely sure), but my understanding from the rulebook (and posts above) in Production, everything has to be behind the hip bone, so not just the mag holder, but the mag itself as well, so if you cant your mags forward, the top of the mag will have to be behind the hip bone, which means the mag holder itself will have to be even further behind the hip bone.

Crap...now I have to look up what case gauging is. LOL! Every time I think I'm good and have it covered, someone mentions something else that I have to look up and add it to the system to make sure it is right. Hehehehe. It's been so long since I read my "how to" reloading book that I'm going to have to read it again before I start reloading. I'm sure it covers this, but I've been reading all the great info here, so I haven't had time to dive back in and start reading that "how to" book again yet. So, sorry for the dumb questions, but I figure a dumb question is better than blowing myself up. LOL!

Sounds like you had fun. Just be careful. You don't want to move your neck too much and reinjure it. I hear ya about the pain and PT though. I just had shoulder/rotator cuff surgery back in Dec. I'm still going through PT to try and work it all out. They are now saying that my shoulder may be freezing up. Oh joy. LOL So, believe me, I understand about doing what you can within your limits. I don't mind at all...I feel we are all here to learn, even the experienced people probably learn something new now and again, so it's all good to me. (thumbs up) (no emoticon for that here...booo. LOL)

Thank you TennJeep. Yup, I looked it up in the handbook late last night after I got home from work and read the exact same thing because I was curious. Funny how the brain sees "must" on the first part and automatically carries it over to the rest. LOL But thank you for the clarification. I thought it would be kind of nuts to try and flip the safety on and off in between movements, but you never know.

I haven't been to a match yet, so this may be a stupid question, but are you allowed to make a quick sketch of each stage while you are walking it? I'm not talking about taking your time and making it perfect to scale or anything, but just a quick sketch as you are walking through examining it? Reason I say that is, if you are allowed to do that and you can make a quick sketch on a notepad, it may help you to "visualize" it better. I am the type that when I write something down, it helps me to memorize it better than just necessarily viewing it or reading about it. So, in other words, doing it helps me better than just hearing about it. So, to me, if you could sketch it, and then keep looking over the sketch of each stage to help you memorize what you are going to do because you will remember what is where it may help your stage planning go much more smoothly. Again, I don't know if this is allowed or not, but it just had me thinking that if this is possible, it may even be something I would like to do for myself.

Welcome from Kentucky! I'm just starting out as well and have been reading a TON of info on the forums. As Mr. Jack and Mushroom has stated, pretty much run what ya brung at this point. Just see how things go and as you progress, then you can look further into the higher dollar fancy stuff. That's what I am doing as well. I'm trying to keep my costs as low as possible so I can "stay in the game" so to speak. I don't have a ton of money to spend on this and I'm just doing pistol, let alone 3 gun. LOL! I did make an investment and bought reloading equipment, but I figure that will help me in the long run anyway, so that is why I did it. Welcome to the fun!

Welcome from Kentucky! Cool deal on resurrecting your dad's reloading equipment. That's pretty darn cool.

LOL...it's all good...from one programmer to another, welcome again! Glad I could make the welcome even better for ya.

Is it possible you have weak springs in a mag or two? If it is one mag that is causing the issue (or maybe two), I think it could possibly be weak springs in the mag and it isn't pushing the round up fast enough before the slide tries to go into battery to feed it home. I have seen this several times in some of my student's firearms that have been shot a ton. As a quick correction, I have actually removed the mag springs, stretched them a touch (I'm not talking about going nuts or anything) and put the mag back together and poof, the firearm was flawless through the rest of my class. I then suggested to that student that they purchase a new mag. I just did the spring trick to see if it would help the issue. Most times if you press on the follower and it seems fairly easy to push on, it will cause issues. For some reason, I have noticed this more in 9mm's than in .40's or .45's. Don't ask me why, but it just has been the pattern I have seen with my students. And this was for all types of firearms, mind you, not any specific firearm or ammo. At least give it a try and see if it helps you. Then again, the others may be correct as well, that it is your grip or not hammering the mag home well enough and it slips and/or moves once shot and that causes the next round not to load like it should.

I've never timed my draws when I used to shoot all the time as a LEO. Now it has me wondering what they were then and what they are now that I'm old. LOL I'd love to know the difference. I'm sure I've slowed.