Radical Precision Designs

Steve- You've seen my Open Glock in action at Markham Park. It is in .357 Sig at 176 PF and has a slide mounted Burris. Holding up very nicely, thank you !!! Yes, one of the first things I did was to put in a dab of thin silicone sealant in the on-off switch to immobilize it. If you were to use it for "steel" loads or frame mounted, you wouldn't need to do so. But when slide mounted with a steady diet of Major PF loads the switch will soon enough start moving to the off position during recoil. Some time ago I did some R&D on it and reported back to Burris with some suggestions to remedy it. The factory is working on a viable solution, and even a possibility of model without a switch. When you put in the cap, just like the Docter or JPoint the module will hibernate on battery save mode, so there is no issue about leaving the switch in on continually, as when you freeze it in place. Zeroing in the Burris is the same as the Docter. Just loosen the "lock set-screws" in the back, do your adjustments, and then tighten up the lock screws. Should hold up fine. One item of interest on the Burris is that they come with stronger, better hold down screws than the Docter. You should make sure that you are using the "registration/positioning" pins when you mount it, to maintain your zero placement during battery changes. I have had no issues with zero on mine. Have fun with it.

Doug- Does that mean "yes" ?? Should I write your names as listed above ? By listing your names above does not mean you will be squadded together unless you wish to be. If you have already registered, it will only identify you as a "BEnos Shooter" and entitle you to participation in the awards and prizes as reserved for us, in addition to anything else you may win. Squadding in any designated "BEnos Squads" will be arranged later as requested now or desired later ... your choice. Right now we need to get a feel for the numbers to get number and specific of awards pointed down. As the thread progresses, if any questions arise, they will be answered by "BrownDog" who is the "co-chairman" of the event with Derek Janowicz. On the meantime keep your "names/user names" coming. Let's show what we can do. Maybe even some kind of BEnos Members in-Match pictures or get-togethers ??

Dear Diary ... Sorry I have been not writing my reports. My work load has been strenuous to say the least, and in this business the customers guns come first. One thing is for sure, my practice has become more "aware", as I am looking for refinements "after" I did my shooting to analyze what I did, and ways to improve it. Mostly I relied on my excellent, photographic like memory to set a stage prior to shooting it. I had to modify this, as many times it caused me to make costly mistakes. Like when memorizing the positions of all the targets is a course, then reviewing them with eyes closed prior to shooting it. This is very nice and worthy, except that sometimes when in a rush first walking a stage some targets are not actually seen. Then later while pasting you, much to your disdain find them ! Now you need to re-do your mental scheduling, or else. Then a little further down you discover a "view" not seen before of a better angle or position. Point is that if I "locked" a specific course of action to memory initially and then tried to correct it later, very often I ended up with using the first once the beep went off, and ignoring prior corrections or "missing" targets. I need to re-train my memory focus to get data, but not record it untill a conscious command is put in. Not as easy as it seems. I am getting ready for the Florida Open. I will shoot Open. That means try to "un"-focus when daily shooting customers guns, and project everything only when shooting the actual gun I expect to use or another similar one. Recently I had a customer who just ordered one of my Hyper-Jet Comp System Open guns shoot my personal gun during a match. So I shot my CZ Champion (9 Major, at least shot the same ammo) with the Frame mounted Docter red dot. My normal use gun has a frame mounted C-More, with a much higher mounted dot. When I brought the gun into shooting position (the CZ) the dot was just not there, where I expected it to be. It was mildly frustrating as I needed to punch the gun out closer to my body in order to match it to my "called" spot. So, untill the Match is done I will only shoot MY gun at all matches, as I do not want any "latent" confusion in my transitions. Otherwise, it is all good. Have been making progress and gaining total confidence as to where everything is as I shoot or dry fire. Have been practicing my shooting on the move to minimize my slight up-down gait due to my artificial left knee, which has been known to give those "alpha-mike" hated combos sometimes. Getting better, but may need a brace to help steady things to an acceptable level. Have put in a laser pointer, taped to my gun matched to my red dot to help me on my sight acquisition while dry firing on the move. It has helped a lot watching my up/down gait as I walk with the projected dot. I'll keep up a good regimen. It can only help.

Done.

Uh ! That's ok, if you already sent in your entry. Just let us know if you will be shooting it as a BEnos member, and/or if you want to be squadded together. I am sure a notation can be made in your already received entry form and on the Squad sheets. So, should I put your name on the List ???

Yesterday I had a good talk with Mike Calloway, and then last night a follow-up conversation with Derek Janowicz at our weekly Match in Markham Park, So. Fla. Now, this is the low down, the"gist" of it: The U. S. National Steel Shoot Championship 2008 to be held on March 12 -16 at the the Skip J. Range in Anderson, S. Carolina is "formally" recognizing the presence of BEnos Forum Members as a force to be "recogn'd" with, and a source of quality shooters. There will be some concessions made specifically for BEnos Forum Members. There will be one, two, or as many as necessary "Squads" made up of BEnos members wishing to shoot/squad together. Also, (drum roll, please !! ) there will be award trophies specifically for BEnos members. The specific awards are being compiled/discussed presently, but it will be quite encompassing, with different classifications, divisions, etc. And, yes, there will be PRIZES awarded too. To be counted, squadded or included, we are asked to write a note on the Entry form, identifying ourselves as a "BEnos Forum Member" including our "User Names". I suppose we could compile a possible list of participating members in this thread, and keep tabs of it in addition of the match entry forms, to provide the Match management an idea of how many will be attending. Well, I will start the LIST: (which we will update as needed) Radical Precision Designs BrownDog JFlowers Jack Suber johnn Suber Phillip Dedmon DougC DaveP PMD

IPSC shooters use slide racker in a very regular basis, along with thumb rests. I have sent a few of my thumb rests over there. In USPSA they have been legal for a while, but many shooters do not consider them to be "manly", and may lead to the development of a "limp wrist" attitude . The only item of concern, which has been dismissed already is if some RO may deem them to be a mean to "artificially prop" your gun while on table starts. Therefore I would not go around saying THAT was the only reason you put them in. LMAO

I have been working with Infinity slides for a long time now. Mostly I prefer to use their stainless steel slides and prep the surface finish as I want it, then leave it be in its natural state. In the past I have had their frames and slides (carbon steel) hard chrome plated with no ill effects. Most of the platers out there, because of the equipment technique used will not deposit much chrome in internal surfaces, such as the recess for the interchangeable breech-face. The breech face itself I leave it with no plating, in its original blued finish. Brandon told me sometime ago that was preferred, and I followed his advise.

Just ran out of Precision Delta 124 FMJ's . Friday I got it a case of Montana Gold 124 CMJ. Last night I loaded 300 rounds for a match today and to play some. I used the same load that works fine with the other bullets, 9.3 grs. of VV 3n38 at 172 PF. (Loads listed just for reference, but not endorsed directly) Because the bullet's ogive is slightly shorter but pointier, the overall length comes out a few thousands shorter at 1.145"> 1.150" and that is a welcome sight for Open Glocks, etc. The load is of course compressed, but pressures are ok. After the match we attempted some chrono testing, but didn't quite got to it as someone "killed" it with a "gut-shot". But they grouped fantastic. When comparison shot next to the previous 124 FMJ from Precision Delta, they were more accurate and felt better with good dot retention ... and no comp leading !!!

My benches are covered with black felt boat ceiling lining material, and then I have soft rubberized mats in the actual work spots. In my main bench I have a "jewelers sliding catch-all tray" that slides from underneath. Most of the times it works out ok. But there are times when things will be pushed or end up in the floor, (Murphy's Law). For that I have plan B and plan C ... Well, plan B is "Spud" my black Hemingway cat. He has an uncanny radar, and can see/track anything before it hits the floor, making a "B" line for it ... Plan C is "Tom Wooky" my Ewok look alike Shi-Tzu dog that immediately claims anything that falls in the floor before "Spud" can swat it away into the black hole, and slobers all over it checking to see if it is edible.

Before I got back in the shooting biz I was designing and building race boats for APBA racing. Mostly "tunnel" boats. In tunnel boat racing you have a very small kevlar reinforced cockpit to fit yourself in while strapped to a five point harness system, and you have a full canopy around it. This is nice and comfy, except that you have to wear a full suit flotation vest made out of heavy nylon or cordura, and a helmet with eye shields. Most drivers wear driving gloves two and long sleeve shirts and pants or full uniform underneath the full flotation jacket. There is no AC. Most boats have some vents to draw some air as you drive at very high speeds. But the real hot spot is when you are waiting in the water milling about prior to the start of the race. Some drivers will open the canopies for a little breeze. When you are in the middle of the water at 95+ degrees under mid afternoon sun ... how do you spell heat stroke ?? Years ago the Offshore division with bigger boats started experimenting with refrigerated circulating water vests. They only covered your torso, but they worked great. Some of the bigger tunnel boats like the Formula 1 circuit had the space to carry the bulky refrigeration systems, but not the smaller classes like SST 45 and the sort. Now I hear that they are experimenting with small slow speed low volume miniature pumps in self contained vests using small dry ice compartments in the vest and a thermostat to control temperature and flow ... Hmmmm !!! They need to be light weight because they have to make "minimum race ready weight", and self contained because sometimes you have to extricate yourself or be extricated while upside down very quickly before you drawn. Something like this might be the ticket. Now don't ask me where to find one, since I have been out of that business for quite a while now, and most of them are custom made ... and very, very expensive.

Wow. Saturday was a record day at the Store. Lots of competition shooters coming by. Saturdays I try to relax a little bit and play "host" to local Club members in need of some assistance with their daily mundane shooting chores. Like one (Craig) that came in with his "parts in a box" dilemma (S.A. XD-9) after he took apart his mag release assembly to polish. He couldn't get it back in, called me about it. I told him bring it over, and we'll see. When he came I showed him to a suitably equipped bench, and told him to go to it, and re-learn how to put it back in !!! He gave me a blank stare, to which I smiled and said: " I'm pretty sure you can put it back, if not I'll give you a hand ..." After and hour or so of fiddling around, I couldn't stand his suffering and cursing, so I gave in and demonstrted him some basic principles of re-assembly. Now he knows for the future. Anyway, I've had this project on the back burner for myself for a while now. My trusty, fine, CZ 75 Champion in 9mm. I just got a customer a CZ SP01 from Angus Hobdell, and while arranging the transfer with Angus I had Rob send in along one of his aluminum grips and a competition mag well assembly for my Champion. ( I ordered a six inches barrell for one of my Hyper-Jet Comp System for it, but he couldn't find one around in time for this shipment, and that will be another post ... ) I was looking for an opportunity to install these "goodies" in my gun for possible use next day (Sunday) at our first Sunday of the month match in Markham Park. I normally close my Store doors on Saturdays at 4:PM. It was 6:PM before I could get started to play with my gun ... for next day's match. Then it occurred to me that for a while now I have wanted to design and make a new frame mounted base for a Docter red dot sight, which I had been using mounted in a standard accessory slide mounted base. So why "lolly-gaggle" any further ??? So I got my design pad out and started drawing some lines and taking some measurements, making some patterns and laying them on some aluminum stock. I wanted to mount the frame mounted base in the right side instead of the usual left side, but drill and tap the frame identically in both sides for future use of a right sided one if I did not like it. This would also give me a place to install one of my thumb rests, which I like. I used the standard five holes by .375" spacing so "beloved" in 1911 circles because it is sturdy. I even incorporated a small blast shield into it for future barrel vents. I also grab a "sidewinder" (Shooters Connection) slide racker and installed it in the Bo-Mar style dovetail cut in the slide. To end up this story ... by 4:30 AM !!!!!! ???? I finally got finished with the project. I had designed, manufactured and installed a pin registered Docter re dot "right" side mounted base, drilled and tapped all ten holes (both sides), also re-designed , manufactured and installed a frame aluminum thumb rest, and installed the "Sidewinder" slide racker. Ah, oh, yes, I also installed the "Angus" aluminum grip/stocks and mag well. I grabbed a "Laser-lite" and bench-adjusted my red dot. Then because it was so late, I threw everything from my office couch on the floor and caught a couple hours of sleep in order to get up and make it on time for the match. I was very tired when I got there and had not even taken a sighting-in shot. But I am used to this already. LMAO !!! Somebody already had me signed up. (Thank you !!) I loaded up the magazines with my STI/SVI gun's (Open) normal Major 9 loads and proceeded to shoot the Match. The sights were well adjusted for windage, but were shooting about two inches low at fifteen yards. No biggie, I chose to leave the adjustment alone and "Kentucky" compensate. It was an experience getting used to the new mounted position of the red dot: just a little bit higher than iron sights, and a lot lower then my C-More usual picture. I "hunted" a little bit a few times on the first shot and in some long transitions, (Have to get some practice to memory of this new formula !!) but otherwise it was a good day. I took my time to work my new gear into work, and it is an awesome set-up. While some people may think that putting new gear like this to first use during a match it is not advisable ... I totally concurr. And, I am glad that it all worked out flawlessly, because a lot of people were looking on, and any malfunctions (other than brain !!) would reflect gravely. Now a few shooters are looking at the possibilities of the CZ platform ... in 9mm Major !!! After the match I went back and "crashed" until a couple hours ago. Just enough time to go back to sleep after I finish this post. Good night, y'all .

That is a neat way of making a five into a six by lengthening the "middle". They are using a five inch long dust cover, rod and spring plug. By lengthening the gframe rails and moving the guide rod heads rest/location spot, it moves the whole works forward. This effectively trades the weight from the slide into the frame. This is a CNC "fed" program, which obviously now they have for future use. Obviously this set-up can only work by matching their frame and slide set-up, or (aftermarket) by cutting down the dust cover on a regular six inch slide and milling off the "longer" rail section on the "new" Inifinity frame. The frame should be a bit heavier. But, Howard, like you said, is a matter of "juggling" weight around from one component to the other. It is nice to have a major manufacturer come up with fresh ideas from the bottom up. This one reflects Infinity's "new" approach at making systems entirely dependents on their in house manufactured components. Unfortunately, lately it is becoming impossible to obtain/buy just frames from them. I guess they can barely meet their own demands. Busy place there, and great work and R&D. Kudos to Sandy and Brandon.

Yep, I chrono'ed today. Maybe something went wrong, but my 8.3 grains of 4756 produced a PF of 182.9 (avg 1474.8 fps)! After seeing the 182.9, I didn't chrono the higher 8.6 and 8.8 loads I made up for fear that I would f-up my new gun. ...I think this was accurate as it sure felt like a hot, 180-ish load. I plan to make up some more 4756 loads in the morning and hopefully chrono them tomorrow afternoon. I'm thinking I'll do 7.2, 7.6, and 8.0 gn. I also chroned one H110 load today. I originally planned to chrono two loads (14.4 and 14.8 gn), however, the larger 14.8 gn load was getting jammed in my magazine. After further inspection, I noticed that the 14.8 gn rounds were longer than the 14.4's. At that point I remember that during reloading the 14.8's, it appeared that the powder was getting compressed. I'm guessing that after I seated the bullet and compressed the powder, the powder pushed the bullet back out before I could crimp it in the next station. I guess to do a compressed load I'll have to use a combo seater/crimper die. ....I really hate to change a tool head around. So anyway, the 14.4 gn of H110 produced an average velocity of 1343.5 fps or 166.6 PF using a 124 gn Zero FMJ bullet. As someone said (I think it was Rad. Precision), it produced one heck of a concussion. HOWEVER, the red dot didn't jump near as much as with the comparable 8.3 gn HS-6 load that gave me a 167.0 PF. So now I'm wondering if it's worth changing my toolhead to find out what it's going to take to get me up to about 170 PF (I like to have a little buffer)? I don't even think I have a 9mm/38super combo seat/crimp die. I'm wondering if reducing the bell a little would tighten up the case enough to prevent the bullet from backing out? ...or if the dillon crimp die could also be used to seat the bullet? Got any thoughts? D Most major power factor loads with H-110 will be compressed. H-110 is a dense powder, and while it reacts well to being compressed, it doesn't compress that readily. One little trick that works wel for me is to "double pump/compress" the loads. That means to go up with the handle and seat the bullet, then go slightly down, and right back up again for a second time to finish seating/compressing. You may also try adjusting the die a little bit lower to compensate for extra back resistance. Using jacketed hollow point bullet will yield a shorter oal that may help, and you will notice that the holoow point cavity will crimp in a little bit, but it shouldn't affect accuracy. Yes, it is a loud, high concussion load, but oh so flat and soft.

During my normal work days I get my hands on different kinds of guns, especially when I go to test them at the range, during and after building or modifying them. I can not usually limit my exposure or practice with just one specific type. This is going to be a little bit of a concentration hazzard when shooting my own competition guns, be it Open or Limited. But I am getting better at separating the response by using different targets for testing "daily handled, Shop" guns where I will use a standard silhouette target with a 3" red center circle, and then using the standard IPSC targets when I practice with my personal/competition guns. Hopefully that should work. Last night we had our weekly Thursday night match. I shot Limited. I used a recently built gun for a customer, part of the final break-in process. I used my own mags, as I didn't want to go dropping/scratching his precious brand new tuned mags. Up to recent times I had been shooting mostly Open, and have gotten used to the Open gun swing during transitions. I can pretty much call my shots (and deliver them), and have my muscle memory coordinated for that. Shooting Limited the muscle memory synchronization has a little bit more "lag" between calling and actual delivery. Last night I was shooting a very light Limited gun tipping the scales at only 29 ounces, and great balance. My splits were very close to each other, and sight recovery was excellent. But ... during one stage, which was a "speed shoot" I really found out what this "synchronization lag time" was all about. My time was very good, and my splits were very, very close ... but about three inches ahead to the "panning" direction of travel. Enough to move the grouping from alpha into charlies, or as in one array with blocked out areas, into four mikes. Yes, I've heard it already that you can't shoot both Limited and Open on the edge at the same time. I guess I'll have to find a way to disassociate one from the other, somehow. Practice and concentration.

If you are not concerned about making major PF, and a minor load for steel, while still retaining the flat shooting characteristiscs of major is ok, then use the 115 gr bullets. It will be flat and soft, but even if you dip the case full and then compress, it will still not make major. With the 124 bullets, because of the present lower PF you will make major, but not by much. Again, not on a "shorty" gun, or one with lots of barrel ports/vents/hybrid. The H-108 (I still got a couple of pounds somewhere) is even slower burnig, and it was dirt cheap. It was great for 9X25 Dillon (and even long .357 Sig). The H-110 burns faster . You can also use the VV N-110, but the Vihtavuori is slower, bulkier, and creates lots of pressure. I made some loads (powder puffs) with 124 bullets and a case full of H-110 in 9mm "minor", which with a reduced spring and a gigantic crimp were great. But loading them was a real bitch, with powder spilling all over (both while loading and while shooting). Not worth it in the long run. Hey, you've got a couple of pounds of the stuff ?? What the heck go play with it. It will be fun. Edited to ad: If you are buying this powder because it is cheap, just consider that since you will use twice as much then the price effectively doubles per shot.

So long as you are not using 115's you should be ok. With the 124's it is a very soft/flat shooting load. No signs of high pressure. You will get some unburned powder going off in the comp, not really a bad thing. You could try going a little bit heavier on the crimp, see if that can delay some on the ignition. It will be a compressed load, but H-110 does not mind being compressed, although it doesn't physically has that much space to compress on either. So you will load long. I have made some loads between 14 to 15.5 grs that worked just fine, but start around 12 grs. and go up from there as you chrono. Have fun with it. Edited to include: I hope you are not shooting a "shorty" as you will need the longer barrels to utilize the slow burning of the powder. And again, yes it is possible, just work with it. Hope you don't mind spilling some powder while loading.

Thank you for the good wishes, Howard. I will give it my effort, for sure, and it should be doable. It's not like if I was asking for GM. Maybe after I go for my second knee replacement, so that I can really do some sprinting. Hard to do GM just on paper, although I heard it's doable too. I guess there are GM's and then there are "super" GM's. Maybe they should come up with another higher classification than GM for some of the "phenoms" we have in this sport, and we have quite a few. We also have a lot of GM's that are not as competitive but they made it. Maybe move up the scale to 110 percent for the Super GM's ?? Anyway, starting to get my planning together, formulating a mental picture, and following up. Just like shooting a stage. LOL !!!! There is one gun from a customer that was not extracting properly, surprisingly enough a long dust cover, bull barrelled Infinity. The customer said it had problems extracting. Took it to the range, and sure enough, it was a single shot semi-auto. Took five shots, and all five cases remained in the chamber. Darn it, I didn't even get to have enough shots to help in my live firing practice. Looks like a definite problem with the extractor itself. I guess I'll take it apart and have a look. Should have it ready for tonight and go test it at the range. Who knows, maybe this time I may get at least 200 rounds with no malfunctions. That should be some good practice. I think some "Bill drills" may be in order. At the same time I have this other single stack (.45 ACP) 1911, and the customer says it is shooting way too high. It has a Bo-Mar rear and fiber optic front. I don't have any ammo from the owner, so I will test it with factory ball, see if I kind estimate what will be the height of the new front sight ... if that is the problem. I guess this will be a good time to practice a little bit of my "Kentucky windage/elevation. Oh, yes. This Sunday 30 December we had our first Anual Production Challenge Match. I was one of the sponsors. Worthy cause. Recently I had my arm twisted by a friend/customer and sold him my complete set-up for Production: a Steyr-Mannlicher M 1A in 9mm that I had modified the original "triangular" front sight with an .040" red fiber optic and some grip tape panels, with two De Santis double mag pouches, five mags and a cut down leather De Santis holster. I loved that gun. Have to get me another one. So I shot my Para LDA 14-40 with some sweet "powder puff" loads from a friend. It is too bad that I twisted my left knee on the third stage in a very low stance port with nasty no-shoots in the way. Sometimes you have to watch your limitations, or you will pay the price. In this case I had to scratch the remaining five stages. But my little Para was working great, including those three double Alphas at thirty yards in stage one. Now, later on the day I will give Eric Stanley a call. A couple of my fellow Club members and myself are planning on doing one of his two day classes just prior to the Florida Open, and if I can get away from having to be at the Store that Saturday, it will be some great training. :ph34r:

I am writing this on 1 January 2008 after some deep thinking as to the meaning of it all and setting a sense of direction for the present and future goals. I promise to try and stick with it. A brief background. Over twenty years ago in New Jersey, I had a part time employee at my Store/Shop where I had started my pistolsmithing thing. He was an active duty police sargeant/detective, and a Viet-Nam veteran. He was also active in the Army Reserves. He was a good armorer. He asked me to go with him to one of the local matches of what was then called: "Practical/Tactical" Shooting. He said I would see there a few of my customers who were shooting my custom guns (1911's) and it would be good for business and a lot of fun. He provided me with the "correct" holster of the day, a Bianchi #4 and told me tobring some of the De Santi mag pouches from the shelf/stock. I chose to bring in a Colt Gold Cup (45 ACP, what else in those days ??) rather than one of my custom 1911's. That way if I did good, it was the shooters "glory", but if I did poorly it wouldn't reflect on my custom guns ... he, he !!! In the parking lot at the Club's range we loaded our mags and gun, and proceeded "cocked 'n locked" to the premises/club house for registration. I was asked what was my standing/classification. I had none, it was my first match. They conferred among themselves and came back and told me I would be shooting in Master Class, because of known ability. I asked what was this "known ability" thing, and asked to be placed lower. They refused, and told me they knew who I was and what I did. I only wish somebody told me what that was, but what the heck. I took it as shooting with a "handicap"!!! I thought I did terribly in that first match, since I was concentrating in accuracy rather than speed, but I was told that I held my own and placed well. I went to several matches after that and had a great time. I even on ocassion would shoot one of my guns, or a customer's work in progress as part of the "break in" process. But then I stopped going to the matches for a while, and USPSA was consolidated and absorbed many of the "local" Clubs. Fast forward. While I would continue to attend some local matches here and there, I did not rejoin the now USPSA untill the early '90's . The had no record of my earlier classification. No biggie. I would start from scratch again. To this day, due to some bad accidents I was not able to really push it to regain my classification, and the standards have gotten a lot tougher. A Master class shooter of the late '70's early '80's would be beaten easily by one of todays "C class" shooters. IMHO. While some of my physical handicaps will indeed "try" to hold me back, I will endeavour to get that "M card" a.s.a.p. with no excuses allowed. I am presently classified as "C" in Limited and Open. I have posted almost enough classifiers for a "B" but keep on blowing some local match "surprise" classifiers, which has diminished the eligibility of some of those scores. So, it is my resolution to work on those classifiers and obtain my Master card. That's my present goal, and I believe it will be attainable. I will record here some of my progress as I go along. Oh, yes, my intention is for Master in both Limited and Open simultaneously. As a bonus, I will report on some other items of interest. As many of you know, I do build custom pistols for competition and do work on existing competition guns, as upgrades, updates and repairs. Very often my practice session at the range will begin by my testing various guns prior to any work for diagnostics and then again after any corrective measures. I will report on some of those which may be of interest to you all in my opinion. Then, I will do some drills and practice for my own personal training and will report on that for your comments, should any of you want to offer them. I can be blunt, as some of you know by know, but I do not suffer from a fragile ego, so feel free to give any "constructive" tips, as they will be appreciated ... and if usefull they may be implemented in my training regimen. Now let's see how quickly I can get this done.

Way to go! Every shooter should be certified as an RO. This really helps at local matches, then everyone on the squad can be part of the team. And it sure doesn't hurt any competitor to know the rules. Yes, indeed !!! At most of the RO classes you will find a few members that are taking the class just just for their own edification, and to assist from the sidelines. Many will take the test and get the card but will not renew it the next year. Some believe that having to recertify every single year on an Open Book test is redundant, since actual real yearly changes in the rules are seldom the subject of the re-tests. Burn outs are indeed a big problem, but some of these "class-but-no-card" members on the average are the ones doing the "real" RO duties in most local matches. As for CRO's, that's a different game that really contingents on the local match management and Club's local politics. Unfortunately.

Yeah. It is a bummer. Several months ago (since I am a listed dealer for Midway) I ordered ten of them for my Store shelf stock. At that time they had thirty five of them in stock, and was told that they would be discontinued in the near future, but that you could get them from its manufacturer Frankford Arsenal. Within a week I called Midway back to purchase the remaining Vibra-Primes. They were gone. Then I contacted Frankford Arsenal through their web-site and on the phone, because I could not find any trace or mention of the Vibra-Prime other than a few accessories and supplies, but not the tool itself. I could not get any sensible answer other than it was a "Corporate" decision to drop that item. Frankford Arsenal has dropped quite a few of the old favorites. It seems that these items, like so many others are the result of some non-descript "chinese manufacturers" that eventually become unreliable, and decide to no longer make the product unless "humongous" amounts are ordered every time. Or maybe it was an increase in manufacturing costs. Who knows ?? What burns me is that actual consumers are removed from the equation of determining these things. Believe me, the demand for these tools was there. Witness the fact as to how quickly the stock on hand dried out. :angry2:

Normally pages are added when there are more "advertisers" and the the remnant is alloted for member interest articles. This is the normal way of magazines to "pay" for its publishing. Although some of the money to publish comes from members dues, it is the understanding that only a "badly administered" magazines acrues its publishing cossts from these dues exclusively. Since Front Sight depends "exclusively" on members to submit stories, then it is these writers who will really determine its content, with no input from management. Although in this case the writer IS in the Front Sight staff, still the non-mandated format was individually selected, IMO. Robin otherwise did a good job in reporting what he saw ... very possibly restricted by the space available for the article, literally. Remember that space IS at a premium for advertisers, not necessarily so for articles. Adding pages to article text costs $$ money, and this unfortunately is secondary to advertisers and total cost to keep it viable. Frankly, the growth is there, and it will continue. IMO, it will continue along demographic lines. That means a LOT more of us "baby boomers" looking for something to do and spend our money. The younger (whipper-snappers ) "pro" oriented new comers, may or may not hang around, depending on their interests or career move of the moment, especially if it is done without real commitment. This can be the case also with juniors and women that are participating because of "family ties" and not their own volition. Recognizing a little bit more these "teetering" participants will go a long way in boosting their self esteem and sense of loyalty to the sport, rather than just the "family ties". Let's face it, there is plenty more of us "baby boomers" in the sidelines waiting to come in. Hey is either this (shooting sports) or buying that new Mercedes or Corvette. Of course a little bit more of recognition would do wonders for the adrenaline to move our weary bones, and keep us coming ... instead of going back to the car dealers showroom ...

I have a CZ 75 Champion in 9mm which I have been shooting for a couple of years now. I had also another one in .40 S&W which I sold sometime ago. I love my Champion in 9mm. I have five extra slide stops for breakage replacements. Never had one break yet, and I am shooting Major 9. The same loads I use in my 2011 Open gun. I load out to 1.175". I have developed a Hyper-Jet comp for it, but I have not installed it yet. I spoke to the CZ gunsmith who assured me they had the longer barrels in stock, which I need for the Hyper-Jet Comp system. After I heard that CZ was discontinuing the importation of the CZ Champion it did not make much sense to continue the project, although recently I have decided to finish it even if there is no real prospective market for it. The Champion does not have that much in common with its Tanfoglio brethren in their "Gold Team". Since the Champion is not available in a "large" frame configuration, we can only do 9mm, .357 Sig and .40 S&W. I love the grip-mag well in the gun above. If it fits in my Champion I intend to get one for it. So far I am shooting the Champion with slide base adapter mount with a Docter red dot. I am considering a more sturdy permanent installation, either slide mounted of frame mounted. Haven't decided yet. I definetely love the way a CZ 75 feels in my hand and points. I'll see what I can do to find some more time to dedicate to it, which is not a simple order for me.

Yes. From that picture you can see the rim being stopped by the high tension of the extractor. You can also tell that the gun is "bone dry", and a little bit more lube would be nice.

That IS a cool shot !!! I particularly enjoyed the bottom "aimed" jet ... Can't say many people have/use them .