Alan550

If you can get that one past the "powers that be" at NRA, go for it! My shooting buddies tell me I shoot too fast as it is. On Bianchi plates, I generally run about 4.5 sec. at the 10 yd line and clean 'em that distance, so maybe I could beat one of 'em if they changed the scoring that way! :-)

I run Hornady Rifle dies in my 550, and love them! The seater/crimp die has a floating guide that keeps the bullet straight in its travel upward, so I can get my hand out of the way before being crunched by the press.

You should be able to find a bench kit at one of the home-improvement stores and do some modifications to suit your tastes. I just added a 3/4" plywood sheet to the top, for weight & stability, to one of those and it's constructed mainly of 2x6 lumber. Inexpensive too, and if looks are important, you can drape an old curtain or other appropriate piece of fabric around the bottom portion to hide the shelf underneath.

The Safariland Comp 3 is the fastest thing out there as far as speedloaders goes. ( A moon clip isn't a loader, IMHO) A nice long handle and positive ejection, once contact is made with the gun's ejector. No real pressure required and certainly no "twist" like some of the others. The moons are so much faster, but if you're going the other route, stick with the Safarilands.

I consider anything within a day-trip distance as "local", meaning that I can get there, shoot and return the same day. The type of match does matter. Higher round-count and friendly people make all the difference. For IPSC shoots, there are about 3 in any given month that are local that I shoot. NRA Action, there are also 3 within a days run. There are farther matches that we go to because they are really fun to shoot, such as the PSA Shootout in Hershey, PA every April. That one's an overnighter for sure. An all-steel match, 6 courses of fire with 25-30 pieces of steel per stage. "Shoot-til-you-puke" type shooting, but it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on! Anything further than that takes something really special to get me to travel, such as being a regional championship or bigger. The distance does seem to matter more to the newer shooters with whom I associate, especially the married ones who have "honey-dews" to take care of on the weekends. The added expense of travelling seems to put off many of the newer people as well, when that expense exceeds the entry fees & ammo costs.

The press could be the culprit, like warpspeed said. I use a 550 Dillon, but for match loads, I do a separate seating on a single-stage press, after they come out of the 550 for better consistency. I just seat them a bit long to start, before going to the single-stage. The 550 didn't vary a lot, but for pure match stuff, the plate flexes enough to make me want a bit tighter consistency on the OAL.

1badmagnum wrote "if your case lengh varries this can change the col resulting in the firing pin not contacting the primer causing a misfire," and this isn't correct on a 30.30, since they headspace on the rim. It is important that the cases be the same length in order to get a consistant crimp, but short cases won't misfire. They just won't have much, or any, crimp which could lead to the bullet being driven further into the case when contact from another cartridge in the magazine sets it deeper during firing, and cycling the action. That will send pressures through the roof!

I think too that "more people load on single stage presses" but there'd have to be a bunch more doing it than I think there are to make up for the sheer volume that action shooters send down-range in a given year! Alan~^~

Michaels of Oregon (Uncle Mikes) has a set of shooting gloves that work perfectly for that. The fingers are open ended and the middle finger is covered a bit longer to cushion it from the trigger guard. They are also padded in key spots so they can be used for the really heavy-kicking magnums. I assume you're shooting in Open Class, since you can't touch the barricade when shooting a stock gun. You'll want both gloves after you learn to switch hands for the opposite sides of the barricade. That makes for much more accurate shooting after you get it down. You'll have to get in some practice with your draws after going that route, because they do change the way the gun feels in your hand considerably, but you'll really like them once you get used to them. The records were set by people using them, so there must be something to using them!

Wilson sell extended pads to fit his mags that just replace the original ones. You might try those on the Wilsons. I think they're sold in bags of 3, if memory serves.

2alpha's right about Hogue's. It's called a "Big Butt" grip, and even stock gun shooters can shoot from prone at the 50-yd line on the Practical event. It raises the gun higher for a better sight picture and gives you a solid "rest" to boot.

So far as needing one in the nick of time, I've seen matches where you had to pick up a "mystery gun" in the middle of a stage and shoot it, not knowing beforehand what it was. After shooting a 9mm, it's a real trip to pick up a 4" .357 Mag with full power loads in the middle of shooting! Helps to know what that trigger feels like from previous experience instead of having a totally new "experience" in the middle of a match.

If all guns came from the factory already sighted-in for whatever load was used, and whoever picked it up, there would be no need for adjustable sights. Different ammo, lighting conditions, temperatures and the way you hold a particular gun enter into the picture, as do many other variables. So twist 'em to where they work for you, and have fun!

9X23 Caspian single stack Bianchi gun- 1.75 lbs. I, too came from a revolver to the auto, and have shot a friend's gun at 1.25 lbs more accurately. Learning on a revolver, I think, helped with trigger control, and the lighter auto trigger is a piece of cake after a short learning curve.

GM is right! Use NO toothpaste! It contains an abrasive that will remove the coating. Your best bet is a lens cleaner that specifies on the bottle that it's designed for "anti-reflective coated lenses" and the special cloth that you should be able to buy at any good Optical shop. And NEVER wipe the lens while it's dry! This just grinds the grit into it, scratching it and starting to remove the coatings. Plain water may leave spots but beats nothing when that's all you have available. The lens pen that GM mentioned is good for getting the big particles off before a proper cleaning is done.

"I do think that guns are for killing. What else??? " Well, they are a great source of fun and skill building for me, and I sorta thought these forums were mainly competition oriented, not self-defense. So I agree with Pat! Bounce this dude!

Following is verbatim from the NRA Rule book dated January 1, 1999: 3.2 Stock Firearm (Provisional) - Any factory produced semi-automatic handgun or revolver. The minimum caliber is 9X19 (9mm). The firearm must be a production gun available to the general public. Prototype firearms are specifically not allowed. A factory produced gun is defined as a caliber specific production type firearm that has been available at the distributors for at least 12 months and that has had a minimum production run of 1000 firearms during that period. Only the following modifications or alterations are permitted. 1. No changes of caliber from the factory standard are permitted. 2. Firearms with custom or installed electrical sights, optical sights, porting of barrels or compensators are specifically not permitted. 3. Internal modifications to improve accuracy, reliability and function are allowed, e.g. replacement barrels, spherical bushings. 4. External modifications are not allowed except as follows: a. Replacement of factory sights with those of another manufacturer. The replacement sights must be of a similar design. b. Replacement or modification of grips to fit a competitor's hand or facilitate loading. No part of the grip may encircle the hand. Thumb rests are prohibited. 3.2.1 Production Firearm - A semi-automatic handgun or revolver which is or has been a catalog item readily available to the general public equipped with metallic sights. Custom-shop pistols are not allowed. The pistol shall have no visible external modifications except as follows: a. Replacement or modification of grips to fit a competitor's hand or facilitate loading. No part of the grip may encircle the hand. Thumb rests are prohibited. b. Wide "target" style hammers and triggers. c. Checkering and stippling are allowed. d. Replacement of factory metallic sights with those of another manufacturer. e. External finishes, either protective or decorative, or other non-functional embellishments such as engraving, inlays, or inscriptions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's the complete rule on stock guns as of that book, which is the most recent one published. Hope this clarifies it for you. Alan~^~

I talked to Jim Clark, Jr. (he's Jerry's brother-in-law) at Bianchi a couple of years back, and he made the comment that when he & Jerry are riding in to the shop in the mornings, Jerry sits on the passenger side dry-snapping a revolver all the way to work and back to the house in the evenings! That's why Jerry's got forearms like Popeye! So the muscle build-up is important as well as having the "fast-twitch" muscles to do the splits that he can accomplish. Live fire helps to see how fast the gun recovers, and gives you an idea on the"trigger-prep" time too. With practice, you can learn to prep it so that it's ready to go at the instant that you're back on target.

ITB: Sorry I was so long in answering. Check both front and back on non-Rx lenses. There should be no change in image size or shape either way. This does NOT hold true for Rx glasses. Alan~^~

The most popular dot/mounting systems used are: Gilmore/Leupold sight with a "Tombstone reticle" and a "mover" adjustment built-in, or nearly any dot-type sight mounted on a "mover base". Also, the older style Holosight by Bushnell is still used with the "Tombstone Reticle for use on the Mover. Mounting optics on a Python could prove problematic in finding a manufacturer of such. You would be better off (IMHO) with the 686 S&W for the above mentioned reasons. They're used by some of the top revolver shooters at the Cup, and it's easy to find a gunsmith to add on the extras you would want. Mainly the optics and barricade wings, if you're going the Open Class route. In Stock Class, all you'd really need to have done is a trigger job. The only event shot at the Cup requiring a reload under time is a side match, usually the Speedload Challenge. As for the main event, all courses are 6 rounds or less with no reloads on the clock. Welcome to the world of NRA Action Shooting!

Sometimes, counting can get you in trouble! I went to Bianchi in '98 for the first time, and stupidly, had been to a CAS match the weekend before we left. Got on barricades, shot 5 and quit! By the time I realized I had another round to go, the target went "FLIP"................... gone! It is fun to watch the flinch that develops during a match when new shooters forget to count though! :-) Alan~^~

InTheBlack: To start this on a humorous note, I've always been reluctant to let someone call me an "expert"! If that word gets broken down like they taught us with "assume" (makes an ass out of U and ME) it becomes......an ex is a has-been, and a "spert" is a drip under pressure! Anyway, back to your question. The time to refocus will vary with age, and from person to person, much like reaction times to the buzzer do. Age is a major influencing factor here, since we lose the ability to accomodate for near vision as we get older. Hence the need for "reading glasses" past the age of 40 or so. A young healthy person with "normal" vision, i.e. no correction needed, will have a much faster focus change time than they will later in life. So there's not much in the way of an accurate timing measure to be applied here. I know this doesn't really tell you what you want to know, but, as in many other questions on here, there's no finite answer that will apply to everyone. Flex: For non-Rx glasses, there may be some peripheral distortion near the edges of the lenses. The easiest test for this is to hold the glasses in your hand, indoors, so that you get the reflection from a ceiling light on the front surface of a lense. Move them so that this reflection shifts around on the lense and check for changes in image size or being "wavy". Without optical equipment, this is the best test for distortion that I know of. Use it when purchasing non-Rx of any kind to see if they are optically correct, or junk. Alan~^~

Accuracy will vary from gun to gun with the same load. You just have to invest the time, money and effort into finding what works in yours. You may get some good starting basics from other shooters, but, in the long run, you'll need to "fine-tune" those to your particular firearm. Example: My best friend and I both shoot 9X23s using Starline Super-Comp brass and Federal primers. His gun has one of the new Scheumann AET gain twist barrels, while mine is a Nowlin barrell. Both are 6" with a comp. His load is 5.3 gr. of W231 while mine is 4.9 of Hodgdon titegroup. The best accuracy out of both guns was achieved after MANY load tests and run through a Ransom rest. He gets under .5" at 50 yds, and with his load, I can't get better than 1.25" at the same distance. My load runs around .72" @ 25 yds, and won't get under an inch in his. Each gun will be different as to the load it prefers. Even rimfire guns with sequential serial numbers won't shoot the same ammo to the same accuracy level. It's a long tedious process to try to find the most accurate load for your particular gun, but will pay off, once you find it. Alan~^~

InTheBlack, Your Rx is right in the range of the problem I mentioned. Insofar as dealing with the Doctor, explain what you want along the line of where you want to look through the lens and the distance at which you need the clearest focus. These 2 things have to work together in concert with each other to minimize the parallax difficulty. Also, age is a factor in this as well. Until you start having near-point accomodation problems (having to hold things at arms-length to read) usually in the early 40s, you may not have problems with the power difference in an Rx of your level. You might try contacts for the handgun as well, along with a good pair of shooters, i.e. Oakley or some such. Otherwise, moving the OC into your line of sight will be the most important part of fabricating your new Rx for shooting, moreso than the power change. Hope this helps. Alan~^~

I'm running 4.9 gr. of titegroup behind a 125 gr. Hornady Action Pistol (HAP) bullet in a 9X23 (same overall length as .38 sooper) for a 153 pf. Maybe a little hot for what you had in mind, but lighter loads work too. Also 5.3 gr. of W231 gives the same accuracy for me at about the same velocity. Alan~^~