Doublehelix

It is NEVER worth the danger to mess around with live primers. I used to punch them out, but I gave up on that a long time ago. Dispose of them properly as-is and move on. What is the cost of one piece of brass and one primer compared to the long-term effects of an injury? Even if the odds are low, not worth it in my book. Even if it is 10 or 20 of them, I would toss them. "When in doubt, throw them out."

I just sent in a donation via PayPal, thank you for hosting such a great site. QUESTION: on the donation page, it says: "Please remember to complete your donation in your member / account settings." However, when I go to that section, I do not see that option and I am not sure what I am supposed to be doing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Yeah, you got me going over here. Thanks!

I just ordered some of the Walker's Silencer electronic ear buds during a Black Friday sale at Midway, and I was not expecting too much in the way of isolation, but I am so sick of wearing muffs when it is hot out, plus they press on my eye pro frames and are so uncomfortable against the side of my head, I am willing to try anything! I replaced the foam inserts with a set of Comply Tips that I started using about a year ago in my music ear buds and my blue tooth headset, etc. They are really awesome, very comfortable and tight sealing. You have to get the right type and the right size in order for them to work well, just a heads up, and they are NOT CHEAP, but they are worth it. I have 2-3 different versions to fit different types of devices, and I was lucky that one of them fit the Walker Silencer ear buds. I took them out for the first time earlier this week to test them at an outdoor range, and I was prepared to add my ear muffs on top of them if needed, but I have to say that they sealed really well, and I was VERY surprised at the attenuation. The Walker's Silencers plus the Comply tips seemed to be a pretty decent combination in my initial testing. We will have to spend some more time with them before rendering a final verdict however... As a note, I am VERY, VERY careful with my hearing, and I normally "double bag" my ears (foam plugs + ear muffs).

Great responses so far, greatly appreciated. I think looking for a used 2011 is probably a good investment and a smart way to go. I am going to wait until after Christmas as my wife gets grouchy when I spend money on myself in December, plus I get my yearly bonus in mid-January. In the mean time, I will keep searching the classifieds...

I have standardized on the Rocky Mountain Reloading 124gr. MPR JHPs (MPR = "Multi-Purpose Rounds", they are really just jacketed hollow points). I like them because they are jacketed rather than plated and because RMR is so great to deal with. They always have free shipping, and I usually get my bullets within 2 days after ordering. If you sign up to their mailing list, they usually send out 5 -10% specials all the time. Best customer service from any of the companies I have dealt with. I also use Xtreme plated for a few choices, and I love the Bayou plated SWC's that I have been working with for my .45. Good stuff! I have also used Berry's in the past without issues, but have not ordered from them in a long time.

I am looking to be a nice 2011 Limited gun for the 2018 season in .40 S&W, and have considered either a factory-made gun like an STI or having a custom gun made by a local gunsmith that has a great reputation in my area. I have seen his guns, and they are just amazing. Without getting into whether an STI is a quality gun or not, how would these two types of guns compare for resale value? The reason I ask is because I built a "custom" AR-15 Frankengun a few years ago with all top-shelf components that is just AWESOME, but its resale value is nothing compared to a high end factory gun like a Daniels Defense, even though I probably spent more making the Frankengun. Thanks in advance for any input!

Yep, this is what I have been using as well, but the gel cups get pretty hot and sweaty in the summer, and the pressure against my head from my eye protection sucks as well. I have some of the Decibullz custom molded plugs (supposedly rated at NRR 31, but I am not sure I believe that). They work well, but I don't feel confident enough in them yet to use then without muffs over them.

Dang. That's some awesome shooting!

Yeah, after that first day indoors, I setup a standard target the next day and shot a few mags before beginning my regular training, and I was getting excellent groups by the end, although it was all at close distances (10 yds). Wow, that is a lot of accuracy practice each session. Have you noticed that is has helped your USPSA shooting as well? It seems like a lot of you incorporate absolute accuracy training into your regular routine, and I think I might start adding some of that into my sessions as well. Thanks for the input so far.

Just started shooting USPSA and SCSA last year in a more serious way, and I realize that all of my practice in the last year or so has been focused on honing those speed-shooting skills. I went to an indoor range yesterday (it has been a while since I have shot indoors), and since all there is to aim at is a bullseye or two, I was checking out my accuracy at 7 yds, 10 yds and 25 yds. There has been quite a slip in performance since last year. I wasn't horrible by any means, and shot out a few red X's, but overall, I was somewhat disappointed in my skills compared to a year ago. It seems as if I have been more focused on center of mass double-taps, draws, reloads and transitions rather than absolute accuracy. Obviously shooting A's requires accuracy, but it is more of a center of mass thing than trying to shoot out the X. I have always prided myself at being a decent shot, and I still love it when I can hit those 25 yard poppers on the first shot every time! I realize that true Bullseye shooting is a completely different sport than run-and-gun types of sports, and I am not into true Bullseye shooting, but it was somewhat disappointing to realize that my absolute accuracy skills have gone down a bit, in exchange for much greater speed on the USPSA courses. I am not overly concerned, as I went out again today to my normal outdoor range, and did setup one target with a few bullseyes and worked on my accuracy as well as normal speed stuff, and did pretty well at 10 yds. I guess my question is whether or not these two skill sets are exclusive skills for most of us, or do most of you keep up your "bullseye" skills as well as your speed match skills? I was kinda bummed yesterday when I really noticed a deterioration in my absolute accuracy skills. I guess it is to be expected that if you don't practice a specific skill, you will lose some edge in that skill, but I guess I thought I was still working on my accuracy, but at speed. I figured that when slow firing, I would have the same accuracy as I used to have, but apparently that is not the case. Is this normal for all of you? Do you practice both skill sets?

Dang! Haha... *Ben* Stoeger/*Bob* Vogel! Whatever. It was a "B" name, right? I'm an old guy, give me a break!

It is funny, but I have just the opposite problem! I am so used the the SAO guns (1911, SIG P226 SAO, etc.) that I have a hard time shooting the striker-fired guns. I only own one striker-fired pistol, an H&K VP9, and although it is a nice gun, I cannot shoot it anywhere near as well as I do my SAO guns. And when someone hands me a Glock??? Forget about it! I am also not a fan of the DA/SA setup. Too many variables for me, I prefer having a single type of trigger style and break. I think this just emphasizes the points that have been made about that it is what you have trained to do. I am sure that there are going to be natural preferences such as @MemphisMechanic says about the striker-fired guns, and that is fine and comes down to personal preferences. But I agree that training and practice will get you where you need to be. Good luck!

Great stuff @MemphisMechanic, thanks. It is funny because the advice I got from my doctors were to rest the arm rather than to exercise. And this was from a "big time" sports doctor here in Indiana that has treated lots of big name sports figures. Besides the arm strap, I also have a wrist brace that I wear at night to keep from stressing the tendons by bending my wrists when I sleep. I will check out the exercises in your post and see how they do. I am actually feeling better these last few weeks, but I can tell you that about a month or two ago, it was painful as heck. I have always been told that "when it hurts, you need to stop", and your guy actually recommends something else altogether. Interesting, and I am not sure what to think about that yet. Since I am feeling better, this is probably a good time to get started on the exercises though, that part I feel good about. Thanks again for the link.

I have some tennis elbow issues that first showed up about 5-6 years ago, and now has reappeared after a long absence. Not sure if it is gun-related, but it definitely affects my ability to shoot when it has flared up. From what I understand however, tennis elbow is actually inflammation of the tendons that attach to the elbow, and then down to the wrist. If you have ever seen anyone with one of those tennis elbow straps wrapped around their forearm, this is to isolate the tendons a bit so you can flex your wrist and not tug on the tendons as much that are attached to your elbow. They say it is caused by repetitive motion, sort of like carpal tunnel. I think mine flared up when I was de-capping a bunch of 9mm brass on my XL650 (never do that again) to try a wet tumble on decapped brass to see if it really made a difference to have the clean primer pockets. It made a mess of my press and my elbow! Never again! Anyway, shooting aggravates the problem, and there are times when I just plain cannot shoot due to the pain. I wear the strap sometimes and that helps. The good news is that over the last 3-4 weeks, it seems to be healing itself, and I am pretty much pain-free now. Unfortunately, I had to deal with it over the shooting season, and now that the weather is heading into the winter, it is getting better. Figures. All of that to make a point that you need to watch it. When you feel pain, you might want to stop. Maybe it is just soreness from under-worked muscles as has been mentioned, but it could be the start of something serious such as tennis elbow, which takes many months to heal. I totally believe that shooting stresses the elbow because I can definitely feel it when I am shooting with the tennis elbow pain.

Bob Stoeger recommends starting at 3 yards with a 1.7s goal, then 5 yards with a 1.8s goal, then out to 7 yards with a 2s goal (1 second draw, and 0.2s splits). This is always assuming Alphas at each distance. 3 yards seems awfully close to me!!!