124gr9mm

I'd only be comfortable ordering parts/accessories from them. They had an AR 15 stock/buffer tube kit and an AR10 buffer tube kit on sale for Black Friday and it was delivered to me today, so SOME things go smoothly.

I agree with your boys. Seems like you've got your mind set on the Buckmark and you're looking for someone to give you a reason to not get it. While I shoot and am very happy with my Ruger, there are a bazillion people who shoot and love the Browning, so it would absolutely meet your needs for Steel Challenge (and more). IMO you don't have to worry about buyers remorse with any of the pistols mentioned, so if the Buckmark feels good to you then grab it before it's gone.

Same. Cleaner, softer, and SOOOO much less smoky with coated bullets.

We also have the Mark IV 22/45 with 5 inch bull barrel (stock trigger) and it's been great for steel challenge. VERY easy to strip/clean and it hasn't been picky about ammo.

I've shot a few thousand hi-tek coated bullets with Titegroup and there were no performance issues. I stopped using Titegroup with coated bullets because my daughter and friends at the club complained about the smoke so much. If you're shooting alone or don't mind people harassing you a bit then rock on...

Not sure that the Large Frame Witness is an exact clone of the CZ, so there's no guarantee that it will fit. Maybe look for a local shooting range that has the CZ and rent it for an hour so that you can do some side by side comparison (don't forget to bring your calipers)?

I like it. As others, I have found it to be a bit cleaner than Titegroup. I originally tried it because Titegroup was just way too smokey with coated bullets and I was looking for an alternative. While LESS smokey than Titegroup, CS is still too much for my daughter's sensibilities, so it's gone in the "backup" pile. I landed on Win 231 for coated...

I think the .22 is a very good idea. Inexpensive way to get lots of rounds downrange while focusing on fundamentals. I had a conversion kit on a full sized pistol, but one of my daughters liked that gun for competitions (in 9mm) so I sold the kit and picked up a Ruger Mark IV 22/45 as the dedicated "training" pistol for the family. The Mark IV pistols are ridiculously easy to clean (push a button and the upper comes apart from the lower), and it's not very finicky about the ammo we use. While the intended purpose was for training, two of the kids enjoy using it for steel challenge as well. I got the standard model with 5.5 inch barrel - https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ruger-mark-iv-22-45-22-lr-pistol Several of the guys at the club picked up the "lite" version because they felt more nimble with the shorter/threaded barrel...and it looks really cool - https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ruger-mark-iv-lite-22-lr-pistol-115095361#repChildCatid=5017899

I agree. If the bench is bolted to the wall and you're making a platform at the bottom I think the sand is not necessary.

Definitely interested in pictures. I have a mini-14 as well, but I swap out the red dot and scope (Bushnell 3 - 9 x 40 scope and a Primary Arms red dot) depending on what I'm planning to shoot. As others have mentioned it gets heavy very quickly. Most mini-14's aren't known as tack drivers, so good luck with your precision shooting. With my family the mini-14 is the rifle that gets the most use when we go to the range.

Maybe that's 1.12 ???

Agree. I usually run practice knockdown matches in the winter, but with COVID and the ammo shortage I'm not what to do. Most of the guys that show up aren't reloaders, so I'd hate to see them go out and spend $35+/box for ammo (if they can find it). We want to run SOMETHING, but not sure what to do. Maybe grab a case of .22lr and just do rimfire.

Read any manual and/or book you can get your hands on and watch every youtube video where someone is operating the press you have. That will likely be many hours of Youtube videos all together, but it will be worth it. Don't be afraid to ask questions on forums like this one. Go very slowly and be very exacting with every step of the process. You'll be nervous when you shoot your first handload, but that's a good thing.

I got many pounds of Titegroup from a reloader who was moving and retiring, so I used it for 9mm, .38 Special, and .45acp. From a performance perspective I have zero complaints. Meters very well and every round went bang every time and it was never the source of my inaccurate shots. That said, EVERYONE made fun of me because of the smoke it made with coated bullets and my brass was always filthy. When I went through the last of that batch I switched back to Win 231...and I'll never go back to Titegroup. Same great performance but none of the Titegroup smoke cloud.

I'll echo those who recommend W231. I used it to load 9mm, 38 Special, and .45 ACP for a few years with great results with plated, coated, lead, and all other projectiles I loaded. As a frugal person by nature I switched to Titegroup when I came across an ABSURDLY good deal from a local guy getting out of reloading. Now that I'm through that lot I've switched back to W231 for good. In addition to being hot/fast and not filling cases, I found Titegroup to be very smoky with coated bullets.

I had something similar happen on a steel frame witness, but only when I would use semi-wadcutter lead bullets. No matter how much I changed seating depth I'd still get the FTF every now and then. I tried different magazine springs as well but I couldn't solve the problem. Never had an issue with other ammo (plated, coated, hollow point, etc). Does it happen with all your magazines?

This is kind of where I land. My pistols (obviously in pistol calibers) offer the easiest access in my home setup, and they're in place to allow me to get to my rifles/shotguns (depending on where I am in the house). Pistol calibers can absolutely stop a bad guy, but they're not primary for me.

Another vote for round nose bullets. For what it's worth I use (and like) the Lee Factory Crimp die. Sorted out some feed issues I was having with a semi-auto pistol. Do an interst search before you try as there are varied opinions about using it.

I agree with this part: Buuuut first you said:

Interesting topic. Here's a video I ran across a few years ago where a guy did a side by side comparison to magazines that had been stored loaded for 5 years to magazines that had been used regularly but stored empty: Long story short is that all of the 5 year stored magazines had a reduction in spring length (some manufacturers greater than others) but it resulted in zero failures to fire/feed, etc when they were tested. Obviously the sample size in the video is very small and it's specific to magazines for three guns, but I think it can put people at ease that loading magazines the night before a match shouldn't have any negative impact on performance.

Respectfully, you will need to "piss away" a bit of time getting your feet wet reloading. It's not rocket-science, but if you sacrifice quality control for speed you're going to end up with inconsistent loads, squibs, kabooms, and maybe worse. As for the 750 and Mr Bullet Feeder, I think there are a lot of people out there using them for the exact reason you're looking to.

Glad to hear it. I really like the way this one shoots so I'm not going to replace it unless it stops working properly.

Interesting thread. My gen 4 G17 was my first polymer striker pistol. I got the gen 4 because it was the one they had in the gun shop at the time. I like it a lot and shoot it a lot. Is selling the gen 4 and moving to gen 5 something I should do if for no other reason than to stay on the latest version? Id that considered the "normal" thing to do with Glocks? I presume aftermarket parts will be around for a really long time, but I don't want to get caught 5 years from now if something breaks and I have to pay a fortune for parts...

Get it for my wife so she stops complaining about recoil?

Super slow-motion of Jerry Miculek with a revolver. Doesn't look like he indexes after reload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FbUMqoyjDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FbUMqoyjDw