tacomandood

.10 x 1000 = $100 If you’re worried about saving money on plinking ammo, $100 becomes a far more material cost. Even if you only shoot 200 rounds per outing, you’re saving $20 each time. It really adds up long-term when you get into thousands of rounds loaded. Agree with you on the 650 vs. 1050 though. The 1050 is great for volume, and is why I chose to go with it when I’ve got limited time available. I’m lucky to get out once a week to go shoot, and finding a few hours a week for reloading and brass processing is also what pushed me more toward the 1050. Otherwise, a 650 will get you nearly the same results (so long as you don’t have crimped brass) at only maybe 10-20% slower rate.

Update: After everyone's suggestions, I picked one up about a month ago now and this thing is awesome! I can get so many more reps in for dryfire now with only having to reach across my wrist to start the timer. Setting par times is super easy once you figure it out, and the volume control and sensitivity adjustments have worked great for me both indoors and out. I've used it for dryfire roughly 4 days a week and live fire about 4 times now and the battery is still reading at 50%. Obviously, that's plus or minus 25%, but still damn good considering I haven't had to charge it once since buying yet. Dryfire sessions are usually about 40-50 minutes, and live fire between an hour to an hour and a half, for reference of use. I also love the 3 and 5-minute timers while dryfiring. They keep me from sticking to one drill too long, and also help me keep a good pace when dryfiring as I have a better idea of how long I've actually been practicing and how many drills I'm going through. Me and @Nevadazielmeister were showing ours off at a club match at the beginning of this month. I haven't had a chance to try it in "Spy Mode" yet, but he was saying that it was showing splits and times pretty accurately. Only gripes I have is that it can sometimes record bumps as shots when I'm either reloading or even drawing, though it's easy to spot those weird shot times and pick out the real ones. As far as using it to time someone else, I've had to crank up the sensitivity significantly if I'm not following close behind them. Regardless, I bought the thing primarily for myself, so the other guys I've shot with can go buy their own shot timers lol. The last kinda "eh" thing, is that, say I set a par time of 1.3s, and I take a shot at almost exactly 1.3, it won't record the shot. I think it has something to do with momentarily turning off the mic so it doesn't confuse the beep with a shot (since they're so close), but I still am able to tell whether or not I'm hitting the par time. I've seen shots recorded as close as .03s from the set par time, though, so I'm guessing it's only unable to record shots right at that window. This has only happened maybe 3 or 4 times in live fire so far, so I'm not too concerned about it. If anyone else is debating, you should definitely buy it if you want to get the most out of your dryfire in the shortest amount of time. $150 may seem steep, but most other timers are pretty close to price and don't have quite as many features in such a small and portable package. Having something right on your wrist during live fire is nice too, especially when working on moving drills or high-rep/low round count drills (doubles, bill drill, etc.) where you're constantly starting the timer. Also, I recommend buying the hard carry case. It'll keep buttons from accidentally getting pushed while in your bag and needlessly draining the battery, plus it fits much better and it's easier to find when sitting inside your range bag.

Uh, what? You can easily load .223/5.56 for $.10/rd less than you can buy even in bulk. Cheapest I've seen is about $.26/round shipped if you can combine some sort of promos and rebates, but I'm more commonly seeing it at $.27-$.29 on sale. Unless you're buying that steel-cased stuff? If you reload, depending on your powder and projectiles, you can easily load it for about $.16-$.18/round, especially if you're just going for stockpile/plinking ammo. That's what most people buying the $.26-$.30/round cases are doing anyway. If you wanna load with like Hornady hunting/SP bullets then you're looking at maybe $.25/round, but still way better than the factory stuff that's around $.50-$.60/round. Hell, I've seen some of that Hornady Black .223 stuff going for as much as like $1/round! Maybe I'm missing something here, but reloading is a bit cheaper than buying the stuff, at least in my neck of the woods. ANYWAY, getting back on topic to OP's question.. A 650 is probably best if you plan on doing that many calibers, unless you have the money to blow on a 1050 and all the conversions. Don't get me wrong, I love my 1050 and am glad it's the first press I ever bought, but I only have conversions for 9mm and .40 and I'm already into the press like $2400. If you can get a military discount, Bobcat has great prices and helps with the overall costs, but I'm still looking at around $190 per other conversion I want to do. Plus, switching to large primer calibers alone is gonna be like another $120. The quick-change toolheads for the 1050 are like $275 each too! I haven't even purchased one yet, so it still takes me about 30-45 minutes to completely switch calibers. Still though, I'm able to crank out around 800-900 rounds in an hour without breaking a sweat, which is near pushing the limit of a 650. My buddy that owns a 650 came over and tried my 1050, and instantly wished he had bought one for all the .223 he loads, especially since it includes the primer pocket swage in station 3. Hell, the swage has even helped me out tremendously in knocking out all the crimped 9mm I've shot and reloaded in the past. To really pass that 1k rounds/hour though, you're gonna need a bullet feeder, which is what I plan on buying next now that I finally got an RF 100 to keep up with me. Plus, you can always look to automate a 1050 in the future. One bit of advice, if you decide to go the 1050 route, is that Dillon just announced a newer, "improved" model called the RL1100 (I think?) at SHOT Show this week that's supposed to have a couple better upgrades and features. Expected release around April. They haven't given out too many specifics yet, but the price was also announced to be at about $2000. Basically, you can either go for the new press, or keep an eye out for a lot of used 1050s going up for sale in the next few months. With a 650, the nice thing is that people are always selling conversions, quick-change toolheads, and extras like dies and upgrades for cheap. You could probably find someone selling a 650 with several conversions pretty cheap on any of the Facebook or MeWe Dillon groups. Really, price is the only benefit though. If you're only shooting 10-15k per year, a 650 will be plenty machine for you. However, you may end up loading and shooting more with a faster press too. I've easily gone through about 9k rounds in just the last 4 months with my 1050, and probably about 14k cycles including the brass I've processed on there. Only reason I haven't loaded more is because I keep running out of bullets and my college kid budget can only afford about a case per month lol. Dillon has a neato little "Which press is right for me?" guide on their website that could really help you out on deciding as well. I was on the line between a 650 and 1050, and decided I would need the 1050 for continuing to shoot competition and eventually for automation. Of course, you could always start with a 650, and buy a 1050 if you really need the extra capacity in the future, which is what I know a lot of people do. I've considered it myself, and will probably end up doing that in the future when I've got a more disposable income. Again, money and the amount you need to load are going to be your major determining factors here.

Yeah that’s a dumb reason to give a reshoot. If a guy slipped and fell should they get a reshoot? If my shoe fell off in the stage do I get a reshoot? This all comes down to subjective opinion that could vary from person to person. RO should’ve kept the clock running. I get trying to be friendly or understanding, but as everyone else has said, rules are rules. The issue comes from ensuring competitive equity. What happens when he reshoots and gets 100% on the stage? Even in just division or class, that raises the question for every else competing. Can you imagine the shitstorm USPSA would have to deal with if someone was allowed a reshoot for that reason at a Level 2 or higher match? Lol

Aaaaaand out come the personal attacks.. [emoji849] Still though, a fair point. Even $25/month is not a lot when you think about it like that. Hell, I spend easily over $150/month eating out when the wife and I don’t feel like making dinner lol. If I made dinner even one night more often a month it’s paid for. Easy.

If you’re looking for something to hold paper targets you’re most likely better off just buying some stands from Midway. Unless you already have materials sitting around, the cost of using either wood or PVC/ABS ends up being about the same as just buying some, and you don’t have to spend the time making them. As far as steel target stands, there’s a guy on Etsy who has awesome prices and pretty good quality from what I’ve used so far. Let me know if you want more info.

Just the type of modifications on the gun and placement of pouches and holster on the belt. For example, you can have a magwell or thumbrest in Limited, but almost no external modification in Production. Also, all mag pouches and gun must be behind the front of the hip bone in Production and no further than about 2.1” from the inside of the belt, with no limitations in Limited except that the pouches or gun can be no further than about 3.3” from the belt.

Hehe a shooter from good ol’ Ferntucky Nevada! I’m from Reno myself lol. Luckily, there’s a couple matches a month you can check out. There’s gonna be a USPSA Club Match in Fallon on Saturday the 19th. Think it’s $20 to come out and shoot. Look up “Stillwater Firearms Association” or “SFA” on PractiScore to find the registration page. Also, up by Pyramid, there’s WNPL. USPSA Matches are usually the first Sunday of the month, but if you’re trying to get in on some multigun they do their UML matches on the second Saturday of the month. “wnpl.org” is the website for there. They’ve just started doing NRL22 matches at WNPL as well, on the third Sunday of the month (I think, not 100% sure). Come out whenever you get a chance. Everyone is pretty friendly and we’ll help a new shooter as best we can. Hope to see you out there soon!

Probably so they wear out over time and you have to buy new ones to replace them lol. I haven’t had issues with about 6000 loaded in mine, but I also have like 12 different tubes so thats not many through each.

I’m gonna have to strongly disagree with you on that one. The whole thing just runs so much smoother when you have lubed cases. I tried to run my 9mm without lube for a few hundred rounds and the issue I had is that I couldn’t tell when something else was wrong with the press when I’m exerting all this force to resize a case. It’s easier to catch a jam, bad case, or bad primer seat when the whole press is running smoothly. Maybe it’s different with a 650, but on my 1050 I’m cranking out 800-900 rounds per hour, and any extra energy wasted on sizing adds up quick. Residual case lube on pistol brass isn’t supposed to be a big deal anyway, but I do the same of running my loaded rounds in some corncob for about 10-15 minutes after. Gives everything a nice polish and definitely helps keep my hundo cleaner.

This is exactly what I meant. And this is what I meant also lol. So yeah, I'm not discounting the fact that there are a lot of great Production shooters out there, but I was more interested in Limited because there were more shooters in total, ergo more "competitive"; a larger talent pool and more people to compare myself to. Where I'm at, everyone in Production is either B-class and below, or the one random GM that shows up every once in a while. Though I haven't shot any major matches yet nor received a classification in Limited, I'm hoping I can get a better idea of my skill level this shooting season since there will be more than 6 other shooters in my division showing up to matches I go to and almost always beat out lol. Thinking of shooting a level 2 match, if my schedule permits, so I guess we'll see how I feel after that.

As do many, and I’m not arguing with that. I just didn’t see Production as competitive as other divisions. When the elements of USPSA are “accuracy, power, and speed” you’re definitely at an advantage and shooting with less power in Minor, and, depending on the stage, are inevitably slower because of your reloads. Plus, how do you define a “solid Production shooter”? The answer really depends. Again, overall placement is tough to gauge, since you’re comparing apples to oranges against those guys with laser guns and PCCs. I guess classification is one way, though HFs for a Production Master are always going to be lower than HFs for a Limited or Open Master. The same “apple to oranges” argument comes up though, so then maybe that isn’t the best way either. I guess it comes down to personal preference. Just go shoot what you want and be competitive where you want to. That’s the main reason I switched too; there were so few people shooting Production (locally) that I wanted to switch to Limited and compete against more shooters overall. More points for Major and less reloads was just an upside to that lol.

Also wanna jump in here and recommend another guy I found on Etsy. Super cheap prices (you have to pay shipping though), and great quality from what I’ve used. I bought his plate rack kit and one of his target stands and am pretty impressed so far. For only $50/stand and hanging bracket you really can’t go wrong, and I’m in the process of replacing a couple of my old steel stands with these. Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/657442350/collapsible-new-steel-gong-target-stand?ref=user_profile

To each their own. Hell, if I had the money to spend I’d buy one of them Atlases just to get good with it before eventually switching to Open too. I kinda did the same, where I shot Production for a few matches before just switching over to Limited with a good gun and setup. Obviously, my costs were a bit less than his, but I kinda jumped right in too lol. I also didn’t like how Production was inherently less competitive when considering overall match performance. My average match placement immediately went from about 55-65% to about 75% overall, and even hitting 90% this last Sunday. Major scoring and less reloads definitely makes a difference on some of those stages lol.

After only one match huh? This guy full sends lol

That’s how I see it too. When I got a nice DQ in October I eventually took over the Practiscore tab so everyone could focus on just shooting and pasting. That’d be even tougher on a multi-day match, but you’d probably have to wait for your travel back home anyway so might as well show up and get the free food lol. Going back to the original story here, I’m sure if someone shot themself they’d obviously be done for the rest of the match without a choice lol. Does the much end up getting shut down for everyone else in that case?

Fair enough. Our club doesn’t require you pick up brass, so I would’ve nominated him as the paster master lol. From what I’ve seen/heard, I figure most people just throw a fit and go home early.

One club I shoot at doesn’t care if you leave brass, and another club has you pick up your brass after your squad is finished with the stage. This is easier at a match when you’ve got several people picking in generally the same areas, but I’m more concerned about what I’m doing when I go out to practice. I hate spending 15-20 minutes picking brass in the dirt after I already spent the last 10-15 minutes packing and loading up all my targets and gear. That’s 30-40 minutes of my time spent doing stuff that doesn’t make me a better shooter. Practicing with 9mm instead of .40 would be practical if a) there wasn’t a difference in recoil, b) I had the same exact gun in 9mm, and c) I didn’t care about collecting any brass at all. Regardless of how much money you have, brass is brass and there may come another time like earlier in this decade where it was nearly impossible to find. At least, that’s how I look at it. Obviously there are other benefits to using a brass catcher besides not having to bend down though. Some people just love brass hounding I guess, so more power to you lol

Yup, that’s why we’ve discussed replacing the net with a finer mesh or a mesh tarp. I like the idea, but the reason I’m more leaning toward the golf net I linked was because it would still catch brass when you’re a bit further out, but the netting would catch brass in the air if you were to move closer as well. Then, just tip the net to one corner and pick up your brass by handfuls, or cut a hole into one corner and drop them into a bucket.

Just bought one of these brushes. Usually I have a cleaning brush around to do the same thing but this will be nice since it’s longer and the bristles go a full 360°. It’s definitely easy to tell when a mag is getting dusty if you push down on the follower and hear a gritty scraping as well. I know some guys that brush all their mags after every stage no matter what

So what I found the other night was this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723DYLNS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JctlCbVVN6182 For less than $40 it seems like it’d be great, and any brass that doesn’t hit the net would just fall on the inside tarp. Based on how tall you are, it would probably catch most pieces of brass flying out of your gun. Still though, I just won a good couple hundred from the blackjack table on New Years so I may just get the CED one lol [emoji41] My only concern with the CED catcher is that it may get taken away by the wind. I know you can stake it, but when I’m trying to get in a quick practice session the last thing I’m trying to do is stake in a net. I guess the time saved from picking up brass would offset that too though.. At least with the golf net I linked you can just add some ammo cans or rocks to the inside to keep it held down. I’ll let you guys know which one I end up picking up and maybe turn this thread into a review of either. [emoji1745][emoji3603]

Just a little too far for me to go with you or I would haha. I know there are quite a few clubs in Sacramento area that some of the guys at my local club even go to. I'm in Northern NV if you ever decide to come shoot here!

100% this. I put off actually starting to shoot USPSA for so long, and I wish I'd done it sooner. I have a buddy of mine that started with me as well, so that made it easier. He doesn't shoot with me any more, but it was nice having somebody to go to the first few matches with. Still though, the fear of being "bad" and making myself look bad was the hardest thing to get over, but you've got to be willing to get out of your comfort zone. My shooting has improved so much more just by having a real reason to get better instead of just going out and shooting at steel plates and cardboard for fun. Even still, a lot of other people I talk to about it are just too afraid to start something they aren't familiar with, and they miss out on the sport because of it. Anyway, after having gone to a few matches by myself I kinda prefer it that way. You'll slowly start to get to know everyone at your club, and might see a lot of the same people if there are a few clubs in your area. Just be a nice person, and help out as much as you can. Show up early to set up, and stay after to tear down if you can. Help paste targets after every shooter, and maybe after a few matches you could even offer to run PractiScore if you're up to it. Learning PractiScore really helped me learn how hit factor and everything works a lot sooner, plus you'll follow the RO around and learn the subtleties of how targets are scored at the same time. Also, make sure you're familiar with the rules before you get yourself DQ'd right off the bat. I've attached some files for a sort of overview of where to start. A bit older, but still good information in there. FirstMatch.pdf uspsa-getting-started.pdf

I've been wondering about the toolhead spring. Would you say it's definitely worth the purchase? I'm not running any sort of autodrive like the Mk7, but I'm nearing about ~14k cycles and they're claiming you'll start to see wear from the OEM spring after ~20k. I'm definitely already seeing it start to deform, and the toolhead doesn't quite bounce up like it did when it was brand new.

Yeah, I figured a good catcher would be easy to move around quickly, and then I could add a tarp to the left of it for any positions that I may be further away from. Most of my practice is moving between no more than a few positions, but it’d be really nice to have an easy pickup method when practicing high-volume stationary drills like Bill/Blake Drill, Distance changeup, Draw/Reload, etc. and not have brass scattered way off in different directions any time I turn more than a few degrees on transitions. I don’t know how 38SC goes, but .40 really flies sometimes.