StealthyBlagga

I will start by saying that we participate in an exceptionally safe sport. Thousands of us run-and-gun every week, and the frequency of gunshot wounds is vanishingly small. With this being said, accidents can happen, and if they do then speed of action is crucial. I keep a full trauma kit in my vehicle's trunk, but at some matches that could be several minutes away from the shooting location. I therefore put together a small trauma kit in a pouch with an ELS fork on the back so I can carry it on my match belt. The ELS fork lets me move the kit around according to the location of my other gear, or from one belt to another. More critically, it lets me immediately pull it from the belt location for rapid access to the contents. In order to be unobtrusive, the pouch is only large enough to hold a QuikClot combat gauze and a RATS tourniquet - just enough to slow the blood loss until a bigger kit or a medical professional can be brought to the patient. The pouch itself is made by Condor and available from Amazon, and the ELS fork attach to it via an old aluminum bar that I pulled off a shotgun caddy (of course, any suitable substitute would work) with some suitable screws. It took me about 15 minutes to assemble. The photos below show how it came together... hope you guys find this information interesting.

We keep 14" yellow zip ties in all the stage boxes... at 7-cents each, they are cheap enough to give away: LINK

The 2nd annual Arizona State Pistol Caliber Carbine Championship will be hosted by Rio Salado Sportsman's Club (Mesa, AZ) during the last weekend of September (September 28th-30th). We are grateful to Quarter Circle 10 for stepping up as the Title Sponsor this year. The 2017 match was a big hit, and we are growing it significantly for 2018; more stages, higher round count, bigger prize table, and the option to shoot the entire match in one day (Friday) or over two days (Saturday + Sunday). You can look forward to the same successful formula we pioneered last year... your PCC skills will be tested to the max. There will be 10 challenging run-n-gun PCC-only stages, with targets ranging from 1 yard to over 100 yards. Ammo count is expected to be around 400 rounds. The generous prize table will be distributed by random draw during the match as each squad rotates through the prize/vendor demo area, and trophies will be awarded in each division according to entries. The match will be run under IMA-PCC rules (Time-Plus with Points). Equipment divisions will be as follows: • Open Division: Any semi-auto pistol caliber carbine. No other restrictions. • Limited Division: Any semi-auto pistol caliber carbine fitted with non-magnified sights only (red dots, irons and lasers OK). No other restrictions. • Irons Division: Any semi-auto pistol caliber carbine fitted with iron sights only (no optics or lasers). • Modern Classic Division: Any semi-auto pistol caliber carbine based on a submachine gun designed prior to January 1st 1980. This includes popular post-war guns like the Uzi and MP5, but NOT the AR15/9. The general configuration of the firearm, including sighting system, must be reasonably faithful to the original (no optics unless original), and all magazines are limited to 30 rounds. Firearms must be fitted with a shoulder stock - no pistols or pistol braces allowed. Ammunition must be 9mm or larger, and muzzle velocity may not exceed 1600fps. Registration opens 6pmMST on Friday 15th June at the PractiScore website. The match fee is $195 and includes a free match shirt. Payment will be taken online during registration. Once the match is filled, additional entrants will be placed on a wait list.

I've tried a coupe of drop-in barrels with no measurable improvement in accuracy. I've installed two Apex Semi-Fit barrels (1 x 4.25" and 1 x 5"); both needed only a small amount filed off the back of the hood. Follow the video instructions and you will see a notable improvement.

I didn't know that - can you point me to the rule that says this?

3-Gunners learn this early and it quickly becomes second nature.

I ran several Arredondo 140mm extensions for a while. They never let me down, but I could not load them to the rated capacity (Arredondo extensions on my M&P9 only held 22 rounds, whereas TTI hold 23). For this reason I switched to TTI, and I gave my Arredondo extensions away to a friend; as far as I know, they have continued to serve him well. If the $$$ saved is worth the extra round of capacity lost, then buy with confidence. Note that a lot of magazine extensions may not be compatible with aftermarket mag funnels, so check your particular combination to ensure functionality.

GWACS sells the lower receiver originally designed by Cavalry Arms. I had a couple back in the day and they were pretty robust. The stock is A1 length (on the shorter side) and not adjustable for length. Take Down and Pivot pins were proprietary, and IIRC the buffer was secured with a roll pin. Sling locations are limited (no QD points). Overall, if you are OK with the fixed stock and pistol grip, they are a decent option for a lightweight build. I imagine you could get similar weight with a forged aluminum lower and a light-weight stock like the MFT Minimalist, but confess I haven't looked at the relative weights closely enough to know for sure.

Here are the practical long-gun events we have scheduled this month at Rio Salado (Mesa, AZ): Rio Black Rifle Match: Saturday May 5th @ 7:00am This is an action rifle match with targets from 1 yard to 500 yards. The accuracy challenges tend to be a bit more demanding than at a typical 3-Gun match, so bring your A-Game. Any semi-auto military-type rifle in an INTERMEDIATE caliber (sorry, no .308 etc.) will work well - most of us run an AR15 of some type. You do not need to bring a handgun or shotgun. Pre-registration and squadding at PractiScore. Tactical .22 Rifle Match: Tuesday May 8th & 22nd @ 4pm Registration opens at 4pm, with first shots shortly thereafter. Location is the Smallbore Range right behind the Activity Center. The rules are simple: Targets are reactive steel - shoot them per the stage briefing, fastest combined time (+penalties for misses) wins. Pretty much any .22 rimfire rifle is OK - the most popular guns are AR15-clones and Ruger 10/22s. We have two divisions: iron sight and optical sight. Now that .22 ammo is more available, this is a match you won't want to miss. Scoring is done on paper, so pre-registration is NOT required. 3-Gun/2-Gun (Multi-Gun) Match: Saturday May 12th @ 7am There will be four run-n-gun courses of fire requiring rifle, pistol and/or shotgun, with targets anywhere from 1 yard to 550 yards. We offer 3-Gun (rifle/pistol/shotgun) and 2-Gun (rifle/pistol) divisions. Those in the 3-Gun divisions should bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo, 50 shotgun birdshot (#6 or smaller), and 50 rounds of pistol ammo. Those in the 2-Gun divisions should bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo and 150 rounds of pistol ammo. Pre-registration and squadding opens at 6pm on the preceding Monday at the PractiScore website. After registering, the competitor will be able select from squads in one of two time slots: 7am-10am or 10am-1pm. New shooters should sign up for a 10am-1pm squad and come in time to attend the new shooter orientation at 9:30am before they shoot. We are fortunate to have four very generous sponsors for our monthly match: VLTOR donates two of their excellent AR15 rifle stock kits. LUTH-AR send us one of their fine MBA-series rifle stocks. KE Arms provides two gift certificates. Timney provides a trigger of the winner's choice. All prizes are distributed by random draw from the list of competitor who finish the match. With typical attendance around 75-100 shooters, your odds of winning something nice are pretty good. Tactical Shotgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine Match: Thursday May 17th @ 4pm Registration opens at 4pm, with a new shooter orientation shortly thereafter. The match format is four practical scenario-based stages similar to what you would encounter at a 3-Gun match, except that you only need to bring one gun - you choose either shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. There will be separate divisions for shotgun (Open, Limited and Pump) and pistol caliber carbine (Optic and Iron). Any tactical shotgun will work well in this match, or you can shoot a pistol caliber carbine (minimum caliber = 9mm, maximum velocity = 1600fps). Scoring is done on paper, so pre-registration is NOT required. Red Mountain Action Rifle Match: Sunday May 20th @ 10am This is a rifle-only match comprising four run-n-gun stages. All targets are at CQB ranges, maximum 60 yards. The equipment divisions accommodate iron and optical sights, rimfire rifle, centerfire rifle and pistol caliber carbine. Bring 150 rounds of ammo. Pre-registration and squadding opens at 6pm on the preceding Monday on PractiScore.

In my experience, most holsters made for the M&P9 1.0 will work well enough. For when concealment is the priority, I bought a Safariland Model 18 for the regular 4.25" M&P 1.0. It is inexpensive, comfortable, easy on/off, and very concealable. It fits my M&P9 2.0 Compact perfectly. For when comfort and speed are the priority, I had Ian Martin at International Handgun Leather make me a custom straight-drop (zero cant) version of his Limited OWB holster. He does great work and the fit to my 2.0 Compact is flawless. IHL is a long-time supported of AZ USPSA matches too. For match use (uncommon), I cut down a spare Safariland Model 51 5" M&P 1.0 holster I had lying about. It works fine and is fast on the draw, but is not very concealable.

A lot of outlaw 3-Gun rules do not cover this question in a lot of detail. However, they don't cover a lot of things in detail - safety protocols, range commands, scoring policies etc. etc. Instead, they rely on USPSA rules and practices as the foundation upon which their rules are built. Thus, I would expect most matches would NOT allow a shooter to make a major change like switching uppers between stages. From the comment made above, UML appears to be an exception, but I am not very conversant with their rules so would defer to others on this point. Personally, I would not change any major firearm component during a match without confirming with the Range Master first. The penalty for making unapproved gun changes would very likely be a match DQ for unsportsmanlike conduct. That is how I have treated it at my matches - including at club level. I personally prefer the rule that you have to use one set of equipment for the whole match. Making balanced equipment choices is part of the sport, plus it keeps an already expensive sport at least somewhat accessible to all... do we want the winner to be the best shooter or the person who can afford the most guns? As a general comment, I abhor the attitude that bending, breaking or ignoring the rules is OK at a local/club match. I would regard this as CHEATING wherever it happens. Why is a local/club match any different than a major? Does the fact that you are less likely to get caught mean it is OK? What do you gain by cheating?

Here are the practical long-gun events we have scheduled this month at Rio Salado: Rio Black Rifle Match: Saturday April 7th @ 9:00am This is an action rifle match with targets from 1 yard to 500 yards. The accuracy challenges tend to be a bit more demanding than at a typical 3-Gun match, so bring your A-Game. Any semi-auto military-type rifle in an INTERMEDIATE caliber (sorry, no .308 etc.) will work well - most of us run an AR15 of some type. You do not need to bring a handgun or shotgun. Pre-registration and squadding at the Practiscore website. 3-Gun/2-Gun (Multi-Gun) Match: Saturday April 14th @ 7am There will be four run-n-gun courses of fire requiring rifle, pistol and/or shotgun, with targets anywhere from 1 yard to 550 yards. We offer 3-Gun (rifle/pistol/shotgun) and 2-Gun (rifle/pistol) divisions. Those in the 3-Gun divisions should bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo, 50 shotgun birdshot (#6 or smaller), and 50 rounds of pistol ammo. Those in the 2-Gun divisions should bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo and 150 rounds of pistol ammo. Pre-registration and squadding opens at 6pm on the preceding Monday at the Practiscore website. After registering, the competitor will be able select from squads in one of two time slots: 7am-10am or 10am-1pm. New shooters should sign up for a 10am-1pm squad and come in time to attend the new shooter orientation at 9:30am before they shoot. We are fortunate to have four very generous sponsors for our monthly match: VLTOR donates two of their excellent AR15 rifle stock kits. LUTH-AR send us one of their fine MBA-series rifle stocks. KE Arms provides two gift certificates. Timney provides a trigger of the winner's choice. All prizes are distributed by random draw from the list of competitor who finish the match. With typical attendance around 75-100 shooters, your odds of winning something nice are pretty good. Tactical .22 Rifle Match: Tuesday April 10th & 24th @ 4pm Registration opens at 4pm, with first shots shortly thereafter. Location is the Smallbore Range right behind the Activity Center. The rules are simple: Targets are reactive steel - shoot them per the stage briefing, fastest combined time (+penalties for misses) wins. Pretty much any .22 rimfire rifle is OK - the most popular guns are AR15-clones and Ruger 10/22s. We have two divisions: iron sight and optical sight. Now that .22 ammo is more available, this is a match you won't want to miss. Scoring is done on paper, so pre-registration is NOT required. Red Mountain Action Rifle Match: Sunday April 15th @ 10am This is a rifle-only match comprising four run-n-gun stages. All targets are at CQB ranges, maximum 60 yards. The equipment divisions accommodate iron and optical sights, rimfire rifle, centerfire rifle and pistol caliber carbine. Bring 150 rounds of ammo. Pre-registration and squadding opens at 6pm on the preceding Monday at the Practiscore website. Tactical Shotgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine Match: Thursday April 19th @ 4pm Registration opens at 4pm, with a new shooter orientation shortly thereafter. The match format is four practical scenario-based stages similar to what you would encounter at a 3-Gun match, except that you only need to bring one gun - you choose either shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. There will be separate divisions for shotgun (Open, Limited and Pump) and pistol caliber carbine (Optic and Iron). Any tactical shotgun will work well in this match, or you can shoot a pistol caliber carbine (minimum caliber = 9mm, maximum velocity = 1600fps). Scoring is done on paper, so pre-registration is NOT required.

In general I am not a fan of gratuitous unloaded or empty chamber starts. However, we did have a Condition 3 start (loaded mag inserted, empty chamber) at one of the stages I designed for SMM3G last week. We did it because prone rifle shooting was an option, and (1) some folks feel nervous pointing a hot handgun uprange, even in a holster, plus (2) we cannot be sure everyone will have secure holsters. Each year someone's pistol falls out of their holster, and an empty chamber makes things much safer for all concerned (even though under our rules that is still a match DQ - loaded or not). As mentioned above, it is a layered approach to safety - in this case TWO things have to go wrong before someone gets hurt. As everyone had the same challenge of remembering to rack a round into the chamber, the competitive playing field was level.

This was a great suggestion - saved a lot of time once we started doing it consistently.

I don't disagree. After the first day, the RM sent out an email to each CRO with guidance on "best practice" with respect to chamber flags. Saturday seemed to go noticeably smoother. We only made chamber flags mandatory at the beginning of this year. We did so to align with USPSA (we adopted their protocol verbatim); with the growth of USPSA PCC Division at our club, we wanted to ensure consistency of long gun handling across all the matches we run. We did get the same push back from our local 3-gunners at first, but they are getting used to it (maybe "resigned" is a better word). Thanks for hanging in there with us on this issue

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. In the end, I took a chance on an inexpensive Vortex monocular and it actually worked very well. I was able to make hit calls on steel out past 300 yards, and the device is relatively compact and easy to stash away in my rifle bag. For $100, the glass is really quite good (sharp in the center, just a little blurring at the edges). Overall, I can recommend this monocular for occasional ad hoc use when compact dimensions and reasonable cost are considerations.

Here are the practical long-gun events we have scheduled this month at Rio Salado: Rio Black Rifle Match: Saturday March 3rd @ 9:00am This is an action rifle match with targets from 1 yard to 500 yards. The accuracy challenges tend to be a bit more demanding than at a typical 3-Gun match, so bring your A-Game. Any semi-auto military-type rifle in an INTERMEDIATE caliber (sorry, no .308 etc.) will work well - most of us run an AR15 of some type. You do not need to bring a handgun or shotgun. Pre-registration and squadding at the Practiscore website. 3-Gun/2-Gun (Multi-Gun) Match: Saturday March 10th @ 7am There will be four run-n-gun courses of fire requiring rifle, pistol and/or shotgun, with targets anywhere from 1 yard to 550 yards. We offer 3-Gun (rifle/pistol/shotgun) and 2-Gun (rifle/pistol) divisions. Those in the 3-Gun divisions should bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo, 50 shotgun birdshot (#6 or smaller), and 50 rounds of pistol ammo. Those in the 2-Gun divisions should bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo and 150 rounds of pistol ammo. Pre-registration and squadding opens at 6pm on the preceding Monday at the Practiscore website. After registering, the competitor will be able select from squads in one of two time slots: 7am-10am or 10am-1pm. New shooters should sign up for a 10am-1pm squad and come in time to attend the new shooter orientation at 9:30am before they shoot. We are fortunate to have four very generous sponsors for our monthly match: VLTOR donates two of their excellent AR15 rifle stock kits. LUTH-AR send us one of their fine MBA-series rifle stocks. KE Arms provides two gift certificates. Timney provides a trigger of the winner's choice. All prizes are distributed by random draw from the list of competitor who finish the match. With typical attendance around 75-100 shooters, your odds of winning something nice are pretty good. Tactical .22 Rifle Match: Tuesday March 13th & 27th @ 4pm Registration opens at 4pm, with first shots shortly thereafter. Location is the Smallbore Range right behind the Activity Center. The rules are simple: Targets are reactive steel - shoot them per the stage briefing, fastest combined time (+penalties for misses) wins. Pretty much any .22 rimfire rifle is OK - the most popular guns are AR15-clones and Ruger 10/22s. We have two divisions: iron sight and optical sight. Now that .22 ammo is more available, this is a match you won't want to miss. Scoring is done on paper, so pre-registration is NOT required. Tactical Shotgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine Match: Thursday March 15th @ 4pm Registration opens at 4pm, with a new shooter orientation shortly thereafter. The match format is four practical scenario-based stages similar to what you would encounter at a 3-Gun match, except that you only need to bring one gun - you choose either shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. There will be separate divisions for shotgun (Open, Limited and Pump) and pistol caliber carbine (Optic and Iron). Any tactical shotgun will work well in this match, or you can shoot a pistol caliber carbine (minimum caliber = 9mm, maximum velocity = 1600fps). Scoring is done on paper, so pre-registration is NOT required. Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun: Friday March 23rd - Sunday March 25th This is a major 3-Gun match that attracts the top competitors in the nation. The match is completely sold out with a healthy wait list, so no walk-ups, but if you are interested in action shooting you should definitely come out to watch the best shooters wrestling with the most challenging stages anywhere. There will also be a sizable vendor exhibit/sales hall. No fee to be a spectator or to visit the vendor hall, but bring eye and ear protection.

Nope, but the key advantage - IMHO - of the 2.0 in Production was the improved accuracy out of the box, the "improved" trigger, and the improved grip texture. Now (well, after 90 days) you can drop in an Apex FSS trigger and barrel, and stipple anywhere you want on the grip, so the advantages of the 2.0 have largely disappeared. Certainly there is nothing wrong with the 2.0, but the 1.0 is available now in black and likely at lower prices (though I confess I haven't looked... I already have ample 1.0s in my safe), so this may be a good alternative route to a Production-legal top performer. I did see someone mention here that the 2.0 recoiled softer than a 1.0. I have not really noticed that with my 2.0 Compact, but it may not be a true apples-to-apples comparison.

With the new Production rules, a 1.0 with Apex barrel and FSS trigger makes a lot of sense.

Funny you should mention that... one of my earlier creations:

Someone PM'd me asking how I made a 62-round big stick magazine for my Colt-type PCC, so here are the step-by-step instructions. I started with a couple of Uzi magazines; they are cheap and don't have the rear rib like the Colt mags (simpler to modify). I can live without last round hold open... if the mag is big enough, I should never reach the last round. To start with, I had a friend mill the mag catch slot in the top magazine and I squared off the bottom: Next, I cut off the top of the second magazine just below the side indentations: Before welding the two tubes together, I fabricated a backing block by beating on a piece of 1" copper pipe: Now for the worst welds you will ever see (fortunately Dremel sanding drums can hide a multitude of sins): I cleaned up the inside of the tube with a couple of extra-long files from Harbor Freight. Next, I needed to join the two standard springs together into one long spring. I calculated the spring length to get the same ratio of uncompressed spring length to tube length, cut top and bottom spring to preserve the floorplate and follower connections, and joined the two springs using a piece of brass tubing; I filled the tube with soft-solder flux, assembled it over the two spring ends, heated the tube and allowed lead-tin solder to flow in and fill the tube. The spring never gets hot enough to lose its temper, and the join is quite robust: Lastly, I ground down the back of the magazine between the feed lips so that it would accept my MagLULA Colt 9mm loader (loading these magazines with thumbs SUCKS): This is what it looked like before I gave it a shot of OD Green KG GunKote: And in my 10.5" 9mm SBR: The FrankenMagazine Gods must be smiling on me because this magazine runs very reliably. To be safe, I squirt a generous amount of graphite powder into the tube while loading it (one puff for each 10 rounds), but this may be unnecessary. Any questions, post 'em here.

Not such a dumb rule IMHO. Lately I have seen folks doing all kinds of unnecessary gun handling in staging areas - sight pictures, adjusting stock length, show-n-tell with their buddies etc. The staging area is NOT a "safety area lite". We recently updated IMA rules to clarify what conduct is permitted in each of the FOUR different gun handling areas at our matches.

Level 1

I can share my experience of helping grow my club's monthly outlaw multigun match. Although the discipline is slightly different, and target demographic slightly older, I suspect some of the same lessons apply. About 8 years ago, my co-MD and I took over a match that had a good core participation but was struggling to grow beyond that. We initially focused on making the stages more engaging (i.e. making the shooting challenges more diverse and fun); this led to occasional participants becoming regulars and word of mouth growing our base. With a baseline of participation, we then started marketing our matches more widely as follows: 1) We updated the club website to give information we thought would be helpful for a newbie (description of the sport and our matches, basic equipment requirements etc.). Just like in USPSA, there are a lot of folks out there who think they need the latest in competition gear before they come to their first match, so we wanted to make them understand that pretty much any basic AR15, repeating shotgun and centerfire handgun was workable for their first time. This barrier should be even lower for USPSA of course. 2) We started running a mandatory, FREE pre-match New Shooter Orientation class before every match. It only lasted about 30 minutes (about as much as a newbie can absorb), and participants could shoot the same day. This helped overcome the concern a lot of newbies have about equipment and conduct rules, and avoided the obvious safety pitfalls (like folks who arrive with a loaded handgun - common in our free state). Being mandatory, it prevented the perception that some might think themselves above such things. Pretty soon we found that we could significantly increased retention of those newbies if we paired them with an experienced shooter to coach them through their first match (there is nothing more likely to drive someone away than being scolded by an RO or fellow competitor at their first match). 3) We publicized the match every month on a couple of local shooting-related web forums (the AR15.com AZ hometown forum and arizonashooting.com). After each match we posted YouTube videos (and today you could do the same also via Facebook).This is a very targeted approach that lets us appeal to a like-minded demographic in our locale. We did our best to make entry into the sport appear very easy (such as telling them about the New Shooter Orientation, how to register etc.). 4) We ran several ad hoc action long gun matches a year that required only one gun. Rifle-only matches, wherein virtually any semi-auto rifle could be workable, were particularly popular and pulled in a lot of new faces from inside and outside the action shooting sports. 5) Most recently, we started offering both 2-Gun (rifle-pistol) AND 3-Gun (rifle-pistol-shotgun) divisions at the same match. This created a significant upward step-change in participation by overcoming the biggest remaining barrier - that newbies hate the shotgun. The above strategies have resulted in participation growing to the point where our monthly match fills up within minutes of opening on PractiScore; we now require pre-payment to squad and secure your slot, so our no-show rate has dropped off dramatically too (used to be just pay on the day). For a handgun match, your barriers to entry ought to be significantly lower and the potential market is significantly larger. One difficulty is the daunting USPSA rulebook; it makes sense to us as insiders, but newbies are like a deer in the headlights. Hence the need for an on-the-day new shooter orientation. One last tool that is critical, in my opinion, is feeder matches. Instead of trying to persuade a newbie to jump into the deep-end of the pool, why not ease them in at the shallow-end instead. Run a regular outlaw match with a greatly simplified set of rules loosely based on USPSA. Many clubs run simple steel matches that serve this purpose, with shooting boxes that are shot in sequence, and big steel plates that ring satisfyingly. My club runs such a match every week, and it regularly pulls twice as many people as a regular USPSA match. A paper match could work just as well, but keep it a simple, run-what-ya-brung affair. We also recognize that kids are our future (and, to a lesser extent, women). For this reason, the club runs a very simple .22 rimfire match (comparable to steel challenge), which works great for those of smaller stature and kids who are not yet ready for a centerfire handgun. Hope this helps