CC3D

Whelp, after some trial and error it looks like there isn't a cheap way to beat a cerakote job. I tried regular rattle can, spray enamel, and the former with a clear top coat and nothing held up. I didn't bother spending the extra money for what I new would have the same result (duracote or the amazon stuff), I ended up grinding down the part to able metal and polishing it. If you're tying to go this route, I'd just get it coated professionally

Yep, that is wayyyy too much. Keep us posted on what you find out, I have trouble believing that much variance is coming from the die itself.

Several people have already said it here, but just to give you even more confidence, +/- .005 is my acceptable variance. If they're on the high side I plunk test them to be safe.

So long as its accessories fit within the guidelines, yes.

I don't 100% agree with this.. Pins clean the inside of cases. Just soap and water cant get in there as good to get the crud out of range pickup brass.

If thats all you're after they both are a blast. The TS platform in 9mm shoots like a dream. I'd say get whichever one you can find a bargain on, theres not many objectively different things that would sway me to purchase one over the other aside from caliber options. Give us an update once you decide!

As of right now, I do not believe the TS2 is available in .40 in the states. The guns you are asking about are specifically for limited division, and you want to be shooting major if you're going to drop that $$ on a competition gun that only fits in one division. That being said, I'd go for the TSO at the moment. They are nearly identical to be completely honest, the TSO fitment is supposedly a better and an all around more refined gun, but that could be hearsay. Used TS/ TSO's in .40 come up on the classifieds here for a decent deal every once and a while. If you are committed to limited division and are buying this to be a competition focused gun, I'd go for a used TSO in .40.

Interesting for sure. A model for the TS lineup that is made to be retained with a guide rod is what I believe is desired by most here. Please keep us updated on his progress, I'm sure many here are interested.

Incredible! What is he using to secure the comp? Looks like he has it set up for an extended length guide rod, that something else he is working on/ found a workaround for?

Cmon now don't tease us like that. Details!

Slightly off topic but was at a level one match one time where a stage got thrown out because it got broken down before an entire squad shot it. Squad must have been moving slow, not sure, but the stage was completely disassembled before the final squad arrived. They ended up throwing it out (assuming that was the right call?), so there's another potential reason why one gets tossed at the local level.

Thank you! They look slick on the S2 for sure! They may fit on the TS, but I know they sell a shorter length one to accommodate the magwell. So the S2 ones would likely need some modification there. Why are you considering selling?

I don't think there is anything wrong with using USPSA as a training tool to help you better your gun handling skills. Lots of people us it for that. But that's not what it's for. To go back to the drag race analogy, If I want to learn how to be a better driver by learning to control my car when I push it to the absolute limit, that's fine. Thats like using USPSA as a training tool to master gun handling skills. But I cant then go and complain about the sport of drag racing because it didn't teach me how to do a three point turn. Thats like expecting to learn "tactical" bs from USPSA.

Wouldn't show up to a drag race hoping to get some quality drivers ed..

Found something interesting online. There is a gunsmith in the Philippines who made a TSO into an open gun with what looks like the threaded barrel in question. I don't have a Facebook so I am unable to reach out to them and ask questions. Looks promising. It doesn't look like they did any frame or slide modifications to make it fit but difficult to tell. Somebody with a Facebook and want to reach out about some details of the build? If it is a proprietary compensator they make take orders on them, who knows. This looks like the exact configuration I'd be going for however so it has me very interested.

David (humble marksman) has some of the best video content regarding starting out in USPSA. I highly recommend a binge of his "building a better shooter" video series and podcast. He also gets into some very nerdy USPSA stuff on his Patreon which is 1 dollar a month, if you end up getting hooked on the sport and want more commentary.

Agreed! It doesn't seem like many people run them, I cant find any reviews outside of LOK's website. I also want to know how they're going to look on my specific gun before I drop all that cash.

Not to be snarky but if you are capable of safely handling a firearm and are conscious enough to keep it pointed down rage while you move around, you are competent enough to shoot a USPSA match. You can walk all of your stages for your first match. Let them know its your first time and they will put you on a squad that can help you. They will likely give you a new shooter briefing and hammer home the important rules. Don't stress too much about practicing for your first match beyond being familiar with safe pistol handling. That's reholstering a loaded gun, drawing from a holster, reloading, moving with a gun in your hand. Practice the safety stuff. The rest will come.

We do not have "novice divisions" inn USPSA, but some divisions are easier to enter gear wise compared to others so that's where new shooters generally begin. These would be traditionally limited/ production, but now tons more people have dots on their pistols so CO is popular too in that regard. We do however have a classification system (D,C,B,A, master, grandmaster) that is a determination of your "rank" in the sport, I usually explain it as being similar to that of belt levels in martial arts. You're still competing against everyone in your division, but you're also competing against the people specific to your classification. Steel challenge is a great place to start if USPSA is intimidating rules wise. I would definitely still check out USPSA though. GSSF is not my cup of tea but very new competitor friendly.

So as others have mentioned, you don't really need to worry about the difficulty of the competition field yet. That said, I think there is an interesting comment to make here. Yes, CO is very popular right now and a very competitive division because of it's popularity. But it's also a very popular division with ALL skill levels. What that means is, you're likely to have many shooters at your local club shooting CO that are much closer in skill to you. That is a good thing because it gives you individual people you can compete against in your division. So yes, the top guys shooting CO at your club are going to be beasts. But there will be a BUNCH of D/C/B class shooters shooting CO at your club to measure yourself against. Hope that makes sense.

The DPM system is something I'm interested in myself, how do you like it so far? Do you notice a considerable difference in recoil or more so using it as a alternative to a buffer?

Ive been loading on the Pro 1000 now for about a year and a half, and have 6000+ rounds loaded so far. It's been good to me, but it will soon be time to upgrade. I wanted to quickly share the technique that I use to run my pro 1000 as efficiently and safely as possible over the past few thousand rounds. I do not trust the priming system on this machine. It is the only shortcoming this little press has in my opinion. For this reason, I load my cases in 2 steps. Step one: resize/ deprime all cases and prime them. Step 2: the rest of the process. I do this by buying a second tool head that has the resize deprime die. They are 12 bucks and super easy to switch in and out. By priming in a separate step, you're able to pay closer attention to the priming system and have less issues fixing it when problems do arise. It also allows you to check that primers were seated properly before completing the round. I really like doing this step in isolation. This method also allows you to run a powder check and bullet feeder in the second step! You free up a position for a powder check when you resize and prime separately. Running it this way gives me peace of mind and less of a headache. I find that I need to pause and fiddle less when I use this method. Give it a shot if you want to run a bullet feeder and powder check on a Pro 1000.

Nice work!

I would argue that "hardest division" isn't really a thing and is very subjective. If you're referring to "most competitive", carry optics is very popular right now and a lot of people shoot in it, making it a division with a larger pool of high level shooters. Hardest division is arguably revolver.. maybe production and single stack as well. You simply cant go as fast in those divisions due to mag capacity and they require more stage planning/ reloads. This makes them more technically difficult to achieve higher scores in but again its all relative, you compete against the people in your division not revolvers vs. race guns. I would say DONT worry about the perceived "difficulty" of a division. Each division has its own challenges to overcome. Start in the division that you already have a gun for while you learn the sport, then venture out into other divisions if you desire. Carry optics is where you stand right now with the gun you described. Shoot a match in CO, learn the game, and don't worry about how you perform until you can safely finish a match and understand how the game works. That is not meant to be harsh by any means!

It's difficult to explain why the laser could hurt in the long run. That split second of red showing up on the target is programming your brain to get information about your shot placement from the target, not the sights. You want that information to come from your sights. Regardless, for now if you enjoy using the laser and it helps you train I don't think anyone will condemn you for it. Just keep in mind when you get to the point where "shot calling" is something you want to start working on, the laser won't help for that. Check out "That shooting show" by Steve Anderson. Great podcast with lots of USPSA shooting philosophy there. He explains shot calling (and anything else discussed in this thread) better than any of us can. I personally think his podcast is the best "instructional" one out there. He has a bunch of podcasts geared towards training tips for new USPSA shooters, I'd start with one of them when you have 20 mins to spare.