Tim James

Scores are up now on the main page.

I just noticed the scores from last year were compiled the Wednesday after the match. I guess I'll stop checking the website until later this week.

Yeah I noticed that. I rarely dry fire, so I figure if I take it easy on the grippers I'll be fine.

Is Frostproof the location for this match going forward, or will you evaluate other locations next year? I ask because the range is relatively close to me. Now would be a good opportunity to shoot this match if there's even a small chance it will move next year. How far is the steel from the shooting area, typically? Is there anything over 20+ yards?

Thanks for spelling this out. I watched some videos of this stage and didn't think I'd be good enough to hit the swinger right away. At a local match I'd probably come back to it because I enjoy shooting the match clean. But your explanation makes sense.

I can see it fine. It says 1.62. (This was a joke... )

I'm also cross dominant (the other way) and all my shots make a nice little pattern on the left of the bullseye. I figured it was one of the things you described. I'm going to work on that next. Normally my accuracy is acceptable but steel plates at 20+ yds kill me. Thanks for posting this to motivate me. Now I just need some practice ammo.

No, I was echoing people above who said it was difficult to fit a gun (with an expert or your book) to a new shooter. That's me. I don't intend to continue using my 870 that beats me up. I'd like to find a new semi-auto that gets me close enough to run a few months of sporting clays, then really dig into the gun fit. Part of this is motivational -- I'll never bother to work on gun fit unless I start shooting clays again, and I don't want to shoot clays unless I get a gun that beats me up less than the 870. Once I do, I'll put the time into getting it fit perfectly. That's just my personality. If the book will help me evaluate guns for purchase, I will check it out now. If the semi-auto will make very little difference compared to a pump gun, then I'll wait until I'm motivated to fit my 870. I'm not trying to be the guy that throws money at the problem. But I can afford to buy a new semi-auto that fits "good enough for now" if it will help in the long run and get me out shooting sooner rather than later.

This thread is a year old but thanks for bumping it. I'd like to get back into casual 5 stand and sporting clays. My 870 Express beats the shit out of my face after 100 rounds. I can't see down the rib unless I dig my cheek into it. (Funny story: I shot clays with my groomsmen and later realized I'd have a yellow bruise on my cheek at the wedding; luckily it was barely noticeable.) I was going to buy a cheap semi-auto to see if that helped. What I learned from this thread is I only need to get a gun that's "good enough" and then worry about fitting it later when I'm better at mounting consistently. The most important thing for me seems to be finding a gun where I don't need to bury my cheek to see down the rib. I ought to be able to do that at a store by myself. (If I'm missing something, let me know.) This will help me overcome analysis paralysis without needing to find an expert right away. Thanks everyone.

I don't reload. But someone else suggested keeping an eye on ammoseek.com. If you're on the east coast, check it every morning as soon as you wake up. I've seen boxes of 9mm each of the last two mornings. Once I was too late, but this morning I picked up some range ammo. With shipping it's 30-40% more than I pay at Walmart. At least it will get me through this month's matches. It's something to keep in mind for those of us who don't need much ammo and on balance have more money than time to call Walmart or local shops every day. I told myself after 2008 that I ought to stock up. But my Walmart never had enough ammo to buy in bulk. Maybe I'll switch to large orders online from somewhere like Georgia Arms. It's probably easier for reloaders to stock up.

Some of you might be interested in a computer game called Receiver, by Wolfire. The focus is on manipulating weapons and magazines with individual keystrokes for each task -- dropping the magazine or opening a revolver cylinder, loading individual rounds, racking the slide, etc. It's a glorified tech demo that was created in a week, so there's very little game here. You wander around procedurally generated rooms and shoot automated defenses. But it's unique enough that it's worth playing around with for 30 minutes. Unfortunately they're charging $5 for it, so check out these videos to see if you're intrigued. It doesn't sound like he's a gun expert. Feel free to send the developer constructive criticism.

Chris

Yes, I'd still like a thesis on why some of the top USPSA shooters screw up on pistol challenges every now and then, but it's always enjoyable to watch their preparation and economy of motion.

I figured you guys would be cheering: there was zero reality show melodrama in the episode last night. They just showed the shooting. We also got to hear Ashley talking to Kyle about some things "the USPSA guys" told him.

I don't remember the bullets being visible last season on the shots and misses. Do you think that was added in post-production, or do they have high speed cameras on all the targets? The bullet from the Sharps rifle hitting the target looked really odd, like it was added digitally to show the viewer where the rounds went.

Did anyone catch ol' Top Shot Iain Harrison (listed as Ian Harris, haha) during the first MGM Ironman episode? Or maybe that's his real name and they changed it for Top Shot to give him a slight bit of anonymity?

Brad, I don't know if you're checking the thread, but I appreciated your presence on the show. The cameras had their eye on you, and when I watched carefully I picked up some little USPSA maneuvers that even I do in C class, like going through the motions before the stage, and an intense focus during practice on the particular skills you'll need to compete. I don't think an average viewer would notice, but I liked seeing USPSA's principles of visualization and economy of motion on display. Thanks.

Where are these 2 3/4" CCWs with a locking fork snap?

$45-50 is pretty steep since I am just doing local matches for fun, but I might try out one of the premium brands to go along with my two 6-shell CCW carriers. I have a little time and money to experiment. It will be a birthday present anyway. (I believe I got 3-gun gear for my birthday last year too; I'm glad I have at least one hobby that provides a few gift ideas!) Good point about space being a premium. I am left eyed but right handed, so on multigun stages I will have my handgun on my right hip and my shotgun on my left shoulder. I won't have any room to put caddies around my right hip. And thanks for the tip on the velcro side saddle. I couldn't figure out the right keywords for those. That's what I wanted. I don't want too much weight on the gun loading weak hand because uh... I'm still rocking the stock Wal-Mart 28" barrel or whatever it is.

Speaking of the : blink : emoticon, I wish the editors had given Kelly a bit of a reprieve during the elimination challenge practice. Most Hollywood actors don't even blink that much, although I guess he hit where he was aiming.

I'll be honest with you, I just don't feel like spending an hour researching 3-gun accessories. Does anyone know who makes the 4-shell holders in these weak hand reloading tutorial videos? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5dsnBsxXs What is the best 870 side saddle for a left handed shooter? It looks like some of them are so long they would get in the way of my fingers. I am looking for a couple of shells on the gun for quick weak hand reloads, whereas most of the ammo will be on my belt. At least that's what I'll be trying out first.

I'm not so sure about those "steel backers." It looks like there's a lot of flak coming out the back of them during the slow-mo introductory parts. Maybe it's just the disintegrated bullet? Why didn't anyone on the blue team go inspect the prop afterwards? I would have been crawling all over their sets right after each match to make sure they didn't screw something up. Perhaps it was against the rules.

Well, I have to admit defeat. I was hoping a well qualified original post would be enough to get a quick cheap recommendation, but you guys put too much doubt in my head! I will take a look at a few optics at the local matches and find something I like for Christmas. I have lots of other gun gear coming in for my birthday that will keep me busy, and I love shooting irons anyway. Will grab the Miculek comp for the hell of it.

I also noticed the Vortex Strikefire was not parallax free below 50 yards. Is that at all relevant to our game? See, look what you've all made me do: research! I feel myself getting sucked in.

Hmm.. I was going to throw a simple red dot on there given that local matches don't go past 50 yards and I just wanted to play with one, but now I'm tempted by that Millet DMS-1 (or similar) because I'll be able to try out a few more aspects to an optic than just a dot. Total rifle newbie so I want to see what I like. (And as I mentioned, I'd go try out everyone else's equipment first but the birthday is coming too quickly!)