detonics

ARKANSAS COMBAT PISTOL LEAGUE TO HOST THE IDPA SINGLE STACK CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH. Berryville, AR – Arkansas Combat Pistol League is once again hosting the IDPA Single Stack Championship. Arkansas Combat Pistol League or IDPA Club #1 is once again hosting the IDPA Single Stack Championship at Luther Owens Park in Berryville, AR. With 11 world class stages designed around the venerable Single Stack 1911, this match is still open to all IDPA Divisions. Drawing on local shooting history and talent always makes for a great match. Taking full advantage our vast experience, ranging from the first guy to run IDPA Matches – Carroll Lawrence, to five time national match director John May, it promises to be a challenging and fun day at the range. There will be 150 plus rounds on five bays and hospitality like you have never seen before. Take advantage of the remaining openings to get into this match. You can taste history and compete with your friends on the real world stages that will make you want to come back year after year. For more info on the Arkansas Combat Pistol League, the IDPA Single Stack Championship, or to learn about Luther Owens Park, check out our website at www.acpl.net. For more info contact johnmay1911@yahoo.com or lauragrigg@ymail.com

Yeah, it is much better to not have clear rules so that everything won't be fair. This is the thinking that...........nevermind. In fairness to the AC that was "sort of" quoted I will place the full text of what was emailed to Ken and I. Hi Ken, I know in USPSA they have taken the time to draft a ruling on the proper power factor to set a popper, and it is rather specific and requires calibration ammunition. As I recall from talking about this with one of the founders, they did not set such a rule for two reasons. First was that they felt that the MD should be cognizant of the consequences of having a popper set for a heavier power factor than shooters will be using. Otherwise, he should not be the MD. Second, they wanted to leave it open to the MD to be able to set it lower if he sees a reason to do this such as to accommodate the odd BUG shooter with a .380 or whatnot. A lot of the rulebook was set around the concept of "big boy rules" and the belief that the MD would have common sense enough to see the correct path within these issues. It does seem that as the sport grows there is are some different requirements for the rule book that was not there in the beginning. It is an interesting point to raise, and I hope Robert takes the time to think it over. As for the steel calibration question, I can assure you that I have placed it on my slate for review. You will however have to wait to see a official announcement on what we may be doing with SSR.

The rule book does not forbid mixed count stages for a reason. It is incumbent on the stage designer to justify why a particular target receives a different number of rounds that another. The key to that is that it should be realistic. To engage a target that is arms length away with two rounds to the body and one round to the head (Mozambique) and the remaining targets in the stage with only two rounds to the body is realistic. The first target is a very close, immediate threat. It would be the same if the first target was to receive six rounds to the body (Bill Drill). Again, immediate threat at a dangerously close distance. What we do not want to see is an arbitrary mix with no good reason and that makes a stage about memory over shooting skill. The stage mentioned by sirveyr has no place in IDPA and honesty should not have been approved. I understand that match directors are constantly working to try and add challenging stages to their match but this type of stage should not be the way in which this should be accomplished. I have been there myself and when I was still running matches years ago I wrote a few that were similar. I appreciate you bringing this up and I will make it a point to address this in my next communication to the AC's. To get back on point, it is ok to mix the round count up a little but in a way that makes sense. This usually is the first or last target. Prop and non-threat placement can help guide the competitor to the correct conclusion. An example would be two rounds to each body on all targets except the last one which gets one round to the head. A strategically placed prop or non-threat that only allows exposes the head would be a good way to explain the mixed count stage.

Thanks for all the help but it did require pulling the pee trap. The grease had hit the water in the pee trap and solidified. There was three inches of grease packed in there. I had the wife help me clean it out and I think she now understands the problem with pouring grease down the sink. Luckily so far everything went back together and it does not look like it is leaking. I have worked on plumbing before and it always seems like a 50/50 shot of some part leaking after re-assembly. Another reason to hate plumbing.

I do remember seeing that recipe but had forgotten until you mentioned it. Problem is that the water is standing and the plunger brought no joy. Still hating plumbing. I appreciate the ideas even though we border on discussion in a hate post.

I hate that when I get home this afternoon I will have to disassemble the plumbing under the sink. The spousal unit cooked two pounds of hamburger for taco meat and then proceeded to pour the grease down the drain. Apparently this is not the first time. Regardless, the sink now has standing water in it it will not move. Here's hoping it is wadded up in the pee trap. Really don't want to have to auger the main line. I hate hate hate plumbing. Oh and yea, the water has Drano mixed with it, nasty and toxic.

I am a new dad! Alexander Titus Ray was born on the Ides of March. Seemed appropriate for the name. Ronda's pregnancy over all has been pretty smooth and finished out that way as well. The doctor came in and gave her the epidural and once it took effect, they broker her water. When her contractions reached a couple of minute apart and she fully dilated (about 3 hours after inducing) the doctor came in and geared up. The time between the doctor taking up the catchers position and the time Xander was out was only about 10 minutes. Ronda only had to push less than 12 times and boom, there he was. We are all doing well and we are now home. Now on to the star of the show.

I saw the same episode and could not remember for sure. I though it was 1 part bleach to 5 parts water. Could not find it on Alton's site but a check of wiki answers confirmed the ratio.

All, As it stands for the moment, any steel guide rod in a Glock will place that gun in the ESP category. This will include factory installed models as well. If the Model 22 RTF comes out with a factory steel guide rod we may take another look at this. Robert Ray

Matt is correct. He asked me about this on Saturday at the Shake, Rattle and Roll IDPA match at the MVSA club in Hot Springs, (thread drift) which is a really great match. The people at MVSA consistently do a great job and always have some fun, challenging stages. I highly recommend going. Basically I don't see the need in this product yet I don't see any harm in it either. You can do the same thing with chalk, baby powder or range dirt for that matter. One of the the things to keep in mind is the founders desire to not see "competition only products" goes hand in hand with idea that we don't want to see an equipment race in IDPA. The idea is to not have products that are "have to have" for competing in IDPA. I hardly see the use of spray sticky as going down that road. I will dodge the whole Glock 34/35 thing though. I hope this helps. Robert Ray

Ted is correct that some people look at the pasters to determine if it is a threat or not. Pasters = shoot. I guess i am just an azz as when I was setting up, I always shot the non-threats then taped them before the match started. It was kind of funny the number of people this tripped up.

Gentleman, In regards to the question as to whether the STI Recoil Master is legal or not, the answer is no. This particular system was deemed a "competition only devise" over 4 years ago. I am not sure where this info may have been posted at the time as it was before I came to work here. Am pretty certain that if you mention that you want a particular model for IDPA competition that the great folks at STI will put a standard guide rod in your new blaster. They are a great company and very helpful. I do know that IDPA has not and will not start a list with the legality of every new gizmo that comes along. That list would quickly become useless do to the innumerable small changes that manufactures are constantly making to their products. This is why IDPA no longer has an approved holster list but instead a list of criteria that holsters must meet. Maybe a new parts criteria would be in order here but I would not start looking for a list. I do know that a number of people have asked for a rule clarification listing on the IDPA website and to that I can only say that although we do not have that at this time, the future brings many changes. Luckily there have been several people that offered reasonable and thoughtful requests devoid of the chest beating and the "stupid HQ" type references. I hope that this answers your questions. If you have a specific question please feel free to send it directly to me at HQ. That email once again is robert at idpa.com. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

When I travel with guns, I place them in a locking gun case inside my regular luggage with TSA locks on the out side of the luggage and on the locking case. It is to easy for a luggage handler to "find" a set of of the master keys. You see them laying around everywhere it seems. What I do to make it a little harder for a thief is I have notched my locking case so that I can feed a heavy cable into the case, through the trigger guards and back out and around the steel inner frame of the luggage. This allows TSA to look at it if they feel they must and at least slows down someone wanting to make simple snatch of my guns. It at least makes a thief work for it. It's not perfect but better than having TSA damage my locking case by them trying to cut the locks. Gear is a little tougher but I only put actual gun parts in checked luggage. Electronic ears, eyes, holsters and such go in my carry on. Robert Ray

Ah-hah!! So, can I get a ruling from IDPA HQ on whether or not it's okay for me to start a stage with a bunch of extra loaded mags in my pocket, enough to take me through the match, as long as I don't use them during the stage? That would be correct. Extra mags in a pocket are ok as long as they are not used in the String of fire. You can only use a maximum of three in any string of fire. Spares in the pocket for use in the next string or stage is legal. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

Well usually I put it in a shirt pocket with a hook and loop closure. I have enough stuff in my pants pockets (usually spare mags for the next stage) as it is. Every once in a while I forget and wear a non "tactical" shirt and sure enough the mag jumps out. I think that it waits for that day and does it on purpose. Robert Ray

Ok guys (and gals out there), I only answered the question Steve asked. The Barney Mag is a whole different issue. It boils down to "You can only use three mags in a single String of Fire." If you want to have more in your pocket for a multiple string CoF then that is ok and even encouraged in the interests of keeping the match running a quickly as possible. I hate having to wait while some one runs back to their bag to pick up extra mags. However, if a mag hits the ground you may get a PE depending on the situation. The SO is supposed to be watching the gun and not were the mag fell out from. In an ideal world the score keeper would catch this but there is not always one to be had. You may get the benifit of the doubt but don't bet the match on it. I have eaten a couple of PE's for my Barney mag dropping out of my shirt pocket. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

After looking at the offerings for the 686, i have found that replacing the factory 6" barrel with a SSR or Mountain gun barrel would be acceptable as long as all other criteria for the division was met. The 686 was offered with both of these barrel profiles so each would be legal as well shortening the barrel from 6" to 4". As for re-contouring the barrel to match the SSR barrel specs, the rule book only says that you can cut a barrel down in length. I would have to say that the answer to re-contouring the barrel would be no. I hope that this helps get you up and running in the the SSR division. Have a good week and a great shooting season. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

I was hoping that someone here could help point me in the right direction. I am traveling to Germany and need some pointers on getting guns out of the US and into Germany and back again. The other question is it even possible to do in a short time. This trip just came up and I fly on May 7th. I appreciate all your help in this. Robert Ray

Ok, After going back and re-reading your post I retract my statement. Sometimes clarity comes with a weekend distance between. Sorry MichiganShootist on my previous post. Robert Ray

Gee, just when I though we might get by without bashing IDPA. (insert head shaking here) Robert Ray IDPA HQ

The question was asked somewhere in this thread as to the breakdown of classifications in IDPA. We have consulted the database and although we are still adding to it, the results to date are interesting. There are currently 4,000 individual members with a classification listed out of a total active membership of 14,000. the classification breakdown is as follows: Novice 4.87% Marksman 37.18% Sharpshooter 34.01% Expert 15.46% Master 8.47% I don't have a comment on this for now other than to provide the asked for info and thank the members fro keeping this civil and interesting. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

Getting back to the original question. I emailed the MD (Pete Goloski) and asked him as I had several calls about the light as well. Both the Liberator and the new Tomahawk from First Light will be allowed for the S&W match. I did not inquire about start positions, but last year I believe you had to start with it on the belt or pocket. No starts were allowed with any light already in the hand. I hope this helps. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

All, I would like to help by giving a definite answer on the Safariland/CRSpeed questions but unfortunately I have no first hand knowledge of either product. I have looked at the pictures available but still do not feel comfortable making a call until I see one in person. I believe I have seen the CR Speed before (I have shot USPA and am a member as well ) but I did not pay enough attention to it. Based on those recollections and some pictures, I don't think it will be legal but will try and get a closer look for a definitive answer. I am completely unfamiliar with the Safariland models though, the pictures I have seen are not very good. Magazine pouches also must adhere to the 3/4 inch rule that is applied to holsters. I now have that in my "Big Book of Changes" for the next rule book by the way. It should have been in the magazine carrier section as well as the holster section but it was an oversight. I hope that I can get a look at these soon, but it will probably be SHOT show as there is no one stocking these around here (Nowhere, Arkansas). I do not wish to make a call on legality until giving each the full chance and not cutting one because of a bad camera angle. Homie (Mitch), I fixed your email address in my system, it should not bounce now but I have had problems with my emails spam filter. Merlin, I never got yours. Did you use robert at idpa.com? Anyone can PM me here or a better way is robert at idpa.com. If you get a message that your email was caught as spam, I do check my spam filter regularly. I will get your email one way or another, although because of volume, it may take several day to get back to you. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

I am sorry, I should have been a little more clear. Skate tape is legal period. Grips, slide, most anywhere you can think of. Grips is just the example. Robert Ray IDPA HQ

Skate tape is legal for SSP as it is not a permanent modification. Skate tape can be purchased cheaply and applied by anyone so it was allowed as opposed to stippling which is a permanent modification. I hope this helps. Robert Ray IDPA HQ