Switched to Limited Minor!

[DocMedic]

I love shooting Production alot of technical stuff going on, but recently I just had a new 2011 9mm built that I'll be using for 3gun. I've been shooting it at local matches to get the quirks out of the gun before SMM3G. Things I have notice shooting it as a limited minor.

-You feel that you want to shoot it fast.. Bad idea, minor scoring does burn your ass. There have been plenty of stages were if I shot my production gun, I could easily have a much better HF vs what I did with my Limited HF just because I'm not trying to rush the stage and focus on better hits.

-Being able to hold 23+ rounds in the gun might be beneficial on one stage at a match, the penalty of minor scoring will outweigh any perceived benefit of those extra rounds.

-My classifier score doesn't seem to be any worse or any better in limited then over production, I believe this is because during classifiers everyone’s trying to call their best hits they can without giving up points.

-Just cause A mag can hold 23 doesn't mean all 23 rounds will feed out of the mag when you need them

Other then that its been alot of fun, I don't know if I would take my limited gun to a section qualifier, but It seems that I do well with the limited guys at similar ranking as my production rank. ( IF my gun doesn't jam up haha.)

[waktasz]

I'm shooting an M&P Pro in IDPA and Production and would love to have a .40 Pro but since I can't afford a new gun right now I want to stick a mag well on it and shoot ESP and Limited Minor.

[IL-SIG]

I decided to try out Limited-minor toward the end of last year and used my M&P 9 that I was using in Production. I liked it so much that over the winter I built a 5" M&P40 to use in Limited, but will be shooting major.

If you enjoy shooting Limited-minor, then do it! Whatever you choose, you should enjoy the sport and do it for yourself, not for what other may think

[DyNo!]

A 9mm 2011 has an advantage over .40 2011s on an all steel stage.

I love shooting Production alot of technical stuff going on, but recently I just had a new 2011 9mm built that I'll be using for 3gun. I've been shooting it at local matches to get the quirks out of the gun before SMM3G. Things I have notice shooting it as a limited minor.

-You feel that you want to shoot it fast.. Bad idea, minor scoring does burn your ass. There have been plenty of stages were if I shot my production gun, I could easily have a much better HF vs what I did with my Limited HF just because I'm not trying to rush the stage and focus on better hits.

-Being able to hold 23+ rounds in the gun might be beneficial on one stage at a match, the penalty of minor scoring will outweigh any perceived benefit of those extra rounds.

-My classifier score doesn't seem to be any worse or any better in limited then over production, I believe this is because during classifiers everyone’s trying to call their best hits they can without giving up points.

-Just cause A mag can hold 23 doesn't mean all 23 rounds will feed out of the mag when you need them

Other then that its been alot of fun, I don't know if I would take my limited gun to a section qualifier, but It seems that I do well with the limited guys at similar ranking as my production rank. ( IF my gun doesn't jam up haha.)

I just shot my 9mm 2011 (for three gun) at a local USPSA match and I couldn't agree more. I'll continue to do it for practice but there's no way I'd shoot it competitively in USPSA (even though I shot 90% of the four GMs that were there which was a fluke at best).

During the match, I shot about 90% alphas and 10% charlies to get that percentage. If I were shooting major, I'd feel more comfortable going faster and getting more charlies which would probably have bumped me up 5-10%.

No mag problems though, I'm lucky to have the old SVI mags I got 10 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXvoYxy502M

Edited February 20, 2011 by DyNo!

[Turboprop]

Shooting is 95% about the shooter and 5% about the gun. Until a person reaches the top levels of shooting the gun is just personel choice. Suround yourself with shooters that are better than you and if you pay attention you will soon be better than some or most of them..........

As a Tanfoglio runner with some feed issues I will agree this is the case AS LONG as the equipment runs well. After a year of stage after stage of loosing time to feed issues I switched to a "lesser" gun and and my performance increased because I could focus on the game and not the gun.

I shoot with a few people who love the Tanfo Guns and they swear by them but that sure doesn't make them the right gun for everyone. I started out with a Glock 35 for the first 1.5 years I was shooting, that got me through to "A" class. Then my wife told me she wanted to buy me something special for my birthday a couple years ago. Not the T-shirts and ties she usually gets me (her words not mine). After my birthday I was and still am shooting a Brazo's custom STI Limited gun. Its all in what you are comfortable with as you build your shooting skills to match your guns performance.

[waktasz]

Shot my first match with my M&P Pro in Limited minor on Saturday. I finished 6th out of 19 so I'm happy with that. It was a special classifier match and I'm hoping my scores moved my classification from C to B.

I tried on a few stages to really delay the mag change to take advantage of the 23 round mags and ended up having to do a standing reload on one. I have to plan better and not try to stretch out that one reload in the event I have to take a make up shot or two.

[Glock NZ]

I shot an old para 18/9 at a level 2 match here a few weeks ago and placed 3rd. But man did I have a great time.

I'm went with the attitude of "I'm not getting paid so I better enjoy myself" Ammo was cheap and I didn't even look for a single empty case! Paradise.

Lesson learned

1 Get the points

2 Dont try to run the mags dry using the last round

3 Use the extra rounds as backups on steel or targets

4 Improved flexibility about where you will do your reloads

5 Get the points

My 2c

[waktasz]

Good advice. #2 and #3 especially.

[EkuJustice]

#3 is what I like about SS minor. That and the 9mm is much softer than the factory 45 since I don't load for either right now just the limted gun. 10 rounds means 2 backup rounds a mag for steel. I also shoot the 9mm 1911 better and faster than the 45. With reloaded ammo it would probibally be less noticeable.

[JakeMartens]

I got bored and burned out shooting Production after 16-18 months of 1-3 matches per WEEK.. Honestly, I wanted a boost in the level of competition, because I'd stopped improving shooting in Production Div. The "Thing I Noticed"?

I'm shooting HIGHER in the "overall" scoring shooting Limited than I was when shooting Production...

Why?

1) Crappy missed reloads were costing me time. Now I can reload once, where I WANT to, not where I HAVE to.

3) Shooting Minor doesn't hurt you much... as long as you're shooting Alphas fast!

You have stopped improving as a B Class Production shooter, so you are going to shoot Limited minor? and that is going to help you improve how?

Instead why don't you work on your reloads?

Shooting Alphas real fast scoring minor in Production is no different in Limited, unless you are taking a bunch of extra shots in Limited now that you have more rounds.

Instead work on shot calling and then start improving.

[Matrix68]

Started out shooting Production with a Glock 17...did that for about year. Started shooting Limited Minor...with slight modifications to the Glock 17...been doing that for about 6 months. Now...plan on shooting Single Stack minor...have the pistol on the way, along with all the relevant gear.

I find minor a lot of fun and cheap to shoot

[ALBY]

I shot limited minor at the MASC a few years ago

[Glock NZ]

In shooting minor you are rewarded for shooting well, shooting major you are rewarded for shooting poorly

[dlaroe]

I shot Limited Minor with a IPSC Production legal G17 just to try it out and to earn a classification.

It did help me focus on the shooting and movement and less on where to reload so it was useful.

Classifiers were on about the same upward trend as they had been. Improving because of study and trigger time not necessarily more rounds in the magazine.

[LocknLoad]

Bear in mind that I am only just now starting my second season, but I currently shoot limited minor. Now, I may switch to major at some point, but right now my focus is on improving my skills before I move up to a larger gun. Also, minor is what gave me the confidence to give this a try because of the far lower ammo costs for 9mm, and it was a weapon I was comfy with

[kamicosmos]

I shoot limited minor with my CZ SP01. I like the 9mm so much, I am seriously wanting to go Open Minor with a 9mm Czechmate.

[pjb45]

I heard TGO talkking about the advantages of shooting a 9mm. So I downloaded some 40S&W to minor. It really helped my splits and transitions. I finally saw what I suppose to be seeing. After I got the mental picture in my mind it improve my major shooting.

The other cool part is that it emphasized the need to call my shots, no more sloppy hits.

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

I too have switched to Limited Minor. I have developed a lot of hand problems and got tired of guns beating me up. I went to a CZ SP01 Shadow and use 160gr bullets shooting 135PF. They are soft shooting in the CZ and make my hands last a match with no swelling.

I am working on accuracy again and need to eliminate some D shots but all in all it is working great for me but I still miss Revolver division

This post has been edited by Round_Gun_Shooter because he can't type correctly

Edited April 14, 2011 by Round_Gun_Shooter

[DocMedic]

I just wanted to share a observation from a local match I shot last week as Limited Minor. I took 3rd out of 15 shooters. Assuming that I can get the same hits and shoot as fast with a Major score this is the outcome:

Stage 1: 49.941(m) vs 53.109(M) 5th place

Stage 2: 64.305(m) vs 73.071(M) 12th place vs. 11th(M)

Stage 3: 124.502(m) vs 132.014(M) 4th place vs. 3rd (M)

Stage 4: 67.175(m) vs 70.687(M) 3rd place

Stage 5: 29.879(m) vs 31.80(M) 4th place

Stage 6: 143.593(m) vs 156.762(M) 2nd place

*pts earned based on stage winner my HF/Stage winner HF*

So assuming that I can duplicate my hits and time with shooting major I would had gain 517.445pts(78.4%) vs minor of 479.393pts(72.6%)

So I basically gave-up 5% of match points to shoot minor. The one stage were I could had taken advantage of the 23 round count I ended up Double "M", but still ended up taking 3rd.

Its gonna be interesting to see how well I do at RM300 shooting Limited Minor, as most stages require 60+ rounds.

Edited May 10, 2011 by DocMedic

[CHA-LEE]

I am building up a Limited Minor top end in 40 caliber and am going to test it out in match conditions this summer to see if it can be an advantage or not. In the past when I shot 40 Minor loads through my normal Limited Major pistol setup it felt like shooting a .22 and the gun wouldn't muzzle flip at all. I clearly remember being able to shoot consistently faster splits with the 40 minor setup simply because I didn't have to manage the muzzle flip or wait for the front sight to come back down. The front sight was simply always there so I could shoot as soon as the gun was locked back up post shot. If the stage points difference is only a 5% deficit verses shooting major I think it would be easily possible to shoot more than 5% faster due to the greatly reduced muzzle flip.

I think a huge advantage to shooting minor 40 rounds is that it makes shooting one handed way easier. Being able to shoot one handed faster and in more situations because of the reduced muzzle flip may reap more of a benefit than people think. But this will require some unique stage plans that may not jive with the normal way of doing things.

[waktasz]

I thought the idea of shooting minor was to gain a bit of capacity and possibly speed advantage in exchange for lower points. A .40 minor gun seems weird to me as you lose the capacity advantage.

[CHA-LEE]

waktasz> Sure there is a mag capacity advantage using 9mm but realistically how much of a true advantage is 24 rounds verses 21? Over the last 2 years of shooting USPSA matches I can count on one hand the stages where having a mag capacity above 21 rounds would have been a true advantage. The vast majority of the time 21 round mags are far more than what is needed before a reload opportunity presents its self during the stage run.

[waktasz]

The one match I shot my M&P Pro in Limited there was a 23 round stage with not a lot of movement so I was happy about starting 23+1, but you're right. I haven't seen many stages since there where it would have mattered.

[Flexmoney]

I've never shot faster while shooting minor. If anything, I shoot slower.

Every non-Alpha is twice as many points down...that equates to lots of TIME. (any way you figure it)

Plus, when shooting Major, I don't know that I gave up any speed running the gun (splits, transitions, etc).