Single Stack Minor

[kalaur]

It's a 180g JHP Montana gold over 4.8 of Tightgroup. 168 - 170 PF depending on how hot it is.

Yikes, try 5.2gr WST at about 1.200 with your 180 JHP. For minor try 3.7gr WST at 1.200. Titegroup generally has a pretty good kick for recoil.

[frag316]

Scott Warren shot a 9mm in the Single Stack Nationals last weekend. You can call him a wimp if you like, but I would advise against it.

Good point Scott. 71% doesn't sound wimpy to me.

And the SS Nationals was probably set up well for 8 rounds unlike most of the big matches that seem to be set up for multiples of 10.

Well, I don't know about SS Nats being set up well for 8 rounds. There was at least one stage (stage 12, Cigar Bar II, all steel) where shooting a minor 1911 would have been a HUGE advantage, because of the reload points. If I'd been as accurate as I should have been, I still would have done four reloads with my .45 ACP, where I would only have had to have done two with a minor gun, if I could be accurate enough.

I'll be honest, I used to have a snobbish attitude about minor 1911s. All of my 1911s are .45s, and I believe it's God's caliber.

However, I recently built a 1911 in 9mm for my wife (her request, she's a new shooter and .45 scares her). When I was test firing it, I was amazed at how comfortable it was. If I could get my accuracy to come up to where it needs to be, I could run a 9mm and probably do better. So, one thing I'm considering doing is building a slide and fitting a barrel to my Trojan for 9mm over the winter and giving that a go. I have a .45 ACP Predator Tactical Iron Shrike on order, and my Trojan will be relegated to being a back-up gun to that one. I will probably also do the 9mm thing and experiment with it to see how I do with it. (Maybe .38 Super minor . . . . )

If anyone gives you grief over shooting minor Single Stack, I'd tell them to pound sand up their @ss. But that's just me.

[ktm300]

If anyone gives you grief over shooting minor Single Stack, I'd tell them to pound sand up their @ss. But that's just me.

I don't care what they say, especialy if they are shooting SS and I can beat them with my wife's gun as a friend calls it.

Lots of advantages, less recoil, more rounds, less money to shoot it a lot. The only down side is the points. And if you shoot mostly A's that is not a big deal.

Edited May 12, 2012 by ktm300

[RayFromHouston]

Well... after coming in second to last in the OPEN class in my last BIG match (had big time mag problems), I have decided to try SS minor. I just picked up a 1911 in 38 Super... but, my question is, my chron load shot 176 at the western PA. sec. match... is that still a minor load???? we have a loacl range fixing to have a 6 stage classifier going up on 7-01-12, so I need to get a NON-race holster for my 1911... anything more i need to know about SS minor??????? :unsure:

[dsmw5142]

Well... after coming in second to last in the OPEN class in my last BIG match (had big time mag problems), I have decided to try SS minor. I just picked up a 1911 in 38 Super... but, my question is, my chron load shot 176 at the western PA. sec. match... is that still a minor load???? we have a loacl range fixing to have a 6 stage classifier going up on 7-01-12, so I need to get a NON-race holster for my 1911... anything more i need to know about SS minor??????? :unsure:

Minimum caliber for major is .40 so your .38 would still be scored minor.

[RayFromHouston]

Well... after coming in second to last in the OPEN class in my last BIG match (had big time mag problems), I have decided to try SS minor. I just picked up a 1911 in 38 Super... but, my question is, my chron load shot 176 at the western PA. sec. match... is that still a minor load???? we have a loacl range fixing to have a 6 stage classifier going up on 7-01-12, so I need to get a NON-race holster for my 1911... anything more i need to know about SS minor??????? :unsure:

Minimum caliber for major is .40 so your .38 would still be scored minor.

I now remember reading that in the "rule" book... thats where I got that I need a holister for SS.....

[mgood]

I'd been meaning to buy a 9mm 1911 for a couple years to shoot SS minor.

I figured I could get an inexpensive gun to shoot inexpensive ammo and get more shooting in. (FAIL on the "inexpensive gun" part. Bobby Keigans is a hell of a salesman! But I don't regret my purchase a bit. Love my STI USPSA SS 9mm that Bobby tuned for me a little. (EDIT: He gave me a hell of a good price on the gun I bought. I have no complaints there. It was just more than I originally intended to spend.))

I always shot .40 S&W and .45 ACP before. I had lots of trouble getting back on target for follow-up shots. See the sights lift?? Yeah, right. The front sight is pointed at the clouds. After I find it, I'll attempt to relocate the target and bring the two back together.

I also discovered I was blinking, which was a big part of not being able to follow the sight. (I always shot slow-fire stuff before I got into USPSA, so it was never a problem.) I even freeze up on the first shot, draw > squeeeeeze as I tense up and try to get the sight just perfect > bang. Too long, way too long.

I figured that the less violent recoil of a 9mm would allow me to work on seeing the sights better, figure out what I need to do to improve my grip and work on some other stuff without as much beating. Plus the cheaper ammo allows me to afford more practice.

It's like training wheels. It is embarassing that I need training wheels, but I guess I do.

People always say "minor scoring sucks." For the top shooters, it probably does. And for people who spray and pray, it probably does. But I've always been one of the more accurate shooters at matches. It's my slow shooting that kills me. So I'm using this to work on my speed while trying to not give up accuracy. Minor scoring is extra motivation to not sacrifice accuracy for speed. But after only one match and a few rounds in practice, I can already see that I can shoot this gun much, much, much faster.

When I have a better handle on what I need to be doing, maybe I can do it with major loads.

The extra two rounds in the mag for SS are just the cherry on top. Not the reason I switched, but a bonus.

Another shooter let me try his 9mm 1911 after a match and it was just such an amazing difference. There was a popper set to not fall, about 15-20 yards down range. I emptied a 10-round mag into it. I started slow and sped up. The last three or four rounds were just as fast as I could pull the trigger and I hit the popper 10 shots out of 10. I was like MAN! This is like cheating! It's like a .22! I gotta get me one o' these!

So I finally got one. I only have 250 rounds through it so far. Very impressed and having a ball with it.

I will probably go back to Major. But not right now.

Lots of advantages, less recoil, more rounds, less money to shoot it a lot. The only down side is the points. And if you shoot mostly A's that is not a big deal.

+1

I just have more fun shooting it. Last time I looked I was not going to make a living shooting, might as well have fun.

No, I'm not going to make a living at it. And you're right, it is FUN!

Edited June 11, 2012 by mgood

[digby7]

i had a really interesting weekend. shot single stack minor and was miss-scored as Major. Told the MD and they made a correction but the net of it is that I was able to see exactly how major/minor affected me from both sets of scores.

Turns out the difference is about 15 points - the equivalent of me shooting major and getting 3 mikes. Overall out of 50 shooters my overall score dropped 1 place from 8th to 9th. Really cool to be able to see the side by side difference. 3 mikes on a 6 stage match does make me cringe though.

[RayFromHouston]

I'd been meaning to buy a 9mm 1911 for a couple years to shoot SS minor.

No, I'm not going to make a living at it. And you're right, it is FUN!

That's right... I'm just having FUN... with a bad L2 & L3 and in line to get a left knee replaced, I only have one speed.... SLOW... I'm a LOW "D" shooter and always get the most point per stage.. sometimes I don't end up all the way @ the bottom of the scrore sheets, but I'm moving around and having fun.... and to me... that's the MAIN thing...

BUT, I do have a question.. Once I get classiffied in SS, dies it mater if it's minor or magor??????

[MarkCO]

BUT, I do have a question.. Once I get classiffied in SS, dies it mater if it's minor or magor??????

Not at all. Your HFs might go up or down depending on equipment in a division, but the hit factor is irrelevant as to if you used major or minor to get it.

For guys in the A-GM region, major minor usually makes a difference with the nod going to major. Until then, I don't see a lot of difference, so shoot what you enjoy the most.

[mpolans]

i had a really interesting weekend. shot single stack minor and was miss-scored as Major. Told the MD and they made a correction but the net of it is that I was able to see exactly how major/minor affected me from both sets of scores.

Turns out the difference is about 15 points - the equivalent of me shooting major and getting 3 mikes. Overall out of 50 shooters my overall score dropped 1 place from 8th to 9th. Really cool to be able to see the side by side difference. 3 mikes on a 6 stage match does make me cringe though.

Actually, wouldn't that be equal to about 1 mike? 10 points for the mike penalty and the lost opportunity at a 5-point A hit? If so, that's pretty good!

[digby7]

oh thats awesome - shows how well i understand the scoring rules.