GunBugBit Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 ...is a lot of gun malfunctions. This might be the most surprising thing to me about competition shooting. I get the impression that quite a few of the guys are running their guns with their own loads and lighter springs, and this part was not unexpected. The unexpected part was how many guns seize up to the point of being temporarily unshootable during our club matches. I'd say I've seen this happen with an average of two guns per match. Is this pretty common elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach1soldier Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Yep. Actually had a buddy start shooting with me and he figured he gained 5-8 places at every major match because he didn't modify his gun at all. Some problems are modifying, some are poor ammo loading but there is another facet. The average USPSA gun gets shot 100 times more then a recreational shooter. I shoot 30k rounds a year. Stuff is going to break. No way around it. Edited June 22, 2015 by mach1soldier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
works for ammo Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 And whoever has the least amount usually ends up winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJE Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) I'll bet if you pay attention it's a lot.of the same guys over and over again. And you'll probably notice some guys never have a malfunction, or of they do, they clear it so fast you barely notice. Pro tip: pay attention to those guys. Edited June 22, 2015 by AJE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoBell Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I think it's safe to say, that almost every match I've been to has had at least one malfunction. Luckily it hasn't happened to me yet, but I guess if you shoot enough and tinker with the gun enough, it's just a matter of time! I guess the more things you mess with on a gun, the more chance you have of having things stop working right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBunniFuFu Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Home gunsmiths breaking out the dremel has got to be one of the biggest causes right behind ammo issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothandnail Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I'll bet if you pay attention it's a lot.of the same guys over and over again. And you'll probably notice some guys never have a malfunction, or of they do, they clear it so fast you barely notice. Pro tip: pay attention to those guys. This is correct. we have a monthly 3 gun match Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmnielsen Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I've noticed this a lot at 3 gun matches. Some of the most common things I see: - Crappy gear/guns. I've seen a lot of people that buy the cheapest autoloader shotgun and/or AR and have nothing but issues. Seems to happen a lot more with the shotgun though. - Unfamiliar gear/guns. People buy something and don't even take it out and get some rounds through it before competing with it, so when they do have a malfunction they don't know what to do. - "Upgrades" not installed or done correctly. I'm all for working on your own guns, I do it all the time, but I think too many people tinker with stuff and don't have a clue what they're doing. Example: a couple weeks ago a guy put on a FF rail with set screw gas block before a match. He didn't make sure the hole in the GB was aligned with the port on his barrel and his rifle did nothing but short stroke. I asked him if he made sure the ports were aligned and he said he didn't know how to so he just put it on. I take really good care of my guns and have yet to have a malfunction that wasn't related to ammo/mags. The ammo issue was with remanned stuff and the mag issues were at the range before a competition, so the two that didn't function got tossed. Shooting a match without any malfunctions does nothing but help you, so I don't get why people don't do what they can to avoid them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 if the only time you shoot is at a match, then you will likely have all the problems normally worked out in practice while on the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Before I found BE Forum, I was The Guy with The Jams. Now I learned how to reload properly and maintain the gun/mags. Thank you Brian, and all the contributors/members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbandito Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Seems to be the same guys over and over again at my match. They are trying to win with thier gear, not thier shooting. They have everything tuned to the bare min,lightest weight, newest toys and more worried about how it looks than anything else. The gear trap is a hard one to avoid when you are getting into shooting. You see these great shooters running guns worth thousands, and think its correlated. Now I pay special attention to the less flashy guys, who magically place really high lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Ammo is usually cause #1. Tinkering too much with guns is #2. Operator error is #3. POS guns are #4. Cheap guns like Glocks that don't run is always ammo or tinkering too much because they are utterly reliable even with several mods. Some people can't resist the urge to tinker with their guns. I have seen an open shooter have a great match with zero problems with his gun only to say he is going to go home and install this part or that part to make it better.?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DagoRed Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I tend to squad w the same people and I'd say I seldom see malfunctions. Of the ones I remember I've seen more squibs than gun related malfunctions. Maybe if I squaded w the open guys I'd see more. I had some gun problems a few matches, problem from factory. Got it corrected and now I'm pretty confident all the problems are me ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 if the only time you shoot is at a match, then you will likely have all the problems normally worked out in practice while on the clock. +1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SV650Squid Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 (edited) Witnessed a squib at my second match (this past weekend) from one of the revolver guys. It was factory Remington ammo. Sometime it happens. My production Glock 34 has a guide rod, sights, and I just ordered a DK trigger. I might eventually put skate tape on it. That's all I'll ever do to it. Edited June 25, 2015 by SV650Squid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsons1480 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Ammo is usually cause #1. Tinkering too much with guns is #2. Operator error is #3. POS guns are #4. Cheap guns like Glocks that don't run is always ammo or tinkering too much because they are utterly reliable even with several mods. Some people can't resist the urge to tinker with their guns. I have seen an open shooter have a great match with zero problems with his gun only to say he is going to go home and install this part or that part to make it better.?. Not always. The last Glock I saw that wouldn't run was #3. The kid shooting it had his support hand thumb riding the slide, so sometimes the slide wouldn't fully chamber the next round. Happened to him about 5 times in the match, and it was obviously a technique issue. Also, people lock them open sometimes with their thumbs while shooting, especially with that stupid extended slide release they put on the 34 and 35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy0313 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Last match my friend decided he didn't want to shoot the "crap"wolf he had been practicing with so he bought some brass case off brand at Walmart. He had multiple failure to fully chamber the rounds that ruined his match. Never use ammo, guns or gear at a match you haven't tested to work 100% before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Phil Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Ammo is usually cause #1. Tinkering too much with guns is #2. Operator error is #3. POS guns are #4. Cheap guns like Glocks that don't run is always ammo or tinkering too much because they are utterly reliable even with several mods. Some people can't resist the urge to tinker with their guns. I have seen an open shooter have a great match with zero problems with his gun only to say he is going to go home and install this part or that part to make it better.?. That is the common belief, but, how do you explain the pro shooters who have jams, etc in the big matches? With their sponsored guns, ammo, other equipment? I shoot something like 18 - 20k/yr and can count on 1 hand the number of failures I have per year, yet, some will invariably be at a match. Somehow my guns always know when I pass through that gate! I don't shoot any factory ammo. My guns have never had a factory round through them (most of them anyway). I think if you drive a car, it will break. If you use your TV it will mess up. If you shoot (A LOT!) your equipment will fail sometimes. And that doesn't even begin to factor in the changes in grip, stance, tecnique, etc that our nervous little brains induce during a match. Heck, I even shot a stop plate 1st one time on "5 To Go" because I was focused on my prior hit and when the timer said "Beep" I shot right where I was looking! Reloads didn't cause that one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJH Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 ALL guns can and will eventually mess up. But I will agree that 90 percent is ammo, 7 percent is mags, 2.5 is crappy gunsmiithing, and the other .5% is crap happens. At least this is what it seems like to me, but I think I am pretty close:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncledoc Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 RJH you are so right! I have a 1911 9mm that start having problems out of the blue and I do not shoot it that often. Relatively new gun compared to some of the shooters here. I sure hope your statistics are correct before someone gets a great deal at my expense:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 the gun issues I see are usually from the guys that just can't leave their guns along and/or ammo issues due to reloading problems ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 ..... and it's always the same people .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now