Pro and Cons of shooting minor PF in SS

[DVC502]

Thinking about shooting SS and just w0ndering the pro s and cons of shooting 9mm over major 

[blasterboy]

Thinking about shooting SS and just w0ndering the pro s and cons of shooting 9mm over major 

What's more important to you, 2 extra rounds in your mag or getting 4 points for a C and 2 for a D? Take a look at SS nationals, I think the top 10 all shot major.


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[DVC502]

Figured it would be something like that my major Gun is a 45 and really enjoy the 9mm 

[rocket99]

If you shoot all A's, there is no downside


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[Bamboo]

For me shooting 9mm vs. 45 at Level I club matches was mostly a draw, with the edge going to 9mm for the extra rounds and ammo convenience.  For larger matches I'd probably go with my .45 for the major pf points 'cuz those guys really know how to shoot a single stack and I don't. 

[GBertolet]

I have found that many of the local matches are not 8 round friendly anymore, although they may technically be 8 round neutral. Could be an effort to cater to the production shooters, whom are the majority at the local matches, while SS shooters are just a handfull now.  SS major shooters may often find themselves having to do a standing reload to engage a last target, or have to shoot the stage in a convoluded manner to make the round count work out. It did not used to be that way, but times change. Most of the winners at the local matches are now shooting minor for the flexibility of two extra rounds. I have a 9mm build in progress now for next year, and I will see how my performance will be, vs shooting major in the past.

 

At the nationals, the course designers go out of their way to make sure that there is no advantage to shoot minor. That's why major dominates that match, otherwise the top shooters would be shooting minor.

[jcc7x7]

If you're a guy that has a hard time with steel; go 9mm for the extra rounds.

IF you can control your cadence when necessary for the plates and tuxedo targets etc then major is no concern.

The usual school of thought is that 9mm is better for everything except the nationals'

 

I just like the major guns THE BUT IS I've been shooting the 9 for the last month or so.

 

Figure your scores out from your last few matches major and minor and how many standing relaods with the major gun etc.  how many missed plates /extra shoots with the minor gun then make a decision

[Trent1k1]

At my club, we have a Level 1 match next weekend, only Production, SS and Revo.  

 

I 'grew up' in this sport shooting a .45 in Single Stack for the first year.

 

I looked a week ago and I don't even load 45 anymore, but have a ton of 9mm, so borrowed a buddies 9mm.  It is VERY hard to focus on getting that many Alphas.  Especially when I forget that I DO have 2 extra rounds to improve a Delta.  Once I figured that out at a match today, everything came together.  No more picking up magazines with 2 extra rounds that I "Should have" used on a stage.

 

The recoil, compared to a 45, is stupid soft.  I seriously thought I had a squib on the first round I fired cuz the gun just didn't buck or bounce like with a 45.

 

I will see how it works at our little mini-major match next weekend.  The guy who designed those stages is a Single Stack major shooter.  He has a number of stages that a shooter should probably take 9 shots from to avoid another position.  I'm hoping the extra rounds will save me a little time in the long run.

[RJH]

I have done both, and decided I would rather have the points.  You do get screwed on a reload here or there, but overall for me the points seemed more important.  Look at the end of match results, guesstimate the difference in reload times, if any, and then look at the total points down and see what would help you the most.  For me shot to shot times on equal hits are no different, although I always heard that I would be able to shoot a minor gun faster/more accurately that did not seem to hold true, YMMV 

[MikeBurgess]

The real answer is you probably want both, it it's very match dependant on what one has an advantage. I've seen matches where having 10 would have been useless, and ones where 10 rounds was a big advantage.


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[Dr Mitch]

4 hours ago, rocket99 said:

If you shoot all A's, there is no downside


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No one shoots all As.  This is the absolute worst blurb that comes up on the reg.

 

SS minor is basically Production Easy.  

 

Works great at local matches, doesn’t work at all at major matches.

[mwray]

Shooting SS major is like shooting an entire Virginia count match. Some of us get used to it and like it though


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[HCH]

1 hour ago, mwray said:

Shooting SS major is like shooting an entire Virginia count match. Some of us get used to it and like it though


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The worst thing USPSA ever did is change stage design to be 8 round neutral. 

[BASE772]

9 hours ago, RJH said:

I have done both, and decided I would rather have the points.  You do get screwed on a reload here or there, but overall for me the points seemed more important.  Look at the end of match results, guesstimate the difference in reload times, if any, and then look at the total points down and see what would help you the most.  For me shot to shot times on equal hits are no different, although I always heard that I would be able to shoot a minor gun faster/more accurately that did not seem to hold true, YMMV 

Me either, there is little to no difference between shooting my 9mm and .45 so I’ll take the points.  My guess is recoil managment plays a big role in 9mm over a .40/.45. 

 But I have to admit,... that 9mm 1911is a very fun gun to shoot. 

Edited November 27, 2017 by BASE772

[IHAVEGAS]

9 hours ago, MikeBurgess said:

The real answer is you probably want both, it it's very match dependant on what one has an advantage. I've seen matches where having 10 would have been useless, and ones where 10 rounds was a big advantage.


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+1

 

Depends on an honest evaluation of your skills also. B-D class shooters likely do not have GM class reload times and are more likely to want that unplanned make up shot or 3.

 

Seems like USPSA math sometimes works out to 10=2*8 , when you are stage execution planning.

Edited November 27, 2017 by IHAVEGAS

[Racinready300ex]

I'm going to shoot SS next year. My gun is a 40 so I can do either. I'll probably run Major at club matches just to see if I can get GM or not. If I make that I'll probably switch to Minor for most things. Major matches I may just take both major and minor ammo and walk the stages the day before and decide what I want to shoot. I'll probably lean more toward minor unless there are a lot of partial targets or something like that.

 

I shot my first sectional in SS a few weeks ago, I shot major as I hadn't tested 10 round minor yet. I think minor had a solid advantage on a couple stages and overall I may have done a little better if I shot minor.

[motosapiens]

10 hours ago, Dr Mitch said:

No one shoots all As.  This is the absolute worst blurb that comes up on the reg.

 

SS minor is basically Production Easy.  

 

Works great at local matches, doesn’t work at all at major matches.

 

Lots of people shoot mostly A's.  ss minor works great at every match where they don't *specifically* try to screw over minor by putting in nothing but diagonal partials, and long distance open targets (like the SS classic at PASA).

 

Lots of area matches have been won by folks shooting minor the last few years.

 

For most decent shooters however, it's only going to be a couple percent either way. To succeed with major requires a bit of a split personality, going fast on paper, but having the discipline to go 1-1 on steel where it is required.

 

If you already have a 45, I would just shoot that, and practice your reloads and get good at steel.

[motosapiens]

Keep in mind, the road to success is 'points per second'. Any time you have an unplanned standing reload it's going to take at least 1.5-2 seconds (often longer for less experienced shooters). That's equivalent to about 10 charlies shooting minor (compared to 10 charlies shooting major). If you typically shoot 2-3 charlies per stage, the math works out differently than if you typically shoot 10 charlies per stage.

 

Extra rounds also allow you to shoot and stage-plan a little more aggressively and still have an occasional make-up shot without forcing a series of slide-lock reloads.

[zzt]

41 minutes ago, motosapiens said:

If you typically shoot 2-3 charlies per stage, the math works out differently than if you typically shoot 10 charlies per stage.

 

Extra rounds also allow you to shoot and stage-plan a little more aggressively and still have an occasional make-up shot without forcing a series of slide-lock reloads.

 Amen to that.  I shoot major for everything, except for SC.  I'm rethinking that.  I usually score 94 to 98% of available points on a stage, but I'm slow.   When I analyzed the last match I shot, I realized I was getting no advantage shooting major.  Neither hand works the way it should, and tendenosis compounds my weak grip.  I definitely shoot 1911s faster in minor, because I get the second shot off faster.  Extra rounds are always a help, if for no other reason than you can be more aggresive.

 

I'm building a 9mm 1911 right now, so I'll see how minor works out for me.  Until then I'll be shooting major, but faster with more Cs.

[jcc7x7]

1 hour ago, motosapiens said:

 

Lots of people shoot mostly A's.  ss minor works great at every match where they don't *specifically* try to screw over minor by putting in nothing but diagonal partials, and long distance open targets (like the SS classic at PASA).

 

Lots of area matches have been won by folks shooting minor the last few years.

 

For most decent shooters however, it's only going to be a couple percent either way. To succeed with major requires a bit of a split personality, going fast on paper, but having the discipline to go 1-1 on steel where it is required.

 

If you already have a 45, I would just shoot that, and practice your reloads and get good at steel.

 

14 hours ago, jcc7x7 said:

If you're a guy that has a hard time with steel; go 9mm for the extra rounds.

IF you can control your cadence when necessary for the plates and tuxedo targets etc then major is no concern.

The usual school of thought is that 9mm is better for everything except the nationals'

 

I just like the major guns THE BUT IS I've been shooting the 9 for the last month or so.

 

Figure your scores out from your last few matches major and minor and how many standing relaods with the major gun etc.  how many missed plates /extra shoots with the minor gun then make a decision

Same same,+1

[RJH]

While I don't shoot much SS anymore, the fact that is  the one division where major/minor is something a shooter can decide for himself what is best, and not be at a huge disadvantage/advantage either way is one of my favorite things about it

[IHAVEGAS]

4 hours ago, RJH said:

While I don't shoot much SS anymore, the fact that is  the one division where major/minor is something a shooter can decide for himself what is best, and not be at a huge disadvantage/advantage either way is one of my favorite things about it

 

Makes SS more fun!

 

Unfortunately, as I understand the argument, if we changed the rules to make limited & open work with the shooters preference in power factor then child obesity would skyrocket and old mens peckers would fall off. 

[waterboy]

Having shot primarily SS for the last year and a half, I will tell you major vs minor is very match dependent. There are matches like the Single Stack Classic and Battle in the Bluegrass that will usually favor major, but I have found that quite a few area and sectional matches you would be better off with the extra 2 rounds. Now of course that also depends on your accuracy, but if I can save a reload on about half of the stages shooting minor, that's the route I will go. I actually won the WI Sectional this year shooting minor SS, and it proved to be the best choice for that match. Also most of the local matches around me favor minor most of the time. Again it is very match dependent. If nothing else, a 9mm 1911 is fun as heck to shoot, and I use it a lot for cheaper practice. Hope that helps 

[1911builder]

another option would be to have a .40 gun built, then you can shoot major/minor depending on the day....