redpillregret Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I’ve casually shot a few USPSA matches but I’ve never been serious about training or dry fire. I’m planning to start getting more serious. In the past I’ve used my G34. I’ve got a descent belt and all that for it. I’ll be honest, I don’t love the gun and don’t shoot it as well as my VP9. Lately, I’ve been lusting after a CZ but it’s not in the budget immediately. I’ve been advised to run what I have, so that means the G34 and the rig I have. Everybody I know that is competitive in this sport suggest not to waste time with polymer, striker-fired guns...they all say go metal framed DA/SA. Is there a place for the polymer guns anymore? Should a guy hold off putting in the reps on a gun that he may ultimately ditch, or are the skills and timing transferable enough to not create a problem later? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beef15 Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Fundamentals apply no matter what gun. Just expect to take a few weeks and adjust if you change guns. Lot of people still climbing the ranks with polymer guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stick Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Training is training. Get in the reps to develop muscle memory. Muscle memory will transfer from gun to gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathanb Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Lots of guys are shooting plastic guns. It took me a very long time to get competent with the metal guns. I can only wonder what I’d be like if i had stuck to the 34 I own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooster Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I’ve been in this game for 26 years. Started out with a sig 226, went to 1911’s then to a 2011. About 6 years ago switched to glock. I’ve never looked back. To keep my glock running I need a pin punch. For my 1911’s I needed a tackle box full of stuff. I watched Bob Vogel totally kick ass at the pro am. Shoot what your comfortable with , but a plastic gun if you put in the work will not hold you back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Lots of Area matches and the like are won with polymer guns. I went the Tanfo route, and was shooting it when I made A class. I’m back in a polymer gun (Q5 match) and my classifier percentages are closer to M than they were with the metal gun. Not because of the gun(s). Because of how practiced I am with what I’m shooting on match day. You hear you need a metal gun because guys with metal guns are certain they are better with their metal gun. They need to justify their purchase. Find the gun that fits your hand best. And keep that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 if not for that stoeger dude, there would be a few nationals won with polymer guns. if you look at CO, polymer guns seem to be doing pretty darned well. To succeed, you need to practice and pay attention, not go buy the latest cool gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpillregret Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 Seems that the big metal guns may not be the competitive edge some tout? I’ll admit, the VP9L that may be coming somewhat excites me. I love my regular VP9, and wouldn’t mind a bit more sight radius. I have mags for it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCTaylor Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Your “friends” are idiots. The gun may have a very small influence but it really doesn’t matter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f2benny Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 The sig x5 and g34 are still the choice of some top shooters. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike cyrwus Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 there is a reason this question is in the beginners forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtturn Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Anyone who says the heavy steel guns are easier to shoot well is a liar.Okay, that may be a little extreme.I'm just salty over how much trouble it has been for me to learn this dumb CZ I'm shooting now versus my old trusty G34. I came up on Glocks. Made GM with one, won some matches with one, beat a whole lot of CZs and tanfos on the way. Now that I'm trying to learn a CZ (had to have a legal gun for ipsc production) I realize just how good I had it with the Glock. The gun doesn't matter. It just doesn't. Steel guns are en vogue right now because they're super pretty and heavy and they have really nice triggers, especially in SA. Glocks are cheap, the trigger can be made light, and it's the same pull every time. You can also draw and throw them around in transitions with less effort. In the end, just pick something you like and commit to it. After this experience with both, I firmly believe neither one has an inherent net advantage over the other.Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpillregret Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 there is a reason this question is in the beginners forumPlease enlighten a beginner. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonian85 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I would echo most of the things said. I went from an M&P to a tanfo pretty shortly after starting production because I liked the gun more and thought it was cooler. It didn't make me a better shooter until I started practicing. I found it easier to shoot accurately but the triggers weren't even comparable (did work to the tanfo), the heavier gun may help with recoil but with minor a good grip will help more than a gun change. If your gun works and you like it stick with it. If you want something else get it now or later, I don't think it will really matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike cyrwus Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 1 hour ago, redpillregret said: Please enlighten a beginner. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Stoeger could win an area match with a 5 year old flip flop and 9mm blanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCTaylor Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 8 minutes ago, mike cyrwus said: Stoeger could win an area match with a 5 year old flip flop and 9mm blanks Yes and Stoeger is a practicing fool who shoots probably 100,000 rounds per year. But any decent reliable pistol can and will get you to Master if not Grand Master; with deliberate practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkamps Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 whole Indian not the arrow thing.. Shoot what you are most comfortable with, shoot best, and is in the division you want to shoot in. If that's a glock, that's a glock, if that's your VP9, set up your belt for it (you already have the mags). A properly sprung plastic gun returns to zero just as well as a properly sprung metal gun. I shoot 2011's best so I decided to get a nice one when I got the funds to do so. My G34 never holds me back (only my ability to shoot it does) IMO, I might even still run it in 3 gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpillregret Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 I’m no Ben Stoeger and will never be, my level of participation cannot be that high. My intentions are devoting 30 minutes 3x a week and one live fire session a week. I think I can budget 1,000 rounds per month if I reload. That’ll be about $120 in ammunition (and about two hours of reloading), $75 in fuel to and from the range. So it’s safe to say, advantages to I’ve design over the others are greatly overblown? My journey has been 1911>Sig P226 (which I never mastered>Glock and VP9, with the latter seeming more accurate and faster for me (I can’t reach Glock mag releases without breaking my grip, but am successful using the paddle with my trigger finger). The Glock I can work on easier should something go wrong and I have a belt and mag carriers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCTaylor Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 (edited) If you actually do that practice regimen and live fire, you'll beat 90% of the folks at your local match. Regardless of gun choice. Edited June 19, 2018 by SCTaylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpillregret Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 If you actually do that practice regimen and live fire, you'll beat 90% of the folks at your local match. Regardless of gun choice. Roger that! I plan to order Ben’s book and Steve Anderson’s very soon and get started. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Soend money and time on amm and live fire and maybe a class from a good GM. You’ll quickly begin stomping the guys who spend it comstantly switching guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rez805 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) Metal vs. Plastic vs. Shooter? There's a podcast for that Funny story at 29:10 to keep you grounded when trying to "keep up with the Joneses" Bonus Topic at 32:28: thoughts on classifieritis Basically, get the gun that's going to hold your interest the most. You like the VP9? Great! Practice with it and pay no mind to anyone else. As a sidenote: There are some pretty competitive guys who stood on the podium at Iron Sights Nationals in the Limited Division last year. 1) Glock 2) Custom 2011 3) Glock I know, I know, you asked about production. But when you think about it Limited seems like an even tougher place to find success with a Polymer Framed Pistol. It would have been interesting to see where Sevigny would have ended up (in either division). Edited June 20, 2018 by Rez805 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpillregret Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 I will give that a listen. I’ll probably save up for a rig for the HK, and start putting reps on my Glock for now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slalom45 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 For background I've been shooting USPSA for about a year and a half. All of it with a G17 then a G34. I'm B class at the moment. I took Stoeger's Fundamentals class this spring. On a break I was talking to him and asked if I should go ahead and move to a metal gun as I'm serious about improving. He went through a list of reasons to stay with the 34. Pretty impressive honesty when he would have been the guy I would buy a Tanfo from... Even so the Stock 2 looks sweet so when a friend recently offered to let me shoot his for a week or two I jumped on the chance. It was okay, but certainly not worth the time it would take to adapt to the gun, not to mention that I have no desire to become an amateur gunsmith. The money spent on a metal gun (and backup from what I hear) would benefit me much more if spent on training and ammo. I'm new, but I get it about not being the gun.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpillregret Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 Good info, thank you. The money I was going to slowly devote to a CZ I just may spend on a Dillon and reloading components/gear and perhaps a class with a GM. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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