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Division for the budget minded shooter?


Stafford

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Just started shooting USPSA, one match in Limited Major and one in Limited Minor. Considering options for a Limited pistol. But I decided to look at things from a different perspective - what is the best division on a budget. Limited means an expensive pistol or building up a cheaper one and running .40 ammo. I don’t reload or ever plan to reload so I would be buying factory ammo. 

 

So now I’m thinking Production. There’s not a lot you can do the pistol and 9mm is cheaper than .40 S&W. Your only running 10 rounds so no need for extended base pads and magwells, trigger upgrades etc... I have a Glock 17 and an M&P 2.0, both stock with plenty of magazines. All I really need is to pick which one I want to shoot, upgrade the sights, and get a competition belt, holster, and mag pouches.

 

Am I on the right path? Or flawed logic?

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7 minutes ago, Stafford said:

Just started shooting USPSA, one match in Limited Major and one in Limited Minor. Considering options for a Limited pistol. But I decided to look at things from a different perspective - what is the best division on a budget. Limited means an expensive pistol or building up a cheaper one and running .40 ammo. I don’t reload or ever plan to reload so I would be buying factory ammo. 

 

So now I’m thinking Production. There’s not a lot you can do the pistol and 9mm is cheaper than .40 S&W. Your only running 10 rounds so no need for extended base pads and magwells, trigger upgrades etc... I have a Glock 17 and an M&P 2.0, both stock with plenty of magazines. All I really need is to pick which one I want to shoot, upgrade the sights, and get a competition belt, holster, and mag pouches.

 

Am I on the right path? Or flawed logic?

Good plan!

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11 minutes ago, B_RAD said:

Good plan!

 

Even if I decide later to purchase a Shadow 2 or whatever for Production, I would only be buying the pistol, extra mags and a new holster. No magwells, frame weights, trigger jobs, sight blockers, etc....

 

Sidebar: can you start at 10+1 in Production?

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4 minutes ago, Stafford said:

 

Even if I decide later to purchase a Shadow 2 or whatever for Production, I would only be buying the pistol, extra mags and a new holster. No magwells, frame weights, trigger jobs, sight blockers, etc....

 

Sidebar: can you start at 10+1 in Production?

Yes. 

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I think you need to ask yourself what is your goal with your shooting. Are you going to be competitive right off the bat and plan to win most of the time, or do you just want to have fun while doing reasonably well and shooting mostly against yourself. I believe you're right in that production would be cheaper, but you don't have to have a .40 and all those other "goodies" to still have fun and do reasonably well with limited minor.

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Just now, egd5 said:

I think you need to ask yourself what is your goal with your shooting. Are you going to be competitive right off the bat and plan to win most of the time, or do you just want to have fun while doing reasonably well and shooting mostly against yourself. I believe you're right in that production would be cheaper, but you don't have to have a .40 and all those other "goodies" to still have fun and do reasonably well with limited minor.

 

Have no plans on winning. If I can move from near the bottom to middle of the road, I’ll be happy. I can spend, but don’t want to spend. Ammo is expensive enough for my tastes. 

 

I’m new to shooting, and got into defensive handguns following the Sutherland Springs TX shooting in 2017. The main reason for me to own a pistol is self defense. Competition is one way to train and become a better shooter. 

 

So shooting a plastic carry type of pistol in competition is really more in line with my original reasons to own and carry pistols. 

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I think you need to ask yourself what is your goal with your shooting. Are you going to be competitive right off the bat and plan to win most of the time, or do you just want to have fun while doing reasonably well and shooting mostly against yourself. I believe you're right in that production would be cheaper, but you don't have to have a .40 and all those other "goodies" to still have fun and do reasonably well with limited minor.
Shoot all alphas all the time and then minor > major [emoji16]
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Production rules have opened up a bit to the point where what you can do now is fairly broad. This means you can spend a boat load of money dialing in a Production pistol if one were so inclined.

 

All of the above doesn't change a thing. Your plan is good - pick a gun you own and shoot the darn thing.

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2 minutes ago, aandabooks said:

Is that 2.0 a 5"?  Either gun will work well in Production and then you can spend more money on ammo to practice.  There is no need to go spend big money on a gun.  You can build the base skills with what you have now.

 

Nope, it’s a 2.0 3.6” model. I like it and shoot it well (for me). I’m pretty sure I shoot it better than my Glock 17, although I know the 17 is a “better” Production pistol.

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1 minute ago, TrackCage said:

Production rules have opened up a bit to the point where what you can do now is fairly broad. This means you can spend a boat load of money dialing in a Production pistol if one were so inclined.

 

All of the above doesn't change a thing. Your plan is good - pick a gun you own and shoot the darn thing.

Yeah, I think I could get a gunsmith to install an Apex trigger at 4lbs and still run it in Production at my local match. Is that even legal?

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13 minutes ago, Stafford said:

 

Nope, it’s a 2.0 3.6” model. I like it and shoot it well (for me). I’m pretty sure I shoot it better than my Glock 17, although I know the 17 is a “better” Production pistol.

You've covered this in several other threads.  Take that 3.6" and go shoot it.  Take whatever you have and go shoot it.

 

13 minutes ago, Stafford said:

Yeah, I think I could get a gunsmith to install an Apex trigger at 4lbs and still run it in Production at my local match. Is that even legal?

Buy the Apex parts you want and do the install yourself.  Apex has videos to guide you.  It's very easy to do, takes just a few minutes, empower yourself.

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18 minutes ago, Stafford said:

Yeah, I think I could get a gunsmith to install an Apex trigger at 4lbs and still run it in Production at my local match. Is that even legal?

And yes, that's legal.

Apex has a competition kit & carry kit.  Since that 3.6" is your carry gun drop the carry kit in there.  You might not want to carry a gun with a competition Apex installed.  Honestly, the trigger pull weight is not the end-all be-all for me.  The crispness is though.  I dropped the Apex competition package in my 5" and ended up re-installing the factory springs and keeping the Apex sear.  It was too lite for my taste.  The Apex sear alone will give you most of what you want.....and some polishing here & there.

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57 minutes ago, BJB said:

You've covered this in several other threads.  Take that 3.6" and go shoot it.  Take whatever you have and go shoot it.

 

Buy the Apex parts you want and do the install yourself.  Apex has videos to guide you.  It's very easy to do, takes just a few minutes, empower yourself.

Yep, I’ve had multiple threads. But, I don’t have anyone else to talk to.  Lots of questions.. So, expect some overkill.

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Just started shooting USPSA, one match in Limited Major and one in Limited Minor. Considering options for a Limited pistol. But I decided to look at things from a different perspective - what is the best division on a budget. Limited means an expensive pistol or building up a cheaper one and running .40 ammo. I don’t reload or ever plan to reload so I would be buying factory ammo. 

 

So now I’m thinking Production. There’s not a lot you can do the pistol and 9mm is cheaper than .40 S&W. Your only running 10 rounds so no need for extended base pads and magwells, trigger upgrades etc... I have a Glock 17 and an M&P 2.0, both stock with plenty of magazines. All I really need is to pick which one I want to shoot, upgrade the sights, and get a competition belt, holster, and mag pouches.

 

Am I on the right path? Or flawed logic?

Your reasoning is sound and production is the way I'd go until you decide to reload one day. 9mm is very affordable and most will make minor. Federal even makes official uspsa ammo for minor now.

 

Production had the biggest growth of any division in the last few years and that will only continue.

 

If high capacity is something you'd like to stay in them Carry Optics is a great division. Doubled its participation last year and I feel it will usurp open in the next 2-3 years as far as participation. I recently bought an M&P CORE slide kit, threw a dot on it and some taran tactical basepads which got me to 23 rounds. When I need a break from limited major I go directly to carry optics. good luck

 

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

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Stafford, you’ve been given this advice a number of times on multiple threads.... just go out and shoot what you have and stop worrying about what might give you an advantage.  The truth is, no one but you cares whether you place first or last at the match, as long as your being safe just go out and have fun.  There are very few people in this sport who get paid to play, the rest of us just participate as we can/want to.  If budget is a factor (as it is for everyone), shoot what you can afford and enjoy it!

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43 minutes ago, Stafford said:

Yep, I’ve had multiple threads. But, I don’t have anyone else to talk to.  Lots of questions.. So, expect some overkill.

That's all good.  Lots of guys here have answers.  Lots also think they do but don't so separate the chaff. 

Best thing for you is to run that pistol that you already have and learn along the way about what direction you might want to go. Become a regular at your locals and you'll find plenty of like minded individuals that are further along than you and they can help you out with skills & drills & gear selection.  The shooting community is very welcoming.  Just shoot what you have and don't buy for a while.  Later on you'll know what you want. 

As far as ammo on a budget, look at SGammo.com.  They have some quality bulk ammo that is very affordable.....when you buy in bulk of course.  I bought many 1000rd cases from them until I started reloading. (BTW: save your brass even though you aren't currently reloading)

Just go shoot, learn, dry-fire, and shoot some more.  As stated earlier in one of your threads along this topic, my first match was with my carry gun, a M&P 9c 3.5", much like your gun.  If it's the gun you're used to you'll be surprised about what you can do with it.

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13 minutes ago, cjmill87 said:

Stafford, you’ve been given this advice a number of times on multiple threads.... just go out and shoot what you have and stop worrying about what might give you an advantage.  The truth is, no one but you cares whether you place first or last at the match, as long as your being safe just go out and have fun.  There are very few people in this sport who get paid to play, the rest of us just participate as we can/want to.  If budget is a factor (as it is for everyone), shoot what you can afford and enjoy it!

Yep, I’ve asked on multiple threads, and knew I’d get called on it... But there is no one in my circle of friends, or my family, or my co-workers to talk to about competitive shooting. So, I go on and on here. Glocktalk isn’t a competitive shooting forum and this one is, so I ask and ask. 

 

As a newb, I ask the same thing, in multiple threads looking for multiple answers.

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4 minutes ago, Stafford said:

Yep, I’ve asked on multiple threads, and knew I’d get called on it... But there is no one in my circle of friends, or my family, or my co-workers to talk to about competitive shooting. So, I go on and on here. Glocktalk isn’t a competitive shooting forum and this one is, so I ask and ask. 

 

As a newb, I ask the same thing, in multiple threads looking for multiple answers.

Don't take this the wrong way... but you may be asking multiple times until you get the answer you want. Maybe you're surprised the collective isn't giving you that answer?

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6 minutes ago, Stafford said:

...But there is no one in my circle of friends, or my family, or my co-workers to talk to about competitive shooting...

You take your M&P and start shooting it and become a regular at your local matches and that will change.  You'll have some new friends from the range and I guarantee you, some of them will be able to run the hell out of a gun. 

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8 hours ago, TrackCage said:

Don't take this the wrong way... but you may be asking multiple times until you get the answer you want. Maybe you're surprised the collective isn't giving you that answer?

Gotcha. I expected this kind of response. Not surprised.

Edited by Stafford
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20 minutes ago, BJB said:

You take your M&P and start shooting it and become a regular at your local matches and that will change.  You'll have some new friends from the range and I guarantee you, some of them will be able to run the hell out of a gun. 

Just trying to decide whether to run my M&P 9mm in Limited Minor or Production. Or, to run my G22 in my Limited Major.

 

In reality, it doesn’t really matter as long as I shoot. 

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