Rvajma Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 (edited) So i shot the Delmarva Sectional this weekend as my first level 2 match. Started shooting earlier this year and this was my 8th USPSA match in Carry Optics. Running a stock ZEV OZ9 without the mag well and Glock Gen5 mags with TTI +5/6 base pads and Federal Syntec 150gr 9mm. Got to Chrono and did not feel there would be any issues. Handed over my magazine, and it does not fit the 140mm gauge, and I am welcomed to open division. Had the RO measure a second one just to see, and that one measures long as well. Never thought I would have an issue with them, as they are advertised by TTI to fit the gauge and I see many others running them in CO. Is this normal? What should to do to get them legal? On another note, for any other newbies out there. After chrono, I was given the baggie with my unused ammo and did not really inspect the rounds and put them in my pocket with the rounds that I had pulled out of the magazine to be measured. At the next stage, I reloaded mags with the rounds from my pocket and proceeded to shoot the stage. Started out fine, but had a malfunction. Tapped and racked, ejecting an empty casing, loading a new round, but would not go completely into battery, and end up having to end my stage. Made clear and end up going to the safe area to find a bullet lodged in the barrel backwards. Clear it and realize what I had done. The round that chrono had pulled apart to weigh the projectile was put back in the case with the bullet in backwards and put back in my baggie. I didn't notice it and loaded it into my magazine, it fired the primer and lodged in the chamber. Bonehead move ends up with zero points on that stage. Looking forward to shooting another Level 2, but will make sure all my gear is legal before I get there. Will also make sure I am familiar with all the procedures to ensure no more self induced failures. Jeff Edited October 27, 2019 by Rvajma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolffy1876 Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 That is an unfortunate crash course you just had. Sounds like you are taking it in stride. Learn and move on. All you can do at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 That is one of the Best Parts of competitions - you get to make serious mistakes without serious ramifications. Unlike a real gunfight. Over the next year, you will learn a LOT about all the different mistakes I made my first year - any one of which would have gotten me killed in a gunfight. Better to learn the easy way. And, good luck with your new hobby and your 2nd large match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malarky112 Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I’ve never seen them put a bullet back in an empty case. I wonder if it just happen to wedge itself in there while it was loose in the bag. That’s some bad luck. I usually toss the baggie into the bottom of my bag and look when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intheshaw1 Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 How far off were the mags in length? Makes me want to pull out the calipers and check all my mags.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rvajma Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 You might have been able to slip a single sheet of paper under the follower end of the magazine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpaw Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 10 hours ago, Rvajma said: Never thought I would have an issue with them, as they are advertised by TTI to fit the gauge and I see many others running them in CO. Is this normal? Unfortunately, in my experience it's normal for them to NOT fit the gauge. Always good to check with a gauge before using a mag at a major as I've seen several brands not fit the gauge. Too bad you had to learn this the hard way at your first major. Dawson extensions are good about fitting the gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClangClang Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 It is a frequent occurrence to see mags not fit the gauge. I have had many over the years. Luckily I found out long before I showed up at chrono at a Major 99% of the time, the issue is entirely the fault of the magazine tube, not the base pad. Base pads are precision CNC-machined blocks of solid aluminum with virtually no variance in size to speak of. Magazine tubes are bent sheet metal which are stamped to size and have a very wide (mechanically speaking) acceptable tolerance. There are there are a couple methods to fitting magazines into the gauge and they all involve filing down various parts of the base pad, magazine tube, or both. For Glock mags, the easiest option is probably to gently file the tops of the feed lips. You could also file/mill/sand the basepads but that tends to be quite ugly. Some people care, some don't. Or you could just buy new mag tubes. Don't don't bother trying to measure them with calipers. The sloping nature of feed lips makes it impossible to get repeatable measurements. You really need to have one of the official gauges on hand. Take off a tiny bit of material at a time and re-measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregJ Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 I too shot the Delmarva match, it was a fun match, great staff. Sorry about your misfortune, lots of lessons learned. When I get the baggie with the rounds back from chrono, they go into the bag to be sorted out when I get home. RE the mags, suggest you buy a mag gauge, and a good scale (if you are worried about making weight). The mag gauge helped me a lot in sorting out my mags to get the right combo that gave me the most capacity and were still legal. https://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/EGW-USPSA-Official-Magazine-Gauge-P334.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elguapo Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 2 hours ago, GregJ said: I too shot the Delmarva match, it was a fun match, great staff. Sorry about your misfortune, lots of lessons learned. When I get the baggie with the rounds back from chrono, they go into the bag to be sorted out when I get home. RE the mags, suggest you buy a mag gauge, and a good scale (if you are worried about making weight). The mag gauge helped me a lot in sorting out my mags to get the right combo that gave me the most capacity and were still legal. https://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/EGW-USPSA-Official-Magazine-Gauge-P334.aspx For $35 (less than the cost of many mags) you'd be a fool not to have one even if you never go to a match that would check your mag lengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Bob Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 As for the mags, did you have any kind of grip tape on the bottom of the base pads? At my first Level II match, my mags barely made the gauge. Though they were bought as tuned mags, using SNL(sometime not legal) base pads, they were tuned to fit the gauge. But I added grip tape to the bottom of the basepads. That extra thickness of the grip tape made them a tight fit in the gauge. Right after that, I pulled off all the grip tape, and filed the back of the feed lips ever so slight, to give me that extra matgin of safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theautobahn Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 A buddy told me the TTI extension (and others) often don't fit the gauge. He had to file several of his. I haven't shot a Level 2 match, but it does make me wonder about mine - although I'm hating the idea of taking a file to hundreds of dollars worth of extensions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rvajma Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 You don't need to file the extension, you file the rear part of the feed lips at an angle. It took about 5 quick passes with a file and mine were fine in the gauge. You just have to file down the points. Less than 5 minutes worth of work for 10 magazines for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeNerd Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 1/9/2020 at 10:06 AM, theautobahn said: A buddy told me the TTI extension (and others) often don't fit the gauge. He had to file several of his. I haven't shot a Level 2 match, but it does make me wonder about mine - although I'm hating the idea of taking a file to hundreds of dollars worth of extensions... My CZ75 TTI fit the guage at delmarva ? Anyone else at delmarva think the weights were off? (Bullet weight and gun???) Or am I crazy off on my home scales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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