Production Ready Springfield XD

Available from Dawson Precision is the Production Division ready Springfield XD pistol.  Dawson takes a stock Springfield XD Tactical (that’s the 5 inch model) in 9mm and adds the following touches to get it ready for USPSA Production or IDPA Enhanced Service Pistol:

  • Dawson Precision Fiber Optic Front sight
  • Dawson Target rear sight
  • Competition Trigger job set at approx 3.25 pounds

Dawson also test fires each pistol to guarantee that it’s shooting to the correct point of impact before it goes out to the customer.  That’s a nice touch, because it makes sure that the shooter can get out to the range right away and start competing with their new Dawson Precision XD.  According to their website, this gun is also available in .40 S&W and .45 ACP if you want to shoot Limited-10 or CDP with your new toy.

One word of caution – if you want to shoot Bianchi Cup Production with this gun, the trigger has to be over 3.5 pounds.  So if that’s part of your plan, I’d contact Dawson prior to ordering to make sure the trigger pull weight is correct for what you want to do!  Personally, I’d have it set right at 4 pounds, that way you don’t need to worry about being an ounce or two under weight.

Top Shot answers

A review of the search terms for the blog shows a lot of questions about Top Shot are how people find Gun Nuts.  That’s awesome, so since it’s Friday I’ll be happy to answer those questions.  Here goes with some of the most common, and a couple really oddball ones.  I’ll list the search term/question in italics, then my answer in regular font.

  • Who won Top Shot? Mike Seeklander.  See, what happens in the last episode he just shows up out of nowhere, yells “MIKE SEEKLANDER CRUSH” rips his shirt off, punches Colby, kills two guys with eye lasers, and then runs off with the $100,000 while yelling “MIKE SEEKLANDER, AWAY!”  In all seriousness though, I can’t tell you who wins.  You’ll just have to watch the show to find out!
  • Caleb Giddings Top Shot Ear Protection – I’m not kidding, that was an actual search that found the blog.  My hearing protection are Peltor ShotGunners.  They’re not electronic or anything fancy, they’re just simple, light, and don’t give me a headache.  I love them right up off the ground.
  • Where is Top Shot filmed? The inaugural season was filmed in various locations in Southern California.
  • What was your favorite gun? Surprisingly, my favorite gun that I shot in the show was the flintlock that I took the 125 yard shot with.  That was one of Gary James’ personal rifles, and if memory serves me it was a $15,000 hand made custom rifle.  You could definitely feel the workmanship that went into building that gun – it’s a firearm that transcends “tool” and crosses over to “work of art”.

Filming Top Shot was a great experience!  If you want to be a part of the Top Shot fraternity, the elite few chosen to represent their shooting skills and disciplines in front of America, you can try out for Top Shot Season 2!  Instructions on how to apply for a spot on Season 2 of Top Shot are here.

Fast

I was browsing through old scores from the US Steel Championships in Titusville, and thinking about how fast the winners are when I came upon this line item of scores.  Steel Challenge recognizes a separate division for Single Action Revolvers – in the ultimate game of speed and accuracy you’re allowed to shoot your single action smokewagon.  Pretty cool, right?  While no one shot it at the 2010 Nationals, there were two shooters in that division at the 2009 Steel Nats.  Here’s the winner’s time:

1. Clyde Harrison 148.64 19.09 14.73 18.08 16.42 20.51 15.60 20.58 23.63

Those stage breakdowns are in order for 5 to Go, Smoke and Hope, Accelerator, Showdown, Speed Option, Roundabout, The Pendulum, and of course Outer Limits.  Now, here’s what is totally insane about those scores.  148.64 is fast.  How fast?  Fast enough that using a Single Action revolver, he would have been the 13th place finisher in Production division with that time.  That’s crazy fast.  His average time on Smoke and Hope was 3.68 seconds per run, which is my average time using a centerfire semi-automatic pistol.

Now, Clyde Harrison is an excellent cowboy shooter, so it makes sense that he’d be good.  But don’t ever let anyone tell you that an SAA revolver is at a disadvantage for speed (except for on reloads, of course) because you can run that gun at incredible speeds…if you’re willing to put the time and effort in to shooting it well.

Awesome

Larry Correia is going to be working with The John Ringo on an upcoming project.  Obviously, here at Gun Nuts I’m a big fan of Larry’s Monster Hunter series, and I really enjoyed the Posleen War and Empire of Man series of novels, so a Larry Correia + John Ringo collaboration looks like a recipe for awesome.

And of course,  I can’t mention John Ringo without linking to Oh John Ringo No.

Silly Guns that I want

The STI Texican.  I know, I know.  What do I need a single action revolver with a 5.5 inch barrel that costs a cool thousand bucks?  I don’t…but I love single action revolvers.  And hey, it’s an STI.  How many people can say that they own an STI in .45…and that it’s a revolver?  I wonder if you could con STI in to allowing SASS matches for their contingency program and shoot one of these at a major SASS or Western 3-Gun match.  Because you have to admit, it’s pretty cool.

Like I said though, I don’t have any logical reason to want one, since I don’t shoot cowboy stuff these days, and laying out $2000 (which is what it would take to get enough of these to shoot SASS) seems like an insane idea, but at the same time if you want pretty much the top of the line in single action revolvers, this would be your answer right here.

Indiana USPSA Section Championship, 2010

The State championship is this weekend!  I am super excited for this match because we’re going to get an opportunity to really wring the Ruger SR9c out under some extreme match conditions.  The sad news is that I had to change squads – a work commitment has me flying on Sunday now, so I’ll be shooting the match all day Saturday.  The stages are available here for shooters to take a look at before heading out to the match.

Personally, I’m excited.  Despite the fact that I’m shooting in Limited-10 and only making Minor PF, I’m looking forward to a little good old fashioned run and gun.  I’ve got a stack of magazines, lots of 147 grain FMJ, and I’m ready to get some shooting done.  I’ll be interested to see how the Ruger SR9c, which has held up very well under practice conditions withstands the rigors of a major match with a high round count.  I’ll be taking video from the match and we’ll have an episode of the Quest for Master Class produced around the match!  It should be a great match, and hopefully I’ll be able to make minor out of my 3.5 inch gun…wouldn’t want to shoot it and not have the score count.

USSA Pro-Am results

Speaking of the Pro-Am that we talked to BJ Norris about last night, here are the official Top 5 Results for Professional Open and Limited, as well as Amateur Open and Limited.  Scoring for the Pro-Am is simple – the most pieces of steel knocked down within the time limits wins.  Here are the official winners for the match.

Pro Open

  1. Dave Sevigny – 223
  2. Max Michel – 219
  3. Blake Miguez – 213
  4. KC Eusebio – 206
  5. Shannon Smith – 203

Pro Limited

  1. Dave Sevigny – 231
  2. Bob Vogel – 220
  3. BJ Norris – 207
  4. Max Michel – 200
  5. Mike Seeklander – 199

Amateur Open

  1. Bill Drummond – 199
  2. Kelly Ragland – 193
  3. Jessie Abbate – 185
  4. Chuck Anderson – 184
  5. Roy Steadman – 177

Amateur Limited

  1. Shaun Hopkins – 192
  2. Jessie Abbate – 182
  3. Randi Rogers – 180
  4. Brian Dover – 179
  5. Craig Tappe – 179

I should also mention that my fellow Top Shot alum Brad Engmann (listen to his appearance on Gun Nuts Radio here) finished 6th in the amateur division with a score of 178.  Just missed the Top 5!

I really need to get out to the Pro-Am one of these years.  If you don’t think it’s awesome, check out this video from 3rd place finisher BJ Norris.

Gun Nuts Radio featuring BJ Norris of Team S&W

Check out last night’s episode of Gun Nuts Radio, we were joined by my buddy BJ Norris of Team S&W to talk about his performance at the USSA Pro-Am, as well as some gunsmithing tips to get your 1911 to feed correctly.  Last night’s episode is also available in .mp3 format for listeners that prefer a portable broadcast, and of course it’s also available on Gun for our Apple products users.

Definitely a fun episode! Had a little conversation about 1911s, which is a favorite subject of mine, as well as a good opportunity to talk about the entirety of the HAVA Charity Auction. Last night, I wanted people to get the bidding on the Crimson Trace Laser Package above $350, and you did – it’s now at $355. However, I’d love to see this go for say, $550 so click here to bid on $800 worth of products from Crimson Trace. I am very proud of the auction process, and I’m excited to close it out next month and see what we can do for HAVA!