Hoosier/USPSA

Indiana USPSA State Championship adds sponsors

Posted on by Caleb

From Jake Martens, the USPSA Section Coordinator for Indiana:

Montana Gold has signed up to be a Co-Stage Sponsor this year sending $500 worth of certificates for the prize table.  Wiley-X has signed up to be a Stage Sponsor and I have received a box of 18 pairs of eyewear from them today!!!  Fobus Holsters has also signed on as a sponsor this year at the Gold level sending 12 certificates for holsters.  Precision Delta will also be a Gold Level Sponsor again this year with a donation of $300 worth of certificates.

Thanks to all the companies that have signed up so far to sponsor this match. If you are interested let me know, [email protected]

Get your entries in…..
www.uspsaindiana.org

Sponsors for the 2010 Indiana USPSA Sectional Championship now include the above listed companies, as well as TechWearUSA, SVI Infinity, Starlight Brass, and Millennium Custom Guns.  This is going to be a great match this June, so get your entry in now!

handguns/Sig Sauer

Sig P226 X-Five Allround

Posted on by Caleb

Sig Sauer has several available models of the venerable P226 available for shooters.  We previously looked at the P226 USPSA a purpose built USPSA Production gun that comes from the factory ready to roll.  Another gun in the Sig Sauer line up that is absolutely competition is the Sig Sauer P226 X-Five Allround. As you’d expect, the “X” series from Sig are built with extreme accuracy in competition shooting in mind.  These are serious guns that Sig claims are capable of producing 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards.

The P226 X-5 Allround is a traditional DA/SA gun, and is approved for ISPC and USPSA Production Divisions.  It’s also available in .40 S&W, meaning that you could buy in that caliber and shoot Production with minor power factor loads or shoot Limited 10 with major power factor loads.  The X-Five also has a 5 inch barrel, which gives shooters a better sight radius and enhances accuracy.  The double action trigger pull on the X-Five AllRound comes in at 10 pounds, with the single action being rated from the factory around 4.4 pounds according to the specs.

As you’d expect, the P226 X-Five AllRound sports a hefty price tag, with an MSRP of $1800.  For shooters looking to buy a top notch target pistol with a large budget, this is luxury edition Cadillac of DA/SA pistols.

Continue reading →

revolvers

Bowen Rough Country Smith & Wesson revolver rear sight

Posted on by Caleb

Smith & Wesson 625 in .45 ACP with Miculek grips, HiViz fiber optic front sight, Bowen Rough Country rear sight, California Competition Works moonclip holder, A-Zoom snap caps, copy of US Concealed Carry Magazine.

Smith and Wesson revolvers come from the factory with a perfectly adequate rear sight for competition shooting.  Unlike a lot of semi-automatic pistols which come with three-dot sights, the “worst” thing you’ll see on most S&W revolver rear sights is a white “u-shape” outline on the rear sight; and many revolvers come with a plain black rear sight.  However, I found that the standard rear sight didn’t allow quite enough light in around the large fiber optic front post I prefer for competition shooting.  In search of an alternate solution, I hit upon the Bowen Rough Country rear sight.  This is a fully adjustable rear sight for both windage and elevation, which is useful for competition shooters that may see point of impact shift with various loads.

The design of the sight is well, rugged.  The standard S&W revolver rear sight installs on the top strap with a single screw, the Bowen uses two screws to secure itself to the top strap.  Unlike the standard sight, the Bowen also has a full length serrated rear blade to help reduce glare, and a deeper and wider rear notch to help pick up the front sight quicker.  The rear sight quite nicely frames the red fiber optic, and allows a significant amount of light in around the front post.  The rounded edges are a nice touch – this sight won’t snag on a concealing garment when I’m drawing during an IDPA match!

Admittedly though this is all cosmetic if the sight doesn’t perform well at the range.  I took the 625 with the Bowen to the range to get it sighted in at 10 and 20 yards.  For sighting in, I like to use the NRA AP-1 target, more commonly known as the Bianchi Cup target.  The Bianchi target is nice because of the black 4 inch x-ring at the center provides a consistent point of aim reference; the 10 ring is 8 inches in diameter which is the same size as the -0 zone on an IDPA target.  I like to sight in my competition guns in the same conditions that they’ll be used – so I don’t shoot off a rest at a bullseye target; I shoot them standing, double action at targets that I’d actually shoot in competition.  I don’t particularly care if the gun can shoot a 2 inch group at 25 yards, I care if it can hold the x-ring at 10 and 20 yards with an offhand hold.  My sighting in procedure is pretty simple – shoot a six shot group, make any sight adjustments necessary based on the group’s location, lather, rinse, repeat until the gun is holding point of aim-point of impact at 20 yards.

I got lucky.  Out of the box with no adjustments whatsoever and using 230 grain FMJ ammo, the Bowen Rough Country Rear sight held in the x-ring, point of aim point of impact at 20 yards.  What that tells me is that if I buy another one of these for my 627 and 686 that I’m going to have to do a lot of adjustment to get it to shoot right where I want it.

After establishing point of impact, I did some 20 yard speed drills.  This is my current “fav” drill to practice.  I’ve noticed that I’m dropping a lot of points at 15-25 yards, so in order to get better I’m working on a drill where I draw from the holster and fire a single shot at 20 yards as fast as I can hit an “A”.  So far it’s working.  With the Bowen, I was able to dip down into the 1.80-1.99 area and hit 10’s on the Bianchi Target at 20 yards.  So far I’m very impressed with this sight – I bought it from Brownells on a lark, and I’m glad I did.  I’ll be taking it out to the range this weekend to work it out in an IDPA match – see if I can make those tight head box shots!

rifles/shooting

Boomershoot stuff and the Quote of the Day

Posted on by Caleb

First off, if you’re not familiar with Joe Huffman’s Boomershoot, then shame shame on you.  It is by far one of the best conceived and hardest worked on shooting events in the country.  For the quote of the day, we have Michael Bane:

Boomershoot is the most interesting precision rifle event in the entire world.

In additional Boomershoot coverage, we have Joe’s recovery time, several pictures from Oleg, a totally awesome video, and finally a great wrap-up post from Laurel discussing the people, the guns, and the event itself.

Boomershoot is an event that is on my “must hit” list eventually – I’m not a rifleman by any stretch of the term; in fact when I met a legit precision rifleman earlier this year it was like he was speaking another language.  Sight picture and trigger control I get, but the minute the shooting involves “reading the mirage” or “calculating Coriolis effect” then I’m officially out of my depth.  But I also believe that the only way we improve as shooters is to challenge our skills…and Boomershoot would do just that.

Way to go, Joe.  Looks like another top notch year from our friends in Idaho!

IDPA

IDPA Qualifier

Posted on by Caleb

I was asked recently why I shoot the IDPA qualifier in practice so often.  The biggest reason is that it gives me a objective means to measure performance gains.  Here’s a breakdown of classifier scores that I’ve shot and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

  • 09/06/08 – first classifier I ever shot, and I shot it with a Para P16-40.  I feel like that was a decade ago I’ve learned so much about shooting since then!  My classifier time was 132.05, good enough for Sharpshooter in Enhanced Service Pistol.
  • 03/28/2009 – next classifier I shot was in Custom Defensive Pistol, using my ParaUSA 7.45 LDA.  That classifier was also a million years ago, and I shot it in 125.44, good enough for Sharpshooter in CDP.

Aside: right now Sharpshooter in both ESP and CDP is my classification of record with IDPA for those two divisions, because I’m a sandbaggin’ SOB and haven’t bothered to reclassify in those divisions.

  • 05/09/09 – My first Stock Service Pistol Classifier, shot using a Glock 35 in .40 S&W.  I shot this one in 115.87, which was good enough for Expert in SSP.  But it’s not significantly better than my other two classifiers.
  • 08/07/09 – Shot the classifier again, this time with a Springfield XD(m) which is an Enhanced Service Pistol gun.  This one I got done in 110.58, almost cracking into Expert in ESP but not quite.
  • 09/16/09 – My first wheelgun classifier, which I did for the Indiana State IDPA match.  I shot this in 116.34, good enough for Expert in Enhanced Service Revolver.  While almost six seconds slower than my previous “best”, I felt pretty good about getting Expert on my first run with a revolver.
  • 02/28/10 – My second “official” classifier with my 625.  I shot this one in 97.61, good enough to earn my IDPA Master class rating.
  • 3/7/10 – My only classifier with my S&W 686SSR.   Total time was 114.22, which I wasn’t happy with.  I spent a lot of time fumbling with the HKS speedloaders I had, and I (somehow) managed to miss a headshot.  On the flip side, I had never shot the gun before that day, but still – not a good performance.  The time was good enough for Expert class in Stock Service Revolver.

The reason I log all of this stuff is so that I can know where my weak spots and areas of improvement are.  For example, my worst stage on the classifier and what truly cost me Master class with the 686SSR was the 20 yard stage.  I had about a jillion points down, and it was truly ugly.  Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time working on 20+ yard shots.  My favorite drill is to draw and fire one shot from the holster as fast as possible…and still hit the -0 part of the target.  Yesterday at practice I was consistently around 2.2 seconds for that shot, which I can deal with.

Ultimately, my goal for IDPA is to get a 5-Gun Master card.  I also need to re-shoot the classifier in ESP and CDP just to see how my scores have improved since 2008.  I would estimate that I could probably shave some 20-30 seconds off those old times.  I’d like to see all my classifiers under 100 seconds across the board.

revolvers/shooting

What can roundguns do for you?

Posted on by Caleb

It has been a long time since I fired a shot from a semi-automatic handgun in serious competition.  After Bianchi Cup last May, I switched almost exclusively to double action revolvers (excluding my brief but fun flirtation with the Springfield XDM) and haven’t really even done any dry fire practice with my 1911. In the last year, I’ve fired over 10,000 rounds out of various double action revolvers, and I’ve come to the conclusion that revolvers make you more awesome.  Not just a better shooter, but an entirely more awesome person.  The science is settled.

  • Revolvers make you better at shooting

If you can manage a double action revolver trigger, you can shoot any trigger on the planet.  Last night, I hauled out my beloved ParaUSA LTC 9mm that received the Todd Jarrett treatment just to do a little dry fire practice.  Using my favorite dry fire target (a light switch on the wall) about 7 yards away I settled in, and hit the start button on my timer.  I had set it for a 1.5 second par time, which is about the fastest I can get my 625 out of an IDPA holster and on target with a good hit.  The timer went off and as I live and breathe the 1911 flew into my hand like a friggin’ magnet and before I knew it the thing was on target and the shot had broken.  Then the timer beeped a second time, indicating my time was up.  So okay, I went to 1 second.  No problem.  After almost a year of shooting nothing but revolvers, I was consistently hitting 0.95 second draws with my 1911.  That was a pretty awesome feeling.

  • Shooting revolvers makes you more patient

Seriously, shooting a wheelgun will make you a more patient person in real life.  If you’re like me, you try to apply lessons learned in practical shooting to your everyday life.  Although sometimes the metaphor can get a little strained, the lessons I’ve learned from shooting revolvers have actually been beneficial.  In USPSA and IDPA, I’m more patient when I’m shooting a revolver – there’s no temptation to just hose bullets at a target because I know that with only six in the gun, I have to make every shot count.  So I’m a little more deliberate with the trigger and a little more patient with my sights.  Take that to real life, and it applies in my “day job” – anything that I’m setting my metaphorical sights on could benefit from a little more patience from me.  The extra time taken to do the job right isn’t wasted.

  • Shooting revolvers makes you a stud.

Seriously, my forearms are ripped, and it’s in part due to the hojillions of dry fires I do on a regular basis with wheelguns.  All stud, no softy.

  • Finally, shooting revolvers really does make you better at shooting.

I know I talked about it with the dry fire example above, but think of it this way.  If you can shoot a gun with a 10 lb trigger that only holds six rounds and win matches, then imagine what you can do with a with a 4 pound trigger and 10 round magazines in Production, or a 3.5 pound trigger and 22 round mags in Limited.  The possibilities are nigh endless.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that everyone should own a double action revolver, even if you only use it for dry fire.  If you can dry fire a DA revolver quickly without wobbling your sights, your Glock/1911/whatever will be a piece of cake.

revolvers/shooting

A tale of two screws

Posted on by Caleb

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

Yesterday, I finally dragged my 625 which had been recently upgraded with a Bowen Rough Country rear sight and a Wolff Reduced Power mainspring out to the range to function test and sight in, as well as maybe do some practice.  After installing the reduced power mainspring on the 625, the trigger pull was down to about 7.5 pounds, which I thought was odd – both of my Pro Series revolvers come from the factory with reduced power mainsprings and their trigger pulls aren’t nearly that low.  But I didn’t think too much of it…until I got to the range.

First round, a Magtech 230 grain FMJ goes “click” instead of bang.  I look at the primer, and there’s a dimple on it, not a really good hit.  Okay, well Magtech has hard primers I think, I’ll try the Remington ball ammo that has softer primers.  That I get 4 clicks and 2 bangs in one cylinder.  So next I switch to my Federal 230 grain FMJ, which has the softest primers of all.  3 clicks, and 3 bangs.  By this time, I’m getting angry, and I’m worried because I think I might have screwed up my gun somehow when I installed the new mainspring.

So, I tear into the gun.  Grips come off, and I check the strain screw to make sure it’s bottomed out.  It is.  As I’m looking at the strain screw though, I get the feeling that something isn’t right.  So, I open up my 627 (the 8 shot .357) on a hunch to have a look and inside.  The strain screw looks longer on the 627, but it’s hard to tell when it’s installed, so I pull the screws on both guns and look at them side by side.  Sure as shooting, the screw on the 625 was a good millimeter or two shorter than the screw from the 627.  Upon closer inspection, the 625’s screw had clearly been dremeled down by the previous owner of the gun.  I had bought the 625 used for a steal, and hadn’t inquired if the prior owner had screwed (hahaha) around with his gun in any way.

It seems that to get a lighter trigger pull, the previous owner had simple ground off the tip of the strain screw to ease the tension on the main spring.  After I was done cursing his name, his children, his children’s children, and the inventor of the bloody dremel tool, I installed the standard length strain screw on my 625 with the reduced power mainspring and the gun once again runs like a top.  The trigger pull is about 10 pounds now, but it’s very smooth thanks to the new spring.

Meanwhile, my 627 has the old mainspring from my 625 in it with the short screw – I am getting really good at pulling the side plate off that gun.  The moral of the story is that if you’re buying a used revolver, especially one that’s been used for competition, it would behoove you to ask the previous owner if they modified any of the parts in a way that can only be repaired by buying a new part.  It’s times like these that I want to toss these revolvers, buy an M&P in .40 S&W and just shoot Limited-10 and Enhanced Service Pistol.  It would be nice to have a competition ready gun out of the box for once…

Uncategorized

Oh the things you'll hear

Posted on by Caleb

Being a gunnie, I will occasionally venture to Gander Mountain – while their prices aren’t the best, they will at times have something that’s difficult to find or is worth paying a little extra for to have in hand “right now” as opposed to waiting for shipping.  They also will sometimes have deals on used guns – every now and then something will pop up in their used gun case that is absolutely worth it.  For example, yesterday they had not 1 or 2 or 3 but 4, 4 HK USPs in .40 S&W with night sights for about $500 each.  That’s a deal for a USP…but you could also buy a brand new Glock 22 for that same price, so caveat emptor.

All that aside though, Gander Mountain is a great place to hear things that make your head hurt – and so I relate this story to you.  Yesterday I’m idly cruising around and debating whether or not a used USP is really worth $200 more than a used Glock (answer: if you like HKs, yes otherwise it’s not) and I see a young couple talking to one of the counter guys about getting a carry gun for the female member of the couple.  They’re standing over a rack of 1911s, so there’s a part of me that’s hoping that they’re going to do something smart like pull out an all steel, easy to shoot Kimber in 9mm – basically the easiest shooting gun on the planet.  Needless to say, I was hoping in vain, as out of the case comes a micro-compact 1911 in .45 ACP with a 3 inch barrel.  Let’s see, small grips, excessive recoil, short sight radius – clearly it’s the perfect first gun for a novice shooter!  On the bright side though, it wasn’t a snub nosed revolver…but alas I spoke too soon, as the very next gun out of the case was a sierra foxtrot Taurus Titanium .357.  Now you’ve hit the perfect gun: really excessive recoil, small grips, low ammo capacity, crappy sights, and to top it all off, a lousy trigger!  IT’S PERFECT.

Rant mode off here for a second, as I’m going to talk to the ladies.  Ladies out there, I implore you: if your husband wants to get you a gun, for the love of all that is good in this galaxy please demand that he take you shooting to a range that has rental guns if you’ve never fired a gun before.  Hold as many guns as you can until you find one that fits your hand well and allows easy access to the controls.  In fact, if you could find someone other than your significant other to help you select a firearm, that would be ideal as it would avoid any of his personal biases.

Now for the guys.  Gentlemen.  Men.  Do not ever buy a gun for your wife unless she wants to get a gun.  And then when you do, let her pick the gun. That’s it.  Two simple rules.  Don’t buy a “girl’s gun” or a “man’s gun” because there is no such thing.  There are two kinds of guns in this world: guns that fit a shooter, and guns that don’t.  Let her find a gun that fits her hands and that she enjoys shooting.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a .25, a 9mm, or a .45 ACP.  Let her pick.

Uncategorized

Gun Nuts Radio with George Hill

Posted on by Caleb

Did you miss the live broadcast of last night’s Gun Nuts Radio with George Hill of MadOgre.Com?  Have no fear, as the episode can be easily downloaded by clicking this link.   George was a great guest, and has a near encyclopedic knowledge of firearms and politics.  Just getting a chance to talk to one of the original gun bloggers was a neat opportunity for me.  In addition to running MadOgre.Com, George is also one of the founders of Crusader Weaponry – but most importantly he’s running for State Representative in Utah’s 55th District.  You can support his campaign with a donation at VoteGeorgeHill.Org.

You can listen to a streaming version of last night’s Gun Nuts Radio or click here for a .mp3 copy of the show.  As always, the show is available for Apple fans on Caleb Giddings - Gun Nuts Radio | Blog Talk Radio Feed - Gun Nuts Radio | Blog Talk Radio Feed for free. iTunes and iPod/iPhone users can use the iTunes link to subscribe to the show and automatically receive all of our show updates.

If you’d like to connect to Gun Nuts for all the latest information on guns and gear and the shooting sports, hit us up at the Gun Nuts Radio Facebook page where you’ll find the latest updates and info! You can also hit out store for Gun Nuts Gear, where all the revenue is immediately reinvested in supporting the shooting sports (i.e. buying ammo!).

Thanks again for listening, and don’t forget to check out next week’s Gun Nuts Radio live at 9pm Eastern time on the BlogTalkRadio Network!

news

RangeMaster and Pistol-Training.Com raise over $1700 for St. Jude Children's Hospital

Posted on by Caleb

That’s right, at the recently concluded RangeMaster conference, the Pistol-Training.Com Charity FAST competition raised over $1700.  This money will be donated towards furthering childhood cancer research, proving once again that guns (and good people) do in fact save lives.  It looks like a lot of fun was had at the RangeMaster conference as well; Rob Pincus demonstrated the newest tactical concept – the rolling reload!

In all seriousness though I love seeing this kind of stuff.  It’s great to see the firearms community getting involved with mainstream charities – whether it’s Julie Golob’s special edition M&P pistol for breast cancer research, or Pistol-Training.Com and RangeMaster donating money to St. Jude I would love to see more involvement from the firearms community in “traditional” charities.