Wolverines!
Crazy ideas
While at the Tri-State, I managed to keep my ears open enough to hear some interesting things, one of which I’m probably going to try to see how it works out. One of the few wheelgun shooters at the match (a master class ESR shooter) was running a weird load in his 625: .45 GAP loads set to make the power factor required.
For those not familiar, .45 GAP was introduced as a “solution” for shooters looking for .45 ACP ballistics in a cartridge the same OAL as a .40 S&W. It has enjoyed moderate popularity, as at least one or two large PDs carry Glocks chambered in the gun, and there are also a couple micro defensive pistols chambered for it.
There are some benefits to running .45 GAP in a 625, or so I was told. The first benefit is that the Glock Automatic Pistol (GAP) round has a shorter overal length than the ACP round. Generally speaking, when loading from moonclips, shorter=better. The second benefit I had explained to me was the most interesting; .45 GAP uses small pistol primers instead of the large pistol primers employed by the ACP round. This has two positives: 1) you can actually find small pistol primers, 2) small pistol primers don’t require as forceful a hammer strike for reliable igniton, which means you can get an even lower trigger pull set up on the gun.
The real question though is whether the gain is really worth it. I’m skeptical of trying to create equipment solutions to questions of skill, especially when the ACP seems to work for pretty well for that Miculek guy.
That being said, I am going to pick up a box of 185 grain (my favorite bullet weight for ACP rounds) .45 GAP just to see what happens. That is of course barring someone saying in comments that it’ll vaporize my gun or something.
Gun Nuts Radio and Silly Gun Laws
Tune in tonight to Gun Nuts Radio, where we’ll be discussing a couple of interesting topics: 1) the silly gun laws across the nation, and 2) the recent Super Tea Party held in Washington, DC. As usual, the show will go live at 9pm Eastern time, and as always the call in number is 347-539-5436.
Don’t forget, that’s 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts – don’t miss the show!
Match Review: The Tri-State Regional
The alternate title for this post could be “Old Age and Treachery once again triumphs over Youth and Enthusiasm”. I drove up to the match with a few other shooters from Atlanta Conservation Club, one of whom shot in my class and division…and who ended up beating me by about 2.5 seconds. Guess what I did at this match? That’s right, I shot a hostage. Just one. But that 5 second penalty was certainly enough to put me from the “winning” to the “losing” side of things.
Now that I’ve gotten that out-of-the-way, let’s look at the match itself. The match was 10 stages, with a round count around 150 minimum, although I ended up expending about 165/170 thanks to extra shots at certain targets. Before I continue, I want to state that here, on this blog, I’m writing my opinions, so bear that in mind. The stages themselves were a mix of craftily designed stages that tested your shooting ability, and stages that I felt were designed to be ways to trap people into getting procedural penalties. Shockingly enough, I generally dislike the latter type of stage; but again that’s my opinion. Overall, I felt like the stages were quality stages, well thought out and designed. In fact, one of the “procedural trap” stages was one of my best stages – it required all shots to be fired on the move even if cover was available, which caused some of the die-hard IDPA shooters to have mental fits.
From an organizational point of view, the match went superb. The match director, Larry Hill and his staff did an absolutely excellent job of keeping things running like a clock – only once did we have to wait for shooters to finish in a bay before we could get our squad shooting. The Safety Officers were generally excellent, providing solid walk-throughs and explanations of each stage. My hat is off to Larry and Co. for putting on a great match.
As far as my performance? Well, I’ve been happier. There were some bright spots, namely my reloads which I had been working on practice were absolutely screamingly fast. There was a stage that required you to start with three rounds in the gun, shoot one paper target and a forward falling popper which activates a drop turner, reload and get the drop turner. I nailed that reload much to my personal satisfaction. Other aspects of my performance I wasn’t so happy about, and I was able to identify key areas of improvement:
- Patience – slow down, get your hits. There are no style points for looking cool while missing, or for missing fastest.
- Shoot smarter – Even though IDPA is much more strict about rules of engage, each stage is still a shooting problem that needs to be solved, so engaging my brain might be a good idea.
- Patience – seriously, slow down. Pay attention to the sights and the trigger and let your legs do what they’re going to do.
With regards to the patience, I’m glad that my next few matches are all wheelgun matches – I tend to be more patient when shooting a revolver than I am with an automatic pistol.
Once again, my hat is off to Larry Hill and the staff at MSSA. They did an excellent job with this match, and god willing I’ll be back next year to improve on this year’s performance!
A total lack of class
I follow professional sports pretty religiously; my morning drive is filled with ESPN, scouting reports, etc. I know a lot of shooters don’t follow sports, so this particular post may be a bit of a long road for some, but bear with me. This weekend at the US Open, Serena Williams, one of the top competitors and the favorite to win had an utter professional meltdown. In so doing she betrayed herself to be nothing more than a classless thug with a child’s temper; making a mockery of the definitions of sportsmanship and character. If you click the link, you’ll be taken to a Sports Illustrated article which also includes a link to a Youtube video of the incident. Here’s a short summary: Serena smashed her racket, and was assesed a penalty for poor sportsmanship (good for the US Open) after losing the first set. In the second set, she was given a foot fault penalty on a serve, which caused her to completely lose her mind and scream at the line judge “I’m f***ing taking this ball and shoving it down your f***ing throat“. Super classy, right? So she was penalized again, and because it was a point penalty on match point, she lost the match. All because of poor sportsmanship and a lack of character.
I told that story so I could tell you a different story, but a related one. I shot the Tri-State Regional this past weekend, an excellent IDPA Match down in Tennessee. During this match I saw shooters penalized for things they should have been penalized for, and for things that didn’t necessarily warrant penalties. Never once did I see a shooter, an athlete say to a Safety Officer that they were going to “shove a gun down someone’s f***ing throat”. Oh sure there was grousing and complaining – people are people after all, but ultimately the shooters accepted their fate and moved on with the match. No smashing gear, no screaming fits, and no childish outbursts.
After the match, Serena Williams issued a non-apology, saying essentially that she didn’t remember her screaming fit and would never threaten someone (despite it being on tape).
After the pistol match, some shooters groused about their penalities (myself included) but mostly the attitude was light and fun. If anyone was really upset, they simply left the match and didn’t cause a scene. Quite the contrast to the alleged “role model athlete” that occupies a national spotlight. Perhaps an armed society is a more polite society after all.
Live coverage from the USPSA Nationals
Don’t forget to click over to Women of USPSA for live streaming coverage from the USPSA handgun Nationals – the Production and Open nationals are currently underway, wrapping up on Tuesday. After that, the Limited/Limited-10 and Revolver nationals get started on Wednesday and run through Saturday the 19th.
It's like a khaki vest convention
This is probably the safest place to be in the Memphis metro area right now, unless there’s a Navy SEAL convention in town.
Signage fail
I’m down in Memphis for the IDPA regional match, and I’ve had my first encounter with TN’s guns in restaurants law. At the TGI Friday’s they have this sign posted, which I’m told is not in compliance with the TN state law.
On my way to TN
I’m on my way to the Regional championship match in Tennesee. Got a lot more road time in front of me; looking forward to the match. Blogging will be light for the duration of the drive.