raz-0

PLEASE tell me there was no steel involved. IDPA keeps damaging, destroying, and generally being irresponsible with the USPSA gear they borrow for that match. The steel can't take that kind of abuse and is expensive. Maks' stage was very nice, it definitely had decent flow. The texas star was really a texas star light. The MGM star sucks in many ways. From a shooting challenge standpoint, the worst part is that you get to shoot two plates before it starts spinning, so as long as you pick up the third ok, you wind up with two wobbling slowly at the bottom. Which isn't much of a challenge at all. I'm glad to see everyone was hitting the water. The water coolers we put out usually aren't that tapped by the end of a match, even when they should be.

Unless turnout is very heavy, we'll be allowing people to run a second gun. What we won't be allowing is running the same gun twice. That gets to be a PITA to keep people from abusing it to sandbag/grandbag. Second gun will cost more obviously.

I'll let you know about two divisions after this months match.

Just degrease it very well.

Sorry, 8-11 as in august 2011 on the usual cj date. So 8-14 -11

Ok, I got the go ahead to make the August USPSA matcha special classifier match. 6 classifiers in one day. If you want to shoot it, you should have your USPSA number before then. WE do not do the $40 deal for special classifier matches. The entry fee will be more than usual to cover the extra submission fees. I'll add more specifics as we get closer, but I wanted to give a heads up so interested people could get all their stuff sorted out ahead of time and plan for it.

I think it is useful information, but I think that people declaring it the benchmark for a good AR are idiots who don't know why what works works and what breaks breaks. Some of the stuff on it is universally key to a good rifle. Some of it is good to have to feel better about reliability, but not a guarantee. Some of it just doesn't apply to anything except full auto. Some of it has perfectly good alternatives. Some of it doesn't measure what they think they measure. Then there are things that matter to a gun running well and accurately that aren't even on the list. For example, the bolt. There are perfectly good bolts that are not carpenter 158. There are steels out there that are metallurgically identical to carpenter 158 that are not called carpenter 158 (at least if it is like every other steel on the planet). That being said, there is so little variance in how a gun handles based on the bolt that a MPI, HPT bolt is something that is easy to find ofr a good price, and can save you a lot of experimenting and headache over trying to do it differently. So the stuff they list about peening and testing is useful to know. But in reality, you need to know if they test every unit, or batch test. If they batch test what is the ratio, etc. Only if EVERY piece is tested does testing mean you are guaranteed to catch parts that have been built badly. Then there's the extractor buffer setup. There are at least 4 legitimate fixes to this that work well that I am aware of. 1) increase spring rate by using a spring with a higher spring rate. 2) increase spring rate by using a longer spring and pre-compressing it. 3) increase the spring rate by preventing the compression of parts of it (o-ring) 4) increase the spring rate by adding a second spring. They count coils as far as I can tell, which means absolutely nothing. Then there's the carrier profile. Sure, they are right that a fully shrouded carrier ensures the carrier cocks the hammer, and you don't impact the firing pin. However, the increased lock time comes form mass. Mass is a function of material jsut as much as profile. so is it M-16 profile, or military spec on all materials etc? There are also benefits toa lightened carrier group, and if you aren't running a carbine length gas system, they might be worth more than increased lock time. Carrier key staking. A firmly attached gas key is 100% critical to a reliable AR. Period. This tells you it is staked form the top or side. It doesn't tell you if it is staked WELL. In general, it is harder to screw up side staking, but it most definitely can and has been done by many manufacturers. Barrel steel. There are a mess of good acceptable answers. I don't think there is any one goal for a gun that has only one right answer. So while the info is useful, it doesn't really matter in terms of reliability. barrel testing. Same as above comment about testing. It's nice to know, and personally, I'd prefer that any barrel I put on my gun has been individually HTP and MPI tested. I'd accept one that has been just individually MPI tested if that's all I could get.But beggears can't be choosers. You want a gun and cna get neither, you can either forgo that or forgo a gun. Chamber. I used to believe this was good information. These days, I believe that there are really only two answers to chamber size. .223-ish and Something .223 is but with a longer leade of indeteminite dimensions. Why? because in attempting to figure out what the hell the noveske match mod0 chamber was, I got a hold of the actual dimensions of a bunch of chamber reamers. There were at least 3 labeled as 5.56, two labeled as 5.56 sam-r, two labeled .223 wylde, and one other proprietary .223/5.56 reamer. Not a single one had the same dimensions as others claiming to be the same thing. One of the .223 reamers actually was dimensioned more generously than one of the generous .223/ tight 5.56 modified chambers. So really who the hell knows. It's one of those very messy things where the answer to the question asked means very little and nobody will give the answer to the right question. Rifling twist. Nice to know, but not a guarantee of anything. It lets you make a guess about what will probably run well and have problems in terms of bullets. M4 feedramps. Are you going to be using this upper on a full auto gun? No? Then the only thing that really matters is that you don't put an m4 cut upper reciever together with a non-M4 cut barrel extension. Especially if going mid-length or longer on the gas system with a heavy carrier and heavy buffer. That all slows the action down enough you don't really have to worry about outrunning the magazine springs, which is the point of M4 cuts in the first place. M4 cuts done before or after anodizing. I've seen both. As far as I can tell this really doesn't matter. What it leaves out about m4 feed cuts, that CAN matter if you need them is how aggressive they are. I ahve seen m4 cut uppers that are nearly an afterthought, and some that go so far that I question if they ahve removed too much material. The type of front sightand how it is attached. My take on this? Who cares? Seriously, I've listened to people who said the world was going to end if you used anything but a taper pin attached gas block. History has proven them wrong as there are plenty of examples of set screw blocks, straight pin blocks, clamp on blocks, etc surviving tons of use and abuse. Once again, you care about done right, not which method was chosen. Heat shields. Double is more heat resistant. A good free floated forearm however actually provides improved performance and functionality to either of the options in their list. Extension diameter. Means nothing in terms of reliability. Means a lot if you plan on buying a replacement stock. Extension material. There are plenty of ways to get to strong. but it can't hurt knowing what material they use. Staked or unstaked castle nut. Staked is less likely to come undone. However, since the list first came out, manufacturers have gone nuts with this. I've seen staking so aggressive, I'd consider it damaging and detrimental to the firearm rather than something reassuring. You cna also have something that is staked, but insufficiently to be useful. Once again, this is something you care about being done right, and there is not only one right answer. Buffer weight. You need to know if you need to fix gas system balance issues, but just because you know what they chose doesn't mean they chose right. You want to know, but it guarantees nothing. So yeah, in the end the list doesn't really tell you much of what you need to know. Namely if it was done RIGHT. Just because a business has a history of doing it right doesn't mean they will tomorrow.

I like seeing you use logic, but you are leaving things out, and are far from debunking it. The ring of crud does not have to form where it interferes with the case mouth. Even if it is softish and is squeezed forward by the case mouth of the longer brass, it can still form a wedge of crud that can wedge against the sides of the bullet with an effect similar to seating a rifle round against the lands with a charge not tolerant of that. It doesn't KB the gun usually, but you will get hard extraction and blown out primers. What is the OP complaing about.. hard extraction and blown out primers. Your logic about having to insert it with so much force as to crimp the round tighter to hold the bullet in SOOOOO much that pressures spike is the absolute wrong way to think about it. The force just has to make a wedge out of leading and other barrel crud. The simple machine of a wedge, placed in the path of a bullet powered by an explosion, is what does the work, not your hand. By your logic, wheel chocks are an impossibility because I would have to wedge them under my car's tires with enough force to lift the car. Do you believe popping primers on 5.56 ammo loaded to 62k psi when shot in a .223 with a shorter leade is a myth too? It's the same principle as what I'm saying above. The shorter leade adds friction earlier than intended in the designed operation of the cartridge and undesirable things happen. Have I seen the problem in person? No, I dislike revolvers so don't shoot them a lot. Have I seen people have problems getting .357 in a chamber when they have shot a lot of .38 from residue? Yes. Have I seen a lot of people mess up their gear by just pushing a little harder? Definitely. Cleaning your chamber would prevent the above, but I can see how it would happen that someone deccides to just push it in harder. TO make a bad situation, you just have to scrape some buildup into an obstruction, whichouwould probably take about the same amount of force as say.. cleaning out the chamber. Whcih you do with a short brush and basic hand power all the time.

Ah didn't know they might be open on the bottom. That would be just as useful for most things. Next months toy budget is probably going to go on some 3 gun gear. This month, reloading components came in stock and I was running low, so 6000 pistol and 1000 rifle bullets got bought instead.

Look at the vtac battle belt, it is smart in it's design. It has the molle webbing divided into segments with slots open to the belt tunnel between segments so you can run the belt on the outside for portions of it. Why is this smart? In the real world, it is probably mostly to support good retention holsters. Most of them don't have a good way of mounting it on molle webbing. So you run the belt outside for one segment, and attach the holster to that. For 3-gunning, you are going to have more gear that falls into that category. It gives you options, which isn't usually a bad thing. Is it the RIGHT thing? No idea, I haven't even had a chance to play with a battle belt style thing yet to decide if it IS a good idea, or just LOOKS like a good idea.

Pricey is realtive, and it looks like all the clones and competitors have changed since I looked last. Fajen makes a plastic version for about $80-90. richard's microfit offers a wide selection of real 10/22 stocks, but aren't super cheap, and you ahve to finish them yourself. Boyd's makes some decent ones as well. You can also just go to rimfire central and start browsing the 10/22 builds posted there until you see something that makes you not care that it isn't dirt cheap .

Looks like a 16" ar-15 carbine with a collapsible stock, and a some kind of mag pouch attached to the stock.

Oh yeah, and after sitting through that and one of his knife reviews, the dude needs to learn to get to the !@$!@%^$^6 point. Jeez.

Uhh, he has is on him in a manner so he can walk around with it slung muzzle down on his back. It's a perfectly valid thing to do. When he is actually shooting, he isn't using it at all. Seeing as he is going to be playing with a handgun while being video taped first, I can't really blame him for that choice, especially if it is what came on the gun, and it isn't the type of sling he prefers. Unless you know you are going to be going prone, for knocking around muzzle down is safer, and he wants it on his back cause he's planning to do other things. Just because he wasn't using it for much of anything doesn't mean he doesn't know how. Like I said before, rifle slings seem to be the biggest mishmash of compromise, and I'm not going to blame anyone for using one "wrong", as I can take pretty much any sling system, ask it to do something valid and not contrived, and it will suck at it. It' will usually do some other valid thing way better than it's competition, but then suck at something else.

I'll be there

The reason you don't see them in a lot of gun stores is this. 1) The margin on them isn't that great unless you get stocking dealer status. To do that you need to pony up and order about $10,000 of inventory at once, and order a certain minimum quantity per year. Even then, the margin isn't something to make a distributor see dollar signs, so they are pretty reliant on a stocking dealer network. 2) They have a minimum advertised price policy that makes it hard to let people know you have a better price than STI insists upon being advertised.

That ring of crud can also raise pressures significantly. Which can result in difficult ejection, backed out primers, ruptured primers (op's problem), and case head separation. So... might not be a problem with the ammo if you put a bunch of .38 special through the thing.

yeah AFAIK that is what it is from. It wasn't locked up because it IS heavy. I don't think anyone has shot it up with rifle yet because they did bother to move it into the side berm where it's hard to shoot at it. The club did have a MUCH nicer plate rack. I believe we gave it away because it was so heavy and if we left it out it would just get shot up with rifle by idiots. It might have come back because it was REALLY way to heavy.

Bummer, just looked closer at their belt. you can't run the belt on the outside of the molle it looks like, which means securing a lot of the bits to it that I'd want to may be a PITA. OTOH it's $15 and I have a knife.

Just FYI, I've been thinking about trying a battle belt to see if I like it for a quick 3 gun rig. But the prices are a bit high for experimenting. You can score a condor tactical battle belt for $15-20 if you look around. No idea if the quality is good or bad, I know I've seen a lot of people say good htings about their bags, but if you are like me and don't know if you even really like the concept, you can check it out. The hobby fund is more than tapped at the moment due to reloading components, so no experiment for me this month. (the non-camo are $15 form lapolice gear, who are reasonable to deal with).

Mostly true, especially once you get out to 50 yards or more. Most red dots are sold as being parallax free. They aren't. They just have little to none after a fairly short distance. Usually somewhere between 25-50 yards. Doing a 50 yard zero you can be pretty safe that you aren't screwing something up without working hard at screwing up. At 25, you can get bitten fairly easily and the error adds up quick as you move the target out farther. Take your iron sights and move your head. Guess what, they aren't pointed where the bullet will go anymore either. Just the fact that they have two points of reference on the rifle so you know when you are outside the limitation of the sighting device because you can't see the front sight and rear sight at the same time. Especially with peep sights, you can still get parallax problems with head position without hitting that limit. The difference with the red dot is that it is easier to see.

Well I sat through that video to see his awful use of a two point sling. I only saw him wearing a single point sling or none at all. So what are you talking about. IMO there's something critically wrong with every sling ever made. So pretty much all of them are use what works best for you however it works best. There isn't much "right" out there on tap in the sling world. If the guy is going to be on youtube, he needs to get less butthurt by people making comments. He's definitely a bit of a whiner when he starts complaining about people who don't agree with him. Watching his rant there, I can say I agree with a lot of his philosophy of try it and see what works for you. I disagree with a lot of his conclusions, or at least how he presents them.

Back before I started reloading, everyone I ordered in bulk from required ID to be faxed to them. Most were because that was state law there, but a number were just because I was in NJ and we have ammo sale laws. Natchez got a lot of my business simply because the first time I ordered something form them and asked where to fax my ID, they said something along the lines of "We don't operate in NJ, we don't need ID in this state, and their law only regulates the seller, so they can come here and try and enforce it." The first and last time I ran into a vendor that was better informed about the details of NJ statues than I was. I also appreciated the attitude. Ahh, for the days when a box of brass cased, copper jacketed 124gr 9mm was $3.99 a box of 50. To add to the list, jgsales.com was pretty good the last time I did business with them. They occasionally have some nice deals, but more importantly although not always the cheapest, they pretty consistently sell based on what their inventory cost them, not what the market is anticipating. I always check them out when ammo prices are running up.

Well at least for the mormon guy, there is the benefit of being shielded by low hanging fruit. LDS still requires you to have a years worth of provisions in the home to be a good little mormon, but they have frowned on weapons for a while now in that equation. Lots of survival types refer to SLC as a supermarket. The reality is that around here, anything that goes past about 10 days and is nationwide is going to leave this place stripped and barren for quite some time. Especially if it happens in winter. Population density is just WAY too high.

No, the popper was set too heavy. We had problems with it falling. Actually shot it with official USPSA calibration ammo becuase someone on our squad had some. It didn't even pretend to think about going down with a hit in the center of the sweet spot. Went down fine with major though. I'm surprised nobody challenged it earlier than that, we got to it pretty late in the day as it was our last stage. Well unless you shot it in rapid succession to drive it down, it likely wouldn't have helped. I'll bet you were shooting factory 115 grain plinking stuff. Which makes over minor, although not usually by much, but due to the light bullets is often not so hot at knocking stuff down. Driving backwards falling steel down sends bullets outside the range more, so it's not the best plan. Realistically, you should have called for calibration. It failed later in the day on a call like that, and you would have gotten a reshoot for range equipment failure. If it is set bad, and you shoot it till it goes down, you don't get a choice of calling for calibration. That's not how it is supposed to work. A popper should fall to calibration ammo from wherever you can shoot it. When someone challenges it and calls for calibration, the calibration shot should be from where the shooter took the shot. Unless I forget, or it is windy and I have to set them a bit heavier, I always set my poppers to fall from a light know with my knuckles. I do this because it keeps stuff from backing up due to reshoots and challenges, and because it means that anyone trying to rules lawyer a miss, bad hit, or cheating ammo into a reshoot gets screwed while the guy shooting factory 115gr 9mm doesn't.