deerslayer

I don't like the option, and wish they wouldn't offer it. If you don't use a rigid holster (kydex/stiff leather), you have no business carrying a striker-style gun. If a striker-type gun is carried properly, there is no need for a manual safety lever. With an Obama administration, I could see it more likely that certain designs become restricted or banned, and manual safeties and other needless gadgets become mandatory. I can hear it now: "The M&P is a safer, more childproof design; my bill will ensure that Glock and Springfield follow S&W's lead."

Can't blame ya there. We shoot IDPA twice a month at MSSA, and the round count is almost always over 100. Some people stay and shoot the whole match over again, so it's not impossible to go through 200-250 rounds on a Saturday with us.

+1 Many, many moons ago, my father and I were in a deerstand on a field that was probably 250 yards from the property line. All morning long, some kid was playing with a .22 rifle, apparently belt-fed. He was maybe a quarter mile away, but we couldn't see him. We just rolled our eyes at each other, each of us thinking "well, we won't see anything today." About 9:30, he sent a 20 or 30 round volley our direction, and several rounds struck the tree we were in, maybe 25 feet above our heads. Needless to say, we quickly decided to go grab some lunch. Those .22 bullets whizzing by our heads made me even more wary about hunting near/around unknown people or areas. It was his property and it was his right to shoot all he wanted. It was not his right to hose the neighbors with lead, though.

I don't recall ever going to a match where I shot only 50 rounds.

Not sure about E. TN, but IPSC is certainly not dying out anywhere else. On the other hand, IDPA is growing every day. IMO, this is due to several things: The rise in the number of people with carry permits--IDPA is marketed toward them, and at least some IDPA stages are arguably geared toward defensive scenarios. The ease of being able to go compete with what you already have--Yeah, yeah, I know, you can go shoot IPSC with a DAO Beretta 92 or a Sigma, because you're not really shooting against that guy with the open gun. However, some get irritated or embarrased when that guy with the $4000 race gun shoots a match in one third the time. On paper, the different classes don't shoot against each other in IPSC or IDPA. In reality, two shooters often compare scores even though they are in different divisions. Excluding revolvers, the three remaining IDPA divisions offer no insurmountable advantages. IDPA newcomers are less likely to be intimitated when they see everyone else's equipment. Becoming active in IDPA is a much simpler process; for example, it takes 20 minutes and 90 rounds to get a classification in IDPA. In IPSC, getting classified is a process that usually involves several matches. Lower round count is not a negative for some cost-sensitive shooters. Ammo prices are becoming a bigger concern for many, whether they shoot handloads or store-bought ammo. Regarding IDPA requiring everyone to do the same thing, it's up to the guy setting up the stage to be creative and make stages that offer several options. Some match directors are more creative than others. I'm not bashing IPSC--I'm an IDPA shooter, but I like IPSC too.

Went and bought some Golden Sabre +P, some Winchester 231, some primers, and a baby mattress. Cooked three days worth of bacon and eggs for my wife (she's pregnant and on bedrest--feeding her every morning will now be easier/quicker). Not looking forward to another 13 hour day tomorrow. On the other hand, I'm happy to have a job.

Some shooting sports combine the two.

+1

Frayser is becoming the most action-packed area of Memphis. I have a friend who rides on the unit in Frayser, and it sounds like Mogadishu. truth...get the AK if you have a place to shoot it. If not, get the RIA with the understanding that it may not like hollow points.

http://www.rangemaster.com/

How about Sugarlands Visitor Center?

For the money, Tom Givens (Rangemaster owner/instructor) is probably better than any of those.

Kinetic energy, IMO, is a flawed formula. There are different variations of the formula, but velocity is always squared, which renders bullet mass (weight) a much less important factor. An example is the 9mm and .45 comparison in the article--they are within 5 ft.-lbs of each other, which is laughable. Set up a steel silhouette target and see which one has more knockdown power. There's no comparison.

One of the reasons alloy feed ramps get beat up is that certain magazine followers are not supposed to be used with alloy frame 1911s. My Kimber Compact CDP came with this style follower. One of the many gripes I have with Kimber quality control. Here's a related thread on 1911forum: http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=61318

Not sure which RIA it is, but the itty-bitty sights on the GI-style model are useless for IDPA. There are few options for replacing the front (it's not dovetailed), but they do exist.

What is the difference between a Calvinist and a predestination believer like my acquaintance?

1 pm? Sounds good. I'll be wearing a gray Vols jacket.

My theory is probably similar to mike .357's: head on a swivel, prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

I've never met anyone who carries a 2011. My apologies et45, I was referring to STI gamer guns (I should have read the OP more thoroughly)

+1 ftn, I'm no Biblical scholar, but I believe the Calinist theory is baloney, and I told my friend (actually more like acquaintance) the same.

That means I would be in hell...heaven for me will include a daily 3-gun match. I had a conversation very similar to this one a while back with a friend who believes in Calvinistic Predestination. This friend believes that if it's your time to go, then it's your time to go--it was decided before you were ever born, and there's nothing you can do about it. I responded that if I believed that, I would go skydiving every weekend, drive 90 mph everywhere I went, never buy insurance, and be a hellion in general. If it's God's plan for me or my family to get killed by a thug, then I'll do my best to botch his plans.

FMJ has nothing to do with it. HPs, FMJs, and lead bullets all flatten/splatter when they hit steel targets. I've been hit by fragments several times, but always from an adjacent bay (at a 90 degree angle from a steel target). We keep them 10 yards away, and as long as they are not pitted, there is practically no risk to the shooter. We changed all our poppers to forward-falling. Rear-falling poppers do pose a ricochet risk--people get excited and double tap them, and the second bullet hits the falling target at an angle and sometimes glances off. The cowboy shooters shoot at us on the other side of the berm (although there is 20' of earth between us) and we occasionally hear ricochets coming off their falling-steel targets.

They are basically gamer guns, but some shooting games make average shooters much better.