deerslayer

No, there is no stop button--the timer simply listens for shots; your time ends when you fire your last shot.

So true.

Thanks. I still get smoked routinely, though.

IDPA is only a game, and many treat it as nothing more. However, I think it's great practice to shoot a match with your carry gear. It's often an eye-opener--being on the clock, the competition aspect, having several things to think about and remember, and doing it all in front of an audience add some stress to the shooter, and many learn that their techniques need some honing. Weaknesses are exposed. This is why I have (so far) shot with only that thumb break holster and a compact Glock (and sometimes a subcompact)--I like to practice, train, and compete with what I carry. I am badly in the minority, though.

Here's some more footage of the thumb-break slowing me down [ame]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8036190474015494956&q=idpa+mssa&total=29&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2[/ame] [ame]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3420904309391339604&q=idpa+mssa&total=29&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0[/ame] and some fun with a 9mm AR: [ame] [/ame]

That's too funny--I often make the same observations about 1911s, and get stoned (by others) for doing so. It's reality, though. 1911s are sweet running guns, if you can ever get one to run. I also see people racking the slide after a tac-load. Just a brainfart, I guess, but I see some pretty experienced guys doing it occasionally. I'm with ya--I think tac-loads are overemphasized. No idea how long I've practiced--I've had the holster maybe a year and a half? and been shooting IDPA about a year. I just bump the strap on my way to grabbing the gun (not really an added step). It also helps attain a proper grip--if I miss the strap, (extrememly rare) it's because my grip is all out of whack, usually way low on the gun. It has been my sole carry holster for as long as I've owned it, until recently. I recently picked up a CTAC, for when deep, no-BS concealment is a top priority, and weapon accesibility is secondary. The thumb break (a Bianchi Model 5, BTW) easily conceals compact or sub-compact Glocks under an untucked polo (my most common method of carry). I get lectured all the time about how I need to ditch the leather and get some kydex--it will cut .25 off my draw. I like the retention because I can roundhouse kick somebody without worrying about my gun flying loose, and, if someone grabs it in a fight or from behind, it MAY give me a half second or so warning before they get the gun.

What's wrong with retention straps? I use one in IDPA, and don't have any problems. I'm no speed demon with it, but I can hold my own. One friend is so impressed that my first shot is faster than his that he put me on youtube: [ame] [/ame]

Yeah, I forgot about that "1911 w/ the safety off" comment not too long ago...

He probably has no idea.

Definitely true. That's why I'm not a big fan of holstering without looking.

I helped run stage 4 (the one where you get out of bed and shoot the bad guy to the left). Yep, you could say that the weather became a problem. Over at the pavilion, I heard a few people comment that we should have gone ahead and finished the match. I don't think they went back to stages 1-9 and saw what happened. We could have hosted a fishing tournament on a couple of those stages. They were all slick, and there was still intermittent thunder and lightning. I felt like I did lousy, but I did take third in SSP-EX--I guess everybody else was lousy, too. I did learn that SOs who shoot on Friday do not have an advantage (unless, maybe the bottom falls out on the Saturday shooters). My overall match score was 267, and those prison bars and handcuffs WERE awful!

That's the military version.

The correct terminology is a "hollow, portable, tube-shaped ammunition storage and allocation device." Of course, if it's black, one must add "tactical" to the beginning.

A Glock, a holster, and a bloody shirt. I know what you want me to assume, but I was not there and have no idea who did what. To assume makes an ASS of U and ME. Idiots assume. Did a kid pick up his daddy's gun/holster and have an ND? Was this the result of a fight that went to the ground and two guys struggling for a gun? Was someone drunk and fooling with his gun? Did someone get his trigger caught on something when re-holstering? If so, why does this make a Glock "unsafe?" Would it have been any different with an XD, M&P, SIG, H&K, Kahr, or a J frame? Of course, a Glock user must pay attention to his trigger at all times. If he is not willing/able to do so, he should choose one of the "safer" designs, maybe a traditional DA with a 12 pound trigger and a manual safety lever. I understand, although disagree with, many of the arguments against a Glock. I do not understand why Glocks get singled out, while nearly identical designs get a free pass. BTW, I have seen and experienced, on an extremely personal level, the devastating consequences of a serious gunshot wound, even though I have not had 15 years of tactical whatever training.

Why do so many assume that the only reason to carry a spare mag is in case the shooter runs out of ammo?

I bet you are wrong. BTW, what's the story on the bloody shirt? A picture may be worth a thousand words, but I have no idea what happened or what the facts or circumstances were. Do you?

I'll wear my TGO hat tomorrow.

Not sure where you are from, but that assumption is highly debatable in Memphis.

It doesn't fail me.

Yes, I'm sure that it does, but Glock is usually good about taking care of stuff that's out of warranty. Technically, it doesn't really matter, because like strick said, the warranty is only a year anyway. One of my fellow IDPA shooters recently sent back a five year old Glock 34 w/probably 50,000 rounds through it because one of the rear frame rails came loose. Glock sent him a shipping label and took care of it, no charge.

It has an extremely negative impact on the public's perception of police. Police give you a ticket for going 12 over, then themselves drive 20 over, then let a fellow officer out of a DUI. The law applies only to non-LEO, at least around here. Anyone who doesn't think this gives the cops a bad name has his head in the sand. I started the "discretion" thing by asking a cop who boasted on this thread that he treats everyone equally just how many tickets he has given his fellow officers, and I still haven't heard back from him.

So what's up with the bloody clothes?

Last month at an IDPA match, I witnessed a hole-in-the-pantsleg ND with an XD in a Serpa (the guy was drawing, not re-holstering). Like molon said, maybe some techniques are simply incompatible with certain holsters, or perhaps it was one of the older ones. Whatever the case, I will stay away from them.

Not sure, but I would have to guess around 150.