IPSC Equipment: Are You Considering Getting An Open Gun?

If you've been following along you will have noted that my first IPSC firearm was a 9mm Glock 17, which meant that I shot in the Production division. This is no doubt a very competitive class, but for me I hankered to compete in the Open division.

This has always been the case; when I paraglided competitively I couldn't stay in the Intermediate Glider division, I had to "upgrade" to the Competition Gliders. They were faster, with a better glide ratio, but they also were much more temperamental, requiring constant pilot input. 

The same can be said of my foray into superbiking. I had to compete at the top, despite being beaten by better riders, with lessor bikes. It's something about wanting to have, and use, the "best equipment" that the sport has to offer; even if the downsides could have a detrimental affect on your performance.

So, as per usual, I very rapidly changed my focus to that of the Open Division. If you have a similar disposition, then there are a few considerations. I wanted a 9mm Major, primarily because of the brass issue. I had a 9mm, and my focus was 9mm. My reloading efforts were going to be 9mm.

I was more than happy to entertain a used Race Gun, and was prepared to compromise on what I wanted, but only if the price was right (Remember: Value = Benefit - Cost). I figured, you had to factor in the cost of compromising (the cost of used, the added cost of additional reloading equipment, the cost of brass, the loss of warranties). If there wasn't significant fat left over, then I figured it was far better to buy new. Which is what I did; I acquired a brand new STI Trubor.

Is it everything I expected? Yes and no. The obvious difference between Production and Open firearms is that Production guns work straight out of the box, at a fraction of the cost. Hell, my Glock 17 would work, come rain or shine. Not so, with the Trubor; and at the price this can really piss you off. Yes, it has the potential to be a nice gun, but it takes tweaking, and you learn the hard way. It's the usual; there is no information available to prepare you.

As a precursor, take a look at the video, which are snippets from the Phoenix competition.

Three problems are obvious; blockages (stovepipes), C-More shuffling and magazine seating problems.

The blockages have now largely been cured by replacing the stock extractor with an Aftec competition unit, but it is still early days. Would I have expected this from a competition unit? No. I expected it to work, but now it comes to light that "everybody" changes their extractors. This is a cost that you won't budget for. (For those polymath types that want to point out that I need to use Major ammo, I know and I do).

Additionally; I say largely cured, because every now and then I still get a blockage. I suspect I may eventually resort to remounting the optics on the side, so as to clear the ejector port completely. Also an unbudgeted expense.

The C-More shuffle; this is a tendency for the uninitiated to lose the red dot, which happens to me now and again. I suspect I will get better at it.

The magazine seating; Canada restricts its magazines to 10 rounds, which means you have to peg your higher capacity magazines. In the STI's case, this means that there is a metal block inserted. The problem is the block is slightly too long, which means the 10th round is so tight that when you seat the magazine it does not want to clip in, requiring a little extra violence. To cure this problem requires that you machine the metal block ever so slightly, to allow for a little give, which then allows for easier seating. A hassle for sure, and also an effort that you will not bargain on.

Next; don't expect your Race Gun to come equipped with a large Mag Release button, it doesn't. So expect to upgrade this too.

Now, after you have factored in all the additional expenses, hassles and lost time, you might find your Value equation has shifted somewhat.

Personally, in hindsight, a used firearm may be a better bet, given that the previous owner might have sorted out all these glitches. If not, move on, and always ask for a test fire.

As for new, don't expect to receive any advice, you won't get any. The decision to go to Open class is like any other sport; it is assumed that you know what you are doing, which invariably isn't the case. In my case, I have been lucky to have the help of an Open contestant, who uses a 9mm Major, otherwise "cognitive dissonance" might have been the order of the day.

IPSC Competition Rig

You will recall that my first rig (belt, holster and mag pouches) was a combination of regular trouser belt, Fobus holster and mag pouches. This was my first mistake, given that I very rapidly upgraded my firearm (more on that later), which required a new rig.

My new firearm came fitted with a compensator and optics, so the added toys required an open race holster. Also, my magazines were metal, and meant that I could use magnetic pouches, plus I saw the value in being able to angle the mag pouches to suit my grip. This meant that I needed some magnetic pouches, and a few race mag pouches.

As I have mentioned before, a complete rig could cost you around $450; a sum that I could not justify. Fortunately there are options; you just need to shop prudently, and combine various pieces of equipment.

I chose to use CR Speed mag pouches and holster, which I combined with magnetic mag pouches and a velcro belt. My setup has cost me about $300 so far. The magnets are a must; I really like them.

The mag pouches took a little adjusting, and are a little irksome because you can dislodge the angle, given the leverage placed on the pouch by the magazines.

Also, setting up the holster was straightfoward. Be very careful when you rearrange the trigger spacers. My firearm required me to remove most of the spacers. But what I didn't realise was that the screw that fastens these spacers, was now longer than the thickness of the spacers. This meant that when I inserted, and withdrew my firearm I scratched my trigger guard. So now I have a nasty scratch. I fixed this by adding an outer spacer. Also, you need to familiarise yourself with the locking switch. Sometimes "unlocked" just isn't unlocked enough. You may want to remove the little nipple that stops the switch, so that you have a larger range of movement. Below is a video explaing the CR Speed setup. It is a little longwinded (two parts), but he eventually gets his point across.

Finally, I added two magnetic pouches. The one, a standalone unit, I placed at the rear of my belt, and I use it to hold my "stripper magazine"; the magazine I use to load one round into the chamber, then remove. The other magnetic pouch I attached to my CR Speed mag pouch. It didn't come with instructions, but Saul Kirsch at Double Alpha Academy sorted that out in literally 5 minutes. It was very easy to install.

In conclusion; setting up your belt isn't an exact science. Hell everybody seems to have a different setup. I am sure mine will change a lot, as I gain experience; so view this as just one option, and discover what works for you.

IPSC Equipment: What Is Your Value Perspective?

If you were to browse my blog articles, it would seem that I am hellbent on sourcing cheaper merchandise, and have an aversion for the established brands. This is not true. If any of you have been to business school (actually it is common sense), you will be familiar with this formula:

Value = Benefits - Costs

So the ubiquitous term, value added, is simply the benefits (less the costs) as experienced by you. What this means is that we all place different values on different items. I may choose to have the best firearm money can buy, yet I may not see the value in using a top of the line competition rig. You need to determine for yourself, how you will derive the maximum value, with limited resources.

When I determine value, not only do I factor in the price, but I also look at the ease of acquisition (shipping and payment options), local availablity, product support, item quality and ultimately, what am I looking to achieve. Sometimes the established brands are not always the best options.

Anyway, it is a simple framework to use when evaluating your options.

IPSC Training: Getting A Timer

Recently I mentioned that training with a timer was something that I do. Those much more informed than I, have suggested it, and it is of course intuitive. A vital part of the sport is speed, how do you improve your speed if you don't know where you should improve? But timers are pricey, and hey, they aren't always so great. They are cumbersome, they can't calculate hit factors, they don't replay your course of fire, they don't save a history and they love to record echoes or secondary shots. What alternatives are there?

Well this got me thinking; what software options are available? More specifically, what iPhone/iPod Touch options are available? I don't have an iPhone, but I decided to get one of the new iPod Touch's if the software was compelling enough. Why, you might ask, given that the cost would be greater than a timer? Well there are the added benefits of the camera, video capability, internet access, and a whole host of other stuff. So I did the usual; hit the internet and started to research all the software. The features I wanted, were essentially what I could get with a traditional timer, anything else would be a bonus. Turns out there are some bonuses, and some drawbacks.

I selected, and purchased two packages, which I will briefly review here. They are the IPSC Timer, which costs $4.99, and the IPSC Shot Timer PRO, which costs $9.99.

The IPSC Timer is a very nice package. The setup is simple. Basically you set the random timer delay, and choose between major or minor hit factor, and you are ready. You simply hit the start button and you will hear a beep after a random period of time. Thereafter your shots are recorded. You will be able to view your draw time, your splits and your reload times. The downside is that, like a normal timer, it will record echoes and other secondary shots, coming from adjoined ranges.

The big bonus with this software is the scoring capability. I don't know about everybody else, but league nights, with a clipboard is just bollocks. You never really review your score, nor compare your hit factors with other contestants. Another point is that knowing your hit factor helps you to either improve your accuracy or speed up. I, for one, know my accuracy is above average, but my speed is well below average. This would be obvious to me if I had the hit factors to compare to. The same can be said of matches. Sure, we get a copy of each stage, and some of us may calculate the hit factors later, but you rarely have instant results. 

Anyway, back to the software. Scoring is as simple as adding your hits per target, including No Shoots, Mikes etc. The software does the calculation once you add your time. The beauty of the score calculator is that it can be used independently of the timer. So you slip your iPhone/iPod Touch into your cargo pants, and after you complete a course of fire, you take it out and score your round. Voila. For the calculator alone it is worth the $4.99.

Next up is the IPSC Shot Timer PRO. The package is more expensive. It offers the wonderful idea of an algorithm that identifies the "uniqueness" of the sound of individual guns. You have to record a shot from your handgun first, in order to create a profile. Thereafter, theoretically at least, it will only record your shots and not secondary shots or echoes. I found that it works very well, as long as nobody else is shooting the same gun, or something that has a similar sound signature. Also, once you have a profile, it is only good for that range and bay. Indoors is different to outdoors, which is different to bay choice. It is best to always set up a new profile, and even then, it isn't perfect, but it is not too bad either. 

The package, however, also has some nice bonuses. It will provide the usual shot timer, showing you your draw times, splits and reloads, but you can also save the course of fire, and replay it. This allows you to see how you performed. Also, it has a PAR timer feature, which is great for dry fire training. Let's say you have the enviable draw of 3 seconds, and you would like to bring it down. You set the random beep, to give yourself time to take up your stance. Then you select a PAR time, say 2 seconds. You then get a start beep and an end beep. You practise over and over until you get to within the alloted time. The same can be done with your magazine reloads.

Another nice feature, although I haven't tested it yet, is the Slave feature. Apparently the timer will start on the beep from another timer, say the RO's timer. This allows you to record the course of fire too, which you can use to double check the RO; theoretically. It is just a pity that it doesn't have the scoring capability that the former package does, otherwise it is an outright winner. So for me it ends up being a bit of both. The first package has the scoring capability and a basic timer. The latter has a better timer, and the added benefits of a PAR timer and Slave mode.