My second handgun match ever

A month ago I attended my first ever handgun match, sponsored by the Utah Defensive Pistol League. Had a blast and couldn't wait to go again. Well yesterday was their ICORE/handgun match (set up for revolvers but anyone could shoot in the general UDPL handgun divisions).

I toyed with the idea of shooting my old Colt Officers Model Target, but I don't have any speedloader holsters for it yet, and I'm still pretty much a noob so I took my SIG P226 9mm again, but this time I got a mag holster which helped a lot with reloads. They really put on a GREAT event for the revolver meet; lots of moving, lots of steel targets (which I love to shoot), great people. A gentleman and lady in my squad had revolvers; he with a S&W .45 ACP using half- and full-moon clips, and she with a Ruger GP100 .357 shooting .38 specials out of 2 types of speedloaders. He in particular did really well... shot nearly everything clean, very accurate shooter. She was quite accurate also; she thumb-cocked for each shot.

I wouldn't have felt out of place shooting my old wheelgun with twist-and-release speedloaders in that group; maybe next time I'll shoot it and see how I do. I really want one of the 8-shot performance center revolvers the fast guys shoot out there, but I'm too cheap. :D

And I REALLY need to get started reloading; this is an expensive hobby. I shot about 300 rounds yesterday, plus paid for a year membership (a very reasonable $13 or so) and match fee.

My SIG performed well again; no malfunctions but the slide doesn't always lock back on the mec-gar 18 round mags I was using (and Remington UMC ammo which some have reported problems with). But the mag holster helped a lot. I might try my Glock 30 next time, or a 1911.

Came home, cleaned my guns, then my wife and I took our daughter out for her birthday dinner: excellent Indian food. Days like this make you want... more days like this.

Results are out: I placed 7th out of 20 in the high-cap division, and 16th out of 64 overall.

It felt like I did better than my first match, but I ran the percentages and they were almost exactly the same as my first match a month ago. At least I'm not getting worse. :D

Sad/funny thing is, at least 3 revolver guys were faster overall than me, and I was using 17-rd mags. *thud*

Kim Ahrends Cocobolo grips for the Smith & Wesson Model 28

I got a good price on these "Retro Target" grips/stocks for my .357 Highway Patrolman. Mr. Ahrends does nice work. They fit better than any other aftermarket grips I've tried on my various revolvers. Usually they require some fitting/sanding/whatever but these were fine. And they're pretty.

I made a couple videos detailing the bolt disassembly for the 1903 Springfield rifle. Wobbly and blurry, but you get the idea, and the explanation (I think) helps. I'm a visual learner and it's easier for me to figure things out if I can see someone else take them apart.

My first handgun match

A couple of friends of mine asked me to go with them to the UDPL match last Saturday. I was a little nervous having never attended anything like this before, but it was sooooo much fun and the old timers were extremely cool and helpful. I did okay for my first time I guess. I need some mag holsters, as I was losing 3 seconds per reload fishing them out of my pocket.

Definitely can't wait to go again. Now I REALLY need to get started reloading. Factory ammo is expensive!

They only have about 4 or 5 wheelgunners in the club, all shooting pretty much the same gun (performance center .357 8-shot with moon clips). The fastest guy was shooting handloaded .38 short colt rounds with 180-grain cast lead pills over about 3.5 gr of clays IIRC. Said it was a very clean load and he liked them a lot.

Really nice guy. Another wheelgunner in our group let me shoot his PC with some custom trigger work... man what a smooooooth trigger.

Another guy I talked to was shooting 240 grain HCLSWC pills in his .38 spec. loads at about 800 fps IIRC. Those old timers were all pretty quick and smooth. Made me want to get a big wheelie.

Results are out: I got 10th out of 28 in the High-Cap division, 13th out of 54 overall. Right mid-pack where I hoped to be. Next time I'll work on being faster moving and reloading. Hopefully top 10. Either way, it'll be a lot of fun!