A couple of the master class steel plate shooters put our heads together and had the idea to share a what we know about the guns and gear we use in the competition events here at the range.  Many of the guns are heavily modified and have no legitimate use outside competition.  Some are slightly modified, to enhance accuracy and reliability, and can be carried daily for self defense.  There are a couple of rules for selecting and modifying  firearms for competition.

Rule #1.        You gun must be reliable.  A malfunction during a match can cost you the match.  It may be the difference between winning your class or coming in last.  A great looking gun is worthless if it does not work every time you pull the trigger.  Modifications that enhance reliablility include polishing the feed ramp, throating or reaming the chamber slightly, tuning the extractor, shaping the extractor or the ejector, an action job that smooths the trigger pull but still allows enough hammer speed to reliably bust primers. 

Rule #2.        Your gun must be accurate.  If you miss a target, you should never be inclined to blame it on the gun.  Accuracy enhancements include, a tighter barrel bushing, replacing the barrel with a match grade barrel or using a bushingless bull barrel, fitting the slide to the frame, using a barrel link that gives proper lockup, using better sights or a red dot sight.

Rule #3.        Your gun must fit the job that is required of it.  For example: the steel plate matches require you to hit or knock down steel plates at 10 to 20 yards.  You do not need a powerful caliber to accomplish this.  Shoot a 9mm or 40 caliber instead of 10 mm.   Shoot a 38 special ammo instead of 357 magnum ammo.   Some shooting sports reward the shooter for using more powerful or "major power factor" ammunition.  IPSC scoring gives the shooter who is shooting major more points for his periphial hits outside the center scoring zone on the IPSC target.

Rule #4.        Your ammo must be reliable.  Many of the malfunctions seen at the range are ammo related.   Most of us reload our match ammo so we have more control over its recoil, bullet weight, and velocity.  We can download, or soften recoil, by using a lighter bullet or less powder.  Recoil is a bad thing to speed shooters.  It takes time to get the sights on the next target and heavy recoil slows down the shooter.  Most of us shoot ammo that is jus hot enough to make the gun work relialby.  A side benifit of downloaded ammo, your gun will last you much longer.  softer shooting ammo doesn't batter your gun.  Each time your gun fires, it goes through an enormously stressful cycle, the worst part of which is the slide banging into the frame at its end of rearward travel.  Shock buffs soften the blows but do wear out quickly if you shoot factory ammo.   Shooting commercial ammo is not bad, it just costs more... now because each box of commercial ammo costs at least twice what the ammo you can load yourself costs to load, and later when you have a barrel that is shot out or a frame that is cracked form the thousands of battering cycles it has been through.  What ever you shoot, make sure your gun fuctions reliably with it before match day.

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Last modified: March 08, 2006