March, 2015

Celebrate with green this week

March is here, Putin is still missing, and the weather is starting to warm up. This means it's time to get out and do some shooting!

This month we have updates to a couple of the articles from last month, G2 Research ammo testing and the UTM CTA Conversion Kit; both below.

We're giving away an ATPIAL-C, courtesy of TNVC, so check that out as well and make sure you enter for your chance to win.

We've FINALLY gotten our takedown bags back in stock; these were sold out last year and we've been working ever since to find a new supplier. Well they're finally in; check them out below and order yours.

We also have a few events coming up that are worth mentioning. These include:

• Missouri 3-Gun Championship
  Be sure to check us out at the Missouri 3-Gun Championship this weekend at the Lead Farm 3-Gun Range outside Versailles, MO.

• Urban Escape and Evasion
  While on an international business trip, you are kidnapped and held for ransom. What do you do?

  OnPoint Tactical is coming to Dallas this month to put on a course called Urban Escape and Evasion. This is a unique opportunity to learn some useful and no often taught skills that will help you in just such a situation.

  There are still a few slots, so it's not too late to sign up. Check out the info below, as well as their web site for more details.

• Canton Trade Days
  The next Canton Trade Days is (April 2-5, 2015), and we will have some changes in place this month. Come check us out!

  Check out the Trade Days thread and we hope to see you there.

• NRA Annual Meeting and Expo
  Don't forget next month is the 144th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits at the Music City Center in the heart of Nashville, TN April 10-12, 2015!

Re-Elect Joe DeBergalis, NRA Board of Directors

If you haven't already, be sure to send in your vote for NRA Board of Directors; there's only a few days left!

There is not a single individual that has done more for us via the NRA and elsewhere than JoeD, and we could not put our support behind a better candidate. PLEASE be sure to send your ballots in as they must be received by March 22 in order to be counted.

"Texas Shoot 'Em"

Newest drill vid that probably won't make you a better card player.

www.PFCtraining.com

Getting Disqualified

By: Chris Andersen, 3-Gun Nation Pro Shooter

Ozark 3 Gun Championships a few years back: I am having a very good match. I feel I am setting myself up for a chance at the 3-Gun Nation Shoot-Off. While I am shooting our second-to-last stage, my shotgun bolt locks back when finishing a target array in the high-speed portion of a stage. I ground it in a barrel and transition to my pistol and finish the stage with what I feel is a very competitive time. I stop, show clear, and holster with a smile on my face. Then, in my peripheral vision I see a crowd of people standing around my shotgun.

I think to myself that empty shotguns should not be that interesting. I know my safety is not engaged... I grounded the gun in a hurry to save time thinking it was empty, so now I am worried that there is a round in the gun. I arrive to find that a live round is still sitting on the lifter. Stage DQ. 100 points down the drain, and I drop in the overall standings like a rock.

The saying goes that there are two kinds of people: those who have been disqualified in a match and those who will be. Ask anyone who has been in the action shooting sports very long and they will tell you a story (or stories) about when they have been DQ’d.

It is hard to handle - even at a local match. You beat yourself up, thinking about all of the things you could or should have done differently, and all of your squad mates struggle with how to interact with you after it happens. You have just wasted an entire day or possibly weekend, and potentially a lot of money on a match that has basically turned into a really expensive practice session.

Nothing you can do is going to make it not sting. But in my experience I believe there are a few ways you can grow from the experience as a shooter if it ever happens to you.

A couple of years ago, my friend Phil Strader sent me a video of him shooting a major pistol match in Houston. An RO stopped him for violating the 180-degree rule with his muzzle and he was DQ’d from the match. My first reaction after seeing the video was "Wow, that was a questionable call." But then my second was: “Man, if I ever get DQ’d, I want to handle it with that much grace and professionalism.”

Phil disagreed with the call and calmly made it known. But he also knew the rules of the match and gracefully accepted his fate with a smile and was courteous to the range official. Phil is the consummate pro, and it really showed that day. That really stuck with me.

A few months later at the Area 3 Pistol match, I had almost the exact same thing happen to me two stages into the match. I did my best to handle myself in the same way, knowing what I had done. I then had the entire weekend in Nebraska to think about how best to get your mind around a DQ.

I put together a few ideas on how best to hit the reset button in the event of a DQ disaster. I am not saying that you should plan to fail, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to think about how you would handle yourself if it ever happens to you. 3-Gun is all about managing problems, and how you manage those issues have a direct impact on how you finish.

• Be professional
  At the end of the day whatever happened is probably YOUR fault. In the moment it might be easy to lose it and blame everyone within a 30-foot radius. Keep in mind that the range officers and match directors are volunteers and treat them with courtesy regardless of whether you agree or disagree with their call. Keep your cool and stay courteous. You will always get farther that way.


• Show integrity and stay positive
  Your match may be over, but something you may not think about in the moment is that your throwing a fit may affect your friends’/squad mates’ ability to stay focused and perform at their best, and that is not fair to them. Be the first person out to reset targets after the next shooter. Keep a smile and a positive attitude. Nothing you can do will change what has already happened. The faster you start letting yourself have fun again, the quicker you will bounce back, and everyone present will respect you more for it.


• Use the experience to get better
  Incorporate the mistake you made into your training routine. Ask yourself what went wrong. How can you avoid that mistake in the future? What can you change about your technique to make problems like these less likely. I personally now walk stages with more intensity, and confer with range officers before shooting a stage with questionable shooting positions. I also ground my shotgun a little differently.


• Help your squad mates if it happens to them
  The majority of disqualifications occur with new shooters. At this year’s Fallen Brethren match one of my squad mates was shooting his first major 3-Gun match and grounded his rifle off-safe and was DQ’d from the entire match two stages in. He was understandably very upset with himself, and a little upset at the sport in general.

  I think times like these are where it is important for experienced guys to step in, be an ambassador for the sport and help the new shooter handle the DQ. Don’t let a bad experience like that ruin someone forever on the sport. I spent a lot of time talking to him and sharing stories about the time it happened to me, and also explaining why it is so important that the rules regarding certain safety issues are harsh.

  Whether you are dealing with a beginner or a seasoned pro, being a friend to them can help them turn thing positive more quickly.

After that Ozark stage DQ, I took a moment to myself as I was putting my guns away and reflected on all these things. Then I took a deep breath and got back out on the stage as quickly as I could to set steel. I also did my best to help friends break down the stage that were still trying to finish strong.

If you compete in this sport for very long I can promise that eventually you will have to have this same conversation with yourself. Just remember: Everyone chokes, what makes you a winner is how you respond.

In the never ending quest to seek out the best terminal performance out of the 300BLK (particularly for subsonic loadings), last month we started taking a look at the G2 Research RIPOUT rounds.

Bullet with ~80lb hog

Similar to other rounds we've looked at in the past, the RIPOUT is a solid copper bullet with pre-cut sections that allow it to expand at lower velocities.

We're starting with the Trident round. If you recall, the Trident is designed to remain intact vs. the fracturing bullets that we are also testing from G2. We chose this round because it is much easier (or so we thought) to recover a single larger bullet than 7 small pieces.

Compared with our previous tests of the Lehigh Defense Maximum Expansion round, these rounds tend to open wider; the Maximum Expansion round petals open all the way (i.e. fold back along the base), while these remain more open creating a larger expanded diameter.

Because of this, combined with the subsonic velocities involved, I had doubts about the bullet's ability to penetrate through the shield of a large boar.

Closeup of recovered bullet after shooting pig

We thus started testing on smaller pigs, in the 80-120lb range. While these have all been dropped where they stood, it has been hard to recover a bullet. There were devastating wounds (i.e. with chunks missing), but the round seemed to exit on all the hogs we shot.

As a result, we were forced to shoot one at close range to see what was going on. The subject was approximately 80lbs, and was shot from above, through the top of the head and towards the heart, and the round was dug out of the ground ~3-4" underneath him.

So rather than the expected low penetration results, it looks like we're getting more than adequate penetration and will this start testing on larger subjects going forward.

Because of the horrible weather including snow, sleet and ice, followed by severe flooding rains, we haven't gotten out as often as we usually do. With the weather improving, testing will continue in the next few weeks and the results will be posted to the thread, as well as an update in the next newsletter.

Forum Thread

Last month we described the overall UTM CTA system, and this month we have usage results.

Target can be set up anywhere

The first step is setting up the target. As we mentioned last month, the conversion kit comes with everything including an easy to set up target.

This target consists of several components, all of which are easily assembled in minutes and store inside the hard case:

• Target Hanger - this is the large main component that holds everything
• Target Holder - this foam piece is lined with sheet metal to serve as backstop
• Cardboard Printed Targets - kit includes 3 printed carboard targets
• Bungee Cords - two hangers allow you to place target anywhere

The target setup consists of unfolding the main hanger which has a pocket for the foam target holder/backstop to drop into place. Individual cardboard targets then slide into this holder. The whole assembly can then be hung via the bungee cords where ever you'd like to shoot.

Shots outside of the target itself are safely stopped by the target hanger.

Projectiles collected inside target

Shots that hit the target are effectively stopped and trapped by the target holder/backstop which has a downward canted sheet metal face (as shown in the photo).

We fired at point blank range to see the effects of the projectiles on the backstop and none did much more than mark up the sheet metal where they hit.

Overall, the target system is a nice extra that comes with the kit, and works very well not only to stop the shots, but to keep everything neat and tidy by catching the projectiles.

For those who are curious about shooting something other than the target, we did some side testing and can confirm that they will definitely leave a hole in your drywall (but not penetrate all the way through), will knock over but not penetrate a plastic soda bottle (the thicker kind- not like cheap water bottles).

Expended round with projectiles

Though it is definitely not recommended by the manufacturer, it will not penetrate denim, but it will leave a black/blue mark on the skin underneath. Do not try this at home- we used a very sophisticated human analog to safely test this!

Taking a look at the projectile, it is made up of two parts: a small aluminum plug with a rounded blue plastic nose cone.

The projectile fits into the "brass" portion of the case, and when fired one charge fires the projectile down the barrel, and another activates the action.

Projectiles after shooting

In this way, the force that shoots the projectile can be controlled separately from the larger force required to operate the action. In our testing of 100rds we never had any failure to fire, eject, or load, so UTM has managed to make this a very reliable round.

The nose cone on the tip of the projectile serves to provide a "soft" rounded tip, which probably helps guide the rounds into the chamber. In addition, it may actually engage the rifling of the barrel as the blue plastic seemed to be marked after shooting.

This may aid in stabilizing the projectiles, as they all seemed to hit the target nose first at all ranges tested, and fairly accurately as well. Our ranges ranged from point blank to about 50 yards, though the recommended range is about 30 yds.

Firing is via rimfire for safety

We found the projectiles to be rising to about 20yds (i.e. hitting below point of aim), and then dropping over zero again at ~30 yds (our zero), and about 2 feet low at 50-60yds.

We touched upon it last month, but it bears repeating again that this kit was engineered for safety.

The UTM CTA fires using an offset firing pin. This prevents any live ammunition from being fired with this bolt in place.

The blue bolt marking is visible from the ejection port, and as long as this conversion is installed, there is no way a live rounds can be fired even if a magazine was inserted, a live round chambered, and the trigger pulled.

M193 (top) vs. UTM CTA (bottom) @10yds

We very crudely tested point of impact in relation to a live zero with the image shown at the right.

The top group represents a 3 shot group fired at approximately 10 yds using M193 ammunition

The bottom group represents a 3 shot group fired from the same rifle, at the same range, but using the UTM CTA ammo.

Because it is at 10yds, the UTM would still be rising and we suspect would be about center on the target at 20-30yds, but because this test was done outside of a range we did not extend those ranges out to the full 30yds.

Video shooting the UTM CTA indoors

Overall, the conversion kit worked flawlessly. Accuracy proved to be good at ranges to 20-30yds, and we tried rapid firing as quickly as possible and experienced no malfunctions. For those that asked, the kit as it currently exists is semi-auto ONLY (it will not trip a sear).

It comes complete with everything you need to get up and going including ammo, a target system, cleaning tools, and a nice hard case. As such it is a very good way to practice outside of a range, including indoors, or to get new shooters familiar with as realistic of a round as you can get.

Forum Thread