Search found 385 matches for Ed Hall

Clean a Target... Show us!

Nice targets!  Thanks for sharing!

Hammerli Combi Tool

Properly fit screwdrivers would be easier to use, too.  In addition, the second stage screwdriver could be shaped as a spanner, so the inner (Allen) adjustment could be left alone.  I believe the multi-tool was just a handy single device to catch the slot type adjustments and the rear sight screw and blade.  Note that the rear sight screwdriver should have a small handle, so you don't over-torque it.  I use the sight adjustment screwdriver from S&W, myself.

Hammerli Combi Tool

Not noted and difficult to see in the image, is that the bottom of the slot in #4 of the picture is tapered to a sharper edge.  This slot is used for changing the rear sight blade, by pressing it from right to left and lifting it out of the sight.  The blade has a serrated right end for the tool to grasp.

Recoil buffers and snow

inthebeech wrote:
Did you take your pistol to an exorcist?  I know it wasn't funny at the time.  It is now.

I performed the ritual myself - haven't used a buffer since.  Now, as demonstrated, it makes for a good story.

Clean a Target... Show us!

cobbwebb wrote:First cleaned target after 16 months of shooting .22 Bullseye

Excellent!  Can I suggest adding a photocopy of it to your gunbox in a conspicuous place?

Recoil buffers and snow

The wrong material (that some are made from) can also cause issues.*  Users commonly just push the stop down by thumb, rather than by slide.

* Issues always turn up in the most inopportune moments:

I tried a buffer for a while on a Service Pistol.  It ran fine until Perry, at which time it started disintegrating during one of the SP matches.  Picture this:
I was shooting sustained fire.

- I fire a round and the slide stays open.
- I start to lower the gun and raise my off-hand for an alibi.
- The slide now closes.
- I raise the gun and shoot the next round.
- Repeat until out of ammo.

Magazine accuracy?

Yes.  The reasons for different printing at the target are different tensions from stripping the round as it's taken into the chamber.  Everything from spring tension to round tipping, through lip dragging will affect how the slide closes.  Most shooters will never notice, but higher levels take everything into account.  State Championships are often won/lost by a point or an X.

Walther cp-2 air pistol

If you have lots of money, you can try Earl's Repair Service, Inc.*

My suggestion is to get the sizes from the above site and buy Nitrile o-rings from other places, as Dave suggests.

* My personal experience was contacting Earl's and asking about a set of seals for my CP-2.  Their response was that each seal was $10.00.  I consider $10 for one o-ring to be a bit much.

Best Laser Training System

SteveT wrote:Without question the BEST is SCATT. The only other system I've used is a Mantis, which is good, but you get a lot more information from the SCATT. Is it worth several hundred more dollars? that is up to you.

I guess really the best system is the one you can afford that get's you to practice more than just dry firing.

Noptel might just argue that initial point.(smile)

I use and coached with Rika, as well.

I haven't spent any time with any of them in the last few years, but there are several threads with pros and cons.  I'm not sure about the others, but Rika used to have the download available, so you could look at all the features while you tried the program on your computer.  Other than Mantis, I don't know about phone/tablet use for any.  They are pricey, except for the Mantis, but you have to evaluate what you can afford.

Now, the note I always like to provide.  The best use for the electronic trainers is to learn how to better "SEE" your shot process with your eyes through your sighting system.  Watching your shot process and learning to see it as it unfolds and then comparing it with the electronic version can do that.  After I learned that point, the only real advantage of the trainer was in aggregate reviewing.

Indoor & Outdoor POI Change With .22

Rodger Barthlow wrote:Shot a 900 indoor .22 match yesterday and had my 208 shooting 4" low and to the left.
I had to re-zero during the slow fire portion. Don't understand why the POI changed after I had verified the zero the day before on my out side 25yd range.
Same ammo used for the match as was the day before sighting in the 208 off a rest at 25yds.
Why would it change ?

My emphasis. . .


In order for a "gun system" to produce consistent results, the whole system must be consistent.  In the case of pistol shooting the shooter's body is that system.  There are many forces at work in the suspension of the pistol that all provide a moment of force on the gun that affects the bullet path.  It is hard to completely duplicate the forces when you are changing a major component.

Dry Fire Methods

AC Baker wrote:

Ed Hall wrote:Along with the physical part of dry firing, remember to add in the mental rehearsal (visualization) and also remember to do the mental part in separate sessions.

Ed, can you explain what you mean by mental rehearsal?

It helps your shooting if you tell your subconscious what you desire.  A mental rehearsal is going over in your mind what the perfect application looks and feels like.  After such a visualization, you conduct your dry fire shot and compare the rehearsal to the dry fire.

You should also do this for live fire, but when competing you should not be doing any evaluation geared to changing anything at that competition.

As you learn more about your dry fire (and live), your visualization will also advance.  At some point you should move toward the capability of rehearsing an entire event, but this should be left for a little bit later.


An anecdote:

In my early years of shooting I had the good fortune to hear some words of wisdom from Joe White, one of the past greats who was featured in the original Pistol Shooter's Teasury.  One time at the league:

Me: Wow! I just did as you suggested and it worked great.  I visualized five tens and then I fired a string of five tens.
Joe: Good, you're almost there.
Me: Almost?!?
Joe; Now visualize the five tens while you shoot them.

Dry Fire Methods

Along with the physical part of dry firing, remember to add in the mental rehearsal (visualization) and also remember to do the mental part in separate sessions.

S&W 41 Dry Firing

Ok, I bow to Ed-plastic screw thingys or snap caps-its not that difficult anyway.  Still interested in the block of
gel for the 41.

The woman at Ruger is probably correct for the larger crowd that doesn't take the gun apart or dry fire, but for this crowd, that dry fires several times a day and cleans our guns after every live session, we might want to keep track of the state of the pins.  (everyone here meets that, right?)

Of note, I peened a small bit of one end of my cross pin just a touch, so it wouldn't fall out easily.  I broke at least one firing pin.  (I'm kind of thinking two.)  I was doing a lot of dry firing!

S&W 41 Dry Firing

L. Boscoe wrote:

Hvacguy76 wrote:Is is safe to dryfire my S&W 41 without a snap cap?

Only 22 I know of that is safe is most Rugers, who have a special mechanism to keep the firing pin off the
face of the chamber, according to the woman I spoke to at Ruger.  41's you can use drywall plastic screw insert,
or snap caps.

However, I've seen two troubles with Ruger's firing pin setup over the years:

1. The cross pin is so loose, it will fall out when putting the bolt back into the receiver if tipped at all. If unnoticed the firing pin WILL damage the chamber mouth.

2.  The hole for the pin can allow for cracks and eventually break the pin allowing the front portion to reach the chamber mouth.

USAMU's Franken Hammerlis

My original Ruger had a rear sight that would move varying distances up and down due to unequal ridges in the elevation screw.  I took a fine scribe and made witness marks on the side of the sight so I could see the movement and be able to judge whether it was indeed moving as I wished.

Bo-Mar Accuracy Tuner

I have a wad gun with a tuner and if it isn't pretty clean under the tuner at the barrel contact, it starts stringing vertically and occasionally locks the slide tight during dry firing.

USAMU's Franken Hammerlis

As long as your machining process includes the correct thread timing and extractor cut*, swapping barrels isn't that big a deal.

* I had a gunsmith friend pull and replace the barrel on my 208s when I sent it to be relined.  It isn't 100% set, but it's nearly that and the gunsmith that did the reline, cut the extractor slot a little wide so it would function even if a little out of time.

next step on improving?

JHHolliday wrote:Ed would dry fire training with lines as you recommend improve hold over time? 

One reads that once stance and natural point of aim has been worked out that hold (wobble, etc) is more or less innate and not really trainable.  But beside minimizing trigger disturbance can hold be improved and is it worth working on?

The hold/wobble is determined by many physical factors and you will notice it changes from day to day, but trying to minimize it can be effective through exercise and diet.  In the case of diet, let's visit caffeine fo a moment. It is a stimulant and it is addictive.  The best approach is to maintain a steady level.  But, you should also study its effects on you.

As to physical exercise, holding drills train muscles and can minimize wobble for most people.  Even those with a physical disorder can benefit from holding drills.  No one ever eliminates the natural arc, but it can be lessened through drills.

Note that there are different elements to the movements.  We can see them, if we try.  There is a movement from the wrist, which is usually the fastest of the elements.  This can be trained pretty much away for most people and is the most distracting.  There is a slow movement from the shoulder that will move the hold around on the target,  This is less of a problem and can be minimized through stance.  And, there is a movement from the body.  This also can be minimized through stance.  This last element is usually a front to back movement in reference to your feet.  The last two movements cause more trouble in trying to "fix" them.

All of these elements can be minimized and they should be studied, documented and worked on in training.  But, part of that training should include recognizing the normal arc and accepting it without corrections.  Allowing the normal arc and aborting an abnormal arc can help with slow fire scores.

next step on improving?

cobbwebb wrote:I spent a lot of time when I first started just holding my (empty) pistol up at arms length one handed and holding on a point on the opposite wall for increasing lengths of time.
It seemed to help build up shoulder strength. For me, the strength to hold up for sustained fire was a totally different ability than the the ability to hold a minimum arc of movement. That took a long time to develop and the minimum arc varies from day to day.

I suggest using lines (horizontal, vertical and both) rather than a point or bull for holding drills.  If you practice holding on a bull you can learn how to hold on the target without operating the trigger.  If you do use a bull for holding, make sure the hold is after a dry fire operation.

Some have had luck with holding up plastic milk/water containers with varying amounts of product.  But, don't overdo any of this.  A full gallon of water/milk is over 8 pounds.

45ACP Hardball Challenge 2024

I realized that, but I was also pointing out that it wasn't for ball ammo in a ball thread, which is why I quoted the entire post instead of parts.

The pricing is probably not that far off for SWC Match Federal, taking into account how worthless the dollar has become and the fact that it was already around half that price before the dry spell.  I think Ball ammo has regularly been less expensive, but I really haven't followed the pricing in quite a while.

45ACP Hardball Challenge 2024

TonyH wrote:

shanneba wrote:For anyone interested in the Federal Gold Medal 185 gr FMJSWC- (GM45B) it looks like Federal actually recently made some.
First time in about 2 years that I have seen it available. $72.99 /50
Maybe some of the ammo sellers will get it soon.

I also noticed Federal introduced Gold Medal 9mm 147 gr and 40 S&W 180 gr.

Only $1.46/shot….now that’s hard ball!

Actually, that isn't hardball!  It's semi-wadcutter and is confusing in a "hardball" thread.

Hammerli 208 Firing pin

I use a normal carpenter's hammer.  I don't put the slide directly on something that would mar it, and there needs to be room for the pin to fall free.  Leave the punch through the hole until you can capture the firing pin and use the punch to hold the new one in place while you drive the cross pin back in, pushing the punch out.  You might want the brass hammer for finishing the pin bottoming.  Then, again, I'm not sure a brass hammer wouldn't leave permanent marks.  Although it doesn't have to be flush (or deeper), if it sticks up too much it will catch things like the rear sight bridge.

Switching to iron sights

I never count on the screws to keep the mount from shifting, via their shear resistance.  They should compress the mount to slide interface such that the friction between the two keeps the mount from moving.  Personally, I always use an adhesive when I mount a rail.  My preference is a very thin amount of red Loctite along the very edges of the mount and clean off any excess after I tighten the screws  Always be sure to clean the mating surfaces well before installation, whether you use an adhesive or not.

Switching to iron sights

I'm confused!  Why would someone fill, drill and tap new holes in the slide rather than adjusting the holes in the rib?  It sounds like a slight bit of oval would solve this much easier than working on the slide.

What am I missing?

EIC Memories

Dr.Don wrote:Yeah I miss it.  Except that Navy regs prohibited issuing Navy ammo to Civilians at their matches.  I shot a match in Damneck, VA where the club bought some brown box ammo they could issue to Civilians for the leg match.  I got 6 points but I don't think that ammo would have grouped on a baseball cap at 50yds.

Dam Neck was always a tough match, but I attributed it to lighting rather than ammo.  The way the sun came in just raised trouble with the sighting.  I think I remember 2700 scores being a bit off at those matches, as well.  I also remember attending a couple rifle EICs there, too.  Actually, the only 2 I ever shot - one with an M-16 and the other with an M-14A1.  Fun days. . .