USPSA Action Pistol Match - 05/03/2025

USPSA Action Pistol Match at the Southwest Shooting Center in Clovis, NM with the Southwest Performance Shooters club. I was shooting my non-ported Springfield Prodigy from concealment (AIWB) in the Limited Optics division. 

Stage 1: I was the first shooter on the first stage of the day.  I normally try to be conservative on my first stage of the day, but I just really wanted to go fast like Ricky Bobby. 😄 I ended up with 5 C-zone hits and 1 D-zone hit, but still placed 2nd on this stage.

Stage 2: Several tight shots on this one as well as some shooting on the move. My reload took longer than I planned and I went a little too far coming into one position and had to reposition my foot on the fault line before engaging more targets, and the loose wall netting got in my way while engaging two other targets, so it was slower than I would've liked. I placed 4th on this stage with only one C-zone hit.

Stage 3: "Too Close For Comfort" Classifier. Decent run with only one C-zone hit (head box). My concealment reloads on stages like this are always a challenge. I placed 3rd on this stage.

Stage 4: More tight shots with some while standing on a balancing beam.  Another good run with only one C-zone hit (several make-up shots though) and placed 2nd on this stage.

Stage 5: This last stage was probably my most conservative run but still had 3 C-zone hits (all on head box shots). I placed 3rd on this stage.

Good weather and great stages that were a lot of fun. I ended up in 3rd place Overall out of 16 total.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jIgAkir6rY

Outlaw Action Pistol Match - 04/19/2025

Outlaw Action Pistol match (IDPA Scoring) at the Amarillo Rifle and Pistol Club. I was shooing my non-ported Springfield Prodigy from concealment (AIWB) in the Optics division. It was so cold and windy that they decided to only run three of the four planned stages, which I had no complaints about as I don't really enjoy shooting in really cold weather. I normally would've chosen to sit this one out due to the cold weather, but it's been several months since I shot a match and I really wanted to get back to it.

Stage 1: I placed 3rd on this stage. Nothing bad about my performance other than I couldn't feel my mag release button during the reload and I fumbled inserting the fresh mag into the gun because my hands were so numb from the cold.

Stage 2: I placed 1st on this stage only because I was only two points down total, whereas most of the faster shooters were several points down on a lot of targets because they chose to shoot the first two arrays on the move quickly. I also shot those targets on the move, but at a little slower pace and I sent several make-up shots when I realized that my hits were not as accurate as I wanted them to be.

Stage 3: All was going good until I got to the Texas Star at the end of the stage. The last plate became dislodged from it's mount when I hit it, but it got caught on the base of the target stand and still hung in place. Rather than risk it getting called a miss, I decided to take another shot at it, which took way too much time thinking about what to do and landed me in 5th place on the stage.😒 I was also a bit distracted by a bird walking around behind the targets that was apparently unaffected by all the gunfire. 😂

The stage that they removed was a "standards" style stage with three positions that included strong hand only and weak hand only.  I'm confident that I would've done well on that stage as I practice strong hand and weak hand shooting every time I do live fire practice. I ended up in 3rd place Overall out of 25 total, so it was definitely not too bad of a day for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z99cohmtCGc

STI DVC Carry Handgun

I have really gone crazy with acquiring 2011-style guns lately. 😜 It's pretty much the only type of handgun that interests me these days. I have more 2011-style guns than any other platform, so I guess you could call me a 2011 snob. 😎 So, as a self proclaimed 2011 snob, I wanted to find another cool gun that is no longer in production and is fairly sought after.  I'm not really interested in full-size guns with 5" barrels, as I like to keep them more practical for concealed carry. I narrowed it down to either another STI Tactical 4.0 with a steel frame, an STI Costa Ludus VIP, or an STI DVC Carry. I came across several DVC Carry for sale while searching and decided that was what I wanted. The DVC Carry, which was the predecessor to the Staccato C2, was offered in several different versions throughout it's production, including a limited run with a steel frame. Most of the ones I found for sale were the non-railed aluminum frame versions, but I managed to find and acquire one in absolutely pristine condition with a railed steel frame AND optics ready with the factory "H.O.S.T." mounting system, which is an extremely rare find.

Photos from the Gunbroker auction

The gun came with a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro installed, but I'm not really a fan of that optic, so I swapped it out for the tried and true Trijicon RMR as both of my Staccato C2s have RMRs installed. Unfortunately, the factory RMR mounting plate wasn't included in the box, but Arise Mfg makes an RMR/SRO plate for the older HOST mounting system. I also installed a Streamlight TLR-7 HLX light with the "1913-2" rail key that positions the front of the light perfectly flush with the muzzle of the gun for a very clean look.

I already had an extra VIP grip that I textured in my RFV Tactical Concealed Carry texture and installed on my STI Tac-Lite 4.0 and then later removed, so I installed that grip module along with a longer STI trigger and stored away the original dragon scale textured VIP grip with the short trigger in case I ever decide to sell the gun. I'm using a custom shortened Staccato C2 magazine with the VIP grip for a nice flush look and excellent concealability. I also reduced the engagement point of the beavertail grip safety and tuned the trigger pull weight to just under 3 pounds, as I do with all of my 2011-style guns.

This gun is absolutely gorgeous with its DLC finish and the copper colored barrel showing through the factory window cuts in the slide. The slide to frame fit on this gun is better than any other 2011 that I own. I love that it is the same size as a Staccato C2, but it shoots like a full-size gun with it's steel frame. I will carry it occasionally, but it was acquired as more of a collection piece to be admired than as a daily carry gun. 😍

 

Yet Another Springfield Prodigy 1911DS

Now that I am offering an Enhancement Package specifically for the Springfield Prodigy 1911DS at RFV Tactical, I thought it would a good idea to buy used Prodigys and resell them on Gunbroker one at a time with my Enhancement Package already done to them to make a little bit of extra money as well as to indirectly advertise my services. So, I bought a used one to work on for around $900, which was still in really good condition.

Photos from the Gunbroker auction

I did everything to it that I include in my Enhancement Package and just went back with Graphite Black Cerakote on this first one, but was planning to do the next ones in a different color of Cerakote each time. Before I could list it back on Gunbroker to sell, I got kind of busy with orders and forgot about it for over month. During that time, I did several Prodigy Enhancement Packages to customer guns and decided that I didn't want to go through the hassle of putting time and labor into a gun just to turn around and sell it (and hopefully gain a profit) when people were already sending me their guns to get worked on. So I decided to just keep it as a shop gun.

I went ahead and did a step cut grip chop on it and installed a Holosun 509T optic and a Surefire X300 light, so that I could carry it and shoot it occasionally, as I was really starting to get annoyed with how dirty all of my ported guns got after each practice session of only 100 to 150 rounds. So, out of sheer laziness, I have been carrying and training with this "shop" gun exclusively for several weeks as I can shoot it just as fast and effectively as any of my ported 2011-style guns without having to clean it so frequently and I don't have to deal with the loud concussion of a ported gun at my indoor range where I practice 2 or 3 times a week.

It seems kind of silly to own all these customized 2011-style guns only to end up carrying and training with a Prodigy 1911DS that doesn't look much different than a completely stock one, but it is definitely more refined, reliable, and performance oriented than a stock 1911DS. To be honest, I just really like the Prodigy 1911DS. It is a extremely value packed gun with all the aesthetic and ergonomic features that I want in a 2011-style gun and it can be made to run very reliably with a little bit of tuning.

In addition to the normal Enhancement Package, I also shaved down the thumb safety levers (personal preference), did a relief cut on the underside of the slide stop lever pad to make it easier to lock the slide back manually, and installed an STI trigger shoe/bow to gain some pre-travel adjustment and to get rid of that classic 3-hole trigger that I am not particularly fond of. This gun will also allow me to compete in the popular Limited Optics division at USPSA matches since it is not ported instead of in the Open division, which is typically ruled by full blown race guns. 

Ported 2011 Shootout

Now that I have so many ported 2011-style guns, I thought it would be fun to do a Ported 2011 Shootout to rank them all. Plus it would give me an excuse to go shoot multiple guns during a couple of range sessions since I have not shot a match in a while. I separated them into two categories: Ported Steel Frame and Ported Aluminum Frame. My comparison tests were done at an indoor range, with the targets at only 5 yards. I shot 50 rounds of my reloaded match ammo with each gun, switching back and forth between two guns every 10 rounds with a separate target for each gun. I used two firing lanes so that I could go back and forth between each gun fairly quickly. My strings of fire were to draw the gun from an AIWB holster and shoot 5 pairs of predictive doubles. I took my time to make sure my grip was good out of the holster before firing the first shot of each string of fire. I intentionally kept my split times at a moderate pace of about 0.25 of a second in an attempt to prevent unnecessary tension from trying to go too fast so that I could focus on how well the dot tracked and how quickly and consistently the dot returned to the same spot after each shot was fired. I've tuned the triggers in each gun to have a pull weight of slightly under 3 pounds with virtually the same pre-travel, over-travel, and reset characteristics.

Ported Steel Frame Guns:

The Bul Armory SAS II TAC 4.25 with DSCG V6 ports came out on top with the fastest and most consistent return to zero as evident with the hits on the target. This gun really surprised me with how well it performed compared to the other guns. It would've been very easy to shoot it faster and maintain the same consistency with the hits.

The Staccato P 4.4" with DSCG V8 ports came in 2nd place as it also had a very consistent return to zero, but it did not seem quite as fast as the V6 Bul TAC despite it having more port volume. This could possibly be due to it's longer/heavier 4.4" slide compared to the TAC's 4.25" slide with large window cuts which makes it significantly lighter.

The STI Staccato P 4.15" with DSCG V-Slot ports came in 3rd place. It was still a solid performer, but it wasn't quite as consistent as the V6 Bul TAC or the V8 Staccato P.

The Springfield Prodigy 1911DS with Magnaport V-Slot ports came in 4th place which doesn't surprise me as it has the smallest port volume. It felt very similar to the V-Slot Staccato P, but it was slightly less consistent with return to zero despite having the softest recoil impulse of all four steel frame guns. The one hit outside the A-zone on the target was most likely due to inadequate grip pressure and/or an overly aggressive trigger pull.

Ported Aluminum Frame Guns:

The Staccato C2 with Vulcan Ignis ports came out on top, which was kind of surprising to me as I previously never considered this gun to be that great of a performer. However, the consistent return to zero is very evident with the hits on the target showing to be the best out of all eight of these ported guns.

The STI Tac-Lite 4.0 with ICM Inline ports came in 2nd place as it was very similar to the Staccato C2 with return to zero as well as recoil impulse. The two low hits on the target were from my first cold shots of the day.

The Bul Amory SAS II TAC 4.25 with DSCG V8 ports came in 3rd place as the return to zero was fast, but definitely not as consistent as the C2 and Tac-Lite with their top inline ports.

The Bul Armory SAS II UL Viper (factory 1-port comp) came in 4th place as the gun was difficult to handle with it's extremely light weight and sharp recoil impulse which is evident from the hits on the target. The Streamlight TLR-7 HLX light that I normally have on the gun actually flew off during the first string of fire due to the mounting screw breaking, so it was run without a light or from a holster for 40 rounds.

Yes, its a comp rather than barrel ports, but I put it in the mix

because the gun is so light weight, and... I do what I want. 😁

Bul Armory SAS II UL Viper Handgun

With my recent rekindled interest in the Bul Armory SAS II line of pistols, I set out to find another gun that I have wanted for a a long time... the UL Viper (Gen1) or the UL Comp (Gen2), which are now both discontinued and very hard to find used. These guns were hard to get even when they were in production! I actually had a UL Viper on order back in 2020, but Bul Armory was right in the middle of updating their production of the Viper to the Comp and my order got ignored for over a year, so I canceled it out of frustration. 

I started searching for a used Viper or Comp to add to my collection several months ago, and finally came across a used Viper for a somewhat decent price (they usually sell for more than what they cost when they were brand new). I upgraded the compact grip module to the newer Gen2 version that came on the UL Comp, which is still available on Bul's website, and textured it in my RFV Tactical Concealed Carry texture with all the same refinement details that I did to the grip modules of my 2022 TAC 4.25 and my 2024 TAC 4.25. I then added my preferred Ed Brown controls, refinished all of the small parts and grip screws in Graphite Black Cerakote to black it out, replaced the cheap optic that the previous owner installed with a Holosun EPS Carry, and installed a Streamlight TLR-7 HLX light. When the TLR-7 HLX light first came out, I immediately thought it would look really good on a UL Viper/Comp and that is when I decided to start looking for one to acquire.

The UL Viper is very light weight just like my original Ultralight, so the recoil impulse is a little snappier than a larger/heavier gun due to some weird thing called "physics", but the compensator definitely helps to reduce muzzle flip. The lighter weight of the gun also makes it a little less stable during presentation with more noticeable movement of the red dot on the target, whereas a heavier gun has more stability and less red dot movement. This isn't a big deal for closer targets, but it is noticeable on longer distance targets.

However, that lighter weight makes it very easy to carry around all day. While I do plan on carrying this gun fairly frequently, I don't plan on using it at action pistol matches very often because the smaller magwell opening of it's shorter grip doesn't allow for fast reloads like a full-size grip does. I am already at a bit of a disadvantage at matches by competing with my actual daily concealed carry gear, so I don't want to make it even harder for myself. 😜 The 3.25" barrel also just isn't quite as accurate as a 4.25" or longer barrel for longer distance shots. Despite its disadvantages in a competition environment, I would much rather carry this UL Viper over a Sig Sauer P365 XMacro or other similar size guns any day of the week.