Suggestions for Ruger

I originally wrote this a year ago and just got around to sending it to my favorite gun company Ruger.  Hopefully they build a few of my ideas so I have some new things to buy.

Dear Ruger,

As a shareholder, owner of a half dozen Ruger handguns, and regular action shooting competitor; I have a few product ideas I would like to share with the company. These products could be stand alone products or part of a new marketing focus on competition shooting.  All of these product ideas are slight variations of existing products to reduce development costs.  If these models were given some designation like S&W does with performance center, they could be sold at a premium price with only minor additional production costs.   Competition shooters often are willing to spend more on firearms and buy new firearms just to participate in different sports or classes.  We often spend hundreds to thousands on custom gunsmith work to get our guns just right.  Competition models that cost a little more but save the trip to a smith are likely to sell well. 

My first product suggestion is based on my own customized SR1911.  A SR1911 can be made competition specific with as little as a change in sights, grips and a mainspring housing / magazine well.  Competition shooters seem to prefer a fiber optic front with a plain black rear sight. Adjustable target or Novak style rear sights are desirable as well. This idea could be taken further and justify a higher price point with additional modifications.  Front cocking serrations, more aggressive serrations, front strap checkering or dimpling, and more aggressive grips are all desirable while adding minimal costs.  This competition model could ship with an 8 and a 10 round magazine to show its flexibility. If care is taken to comply with IDPA rules this pistol could be perfect for popular classes in each sport(limited, limited 10, single stack, custom defensive pistol). 

A second suggestion is to expand the caliber selection for the SR 1911.  I believe that a 9 mm in either basic or competition configuration could be a nice variation of an existing product.  40 S&W,  10mm and 38 super would also be possible with only changing a few parts. 

My third suggestion is to make a version of the redhawk revolver to compete with the S&W 625.  The 625 currently dominates the world of competitive revolver shooting.  Your existing model KRH-45-4 could be the base model for a gun chambered in 45ACP with full moonclips. The hogue grips and adjustable rear sight are perfect but a change to a fiber optic front like the one ones used in the new SP101 models would be in order.  I believe that this model could be brought to market at a lower price than the 625 and would make a great product addition.  

My last suggestion is for a 3gun specific SR-556.  3gun competitors often prefer a longer 18" or 20" barrel or a short 14.5" with a pinned muzzle brake.  Heavier barrels, fluting and chrome lining all help with high round count stages.  The flash suppressor should be changed to a compensator or muzzle brake.  Lightweight tube style fore ends like the one used in the carbine model are perfect but a longer tube could be used for a longer barrel.  Iron sights on this model could be the offset sights that are now popular in tactical optics devision.  Dueck defense and XS make examples of this style sight.  All features listed are specific to the upper which simplifies manufacturing and makes the stand alone upper a good product as well.

Thanks,

Dan 

P.S. While I'm dreaming I want a 2.5" barrel 9mm moonclipped gp100 with fixed night sights and wood grips.

Lack of posts

Sorry for the lack of new posts recently.  I have had a perfect storm of events keeping me away from posting and writing.  A week in the hospital, busy season at work, moving in with my girlfriend and not getting to shoot much.  I have been able to shoot a few steel challenge matches recently and am getting back on the range more as fall comes back.  More posts to follow.

IDPA Monument Beach 6/1/13

Last weekend I attended one of my favorite local matches.  The Monument Beach club had an IDPA match.  I shot my custom Ruger SR1911 in CDP.   Due to heat cover was not required which was a good thing but after the match I was sunburned to a crisp.  I used my red Comp-Tac paddle holster and mag holders and together with the SR1911 everything worked perfectly.  Due to a score card mistake I was scored with the SSP class but if my score is moved to CDP I was 2nd of 4 and 14th of 30+ overall.  I used the contour camera and the videos linked below are from the match.


Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Steel Challenge Monument Beach 5/19/13

Yesterday afternoon the Monument Beach club ran its first Steel Challenge match.  This was also my first time at a match of this type so I brought both the Ruger MKIII and the SR1911.   When I saw that about half the shooters had rimfire guns I did some math and realized that shooting the 45ACP would cost me about $75 while the .22 would cost less then the matches $10 entrance fee.  Shooting plates at high speed is fun and having 5 runs at each stage and dropping the lowest score only increases the enjoyment.  The match moved along quickly with no taping or painting targets.  I had 4 magazines and quickly realized a 5th would make things significantly easier but gun people are always helpful so magazines were reloaded for shooters as they were shooting.
I was shocked today to get the results and find myself 3rd overall out of 16.  Brian almost won with a stock Ruger SR22 but Sam and his open class .22 1911 won the day.  I plan to come back for the match next month with a 5th magazine and some sunblock... and possibly a hat.

IDPA Monument Beach 5/4/13

This was my first shooting competition that I had my contour camera and also the first since I got this crazy blogging idea.  I shot my customized Ruger SR1911 with a Comp-Tac paddle holster, twin mag pouch, and belt.  I had a couple brain farts and a couple weapon malfunctions but shot well enough to place second of 3 in class and 14th of 28 overall.  The filming was done with a Contour camera on a headband mount. Below are the videos.

Stage 1

http://contour.com/videos/watch/monument-beach-idpa-stage-1-5-4-13

Stage 2
http://contour.com/videos/watch/monument-beach-idpa-stage-2-5-4-13

Stage 3

http://contour.com/videos/watch/monument-beach-idpa-stage-3-5-4-13

Stage 4

http://contour.com/videos/watch/monument-beach-idpa-stage-4-5-4-13

Stage 5

http://contour.com/videos/watch/monument-beach-idpa-stage-5-5-4-13

So your gonna buy your first gun

So you have your shiny new class A "unrestricted" license to carry, or live in free American, and have decided to remain unarmed no longer. After hours of internet drooling, renting guns at a range, or trying friends guns you have decided to buy your first handgun.  The next question is what do you buy with it.  There are some items that are mandatory and some that are optional and can be ordered later.

Mandatory:
-Gun ...
-Carry Ammo - You can't throw the gun at an attacker. 1 box minimum but a few boxes are better to ensure function and that it shoots to point of aim on the sights.  I like Critical Defense rounds for carry but any modern defensive round should work.
-Practice Ammo - Most modern guns do not need a long break-in period to be reliable. You do however need to learn how the gun handles and get some practice in with the new gun so getting a few boxes of FMJ or other inexpensive range ammo is a must. 100-500 rounds or more.
-Safe - You don't need a big safe or even a fancy one to comply with safe storage laws but you do need to lock the gun up.  A handgun size lockbox can be had for under $30. I believe MA law requires ammo to be locked up too. The best option is an ammo box.  The free lock that comes with the gun can be used to secure ammo.
-Eye and Ear Protection - These can be upgraded later but basic sets can be $10-20.  Your hearing and eyesight are priceless.

Optional:
-Holster - Holsters are nice to have and absolutely essential for carrying a firearm.  If u can't find a suitable holster in store, you can find plenty on the internet.
-Extra Magazines or Speedloaders - Every semi auto needs 2 magazines but not all come with 2.  3-5+ magazines are needed for competition.  For revolvers a speedloader is not necessary but are super helpful and 2-5 should be obtained for carry or competition.
-Cleaning Supplies - This needs it's own article but basic kits are available in stores or you can get a boresnake, solvent, and lube.

Now go shopping and then to the range!

Gun Stuff

This will be an index for reviews of gun stuff that does not fit elsewhere.

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