#USPSA

Now before we trigger a bunch of millennials here, I too, had overlooked Federal Premium Syntech ammunition (and technically I am a millennial… sadly). So what is so special about Syntech ammunition? It has a red coated bullet. It is affectionately or un-affectionately called the “lipstick” ammo. Finally, if you check out a United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) match, you will see it everywhere. What do they know that the general shooter is missing? Well, Syntech offers a host of benefits over traditional full-metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition and we will take a look at those benefits.

Pistol Caliber Carbine, PCC, is growing in popularity. It’s a blast to shoot and matches are far easier to setup than for normal rifles. So it’s understandable that the market offers what the customers are looking for, hence the increase in PCC related firearms and accessories.

At Big 3 East we met the people of Stern Defense. There they unveiled their AR-15 mag adapters to turn your AR lower into a pistol caliber carbine. They have adapters for Glock and M&P 9mm/.40. They also have adapters for M&P45 and Beretta 92. I was impressed with the adapters but found one minor issue. The lack of a flared magwell. I told them that most people who use pistol caliber carbines are competitive shooters and a flared magwell is a must for faster reloads. They took my advice and in just a month they have come out with their MAG-AD FLARE.

Federal Premium has tweaked the secret sauce on their recipe for Syntech ammunition to better suit competition shooters. They have paired up with the USPSA to design Syntech Action Pistol. This flavor of ammunition employs a Total Synthetic Jacket (TSJ) bullet in more reliable grain weights for knocking down steel targets. It also has a flat point to the TSJ as opposed to the traditional conical or round tip found on standard Full-Metal Jacket (FMJ) rounds.

What may make a pistol great for home defense, LE/Military use, or concealed carry may not translate well to a pure competition pistol, and vice versa.  Competition pistols can run into the multiple thousands of dollars.  For those starting out in the sport, such cost can be daunting.  Sure, a stock Glock 17 or CZ75 can get one pretty far into these sports before the need or (let’s be honest here) desire for the “next level” of equipment comes to pass.  If one has the inclination to look for a pistol designed specifically for competition shooting in the USPSA or IPSC style of competitions, a certain set of features is desirable. If this author were looking for one, these are some traits he would look for:

USPSA have been doing the provisional “ Carry Optics” for a while now.

I’m not new to 9×19 mm carbine shooting, but I only shot my first match with a 9 mm “rifle” recently.

Practical Applications posted a rare occurrence and managed to capture it on video. A shooter was shooting an indoor match when a loose round exploded in his pocket.

Derek Giddings is a shooter for the H&K Shooting Team. Check out the MP5 he is using. It is setup purposefully for racing.

Let’s take “gaming” to a whole new level, shall we. Loke Uei Tan, a self proclaimed geek and USPSA shooter, spent a few months developing a virtual reality shooting simulator for the Oculus Rift. Dubbed the ‘Practisim VR’ the software’s goal is to provide competitive shooters with the ability to stay sharp in the off months when weather may make it impractical to train on a hot range

Keith Russell uses an electric wheel chair to get around. I do not know what his disability is, but it doesn’t matter. This guy can shoot! He appears to be using an M&P9L CORE

One aspect of USPSA stages may involve a shooter to move up range. With all shooting games there is a strict 180 degree rule. For those not familiar with the 180 degree rule, the muzzle of your gun must not pass 180 degrees from the shooting bay. This is to prevent any possibility of shooting the people behind you while you engage the stage.

TFB just only got hold of these brand new pictures from JP Enterprises and their new GMR-15 9 mm Carbine just being launched at SHOT Show.

Obi Wan Kenobi pointed this out in Star Wars A New Hope. However we did not see such accuracy in most of the films.

Some of you may recognize the name Manny Pacquiao. He is one of the greatest boxers according to some. Well now he is a Senator for the Philippines. He also likes to shoot pistol matches. He was seen shooting at the USPSA Asia Pacific Championship. I don’t understand how a USPSA match can be held in the Philippines but ok.