Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Sidearms For Flyboys
Message-ID: <1990Nov7.035903.13042@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 7 Nov 90 03:59:03 GMT
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From: p14.f7.n391.z8.fidonet.org!Dan.Daetwyler (Dan Daetwyler)


 Pe> Note on large capacity magazines:
 Pe> At Jeff Cooper's Gunsite ranch, they frequently run two pistol class
 Pe> sections at a time.  When circumstances require, the .45 people are
 Pe> in a differenct section from the people shooting high capacity 9mms.

This may well be because of the "classes" the shooters are in.  A .45
makes a "major" power factor easily, while a 9mm has to be overloaded
severely to make it.  For those of you who are interested, powerfactor
is a system devised to make the odds even for shooters using a variety
of weapons.  Power factor is simply the bullet weight (in grains) 
multiplied by the muzzle velocity in feet per second.  Major class is
a powerfactor in execess of 175,000, while minor is 125,000.  Weapons
under 125,000 cannot be fired in competitions sponsored by shooting
organizations like the USPSA, IPSIC, and maybe NRA (?).  

[mod.note: The power factor concept is only used by IPSC (International
Practical Shooting Competition), so far as I know, and has recently been
amended to require that "major" caliber be at least .40 (10mm) diameter,
in addition to the power factor requirement.  I don't think this would have
anything to do with Cooper's school, in any case.

Followups are mostly likely to be appropriate to rec.guns. - Bill ]