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Suggestions for 1911 Single Stack USPSA?


Erik4e

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I have been shooting production with a g34 for a couple of years now. A few of my friends started shooting SS last year and enjoy it, I am looking into joining them. I have a budget of $1000.00. It looks as the STI Trojan is a popular choice. I am really leaning towards the STI Spartan in .45 mainly because of the price. I do understand that these are not built by STI but with their specs. I would like to get some opinions from some that compete in SS or those who have experienced the Spartan.... Or are there other options that I should be considering with that budget?

Thanks in advance!

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I bought my Trojan .40 new on gunbroker for $950 shipped to my FFL. There are usually a few on there in that price range.

I would recommend Tripp mags when the time comes. I've been using the "Korey" mags and the have been flawless.

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With SS I recommend picking a caliber first then find the gun. Do you reload, are you set up for the caliber, do you stock that caliber, do you shoot any other divisions? I know quite a few SS guys who prefer .40 because they use the same reloads for LIM, LIM-10, and SS. Other guys shoot 9 minor and use production rounds. Hardcore 1911 traditionalists only take .45, They can run in LIM-10 using 170mm mags.

Either way good luck in your endeavor.

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I have only shot production division. I do reload in 9mm. I ha been told by just about everyone shooting SS that I would not be happy shooting minor. I was looking into .40 cal because if the spp but have read most are not happy with a .40 in 1911.? I have never owned a 1911 so most of my information is based on others.

I appreciate the responses so far. Thanks

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The majority of ss shooters in my area shoot 40 & i dont think that ive heard anybody say they werent happy with it and went to 45. where did you read that?

Are you ever going to shoot limited after production? if so you'll want to shoot 40 as well.

My trojan 40 has been great through 2.75 seasons with about 6000 rounds so far.

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I do not currently have plans to shoot limited, however I have learned to never say never! :) I do agree that a .40 would make more sense in my situation.

I read issues on the .40 1911s in the Indiana gun owners forum... But what do some Hoosiers know anyway! :)

All kidding aside, I know you can find pros and cons on just about everything. That's why I'm glad to hear from some with with actual experience.

Thanks

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Check out this recent discussion for my thoughts and some pricing notes on the Springfield Armory Range Officer and accessories. I shot SS all last year with one and couldn't be happier. I haven't shot a Spartan/Trojan to personally compare, but I'm sure they're every bit as good as everyone says. One consideration for the RO is SAs lifetime warranty.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=190245

As for caliber, 45acp is an easy round to make supremely accurate with less expensive cast lead bullets and a wide range of powders. And given our powder shortages that's no small thing. Probably most important, though, is that it makes major effortlessly. Truly, the only downside to 45acp is that it's maybe 10-20% more expensive to load because the brass and bullets cost a bit more.

By comparison, making major out of 40 requires working with unpublished, over max loads. And there is a very narrow group of powders that do this somewhat well. Just ask me why I would gladly trade my first born for a 4 lb jug of N320 right now. If you are newer to reloading or maybe going to start reloading with this purchase then definitely stick with 45acp.

Of course I can't talk about SS calibers without giving a nod to 9mm minor. Not a lot of shooters go there, but every single one I've squaded with has positively raved about it. And I think the minor scoring penalty is a wash in the end.

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Own both, Spartan is a good choice for someone on a strict budget but if you can swing a little more I'd go with a Trojan. Watch the classifieds several good buys on Trojans have come up in the last few months.

Any pistol you purchase will need a little work to be competitive it's just easier to work with a Trojan. Low round count pistol with features already added might save you some funds.

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I would look at the spartan over the Trojan at the budget you have. While a trojan can be had for in the budget you basically gonna have it bone stock for that price. A spartan can be had ready to race with the mag well, trigger job, grips, mag release button etc for under what a stock trojan will run you. As a production shooter, I wouldn't rule out the 9mm. You basically have the same ammo your use to, stage planning your use to and most production shooters shoot to the point they are getting a good number of alphas. I had a 9mm spartan that runs great and cost less than a stock trojan even after adding the mag button, vz grips, dawson mag well and having a trigger job done on it.

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I have a Spartan 9mm, a Para Pro Comp 40, and a Springfield Loaded 45. My Spartan has been 100% reliable with Dawson mags. 9mm minor from a 42oz. 1911 is fun to shoot. A lot of stage designs have production shooters in mind, so stage breakdown is a little easier. I just got the Para, and have around 100 rds. thru it, but it has been 100% with the supplied Checkmate mags and factory length ammo. This gun is loaded with features such as forged stainless frame and slide, Dawson fiber optic front sight, Ion Bond finish, match ramped barrel, 30lpi checkering, EGW HD extractor, ambi safety, 2 mags, and until 5-31, a $100 rebate. The Springfield is also 100% using Brownells/Metalform mags. Ammo/components are twice as much as the 9mm, but I've been shooting SNS Casting coated bullets and small primer brass, and I save a little. I run my 22 conversion on it, so it will be staying, but for major it will be the Para, minor the Spartan.

Loading all 3 calibers is a snap. 40 can be finicky if you get Glocked brass with a bulge. There are fixes for it. There are many choices for 40 powder, many the same as for 45. Getting any powder is the problem.

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Take a look at the Sig 1911's. A lot of gun for the money. I have a Match Elite and out of the box it was pretty good. A competition trigger job and a new front sight and now it's great. They just came out with a Max Michel edition that is pretty well dialed in out of the box.

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.

By comparison, making major out of 40 requires working with unpublished, over max loads. And there is a very narrow group of powders that do this somewhat well. Just ask me why I would gladly trade my first born for a 4 lb jug of N320 right now. If you are newer to reloading or maybe going to start reloading with this purchase then definitely stick with 45acp.

None of this is true, there is plenty of data on .40 major. Plenty of shooters on this site use WST which to make major requires them to dabble in the "over max load" area when using heavier bullets but most are experienced reloaders that increase oal to allow for increases in pressure. I have a shelf full of powders that are used in .40 s&w including; Titegroup, Win231, Win WSF, Win WST, Longshot, Clays and others.

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If I were you, I'd go with a 9mm 1911, because the stage planning is similar to what you're already used to (yes, those two rounds DO make a difference), and you won't have to buy new dies, shellplates, bullets, brass, etc. Does the major/minor thing make a difference with SS? Probably, but you're just getting into it. Plus, you could get someone to fit a slide to your 9mm and shoot either .40 or .45.

I rarely make caliber recommendations, because I started shooting .45 in SS and never tried .40. I have owned .40s in the past, however, and I just don't care for the recoil impulse. The .45 feels much more natural to me--of course, I have somewhere around 70,000 .45 rounds downrange now, so I'm biased. ;)

The smartest thing you could do would be to find folks who have 1911s in all of those calibers and ask if you can shoot them in a match or at least for a stage. While not a perfect indicator (because everyone's load data varies), it'll be the best way for you to find out what your preferences are.

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I just started shooting single stack with a Trojan 40. Like frag said in his post, I generally dislike 40 cal because of it's recoil, but shooting 40 in a 42 oz all steel 1911 is way different than shooting it in a polymer gun. No problem at all with 40 in the 1911 platform.

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.

By comparison, making major out of 40 requires working with unpublished, over max loads. And there is a very narrow group of powders that do this somewhat well. Just ask me why I would gladly trade my first born for a 4 lb jug of N320 right now. If you are newer to reloading or maybe going to start reloading with this purchase then definitely stick with 45acp.

None of this is true, there is plenty of data on .40 major. Plenty of shooters on this site use WST which to make major requires them to dabble in the "over max load" area when using heavier bullets but most are experienced reloaders that increase oal to allow for increases in pressure. I have a shelf full of powders that are used in .40 s&w including; Titegroup, Win231, Win WSF, Win WST, Longshot, Clays and others.

What Brenden said. 40 Major with 200gr bullets is right about max published load for a ton of powders, with 185gr bullets it's often under max loads. What you may experience is needing to load long to reliably feed, I can't say for sure because every gun is different. If you load long, you may need to bump up the powder charge SLIGHTLY to stay major. It's not a concern and plenty of shooters have done it before you.

From my personal experience, I stated in SS with a 45. I currently shoot L10 and Lim with 40. I'm planning on going back to SS at some point to bring my classification up and when I do I'll be building a 40 slide to fit my 1911, I think the shorter recoil impulse works better for me.

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I've got maybe $800 in my SS gun. I bought it used and had a local gunsmith work it over. The same gun custom built new would run $1, 200 to $1, 500, so if you have a quality gunsmith in the area a used gun in great shape could save you a bundle.

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