New Gen Open Gun

[Kingman]

I have both. Running the same drills I'm a hair faster with the svi shorty with steel grip. My other gun is longer 7" overall 5" slide, cheely comp and plastic grip. I'm talking hundredths in splits and transitions. 49oz empty vs 38oz empty.

The bigger gun is gentle. I could hand it to anyone to shoot it doesn't do a lot of smacking around. The concussion is gentler. Overall a smoother ride.

Shorty cycles faster, is louder 2 hybrid ports, and I feel it points a bit better. It is not a gentle gun to shoot. It is super flat, but you feel it in your hand. That being said I have a new svi on order. It'll be exactly the same.

[waynes_world_45]

I HAD a shorty. It wasn't for me. Some like it, but I think a 5" shoots softer. With a Ti comp, the swing weight is barely noticeable.

^^This^^

[CocoBolo]

You would be much better off spending your money on a Gym membership. Yeah I said that, I think movement skills and quick movement are huge in USPSA and not so big in steel challenge. I have taken old school guns spent a butt ton of money modernizing them with little improvement. Get a reliable gun you can shoot without it hurting your hand, and go for it.

Edited July 22, 2016 by CocoBolo

[BigBets]

For that matter if you shoot a 30 round stick you literally shoot a pound out of the gun on a long course.

It's easy to chase gains with equipment for little usual gain. It's hard to chase gains through range time 4-5 days a week 3-4 hours a day. But one will make you a GM. The other will not. Ask Max and his Trubore "20 year old technology" gun. We have had this exact talk as a matter of fact

Definitely pick one you like and go practice. I'm fairly certain if a gun ever revolutionized open we would all hear about it in a few days worth of Internet

Edited July 23, 2016 by BigBets

[MrPostman]

For that matter if you shoot a 30 round stick you literally shoot a pound out of the gun on a long course.

It's easy to chase gains with equipment for little usual gain. It's hard to chase gains through range time 4-5 days a week 3-4 hours a day. But one will make you a GM. The other will not. Ask Max and his Trubore "20 year old technology" gun. We have had this exact talk as a matter of fact

Definitely pick one you like and go practice. I'm fairly certain if a gun ever revolutionized open we would all hear about it in a few days worth of Internet

Excellent answer! I have a steel grip on my open gun and it weighs 53oz with no mag inserted. I just workout my upper body with various shoulder and grip exercises, plus abs and lateral obliques so I can swivel at the waist and maintain a good grip and sight picture. This is just the physical training. I dry fire and practice transitions with a full 29 round

mag of dummy rounds plus the occasional live fire practice for focus on grip and watching the dot. All these things have come together to greatly improve my shooting. Just like he says, pick a gun and practice, practice and then practice some more. You won't notice the weight since you shoot it all the time.

Edited July 23, 2016 by MrPostman

[zzt]

I think weight distribution is more important than actual weight. For example, my Sig 1911 weighs 43oz and balances perfectly. My Open gun also weighs 43oz with a plastic grip and Al magwell, but is long dust cover, bull barrel and looong steel 4-chamber, 5-port comp To call it nose heavy is an understatement. It is definitely an "old" style design. On any kind of transition I am much faster with my 1911 than with my 2011.

That being said, I'm faster on double taps with the 2011. The two 3/16" poppels combine with the comp to make a pretty flat shooting gun, so recoil is straight back instead of up.

[Megamind]

I will keep my old style open gun and spend the money I'm saving on ammo and practice that will always give you better result .

[Whoops!]

I like the way the short gun moves and balances. That being said, the most important things in my book are the comp and porting. I'm not talking bigger is better either (especially if it's a barrel mounted comp) but, both are definitely preferred over rather it's a shorty or a full-size. Then, the weight of the barrel and comp make a huge difference. Even though the length will factor in, a bull barrel and big steel comp will factor in even more regardless of rather it's a shorty or a full-size.

Also, sometimes the difference between a shorty and a full-size is an inch. The stock Tru-bor to stock Match Master barrel length difference is .74" according to STI.

[digi531]

There are many variables in an open design and the " feel " is a personal preference, as already mentioned above. I' be built a shorty ( 41/4 barrel and very short slide and did not like it much, fast but just to violent ( for me ). I've built a mid size using a 4.8 inch barrel with a steel cone comp and four small popples. It was fast, had nice balance, transition well and was an improvement over the real shorty type. I'm a senior now and my last two builds were full size ( 5 inch slide ) with a bull 5.4 inch barrel and TI comp, with 4 rather large popples 5/32 holes and usual type slide cuts with aluminum grip and RTS2. This set up is working well ( for me ) and the gun shoots great and EASY to handle and transition with a 170 PF. Also, I agree with above post, there are no magic open designs or the " new " generation design ( I've seen the Atlas video ) that will make all other obsolete, but people are entitled to their own opinions, good, bad or indifferent. As its always been, it's the ( person ) behind the tool.