Detritus

Well, wound up getting a pound each of Bullseye and Power Pistol (on recommendation of a fellow shooter), loaded up some test batches, and today finally got out to the range to see how they shot. In think my gun likes 4.4gr of bullseye.... this was the furthest back of the three targets that I tested the loads on for group. I set it up to simulate the approximate longest engagement(s) typically found at my local match. my point of aim was the bottom of that blue 4-paster patch at the top of the scoring zone. looks like i'll be spending Friday morning driving around town for the brass and bullets i'm low on and the afternoon loading a batch for this Sunday's match

Getting time for more powder and I cannot find my old standby 45 powdwer W231 locally. What I can find are unique, bullseye, and WST. I'm loading plated 230gr rn and looking to make USPSA major. And have no experience with any of these three powders. Advice etc would be appriciated Thank you for your time and advice

According to Hodgdon 4.8 of Titegroup is max pressure... yes, and the hodgdon data was produced using a COL of 1.20" instead of a more standard COL of 1.26-1.275". Because of this the Hodgdon Max loads for 45acp can wind up being barely ahead of Starting loads from independently produced sources. From personal experience I can tell you that using Hodgdon data and loading W231 behind a 230gr Berry's RN with a COL of 1.27", the max loads produce lower than expected velocity, a dirty burn, and (in my gun at least) mediocre accuracy. I don't have my notes in front of me but I think I actually got all the way to 6.0grs of 231 before everything settled in and "shot right". This is why having multiple sources of load data is helpful. Most load manuals seem to simply reprint the factory data from the powder manufacturer. and as noted here that can lead to, let's call it Misleading data, due to some form of wacky condition/spec used by the manufacturer in producing said factory data. but there are a number of other sources producing independent data out there. this is part of why I buy the "Load Book" mini manuals for cartridges I think i'll load often.

One of the reasons I started this thread is because the majority of the data I've been able to find is either, 1. a reprint of the Hodgdon factory data. which in 45 Auto uses a COL that is weirdly short pretty much across all bullet types (1.200" and 1.220 for 230gr and 200gr loads respectively.)their listed COL for the 200gr LSWC will not in fact feed in my two 1911s. Because they loaded to the short side the hodgdon data is known to be a bit weak/inefficient if you are loading to a more standard COL. case in point, take a look at some of the Non-hodgdon data for W-231 with a 230gr bullet, the Hodgdon MAX is mid-range of most other data, and Some of the non-Hodgdon data has Start loads that are 0.1 grain below Hodgdon max. 2. labeled "this is an old favorite for Bullseye". my response is "So?" I shoot USPSA not bullseye, so due to the emphasis on accuracy regardless of and sometimes at the cost of velocity bullseye loads regardless of how accurate they are, are not all that useful to me. those bullseye loads would classify as Minor, and 45 minor is kind of a dumb thing to do. I need a minimum of about 850fps to feel comfortable in my loads for my chosen game. I started this thread (and it's clones elsewhere on the web) to get an idea of about where other shooters, more specifically other USPSA and IDPA shooters, were topping out with their loads. so as to have a more accurate idea of what I was looking at, since the Hodgdon data and it's reprints would and do give me mediocre results. And no bull I know to work up to a load. if the powder I had on hand was anything BUT Hogdon/IMR/Win, or I was loading for a cartridge other than 45 auto I'd be following the book data without a question, but their data for 45 is known to be out of whack, so it is not as useful of a guide to someone loading to Proper COL, and looking for 800+ fps.

Right now my reloading stash for .45acp consists of a sample bag of 200gr coated SWCs from blue bullets, most of a pound of 700x, and enough brass and primers to load up the sample. what I don't have is a good load for that bullet+powder combo. so i'd like to know if any of you do. my only other Caveats are that my gun seems to like these (feeding wise) at an OAL of 1.270" and not the 1.220" of the hodgdon Data, and, if it is known to you, whether your load does or does not make USPSA Major. Thank you for your time, as always any and all advice and data is appreciated.

I then added another patch of tape bringing the OD of bushing to .697" insertion into the slide was MUCH firmer and when i tried to turn it into place, This was as far as i could rotate it by hand I currently do not have a bushing wrench available to me (the wrench I have is with my wife's pistol, the gun that needs it), so I didn't try and go any further. I also had to use a short piece of Delrin rod to help gently tap the bushing out of the slide at this point. any further input or advice is welcome, but seems to me that .697" or thereabouts would be a best guess as to the ID of the slide

ok played with it some more... with a little scotch tape on the bushing bringing it's OD up to .696" . the bushing inserted easily. But when I turned it I experienced a patch of resistance. the tight spot started here and then freed up at this point in rotation

well, currently the rear lock up seems rather good/solid. with it in battery I can not perceive any give or wiggle when pressing on the barrel through the ejection port. all movement seems to be at the muzzle/bushing end. and even if it doesn't make a huge difference, it is mainly for the experience. as I mentioned, my intent is to at some time in the future gut this gun and rebuild it the way I want it. Including fitting a match grade barrel etc. At this time the intent is to get the experience at a point where it's not overly critical that I "not screw up", and I'm hoping that putting a tighter bushing in will bring the group-size down even just a little and increase my confidence in this gun for match use (USPSA). so I guess in a way I'm wanting to try a $25-50 dollar fix now, in hopes of delaying/restraining the urge on my part to go ahead and start the rebuild, which in it's first step would be close to $1K. Because prior to and in addition to the first batch of parts the first step in starting the rebuild is to buy a Springfield RO, or similar to shoot while I'm rebuilding...

Metro AC-II, inexpensive Philippine 1911 that I originally bought with the intent of shooting for a year or two then stripping to the frame and slide and starting over. For Less than the cost of a Caspian frame and slide set I got a functional gun, and overall I've been happy with it. I'll answer this as a block because the answers will run together a bit. first off I simply want to see if fitting a new bushing will improve this gun's accuracy. my standard of comparison in this case is my wife's 1911, which is otherwise identical to mine (she shot mine and said "get me one just like it")EXCEPT it has a fairly tight barrel to bushing to slide fit. a little over a year ago I took both of them to the range and put around 32rds through each at 50ft, pics below this was off hand not rested on a sandbag or anything, and I was rushed and tired... (excuses excuses) My pistol 2014-06-17 veiw one Trisha's pistol 2014-06-17 veiw 1 in the pics above the difference isn't as noticeable as it sometimes is, but from my own experience I know that out of 100rds My gun will throw probably 10-15 more shots out toward the edges than hers. and if possible i'd like to see if a new bushing will help that a bit. Plus to be truthful I wanna do it to have the experience.

I'll have to call and custom order one, the smallest bushing OD they list on the website is .699" , the ID of my slide is .696" (gonna re-measure it one last time before ordering and also make sure there isn't a burr or something, but it I keep getting .696)

over the past year or so I have seen numerous mentions of using "custom" bushings from EGW to remedy factory guns with "less than optimal" barrel to bushing to slide fit. So I am contemplating this as a route to possibly improve the accuracy of my current 1911, which most certainly suffers from a loosely fit bushing. Now I have, to the best of my ability, followed the instructions on the EGW website for how to measure my slide and barrel. but at this point I am unsure as to the next step, or am not understanding the process... since there does not seem to be a on-line selection for "Click this enter your measurements and we'll get back to you/make you a bushing", nor do any of the ready to ship bushings/bushing and plug sets has both of the correct measurements. so what's the deal do I email/call them and say I need a bushing of a certain ID and OD buy an oversize bushing and send it and the gun to a local 1911 smith (hoping this ISN'T the case) or am I just missing something and am as lost as i can be?? Many (but obviously not all) of the mentions of EGW bushings I've seen on this forum and others seemed to be by guys who were at most hobbyist 'smiths instead of pros. If I can get EGW to send me a bushing that is Sized to the measurements I have and have it fit without too much further work (or complicated/specialized tooling) that would be great. while I do intend in time to put together all the tools etc to be able to hand fit a bushing, it will be some time before I get to that point. so anyway, what are the experiences of those here and what advice or information can you give me? thank you for your time, patience, and any info you choose to share.

I get the impression that at least some of it is lingering backlash, even after all this time, from the change to the "Series II" guns. the "Pre-II" guns were nearly the best deal you could get you're hands on. better fit and finish at a price competitive to Springfield, decent guts, and if you liked em fancy looking the Royal was standard offering. series II guns came out, price went up, quality went down, stupid crap (slide stops for example) started breaking, people started trash talking.... basically if you remember the older guns, then you're more likely to think that the Series II guns suck, and in competitive circles that bias seems a bit more prone to spread. all that said, a few months ago I saw a Pre-II Custom Target (used obviously, and stainless) for around $1K and was very tempted, but I don't have the spare change at the moment.

I have never seen any difference in overt/conscious attitude or treatment of men Vs. women in any shooting competition I have done. That said, some groups, be they the gun club as a whole or different "discipline groups" at the same club seem to be more or less "female friendly" if that makes sense. something I have seen is that sometimes there is a group that is "The group" for a particular competitive discipline or set of disciplines at a given club, and they can at times tend to be accepting of their own demographic, be it gender, ethnicity, being from the same town/county, or any other demarcation that happens/happened to define that group when it started or last re-formed (came out of a schism). and less so toward anyone not of that demographic. or a group can have habits that make it an uncomfortable for someone outside "the group". For example the USPSA group I started with, in 4 years (but only 18months serious about it) I saw a grand total of 4 women there and that was at only 3 matches out of ever how many I shot or observed in that 4 years. and I think a lot of what caused this was an unconscious vibe of "we come here to get AWAY from women (wives)" from a large number of the shooters. frankly that club seemed to give anyone that wasn't male, W.A.S.P. , local to the county or related to it's early history, and over 45 yrs old, the cold shoulder to varying degrees. Now that I've moved halfway across the country, my new USPSA club has much higher female participation, and is tremendously more diverse in background. though the diversity may be because of location... conversely my personal experience with the two Rifle disciplines I've dabbled with (NRA Service rifle, and F-class) has been one where the groups were much more accepting and friendly toward anyone that shows up.

for everything I own that is Centerfire (my .22s haven't seen a rod in over a decade) I use Pro-shot brand rods. which are not coated. though it looks like none of the three models I use is currently available through midway, since all three of mine have a knurled, natural Stainless Vs. banded, red anodized handle, and both of my rifle rods have 50+ inches of working length. personally I think for the most part coated rods are a gimmick, If you're using a quality one piece rod, with a properly fitting jag/brush, you shouldn't ever touch the sides of the bore. plus many of the coatings are even MORE likely to pick up grit than bare stainless rod (Brushes should always be bronze, brass, nylon, or similar).

I'll weight in even though it wasn't technically "My gun", having borrowed it from a friend for that particular match... my first and so far only in-match parts breakage, and one of the most bizarre moments I've ever had while shooting was about 16 years ago. Was visiting a friend out of state and he wanted me to shoot this ww2 themed multi-gun match his club had cooked up, so I borrowed his GI style "Frankenstein". other than a Colt made "Spare" slide I have no idea where the parts came from, and I doubt my buddy did either. 3rd stage dang thing ate its own lunch, somewhere in the 2nd mag the whole slide went off the front! link and lower lug had parted company with the rest of the barrel. last time I ever shot a match with a gun I hadn't personally cleaned and inspected beforehand. and I think the owner still has the two "halves" in a shadow box on his wall to remind him to question any too-good-to-be-true deals only funny thing about this was the chorus of "WHAT THE ~BLEEP~" and similar from the gallery, while I'm standing there trying to figure out why I'm suddenly holding half a gun. I swear to god when that thing left it looked like one of those 50's "Cold catapult shot" segments from navy training films.