cheers623

I've got an AR15 I want to have a JP free-float tube installed on. I would normally try this myself but don't have the tools or jigs for a perfectly straight mount. Anybody know of a reputable AR15 smith in Western WA? THanks in advance, cheers623 DVC

Have owned 6 Kimbers over the last 10 years. Have owned 4 Springfields. While the Kimbers are a little sexier looking, the Springers have all been rock solid workhorses. I've had nothing but trouble with all of the Kimbers resulting in returns for warranty work. In the end, lack of customer service on the part of Kimber led me to sell all of them at a loss just to be rid of them. Now, I've had a few problems with one of the Springers and had to send it in for warranty work but they were so helpful and pleasant to deal with I ended up having custom-shop work done on the gun just so I could patronize them! Springfield's lifetime warranty on their pistols along with top-notch customer service and support would be the deciding factor for me. It's a bonus that they also support our various shooting sports in a huge way. Aside from those issues, I think you would be well served by either pistol. Having said all of that, some of the Kimber models are real eye-candy. My two cents... cheers623 DVC

I carry an Aluminum VIP in .40 SW. It is a great little pistol and packs a lot of firepower in a handy package. Very similar to carrying a Glock 19/23. However, if your main consideration is ease of concealment, I would recommend a single stack pistol like the STI Gaurdian or Escort/Electra type. My wife and I both also carry Gaurdians, mine 45 and hers 9mm, and they are noticeably easier to carry comfortably concealed inside-the-waistband. The recoil of my wife's pistol in 9mm makes it a pleasure to shoot and practice with and carries 8 in the mag with 1 in the chamber. I would not feel undergunned with this pistol. As far as quality, I have pistols from both companies (STI/Springfield) and they are both great to work with if there are warranty issues. My personal preference is for STI but I think both would serve you well. Hope that helps some, cheers623 DVC

Thanks for the replies so far. I am currently having John Larson (JPL) build me a limited gun and he is currently not taking small jobs like this. I am very appreciative for the reccomendations thus far. Keep 'em coming. Thanks a million. Cheers623 dvc

Does anyone have any recommended gunsmiths who can re-barrel an SVI from .38 supercomp to 9MM? Quick and reasonable price is a plus. THanks in advance. cheers623 DVC

The shape of the engagement pawl, the funny-shaped nub that sticks into the magazine well when the slide stop is inserted. They are caliber specific to work with the different size and shapes of bullet profiles in different calibers. You can use different caliber slide stops but you will have to do some fitting and filing to get them to work with the 'wrong' caliber pistol. It is more of a pain in the tail than just buying the correct caliber slide stop. The only exception to this would be if you are installing it in a gun that you don't want the slide stop to be active and lock the gun when the magazine is empty. In that case you would be filing the engagement pawl down enough to keep it from touching and magazine follower and so caliber does not matter in that instance. Hope that helps, cheers623 DVC

Yeah, let's hear it. I have looked at them a number of times and wondered if they were worth it. cheers

Ok, I can't watch that anymore. My head is going to explode. Overload is eminent.......Unbelievable! cheers623

I use a Bear Creek 200gr. lead-moly coated bullet over 4.1gr. of VVN320 seated at 1.185" OAL. Make about 175PF in a 5" STI Tactical. Very soft shooting load. Feels like my favorite .45ACP load. Cheers623 DVC

Thanks for the input so far guys! Keep it coming. Cheers623 DVC

So, I just got my new Mossberg 930. I got the 28" vent rib gun with synthetic stocks. Here is what I am planning on doing to the gun: Have the barrel cut to 22" and threaded for chokes by Mike Orlen Install a Nordic Components +4 Mag tube extension with a mag tube clamp by Nordic Components Install Nordic Components low drag follower Install Vang-Comp steel safety button Install THE NOB, extended bolt handle So, how does that look so far? Am I missing something? I would like to know what you all use for a fiber optic front sight. Who makes them? I want to try that style set-up first before trying ghost rings or other types. Any wisdom? I realize that this model is NOT in the big-3 models club but I don't get to shoot as much as I like so wanted to jump in on the cheap, so to speak. I will be using this gun in limited-division. Input is greatly appreciated! Best, cheers623 DVC

Ok, so I have long arms and prefer a longer length of pull on my rifles. I am going to build a competition rifle and would like to use a Magpul CTR stock on a commercial buffer tube. The reason I want to use the commercial tubes is because in general they are longer by about a 1/2 to 1 inch. My question is am I missing something here? Are the Mil-spec tubes better in some way, should I just suck it up and and learn to deal with the mil-spec length? Is there an advantage to a shorter length of pull that I am not aware of. I am pretty new to the rifle game. I started on a Bushmaster M4 and then bought a S&W Tactical. The Bushy has a commercial tube and when I got the S&W I immediately noticed the shorter stock on the Mil-spec tube. Any thoughts on this from our seasoned rifle shooters? Thanks in advance, cheers623 DVC

Thanks a million. Exactly the info I was looking for. cheers623

Hey guys, will all lower receivers accept both commercial AND mil-spec buffer tubes/receiver extensions? I want to replace the mil-spec tube on my S&W M&P Tactical to a commercial 6 position tube. Is this cool or do you have to have a receiver that is machined for the respective buffer tube? Also, if I do the swap will I also need a new castle nut and back plate? Thanks for the help, cheers623 DVC

Hello, I have been looking for a soft shooting Major PF load for .40 S&W for a long time. After searching this forum and doing testing in my gun, I came up with 200gr lead/moly loads that are great. I have used both Black Bullets and Bear Creek and they both work great. The benefits as I see it is the slower, rolling recoil that is similar to .45 ACP, as well as a bit more accuracy in my guns at least. I think this is because the bullets are longer than the 180s, 165s, 155, etc, and have a longer bearing surface. My wife never liked shooting .40 when I loaded the lighter bullets. Now she loves it and wants to step up to shooting major PF in L-10 rather than minor like she was before. My load is 4.2gr of Vit. N320, Winchester Small pistol primer, 200gr lead-moly TC, mixed brass, OAL of 1.190", thru a 2 different STI 5" tacticals. Hope that helps, Cheers623 DVC

Sorry guys, did not mean to start a flame-on thread. To be clear, I was just looking to see if there was anyone who had information about getting these parts to work. I have the Dawson DVD on mag-tuning and as stated before, 8 tuned magtubes by 2 different tuners. Hsmith, am I correct in inferring from your post that the tubes have to be specifically tuned for Bolen followers? If this is the case then I will just give up on it. If not, then anyone else who knows how to get these to run please chime in. Again, I am not trying to blast Bolen parts, just want help getting them to run. Thanks for everyone's patience. Cheers623 DVC

Hey guys and gals, I was hoping to eventually buy some Hsmith tuned .40 S&W magic mags, I bought his .38 Super mags and they are works of art! However, with his recent reduction in work load, so to speak, that is not a current possibility. So, I bought a set of Bolen Springs and followers and and 4 new STI 140 tubes for my limited gun. Well, they dont' work and the followers roll over. Does anyone have any wisdom to share as far as tuning the Bolen Springs and followers for STI tubes. I tried them in the 4 Dawson tuned mags and 4 Brazos tuned mags I have and they don't work in either set. I know the tubes need to be tuned but what about the followers and springs? Any help would be appreciated greatly, as usual. By the way, I am using Dawson SNL +1 base pads. Best regards, cheers623 DVC

Thanks for the replies everybody. Especially the pics and advice about dremeling! I kinda thought I would need to take the dremel to one for it to be what I need. It's kind of funny that I have a $3500 lathe sitting in my garage but end up going for the $50 dremel tool for most of my 'Machining' needs. Anyway, nice to see that the 6" contingent has no problem drawing from Kydex. Thanks again! Cheers623 DVC

Thanks for the replies so far. The malfs were: 1 stovepipe, 1 death-double feed...I had to rip the mag out and cycle the slide to clear the multiple live rounds, 1 stuck empty in the ejection port with another live round. Now, this gun has run FLAWLWESSLY for 10,000 rounds or more before this happened. The last 1,000 or so were with the new lead loads. Also, when the bullets don't case gauge it is usually the bullet itself not going into the case gauge 'chamber'. In other words, if I turn the bullet around and drop the round in rim-first, the round will gauge but not bullet-first. I should also say that I have been using a 10mm case gauge instead of 40.s&w. My working theory so far is this: the Dillon 40 S&W case gauge 'chamber' is for jacketed bullets and so is bored smaller. The Dillon 10mm case gauge is slightly larger to account for the fact many 10mm reloaders shoot lead. Does this make any sense? Again, thanks for the input and sorry if I am getting everyone dis-com-bob-ulated! cheers623 DVC

Hey guys, so I used to shoot Montana Gold FMJ 180s but recently switched to Black Bullets International 200gr lead moly-coated bullets. I did not change my crimp on the on the 550B toolhead. The crimp is coming out at .418-.419" with the lead bullets. Last night I had a few mystery malfs and a shooting buddy said he thought I did not have enough crimp on my bullets. I use the old method of laying the finished rounds side by side in the '69' position and checking for the crimp that way. I also measure them at the case mouth and as stated above, they usually measure around .418-.419" So, should I be using more crimp? The current crimp setting removes all of the bell and then some from the case but is it enough? I have noticed that the Montana Gold bullets measured .399-.400" and the Black Bullets measure .401-.402" I think this is intentional because of the lower engraving force needed for the lead-moly bullets. However, I have noticed a higher number of reject rounds when I case gauge since switching to lead. Any wisdom from the forum on this issue? Cheers623 DVC

OK, so I sent off my box 'o' gun bits to Benny Hill this week for a 6" blaster. Should have it in a couple months time. For the last few years I have been shooting limited with a 5" STI coming out of a Bladetech DOH. I have a consistent, fast draw from this setup and like the peace of mind that comes from slugging around in the mud all day with my gun securely sitting in a conventional holster. No muss, no fuss, so to speak. However, lately I have been screwing around in open division and drawing from a CR speed race holster. I like this holster for my open gun BUT, when I decided to go back to Limited division, I thought I would try staying with the CR speed holster for my limited gun. Well, I have noticed that I don't go after the gun as aggressively as I did in the Bladetech DOH and don't seem to get as consistent of a grip either. When I practice at home I can get a smokin' fast draw and consistent grip but in a match situation while running and gunning it just does not come together for me with the CR speed holster. My question is this: has anyone had Bladetech make a DOH for their 6" S_I pistol and use it? Anyone try both platforms and go with the DOH? Or, because I am going to have the 6" gun made, am I limited to using the CR Speed holster and just need to stick with it for a while. For the record, I have been shooting and practicing with the CR speed holster for about 6 months now, should have been enough time to learn it by now? Any thoughts or experience with this dilemma? Input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, cheers623

Thanks, I was getting ready to reply that there is no address listed and then I thought of trying to open the website with a different browser. I am a Mac guy BTW. Anyway, I had been trying it with Safari and no address showed up BUT, when I tried opening it with FireFox it displays the address. Damnedest thing. Anyway, thanks for making me think of that! Best, Cheers623 DVC

So I have my gun boxed and ready to go but Benny Hill is out of the shop this week. I looked everywhere but can't find a shipping address on their website. Anybody got that info? It would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance, cheers623 DVC

BigH, former Jersey resident here (Palisades Park), now live in Seattle. For what it is worth, most people end up shooting what ever division allows their personal favorite gun to compete in. I was one of those people that convinced myself to buy and shoot Glocks because of all my "research and rationale". 9mm is cheaper, Glocks are more reliable, so on and so on... Anyway, I always liked holding, shooting, and watching others shoot 1911 style pistols. After many dollars spent on everything else I ended up selling most every other gun and bought a few reliable, high quality 1911s and have never been more happy. I let the gun I like to shoot decide the division and caliber. As far as your stature and the recoil issue, you will find that once you start pulling the trigger in competition, recoil perception becomes much less noticeable. When that beep goes off, the adrenaline kicks in and you are not nearly so aware of recoil compared to sitting indoors shooting leisurely groups. That is all my long-winded way of saying "if you like the 1911, buy one and have fun" you won't regret it. Cheers!

Thanks guys!!! That is what I was hoping to hear. The Wilson looks like a great part and I have been using a lot of their stuff for many years, sears, pins, slide stops, thumb safeties, etc. Everything I have used thus far has been top quality so I was hoping to hear the same thing about this sight. Now I have and will get one from Brian's store! Again, thanks for the feedback and Happy Holidays, cheers623 DVC