David Sinko

Actually the gun that broke the extractor is an AEV series that I bought used. It was allegedly an old law enforcement trade-in. It had already been sent back to the factory for the slide modification prior to my buying it; I had forgotten about those 90 degree extractors, as this gun already had the upgraded one. All the spare parts that I have will go into this gun so that it remains completely stock. I guess I'll upgrade my later and more heavily used model with the newer extractor parts. I have a good quantity of heavier handloads, which are 225 and 230 gr. bullets at what I estimate are close to 900 FPS. They are mostly for practice in my 625 carry guns, but my 21s shoot them nicely with the Bar-Sto barrel. At first I was thinking that the 19 lb. recoil spring would be better for these, but now I think I'll just stay with the original springs. Yesterday my second 21 misfired again with both my handloads and a factory load, using all stock springs. This has never happened before, so I guess it's time to change that striker spring with a factory strength replacement. I no longer shoot Production with my 21s so using all stock springs should keep things very simple for me. Dave Sinko

I have two Glock 21s which are early production. I just discovered that one has a chipped extractor (though it still extracts perfectly). When I buy a new extractor, I presume I'll get a later version the so-called loaded chamber indicator. Will it be necessary to buy a new spring and spring loaded bearing to ensure proper function? I am inclined to believe that the new extractor will not be compatible with the older parts. One of my 21s uses a Wolff guide rod and 19 lb. recoil spring for heavier loads. The recoil spring came with an extra power firing pin spring which I did not install. Today I had two misfires at the range, and that has never happened before. Is it possible that the heavier recoil spring combined with the stock firing pin spring can cause misfires? I looked for the extra power firing pin spring and discovered that it fell out of the packet and is mixed with some other reduced power springs. Am I correct in assuming that there is no way to tell them apart just by looking at them? Dave Sinko

I have a 2" 940 and I carry it every day. I shoot it a lot too. Nowadays most high performance 9mm ammo is better than the vast majority of factory loaded so-called +P or +P+ .38 Special. In a 2" barrel and with proper handloads, the 9mm doesn't give up much if anything to the best .38 Special loads, including Buffalo Bore's esteemed .38 +P load. It is a bit heavy for a pocket gun but I don't mind the extra weight. Moonclipped 9mm reloads are faster and less bulky than .38 Special in speedloaders. The moonclips are as thick as .45 ACP moonclips, which means they don't bend when carried in a pocket. People are paying a lot of money for these revolvers, but I don't know if they buy them to actually use them or just hide them in a safe. Mine is definitely a keeper. If I had the money, I'd buy that 3" 940 in a heartbeat. Then I'd take it to Pinnacle and have him shorten the cylinder and screw the barrel in deeper and make it a 2" gun. I don't know if he has ever done this to a 940, but I figure it can be done. Oh yeah, and 9mm CAN extract properly and easily from a revolver cylinder, provided S&W takes the time to make everything right. Dave Sinko

It looks like Shotgun now has its own division at the PSA Shootout and is no longer just a side match. This match is all falling steel to include plate racks, poppers and whatever else they can think of. I have done it a few times but never with a shotgun. Is there any particular strategy involved when shotgunning lots of falling steel targets that are relatively close together? I figure some of these targets will be close enough that one blast will take down at least two. Am I correct in this assumption? What's the best way to shoot lots of steel targets of varying size that are relatively close together? Any insight will be appreciated. Dave Sinko

Do you know the dimensions of the XD/Sig dovetail, if they are in fact the same? Is there such a thing as a "standard" dovetail cut, or are they all different? Another option is to simply remove the rear sight and use the milled channel as a crude "fixed sight." In this case I would not need a tall front sight. I intend to shoot this revolver A LOT (match use too) and was initially expecting to go with adjustable sights, but I'll be using bullets in the 230 to 255 gr. weight range. Experience has taught me that I can probably get away with a single sight setting so a fixed rear might be worth considering. Can anybody tell me if the Cylinder & Slide fixed rear sits lower than the S&W adjustable sight? Dave Sinko

Thanks for the info. It looks like I'll be going with Dawson then. Dave Sinko

I just had a 2" barrel installed on a standard S&W 625 frame with adjustable rear sight. The gunsmith is having trouble finding a front sight that is tall enough to properly regulate the sights. Who makes the tallest dovetail ramp front sight? The original dovetail cut is small and can be modified as necessary. I'd settle for an unfinished blank if necessary. Dave Sinko

I used a Model 21 for a while and will probably go back to it in 2011, considering many shooters will be using that "other" design to celebrate some big anniversary. My suggestion is to just leave the gun alone and do nothing to it. Like some other shooters, I had begun to experience some pitting around the firing pin hole of my first Model 21. This was probably my own fault for not properly balancing the spring weights and then using some bullets that were a bit on the heavy side. I just bought a very early castaway police trade in that nobody wanted. I got it for a steal and I'm going to leave it completely stock. As for ammo, I use mostly cast bullets and have had flawless reliability with the 200 gr. RF, a bullet meant for the cowboy action shooters and their .45 Colts. I avoid any and all bullets that have any hint of a sharp shoulder, such as the 200 gr. SWC and even some 230 gr. RN., depending on the mold it came out of. I have found that the second from last round will consistently fail to extract from both of my guns if the bullet has any kind of lip. Any smooth RN bullet should give you no problems whatsoever. Dave Sinko

For a while I used a Glock 21 with a Bar-Sto barrel. I had the best success with commercial cast 200 gr. RF bullets meant for the cowboy action shooters. Clays worked the best. Regarding cast bullets and the Glock, I found that I needed to use a bullet with a completely smooth profile. The 200 gr. SWC also fed flawlessly but the second from last round in the magazine would consistently cause extraction problems when the fired case bumped into the sharp shoulder of the bullet that was waiting to be fed. It must've been something about the angle of that second last round in a Glock magazine. I never had that or any other problem with the RF for thousands of rounds fired. I never cared for 230 gr. bullets at Minor PF in the .45 ACP. Dave Sinko

Yes, it was an excellent match. It's clear that a lot of effort went in to it. I heard some shooters complaining about the lack of six shot neutrality and I was gonna shoot Retro but my "new" eight shooter is more useful so I went with that instead. As for the lack of attendance, I was surprised to see the low Retro turnout. I know there are lots of local shooters who have six shot revolvers but they don't want to shoot ICORE. I had planned on shooting just for fun (which would be cheaper) but was informed at the match that the fee is $55. Maybe this had been announced previously or I just wasn't paying attention, but I'm sure there are those who would complain about the cost of admission. Considering the prize table and what was available to those of us who did not do so great I will not be complaining about the match fee. This was the only major match of any kind that I had time to shoot this year so I'm just happy to be there. We recently lost one local USPSA club and word is we will soon lose another, so I know I'll shoot ICORE whenever I can. Dave Sinko

I have reloaded Boxer primed S&B and Wolf steel .223 cases. I reloaded some numerous times and never had any problems. Generally speaking steel does not have to be trimmed after the first firing and the primer pockets need not be reamed, and this saves a lot of time. I make sure the once fired stuff is not rusty and then use it at lost brass matches. Maybe they should be called lost steel matches? Reloading Boxer primed aluminum cases is a bit more iffy and should be done only in an emergency, which is not a USPSA match. Dave Sinko

I don't know about the 75 gr. A-Max but I cut the tips off the 80 gr. A-Max and they feed just fine through my magazines. Accuracy is not exactly spectacular but then again I'm using a 1:9 twist which isn't supposed to work at all. Dave Sinko

Starline .45 Winchester Magnum brass will readily snap into conventional .45 ACP moonclips. If your .45 Colt revolver has been moonclipped to shoot .45 ACP, it will probably also be able to chamber and fire .45 Win. Mag. Of course you will want to use reduced handloads and NOT factory ammo. I don't think this is a good idea with an N Frame but I have always believed that a Redhawk properly built and chambering .45 Winchester Magnum in moonclips would have great potential. Dave Sinko

Back when IDPA was invented I used a .45 Colt Redhawk Alpine Conversion. I had this revolver made by Hamilton Bowen before Ruger made any .45 Colt Redhawks, let alone one with a 4" barrel. At the time I was using it for concealed carry and figured it would be a good fit with IDPA. My standard load consisted of 8.8 grs. of 231 with a 255 gr. cast bullet, for 240 PF. I shot it very well and I still feel that to this day I can not shoot my 625s with full power loads as well as I shot that Redhawk. The biggest problem is finding good speedloaders and speedloader holders. Dave Sinko

I have used most of the brass that's out there except Starline. Possibly the best out there is Buffalo Bore, which uses small rifle primers and I think is headstamped .45-70 Magnum. Sometimes I load this for a friend of mine. I can not say that any one brand is noticeably worse than another. Modern brass is all good stuff. I have heard that the rim dimensions of R-P brass are slightly different and if your carrier is worn the R-P brass will cause stoppages before any other brand. I use mostly R-P and have not had any problems. I have found that the best powder for velocity is IMR 4198. I have loaded bullets up to and including 540 grs. for my 1895GS. If I had to pick just one powder, it would be IMR 4198. I also use XMP5744 for reduced loads with 405 gr. bullets and Winchester 231 with various handgun bullets from a single round ball to .45 Colt handgun bullets. My rifle shoots everything very well, even bullets as undersized as .452". I have found that the biggest problem with Marlin .45-70 rifles is varying chamber dimensions. I have loaded for five Marlins and some of them have short chambers. Some of the wider LBT bullets can't be chambered in some of the rifles yet function fine in others. I suggest you trim your brass every single time you load it and if the round won't chamber be aware that you could have a small or tight chamber. The best bullet I have found that chambers in all rifles is the 460 gr. WFN, which I believe is from Cast Performance. Dave Sinko

The brass isn't being resized down far enough? What am I supposed to do, grind away the bottom of the die to make it work properly? I have used two RCBS dies, one regular and one small base. At first the brass chambered fine after being sized by either and then eventually loaded rounds wouldn't chamber no matter which was used. And why would empty resized brass chamber fine and then not chamber after a bullet has been seated? I have been loading .223 and 7.62x39 and have brass that has been loaded many times for each of these cartridges. So why should the .308 be different? Dave Sinko

I believe that most of the problems here can be attributed to handloaded ammunition that is loaded into brass with thick necks. The small base sizing die will not cure this problem. To see if this is the problem that is afflicting your handloads, take a case that has been fired a few times, resize it in your nice, new small base sizing die and then drop it into the chamber. Fits perfectly, doesn't it? Now seat a bullet into that case and see if it chambers. It doesn't want to chamber or it's tight? Well, only one thing has changed. The neck has expanded slightly to accommodate the bullet. Right there is your problem. Does your rifle shoot factory ammo just fine? That's a clue. Does your rifle chamber your handloads using new, unfired brass? If so, that's another clue. If your brass has been fired even once out of an unknown chamber, there is a good chance that you will have problems with your handloads. I am a cheapskate and I never had any problems with range brass or brass that friends had given me until I bought and loaded for a semiauto .308, both the M1A and LR308. I owned the M1A and that rifle was hell on brass. It's just the nature of the beast. If I had known that before I bought it, I never would've bothered. If you must use once fired brass, I suggest something that has been fired out of a bolt action. LC is generally acknowledged to be the best, and if you can't or do not want to afford a constant supply of it, you're probably going to have lots of nightmares. I have a lot of twice and thrice fired .308 brass that doesn't fit into any .308 chamber I care to try once a bullet has been seated in it. The good news is I can convert it to .300 Savage and then it works just fine in my Model 99 lever action. So... does anybody make a good semiauto .300 Savage that I can use for Multigun? Dave Sinko

All my shooting so far is at only 100 yards. I cut the tips off the bullets out of necessity so that they'd fit into the magazine. I don't do any long range target shooting so the idea of single loading extremely long cartridges has no appeal to me. Actually, I did load one bullet with the tip intact and seated deep enough to fit the magazine. That was the only bullet that made a hole that appeared to be slightly oblong. I realize this effort may have little value other than letting me know that my rifle can shoot an 80 gr. bullet in a pinch with fair short range accuracy if nothing else is available. Dave Sinko

I recently bought a box of 80 gr. A-Max to shoot out of my DPMS carbine which has a 1:9 twist. By all accounts this isn't supposed to work very well, as the twist is too slow. To get the rounds to cycle through the magazine I cut off the plastic tips of the bullets and loaded them so they barely fit. I used four different powders and the best results were clearly with Varget. I got a 4" group that shot right where the sights were looking (for all intents and purposes about 1" lower than my 55 gr. load) and every load produced nice round holes. One group with a different powder was about 12", but even that gave me nice round holes. I know that 4" groups are nothing to brag about, but I was expecting the holes to be out of round or even sideways. So, just how "stable" are these bullets? Obviously they are hitting point first, but what happens after that? What happens when they hit meat? Will they tumble immediately on impact? Or do they still penetrate in a straight line, the only result being that they are not spinning fast enough to achieve tight grouping? On the other hand, I shot some 35 gr. bullets out of a 1:7 twist and got excellent accuracy. I didn't expect that either. Just how "stable" were these bullets? When referring to "stability" and rifling twist, do we mean in terms of accuracy or terminal ballistics? Dave Sinko

Be advised that the Mini-14 is also hard on brass. My brother's department has a few Minis and they are prone to separating the Black Hills remanufactured ammo. I don't know if Black Hills uses brass that has been shot out of a SAW, but when he gave me his brass I noticed what looked like a few pieces of .38 Super Comp. It was actually 5.56 that had been cut cleanly in half. Some other cases had the bright ring around the case and and a few were right on the verge of separation. Their AR-15 type rifles don't do this with the same ammo. It might be that they just have one particularly bad Mini that is prone to doing this, but does the Mini not operate just like an M-14 or M1A? They are notorious brass eaters too. Maybe you want to avoid any brass that you know has been shot out of a Mini. Dave Sinko

What is best (or should I say what works at all?) if you have to fire a 16" barrel rifle or shotgun within the confines of an enclosed area? Dave Sinko

We use Remington 55 gr. Power-Lokt for duty ammo. I don't know if this uses the Benchrest primer, but so far they are holding up to a lot of abuse without any problems. Dave Sinko

I'd be more concerned with the fit of the primer in the pocket instead of the propensity for a slam fire. Federal primers are noted for not giving the tightest fit (especially if you're using Federal's soft brass) and you're more likely to experience gas leaking around the primer than you are a slam fire, at least with primers that are seated to the proper depth. I use CCI Small Rifle primers and I segregate the rounds where the primers are high. I practice with these and have never experienced a slam fire. The patrol rifle issue is another good point. My department has been doing the patrol rifle thing for over a year now and we have about six rifles that we all share. We have not yet had reason to shoot anybody or anything, but rounds have been chambered MANY times. Many of the rounds on the top of the magazine are suffering from obvious bullet setback, dented shoulders and even worn rims. And of course the dimpled primers. Most patrolmen can not grasp the inherent dangers of chambering the same round two or 50 times and will continue to do so until we have a problem. In spite of all the ignorance and various disaster factors, we have not yet had a problem. I carry my own magazine with ammo that only I use, so I don't plan to be a part of the problem, but this all goes to show just how reliable the platform really is under less than ideal conditions. Dave Sinko

I recently sold my SOCOM 16 mostly due to the sheer frustration of reloading for it. My advice is that you buy a small base sizing die. The M14 variations are definitely brass eaters, and LC brass is the most desireable in this rifle. Unfortunately, I never had much LC brass, and I refuse to pay for my brass. I used mostly FC (which is probably the worst and might've led to most of my problems) and had all kinds of short stroking and ejection problems. I suspect the necks got thick very quickly, since sized brass would fit into the chamber very easily but loaded rounds often would not. Most recommendations are that you load LC brass no more than twice, then throw it away as it will already be worn out. Follow powder burning rate and bullet weight recommendations very carefully or you will run into big problems. My rifle always fired the first hand cycled round nowhere near the rest of the group, which was very aggravating. Even the rifles built on very expensive forged LRB receivers are known to have this problem; it's just the nature of the beast. On the plus side, mine would feed every shape of bullet that I fed it, and that was everything from 90 gr. XTP to 110 gr. RN to all manner of cast bullets. I never had problems with the relatively small amount of factory ammo I shot through it, but unless the brass was perfect there was hell to pay with my reloads. It was just too much aggravation for me. Dave Sinko

The post on mine is approximately 3.25" long before it begins to taper. I use mine for concealed carry more than anything else. It will easily carry two reloads of .45 ACP and .38 Special securely enough for most situations. Dave Sinko