joshua

I'm sorry I don't have a shotgun set up for 3 gun yet but my bolt rifles and semi-auto rifle should be good and ready to go. Sorry for the bad background. josh

I hope the pictures comes out. I finally got the time to install the C-More on my other Caspian open gun. I only had to drill and tap 4 holes since I made use of one hole per side on the existing weigand hole pattern on the frame. It worked out fine, I did get a little nervous when I thought one hole wasn't lined up. BUT, it did and looks like I'm headed for the range tomorrow for a sight in. Both pistols are 38 Supers but I currently have my main gun (the one with the front serrations) tuned for Supercomp. Thanks for looking. josh

I was a stubborn tyro way back and I was given advice not to chrome my Caspians and Para. I did not listen and went ahead and had my Caspians chromed. Result was one of them cracking by the trigger bow area of the frame and thank god JV Dynamics fixed it. No one else in the west coast would touch it except for them. It's still shooting major loads, I was adviced not to over do it. Hmmmm... maybe I should listen this time. josh

I just experimented with this, "tempered steel memory" thing. I heated one up and dropped it in ice cold water. Not very good, I think you have to bend it in a clamp and keep it clamped during the heating and rapid cooling process. Not very practical. josh

I'd second bompa on this one. I have the 40 metalform mags I purchased from Dillon Precision years ago and they are engaging the slide stop no problem - that's because I installed a 38 super slide stop. When I was shooting Limited 10 with my single stack 40 (actually more like limited 8), I had a deactivated 45 slide stop in there just to prevent the slide from locking. Since I'm just reserving that pistol as defense piece now, I added the 38 super slide stop to tell me the pistol is empty. josh

9Major-Caspian, The mag availability was the problem. The problem was mentioned quite a few times to the Caspian Arms, but they still kept their stand on selling tubes only if you have a damaged tube to send them. I personally asked the same question during a major match years ago and they gave me the same answer. I was mumbling, "I should've went with S+I or SV instead..." while walking away from the Caspian/Schuemann display table. Craig Ltd was highly involved in promoting Caspian guns, I don't really know if he is still doing it though. josh

Nice work, I do my own Caspians also less barrel fitting and blending in the comp. Why did you go with a titanium Briley comp? I use to have Briley comps but the exit holes are way too big for the bullet diameter. BTW, I'm starting to see more and more Caspian hi-caps, did Gary have a sale or something?

Wow! Lots of good advice here. I think I will need a lathe for fitting a different barrel. No wonder Dan Wesson went with their own type of barrel assembly design. Makes sense and maybe even cheaper to produce because the barrel shroud, barrel and nut are just straight up machining and the fitting is done when the frame-barrel assembly-cylinder is assembled. Wouldn't it be nice to have a S&W model 66 with a Dan Wesson type barrel assemby? You know I forgot why I didn't get a Dan Wesson, the trigger is not even near a S&W's, and everytime you take the barrel off and replace it you have to sight it in again before shooting a match. Thanks again for all the great info. josh

Erik, Dan Ruff is a very good man, he built pretty guns with reliability and accuracy. I like his guns, they looked lean and mean. Do you know what is he doing now? josh

If you are trying to get some accuracy by forcing the barrel lugs up into the slide lugs via a longer link then you may just get the added accuracy, but only for a short time. A properly fitted 1911 barrel for accuracy and reliability needs properly fitted bottom lugs to the slide stop, top lugs need to fit correctly in the slide lugs, a proper length link, and last but not the least the barrel hood should fit just right into the breach face area. A properly fitted barrel will not keep it's accuracy after so many rounds fired through the gun, so why do you think a longer link would help any? If that longer link ends up stopping the cycling instead of the barrel and frame then you are asking for a link to break. It's been mentioned, get the barrel lugs welded up and refitted or just get a brand new barrel and have that fitted to your slide. It's not worth dickering with the link. josh

Been a while since I've seen Dan Ruff's guns anywhere where IPSC is done. Too bad Dan quit doing smithing. Cool guns. About the green grip, are you sure it wasn't Kermit that was carrying it when you whooped the owners butt?

Nice looking piece there. Hey at least when the link broke you looked cool doing it with such a nice looking shiny gun Give the guy a break, because all this bad tripping won't do any good. The problem should be a quick fix, I had a gun with the same type of problem and the gunsmith couldn't figure it out. I learned what the problem was and solved it with the correct link and a bit light filing. josh

Nice Glocspian or Casplock! Really, it looks nice. Would that pistol still considered legal to shoot in a Glock match, if so what category will it be classified in? Hmmm... josh

First time I'm going to be doing this and hopefully it will be a success. Remember the first time you had that 1911 on the kitchen table and the Dremmel in your hand is screaming to be used to fit that grip safety? Well, seems like it's easy enough to see where to turn the barrel to take it off. That is if the barrel is a right turn rifling then the threads must be turn right also to remove, do I have the correct mind set here? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Any other tips in removing a barrel please send it my way and it will be deeply appreciated. josh

With all the years I've been playing around with 1911s I still haven't had to use the longest link available from Wilson Combat. In fact I still have it in my parts bin just in case that very barrel slide frame combo calls for it. You will have problems with the unlocking if the link is too long. Hopefully you'll know how to check for it before firing it so you don't end up tearing up the top lugs of the barrel, or the slide lugs. Goodluck. josh

According to guns and gear of the open race gun nationals, it looks like Limcat was first to be mentioned.

Yup, I'm also having a b!+c# of a time loading that 10th round. I think glock made it so the gun is a real 10 shot - 9+1 in the the spout. I don't think it's the spring that is the problem, I use to have the 13 rounders and the springs are about the same. I think it's the extra material that they molded in the plastic to prevent them from breaking the 10 round post-ban rule Kind of like those 10 round mags for guns originally designed to take hi-cap clips. I'm only thinking right now without actually opening the gun safe to inspect the mags, but once I get home I will open one up to see if my "thinking" is right. josh - "meroonkatapatkana"

It's a coin toss when buying standard extractors. Some say they use only quality steel but some are just P.O.S. steel. I've bought Ed Browns and Wilsons, they are holding up very well, the only extractory I had to replace was a Caspian 38 super that just lost it's clamping power after about 12k rounds. Make sure the firing pin stop is a well fitted EGW oversized. josh

Not too many gunsmiths that specialize in IPSC. Most pistol smiths in the Bay Area are charging way too much for simple work, specially when it requires machine labor. Johnny Lim at Limcat.com is a bay area local but his shop is in Reno. Email or call him and see what he can do for you, he does great work. josh

Ha, Ha, Ha... I wonder if his butt makes that FAX initialization sound?

I suppose if you fire the 38tj in a 9x23 chamber it will strecth out to those specs. That will explain why some range pick-up 38supercomp brass will superface with my 38super dies when I resize them. One of my open gun is reamed to 9x23 chamber and my 38supercomp and 38 super brass will not last more than 3 firings. Hmmmm... I suppose I need to get some 9x23 dies to get more firings out of those brass fired through that one gun. The gun is so reliable, it will feed superfaced 38super brass. josh

That's weird, I use the same set up to load 38tj and 38 supercomp using 9mm shellholder. My load for my 38 supercomp is 7.8 grains of Ramshot Silhouette capped with 125 Montana gold and Starline supercomp brass, that makes 168 pf with my Limcat turbo II comp and no blowholes. Using the same setup but with 38tj brass I will get 50 to 70 fps faster over the chrony. Those were brass I picked up at the range and they look like they have been fired at least 2x or 3x. 38tj are very similar to 38 MCM brass, they behave exactly the same over the chrony. josh

I personally don't shoot the 9x25, but I have shot one in a 5.5 comped open gun that someone was shooting over a chrony once. The gun with 180 pf loads utilizing 115 grain bullets was sure loud, specially with a 10 port comp that had 4 chambers with vertical ports and 3 sideports each side of the comp. The gun was annoyingly loud that made my dental fillings felt like they were going to pop out. After about 10 rounds I decided to hand it back to it's rightful owner. The loads he had that day were screaming, he had some that clocked at 1800 fps and the most exciting part was the compensator actually had powder burning in the expansion chambers. It sounded as the gun was doing quick double taps. Anyway, with a 5" barrel you may still be able to churn up 1700 fps, but if you are shooting an unsupported barrel be advice you may have to back off on those hot rod loads. josh

Depending on the cost of the conversion you're better off getting a Buckmark. I got 2 of them, one with a tasco pro point and the other with just plain iron sights. One for open and the other for limited practice. Drawbacks are, triggers aren't the same as my raceguns, and the girth of the grips are totally skiny than my Caspian high caps. I think it helps me out economically and learning trigger control. josh

Thanks for the info Turbocomp38S. C-More have always been slow in answering my questions. I already have 2 C-mores and I still can't get an answer from them. Thanks again.