joshua

I have a RCBS powder measure and I didn't even keep Tite Group powder in the powder hopper for 12 hours and the flakes of powder were sticking to hopper where it had contact. First I thought it was static then when I tried to scrape it off with a piece of paper it was stubborn enought to where I had to use a piece of plastic rod to dislodge it. Of course I didn't get all of it off and two days later I was gonna use a different powder and realized I didn't get all the Tite group off, so I decided to use the same soft plastic rod technique to get it off. Nope, it was fused to the plastic. I had to use something harder to knock most of it off then I went ahead and scrubbed the hopper with a scouring pad with dishwashing soap. Anyone else had this problem? josh

I was at a gun show today and went to a table that has those sights, they cost $79 and I believe their website is "tacticalguns.com", I've checked it and the website is kind of sorry. They are based in AZ and the guy at the other side of the table said those sights have a lifetime warranty as long as you don't physically break the darn thing such as dropping/stomping on the ground or by other means including chemicals. Hmmmm... if that's the case then that's is the best darn warranty for an electronic sight. The ones they had on display had a round hud and a square one like what you posted except the dials were numbered up to 11. Your gun will need a weaver type mount and hopefully the slots spaced out just right for the sight because those screws don't slide front and back the sight. The frame of the sight were made of zytel (what the guy said) and the dots were bright enough, but the lens had too much glare specially the square lights on the ceiling made it worst. I tried to see if a glare blocker might work by placing my fingers around the module but the guy thought I was dumb cuz he said, "Yeah the light comes from that area of the sight" Well duh!... Anyway, they had other similar sight that were made of aluminum too, a lot heavier than the plastic, I mean zytel ones. If anyone decides to spend the 79 bucks plus shipping to check these out then please let us know how they are.

Go ahead and load the .356 bullets, but still bring some of those .355 loads and have someone you know, that can shoot an SV/S+I type of 1911 really good, shoot it for a couple of groups. I got used to the grip on my Caspian hi-caps and when I shot my Para Limited gun (square feel on the grip) my groups weren't anything to brag about. But now, I can shoot 2 to 3 inch groups at 25 yards with it off hand. Go figure... sometimes it takes a while before we get the right grip on the gun. If there is some horizontal or vertical play with the hammer being in the down position, then maybe the barrel is worn. With our open guns, if the lugs are that beat up I can only think how beat up the lead on the rifling of the barrel-that's if the last owner took care not to drop the slide on an empty chamber every time he dry fires. You might also need to check the comp if the bullets are hitting it, if the comp was locked in place with locktite it might be out of alignment, I usually use cold weld or JB weld to lock the comp in place then have a comp reamer ran through it just to make sure. I had an open gun that had a long comp, and will have accuracy problems when the gun heats up. I had the comp reamed 2x and it checked out fine. Kept having lousy accuracy when the gun heats up specially during the summer. I ended up replacing the comp on that open gun and all of the sudden my groups were more consistent even with the gun running hot. I think the old comp had some type of memory in the metal and when the comp heated up it sprung just slightly just to know the bullet out of course. Keep investigating and experimenting. josh

I also use TG for my para 40 with a tungsten guide rod. It is snappy for me but I am using 155 LRN, I'm still tinkering with the heavy bullets in the TCFN and the recoil seem soft, just darn things aren't reliable in my unramped barrel. Yes I said un-ramped. You think I'm playing with dragons using heavy bullets and fast burning powder?

How many different types of handloads have you tried through your open gun. Don't get depressed if you only tried one load and it gave you 4" at the mentioned range. I have 2 open guns, the Limcat top end gun (2nd top end on one of my frame) printed 1" at 50 yards for 5 shots, and 19 rounds out of one mag shot at slow pace benched went to a ragged 2" group. Nice accuracy with .3565 or .357 38 super bullets at 115 grain type. If I try to shoot .355 bullets with the same powder load I will get 4 to 5 inch groups at 50 yards, still not bad right? But it proves that a certain gun will favor certain loads. Try a different bullet or powder, brass combo before you get dismayed. Is the gun still built tight. josh

The sear spring does have an effect on the trigger pull, remember that it's job is to reliably work the disconnector thus resetting the sear. If you have it pushing too heavy the harder the disconnector head pushes up on the slide and trigger bow. Reliably also applies on the sear spring. Get them too light and you can have hammer follow that will sure damage those expensive sear and hammer. josh

I have a very good condition STI 140mm tube for para p16 with the stock STI follower and spring and willing to trade for same condition Para 140mm tube with stock Para follower and spring. The STI tube works great in my Para p16 limited gun, it's just that I have mostly para mags and would like to have them looking they all belong in the same flock. Josh

I haven't seen a hi cap open gun in 38 super feeding rounds with cartridge oal over 1.270. If you want to be competitive in this sport you will need to roll your own. I think the US Army shooting team gets their loaded for them by some outfit, I can't recall the name.

There are actually 3 different types of Caspian hi-cap frames. First generation (crack prone) has a big rectangular gapping holes through the grip strap's side. The welded 1st gen frame have solid plates welded into place where the gapping hole use to be. The 2nd gen has a square trigger guard with only round holes through the side of the grip strap. Most mags made for the 2nd gen are a little too big for the 1st gen frames, don't worry a little precise squeezing on a vise and tapping with a rubber mallet will cure the high spots. josh

Are you talking 1st gen or 2nd gen Caspian Hi-cap? The old 1st gen triggers had aluminum trigger bows and didn't last very long. I use one with a steel bow that's been grounded down some to take some weight off it. The EGWs do look great specially if you have long fingers. Caspian hi-caps are the best ergonomically designed hi caps, too bad the 1st gen had problems with cracking. Nice to hear from another Caspian hi-cap driver. Too bad Caspian Arms just doesn't give us shooters the full support like S+i, SV and Para does. josh

How much of a standard round steel plate is covered by the dot when your 25 paces away? I've tried the 12min dot before and it is great for those fast rat-tat-tat close in targets but with the steel plates at 20 and beyond it is too big, specially when they paint the plates red. I suppose it's just a matter of getting used to. josh

I won't be able to concentrate on the targets.

You will need more than a Dremmel tool. In fact, don't keep thinking of too many ways to use your Dremmel tool on your gun because it'll will get you in trouble and will need a trip to the real gunsmith. To fit a barrel you will need to square the rear lug where it contacts the breach face, I mean square and no light showing (hard to do with a dremmel). You will need a barrel fitting jig to keep the barrel in place in the slide when you are ready to fit the upper and lower lugs. High quality files (med and fine) will come in handy doing the upper lugs. Now the lower lugs you will need a Wilson lug cutter or a mill with the correct size bit to cut the lower lugs square to the slide stop. You will know when you fitted the barrel correctly - you will feel friction at 1/8" before full lock up, the barrel will unlock when fired (link size), the lower lugs will not get dinged after a few firing or shear off. And of course you'll get match grade accuracy if all is well with the manufacturing of the barrel. It's a very tedious process to do correctly. If you feel up to it then go for it. goodluck. josh

Rufus the bum, could you please share your source of cheap 40 brass with me? I use to get range brass for free-well not really because I have to pay the 8 dollar fee to get in. But it seems I'm not the only one picking up the brass anymore because there is not much left on the ground for me to pick up. I think the rangemaster is selling it now. oh well

6 minute, but if I ever win the lottery I'll order 2 identical guns for each class of shooting dicipline, i.e., IPSC, steel challenge. One with 8 or 10 minute and the other a 4 minute.

Hard chroming will help it a little, why do you think they hard chrome the barrels of M-16s, except for corrosion control? Errosion of the barrel lead due to sustained firing.

Got 2 of the promag 10 round mags but haven't been able to use them because the base pads have too much material preventing full insertion in my Para with a Dawson aluminum mag well. Looks like major reduction is needed on the sides of the basepads. The spring in the mags are skinny like the ones used in 9/40 1911 single stack mags. The follower seems to look good and should feed well. I think the mag bodies are painted with teflon. Will post again once I get them modified so I can use them in my limited gun. josh

I got chronoed today at a Limited/production match today and my load, 4.9 grains of TG with 155 hardcast round nose semi wadcutter loaded to 1.150 oal had an average of 1104 fps. 4.7 grains of TG would have been really close and I like a cushion just to be safe when the chrono is on. The load makes the gun just a tad sharp on recoil but the front sight with fiber optic is very trackable. I kind of want to experiment with 200 grainer, but my gun doesn't like any bullets with flat point. Where can I get 40 cal 200 grain round nose semi wadcutter? Josh

I just started shooting my limited gun. I'm actually shooting an unramped barrel in my Para. As long as I stay away from the 35k psi then I think I'll be ok to play. I will try 5 grains of Titegroup since I'm shooting lead and that for sure will make major, the barrel had been clocking fast for any load given from the book. I am experimenting at the same time with 180 grainers too, I'll post once I chrono and give a verdict on what is good for me-I tend to like soft shooting loads instead of the harsh blast and snappy slide. Might take me a while to post it though. Josh

I was thinking 4.7 grains of Titegroup with 155 hard cast bullet will make 165 pf no problem. Any inputs?

Thanks for the info. I should've known that since I shoot a Caspian Hicap. I ordered a couple of promag for my para and I will post my experience here once I start using them in club matches. josh

It's probably the hybrid ports requiring the extra grains of powder. I forgot about how much porting goes on barrels nowadays. Josh

8.5 grains of VV N350 and it's only breaking 165 PF. You must have many holes on your barrel and must be the commander length type. I make old major (with lots of cushion that I know I'll make major anywhere in the US) with just 8 grains of N350. Have you checked your powder measure to see if it's constant with it's throw? josh

If it's really bothering you then, like Duane Thomas said get the ejection port scalloped. Also you can play around with the length and cut of the ejector. josh

I too miss the Win Action Pistol powder. Too bad they dropped it, I can't believe Winchester will do such a thing because that powder was just getting into heavy use by IPSC shooters. I think the demand is not as much as their sales in WSF. Well I happen to have an old reloading data for WAP from Winchester. The data is the same as what they are posting in Ramshot for the Silhouette powder, same weight in bullets and loads and exact pressure listing. Hmmmm, me thinks kimosave is right. Josh