matt2ace

7.25gr Autocomp, 1.185 OAL, 124 MGD CMJ works great in my 9 major gun. Like CocoBolo I have used both Silhouette and AA7 loads extensively. I like AA7 the best, but IMHO....Autocomp and Silhouette are both pretty close in feel and dot movement. I am sticking with Autocomp for now due to cleanliness. AA7 leaves a lot of residue that I thought was causing feeding problems (actually mag and extractor problems). I will probably return to AA7 (10.2gr, all else same as Autocomp) after the Nationals.

I am happy to get 350-400/hr with my 550 manually loading cases and bullets. I only need to load 500/week to meet my needs for practice and matches. Going faster, IMHO, is a recipe for disaster at a match. I have had to pull enough bullets with questionable powder charges (low, high, or empty) to make me cautious and relatively slow with my reloading.

They are not compatible in my experience. I see no value in the mix/match of these parts. I use both, but never mix parts. Bolen will typically give me 1 or 2 more rounds that Grams parts depending on the magazine and caliber.

I run AA7 as a 9 major load.....10.2gr is a 3/4 full case, which is about the same as my 7.7gr Silhouette and 7.2gr Autocomp loads. It can be dirty, but it is close to N105 in burn-rate.

I am a left eye dominant left-handed shooter. Several right-handed open shooters have used the gun without any change in POI.

That sight has a permanent weaver base. My guns could not be modified for a weaver base on the slide so I got creative with my 90-degree mount and came up with that configuration. I will be trying a slide mount with this sight on a future build.

........There are options out there. 7 min. Dot, Lens is ~1mm smaller than a C-more.

I have had shooters who scored poorly on a classifier, then reshoot it poorly and refuse to pay for the second run (yes, unsportsmanlike behavior). This happened a couple of times which lead to a no-reshoot policy. Shoot it once, take what you get.

No, they all use a diode as the light source. There may be some differences in how they achieve the dot size.

PM'd with Chet....great guy, very sympathetic to the plight of us lefties. Net: They do plan to offer a version for lefties in the future. BTW: Ejection port issue for a right mounted version could be a concern. I will wait to see what Chet comes up with.

Once again.....no joy for us lefties

Opinions on powder vary significantly my Open GM friend says just pick one and shoot you can't tell the difference. Excuse me, I bet I can but that's only because I'm a C class shooter and don't have your skill. Point being its all perception. My main driver in powder is does it feel good, if it does it can be nasty, dirty, hot, and cheap and it don't matter. I have not found a powder that was so dirty that my gun would not run for 500 or more rounds. I concur HS6 is goood for 9 major, I've got some, its dirty but like a smokey film comes right off with Brake cleaner. AA#7 makes HS6 look clean but it is also good. I have been comparing my Silhouette load to AA7 and Autocomp over the past 6 months. The differences in felt recoil and flip, IMHO, are small through my gun (Gan's #12 3-port comp, no barrel holes). AA7 was the softest in my opinion with Autocomp and Silhouette almost indistinguishable. AA7 is definitely way dirty compared to the other two. I am using Autocomp right now, but found I can switch to Silhouette without any perceived difference in my experience. Primers = Wolf SRP OAL = 1.185 AA7 = 10.2, Silhouette = 7.7, Autocomp = 7.2 PF 169-171 for all loads MGD 124gr CMJ

My only comment on stage 6 was that the left side of that wall had a 2x4 right across the lower target upper and lower A-zone requiring a lefty to drop down low to hit the A-zone or take c-hits. I shot it and took my c-hits. However, IMHO that fact does point to another reason why pulling that stage was in the best interest of fairness to all shooters. Shot with a great squad and had a good time with every stage. If only my gun had worked better. Great range staff, they really seemed to be having fun (nice weather helps). The half-day format and palm scoring really kept things moving along.

I had no problem as well...just hit play.

I just watched episode 1 of Cat Sh!t One, an animated series where animals replace humans in combat. This is based on Japanese manga series that starts out in Vietnam through today. Episode one takes place in present day, somewhere in the desert. Rabbits fighting camels.....watch it and believe. http://www.anime44.com/cat-shit-one-episode-1/3 It's sub-titled, but you won't care once you start watching.

Old and New grips both full-size. I have a second gun with about 4K on the aluminum grip without any signs of cracking.

I got a replacement grip after finding cracks on both sides and around the bottom of the trigger guard on my first aluminum grip. That one lasted 7-8K rounds. The new grip already has a 1/2 inch crack on one side after less than 1000 rounds. The crack was not there before this weekend when I shot ~500 rounds between a practice session and a large match. There is a lot of speculation about what STI has done to improve the grip. IMHO, nothing has changed. The fit did seem tighter on this grip than the last. BTW - I love the solid feel and extra weight of the grip. I will replace it again for the cost of shipping to STI (TAT was 7 days on last replacement), once the cracks get longer or I see cracks around the trigger guard.

I focus on elements of the stages....table starts, SH/WH stages, transitions to movers, etc. and try to setup practice sessions that focus more on those skills. As many have posted, stage diagrams are a guide to the layout at the match, it almost always gets adjusted at setup.

Never met the man, but worked with him on a custom sight mount for my gun. A true professional and extremely nice person to deal with. RIP Venry....you will be missed.

I had no problems with mag dimension related fit issues with 3 aluminum grips using STI(Smith), SPS, or SV magazines. I have anodized the grips, but no polishing of any sort inside the magwell. I am not surprised that the problem was magazine dimensions...this seems to be the most common issue for mags with the STI alumimun grips. Glad you are back in service!

Trying removing the magazine catch and see if they move freely in the grip. If they do, you need to refit the catch. I had to refit my mag catch on one aluminum grip. Also, Check the dimensions of the mags that fit and don't. IF the above does not work, this may be the problem.

The simplest formula for opens gun: Lighter bullets + more powder = better working comp. Now, you still need to figure out what works best with your gun/barrel/comp combination. Most opens shooters are using between 115-125gr bullets. What you want is to get the comp working such that the recoil is directly back with a little flip as possible. Get some 124gr bullets and compare them to 147gr loads, you will feel the difference immediately. Keep the OAL under 1.15 (limited due to the mags).

There is a thread on this..... I just had one replaced (TAT 8 days) at 6-7K, the other is fine at 4k. I understand that STI has improved the design. Replacement only cost me the shipping.

Sounds like you want the narrow grip. I use the full size grip for both guns, it is equivalent to an unmodified polymer grip. I am using true grip as well.

If you have never shot an 'upright' C-more configuration, then (IMHO) side-mount is the way to go from the start. The advantages are outlined in many postings (search). Those that do not like the side-mount generally fall into 2 camps(IMHO). 1. Right-handed shooters that find problems with thumb impacting the C-more. 2. Those that simply find the 'upright' configuration works fine for them. Group number 2 will give many reasons why they like the upright or don't like the side-mount. I advocate whatever configuration works best for each shooter....same goes for iron sights. However,you need to TRY it before assuming it is not better!