Hi-Power Jack

not from anything ive tried I think you may have hit on the problem - the gun itself is not inherently accurate, IMHO. If you can't find any load (factory or otherwise) that is accurate in your gun, it's the gun. Seems to me that it is not uncommon for factory mass produced pistols to shoot 4-5" groups at 25 yards, and that is the best accuracy they're capable of - One trick might be (very cautiously due to potential overpressure) wouold be to try slightly oversized lead bullets - .357 in a 9mm or .38 super, as an example) -- I always meant to try that, but never did, myself. One other potential problem I've had is that the sights they put on factory guns anymore are too coarse - it is not easy for me to group well with them because the front sight is too wide - for me a narrower front sight is easier to shoot small groups - and the new fiberoptic sights are even more difficult for precision shooting, to me. Good luck, Jack

Primer does not look too flat to me. I just sent my gun off to the gunsmith because of what looked like light hits on the primer - he said it's because the chamber was extremely tight, raised pressures and caused the primer to flow back - looked like a light hit, but wasn't - just the primer flowing back into the indentation.

Years ago (when I couldn't afford it) I remember seeing ads in the gun publications for a Magna Trigger, I think was the name - it required the shooter to wear a magnetized ring to be able to fire a S & W revolver (heard they could do it only with S & W's). Haven't seen the ad lately (now that I can afford it) - anyone know if they're still around? Any feedback re: how effective it is? Thanks, Jack

maybe 4-5 inches at 25 yards.... out of 9 shots....3 or 4 will be sub 2" but then there are always a few that are a bit more scattered...and yeh i made sure the same powder weight and oal etc...although there are likely some variations in bullet weight but they should be minimal. Seems to me it's most likely you or the gun, or your reloads: 1. can you shoot 2-3 inch groups at 25 yards with another pistol? 2. if you can, and it's only this one gun - will the gun shoot 2-3 inch groups at 25 yards with any other ammo? 3. If it's not you or the gun, I'd guess it's the crimp or the belling - either not enough belling, or too much crimp. Can you pull a bullet out of a loaded round and see if it's badly nicked up? (that would be not enough belling or too much crimp). Good luck.

What state are you in? If you're nearby, I'll trade you Remington 115 gr FMJ factory loads round for round - how many rounds do you have?

What sized groups have you been getting?

I tried to send a PM message but inbox is full and can not accept anymore messages. Anyone have a phone number thay can PM me? Thanks Jerry Jerry, Howard's e-mail address is torque@wi.rr.com. Jack

torque@wi.rr.com

Looks like you're spending $610 (If my math is correct) for the 550, and then you're going to have to index the machine and switch back and forth from 9mm to .40 over and over again. For $90 more (if my math is correct) you can buy two Square Deals, set up in each caliber, and not index and not switch calibers??? You might want to throw in a chronograph so you know how fast your reloads are going - unless you have access to one at your club.

I had the same problem on my TruBor, and finally discovered it was a loose screw holding the grip on the gun:(

I've been using MG 115 gr JHP (7 cents each) and they have been very accurate out of my TruBor.

Most likely true for .40 and .45, but when I shoot Remington 115 grain fmj green box ammo, it was exactly 115 gr x 1100 fps - just slightly over 125 pf, and very consistent. I still use it for limited...

If you can buy WW 9mm today for $21/100 you're right - there is very little reason to reload. I have a Dillon SD reloader for 15 years, but when I got back into shooting three years ago, and was shooting only a standard 9mm, which I could buy for either $12 or $16/100 (Remington green box) I not only didn't reload, but I left the brass on the ground ( Now that I'm into open shooting, I dusted off the Dillon SD and am reloading for major (not much of a choice) for about $14/100 (depending on how you estimate the cost of reusing used brass). If you're shooting standard 9mm in a factory gun (not accurized), the only advantage to reloading is the small price difference which can add up if you do a lot of shooting, and I'm not sure you can still buy factory ammo anywhere for $21/100. And, as you said, it costs about $400 to get into reloading, and then it depends on how valuable your time time is - if you're really busy, I made the decision NOT to reload for two years. It's close. If you get into 9mm major or .40 or .45, it's a lot easier decision, since the costs are so much cheaper to reload.

How large is the group you're shooting at 30 yards? If it's larger than 6" x 6" then it's either your or the gun or the ammo. If it's a nice sized consistent group, then it is a different problem - see all the other answers. How large is your group at 18 yards, by the way? Should be less than 4" x 4" if you're doing everything correctly, I would guess?

I used to use a 1911 holster for my BHP, and it almost fits, but couldn't get my natural shooting grip on the gun when it was still in the holster, which meant that I had to draw the gun and then adjust the grip before (or after ) I fired the gun - not very good. Suggest that if speed is important you think of getting a holster specifcally for the BHP (unless Your 1911 holster allows for a full shooting grip on the gun while it's in the holster).

Some ideas that seem to help me: 1. get a Dillon Square Deal for $350 - you can reload 200 rounds in less than one hour 2. Try to shoot more matches per month - depends on where you are, but I try to shoot a match a week (didn't work out too well this year). Get to 2 or 3 larger matches (not local matches, but State or Regional matches). 3. take a course with an IPSC shooter to learn the fundamentals of shooting IPSC - firing 500 rounds a week the wrong way won't improve your shooting. 4. examine your equipment - as I improved my equipment, my rating improved - if you take an IPSC course, you'll see what the better shooters are using, and it all helps - the improvements to the gun, the holster and the mag holders are all slightly important. 5. Disregard almost everything I've just said - I'm a C shooter after years of "improvement" - but I'm still enjoying it, and still learning and improving, slightly each year. Good luck, Jack

Since I can't get WW primers I've tried S&B and Wolf in my 9mm major STI. The S&B don't go bang about 100 times in 250 (I'll try them in my Browning HP when it comes back from the gunsmith)' The Wolf's don't go bang about 1-2 times in 250. So, I'm using the Wolfs:(( Until I can get my hands on some WWs. I haven't tried Magtechs. I believe there was a thread or two about this (Wolf primers, especially) back a month or two ago.

I just had my HP redone by EGW of Pennsylvania, and it now feels great - adjustable sights, bomar barrel, accuracy job, beavertail & magwell. But that cost an awful lot of money, and still has the other problems or disadvantages that I mentioned. If I were to start over, I love my HP, but I'd spend the money on a more modern design to start with. Just my personal opinion.

I guess it's a matter of differently shaped hands, but for me bobbing the hammer makes no difference A far simpler solution, and the one I prefer, is what Novak's did to another Hi-Power for me which was simply to undercut the bottom of the hammer so the portion of metal that once crushed my flesh can't do that because it's simply no longer there. Guess I mispoke - by "bobbing the hammer" I meant "undercutting the bottom of the hammer". Guess we agree. I fired 1,000 rounds one day at a class with my brand new HP, and my flesh was cut pretty badly - even though I put a band aid on after it started bleeding - continued to bite me right through the band aid:(( But, you're right - once the hammer is reshaped, or undercut, I haven't had the problem since.

I've been shooting a Hi-Power for 43 years and there is a lot to like. Now that I've shot some other guns (that were invented long after 1935) I see that there are some serious disadvantages to the Hi-Power vs the new guns: 1. Trigger pull is not very good, and leaving the mag safety on makes it very difficult to improve 2. The gun is "soft" - the metal is softer than new guns, you don't have enough metal on the grip to checker it 3. The hammer bites unless you have it bobbed 4. The new Hi-Power I bought two years ago was not very accurate and the trigger was worse than bad 5. Tough to reload quickly (you wouldn't think it would be with the double stack mags, but front to back is a problem, not the width). 6. If you have large hands, the grip is small which leads to more twisting in your hand when it fires (if you hold the HP and the 1911, the HP feels GREAT - until you fire them both - then the 1911 feels much better 7. It's more money than an Xd or S&W or Glock 8. More parts available/gunsmiths to work on the newer models If I had it to do all over again, I'd look closer into one of the newer firearms, like the Xd or S&W. But, it's all personal.

You didn't mention any specifics re: your ammo - in a mag without spacers, they should be 1.175 " or even a bit longer. That's with MG115 gr JHP. From the photo, it looks like you're using FMJ's? If they are too short, they can jam on you, even in a tuned mag. I went thru this problem for almost a year, and everyone gave me all the suggestions that I see as responses here (and they're all possible), but on my STI TruBor 9mm major, The Problem was one single mag that caused all the jams - haven't had one since I stopped using that one mag.

Most interesting stage I've ever shot was a "blind stage" - just a door, behind which lay the totally unknown. Talk about pressure, and "shoot them as you see them". It caused some problems with taping/pasting, since none of the shooters could peek behind the door before they shot the stage, but it was worth it if you can overcome that one problem.

BEFORE DOING THIS...shoot the gun with out the scope mount and see if the brass is going up or on the side? My STI 9mm major did same thing - after changing the ejector/extractor, etc, I found that it was One of my mags caused all the problems. Haven't had a single problem in the past 8 months since I stopped using that one mag.

Hi-Power Jack, What I hear you saying is that your PF was extremely stable over a 45 degree temperature variance. Am I reading that correctly? If so, that is a GOOD thing. Also, what is your OAL? Your Major-9 load sounds very similar to the one I am using. That's true - pf seems stable from 100 - 55 F - not sure what happens above or below that temp. These were reloaded by someone else for me - he had 115 gr Zero JHP's loaded to 1.145". Work everytime. I'm trying to work up my own load, and trying to get closer to 1.175 so they'll work better in mags without spacers. But, the HS6 seems to me to be stable at the temps I'm using it at.

My 9mm major load (115gr JHP with 8.7 gr HS6) has been clocked at matches at 167 - 168 from 100 F - to 55 F. No change with a major load in this small temperature range.