Hi-Power Jack

For $99 at Sears, I worked with an optician who gave me a compromise - clear front sight, and fairly clear out to about 15 feet - little fuzzy at very near distance, and beyond 15 feet, but that's what I shoot with now and it really helps. I can't see the bullet holes past 6 yards or so (9mm) but the sights look good, and I can see the target fairly well. Jack

I faced the same problem last year, trying to decide if I wanted to get into Limited, Production or Open division. Deciding on the caliber (9mm, 9mm major, .38 super. .40, etc). And I spent six months trying to find out info on it all - this forum really helped a great deal - more than any other source of info - at the end of the six months I bought a new STI TruBor in 9mm caliber, that would shoot either 9mm or 9mm major. Got some STI mags, tuned, and had a blast. But, in the past year, I've learned an awful lot about this - totally different type of shooting than shooting a Glock - but an awful lot of fun. I'd suggest you pass on this particular gun, and take more time to figure out what you'd like to do, first, and get answers to all these questions you have (and don't know you have), and take your time on this decision, unless spending $4000 for everything doesn't mean much to you. Good luck - it's a great decision to make - make it slowly.

A couple of possibilities are that the trigger pull and the sights on the 9mm are not as good as on the other guns - I noticed that I shoot my Gold Cup a lot more accurately than I do my stock Browning Hi-Power 9mm. But, I suspect that if my Gold Cup were a 9mm that it would be just as accurate as the .45. Last summer I lost my front sight during a match and another shooter graciously lent me his Beretta 9mm to shoot the match with, and for some reason, even in single action mode, I kept pulling the gun down and shooting very low with the Beretta - still not sure why I did that, but it was definitely me doing something wrong, that I think I could have worked out with a little practice.

I sent my Browning Hi-Power in for a full makeover, and they said it should be ready before Christmas:))) So, I'm waiting, very eagerly - like a kid on Christmas Eve.

I have nine pounds of WW231 that is 15 years old, and just started using it last year again - should be good for another few years, I hope:))

I've been using lead bullets for practice and fmj bullets (Zero) for matches - over WW231 powder. I'm rethinking it though, since they hit to slightly different points of impact (and the lead smokes). Tough to practice with bullets that hit 3" away from where the fmj's hit, and then adjust for a match. But, the price is awfully good for the lead - so, still thinking about it - maybe I can do more playing and find a load that hits the same spot on the target??? Jack

I got to shoot a suppressed Uzi 9mm submachine gun ten years ago, and that was great. If I didn't live in a state that doesn't allow them, I'd get a suppressed .22 (wouldn't bother my neighbors, and I wouldn't need to wear ear muffs:)) But, they really are an awful lot of fun. I have a bow, but it is not as much fun as the 9mm.

Only two things are important next year when you step onto the firing line for the first time: 1. Safety - much more important than accuracy or speed 2. Accuracy - much more important than speed. First time I shot IPSC, I made sure I hit the targets and I was pretty slow, but I hit the targets. But, I noticed how fast everyone else was shooting, so the 2nd time I went out, I shot fast, and MISSED - got a much worse score. Safety, first, accuracy second - the speed comes later with technique. Good luck, you picked a great hobby. Jack

Dennis, just one man's opinion, but last year I got back into shooting after a 12 year layoff:)) and tried both IDPA and IPSC (I had shot IPSC years ago, but was intrigued by IDPA being more practical). After shooting both for most of the year, I found that I couldn't shoot both - every time I reloaded, I Dropped the Mag and reloaded - and got a foul. And, I shot the Standards the last time I tried IDPA,and told myself, "Don't Drop The Mag", and I dropped the mag, anyway. I found that I really enjoyed IPSC more, so I dropped the IDPA altogether. I've also tried to make it up to Albany twice this year for the monthly IPSC match on Sat, but wasn't able to make either - hope to next year. If you shoot IPSC as well, I'll see you next summer. Jack Baldwin A60260

You'll need a tumbler to clean the brass and a sifter to clean the cleaning media out of the brass. A chronograph iff you need to know the velocity and you don't know someone who will chrono your loads for you. A caliper so you know how long your loads are seated (O.A.L.) - again, not critical as long as you make them as long as they'll feed thru your mags/chamber, and make them look like factory loads. Whether you need the chrono & calipers depends on how serious you are and whether you can borrow them, but the calipers are inexpensive, and you can get a Chrony for $90. Good luck. Jack

Sounds like I should delay buying more JHP's for a few months - I'll wait til my current stock runs out. Thanks for the tip. Jack

As you can tell from the other posts, the Only way to really KNOW your velocity is to use a chrono, and if you read other posts on chrono's, you'll find that even then it's a little tricky (I've read that Chrony's tend to overstate the velocity, and lighting conditions can interfere). But, there is a way to approximate the velocity - by using reloading charts - I don't know the caliber of barrel length, that you're using, and not using those powders/bullet combinations, but if you look at a reloading book, you'll find an estimate of how fast those powders are going to push similar (maybe not identical) bullets in a standard size barrel. At least, that's a place to start. Good luck. Jack

I just got into Open shooting a year ago, with a STI TruBor with a C-More sight - In that year, I've had the C-More lose zero at least four times (yesterday, all of a sudden, again). Anyone find a way to keep the C-More's sighted in for more than three months? I don't shoot it that hard, and keep it in the plastic case it came in. thanks, Jack

I'm going to work up, slowly, from 8.0 grains, and chrono them - when I get to 170, I'll stop, but I don't think I needed over 8.5 last time - that's with the 5" STI TruBor. Do you have a short barrel? But, thanks. Jack

I tried a few thousand of the Open Based Bullets (actually the 115 gr Zero FMJ's that I'm going to use tomorrow), and after a few thousand, I noticed that I had lost some accuracy with the new TruBor. I had read about the problem, so I scrubbed up the comp, and Voila, the accuracy was back:))) I actually met a young gentleman who was shooting "LEAD" bullets thru his comp in competition - he said he cleaned his comp often, and had no problems with it ... But, I'm going to stick to the JHP's as soon as they come in. Thanks for the help. Jack

I'll try the 1.16" and see how they work. Thanks, Jack

Get a Dillon Square Deal - great for 9mm / .45 combo. If you can find one used, grab it - Dillon has a "forever" warranty on it, even if you bought it from someone else. Good luck. Jack

I know we're not supposed to use FMJ in an open gun, but I have to load some up real quick, and don't have any JHP's left. With 8.5 gr HS6 powder (1460 fps) what OAL should I be looking at ? 1.20" sound about right? This will be shot in my TruBor. (I'll also work up to the 8.5 gr HS6 slowly). Thanks, Jack

Lynn, your story is similar to my own - I stopped shooting 15 years ago, and just got back in last year. What a change in equipment in 15 years !!! I got myself a 9mm major open gun, and boy is that fun - much more fun than my Gold Cup:)) You won't believe how fast and accurately you can shoot that .38 super ... Welcome, and have a ball. Jack

I've been using the 140 mm STI tubes all year now (Just got my STI a year ago) and can't believe how great they are - I could actually get 20 rounds in them - a BIG improvement over my Browning Hi=Power's 15 rounds. But, I recently found out that if you buy them from HSmith, he sells SVI mags that hold 24 rounds (140 mm's), and has a 170 mm tube that holds a whopping 29 rounds - I just ordered one of each - that should solve any IPSC problems I have next year:)) And, Howard does ALL the Work for me:)))

I've been very happy with my C-More, but have never tried anything else - the C-More does tend to wander and needs to be re- centered once in a while - I'm thinking of getting a Barry Mount, you can see a discussion about it on this forum - advantage is the sight picture is lower to the bore - trying to figure out all the disadvantages. Jack

Baer, a couple of "home remedies" you might try - they won't hurt, and might help. 1. try gargling with 40% (80 proof) booze (your favorite) at night before going to bed, swish it around your mouth real well, and slowly swallow it - helps kill any microbes in your mouth / throat that might cause the sinus problems 2. beef up on your Vitamin C (1,000 grams/day) and beta carotene, take a B-complex 50 mg pill (50 mg of each b-vitamin) and take 400 units of Vitamin E a day - helps with your immune system. Cheap, can't hurt (may not help), but, with enough of the booze, you may care a little less:)) This is not a joke - I used to suffer from URI myself all the time - just get over one bout and I'd start in on another - went to allergists (another idea to try if 1 & 2 don't work) - and took an awful lot of antibiotics trying to keep the infections down. In the past year or so, I gargle after dinnner, at bedtime and when I wake up in the morning - small amount of booze, but it seems to keep the throat more sterile, and I get a lot fewer infections - hope it helps.

As soon as you can, get yourself out to one of the larger regional matches, and you'll NEVER get the jitters at a local match again. My first larger match kept me awake all the night before (never got to sleep at all:((( - but I still calmed down once the shooting go going - everybody was very nice and helpful, so it wasn't as stressful as the night before. The more experience you get, the fewer jitters you get. Good luck - stay with it. It gets better.

Your list (with the tumbler added) looks complete, but here's an alternative for you: if you plan to shoot only pistol calibers, and you have enough time per week to load what you need at the rate of 200 rounds/hour (some people don't), all you need is the Square Deal, which is quite a bit cheaper than the 650. The 650 is a much better machine, if you have the need, and the extra money - but, if you have the time, and less money, the SD is all you need. Jack