zipper046

Thanks Jonb. Good to hear others' experiences with mag suppliers. I'll probably pick up a couple Tripp 10mm mag's...my CMC 10mm ran great so will have to see how the Tripp's do. I'll keep my .45 mag's as backup's.

Thanks Jammer. I ran one of my Wilson 47D's and it ran flawless (wish I knew this before I bought all the .40 mags!). I'll probably order a TRIPP and a few CMC's and see how they do.

Hey all, Just wanted to share. Picked up this Springfield 1991-A1 in .40S&W from another forum. It only had 150 rounds through it and came with two (2) eight round mag's and I bought 4 Wilson 47FX 9 rounders, 4 Metalform 10 rounders, and 1 Chip McCormick 10mm 9 rounder. When I got it, I immediately went to my Police Dept range (I'm PoPo in CT). We run 125gr Frangible ammo in the range so I ran it with that. PROBLEMS! Had Failure to Feeds of the first round on all the mags! Accuracy was OK..shot a bit right. Drifted the rear sight and got the accuracy somewhat dialed in (you lose some accuracy with the 125gr frangible ammo). So I went home and thought "damn, this could be a costly piece". But, I hunkered down and listed what I needed to do...starting with a good cleaning and polishing the feed ramp. I detail stripped, cleaned and lubed the heck out of the gun. Next I used some 600 grit, then 800 grit sandpaper on a small dowel and going up and down the ramp (in the direction the rounds feed) I GENTLY polished. I then used a Dremel felt wheel with SimiChrome polish (again in the direction the rounds feed) until the feed ramp looked like a mirror. NO METAL was removed...only lightly polished. I went to my local Gun Club range with all my mag's INCLUDING a Wilson .45acp 8 rounder and a few hundred rounds of FACTORY ammo and some reloads. The gun ran FLAWLESS with each magazine. I only had 2 FTF from my reloads (didn't chamber, but went up the ramp...was "glocked" brass). I even ran rounds out of the Wilson .45acp magazine! Now the ONLY problem I have seen is that sometimes the magazines WON'T lock the slide back after the last round. This is not a huge problem, as this will be a single stack, L10 gun, but still a small problem. Will work on this issue next after some research. Just wanted to share with y'all. Any other Springer .40 owners out there have suggestions for other Mag's??? PS: I used to run Glocks, and still do. I mention this because the 1911 shoots low for me...I think due to my comfort with the Glock grip angle...

If I do my part, I'll get 2.5" groups at 25 yds, slow fire. Glocks are definitely accurate enough for combat and USPSA applications.

+1 with ChrisC.....in my G35 I run the Zev Competition Spring Kit, Zev Tech V4 race connector, and a 25 cent polish job. GREAT trigger (for a Glock), very smooth & light with a crisp break. Z-

I've used the stock trigger, I've done the homegrown .25 cent trigger job, and I've run a Vanek trigger. Currently, I run the Zev Tech competition spring pack and 3.5# connector with a .25 cent trigger job and the trigger is GREAT! It is crisp and breaks like a glass rod...no "sponginess" in the trigger and pull is around 3 lbs.

I compete with Glocks and a P16-40. The Glock barrel is fine with plated/jacketed ammo and is very accurate with good ammo. If you are starting out, I would just change the sights, do a quick 25 cent polishing job (can google it) to slick up some of the gritty contact surfaces, and that's it. Spend $$ on ammo and a reloading press! You can add other things as you learn the Glock trigger and get better.

My G35 & it's little brother G22... Lone Wolf Barrel, Zev tech competition pack, Lone Wolf 3.5# connector, polished internals, Dawson ICE magwell, Sevigny sights (recently installed), Tungsten guide rod with 14# recoil spring...nice crisp trigger & very accurate

Landry, I had the same issue with my Tungsten guide rod. I bought a metal washer from Zev Tech....works great and took care of the issue. Z-

I sent them some dummy rounds when I bought my barrels from them and they reamed the chamber for my loads, no problem....but then again that was about 3 years ago so don't know what their turnaround time is now... :-)

Oooohhhh....you are going to LOVE running that machine!!! :-) TOTALLY miss mine..... :-(

Gen 3 35....Zevtech comp spring package, .25 cent trigger job, OD green frame, Sevigny sights, Lone Wolf barrel...smooth, crisp, short trigger, great accuracy. Z-

UNIQUE powder for MAJOR loads runs pretty clean compared to some others. At MINOR loads it's a bit smokey/dirty but not terrible. I run UNIQUE for both my MAJOR and MINOR loads: MAJOR Load: Brass: mixed Primers: Winchester or Magtech or CCI Heads: Zero 180gr FP Powder: 5.6 - 5.7gr UNIQUE OAL: 1.135" MINOR Load: same as above but 4.6gr's UNIQUE. Z

For practice and local shoots, I'll use lead heads...180gr over 4.7gr's of UNIQUE. A bit smokey, but no leading.

I shoot both in 180gr .40 S&W. They are both good. The Berry's I load lighter (per their website). So for target shooting/practice....Berry's. For competition, Zero's. Whichever is available, I say grab 'em!

Which one do you use Noximus? I've gone round and round....Vanek trigger (which was awesome, but felt a bit "squishy"), homemade .25 cent job that was good, .25 cent job with LW ultimate overtravel stop ejector, and now this. trying not to go too light on the trigger...my PD has an 8# trigger on our issue G22's so don't want to stray TOO far from that and the muscle memory I've developed on that trigger. Z-

Just installed the Zev Tech competition spring pack (safety plunger spring, firing pin spring, trigger spring) and their newest connector. Feels good. Not as light as my other trigger was (homemade job with some Vanek parts), but the Zev Tech is smooth, consistent, with a sharp/clean break and short reset. Very nice so far. Z-

I run Arredondo extensions for my G35 and I get 20 rounds, reloadable in each magazine. Never a problem with them at all. I've seen some Dawsons have some issues with capacity. Check to see if the spring and/or follower is binding on something as it is compressed down when loading rounds. Z-

LOL...Yup, have to agree with ya! I have a Para P16-40 I shoot in Limited, and I do OK with it. Probably about the same as my G35 I have for limited (with practice, of course). But having shot Glocks for so many years it just "feels" right in my hand. Not the most perfect/comfortable fit (Sig's still fit my hand like a glove), but feels right because I've been conditioned to the Glock.

OK. I'm LE, issued a G22 and carry daily off-duty. My first off-duty was a G23. But I thought that was too big, so bought a G27 and eventually put a Pearce +1 extension on it. This, to me was (and still may be) the best all around concealed carry weapon. However, over time and with too much research done I purchased a KIMBER Tactical Ultra II, removed the magwell and carried this around off-duty. While I like this platform alot, the smaller .45acp does lack in capacity and some 3" barreled 1911's are "finicky". So, the other day I did a full on comparison between my Kimber Tactical Ultra 3" 1911 and my Glock 23. Short of the story....even though their respective listed dimensions differ, in reality they are the same size and the advantage goes to the GLOCK! Below are the pics and observations: 1) You will see that the height of the Kimber from the rear sights to the bottom of the frame is 5". The same measurement on the Glock is slightly LESS than 5" (see photo's 2 & 5). ADVANTAGE: GLOCK 2) The width of the slide of the Kimber is SLIGHTLY less than the Glock but they are VERY CLOSE (about .10 of an inch apart), (see Photo 4). In actuality, the Glocks GRIP was thinner than the Kimber. The Kimber has grips that are convex (ie: rounded outwards so they are thicker in the middle) so measuring from the widest point of the grips the Kimber is WIDER than the Glock. ADVANTAGE: GLOCK 3) As for length...because of the beavertail grip safety, when the Kimber is cocked and locked it is pretty much the same length as the Glock (see photos 3 & 6). However because most of this length in the Kimber is the beavertail, the advantage is to the Glock since it's length is all slide and therefore has a longer sight radius (which is a good/helpful characteristic). ADVANTAGE: GLOCK 4) I also placed each weapon on top of each other (see pics 7, 8, 9, 10 below). You can see that the dimensions are pretty much the same. 5) I then weighed each FULLY LOADED (see photos 12, 13). The GLock was 1 lb, 15 oz. and the Kimber was 1 lb., 14 oz. Only about 1.25 oz difference! ADVANTAGE: KIMBER So, bottom line...the Glock 23 is in reality the same size as a 3" 1911, has more capacity, a longer sight radius, better reliability, and is just as concealable. Yes it weighs a bit more, and the slide is a FRACTION of an inch wider, but for that small a difference to get more capacity and reliability...I'll take that any day. I'm BACK TO CARRYING MY G23 (or G27, which is smaller than both!). thought I'd share these observations. Z-

Hey folks, Have a bunch of .40 brass and recently noticed alot of "Federal NT" headstamps (brass is from a Police Range). I noticed when reloading some of the Federal NT brass I would crush the primers. I did some quick research and found out Federal NT brass has crimped primers. So, now after I polish each batch of brass I am grabbing handfuls and picking out the Federal NT brass and setting aside. I plan on getting a Super Swage 600 to remove the crimp so I can use the brass without issue. Question for y'all....is there an easier way to identify crimped primers other than by Headstamp and looking at them handful by handful? I just noticed some Winchester NT (very few) and wonder if other companies also make crimped primer brass? Any/all help with streamlining this process is appreciated. Thanks, Z-

I use a Lee Bulge Buster for all my .40 brass....works great and they run through my Dillon 550 like butter after sized (I also run an EGW U-die, undersized die, which worked great on it's own but even better with sized brass). cheap, easy, and works.

Go for it! I struggled with this myself. I have the whole Glock .40 line for competition (G35 & G22) and carry (G23 & G27). I stuck with that platform because a Glock 22 is what I'm issued at my department and I kept telling myself (and my department RO kept drilling into me...) to stick with what I may have to use. Well, I always wanted a 1911/2011 platform for Limited and fought off the urge for years. I finally got a used Para 16-40 that had some minor work done on it (hey...I'm a lowly civil servant so S_I's are a bit out of my price range right now). I LOVE MY PARA!! Actually, I love the 2011 wide-body frames! I can tell you this...it is different! The weight, the balance, the feel. It all takes getting used to. Standing & punching holes in paper it was very accurate. Running & gunning during a match I was shooting low....was because of the weight of the gun and how it pointed for me (it has a full length tungsten/steel guide rod up front) so I had to get used to that. I'm having alot of fun with it now that I practiced a bit with it. Some folks will put the ole "Indian/Arrow" argument out there. I will agree that if you are a sound shooter with great fundamentals you can do well with any platform. HOWEVER, it's the little details like mag changes, quick first shots, smooth transitions that can place you near the top or bottom of the competitor list. So to some degree it is the arrow because to be ultimately competitive the indian should be completely comfortable with and be able to handle the arrow correctly for optimum performance (and the arrow needs to be reliable!). Enjoy your new found direction and let 'em rip!! Z-

Well, just about any gun will print if you're not selective about what you wear and how you move. The few times my G23 printed I was bending down (pretty much will cause anything to print) or didn't wear loose enough clothing. Again, I can count maybe 3 times I printed out of the 100's I carried it, so it's really not an issue. My G23 I carry alot in colder month's and the G27 in warmer months.

Well, just wanted to share my thoughts/experience on my evolution to my current carry configuration. I am 6'3" and weigh 230lbs and been a long time Glock shooter with a G35 for Limited/Lim-10 and a G22 that is issued me by my PD. For off duty I had a G23 I carried for a few years. It was OK, and was comforting knowing I had 15 rounds of .40S&W on hand. BUT....it was a bit large for carry (compared to other concealed carry weapons out there) and took some getting used to. Recently I've been trying other options. I bought a G27 and carried that on my ankle in a DeSantis Apache ankle rig and it worked great. I then bought a S&W 442 Airweight that I carried in the same Apache ankle rig...this also worked great. I then experimented with a Tucker Gunleather Texas Heritage for my G23 and a Comp-tac Minatour for the G23 and they worked great and were very comfortable. BUT...still had a few occasions where I "printed" with the G23. So, bought a Tucker Gunleather Texas Heritage for my G27 and it too was GREAT. But I still wanted something more comfortable, so I bought a Kimber Tactical Ultra II and another Tucker Gunleather Texas Heritage for it. Carried this gun/holster for awhile hoping a 1911 would be more comfortable. It was OK, but not more comfortable. Final solution: I now carry my G27 (again) with a Pearce +1 extension and my Tucker Texas Heritage. Great combination of size, power, capacity. Have 10 +1 rounds of .40 S&W in a package slightly smaller than the Kimber Tactical Ultra II and carries well. BTW...can't say enough good things about Tucker Gunleather. Great products. Z-