Newguy

I converted a .38 super to a 9mm. Replaced the barrel and bought spacers for the STI mags. Carlos suggests SV mags, but some people still use spacers with them. My 140mm SV in .38S works fine for the 9mm without spacers. My STI mags work good with spacers. Don't know about SPS mags. In theory, that might be all you need to do -- replace the barrel and add spacers to STI mags. If you're lucky, that's it. OTOH, you may need to tweak or purchase a new ejector and possibily a new extractor. One thing to be especially careful about is the bullet OAL if you're using spacers. Loaded out too long, they jam in the mag.

The simple answer. Looking down at the sear spring in the gun, bend the left two legs forward a little -- a little goes a long way. Reassemble the gun and see if it drops to half cock. Sometimes the sear spring won't hold the tension after it's been bent, but for a short test it should hold. My hunch -- and it's just a hunch -- is that the smith may have lowered the trigger pull by bending the sear spring. The simple thing is to just buy a new sear spring -- fairly cheap.

The one thing you didn't mention is the sear spring. Most of the time when my gun has dropped to half-cock it's been the sear spring. How light is the trigger pull? It could be too light for the gun to handle given the components.

Most -- but not all -- people who shoot 9mm major (165+ pf) use 124/125 gr. bullets. If you're not loading for an open gun it may not make much difference. I have a 9mm Colt Commander that _hates_ 124 gr. bullets -- groups like buckshot. With 115 gr. the groups really tighten up.

I shot an 9mm STI shorty (not a Hardy or Bedell gun) that a friend let me try. Violent and unpleasant. After telling me how great the shorty was, I noticed he now shoots a fullsize gun. I imagine the Hardy and Bedell guns are much softer shooting. I prefer a full size 9mm gun because of the added velocity of the longer barrel. Less powder (and pressure) to get the same fps as a shorter barreled gun. That's another reason I don't have barrel holes.

Let's see. Extra firing pin and stop, extractor, slide stop, sear spring (had one go bad at a match), c-more battery, recoil spring, guide rod and plug, ejector, mag release, and grip screws. All of this stuff came from other guns so I didn'tcost me anything. Also carry tools like an allen wrench, screwdriver, hammer, etc. and loctite.

I thought A4 was a good match. But to some degree, it was about how well someone handled the heat as much as the shooting. I can't understand the logic for having A4 in Shreveport in mid-June. Why not March, April or early May when the weather's cooler?

9 lb. ISMI spring for a 5" slide. At $5 a spring why try to modify? Besides, I don't think you can modify spring weight much by just cutting coils.

I went through the same thing with a 9mm open. I was upping my powder higher and higher to make major, jumping from 7.5 to 8.1 grains of Tru Blue. A few primers started tophating and showing other signs of high pressure. A new Schuemann barrel raised the fps with the same load by 100-125. Unlike Dpeters I didn't have 80k rounds through the barrel (about 25-30k) and am wondering if the Tru Blue may be too hot.

The math: jacketed bullet costs almost 5 cents a round, plus primers and powder, maybe another penny or two. (I'm not counting 9mm brass since it's almost free at most ranges.) You're now up to 6-7 cents a round to reload, excluding brass. Blazers are 8 cents a round. At most you'll save 2 cents a bullet. If you shoot 2,000 rounds a month that's $40. Reloading equipment costs about $500 or so for a SDB and accessories -- taking over a year to make up the costs. You made a smart decision -- 9mm isn't worth reloading. Plus -- and this is the biggest plus for me -- you save the headaches of reloading. BTW, I reload.

Which mag is better may be a moot point. I don't know any dealer that has .38s 170mm SVI mags in stock. Even Brownells has dropped most SVI hi-caps.

I'm left-handed and right eye dominant. While almost everyone suggests that I shoot right to left, I'm much more comfortable the other way around. It just feels less awkward. It must be the reading thing or the stronger dominant eye picking up targets faster.

After every match I put a X of tape on the on/off switch. Unless I do that they seem to find a way of turning themselves on in my range bag.

I have STI and SVI mags and they both run fine. But, the spacers needed for the STI's don't give you much wiggle room. Longer than 1.17 or so and they jam the mag. Load too short and you can run into pressure problems. Since most of my mags are STI w/ spacers, I have to drop check my rounds AND use a caliper to make sure that a longer one didn't make it through -- there's a pretty small window between 1.55 and 1.70. Anyway, it's a pain. I've thought about getting SVI mags but no one seems to have them in stock.

Over the past few months I've been picking up live rounds at IPSC matches after the shooters have left and abandoned what's on the ground. (Part of the range cleanup.) I probably have about 50-100 rounds of .40, .45, etc. Since I don't know whose rounds they were I can't point a finger -- not that I'd want to. Anyway, when I get some time I plan to chrono them to see what percentage are major. Although not scientific, I'm curious. Inquiring minds want to know.

All the things that can happen -- never happened to me though when you're flustered or feeling pressured. After you've finished shooting don't start pasting targets right away. Load ALL your mags immediately after you're done. You don't want to stick a 1/2 empty mag into you pouch. Before you get to the line make sure the mags are on your belt. Chamber a round and press check to make sure it's loaded. Don't feel hurried. Everyone will wait until you're ready. When told to "unload and show clear" make sure the muzzle is pointing level downrange -- pointing straight up is breaking the 180. Make sure the gun is high enough for the RO to see into the chamber and wait until all the ROs commands are done -- sometimes hard when you're coming off the adrenaline rush and YOU know the gun is empty and ready to be holstered. If it's a field course tell the RO which way (left or right) you're going to move. Choose caution over time -- some targets can be shot more efficiently at close to the 180. Opt for caution -- even if it will take longer -- to make sure you've got a comfortable margin in terms of the 180. Finger out of the trigger guard during reloading and moving. Be careful about sweeping yourself, especially when opening doors in a field course. Cleats are important -- I've seen more than one shooter go down on slippery grass.

Little Bill, I feel exonerated. My first batch of Tru Blu made major EASILY with 7.6 gr. With the new batch I'm loading 8.0 gr. and just barely -- I mean barely -- making major. I thought it was a gun problem but I'm seeing it's the powder. Regardless, from 7.6 to more than 8.0 to make the same power factor is a pretty big jump. A little consistency would be nice.

I had the opposite experience. My open 9 had fairly frequent stovepipes using FP-10. Switched to SG Lite thinned with oil and haven't had a stovepipe in several hundred rounds. I figure that FP-10 was too light and running off my rails.

I tried a 15 lb ms with a Limcat XL fp and Win primers. Had a few light primer strikes and just didn't trust it. Went back to a 17 lb ms. I just couldn't see giving up reliability for the 2 extra pounds. BTW, I didn't feel that much of a difference between the two.

I have the same problem. It depends on how competent you are with your right hand. In my case, using my right hand would be too awkward. You probably could retrain yourself to do almost anything, but why fight against your nature. Tilting your head or putting the gun up to your right eye is an easy fix. Instead, I'd spend my time focusing on what's important -- sight picture and trigger control. BTW, conventional wisdom is that lefties should shoot from right to left. But, with a dominant rght eye I find it's more more natural to shoot from left to right.

Just a plug. All RM's should be the same diameter. I'm pretty sure that STI will sell you a plug for a bushing barrel.

Was it stupidity or mental illness? I don't think any rational person -- and criminals can be rational -- would have attempted that. Zaback may have been delusional or he just wanted someone to take him out. Either way, he wasn't acting rationally.

The usual suspects: ejector (occassionally) extractor tension mag springs recoil spring (not mentioned) shok-buff not trimmed cases won't drop in case gauge and in barrel A sometimes overlooked problem. Make sure your rounds are clean. I've had trouble with smokestacking when I used One-Shot together with dirty dies. Created a gunk on the shell which caused occassional smokestacks. Putting finished rounds into the tumbler for 15 or so minutes cleared up the problem.

IMHO, you made a smart choice. I've owned the 550B and the 650. I sold the 550 when I bought the 650, thinking I wouldn't need it anymore. It was a mistake that I still regret. The 650 is faster _when_ everything works right. For example, when you don't have a .40 mixed in with 9mm brass or have .380 trying to get through. Or, when the primer system ticks along -- sometimes it doesn't which is the weakest part of the 650. Fixing malfunctions on the 550 is quick and takes only minutes. It usually takes a lot longer to fix problems in the 650. In my experience the net time -- after repairs, adjustments, etc. -- it takes to load on the 550B is about the same (or shorter) than the 650.

Another thumbs up for Jim Shanahan. Ordered a new set of stippled grips early last week and it arrived on Saturday. For months -- off and on -- I had been playing with getting my STI grip smaller to fit my hand (short index finger). I kept on thinning until I finally went too far. I don't know how Jim does it, but he shaped an agressive grip that is smaller than anything I came up with. Magic.