robertg5322

I did it to a Kimber (.45 to .40). Had a Kart barrel and bushing from another project so it made sense to me economically. 9mm 1911s are readily available so I doubt I'd do that project, but don't let that stop you. It's fun and nice when something you built works. If you want the .45 top end to work, either use an unarmed 9mm barrel or buy a ramped .45 barrel and fit it to the .45 slide.

Shoot USPSA.

Never owned an STI, but I shoot with a bunch of people who do, and they rarely have anything bad to say about them. If I didn't live in Kalifornia with it's draconian (extra points for using a thousand-dollar word there) gun laws, I'd probably own a couple. That said, I've built a Limited gun (Caspian High Cap) and converted a Kimber to .40 S&W using STI slides, and they have been excellent. Their reputation is excellent, so you probably can't go wrong buying one.

Thanks for the info. I rarely shoot IDPA (too many rules!!!), and never thought enough about it to realize that it's advantageous to have an even number of rounds in the gun. Of course now you can dump rounds without penalty (or so I was told at the last match I shot), so it's less of an issue I guess. And I just sold the five 9 round mags I got when I bought my Springfield Loaded Target...

Why 9 round mags vs. 10?

I've been using $7.00 gun show Shooting Star mags in my .45 since 2001 with no issues. Never saw a need to buy premium mags for it. For my 9mm, Metalform 10 rounders have been issue free. For .40, Tripp 9 rounders are great (love the extra round for make ready), but I also have some Check Mates, Mec Gar and Metalform (had to change the followers on the Metalforms to Tripp after about a year, they started jumping the slide stop and jamming, they have worked great for the last year and a half) that all work. I have a single Wilson for the .40, it was a pain at first. It is labeled .40 but is exactly the same as the 10mm. I made a spacer and used Tripp guts and now it works.

My guess would be either the barrel is no good (crown?) or the barrel to slide lockup is just not consistent. I have a tool that helps diagnose this. It's a bore laser. I put it in then load a magazine of snap caps and "snap load" the slide to simulate firing then check the bore alignment against the sight picture. On the guns I have that don;t group, I can see the bore alignment "wander" with respect to the sights which is the slide. The #1 degrader of accuracy in a semi auto is how the barrel locks up with respect to the slide. A new bushing might help. Don't forget the lower barrel lugs. A .200" slide stop sometimes works to help lock up the rear of the barrel a bit better, even a .203 if it'll fit in the frame hole. It made a difference on my gun. Still loose at the rear (barrel has a bit of play when you press on the barrel hood when in battery) but it's better than it was.

You say ""home gunsmithed"" like it's a bad thing.

EGW angle bored bushing fit tight and EGW .200" slide stop helped get rid of some of the slop in mine. Still rattles in battery but shoots nice enough groups (3" @ 25 yards offhand).

I did that to a Kimber last year. Turned out nice (ugly until I get the slide coated, it has a bad parkerizing job on it for now). I used a STI slide and Kart EZ fit barrel and bushing. Biggest hurdle was getting it to feed reliably, EGW higher mag catch was huge in fixing the erratic feeding. I shoot 1.120" OAL, same as my Caspian limited gun and it's as reliable as any 1911 I have. It's softer shooting than my Les Baer .45 and as accurate. I left the lower stock, it had about 15K rounds through it and has a nice trigger. I did have to have the frame cut for the Wilson/Nolin ramp and disable the firing pin block deactivator, easy enough with a file. A very fun project.

Got a Loaded Target 9 last year. Loosest slide to frame fit I've ever experienced, even after installing .200" slide stop and angle bored bushing (both EGW). Shoots good but the rattle is annoying for a $1,000.00 gun. Internals were junk as well.

The way the primer bar activates, it will likely wear and have primer issues in the future. The bearing helps alleviate this by supporting the bar when it is fully extended. You mean the plastic part that lets the primer drop? Not sure how many I have loaded on the 550, close to 7K, maybe more. I reload everything but 9mm on the 550. I use the 650 for 9mm and did use it for 38 super. Anybody need some 38 super brass? The cup on the primer bar that covers the spring. It's the pocket the primer sits in. The way it's actuated, there's little support at full extension and it tends to wear so the right side of it (as you're facing the press) starts rubbing against the tunnel at the bottom of the primer dispenser thing (not sure of the actual names, it's the aluminum housing that holds the primer magazine). Once it starts rubbing, you get erratic primer dispensing. The bearing helps mitigate that. You may not need it now, but you'll likely need it later. $29.00 is cheap insurance.

The way the primer bar activates, it will likely wear and have primer issues in the future. The bearing helps alleviate this by supporting the bar when it is fully extended.

I've fondled an SVI, sweet, super pricey. Probably about as nice a gun as you can buy.I've fondled a Nighthawk, super nice, really pricey. I've shot a WIlson Combat, super nice, very pricey. On par with the Nighthawk, but maybe a bit less expensive. I own (and have shot extensively) a Les Baer, super nice, pretty pricey. Shoots as well as anything else. Some say not finished as well as the others, though mine is well made and looks good. YMMV. In my humble, and maybe ill-informed opinion, up to about $2,000.00 or so you get good bang-for-your-buck. After that, you're well past the point of diminishing returns. That said, if I could justify the cost and wait in my head, I'd have an SVI. They're super nice guns.

It is an excellent product and addresses an issue Dillon should have long ago. No offense to Dillon, their presses are the best and their customer service is without peer but the unsupported primer bar issue has been an issue foe quite a while now.

There you have it. Any way you look at it, $29.00 is cheap insurance.

Had same issue on Kimber I converted to .40. EGW higher mag catch and recontouring feed ramp fixed it. Feeds factory lenght or long ammo smooth now. Feed ramp was protruding past the frame into the magwell. Not sure that alone caused any issues. The smile on the front of the bullets I believe is caused when the bullet in the mag while the gun is being shot hits the lower edge of the feed ramp during recoil. Look at a mag after shooting, the top round has the smile as well as the one you pull from the chamber. At least that's what was happening in my gun.

Got the plate/roller gizmo on mine. I also have the nylon screw I noted above in post #9. Of the two, the screw was in first. I needed it, the right side of the primer cup was rubbing the housing, causing occasional failure to fully travel and pick up a primer. The nylon screw acts as a bearing, keeping the bar on the proper track. I bought the bearing cause I like the design and how it provides support along the primer bar as it comes out of the housing. Would it along have solved my problem? Can't say for sure but probably. But the nylon screw was a whole lot cheaper. BTW, the line on the side of the primer bar is just that, a line. The screw is nylon, it won't wear a groove into the primer bar.

Guessing a red dot of some sort.

Lots of STI Trojans out there with high mileage, same with Caspians and Rugers. You don't hear endless stories of them breaking/failing and I think that speaks volumes. I kind of like that this has caused many to rethink their "handgun must be forged to be good" mindset.

As you're facing the press, the right side of the primer cup rubs the recess it goes into to get a primer. This manifests itself to a point where the primer bar does not pick up a primer (the little leaf spring on the back of the primer tube housing visibly does not come out far enough). Essentially the primer bar is no longer centered in the primer tube housing. Cause; the primer bar actuator rod only pushing on one side of the primer bar. It wears to a point where the cup hits the housing. As I stated in earlier replies you can spend $28.00 for a part that I'm told solves this problem or drill and tap a hole and use a nylon screw to limit side play on the bar as I show in the pic that also solves this issue. Frustrating as all hell until you figure it out.

I like to tinker, had an extra .45 so it was destiny. The .40 shoots as well as my .45 or 9mm. Once sorted out it's never had an issue. And mags hold 9 rounds so there's that.

In my experience, .45 will run right out of the box, much less fussing around. .40 will likely require some futzing with the gun, magazines, and/or ammo to get it to work reliably. That said, I have a .45 that is utterly reliable and required little from me (Les Baer) and a .40 (a Kimber converted by me, STI slide, Kart W/N ramped barrel) that took a bit of work. It runs reliably now with factory length ammo (which is the same ammo used in my Limited gun). I like it better cause I built it. Looks like crap (my home-made parkerizing job didn't turn out as nice as I thought it would, a trip to a Cerakote shop is in its future), but works great is is accurate.

So, if I'm reading this right, forged is better than cast. Unless it's not. Billet is better than than forged. Unless it's not. The "it's not" usually is the result of grain structure or heat treating/stress relief issues. MIM parts will fail. Or they may be harder than tool steel/bar stock. The MIM process has been used to make car engine parts successfully for years. But it's not good enough for guns which see nowhere near the stress a car engine or transmission is subjected to. Caspian makes good stuff, but the do have the rare QC blip. What I love about these threads is that there is so much that can be learned, and reading all of the posts exposes light on the lessons. Please note I'm injecting a bit of snark in the interest of humor, not as a denigration of anyone's opinion or experience.

The actual time used between the two is most likely statistically insignificant. I am faster using my middle finger for the reasons stated earlier. YMMV. Celebrate the diversity.