ALPHA's
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Well after about 10 weeks, my full custom limited pistol in .40 S&W arrived today and I am VERY happy with the results. I was asked to keep it "under the radar" so I won't "repeat" who built the pistol, but I let it slip in a previous post.
Anyway, it looks and feels great. The following is a brief description:
Built on an STI slide and frame with full length dust cover
French border with front and rear cocking serrations
Schuemann Ultimatch bull barrel
Flat top serrated slide
Rear serrations to include extractor and ejector
Hard chrome on entire pistol
Builders logo on the left side of the slide
My initials on the right side of the slide
2.75 pound trigger
Fiber optic front sight
Ed Brown Ambi safety
Recoil master guide rod
I can't hardly wait to take it to the range. I read a little bit about the barrel on the Schuemann webite and had a little question about cleaning. The maker of the barrel seems to indicate he wouldn't put anything but bullets through the barrel. Does anyone have additional input on barrel cleaning? I've certainly been going to much greater lengths to clean my barrels in the past!!
Sounds like you have a good gun. I would like to know how you like the barrel. I have a KKM .40 cal.
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was thinking of picking up a single stack to shoot for fun at club matches. has anyone tried the sti spartan?
For fun go with STI. For Competition run a Kimber.
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was thinking of picking up a single stack to shoot for fun at club matches. has anyone tried the sti spartan?
For fun go with STI. For Competion run a Kimber.
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If you were going to build a "no holds barred" race gun for the Single Stack division, where would you start and what would you do. Currently my almost stock Taurus is still more accurate than I am, but someday that will change. If I decide to stay in the SS division, I would like a top of the line pistol.
TIA
Kimber all the way
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I guess I am just trying to take a perfect sewing machine and make it sew faster. Should I just leave well enough alone?
Would it matter if somebody told you...YES ?
Some folks (many) just gotta tinker. You have a Tactical, an Edge, and an Eagle. I don't know if that make you a tinker-type. You do have 3 good guns. Shoot the crap out of them and find out what you like. Better yet, see what gives you the best scores (I've been sugesting that for years, but all I ever hear is how something "feels", and not so much about how it scores.)
Or...
Pick one and practice.
good thoughts
For a while now I have been looking at things like this objectively, and rationally. Trying to, anyway.
While I like to promote "newer" technology and trends, I also like to be pragmatic and specific. "Flash in the pants" are interesting if they remain after the flash to prove their worth. Yes, the 6 inchers have proven their worth, but they did so prior to this present euphoria state.
The real issue, to me, is the worthiness of the "lightened" 6 incher versus the non-lightened variety. I spend a lot of my phone and e-mail answering time concerning this questions: which mostly center about what my opinion is on the subject. My answer mostly has been monolithical, as to the fact that my opinion will not matter as much as your actual make-up as a shooter and individual traits as one. There is no cure-all. And ... if you need a cure-all, then you are barking up the "mythical tree". Fix your expectations first by understanding your abilities, and how to deal with your shortcomings as a shooter, and gather a good training and practice foundation. This will put you in a better perspective to analyze what works better for you, whatever your style of shooting.
I have taken the time to go to the range with different guns in my bag to determine their optimum performance, without any thought of comparing them with each other. Just to tune them "by the seat of the pants", to the best of what I could get out of them within their characteristics and make up. One of these particular sorties might find me testing and setting up three different guns such as a full fledged race-Open gun, a Limited gun and a Carry/compact gun. I would not expect all three to behave the same. If I did I would be barking up the "mythical tree". But what I would expect is that after I did "the time" on each one, selecting the ammo to be used on it typically, and the MOST IMPORTANT ITEM >> the recoil spring << to make my (second shot) bullet placement repeatability the norm. Each gun most likely would have a different "feel" on its trigger set-up, especially in its trigger pre-prep before let-off. This in itself would/will make a huge difference on the perceived performance, regardless of the "twin-ing" of the second shot placement. After one of these tuning sessions with multiple guns, each one is capable of placing two shots close together ... and the sights popping right back in the right place for the next shot, whether it be a second or third shot. My expectations are fulfilled and I leave the range as a happy camper, having achieved my objective.
But, wait. For the sake of argument. Why didn't I compare (after the fact) the performance of all three guns to each other ? I will leave YOU to answer that question. Me? I was very happy to get all three shooting predictably, and consistently ... and left their individual differences fit the purpose of their existence within my repertoire and need of the moment. I would not expect my timings to match each other in a match, just like you would not expect your light weight short, powerful Carry gun to match the performance side by side with yourself shooting (again) a race-Open gun on the same stage. Would you ??? Heck, I wouldn't compare side by side shooting a full weight versus a light weight with the same ammo, and then claim one of them the victor. Not fair and worthless. I would instead match each gun to their best performing ammo for the job at hand, and then depending of the need at hand for the situation (or stage), select a gun from my repertoire and go for it. Just like in Golf: why do they have different numbers on those "swizzle sticks" ???
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Hi all,
I have a couple of questions for you guys :
- Anybody knows if the Bolen followers are caliber specific ?
- If so, comparing to Gram's kits (follower end spring), what's the benefit ?
- Anybody tried it in a IPSC box legal SV 40sw magazine ?
I am told from dealers that all bolen followers are the same.
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Just finished building this puppy using stray bits/pieces I had laying around the shop (note old timey SV slide). This is a dual caliber pistol w/ 40 S&W and 9mm top ends. Lightening holes were cut by my good friend, "Sudden Death". Otherwise known as "The Magazine Man".
what brand of magwell is on this gun I like .
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I know that thing is going to shoot as good as it looks, just let me get my hands on the 9mm upper to match it the the 40 upper. And that stipple job you do the the bomb those other guys don't have anything on you
you should do your grip like this one .
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The only one I know of is the STI Ranger II, which is at a good price point and is nice gun overall. Is there anything else I'm overlooking?
Kimber makes a nice stainlessII.
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So I've been shooting USPSA for a few years, but just for fun. I've only recently started to actually get serious about real improvement. Over the past year, I've read Brian's book, started practicing regularly, and gotten a Dillon press.
Most recently, I've been focusing on making my accuracy more consistent and actually learning how to call my shots. My last few practice sessions, I've mostly shot groups at 10 and 25 yards and a plate rack at 25 yards.
So I shot a steel match with my Models 14 and 625, and accuracy was much better than usual, but it felt like I was shooting slowly. However, when I saw my times, it was better than it's ever been. Am I taking less time because I'm not missing plates, or does it just feel like time slows down when everything's clickin' and I'm actually calling my shots and tracking the sights?
smooth is fast and fast is smooth. looks easy and effortless when you see the PRO's run a course of fire.
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Hi all,
More and more I've been a bit fascinated with reaching higher and higher levels of accuracy. Obviously draws, reloads, transitions, etc are all extremely important, but if we can't put the bullet exactly where we want to, then all of that means zip. So... to all I have a number of questions. What kind of drills can I be doing in order to push my accuracy closer and closer to "perfection," just like we push our draws, reloads, transitions, etc.
Really, anything would be great, as I have no idea what to be doing other than shooting as solid as I can. I've started adding 100 of each strong and weak hand deliberate trigger pulls while watching the sights.
Thanks ahead of time!
LL13
There is nothing wrong with wanting all A. hits. Just be sure your hit factor dosen't come way down. Let your front sight determine how fast you can accurately pull that triger. As time proceeds with practice you will increase speed with both.
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Well, the press is up and running and thanks to everyone for all of your help and advice. I've made a load with the help of a friend from the club and used his recipe (he brought me all the ingredients so thats what I used) 5.3 of bullseye and berrys plated 230gr rn. I haven't shot it yet but I'm thinking it may be a little hot. I really want to try for a 170 pf. Should I go down to 5.1 or 5.2? I know, I should probably shoot it and see how it feels first, and then chrono it from my gun
but I just wanted to get an idea of what folks thought. (I'm shooting a .45 S&W 1911 DK)After I've used up what he brought me, I'm going to try Clays since it seems to be a hands down winner on the forum. Now, one more question. How exact do I need to be in my cartridge measurements? Lymans says 1.275 maximum OAL for .45acp. My factory Winchesters measure 1.262 and my round measures 1.268. The crimp on the Winchester is .471, mine is .470 and Lymans says .473.
Are these acceptable variations or do I need to be dead on?
Thanks again for all the help.
Donna
I like to stay as close as i can to the specs. Because of saftey . Find the powder that burns consistent. Check your rounds through a chronograph.
so you can make small incremental adjustments for your powder charge.
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I was taught that if you bend your knees, lean forward and hold the gun with a loose IPSC grip (both thumbs pointed forward), then the gun will come back down automatically after recoil. However, when I try it, the gun just pops up and stays up. What am I doing wrong? Leaning forward does limit how much the gun pops up, but the only thing I have tried that helps me get the gun back down faster is the old push-pull technique of the Weaver stance. It's my understanding that most of the top shooter's don't use that anymore. What are they doing that I'm not doing? Brian Enos describes how he cams his support side wrist down to create some muscle tension. If I'm doing that right, I haven't got it to work.
Try adjusting Grip pressure accordding to which direction the front of the gun is tracking. once you get the gun to come down at the speed you want.
Matt.Burkett has a good video on stance,grip, and recoil control.
fellow shooter, Rod
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I haven't read too much (or anything really) about footwork for IPSC shooting. I heard Todd Jarret mention it on American Shooter for the nationals show but that's about it. It seems to me it's an important subject for mastering field courses. Getting your body in the correct position to shoot through and around different obstacles can shave a lot of time off.
Being a good standards shooter and a lousy field course shooter I've found it necessary to study the matter and have come up with one trick to speed things up.
When moving to a port and shooting an array, I line up my opposite ankle with the portal and the side of the array that I am going to start shooting at. This technique allows me full motion to sweep through the array so I won't have to readjust my body position. Note that you don't have to point the foot at the first target, just the ankle. Sometimes if you point your foot at the first target your motion will be limited by your leg being twisted at the end of the array. It might even be best if line up your ankle with the first target but point your foot towards the middle of the array.
Let me give an example. Let's say that I am going to my right to shoot at a three target array behind a port. If I want to shoot the left target first, I would look for a spot to plant my right ankle so that it is lined up with the port and the most left target. Once I get my right ankle in position I can easily sweep through the array. If I wanted to shoot the right target first, I would line up my left ankle with the right most target and sweep through.
What I have found myself doing in the past when shooting through ports is first getting square up to the port and then trying to contort my body into a position to try to shoot at the wide angle targets in an array. What I'm trying to do is come up with a method that makes my movement much smoother.
I'm interested in hearing what others do to speed up their body positioning in field courses.
(Edited by Dowter at 12:11 pm on Feb. 6, 2003)
You should try to count your steps and check gun and body position while doing a walk through on a stage and see if there is a way to get the most time
value.
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I have the first 45 rd. mag that Sudden Death made. It's had hundreds of rounds through it and has NEVER puked! You can buy them with the assurance that they WILL work.
I agree mine is two years no problems. runs perfect , he uses quality parts and they work great.
rod
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Just finished building this puppy using stray bits/pieces I had laying around the shop (note old timey SV slide). This is a dual caliber pistol w/ 40 S&W and 9mm top ends. Lightening holes were cut by my good friend, "Sudden Death". Otherwise known as "The Magazine Man".
Hey that is a nice looking gun. I like the grip work too. You are very talented.
slide looks fast. and cool.
good job.
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Hello Everyone. I am attaching a skills test that I have designed. It is a very simple set of skills that I would like shooters of various skill level and weapon type try and then send me the results. If you can't get this file, you can also get it on my website, www.shooting-performance.com. Please take the time to do the test, and I will release access to the database when finished.
I am attaching two files, one (word) that can be filled out, and one PDF.
Thanks!
Mike Seeklander
United States Shooting Academy and Shooting-Performance.com
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mike,this is a cool idea and i am anxious to try the skillstest
unfortunately i use a Mac computer and cannot open the file from the forum or your website could you post
a mac friendly version
Thank You I will use this test soon.
rod.
Hi there, sorry you can't read the file, but I created it on a MAC with word (for macs). I will post a PDF, but am not sure if you can fill out the form via a PDF. Thanks!
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I am posting in both word (that should be easy to fill out), and PDF, which you may have to fax to me.
Thanks!
Mike Seeklander
United States Shooting Academy and Shooting-Performance.com
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I just started loading .45 Auto on my Dillon 550 and am having a minor problem. When I bought the reloading setup, the previous owner gave me about a thousand 200 gr lead semi-wadcutter bullets. However, I wanted to try a load which I thought would be easier to feed in the semi-auto, so I bought a box of 230 gr. lead round nose bullets. My first run of .45 Auto was the 230 gr LRN over 6 gr of Red Dot and set to a COL of 1.240 inches. I've run a couple hundred through my Kimber Stainless II without a single hiccup. So, then I moved on to the SWC bullets. I didn't change the setup, other than to adjust for the different bullet length which came out to a COL of 1.235 inches. When I took the SWC rounds to the range, I had about 4 shots (out of the box of 50) where the slide didn't fully return to battery. In all but one case, it just took a light press on the back of the slide with my thumb to have the slide fully return to battery. In one case, it took a more firm press to get the slide to fully return. At first, I thought it might have been that the gun was getting dirty and hanging up on chambering the rounds. To test that idea, I ran a box of the round-nose bullets without cleaning the pistol. Again, it worked without a hitch. I also checked Brian's suggestion on setting the crimp and both typs are set similarly. So I'm looking for suggestions. Has anyone encountered this problem before? Any thoughts on what could be causing it...and how to fix it?
Thanks in advance for your time,
Joe
I had the same thing happen to me . the swc. will require a shorter col. IF the chamber is slightly undersize where the reamer stops cutting the chamber next to the bottom.
rod.
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I want to get a new production gun and have my decision down to these three blasters. Since this will be a gamer gun I looking for which gun will be best for the game, your opinions please.
Springer XDM in .40
S&W M&PL or Pro 5in 9mm
CZ-SP-01 9mm
I will have trigger work done on which ever I get.
Thank you,
I just picked up a S&W the other day. I like the way it looks . although I shoot an xd. I think Its worth looking at the possibility of the. S&W.
rod
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I've been shooting my Glock 34 in production for almost two seasons now and have been having a blast. My original plan was to make B class in Production before investing in any fancier gear and shooting Limited. Well, I haven't made it there yet and I'll need at least another year to get close. I still plan on shooting Production until that happens.
Here's my current thoughts:
I've been seeing some used Para's that are really affordable compared to the S_I alternative. I'm wondering if that would be a smart route to take to get into shooting Limited. I'd like something to play around with to see what I like in a 1911 style gun. If I find a good deal on one, would it be worth having as a starter gun?
What have others done? Suggestions, comments?
STI 5.0 inch also you can increase round count with a little help in finding the parts.
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I Would like to kown the proper stance when shooting. I shoot right handed and twist left handed .My left foot about 12:oo and my right foot about 3:oo .Is this a good stance or do I need to change.
Feet straight ahead, knees bent ,back srtaight,rotate forward a little, 60% of weight on front of feet. try it once see if it is good.
rod
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I just picked up a Kimber Custom II in .45. For the money and my intended use it seemed like a pretty good deal. I might get out to try it today, but so far It seems like a good 1911. The trigger is heavy but pretty crisp for a stock 1911, and easily enough lightened up. Slide to frame is pretty tight and I might lighten up the recoil spring. I grabbed some Rem. UMC .45 to try it out, looking forward to dropping the hammer on a few.
I like my Kimber 45. shoots like a dream. broken in and now is better than when it was new . I wouldnt trade for
anything else.
rod
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Any suggestions on a good magwell to use for XL-sized hands?
I've decided to finally get myself a limited gun - a 6" 2011 to be exact. But while handling several friends' 2011s over the past year or so, I've noticed that most of them don't give me enough room between the top of the magwell and the beavertail to get my hands completely/comfortably on the grip... (My hands are pretty big (XL glove size) but not unusually so for a 6'3" guy.)
Thanks,
The STI magwell is a good fit for more palm contact for better gun recoil control.
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Thanks to Gary Welborn and all who helped. A job well done. This match was great. I can't wait until next year.
Rodney
but I just wanted to get an idea of what folks thought. (I'm shooting a .45 S&W 1911 DK)After I've used up what he brought me, I'm going to try Clays since it seems to be a hands down winner on the forum.
2009 Blue Ridge Mountain 3-Gun -- April 24-26, Park City, KY
in Multi-Gun, Rifle & Shotgun Match Announcements
Posted
This is great news . I will be there . I am glad it is in KY.