nYdGeo

With regards to powder selection, I'm not sure why we're not seeing more about IMR 7625 here. If I recall correctly, Henning recommends this as a possibility, but also virtually everyone that I know shooting 9mm major in SV's and STI's are using this now. I recall that for years it was Todd Jarrett's choice for .38 super as well. With 124/125gr bullets, you can only go a bit longer in a 9x19 case. This still helps, but they are also making major with JHP's using standard Small Pistol Primers (not the SP Magnum or Smal Rifle primer we were all using back in the day). Even using these much softer primers they are only seeing very mild flattening; pressures look great. I also observe that so many different powders feel so very different. In Open-class, comped pistols I find that to my hands, the VV N350 is my favorite for .40 and is a close second behind 7625 for 9mm. I believe that 7625 hands down offers the finest balance between very flat shooting (the ability to work the ports and/or comp) and very soft shooting in 9mm major rounds. Way back I used HS7 (Winchester 571) mostly, though I tried HS6 (Win 540), Power Pistol, the old Action Pistol, and many others...everything except 7625. At that time a compressed-charge of the HS7(571) behind a 115gr worked best for me because it shot so flat, pressures were hot but acceptable, but it was a hard, slamming recoil...the same kind I felt from VV-3N37 only worse. It broke a lot of slide-stop pins. Working with a friend's old 9x21 small frame Gold Team (with plain-Jane, old-school, 90's EAA 3-chamber comp), somehow the smaller charge of much faster 7625 behind a 124gr shoots just as flat, feels a great deal softer, and the pressures are lower as well. I wish that I had tried this way back when... Oh, can't shoot 115gr in USPSA/IPSC anymore, so your other problem has soved itself. I hope that this helps someone.

Definitely! Thanks for the clarification. I cannot wait to see what my trigger will be like once I add this extra bit of tuning to the trigger. Thanks again!

This is a great idea and I wish that I had thought of it years ago. But I don't see how this is goingn to have anything other than a minor effect on the trigger reset unless the trigger reset has changed dramatically since I bought my EAA in the mid 90's. Has there been a change in the design that has resulted in a major reduction in the reset? I got a great trigger job on mine, but still had the usual 4-times the reset travel compared to any of the 2011-style triggers. I created drawings, and then modified one of the parts of the firing mechanism, and now have exactly the same type of reset as a nice 1911/2011. Shimming the trigger and eliminating the wobble will make it nicer still...icing on the cake! Thanks for the good stuff!

Thanks for the input, Chuck. Nice to know that not only have you experience with Briley Barrels, but also have some in a like environment. Good to hear!

Any Open-class shooter that's been at it for 10 years or more (and maybe less) has dabbled in EAA land back in the day. When EGW built my EAA (the best I've ever shot) I used a Storm Lake barrel, which was kind of the standard, top-of-the-line barrel for those pistols. The thing is that there are no more of them, and I ruined mine (please don't ask!). So, I can rebuild using a 6" factory barrel from EAA, or I found someone that has one 6" 9mm Briley barrel for the small-frame EAA. I can buy it for around the same price as the factory one. The main advantage is that it can shoot any type of bullet. It also may or may not be more accurate. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with a Briley barrel in their open-class EAA pistol back in the day? Also, any thoughts on Briley barrels in general are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Thanks to all for the input. Great buy there, Anon! The lower of my old small-frame open gun is still perfect (though it looks like hell), and I just got a new long-slide, 9mm top-end for it. WIll probably keep that one, but also get another top-end just like it, along with a 6" replacement barrel, and then send it to Canyon Creek Custom for a custom-comp top-end. I'll mount a Doctor, JPoint, or FirePoint on the slide, so I can just change slides to move from Open to Production or Limited (Minor). I don't think that anything fits my hand as sweet as the TZ competition frame. Although the trigger in my pistol is as light and smooth as a nice 2011-style, its not quite as short a release. It used to have a much longer reset, but I figured out how to safely eliminate that and my trigger resets exactly after the point of engagement. Sweet! Oddly enough, I also very much like the way Glocks fit my hand. Go figure...

And where are the old open-class comp guns? When I bought my EAA silver-team comp gun back in like '98, they had already pretty much fallen from favor. You could buy the small-frame, 9x21 Gold Teams with several mags for $1000 all over the place. I absolutely love the shape and feel of the EAA Competition frame; nothing fits my hand quite like it. Anyway, I bought cheap, bought additional parts, sent it off to EGW for building, and got back a very nice, bargain priced open gun that ran like a screaming demon until some idiot (that would be me) started drilling and cutting on things trying to make it 'better' (ah yes, the enemy of great). I stopped shooting in 2000 and have just returned to the sport. Today I can purchase used large-frame, .40 Limited models ranging from practically brand new to only relatively new, from several different individuals, with prices anywhere from around $850 to a little over $1000. Although these are truly amazing pistols, this is the price range that I expected. The weird part is that although I haven't seen anyone shooting one anywhere in S. LA or MS, I have not seen one small-frame EAA open-class comp pistols for sale anywhere. The lowest price for an EAA open-class pistol that I have seen (a large frame .38-super) is $1800; its been on the market for some time now. Other swere more, going right up to full retail price, but included some mags. There's a note about known issues with the large EAA mags and 9mm ammo, especially with the big sticks; that's probably not helping. I keep waiting for someone to start shimming the mags like STI does, but who knows. Further confusing matter is the fact that while a browse through the USPSA classifieds will turn up a few perfect .40 limited models for $850 - $1000, you'll also find a stock 9mm Witness for $750. I guess I'm trying to figure out what happened while I was away. If anyone can shed any light on any of this that would be great and no doubt interesting. Either way, thank you for your time.