RIIID

One has to step back and look at the gun market outside of the competition world, the competition world is very very small compared to other markets available to sti. Look at USPSA membership numbers, then look at active member numbers, then Open-Limited-SS participation numbers which sti has guns for those Div., every time the number of potential customers goes down and down. The LEO/Mil-Tactical/Carry market is much larger than competition, their biggest problem they face in this new market is the potential customers aren't used to having to use a gunsmith regularly to keep a gun running like the competition market is used to. They will have to build to a higher quality and provide a far superior customer service than they have done in the past. Rich

With the poly grip the old Wilson 5 ounce(4.5 ounces actual) tungsten guide rod would make weight for SS Div. Next someone will suggest allowing double stack grips with spacer plates to allow just single stack mags to be legal. Rich

TiAlN for the upper and electroless nickel with Teflon on the lower. This gives the classic two tone but a more durable and rust resistant finish. Rich

Canyon Creek is no more, short of a miracle I probably won't be able to work on guns again. Rich

The way I heard it was they paid Chip a royalty for using his name. Rich

There are different tungsten alloys, tungsten carbide is more brittle and harder to machine than tungsten alloyed with say steel which isn't as brittle and is easier to machine. The bigger concern with a tungsten sleeve is wear resistance, if there is too much wear on the sleeve or slide accuracy will be effected. Rich

Not a very good example look at the time and hits/non hits between 1st and 2nd. If the major shooter slowed down slightly and made the hits, that shooter probably would have won handily. In what year did a minor shooter win the Single Stack Classic or Nationals? Rich

DA, restrike capability by just pulling the trigger. SA, restrike only possible after manipulating slide to reset fire control system. Production= DA-DA/SA-DA Like(meaning SA deemed legal by USPSA) If Production was DA-DA/SA only the Production gun list would be very small, including DA Like guns opened up more brands which means more $. The only reason Production was created was to give potential new members a place to come play with currently owned guns(9mm) that weren't competitive in Open and Limited. Rich

Has anyone shot enough to see if barrel erosion is happening? Rich

Sti uses one cutter size to cut the ramp, most everyone else uses 2 cutters one to cut the slot and a larger diameter to cut the vertical impact surface creating the larger diameter. This is where the two different sized guide rod head ends come from. If your guns weren't factory built the gunsmith used the two cutter way creating the larger diameter and a sti sized rod was used and allowing the guide rod to move downward. Just use the larger head guide rod and you shouldn't have anymore issues. Rich

Frangible type bullets will wear out the rifling rather quickly. Rich

The one on the left has a smaller diameter on the back of the rear of the head, it's for a factory ramp cut frame for a sti frame. The head is able to move around at the contact point of the frame, that is why you see the battering marks. If it was in the properly sized frame the battering wouldn't happen. Rich

The Caspian frame was designed to be the smallest frame to handle the 38 super cartridge. The magazine width will handle a true double stack of .40 as opposed to the module frame and Para frame are true .45 double stack size. The Caspian is narrower in width and slightly longer in depth but the front and back strap can be checkered or ground down to lessen that front to back measurement if needed. The frame has proprietary parts like mag release, trigger bow, main spring housing, grip safety, and ambi, all the rest are standard 1911 parts. The frame can be modified to use standard ambi's and the trigger shoe can be changed out to ones preference. It has a built in magwell but an EGW mag well can be added along with others that modify the frame. The original mags hold 19 rounds and 21 with an EGW base pad. Two of those tubes can be welded together to make a 140(23 rounds) or 170 (28 rounds) length. Tanfoglio tubes need the top right corner trimmed down to fit the frame. The Wallgren base pads work and a few others are out there. MBX makes tubes/magazines that also will work. I don't like the 170 length and used standard length or 140 length for competition, there is always a place to reload without lose of time. This frame has been used in competition since '92 or '93 can't remember the exact date and has won Area matches to Nationals and the World Shoot, it is a viable platform. Rich

The 9x23 is a very viable cartridge for open, I found a 135 grain bullet to be the most effective for myself. It gives a soft push back in the hand compared to the lighter bullet crack in the hand and will shoot flat with the proper comp and no popple holes are needed unless you like the increased sound. Vit powder is the way to go, very clean, low case volume and sufficient gas volume for the comp. Generally you will get most of your brass back unless someone else is shooting 9x23. You can also use 38 super comp cases in a 9x23 chamber it will just form fit to your chamber. 38 super comp loaders hate it when a 9x23 gets mixed in with their brass it is harder to resize. Win 9x23 has a different extractor groove than Starline brass and can cause extraction problems when the two get mixed(extractor tension). Never had a problem with magazine feeding problems because of the taper case. I can reload the brass till you can't read the head stamp and keep reloading it. Over the years I've used CP 9x23, WIN 9x23, 9mm Largo, 9 super comp, and 9x23 super comp brass with no problems. Have fun. Rich

If there is nothing wrong with that screw leave it alone. To take it out you will need to buy a specialty tip screw driver blade or modify a straight blade to hold the retaining nut. The end of the windage screw is peened to keep the nut from turning off. Rich

It doesn't matter if you convert series 80 to 70 or go bone stock the law suits are going to come if used in self defense. If the series 80 bothers you sell it and buy a series 70 gun much easier to get the trigger you want. If you are just using it for target/competition pull the series 80 parts and convert to 70 and get the trigger you want. If you want a trigger below 2# you will dump the 80 parts to get it. Rich

Shoot until it malfunctions and that could be more than 40 thousand plus rounds fired. Quality lube and springs can go a long ways, just because springs are cheap doesn't mean to throw away perfectly good springs before they wear out. One needs to use a spring till it wears out so you know the signs of a spring is wearing out. Rich

Try Jack First. Rich

You can go with the Springfield 10mm and have a .40 barrel fitted. Rich

A recoil spring that wearing out(too light) can cause the slide not to return to full battery. When you pull the trigger the slide closes fully and can leave a very light mark on the primer. I've seen and done a hard reload that will bump the slide out of battery, recoil spring is too light and the full mag pressure will hold the slide back. As mentioned above firing pin tunnel needs to be free and clear of debris. Too much oil here will cause a hydraulic effect, if you do oil a very very light coating. More often than not a high primer can be a loose primer pocket than the machine not seating the primer deep enough. Rich

The problem with mags that long is the spring wears out quickly. I've made 170mm length single stack mags in the past to shoot Limited division. Rich

Maybe things might improve since Lyman has bought the company. Rich

One would think they still have the cnc programing to make one. They have to know the barrels are going to wear out on their linkless guns they built and sold. Rich

ltdmstr is correct, a new frame would be much cheaper than having someone weld it up and machine. It would be a fun challenge to do. If the barrel isn't shot out just leave it alone, I'm surprised that Briley won't supply a barrel for a system that they created. Rich

There is a few variables that can affect pricing a wore out machine needing maintenance might sell off cheap or someone who wants to recoup some money quick after spending too much money for something new and shiny. Each individual puts a different value on items, it could be too low or too high. I've got a few of the original RL1000's that I value highly where some will see no value at all. Rich