blind bat

I hope I can get used to it but so far I'm not a fan. The previous site worked so well on mobile devices.

It's your gun, do as you please. I'd say replace the springs, extractor , lube well and run ball ammo. If you want to go with a red dot I'd suggest buying a gun already configured for the job. It'll probably cost you more money to have a new slide fitted than it would just to buy a new gun and you wouldn't need to wait 6 months for the gun to return from gunsmith prison.

Gunsmith time is not linear and cannot easily be mapped to the Gregorian calendar.

I run Lee undersized sizing dies in 9mm and 40 S&W. When combined with coated bullets the amount of belling required causes the brass to stick to the powder through expander/powder funnel. I'm thinking about having my powder funnels sent out to be coated for added lubricity to smooth out the press operation. Has anyone done this? Can you recommend a type of coating that would be self lubricating and not easily get worn away by expanding case mouths?

I'm guessing 15 minutes in a tumbler is far less vibration than 10 hours in an ammo can in the back of a C17.

No love for Montana Gold anymore? They aren't much more expensive than PD and support a lot of matches. That said I've been shooting Ibeji Head coated bullets however, if I needed to shoot to 50+ yards I'd go MG or Hornady.

Where are you guys buying 458 uppers/parts from?

My unsolicited $0.02. There are only a few gotchas I've found with CZs: - The trigger return spring can launch itself into low earth orbit. You need a pin (use a #9 or make your own) to hold the spring in the trigger when it's being reinstalled. - The other springs (except for the main and recoil springs) are small and easy to lose if not careful. - The hammer retaining pin is slightly longer than the other pins. I suggest picking up a spare trigger return spring, #9 pin, and maybe a safety detent spring and sear spring (if you lose springs easily). Pretty much everything is just reverse of removal. If you want a nice trigger buy the CZ competition hammer and a lighter main spring and polish per Kneeling Atlas's recommendations. Don't get caught up in the trend of chasing the shortest reset and lightest possible DA trigger pull. Remove the extractor and clean the muck behind it every 5000 rounds or so. Change the trigger, recoil and maybe the main spring once a year. Have fun!

I like Ibeji Heads. The owner, Alex, is a big supporter of USPSA. Ibeji is on the east coast which is quick shipping to my house.

I heard a rumor (marketing BS?) that Wilson came out with a new revision of the ETM mags what is supposed to seat to be easier than their old mags. I used to clip a coil off my ETM mag springs so they would be reloadable in my Trojan until I found the Dawson/Metalform mags. The Dawson/Metalform mags have longer tubes than my ETMs and work well out of the box. Someone gave me a Tripp mag but I wasn't impressed. The mag lips were too wide and the follower would almost pop out when dropped on a hard floor. I vote Dawson/Metalform.

What is the idea behind the chamfer?

I'd add that anything with glass is going to be a bad idea in an CQB poo fight. The poo spatter is going to smear and leave streaks all over an optic. I don't know why but none of the tactical optics manufacturers have wipers built into their scopes. If poop is a concern it might be advisable to stick with iron sights.

Grumpy - That's good to know. I actually buffed the blueing off of a bunch of my mags. It's a pain with sand paper an a buffing wheel. I'll have to give that stuff a try the next time I want to polish a mag. Do any of the big retailers (home depot, walmart, etc) stock the stuff or do you buy it online?

Brake clean, synthetic motor oil and wheel bearing grease

Very cool. Nice work.