Alan Adamson

This has happened to me many times. bang (miss) &%@#%&* bang (miss) !%@(?< bang (miss) )$*^%} aim - focus - breathe - break shot DING! I've noticed when I shoot limited (with plenty of mag capacity) I would occassionaly start slinging shots. Shooting single stack has really reinforced the discipline and practice and importance and efficiency of calling shots. But wait, there is a gross difference between - Aim, see sights, breathe, break shot, hear ding *AND* - Aim, see sights, breathe, break shot, *recognize where your sights WERE WHEN YOU BROKE THE SHOT*, hear ding - in fact, if you do this correctly, you *SHOULD* never *wait* for the "hear ding" part, you should know that your sights were where they should have been when you broke the shot and the ding could be silent for all you care... The former is *NOT* calling your shots, the later *IS* I'd just hate for people to think that its as easy as the former, it's very much an acquired SKILL

You guys are *way* over engineering this... if you need more clearance from either the bolt hitting the underside of the block on top or because of the ejector wire, just leave out the lower washer, the bearing will ride on the shell plate, you need the top one or the bearing will bind. Alan

Due yourself a huge favor and stay away from 3n37 in an open gun, the frame front temperature is too high which will lead to premature rifling lands wear and breach erosion. 3n38 would be better if that is something you want to try... it's a similar powder from a gas and load qty as the old sp2. Now with all that said.... I'm still amazed at my latest undertakings... I have a true commander length open gun, it was built for a 171-172pf load and the load of choice was 9.2 of SP2 or the same with 3n38 (which fills a 9major case), and a 124/5gr bullet. Seeing as I had neither, I tried a science experiment. I took my standard 5" load - 7.85gr of True Blue (new stuff after the reformulation), with a MG 124JPH at 1.165 along with a standard CCI SPP. I ran it over the chrono. This commander length gun has 3 ports in the comp, and 2 side ports way out front, the barrel has 2 poppel holes in it... With that information I figured I wouldn't even make major with a 170pf load from a 5"... well guess what it made 168PF... So I wanted to make the simplest change that I could and so I loaded some that were at 1.155... Poof, right at 170-171PF. Now what's better, I *couldn't* believe how flat this gun ran in that configuration... to the point where people continually comment on that... and it's no more harsh in my hand than my 5", in some ways it feels softer. Remember, there are an infinite number of variables that will play so just because one solution works for one really means it *wont* work for you.... There is *NO* silver bullet/holy grail..... And to that point, there is no such thing as a flat gun... it's all about your perception, feeling, whether you are really blinking between shots, gun make up (note even 2 identical guns will run different on the same load). The best advice I've had offered, and read is.... Shoot what you have, just shoot the crap out of it. That's worth every ounce of powder/money against the let's test, develop, buy, try, throw away crowd and will 9 times out of 10 beat every one of them - handily .... Alan

Grease And for those with 90% fix... try this... tighten the shellplate bolt even more, it should be rather snug, and then you'll have to do it again once the grease squishes (highly technical term) out of the bearing. on my 650, the shellplate just *glides* into the next detent, there is zero snapping and I load 9mm Major on mine... My 1050 has more problem with powder everywhere (I'm using a very fine powder) than my 650 does. Alan

Hit up Mokken, his post seems promising. I did but so far have not heard anything. Any forum dealers sell them? Got a tip that *hit factor shooting supply* has these available for a reasonable price so if you don't want to try the MC way, give them a try. Alan

Kevin, they are so cheap from Mcmaster carr (who has no mininium), and I give all the part numbers... If you go to a vendor, you'll pay 4X the price from MC... it's real easy to order and get from them and they are real fast at shipping... Alan

usually related to some FOD being on the top of the primer punch... doesn't usually effect function, but make sure and keep all the little bits of junk out of that area... Alan

I never used that powder funnel die. See how I deal with flare above. On my 650 for .40 I do and it thunks as the case comes out if the powder funnel.

Yep, when no case in station One. No thunk. I'll try to video it with sound.

Eric, if anything mine is too tight... it's a long story, but to get the reliability out of my 1050, I have to run the shellplate pretty tight. Thanks tho, that would be an obvious place to look

Can you help me figure out which bearings you are referring to here? Thanks Pretty sure they are dillon model number 11008's and there are 3 of them.... Look at the parts list for the lower section of the press. Alan

No insult whatsoever Steve. I actually give my cases *no* flare... I use a Mr. Bullet feeder and the way I setup for 9mm Major is as follows. I size with a dillon die, the thunking is what happens when the case leaves the die on the upstroke. I then swage and let the top swaging die do all the belling, at the powder drop station I set the powder funnel to leave *no* additional bell. This allows the bullet to drop from the bullet feeder and it drops right in, with a good bit of tension, then it goes to the seating die and finally the crimp die... Ok, I lied, the seating die is a Redding Comp die, but all others are Dillon. I may have to look at those needle bearings I noticed mine are pretty loose as well. I had them apart the other day to lube them up... I think I'll look at that... Thanks Alan

I'm pretty sure that my *Thunk* on the upstroke on my 1050 is due to the brass coming out of the sizing die. But I read something recently about what people have done to remedy it. I use One-Shot and that works great, but it's a *distint* *Thunk* that actually flips the powder in my powder measure when it happens... on every round. All Dillon dies, and only happens on the upstroke as the sizing die is coming off the case.... 9mm in my case. Did I miss a fix for this? Alan

The trick to the primer catch cup, is to take one of those huge C type pinch clips that you use to hold a bunch of papers together, find one that will give you a nice tight pinch and pinch it over the metal bracket and the primer catch cup. I was knocking my primer catch cup at least once every half full cup and screaming when spent primers went everywhere... don't have that problem any more... ... Alan

This really needs a way to narrow into a specifics set of features that you might want... Some way to filter by options would be a *really* good idea... having to look through a shorted list by name is a RPITA. Especially when the names usually mean nothing about the stage. While the sort is nice, it still doesn't do what a filter would do. just my .02, Alan

Probably an ill conceived idea/question. I've got a .22lr Tactical Solutions conversion that I'd like to use to build a dedicated steel *optics* gun with. This means I don't need to do the hard part of fitting the slide to the barrel, barrel to lug, slide stop, etc. If I were to get a 2011 frame kit, how much work does it take to build just the frame/grip to the point that it's functional with the 22 conversion slide/barrel? I have a few other parts to add to the mix, like the extreme engineering hammer, sear, disconnector. A 2011 pin kit. I'd need to deal with the beavertail, mainspring setup and sear spring setup etc. It doesn't need an ejector. So I to thinking, might this be a good approach to *build my own* with simplistic tools? Or are more precise, specific tools needed to complete this job. Say on a ramped or non-ramped, D/T'd STI frame kit? Or point me to a good resource to evaluate this interest. Thanks in advance, Alan

Guys, I doubt any of the Q-tip solutions do anything. If you actually look at a module, you'll see it's nothing more than a plastic shield over the top of an LED and the shield has a very small pin prick in the middle of it. There isn't a *lens* per-se there, it's just the light from the LED that is shown on the glass. So taking a Qtip to the little hole really does nothing (except make sure the hole is clean). If the LED get's fogged or FOD on it from dust/dirt, you'll have to resort to the *cleaning method with water or US. Alan

I saw this stage in a post on FB and just had to try to re-create it... it just looked like too much fun. Apologies up front, yes, I *borrowed* this stage and perhaps we'll shot it in an upcoming match in a week. Here is the video of it being shot along with my version and the version with my stage briefing etc. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2740957211944 START POSITION: Standing with feet on marks, facing target directly in front of you ‐ shoulders and hips square to target, gun loaded and holstered as per rules 8.1.1 and 8.1.2. STAGE PROCEDURE: On signal engage targets as available within shooting area “A” only. SCORING: Comstock, 28rds, 140pts TARGETS: 14 Classic, SCORING HITS: Best 2/paper START‐STOP: Audible – Last Shot Fired PENALTIES: Per current edition USPSA rule book PDF of stage.... http://www.highrf.com/Rockets/Pistol%20-%20Wicked.pdf

Joe - Welcome to The Forums. I bought the Thunder Mountain STI Mags - that I asked about in the original post. My thoughts when I bought them, were the same as yours. The Mags were received as stated - deburred and to some degree polished. However - the mags did require Tuning. Two of the three mags the follower sat above the lips of the tube.(the follower would not go down in the tube) So I bought the Dawson Mag Tuning Kit. Interesting enough - Dawson does not address this issue in the video. I solved the issue by comparing and measuring mags that I had that were correct, and used them for reference to correct the problem. I recently bought STI mags from another vendor - some of these mags had the same issue. My suggestion is this - Buy your mags from a vendor that will accept returns and will exchange them for you. I don't think it is unresonable to think that if you are buying mags that have been polished and deburred, that the followers would go down in the tube. They just had them apart. It is unfortunate that there is an issue with STI's quality Control on Mags. If you receive Mags that you cannot load - because the follower will not go down in the tube- Send them back - Or join the ranks of us who have learned to Tune them yourself. Hope this helps. Perhaps I'm missing something, but *most* (if you used grahams guts), followers won't go down into the tube. You have to file a bevel on the underside of the tab that sticks out and causes the slide to lock back. Or you can file/sand that little tab right off if you don't want them to stick or lock back. I've never seen a follower that when inserted in the bottom of the mag tube, won't go back down, except for that little slide release tab being an issue, and as mentioned, almost all mag tubes require that, tuned or not... Alan

I've got a *new* 2211 upper conversion... I'd like to polish the flats on the side of slide, but I'd like to maintain the *black* in the serrations, etc. Just the flats to be bright and shiny. How is best to do it and how difficult? I'm slowly working on a steel gun, with a custom colored barrel and would like the accent of the flats on the side of the slide to be polished. I'll assume you use sandpaper on a level flat surface and go slow, you are only trying to take the color off (black and probably some type of ceramic coating, doesn't look like any hot or cold black)? Once you have the color off, you work on the polish aspects to remove the cut marks... Then once you have it polished what do you to to protect it... wax, oil, something else? Thanks in advance, Alan

if trying to maintain a *specific* start orientation for the shooter, just stipulate it... "Chair positioned at marks and facing directly up-range. Shooter seated in chair, chest against backrest, facing down range with arms folded on on top of seat back, shoulders, hips and feet squared to stage, straddling the chair and positioned/pointed down range. ... " Alan

I guess as my local DRL would ask "what are you attempting to accomplish?"... Why specify the *cross up* - gun on one mag on the other... what does it really accomplish that shows a skill that you want to highlight or are you just trying to make the stage difficult for difficult sakes. Just make it simple in the start position specific an unloaded gun and that it much be placed on barrel A or B. Also stipulate that all magazines used for the course of fire must come from either Barrel A or B. leave the Briefing as is... if they want to pick up their magazines and put the in the holders let them do it... Problem solved for any level of match...

Alan, do you have any holes in your 5"? What barrel do you have? What comp? What primers are you using with the True Blue? I just picked up a pound of it and want to test it this weekend against my HS6 and WAC loads. Is TB clean or dirty compared to the others? Thanks Yeah, one of Shay's shooters uses the 115/HS-6 load and his shots are amazing, I swear it looks like the gun doesn't rise at all in the videos I took at the Monster Match. I just worry about accuracy of that load on the long shots, as Coco mentioned. BTW, Shay's guns are awesome!! Don't think you'll have any issues with accuracy with that HS6 load... Every one of Shay's shooters use it and their scores don't seem to offer any indication of an accuracy issue ... Neither of my 5" guns have holes, both have schumann barrels (non AET). One is a cone comp, the other a bull barrel. One is a Millennium Custom with a comp that Derek and Mike at Schemann designed, the other is an EGW with the last vertical side port milled off. I *always* run just standard Pistol primers until I verify that a load doesn't have pressure signs.... With either my 7.1 AutoComp load or my 7.85 true blue load, I can run standard primers all day long and while both will give you a nice flat breech formed face on the primer, none of them ever are flat enough that the edges still aren't nice and round. TB is wicked clean, no black soot like AC. You will find a very fine - not noticeable - powder residue in the chamber area, but I'll typically take a qtip and wipe out the chamber area after or 500-700 rounds and that's about it. It by far and away is my favorite both in felt recoil, accuracy and cleanliness... And now, with my efforts to tweak a load for a short gun, it's met the grade there as well... My TB load and use it wisely is 7.85gr behind a 124 MG JHP at 1.165 - in a 5" that gives me a 170-171pf all day long.... drop the oal to 1.155 and in a 4.25 true commander length open gun, it's still right there at 169-170, with 2 poppel holes in that barrel

Ok, shot it at an outdoor, 7 stage match today... I did managed to get a few sessions of dry fire in before the match, but it wasn't enough... I lost the dot a few time today and never was *really on it* until the last stage or so. Mind you I'm shooting a true 4.25 commander length *shorty* open gun with an MCG mount and the Aimpoint on it and I've not got much time under my belt with that setup in general. Ok, so no complaints on dot track, in fact, with the smaller glass and the dot still staying in the glass, makes me wonder what the CMore on this gun would look like ... I tweaked my standard 5" load to get to a 170PF so that I could work at similar power factors... Still no real Ah ha experience yet, but I also can't say that I *dislike* the setup... its just going to take some getting used to... I suppose that's what the off season is for... But I'm real torn... between learning this and just going back to an over the top C-more... hmmm... This clears the disadvantage of the Cmore with the bore to scope height being much closer to the 90 degree mount, but it doesn't have any of the issues that the 90 degree has (hinge being 90 degrees to the recoil moment, and left mass visual issues)... but it's disadvantage, until my index to it (and this gun) is better is that the glass being smaller (5mm in diameter, which is what approx 20% at radius) is causing me to loose the dot. But remember, while I took basically the last year off shooting open, and was shooting Single Stack, still my index to dot on my 90 degree with Cmore is pretty natural... There are times it's that way with the microdot, but then there are times what I have *NO IDEA WHERE THE DOT IS* ... I think what most people would say is... *you need to dry fire more*... if you are going to stay with this setup... decisions, decisions... Alan So, the learning continues

We changed it a little... Shot it as a 30 round course with 12 targets down the middle... Instead of the walls (we were lazy to build it), we just create a similar approach, but with caution tape, and fault line that started the shooter at the corner of the triangle. It was probably 70-80' long with 3 barrels and 3 targets - middle one upside down and all hardcover except for the head ... My lowly A class (newly minted) shot that in 13 seconds! That first target was *such* a small A zone, but it was very fun to shoot this stage... a real ripper, and it's even fun to listen to it... it's just a tat,tat, small pause, repeat up to a rapid 6 shot cadence ... Chris, thanks so much for posting that and motivating me to draw it up.... Was an excellent fun stage to shoot! Got lots of great comments here! Alan