isleman75

Um, no. Bad Idea. Get a Lee Reloading manual. I don't have mine in front of me, but it's probably in there. If not, .303 British is nearly it's equal. Ballistically, the .308 Win is way hotter than the .303 Savage. The Savage is closer to 30-30 Win. Careful...

The main reason for loading .40 cal long in game guns on the 1911/2011 platform is reliability. It is much greater at lengths approaching 1.20 instead of the 1.12 or so that most factory .40 barrels are chambered for. The reason is that the 1911/2011 was designed around the .38 Super (long) and then the .45 ACP (also longer than .40S&W) and it is much easier to make the gun run very reliably with longer rounds. If you want to run longer ammo, you must have most barrels reamed. It's no big deal, and most reputable pistol 'smiths will have one in stock to do the job quickly. I use the Dave Manson reamers and they work great.

Plus One for jingling them around a bit at all phases before inserting them into the plate. Split cases make a very distinct and different ring than the good ones. Rattling them in the bin with your fingers also sometimes gives away the split ones.

.40 is a much higher pressure round than .45 ACP. Pressure/heat/speed, all add up to higher probability of leading. I would try different powders as well since some burn "hotter" than others. Also the comment about crimp is correct. Check that your case mouth is around .422 or so after crimp. Much tighter and you're digging into the bullet with the case mouth. I've had pretty good luck with Universal Clays or Bullseye- both burn and meter nearly identically in my Schuemann STI.

I love the Bayous as well!! I've had great luck with Bullseye loaded at 4.7 or 4.8 depending on OAL. I had a bunch of Universal Clays and when I started with a new batch of Bullseye, they metered nearly identically and gave very similar results. Bullseye was only a little cleaner. Lots of people really live the VV, but there's something to be said for powder that's sold nearly everywhere powder is sold..

The last post is correct. All bullets are different in every barrel. Xtremes worked fine for me in my Schuemann .40 standard barrel...That is all except for the extreme spread in velocity. I could never get it reasonable with those bullets. The spread between rounds was anywhere from 20fps to 100fps...This would be 10-shot strings!! Crazy..And can affect power factor very easily. The only way to know for sure is try them in your gun..

It is very possible for mags to over-insert and get caught by the mag catch in the 2011 platform. The best thing you can do is polish your mag release button. The way the STI version is made, it's pretty easy for that hole in the magazine to easily go past the mag catch and the mag body will then push the mag catch/release if it's over-inserted. Yours is getting caught because of the spring pressure of the mag catch and the lack of polish on one or both parts. Dawson's posi lock mag catch looks to be a perfect fix for this malady (and the reason Dave Dawson came up with it) and there is a very cool video for it on their web site that explains how it works better than I can write it. You should fix it quick either way because this "over-insertion" can also easily break ejectors if the lips on the mag are already very close to the ejector on full insertion.

Sorry, well put by Croomrider...

Very well put by Merlin. This is part of the beauty of the 1911/2011 platform. They are infinitely tune-able with the various springs, and even the radius on the fp stop. Some smiths even build their guns with barely a broken 90 degree edge on the bottom of the fp stop. This delays opening of the slide and cocking of the hammer. Was popular with the bullseye shooters back in the day..

Safety feature only..The 1911 has 3 of them, because of the overly-cautious military..

I also run a Dawson..Thing is soo long it almost peeks out the hole at rest...looks scary long, but goes bang every time, even with the hard Wolf primers.

You might try Dawson followers. They use the factory STI spring, slightly modified. I've been extremely happy with them on my latest build. 1500rds with zero failures.

I just finished a limited .40 STI/schuemann, full length dust cover, etc. I got half the parts at cost and the other half from Brazos, which is close to cost on many things. After all was said and done, I probably saved $50 over a new gun already assembled, like the Dawson or basic STI. It was nice to build it myself, as I am an experienced 'smith, but you won't save much because I also didn't have to buy any tools. I also have access to a gunsmith shop any time I want, which helped immensely. There are a few tools that are a necessity and you may be better off having certain jobs done by someone with experience, like fitting the barrel/slide. If you get it wrong, it can prove very costly. Slides and barrels aren't exactly cheap.

Another thing to check would be the breech face. That should be polished very smooth, with something that will keep the surface very flat. If the back of the case catches a rough breech face, it will case a FTF, just like a too-tight extractor. The fitment of an extractor for 38/40 is also very different than 45acp. The actual hook tip should ride on the deep inner grooved portion of the case on the .40 instead of the inside of the hook actually touching the edge of the outside of the rim of the case (like on 45acp). Brazos has great technical articles and pics on his web site discussing this. Education and experience is the best tool for making game guns work!

I would say find someone that knows how to properly adjust an extractor on the 1911/2011 platform and you will be fine. There are also a few tips on Brazos' web site that thoroughly discuss the intricacies and differences between how an extractor should hold 40S&W/9mm and 45 acp cases. From what I hear, many love the Aftecs, but it seams like a pricey "fix" for a "problem" that never existed. Like many pieces on a 1911/2011, an extractor needs to be properly fit and tuned to run in the game guns we love...

I'm in the camp of "Glocks are great guns....but..." I shot a G22 in production for almost two years until I realized it just wasn't my best option for the games we play. I guess the CZ SP01 I shoot and 2011 just "feel right" when holding, shooting, and everything else. CZs just rock..

I love some Montana Gold 124gr. HPs. Loading them with 4.0 grains of Bullseye has been the no-fail recipe for me for quite some time. I've been shooting Limited lately, but I'll keep going back to my CZ on occasion.

I think anywhere north of .420 is going to be fine, but like they say, measure your brass and get a good number. I load lead mostly, some Bayou Bullets (Love them) and some performance moly. They all crimp the same and shoot great with minimal leading. The real advantage to loading long in the 2011 or 1911 platform is better function. The 1911 was originally built around .38 Super, then .45 ACP, both of which are longer (1.230 to 1.280) than factory .40 S&W. Loading our 40s at a longer length makes the game guns run much smoother, lessening the likelihood of a malfunction. A properly set up 2011 will eat most any length as long as mags are within spec. I run 1.180 to 1.20 and have zero issues whatsoever. The only reason to change lengths is for the different bullets, as some are slightly longer or shorter than others in relation to where they end up in the case. For example, the 170gr. performance moly seated at the same 1.20 oal as a Bayou 180 grain TC will actually have more case capacity inside the loaded case, even though both are seated out to a 1.20 OAL. That's why you should always load a few, shoot them through a chronograph, and assess. All guns and loads are different. The guys above talked about Universal Clays, and I would concur. I currently shoot Bullseye, but found that they both meter and shoot almost identically. The newer Bullseye recipe might be slightly cleaner, but both are great for .40 S&W loads in our game. Most of my loads are around 4.7 grains of either powder, and they are all very near 170 power factor.

I couldn't ever get Xtreme plated bullets to give me a standard deviation below 50 or 75fps..Way too big a variance in my book.. Many have had them work just fine, but I couldn't. Maybe powder sensitive.

I load long .40 (1.180 to 1.20) with all kinds of 180 grain bullets, but my favorites are lead and Bayou Bullets. I have used Universal Clays very successfully and now run Bullseye (nearly identical weight and feel of UClays)..

Send only main external parts. Frame, slide, safeties, mag catch, etc.. Do not send fire control group parts-- sear, disconnect, springs, hammer. These parts should have plenty of oil on them anyway. Send pins if you want them chrome on the ends to match. Metaloy is the place our shop has used for years...Impeccable everything.

IMHO, there is no finer case gauge than the barrel of the gun that will eat the ammo during the match. Long loads won't work in many gauges, but a throating reamer should rectify that.

I've been a 'smith for 15 years and I did wreck a few thumb safeties, beavertails, and even jacked up a front strap checker job..Luckily, the checker job was for a friend and suited him just fine, it just wasn't up to MY standards..I apprenticed under an old-time match shooter and his son, who worked for Wilson for a time, before Wilson got enormous, back in the early 90s. You will screw some things up, be sure, and I would start with an inexpensive 1911 before tackling a 2011 full house build. I just built my current Limited 2011 for about $1800 in parts. That's no chump change, and without labor costs since I did the mill work, filing, etc... Tack on another $200 for a hard chrome finish, etc..

The 1911 and 2011 platform is indeed very complicated, even though it may not seem so. There are many operations (especially barrel fitment) that can seem like they are done properly, then fail spectacularly because of improper fitment. This gets even more complicated (frame milling with precise vertical impact areas and new horizontal impact areas, etc.) with ramped barrels, which are a necessity if chambering in .40, 9mm, 38S, or the many other calibers popular with our game guns other than .45 ACP. Unless you are well versed in the operation of John Browning's finest handgun, I would advise against it, or at least start with something that will cost you a little less than $1800 to find out if you are competent enough. Look up Schuemann's web site. They have fantastic technical articles on barrels and fitment. Also, buy the 1911 technical book by Kunhausen if you're serious. There are no equals for his technical manuals.

Croomrider finally hit the nail on the head. JHPs cut better holes in the targets and manufacturing tolerances are more tightly held for JHPs. I have a friend/customer that competes with very expensive rifles/bullets/and equipment. He also started to make his own JHPs in 6mmBR and has discovered how truly difficult it is to make them go in straight lines when there are so many things affecting accuracy. The crown of the muzzle proves infinitely important as the gasses move around the bullet upon exit from the barrel. Also, Croomrider is correct in that the uniformity of the base of the bullet is more important for stability, flight, etc. It is much easier to make a very uniform JHP than to do the same for a FMJ, thus the reason for match bullets always being JHPs. When it all comes down to the nut cutting, the relatively short barrels and comparatively slow rifling twists we use in our pistol games prove not to be as fickle for accuracy as our rifle shooters' tools. Most of our high end pistols with nice barrels and proper assembly will shoot 2" groups at 50 yards without breaking a sweat, with all types of bullets-lead or jacketed. And with the majority of our shots going down range at an average of 10-15 yards, accuracy is controlled infinitely more by the hands and skills of the shooter, not whether there is a .001" runout in the base of a particular bullet.