45 Raven

+1 on the Blade-Tech and I also fully agree with the earlier comments regarding the tec-lok attachment. The SRB attachment is much more stable, in my experience!

1. What is the COAL of your lead RN ammo? 2. What brand magazines are you using?

Glad to have you aboard. You are going to learn a LOT from this forum! You should try the IDPA matches at PR&GC. See the practical match schedule on their website. They also shoot IDPA matches there at night, but they are at the same time as the Rio TNS matches!

I haven't used the Winchester bullet you referenced, but have shot a lot of Speer 55 gr. FMJ bullets in my Colt HBAR with 20" barrel. My load is 28.5 grains of W748 (that's the top load for that bullet in the Speer #11 Reloading Manual). Primer is WSR. This loads provides 3242 FPS from my HBAR and I get 1 1/8" groups @ 50 yards and 1 7/16" groups @ 100 yards. Those are 5-shot, not 3-shot groups, and with iron sights.

Welcome to the forum. From the photo, it looks like you might be shooting Tuesday Night Steel matches at Rio Salado? Or maybe steel matches at Phoenix Rod & Gun Club.

In my experience, the CMJ and FMJ MG's are equal in accuracy. I never notice the FMJ smoking more when I shoot them, but the pistol is always dirtier when shooting those bullets as compared to the CMJ's. (I use TiteGroup). The pistol probably takes 90 seconds longer to clean after shooting the FMJ's than it does after shooting the CMJ's, as the smokey deposit is very soft and cleans easily. I don't think there is enough difference to spend any time worrying about it.

I'm contemplating the purchase of SJC "Open" 9mm Glock pistol. This pistol would be used exclusively for use in steel matches, so power factor isn't an issue. While I have reloaded ammunition for 40 years and much of that experience has been for auto pistols in 45 ACP and 9mm, I have never loaded for a pistol with a comp. Despite the current bullet shortage, I am fortunate to have a significantly large inventory of Montana Gold 124 CMJ and 124 JHP bullets on hand, so those bullets will be used (at least initially and until bullet supplies return to "normal"). Can anyone provide me with advice regarding preferred powders for use in a 9mm comp'ed pistol with a 124 gr. bullet? Recommended charge weights would also be appreciated. Currently I use 4.2 grains of TiteGroup under the aforementioned bullets and shoot them in Glock, STI, and Springfield 1911 and XDm pistols. Thanks in advance for any help.

I second the recommendation to replace the mag release with either a Vickers release or a shorter one as comes in all the pistols except the 34/35. Neither option is expensive and both provide great improvements over the 34/35 factory release.

Moderators: Please lock. Found my answer in another member's post from June!

Bump. Nobody has experience with these mag extensions???

Reloaded lots of it in both .45 ACP and 9mm with zero problems.

I am looking at the Arredondo magazine extensions made for the Glock G17 standard magazines. According to the Arredondo website, these extensions extend the length of the magazines to 140mm and allow an additional 6 rounds of 9mm ammunition to be loaded. I have the following questions: If you have used them, have they proven to be durable and reliable? I am interested in using them in an SJC 9mm Open pistol in 9mm, which includes the SJC magazine well. Do the Glock magazines with the Arredondo extensions properly fit this pistol as configured? Are there better choices for magazines in this pistol? Thanks in advance for any feedback you might be able to provide.

So if one is planning on shooting steel ONLY in Open Class, there should be no reason to choose .40 over 9mm . . . . . is that correct, or am I overlooking something?

124 gr. MG JHP 4.2 grains TiteGroup 1.140" COAL G34 = 1141 FPS G17 = 1128 FPS G19 = 1121 FPS G26 = 1112 FPS Springfield EMP = 1017 FPS STI 5.0 Tactical = 1108 FPS Wilson Combat Spec Ops 9 = 1081 FPS Springfield XDm 4.5 bbl = 1149 FPS

I'll agree with 231 (of the powders you mentioned) for versatility. In addition to the aforementioned calibers, it also works in .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt, with both cast and jacketed bullets.

The velocity you are getting from TiteGroup seems awfully low, but you should be able to go to 5.0 grains or even a little more with a 230 gr. plated bullet. I would suggest you take your powder charge up to 4.7 and see how close you are to the desired velocity, and then work up to 5.0 grains if necessary. I'm not familiar with the configuration of the Rocky Mountain Reloading bullet you are using, but typically a 230 RN COAL can be played with a bit from 1.250 to 1.275 as long as they function properly in your pistol. Shorter COAL will result in increased pressure and more velocity, all other things being equal.

Agreed. I load a 17-round mag with 111 rounds and start each stage that way, followed by 10-round mags on the belt. Easy, simple, and as the man said: practical.

The STI Trojan is available with fixed sights (the same rear sight as used on the Tactical 5.0 - I think it is made by Heinie). Oak Hill sold one in 9mm with the fixed rear sight on GunBroker a few months ago. My Dan Wesson only has about 900 rounds through it so far, but has functioned perfectly so far using both factory and reloaded ammo including: 230 FMJ factory 230 JHP hand loads 230 CMJ hand loads 200 JHP factory 230 cast RNFP hand loads 200 cast SWC hand loads

I've used the MG 124 JHP in G26, G19, G17, and G34 pistols as well as other pistols from Dan Wesson, STI, and Springfield. I have experimented with COAL's ranging from 1.100 to 1.160 and found that 1.140 works in all the pistols with good accuracy. Can't help with powder question, though, as I've not used WSF.

1.140 in: Springfield EMP Glock G26 Glock G34 Glock G17 Glock G19 Springfield XDm STI 5.0 Tactical Works fine in all of them.

Ed Brown - Wilson Combat - Nighthawk Custom - Dan Wesson - STI

I came to this discussion late and am assuming the issue of loading a Glock pistol magazine rapidly/easily has been addressed. But in the off-chance that it has not, see this:

I'm not certain of the exact configuration of the 200 gr. SWC you mentioned, and therefore, the COAL might be different than some 200 gr. SWC bullets I am familiar with in the .45 ACP. Assuming you will be looking for a PF of around 170 to provide yourself a margin for error, you will need to achieve an average MV of around 850 FPS. The Lyman #452460 200 gr. SWC bullet should be seated to a COAL of 1.161, and when loaded to that length with 5.0 grains of W231 powder, I get an average MV of 845 FPS, providing good accuracy and a PF of 169 in an Ed Brown SF 5" 1911. When substituting the Lyman #452630 bullet (also a 200 gr. SWC) and loaded to the recommended COAL of 1.235", it takes 5.8 grains of W231 to get an average MV of 840 FPS (PF 168) from the same pistol. This load is also accurate in my pistol. Substitute an identical weight cast bullet of yet a different design, and you will likely have to adjust your powder charge to accommodate bullet design and recommended COAL differences. Substitute a jacketed bullet of 200 grains in weight and you will find that you almost certainly will have to change powder weight to achieve MV's similar to those you saw with the cast bullets. Bullet design, material of construction, and and COAL have quite a bit of effect on ballistics, and one has to experiment a bit to find the right combination for a specific pistol. That's what makes reloading fun! If I was uncertain of how the 200 grain SWC you mentioned compared to the Lyman bullets I mentioned, I would load it to the recommended COAL for that bullet with 5.4 grains of W231 and then adjust the powder weight up or down to achieve the targeted MV. Then I would test for accuracy and reliability in my pistol and hit the range and the IDPA matches. Good luck!

I have had great results with Montana Gold 124 gr. JHP's and CMJ's over 4.0 - 4.2 of Hodgdon TiteGroup. Currently, however, both the MG bullets and TG powder are virtually impossible to procure!

Also . . . . . some sanctioned matches gun checks include disassembly of the pistol and inspection of the guide rod assemblies. I have personally witnessed this and saw one competitor disqualified for the use of a tungsten guide rod in a Glock pistol. I believe he would have finished first in division otherwise. He is a solid guy and I'm certain he was not willfully cheating, but it was a costly and embarrassing lesson.