warpspeed

I have long had the policy of waiting for 3 "stars" before replacing the glass. Although one time I was mowing the lawn and the lawn mower threw a rock and it hit the rear fixed panel of glass on my Ford Explorer. Ouch.

John, I know that Briley does this kind of work. http://www.briley.com They have a good reputation, at least with me.

Lex, what are you running now and in what gun? I use a 19lb that has not been cut. Some of the guys will run a 17lb. The key is that it is strong enough to detonate the primer everytime. If you have a stainless steel firing pin a 17lb should work. This way the slide has less to push against and will help the gun cycle faster. But this is with a lightned hammer so take that into consideration. As for trigger pull, I do not think it will make any difference. I have never heard of the mainspring being discussed when talking about trigger pull. The only time I have seen them cut short was to make it easier to install.

Homero, Bill has covered just about all of it. The only reason to shoot 40 in open would be if you are set up to reload 40 and do not want to spend the money or hassle with having 2 calibers. To keep the investment to a minimum, you could have a second top end fitted with a Doctor Sight so you could shoot the same frame in open & limited. One frame, 2 top ends and one reloading press.

A little thread drift..... If you cut off coils, why not start with a commander length spring? Are they too short to begin with ?

Paraman, Check out Jeff Maass' web page. There ia a download in PDF format for 38 super loads that will boggle the mind. http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/index.html

I know that I wouldn't shoot 9supercomp loads in a 38 super barrel I wanted to keep. In theory, you would need to shoot the brass to get it to expand to straight wall dimensions. To begin with, it has a slight taper. Now if you load it with 38 super dies, it would still be tapered the first time you load it. If it was me, I'd sell the 9supercomp and buy the 38 super or supercomp instead.

Thank you for the enlightenment. I have seen the tube sets on the briley web site and wondered why but was afraid to ask.

I had a prior commitment (tee ball) or else I would ! Maybe next one.....

TMC, As for the dimensions, they are not identical. 38 super , TJ & 38 Super comp are all straight wall 9x19 , 9x21, 9x23 & 9 supercomp have a taper use the 9mm dies for 9x23 or 9 supercomp (Edited by warpspeed at 10:32 pm on April 25, 2002)

TMC, I would not shoot the 9x23 in a 38 super barrel unless you are getting ready to get a new one. Yes, it will work. The 9 has a slight taper and depending on the extractor, it will cylce fine. It will stretch the brass which may or may not cause the case to stick and not extract. This would be bad if it happened in a match. But the real problem is if the chamber is 38 super there is a little gap and the shooting of 9x23 will start to errode the chamber. You are effectively headspacing off the extractor and not the chamber itself. Or so I was once told by someone much smarter than me.

Glad to be of service. I haven't tried the 0.355 frangibles because they are more expensive than 115 jhp. and the 115 jhp is light enough and very accurate. you may want to try 100 of each and see if the extra cost is worth it. For 40 S&W, it definately is. Please post your results so we can all learn :-)

Jim, If you want something light use the frangible bullets. West Coast or Sinterfire both work well. They are light but have larger dimensions. I use them in S&W40- they have 125gr that have the same profile/size as 180's. This solve the OAL probs.

Hey Dump, How was westend? I usually shoot at Piru on 1st Sat in the practice match. Nice thing is it is same location as the SC so surroundings are familar but I have wanted to shoot at West End as it is a little closer to home.

(dumb question mode on) Why would you want to shoot a 20ga or smaller in a 12ga gun? The reason for using 12ga is to get more BB's even though the gun is heavier. Right? So if you why shoot 20ga, for lighter recoil? Why not just use a lighter load? (dumb question mode off)

Boski, There are quite a few post on this topic already. Use the search function on the top bar. You will find that the majority uses either VV 320 or TiteGroup with a 180gr bullet.

Razz, sometimes it is the simplest things we overlook. Is everything tight on the press like it is supose to be? Sometimes the screws can loosen up and cause things like shellplates to move. This can lead to very inconsistent results. Also, are you seating & crimping with a case in the size die? The seating & crimping procedures are very dependent on the shellplate pressure and if you are running 1 at a time, the OAL will be off. ALWAYS load with a case in the size position, even if you don't prime it. As for "handtight", I tighten the lock ring on the dies with a wrench so that I need a wrench to remove it. Perhaps this is a little more than hand tight but it sure is not loose. Hope that helps.

Probably real sweet. I first shot SC with a SS Springfield in 9mm that had been lightened a lot. The idea is to be able to move from plate to plate quickly. A long gun with weight out front doesn't help to do this. Scope mount is a frame mount using an ADCO tube scope. Check out http://www.gramseng.com for a really nice one. The tube is the best hot ticket for steel. Bevin's mount puts it as close to slide as possible.

Bill, I love Jeff's lists! I have used the 40 S&W one and it was very helpful.

I hope that all who like to bitch, whine, moan & complain about the laws take the time to vote for those people who make them. If you don't, then shut up or vote. Remember Prohibition? They repealed it when the majority said they no longer supported it and voted into office representitives who would repeal it. Perhaps the same thing will happen in CA someday.

Dave, There is not enough difference in the 2. Any "problems" are more likely due to other factors like spring weight, feed ramp angle, OAL, etc. You might want to ask STI if they ship the same slide for a 38super and 9mm. I think the answer will be they are the same but you might want to ask. I was going to have a super changed to 9mm and my gunsmith did not say a thing about the breechface being an issue. (I changed my mind since then.)

9mm is rimless, rim is same diameter as case 38 super is semi-rimmed, rim slightly larger than case

on the subject of dogs.... like all things in life, one must be responsible for ones actions and decisions. I choose, therefore I am responsible. In a free society, it is part of the good and bad.

Dump, it goes something like this for me.... I would love to shoot a big match,like the Nationals but with a wife and 3 kids, the time away is tough. I mean, if you were a baseball player in the minors and someone said "want to play at Yankee Staidum today?" would you say "no, i'm not good enough." HELL NO. You'd knock the guy down to get on the team bus! So if you like in SoCal, like I do, the Steel Challenge is perfect. Big match, all the big shooters and I get to sleep in my own bed. If the money is an issue, try the rimfire event. Same course of fire just no draw and less to enter. A lot of the big boys shoot it so you get to watch Micklek and TJ shoot. And if you have the pregame jitters, shooting the rimfire may help to get rid of them before the big money match.

Dave, If you are thinking 9mm then you are in the right direction. pf for challenge is sub minor. You are looking for accuracy with longest shot at < 50 yds. Load needs to be a very light bullet like a 115 @ 1000 fps or so. For the gun recomendation, look at a commander lenght slide with a 2 port cone comp using a govt lenght barrel. Since capacity is a non issue, if you don miss, a single stack is OK. But if you already have a S_I gun, have a new top end fit and you can use the same lower. Short, light and quick.