SimonM

GJM, otherwise that could be a fine option, but I believe that we have an ocean between us... Thanks for the offer! I was already in contact with Holosun and they will handle this, if I'm not happy with my purchase.

Hello, I ordered a green 507 Comp and got it delivered a couple of weeks ago. I'd seen the red one and liked it a lot, but I had read some positive things about the green, and decided to try out something new. Once I got the sight I immediately noticed that no matter the reticle or the brightness, I wasn't able to see the dot/reticle as clearly as with any of the other, C-more, Aimpoint or Holosun red dots I have. I even checked it against my friend's red 507 Comp a few days ago and the result was the same. Outside in daylight it wasn't as blurry/unclear, but still noticeably different from the red one. If I was only shooting on bright outdoor ranges or matches, this wouldn't be as big of a deal, but I shoot indoors quite often and I would also like to be able see the 2 MOA dot precisely for shooting more accurately. What is your opinion/experience concerning these green and red 507 Comp sights? Have you ran into anything like this? This is the only green 507 Comp that I've seen and I've been also thinking that there might be something off with the thing. Or my eyes just don't prefer the green colour...

Hello, I ordered a green 507 Comp and got it delivered a couple of weeks ago. I'd seen the red one and liked it a lot, but I had read some positive things about the green, and decided to try out something new. Once I got the sight I immediately noticed that no matter the reticle or the brightness, I wasn't able to see the dot/reticle as clearly as with any of the other, C-more, Aimpoint or Holosun red dots I have. I even checked it against my friend's red 507 Comp a few days ago and the result was the same. Outside in daylight it wasn't as blurry/unclear, but still noticeably different from the red one. If I was only shooting on bright outdoor ranges or matches, this wouldn't be as big of a deal, but I shoot indoors quite often and I would also like to be able see the 2 MOA dot precisely for shooting more accurately. What is your opinion/experience concerning these green and red 507 Comp sights? Have you ran into anything like this? This is the only green 507 Comp that I've seen and I've been also thinking that there might be something off with the thing. Or my eyes just don't prefer the green colour...

Try the Aimpoint Acro. Me and my friend have been shooting ours for a while now and the only issues we’ve run into have to do with loosening of the plate that comes onto the slide. I’ve taken the sight off two or three times since I noticed a very slight amount of wiggling and reapplied your normal Loctite, but now I cleaned every surface properly and decided to try the stronger version of Loctite. Let’s see how that goes. I know that the SRO for example will be tons better than Acro when it comes FOV, but for know I haven’t come across any issues with the durability with the Aimpoint sight itself. For me atleast, that is very important, because I want this to be as trouble free as can be; just load and shoot, without worrying about tinkering with your equipment or that it failing on you. I bet this is true with many other CO/Production Optics shooters, especially when many of them/us are coming from the very maintenance free Production class... In all honesty I have to say that I haven’t got tons and tons of rounds through the Acro yet, but I’m fairly optimistic at this point.

I have put it on my Glock, but I didn’t shoot with it. The dealer didn’t have a Glock MOS pistol to try it on, so we tried it on mine. I have limited experience with slide mounted optics, and with this one the dot is exactly in the same level as your standard height irons. As I’ve been shooting Glocks for a while, it makes it natural to find the dot. However, I think that tracking the dot in recoil is another story as the glass is only 7,6mm high... I would’ve love to have been able to shoot it and compare it my Acro, but that would’ve required me to purchase the Noblex sight and I wasn’t quite ready for that. The design is cool, the glass is clear, the dot is pretty precise and the size of course is minimal compared to other offerings.

I've had plenty of Glocks and in the beginning all was fine. But after I had shot a few years, the slide bite started to become a factor. I guess it happened because of the way I grip the pistol changed a bit through practise. And there might be some changes to the web of my hand as well, as I was under twenty when I first shot with one. When I got my hands on the new Gen4 G17, it felt pretty good and my hands were positioned just slighty differently when holding the pistol. I borrowed one from a friend of mine so that I could really train with one and see what would happen. I've noticed that some pistols may feel OK when you handle them in a shop, but aren't that good anymore when you start shooting live ammo, doing draws from a holster, mag changes etc. Now after 4k rounds of using my own Gen4 G17 in both practise and competition, I've been quite happy with the results. No slide bite and the smaller grip helps me control the pistol better. It even seems to point better...

I've handled plenty of different Tanfoglio models and have shot many of them as well. Even though the open and standard pistols are built on the bigger frame, they are easy pistols to use for people with small hands. As for myself, despite having small hands, I favor the 2011-type pistols because of their ergonomics and build quality (speaking off the shelf STI for example). This is only my opinion, though, about the ergonomics. I know many people who like the Tanfoglio pistols with their CZ like ergonomics better than 1911/2011. None of the many Tanfoglios I've tried/handled have exhibited the same level of precision as the STI, when it comes to fitting of the major components. But in .38 SC they've worked well and because of the slide lightening, hybrid holes etc. they shoot very flat as well. BTW, One guy who knows about building and shooting pistols a lot, said that the Tanfoglio/CZ-type pistols are the easiest pistols to shoot fast and accurately. But, he still uses and builds 1911's and 2011's. As he's not making his living out of building or selling guns, this makes me question the durability of the other design...

Kermit, Thank you for the comments and good to hear that your MatchMaster is shooting well. Is yours in 9mm and does it have the same kind barrel/comp setup as SteelMaster has? And have you been shooting with the RecoilMaster or...?

What you're describing about the stop plate seems to be just like the one in my SteelMaster. I'm very interested in seeing the pictures. Thanks again!

Thanks for the pictures and the update austex! You stated that the slide weights 10 ounces. Is that with a racker? I haven't put my slide on a scale, but Bob Londrigan informed me that it's 9,4 oz. If I'd install a racker on it, it would be around 10 oz, give or take a little. The firing pin stop plate is shaped very differently in the SteelMaster than in any other pistol that I've seen. I know that the reason for this is to make it easier for the slide to "move back". Because both the SteelMaster and the MatchMaster are equipped with the same length light RecoilMasters and they have just about the same amount of moving mass (slide), there must be a difference in the shape of that firing pin stop plate. Could you post a picture of the rear of the slide showing that? In IPSC the major pf minimum is only 160, so that should be easily done with the VV powders. I do believe that making the 170 is a bit tricky... BTW, your pistol is pretty much what I would've ordered, but it wasn't available at the time.

darrello37, I would like to hear how your MatchMaster handles with major ammo. If you've checked the weight of your slide, please do tell. The pistol has been available for a while now, so by this time there should be someone how has tried one in 9mm major. The 9mm comes with the same trubor barrel/comp (shorter comp as opposed to the .38 super) as the SteelMaster, am I correct?

I noticed that STI has also changed the description of the SteelMaster...They no longer state that it's 9 mm minor, but just 9 mm and they're also making it in .38 super. What do you think; are they changing their minds about this model being suitable for major loads with the light RecoilMaster or what's going on?? I've tried a 9 mm STI GrandMaster with a light RM and it worked with both factory (minor, pf around 130) and handloaded major ammo. I'm curious if these newer, lighter models can do the same and still be durable doing it.

A couple of Trubors have had slide rackers installed even though they don't have that much metal on top of that rear part of the slide. I think the dovetail for the racker wasn't so deep as you've seen in many other open guns. That's great news that the MatchMaster is available in 9mm! I'm especially glad since I've already got the SteelMaster... The .38 super is obviously easier to load to major, but it isn't too difficult with the 9mm. Although, I have to admit that every 9 mm major load around here (as well as most other loads too) that I've encountered have been loaded using VV powders, which are expensive in the U.S. and sometimes not so easy to find. In Finland they are cheaper than just about anything else plus they're usually all that is available in most gun shops. The only imported powder I've bought is a small one pound can of H-110 (as an alternative for VV N-110 revo loads) and it cost more than what I have to pay for a kilo of N-110!

Thanks for the comments. Tsygä, I read it from the STI page that one can build a pistol to his liking (Infinite). You could have them build a pretty much similar pistol to the MatchMaster, but in 9x19 major. Or atleast one would think so... It would be interesting to see how much a pistol like that would cost. I think that the prize of the MatchMaster will be the same as Trubor/SteelMaster. The caliber is both good and bad. The .38 super is a bit easier to get to major and I wouldn't mix my major 9mm ammo with my minor ammo by mistake. But I'd have to buy .38 cases as opposed to getting just about free casings for the nine, so... More thoughts are welcome. I don't think I'll get to try out any short major open guns as there aren't any shooters around using one, so you guys can help me by commenting your experiences. If someone gets to try out the exact model (MatchMaster), all the better.

I got my SteelMaster, which is very similar in size etc. to this new MatchMaster, about a month ago. I like the balance of the gun and it shoots very nice. The only differences with the SteelMaster and the MatchMaster seem to be the slide lightening, the longer comp and, of course, the caliber (.38 super). What do you think about this new offering? It has a longer comp which can utilize the bigger amount of gasses generated by .38 super ammo, but how do you think it's going to behave; will it be truly competitive in open class? There probably aren't many people on this forum, if any, who have had a chance to shoot one yet, but post your thoughts anyway.

Tsygä, the SteelMaster has a light recoilmaster spring assembly in it. It feels quite nice, so I'm not going to change that for a while anyway. The loads that I'm thinking about trying aren't exactly that much more powerful than the ones I've been using now and I'll be shooting the real minor level loads in it at first in order to break it in. I have no intention in damaging the gun by shooting too heavy loads, especially when I'm using the original light recoilmaster. As you stated, with a heavier recoil spring the situation might be a bit different. I just need to get used to the pistol a lot more in general; I haven't been shooting with a dot that much...

It was a long wait, but I got my SteelMaster just a couple of days before christmas. Couldn't resist the urge and I opened the package immediately...The pistol was just about what I had hoped for; the balance is very good, it's fitted nicely and looks very cool I've shot it only three times (300 rounds total) and it has functioned quite nicely with both factory Magtech 124gr and my own very soft minor pf reloads. Only the first time I was shooting it, a case got stuck between the slide and the mount, but after that I haven't encountered any issues. The SteelMaster behaves very much like many other open pistols with less blast and noise. My friend who has competed a few years with a SVI .38 super also tried my pistol and liked how it handled; good balance, shoots pretty flat etc. The pistol throws the empties very close when using my 135 pf reloads, so I'm likely to try about 140 - 145 pf loads later on and see how it behaves. I also want to shoot it side by side with a major open gun so that I can make a fair comparison on how it feels like. My best groups have been about 1,5" at 25 meters using cheap Magtech ammo, so I'm satisfied with the pistol's accuracy as well. Simo

I'm currently competing in production and I shoot 92 Stock. I wanted to get "a training aid" in a form of an open gun, so I ordered STI SteelMaster. I doubt it very much that any pistol that Beretta is offering currently would be a good choice for open. My future open gun is not designed to be shot with major ammo and even still the thought of building a Beretta with a dot on it didn't even cross my mind. People already mentioned the lack of good holsters, aftermarket support etc. concerning the open Beretta. That alone is reason enough to stay from one. Couple of guys here in Finland built an open 96 Stock with a C-more, comp and all the bells and whistles a couple of years ago. One them shot it for a season and desided to give up. As I recall the pistol worked 100% (as Berettas usually do ), but it just wasn't competitive; capacity, how it handled recoil etc. I don't know how many rounds he shot with it; probably not that much since it was only one season...

Thanks Mark! Good to hear that the pistol is running great! The N320 is the powder I've been using to load 9mm, .40 and .45, so I'm hoping to find a good load for the SteelMaster by using the same stuff. Since Vihtavuori powders are made in Finland they are a natural choice for us, plus pretty much everything else is more expensive around here than VV. Please keep me informed what kind of velocities you get if you chrono your loads. BTW, is it a steel match you're going to shoot with your SteelMaster or..?

Well, after careful consideration I ordered the SteelMaster! I'm not slow, it took only two months to think it over I thought about getting a Trubor or a GrandMaster, but ended up with the SteelMaster. The main use for the gun will be training/steel shooting, so I can live with it even if it doesn't make major. MarkS, what are your impressions after you've had the pistol for a while; reliability etc.? Have you tried any say 140-150 pf (or more) rounds in the gun? I'm very interested to if anyone else wants to share their experiences with this pistol. I haven't found just about anything more on this pistol except from you guys on BE forum. It's been out for a while so I'm hoping to hear something. M1911.org is about to review, but not sure when... Simon

Thank you! As always, I've gotten excellent information from you guys. Bob: That's great that you took the time to answer and give such an accurate description of the pistol. I've seen a couple of your pistols in Equador and in the hands of some Norwegian shooters here in Finland and I'd like nothing more than to get one (or two) of your masterpieces, but the STI route is the easiest option for me right now. I live in Finland and it's convenient for me to get a factory STI from the Finnish importer. There aren't really any skilled 1911/2011-gunsmiths active in Finland who could build good guns, at least for sale. The people that used to build a few per year are now doing repairs and some minor tweaking if needed. Plus there isn't anyone importing any custom or semicustom 2011-type raceguns. I wish there was... Even SVI guns aren't sold in Finland anymore; maybe it's due to long lead times or something like that. The options we have around here, for standard and open class, are basically factory produced guns, such as STI, Tanfoglio, Sphinx and CZ. I like the STI best and have had fair deals from the importer before. The SteelMaster is advertised as having very little muzzle flip. Is it so? I've tried a couple of 9mm open guns and they didn't seem too flat with 9mm minor ammo since there wasn't much gas for the comp to work with. I know this isn't such a big deal when you're using it to shoot only one shot per target as in steel shooting. But if one wants to train or shoot IPSC for fun with it, then it matters. If anyone decides to try their SteelMasters with a heavy recoilmaster using major ammo, I'm all ears.

Thanks Jadepanther, I'll probably get a similar answer sometime in the near future from the STI. I understand the heavier recoil spring, but what about the extraction? Does it need longer / shorter ejector or...? Well, if I decide to get one it'll be for training, steel and shooting some open matches for fun (minor). It sounds like too much of a hazzle to go through to tune it to work with major ammo, especially since it's not the main reason for me to get one. If I want a dedicated open blaster I'll probably have to get one later on...

Thanks for the responses guys! I e-mailed STI and asked the same questions from them. Let's see what they reply. Mark: I'd like to hear more about your pistol. How does it feel compared to other open pistols; how does the dot track, is the comp effective with factory ammo (pf about 130 or so) etc.? It would be interesting to know the weight of the slide also. My VIP .45 has quite a bit lighter slide than my Edge .40 and there is a noticeable difference between the two recoilmasters even though both are heavy; the one in the Edge feels light compared to the one in the VIP (of course it has to since it must slow down that short slide). I'm thinking that if the STI has a heavier RM available for the SteelMaster, which could be used when firing 9 mm major loads. What lenght is the recoilmaster in your Steelmaster? If you are able to compare it to the ones found in fullsize guns that would be great. What I can tell from the pictures it looks like it's pretty close; however I don't know if the recoil spring plug is interchangeable SteelMaster vs. Edge for example. If there's anyone else who has experience or comments about this model, please share! BTW, if I remember correctly it was Bob from Brazos Custom who wrote that he was one of those suggesting STI to build this specific pistol. I'm not 100% sure, but I think so. It would be great to find out what he thinks about the finished product. Simo

I've been contemplating about purchasing this new STI model, but I have some questions in mind. Have any of you got one or had a chance to try one out? I'm very interested how it felt etc. It's been described on the STI's webpage as 9 mm Minor, but has anyone pushed it to major pf? Can the lightened slide etc. take it? Will the recoilmaster slow the slide enough so that the magazines can keep up and the pistol will work 100%? I've read that some guys loaded their shorter STI Stingers (9 mm) to major using Vihtavuori powders and there are lots of 9 mm shortys around so...? Earlier I was about to buy a Stinger or a Trubor, but passed on those. I like the size and weight of this new SteelMaster (on paper, haven't handled the thing), since it's so close to my iron sighted pistols. It also looks very cool My main use for the gun would be steel shooting and just using it as a training aid, but it would be nice to be able to run it competitively in an open division once in a while. A pistol from a gunsmith isn't an option for me right now, so I'll be looking at this model only. Thank you!

Hello, I've been shooting production for three years using two 92 Stock Models (yes, the ones that are very hard to come by in the USA, but here in Finland it's available) and now I'm waiting for two new Steel-1 pistols. I've only shot about 30-40 rounds with one, but it's great. Especially so if you like the 1911 grip angle. The grip is also very good for small handed shooters such as myself; it's in fact similar in shape to that of the 92 Vertec. I don't like arched mainspring housings on the 1911 and I like the shape of Steel-1's grip a little better than any other Berettas I've used. My Stock models weight 1015 grams and the Steel-1 is even heavier; 1200g and that feels when you shoot it! I'm not saying the Stock isn't nice to shoot with, but the Steel-1 is even easier. Some of my fellow IPSC-shooters also like the fact that you have more weight in the frame of the pistol. The sights are ok (I'll paint the dots on mine all black) and you can get the Dawson FO for it also. I've been very satisfied with the performance of my Berettas, which are still in great shape BTW (I've shot over 30000 rounds through the two of them with the only problems being the 2 FTE with the other pistol due to worn out extractor) and expect nothing less from the new pistols. It may take a while though before I get them, but I'm trying be patient... Simo