Mike21STI

I'm planning on getting a 2011 (most likely and STI Edge or eagle in .40 from Brazos) in the near future. Do the stock STI mags actually run in the guns or do they need to be tuned? What goes into actually tuning the magazine? Also, I don't have a reloading press and probably won't have one for some time. Do these guns actually run with factory ammo? Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I disagree with your request to move all striker fired pistols to ESP. The vast majority of guns in SSP nowadays are striker fired, you'd end up having SSP participation just above revolver instead of at the top of the chart as is now. I like the fault line idea, in matches that I've worked we call them advisory lines )

+1 to the Trojan recommendation. look into getting it from Brazos customs or Dawson precision as they'll do the trigger work for you and tune the guns before sending them out. if price doesn't matter, i'd probably go with a Les Baer.

glad to hear you had a good time. I've been toying with the idea of trying some USPSA out for a while now. I just might have to, it seems like a lot of fun. to me any trigger time is a good time.

don't forget about nighthawk custom and wilson combat. probably er... definitely out of the 1000 price range but they are also made in the US of A.

I have heard good things about the spartan but if it were me, i'd opt for the Trojan instead. actually that is probably the next one on my list to get. Well, that or an edge if/when i start playing the USPSA game.

I have an STI Sentry in 9, I love it but if I were to do it again I would buy the Trojan instead. I changed out the recoilmaster guide rod, and the original magwell so i basically paid the extra money for an ambi safety and a checkered front strap(which i prefer over the stipling). Ah well you live and learn. Next on the list a Trojan in .45 and an Edge in .40. Now just need to find a way to fund them

I think there is a youtube video with the disassembly of the edge, i can't seem to find the link right now though

I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm actually considering ordering from Brazos a friend of mine ordered a Trojan from them and it came out great. I was wondering if the "tuned" mags were worth the money, they advertised 500 for 4 magazines i was thinking thats a little steep.

I have the 5" pro, I like the it a lot (not as much as my 1911's) but for an SSP gun, i prefer it over the glock, it just points better for me and fits very nicely in the hand.

I have the tripp cobra mags on mine and the stick out just enough to seat solidly as long as i don't cup the mag in my palm when i reload. I'm not sure if tripp sells the basepads separately though or if they would be compatable with the chip mccormick mags. I do like the ice magwell a lot though

if you have any interest in IDPA, I'd say definitely go for the 1911 in 9mm for ESP, it is the gun to use. I tell all my shooting friends to switch to one. Two of them have already made the switch and one more is on his way to doing so.

Give it a good cleaning. Or you can try putting a lighter recoil spring in it.

I would have liked to gone down to the match but unfortunately wasn't able to make it down there. A couple friends of mine did go and said the match was challenging and seemed to have a few logistical issues such as not telling the shooters what bay they were starting in during the shooters meeting. One of my friends who shot the match said that the targets were all shot up and didn't seem to be changed on a normal basis which is frustrating as a competitor because you can't actually see your hits after they have been blasted and taped over so many times (especially head shot targets), I know when I've worked a sanctioned match we changed targets out every squad to allow for the shooter to be able to see their shots and take the guessing game out of it. My friend also had a gripe about the fact he was down range taping and the buzzer went off with a shooter on the line while he was still down range. Safety is key and I understand these were hot days and mistakes happen but this type of mistake should not have happened. I'm not bashing the match by any means. I do love competing in IDPA and hope to make it down to the World shoot one day but wanted to voice some of the things I had heard about the match.

you may be cupping the mag in your palm when reloading, try using the chunk of meat by your thumb to seat the mag, I had issues with not seating the mags only when I was seating the mag with my palm. after hours of dry firing the problem solved itself.

comp-tac is a great choice, i use them for all my holsters

Go with the Dawson Ice magwell and don't look back. I run one on my single stack and it helps and i feel that with the wrap around it helps with gripping the pistol as well as getting faster reloads. I have recommended it to the 3 people that bought single stack 9's after I did and they are all more than happy with it.

I know there is a delay with Tripp mags due to the fires down in Texas. you might want to check dawson as they have some selection of 10 round mags. i think brownells sells metalform mags which i've heard are good but haven't actually used them. I stay away from wilsons because the one that i own won't run in my STI 9mm (i have no issues with their .45 mags though)

to answer the questions posed above, his M&P is bone stock, and he only has about 1000 rounds through it. I'll inspect the extractor to see if there is any visible things that stick out and look out of place. I'll also stop him next time it happens to see if I can figure out what he's doing. maybe its something as easy as a spring. maybe it does have to be sent back to smith. we shall see, thanks for the info.

A friend of mine has an M&P 9 and seems to be having issues with feeding rounds and extracting them. I have an M&P9 pro and haven't had any issues with it at all. His model is older and he has already sent it back to Smith for an extractor problem before. He shoots factory ammo out of it. Is this a known problem? any quick fixes for this without having to send the gun out again? any information you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated. I told him to give it a good cleaning because it was a dirty but I thought that might be the reason for the failures to feed but not the failures to extract.

Mil-tac G-10 grips work well for me.

You may be crowding cover, too often people are right on top of cover, i like to stay at least an arms length away from cover this allows you to maintain cover and move very minimally

can't go wrong with Comp-tac holsters, i have them for all my game guns and even my carry ones.

I prefer the G10 grips from Mil-tac.com on my STI.

I'd say go with a Les Baer. They are more expensive but from my past I have found that I kept trying to find a "better" 1911, then I just bit the bullet and got a Nighthawk. If I were to do it again, I'd get a Les Baer they are less expensive then the Nighthawks and Wilsons but right up there with the quality fit and finish. If you wanted something reliable and not as high of a price point. go with STI. I've had great luck with mine so far and know a bunch of guys shooting the Trojan now that have nothing but good things to say about them.