JonF

I've had a GSG for a few months now and i have a few observations. 1. Keep your barrel retention screw TIGHT! You know that little allen head screw on the side of the frame you remove to take it apart? Well, on mine, if the screw isn't absolutely tight, the barrel will wobble up and down in the bushing and the accuracy goes out the window. I found this out the hard way after noticing the accuracy diminish recently. 2. The main spring housing can be swapped with a standard 1911 unit but you do need to swap over the GSG spring and the two parts that go on either end of the spring. My only concern was putting a GSG spring which is not true 1911 spec in a 1911 spec main spring housing. I went and mic'd the GSG spring and a standard Gov't main spring and the GSG housing is shallower internally in the spring channel than the govt housing and subsequently the GSG spring is shorter than a govt spring (But not by an equal amount with respect to the MSH depth difference). I called GSG to see what the main spring weight was and they claimed it was 23# but since it's not the same free length as a standard 1911 spring, it won't work. I put in an actual 23# 1911 govt spring and its too much spring for the GSG--the slide wont cock the hammer with that much weight under it. I don't know what weight 1911 govt spring would be equivalent here (maybe a shorter officer length spring?).

You're definitely right about the shorter comb height on the Ruger platform being a little bit better. I can mount my RDS straight to the rail with no riser and its in the perfect position and with the added benefit of being much closer to the bore axis. With the AR, you need at least *some* sort of riser for the ergonomics alone, even if you aren't worried about co-witnessing iron sights.

I too have built an ultralight 10/22 for steel challenge that might be of interest to you. I primarily wanted a lightweight one for speed purposes, but for someone unaccustomed to handling a rifle, the lack of weight is definitely a secondary benefit for keeping people's fatigue factor low and interest level elevated. A stock 10/22 weights a smidge over 5 lbs stock, however, there is a lot of room to bring this weight down. The two key areas to save weight on the 10/22 is the barrel and stock. By replacing both of these two items with lightweight aftermarket parts, you can effectively shave 40% or 2 whole pounds off the rifle alone! My rifle, with a simple red dot sight, weighs just a smidge over 3 lbs now! Including a new 10/22 donor rifle, you can build this for $500-600 bucks depending on how much you also dump into the action for improvement parts. A Tactical Solutions fluted aluminum sleeved barrel is the least expensive replacement and weighs half of the stock taper profile barrel. There are more exotic variations like the carbon sleeved barrel from Magnum Research and Volquartsen but there's no real additional weight savings there and the price climbs up considerably. They do look cool though! A Blackhawk Knoxx Axiom stock is about the lightest stock you can buy and also weighs half of the OEM wood or polymer unit. Its a pistol grip stock which is pretty comfy and another added benefit for your application is the adjustable AR15 style stock for younger/smaller shooters with a smaller LOP. HEre's what it looks like in action: If 10/22's aren't your thing, there is a way to custom build an equally light AR-15 based 22 that also checks in at just over 3 lbs. It involves using a TACCOM ultralight AL sleeved upper, CMMG Bravo kit, polymer upper and lower, TACCOM carbon fiber handguard and TACCOM carbon fiber stock. I'm in the process of building one and its not finished yet, however, here is a sample of the recipe finished and on the scale. Note that this route will cost quite a bit more than the Ruger route, however, having a similar manual of arms and a higher percentage of parts commonality with standard AR-15's has some value as well.

Metal form or Dawson 10 rounders. Don't waste time with the Wilson or Tripp which tend to need "tweaks".

I've noticed this too with 9mm as well. I've found two manual techniques that work to limit spillage depending on which accessories you have installed on your press. the first thing you can do is to place the bullet on the charged case at the first opportunity to"cap" out from spilling. If you use a powder check die, that means capping it on the downstroke a soon as it emerges from the die. You will still get some slinging when the charged shell moves from the powder measure to the check die but that's the limit. If you don't use a powder check, then do it as it descends from the powder measure. That worked great for me for a long time until I added a bullet feeder and so now I can't manually cap them anymore. recently I added a bullet feeder and so the current technique I use it to drag my finger on the shell plate to dampen the movement from detent to detent. Since I no longer have to use my left hand too place shells or bullets, its free to use as a brake of sorts and this all but eliminates spillage altogether for problem shells like the 9. Lately i've been working on an idea related to the "brake" solution with a delrin washer below the shell plate to dampen the movement automatically. The problem is finding the right thickness so its effective enough and not locking up the plate or doing nothing at all. You can also layer a thick, viscous, thixotropic grease below the shell plate but that gets messy.

Anything with retention straps, snaps, bungees, etc is going to be a PITA for run an gun--Too much to fiddle with at speed.

Those are nice but those along with the Taco put it over a $50 bill per mag... The belt adapter is pretty bulky. I just thread the belt through the MALICE clips. No problems doing it that way? I found it a little sloppy with just the malice clips. The TT adapters are cheap and tighten them up real solid on the belt.

Tactical Tailor makes these neat little molle-to-belt adapters that work great. I have them an use them for putting a couple HSGI pistol or rifle Taco pouches on my CR Speed belt for the local oddball 2 and 3-gun matches. http://www.skdtac.com/Tactical-Tailor-Malice-Clip-Belt-Adapter-p/1tt.193.htm Its more or less a reinforcement for the malice clip that creates a more stable "tunnel" for your belt to go through since the malice clip itself is just too flimsy to be a reliable belt loop. The secondary issue with the malice clips alone as a belt loop is that then don't always work with your belt width (namely common DAA and CRS belts) and seem to be either too tight or too lose depending on how many strips of webbing you weave through to form the loop. I just wish there was a malice clip to Tek-Lok adapter.

As a complete kit? No way. The Hornady comes with not only the motorized hopper, but all the other proprietary lower parts necessary for shell queueing and delivery to the press itself. Even if you bought the Dillon just for the hopper, you'd have to buy the lower parts from hornady piecemeal which is going to add up quick and offset that $100 "Savings". Bullet feeders, OTOH, are pretty much universal.

I use the AD locking Aimpoint micro LOW mount for my SPARC. The SPARC has the same bolt pattern as the Aimpoint so all the mounts are swappable. It does add a little bit of height, but its as low a mount that you can buy as a separate item. I see you already devised a method but just wanted to put that out there for anyone else who isn't able to manufacture anything themselves. http://www.americandefensemanufacturing.com/view/product/107/

Get one that is fully enclosed to keep the dust to a minimum. Like this: http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentId=productDetail&prodId=RC87076&green=CF5846C2-A20D-5FFE-BCCB-52B33616A11C&src=mbProd

Metalform for me here. I use the 10 round versions in my Trojan *WITH* 124gr JHP's which should be the combo of death but now with about 800 rds through it like this, i've not had a single instance of nosediving or any failure to feed. These use the feed ramp setup like thier 9mm mags but have the rear insert spacer rather than the front crimp as a spacer.

500/hour with the case feeder and 5 primer tubes pre-loaded. I recently added the bullet feeder but i haven't noticed much of an increase in speed (at least for 9mm). Mostly because I get too much powder spillage for my liking at any speed beyond but also because i can't sufficiently monitor everything for QC reasons. In time, once i get teh bullet feeder and everything nailed down more, i could step up the speed a bit but i dont know if there's any way to stop the powder from slinging.

I have a trojan 9mm and just bought a grip of metalform 10 rounders to user with it. I had researched a lot of posts here and on the 1911 forums and the metalforms seem like a decent performing option straight out of the box due to their integrated feed ramp design at the front of the mag. STI even ships new guns with this mag included so perhaps that also speaks to its venerability. I should mention that the 10 round design is not identical to the 9 round version in that the smaller one uses a crease at the front to align the front to back spacing whereas the larger one uses a drop in spacer at the rear. The feed lips seem the same though and the floor plate is removable on the 10 which is nice. to compound things, I shoot Montana gold 124 grain jhp exclusively with many thousands of rounds loaded and unloaded sitting around so switching to a fmj isn't an option for me. this weekend I put 200 rounds through those 10 round mags with this ammo and not one problem with nose diving our any of the issues commonly experienced with this combination of components. I think I trust them enough in fact to use them in a steel match tomorrow. Hopefully they don't make a liar out of me. LOL it turns out I really like shooting this new gun. It shoots flatter and with less snap and recoil than my CZ shadow which is my current steel challenge gun. I think I may retire the CZ if this thing shoots this good!

Is $120 too little? I mean, how much should something like this actually cost? Look at Aimpoint; they purposefully overcharged the civilian market and people buy it up all day long regardless.

Anyone seen one of these in person yet? The glass on it is absolutely huge, like HUD big! They seem to give a few potential applications like machine gun use or shotgunning but would there be any advantageous application on a pistol? They show one on an AR but i find the glass size on a rifle isn't as critical for finding the dot with its anchored to your shoulder unless it has punishing recoil. http://www.fire-field.com/content/mg-kemper-xl-machine-gun-reflex-sight-ff13025

Has anyone purchased from Manny since the 2012 price increase? Is his price sheet still cheaper than MG direct and what's the discount if any?

Sweet!

I have some RCBS dies in 9mm, 45acp, 38/357 and 44 (all about 2 years old) that i have no problem with getting them adjusted down far enough. Furthermore, there is still plenty of threads on top for a hornady split lock ring as well.

BTw, whats the stock spring weight?

I think it becomes a timing issue, or more specifically, a "dwell" timing issue. With the heavier spring, the slide still goes back far enough to strip off fresh rounds, but it does stay back in this position for long enough of a duration to allow the follower to rise up and trigger the slide stop before its reversing course and returning to battery. With the lighter spring theres less overall resistance so it goes back either farther and/or for a longer duration so the time spent past the intermediate slide lock position is greater. I believe that you can see further proof of this in the recoil reduction since the spring is soaking up more of the energy thereby imparting less on the frame and your hand.

I've noticed two factors that relate to reloading bench strength. First is general bench stability or in other words, keeping the bench steady during reloading. You can anchor it to the floor or the to achieve that. The second is bench strength. This pertains to solidly your bench is constructed and more specifically, how solid your table top is and its resistance to flexing. Focus on those two factors first and you'll have a pretty solid foundation to work with. Every thing else is just features after that.

For what its worth, after a couple people suggested a Dillon resizing die might help as its purportedly wider at the mouth, i went and bought one to try out. 4K rounds later and i have not had a single shell lean over and stop the press, it funnels them all in nicely. Definitely an improvement. I tried to mic the difference but the mouths of the dillon die and my RCBS die are a little differently designed so its hard to make a direct comparison. The RCBS has a straight chamfer whereas the Dillon has a rolled/curved edge. The dillon die also has the spring loaded primer punch which makes for really positive extraction. Overall, its working out excellent.

I have that particular stand for my grinder and its garbage. The pillar uses pinch bolts at the bottom to secure it and in order to get any amount of clamping force to hold it tight, the pinch bolts start to collapse the tube itself when tightened. I ended up drilling through and using nuts and bolts to keep it from working loose. Even more so, the base isn't very wide and would either walk around or want to tip over with the typical lateral forces of reloading. Often, you need to fasten your bench to the wall/floor to get sufficient stability; having it on a little stand would be precarious for sure. I know there will be people along shortly that will proudly say that they attach their press to a black and Decker portable workmate bench or a Little Tykes My First Workbench toy with c-clamps and scotch tape but you know they are fighting that thing left and right to keep it steady.

There's a hitch... The older Pre-B 75's also use a different mag than the modern post-B's 75's. Unfortunately, the new (and cheaper) mags will not fit in the older frame as the frame interferes and the mag stops like 1/4" short of locking in. I've heard you can grind away on the frame to make it fit but its a hassle. The older mags a rare and hard to find too so its a catch 22. The model to get if you can find one is the transitional model that uses the Pre-b slide (no FPB) with a more modern post-b type frame (sans FPB lifter of course). With the updated frame, it takes all modern mags and most of the modern internals. Wideners had a bunch of these surplus last year and i grabbed one while they lasted. Like a lot of police turn ins, the outside has some wear but internally they are in excellent condition. I think with a simple CZ custom comp hammer, the trigger would be pretty nice and the slide is pinned and dovetailed for easy sight swaps.