Bucky

I have a really nice S&W model 36. Problem is it is a square butt. There are many grips available, but most are big. I am looking for the most concealable model possible. They make some really tiny grips for the round butt, but haven't found anything decent for the square. TIA ~bucky.

Benny, Are the slides different? The cutout in the breechface and the hole for the extractor? How about ramp cuts in the frame. Thanks, Bucky.

Thanks. Chris: Yep, I'm in Newtown, 5 minutes from Dave O. I've got a couple of Berettas with Langdon trigger jobs. Thought I might use them in the winter time. We're talking an 8 pound first pull, 2 1/2 after. Seems I need something in between the tiny Kahr and full size Beretta. I'm tossing around a Sig 229 or Glock 23. Wish the Beretta came in that size range (Centurion is still a bit bigger). I really have a knack for shooting them. Besides, how much of an excuse do you really need to buy another gun???

You guys make a good point. It's not like I'm looking to "build" a defense gun. But I just moved "from an undesireable state" to .... America. As I look in the safe I realize, just about everything in there is altered. Of course, this seems like a good enough reason to buy something new. Then again, I'll have to resist the temptation of altering that.

One of the reason people give for loading longer in the .38 super is improper rim stacking - with the .38 super being a semi rimmed case. In other words, the rim of the top round in the mag gets behind the round beneath it. So, when the slide strips the round, it has a lot more resistance as the top rim has to jump under the one beneath it. I'm not sure if the factory is taking this into consideration with their long length. That being said, I generally run 1.250 in my single stack with round nose. Sometimes a wee bit shorter with flat points or hollow point.

You often read that altering a gun that you use for defense is "bad". What are your thoughts? Not just talking about 1911s.

Ah, that's the beauty of shooting production. Finish stage, clean mags, load to 10, put back in pouches and fowgetaboutit!

Make sure it's your mag too! Many years ago after shooting a stage, someone handed my Caspian mags back to me. So I stripped the rounds, cleaned the mag with a brush, cleaned the rounds, loaded the mag, then topped off with fresh. On the next stage towards the end of the mag, the slide would not go all the way into battery (racked, same thing, racked, same thing). Finally, I stuck another mag in, racked and went. What happened is a friend was shooting with me. On the prior stage someone gave him back my mag, and me his. He was shooting .38 super and I was shooting 9x21.

I bought a drop in Bar Sto barrel for my Glock 22C. I'm not sure if I notice much in accuracy (although that could be me). It is somewhat hotter (higher velociy). Trouble is, it doesn't reliably feed my really light loads and it's not 100% reliable with any of my extended (+5 pads) magazines. Works flawless with standard ammo and standard mags though. Reason I bought it was to have a NON comped Glock. I'll probably just get a factory G22 barrel.

Do the Grams fit SV, or are they more for STI mags?

But, if you like the Arr. .38 followers, what is the difference as the .40 followers look to be the same except respectively wider to fit .40 mags. Admittedly, I've since been switching to the SV followers (having SV tubes).

Why not use the Arrendondo .40 followers?

What a story. I wonder how old his model is? Mine is a somewhat old West Germany model and even if I lower the hammer by hand, it still rebounds to the "locked" position. It would seem that he didn't have the firing pin block safety as well.

Even though the Sig may "appear" to be resting on "Half-Cock", there really is no other way to have it. When the hammer is down, regardless of how, it will remain in that position. In other words, if you pull the trigger on an empty chamber, the rebound spring will return the hammer to the same position as if you used the decocker lever. Not the same as with Guns with a traditional half cock notch. On a side note, someone mentioned carrying a Glock decocked. I remember reading a question in a magazine ( I believe Guns and Ammo) many years ago when the Glock was new on the seen. Many people at the time were a little uncomfortable carrying the Glock in its traditional carry mode. So this person asked about carrying it with a round in the chamber and the striker down, thereby only requiring a partial slide rack to cock the hammer. The person answering the question admitted he was a bit perplexed as how he accomplished this. He finally figured it out. The person took the slide apart to put the round in the chamber and then reassembled it. Of course this is very dangerous, not only for the obvious reasons, but because the firing pin is not blocked when it's "decocked".

You also might want to check if there are any sharp burrs on the notch in the slide where the slide stop catchs. You may want to hit the corners with some 800 grit paper.

It should be noted in TMC picks that he is using special grips on the S&A gun. Several manufacturers make grips specific for S&A magwells where they blend right into the well (as opposed to leaving a gap). This makes for a VERY nice feel in the hand.

I thought HS-7 was the same as now discontinued W-571? BTW: I wish someone made an identical (shooting) powder to AA#7 that wasn't as dirty and abrasive as AA7 is.

Pro Mag make a 10 round magazine for a Sig 220. CDNN Investments sells them for 11.99. I haven't used the ones for the sig, but I have a couple for my Beretta. There a little softer metal than most magazines, but if cared for they run well.

The Wilson mags, IMO, are the easiest to clean. The base pad slides off in a similar fashion to popular wide body mags. Also, you might want to pick up a single stack mag brush. It is usually all that is need for all but the worst of muck.

Nope, USPSA Limited gun does not have to fit in the box. Just think of all the 6" guns popping up in Limited lately. That and the gargantuan magwells would never make it.

Thanks to all for the for your responses. The information is appreciated!! Bucky.

While Perusing the forums, I found a couple of interesting notes on using a S&W 5906 in Production and SSP. Someone mentioned that it was Robbie's pick for an SSP gun. I've only known a couple of people who have used these guns extensively and it seems like they've fallen apart after many rounds. The one that was most problematic is not covered under the lifetime warrantee leading me to believe it is an earlier model. Anyone have experience with the S&W "traditional" autos? (i.e. not Sigma or S&W99). tia.

Long over due, here is the pic of my (x)Caspian .40 with the cuts. To answer Phil, the gun shoots snappier, but is back to point of aim quicker. Seems to work better, the firmer your grip. If you shoot with a looser grip, the heavier slide may be better for you. ~bucky~

Scooter: I think if you were to disect a Glock 22 10 round mag, you would find it is NOT a true single stack. I believe the rounds slightly stagger, at least that is what a Glock rep told me. Also, when I am in IDPA mode, I generally shoot my Beretta Elite II in L-10 division as the Burner Grips and Langdon trigger don't qualify me for Production. Using the single stack criteria, that would mean that factory 10 round mags would be ok (which are tapered down to single stack), but the promag 10 rounders (which are double stacked and blocked half way down) would not be. A certain USPSA director used to think that L-10 should be a single stack division as he felt there was a huge advantage to a wide body. So, I brought out the single stack .45 and convinced him otherwise.

IIRC, the Springfield XD was allowed in USPSA production division BECAUSE it WAS on the IPSC list of approved guns. If that is the criteria that John Amidon was using, then perhaps it already is disallowed in USPSA production.... Hmmmm....