motosapiens

after closer examination, it looks like the disconnector has a teensy bit of up and down wiggle, and if it's wiggled in the up position, it doesn't catch the trigger bar from half-cock. if it's in the down position, it catches fine. If i turn the gun upside down when it's at half cock and give it a little shake, it doesn't catch. It works fine from fully cocked and from all the way down.

I recently put a lighter spring kit and new hammer in my cz75 bd. The gun shoots awesome. However I'm wondering if I did something wrong in the install, or if the following behavior is normal and I just never noticed it before. 1. If i press the decocker, but manually hold the hammer from falling, then let up the decocker, then manually let the hammer finish falling to the half-cock position, then pulling the trigger skips on something (doesn't catch) and instead of rising and then falling, the hammer just falls gently to the fully uncocked position. Why would I do this? I was trying to duplicate an issue that happened once or twice at the range (#2). 2. if just flick at the decocker, basically trying to press and release it as fast as I possibly can, I am sometimes able to get the gun into the same situation, where it's at half-cock, but the trigger doesn't catch. 3. if i press the decocker like a normal person, it works normally. I don't have another unmodified cz to fondle, so I'm wondering if I could have messed up something (and if so, what), or if the behavior in #1 is normal.

I have a compact 40 that has a pretty tight fit (one of the reasons i bought it over a millenium pro). I liked it so much i bought a full-size 40 too. the fs is definitely not as tight a fit. It used to bother me, but it is the most accurate gun I own, so i stopped being bothered by it. I figure it'll still shoot even if it's full of sand and dirt.

I'm not sure how other people got into IDPA, but when I found out about it, I already owned a CZ, and not a 1911. I wasn't going to go buy a gun just to compete. The whole point for me is about learning to shoot what i carry better. I carry a cz or m&p, so that's what I shoot for IDPA. Also it fits my hand like a glove.

update: the cajun gun works decocker hammer and spring kit showed up saturday while I was at the famous potato bowl watching a great football game. It took me 2-3 hours to install the parts, thanks to the internet and various picture threads. The only slight glitch was i managed to somehow mangle the teeny spring for the firing pin block actuater gizmo while driving the slave pin through the sear cage. I unmangled it enough to get it to fit back in there and work, so no harm no foul. I'll replace that spring next time I have to take the gun apart. Night and day difference in the trigger feel. Significantly lighter pull in DA, and crisper earlier release that I really like. One minor concern afterwards. A couple times, after I decocked the hammer, i pulled the trigger and it didn't catch somehow. I was able to pretty much duplicate the feel of the problem by decocking and then continuing to hold the decocker down while pulling the trigger. I messed with it when i got home, and cleaned and oiled it, and have since been unable to replicate the problem, so maybe it was just a bit of grit or grime or something sticking in the way. It ONLY happened when shooting from half-cock after decocking. Any idea what would cause such a symptom?

Well, I got a small performance bonus from work, so I ordered the cajun gun works decocker hammer and spring kit and installation kit. Looking forward to getting it installed soon. I think it will be a fun opportunity to learn a little more about the gun too.

Point taken. I concur, and that's one of the reasons i'm trying to think carefully and consider everything before i make the jump to a faster setup.

I do not concur, at least not with my procedure. Between the charge/expand stage and the bullet-seat stage, i make a visual inspection of the tray of 50 cases to verify the powder is at a similar level. A double charge would overflow the case and be extremely obvious. This inspection only takes a few seconds. The rest of the time you can go back to not paying attention. (although I do still measure the OAL from time to time, and actually weigh the powder charge from time to time). The one issue I have had is that one time i found myself taking uncharged/unexpanded cases from the wrong pile, so I had seated a few bullets w/o powder. I was able to find them easily enough and now i move the tray of uncharged/unexpanded cases down to the floor when i switch dies, so there is ONLY the tray of 50 charged cases on the table. That has prevented a repeat. BTW, thanks to all for the thoughtful advice. I think I need to hook up with someone local that loads on a 550 or 650 and observe one in action. That would probably clear up alot of my questions.

that's alot. I have some questions if you don't mind? Are you doing all the operations on the press(including priming)? do you leave it set up? how long does it take you to switch calibers? How often do you use it? Do you sometimes mangle primers? or do you have to be picky about what brass you use? I ask because in priming on the press (on the downstroke of the singlestage), I sometimes can feel something going wrong, so i jiggle the shell in the holder a little, and don't force too much, and sometimes just give up and throw that piece of brass out. I'm not sure how that would work out with several concurrent operations going on with that lever pull. Also, on something like a 550 since it doesn't auto-index, can I just run it like a turret press if I feel like doing things more slowly while watching tv? And then run it like a progressive when I'm in more of a hurry and can dedicate full attention to it? No worries there. I agree with that thinking 100%. Too much to go really wrong if you screw up on a progressive.

In hopes of making a data-driven decision (at some point, lol), I figured I'd gather some actual data, and before doing so I went and splurged on a pro-auto-disk powder measure, since the whole scooping thing, while simple, is the most annoying part of my reloading process. Decap-size-prime: 7 minutes for 50 (a little slower than I thought. good thing I do this while watching football) bell-charge: 4 minutes for 50 (3-4 mins faster with the pro-auto-disk mounted on the powder-through-expander-die) seat-bullet: 6 minutes for 50 (often faster with 40, but the 9mm are a little more finicky about lining up for me, or i'm not belling enough) crimp: 2 minutes for 50 So if you count the first step, it's about 150 rounds/hour, and 1/3 of that time is while watching football. Now I have to do some research and figure out how fast a progressive system really is, including all the ancillary steps (and the fixing of mistakes).

I hate that too, so i don't buy the stuff marketed as carry ammo, I buy the stuff marketed towards LE that typically comes in 50 round boxes (federal hydrashock, winchester ranger, etc....) I've been able to get 50 rd boxes of good hollowpoint ammo for under $20/50 from cheaperthandirt.com for both 9mm and 40.

easy to make bad mistakes with a progressive system, anyway. in my experience it's pretty hard to make bad mistakes on a single stage. Mind you I'm not talking about pounding a 12-pack or anything, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable having any beer, or watching any tv while loading with a progressive machine. That means that time is actually taken away from other activities, whereas most of my single-stage reloading time is in conjunction with other activities that I'd be doing anyway. Of course it still might be worth it. If I could load 400 rds/hr, that would be an extra 2 hrs a month I could spend folding laundry (another activity I save for tv time). You make a good point tho that if it turned out the progressive wasn't working for me, I could sell it without much hassle or loss. One of the things I'm struggling with is whether it will be easier to find one evening a month to devote full attention to reloading for a couple hours, or easier to find 20-30 minutes at a time 4-6 times during the month, and pop out 100 rounds while I'm waiting for the missus to dry her hair and get dressed.

Keep the following in mind when reading: 1. i like things simple 2. i drink beer and sometimes watch tv while reloading Last winter I started reloading with a simple lee breech-lock single-stage press (cheap kit from cabelas)figuring I'd use that until it paid for itself at least, and by then I'd have enough experience in knowledge to make a nice progressive setup (prob a 550) a good idea. Well, here I am 8 months later, and I've loaded around 5000 rounds of 40 and around 2000 rounds of 9mm, so it's definitely paid for itself, but I'm still unsure what direction to go. Here's my current reloading practice: 1. decap, size and prime on the press in bulk, while drinking beer and watching football or hockey on tv. I sized and primes over 700 cases last night while watching the cowboys/giants game. I watch football one or two evenings a week anyway, so this seems like it is not costing me any time at all. 2. In lots of 50, I bell and charge. I just use the dipper that came with the days, since 4.1 of n320 seems to be a pretty good idpa/steel load for 40. (i used white clue to fill in my 2nd dipper so it throws 3.7-3.8gr of n320, and i use that one for 9mm). 3. Visual inspection of tray of 50 charged cases to verify powder looks about the same in all. 4. Seat bullet for entire tray of 50. 5. crimp lightly with Lee factory crimp die for entire tray of 50. With the cases already sized and primed, it takes me 11-12 minutes per tray of 50 bullets to do the other steps, and that includes stopping for a sip of beer at the halfway mark of each tray and when I switch dies, so easily 200 rds/hr not counting the sizing/priming time. It has not been difficult at all for me to find the time to keep up with reloading. No kids, and wife is not cranky, so I can leave things set up upstairs, and just sit down and do 50-100 rounds before bed while I relax and think about shooting stuff. Disadvantages: it's not very fast. I have to handle the primers by hand. I have to move each case in and out of the shell holder 4 times (even tho the first time is while watching football so it doesn't count). Advantages: virtually no chance of a double charge or empty charge. I've only mangled 3 primers out of the whole 7000 rds, and it was immediately obvious so I just tossed those long before they ever got powder or a bullet. Minimal attention is required so I can daydream, think about shooting, scheme about new shooting or motorcycle stuff I need to buy, etc.... I'm sort of considering a 550b still, but I'm also considering just getting a lee classic turret with the pro-auto-disk. The turret will be cheaper (minor consideration, but still significant), is more idiot-proof than a progressive, and should speed things up by reducing the number of times I have to move casings in and out of the shell holder, and the pro-auto-disk will be save me the time of manually scooping powder. Since I don't have any trouble loading 500-800 rds a month with the current setup, is it really worth it to spring for a good progressive? What I'm worried about is losing the ability to just cruise on auto-pilot while my mind wanders. Right now, I really only have to pay attention when I check the powder levels in each tray of 50 cases. Thoughts? Anyone else loading 500-800 rds a month w/o a fancy progressive machine and enjoying it?

If you shoot idpa, you have to be able to shoot with your other hand anyway (to do well), so I would recommend practicing it regardless of what you do in the long run. When I was teaching snowboarding, I found that riding switchfoot (right foot forward instead of left) forced/allowed me to concentrate more on technique, and also gave me something entertaining and challenging to do on boring low-angle slopes. I suspect there is similar benefit shooting with your non-dominant hand. Since you won't have bad habits already ingrained, you should be able to work on your technique and probably see significant results right away.

Seriously, my comments as a new shooter who hasn't even done a uspsa match yet (but wants to this winter) is that steel challenge is an excellent existing venue for rimfires, and a better place than idpa/uspsa for new shooters to get comfortable with shooting sports and range safety and so on. I shot a bunch of them over the summer, some with rimfire and some with center-fire, and it really improved my idpa shooting. On the original post, If steel challenge isn't enough, and you really want something more action and movement oriented, then I suggest rather than trying to get someone else to do it, just do it yourself at your local club as a proof of concept. You'll have to decide whether you want it oriented towards new shooters, or just towards cheapskates. If it's the former, then you may want to reload off-the-clock, start from low-ready, and otherwise simplify it a bit for new or younger shooters to help keep everyone safe and make it friendlier for novices. If there was a local club putting on a rimfire action shooting match, I would probably go out and try a few.

i personally had zero. if you have a gun that won't run, I would recommend fixing it before taking it to a match. ymmv.

are you planning to be the tuesday night steel world champion? or using it as a cheap and easy way to get some more competition and work on speed and transitions? If it's the latter, then shoot whatever you compete with on weekends at whatever you compete at (idpa, uspsa, whatever). I shot a bunch of weekday steel matches this year because my first 2 idpa matches i was slow, but accurate, so i figured it would help my speed. i alternated between shooting my idpa gun (m&p40) and a buckmark22. It did end up making me a faster and better shooter to judge by my last 2 idpa matches, btw.

Oops, didn't realize my location wasn't in my profile. Now it is. I'm going to shoot that gun a bit more in the next couple weeks and see if part of my problem isn't just the going back and forth with the m&p. I know my skills have a long way to go.

makes sense. apex includes a slave pin in their kit that really made the trigger spring part easy, and i see cajun gun works sells an inexpensive piece for the decocker pin, so maybe it is something I could tackle. Reading their site, I'm not 100% clear on which of their hammer kits fit decocker models, and which ones are only for non-decocker models. Also not clear on whether the kits address the overtravel issue, or if that's something that must be tackled separately. Perhaps I should just email them, but it seems to me if I'm confused, maybe the information would be of value to someone else with similar questions at some point.

So I have this cz75bd, and I love the way it feels and I love the way it looks, and I used to love the way it shot (i am a newb) until I started doing steel challenge and the occasional IDPA and got an m&p40 and put an apex dcaek in the m&p. The long hard DA pull is making it hard to put the first shot where I want it quickly. The overtravel on subsequent SA shots seems to be making me jerk the shots slightly low and left (2-3" or so at 15 yards firing as rapidly as I can find the sights). I realize I could probably learn to shoot better, but I wouldn't mind also making the trigger a little more competition-friendly, without making it unsuitable or unsafe for carry or defense. I don't really want to turn it into a full-on race gun, just shoot it better. I see I can send it to czcustom, and for around $250 (including shipping both ways), they'll make it awesome with their competition hammer and trigger work, but that's half the price of the gun right there. Much over $200 and I start thinking maybe I should just buy a shadow and keep the 75bd for plinking and carry and defense and call it good. I also see that cajun gun works makes some DIY kits. I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle that, but maybe with a youtube vid it wouldn't be too bad. I did install the dcaek in the m&p by myself without problems, but I have read that the decocker is a real pain when working on these guns, so I'm slightly intimidated. Are there other more reasonable options to reduce the overtravel and lighten and smooth the DA pull somewhat?

NO. HP-38 and 231 are the same. HS-6 is identical to Winchester's discontinued 540. thanks for the correction. I should have looked before speculating. I edited my original post.

First of all this is about a rule for something happening outside a course of fire where the gun had better not be loaded. This is one of the those times when something is being taken out of context for another reason. Read the rules more than once before trying to include something that is not about the rule to start with. I think mr earplug makes a very valid point. If you have to stop and think to yourself "is this gun loaded? heck no, so I can grab it", you are opening yourself up to the possibility of making a reflexive grab when it is loaded. I don't like the idea of my gun falling out of my holster, so I use a retention holster.

haha, i had the opposite problem. was putting it back together and noticed the empty hole where the lock plug used to be. I ended up finding it on the floor. fortunately, the apex vid warned me about the tiny silver clip that holds the takedown lever in. I've never shot a gun with tactile reset, so I don't miss it or care about it or know what it would benefit me. From an interview I saw with rob leatham, he doesn't really get it either, so I'm probably not missing anything important. I got the dcaek and put in the sear and usb and shot it a few times before i put in the heavier trigger spring. I definitely shot best with the heavier spring and I'm very happy with the gun now.

+1. It's not rocket science. I just started shooting competitively last spring, and right at the start several people were very helpful, and I appreciated it. Sometimes the conversation wasn't really directed at something specific I was doing, but general tips or 'things that were hard for me right at first'.

what exactly do you mean by 'work good' what kind of velocity are you looking for? if you're looking for max velocity (for hunting or self-defense), you'll probably want a slower powder than many folks here use. vihtavuori lists loads for that bullet with n320, n330 and several other of their powders. hodgdon also lists 8 or so different powders with that bullet in 9mm http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp I've used the xtp in .40 with n320. shoots softer than factory loads with only a very slight decrease in velocity, plus it's what I had lying around. I don't immediately see test data for that bullet with 231.