ttolliver

I'll jump back in with an equipment list too -- 4.25" 40S&W like Vlad I shoot a 200gr for soft-soft-soft major. I was shooting at the range with a buddy who currently owns my old G34 and my 40 major loads were less recoil than the G34 shooting factory ammo. I haven't dabbled with minor in this gun, but my guess is it would be like shooting airsoft, hehehe. Apex FSS with aluminum trigger and competition spring combo to bring it down to 2.5lb trigger SSS magwell SSS tungsten guide rod 13 lb recoil spring Dawson FO front and rear sights Dawson grip tape Extended mag release (don't remember brand, but the metal one that just became available this summer) TTI base pads Cut down factory followers TF 170mm mag springs with one loop cut off That magazine combination gets me 21 reloadable. But to be honest I normally shoot Lim-10 and have only shot 2 or 3 matches with these fully loaded. And during one of those matches I had one mag not seat and fall out. So they're reloadable...just not idiot proof reloadable Seriously though, if I shot Limited more I'm sure I'd get the right technique nailed down and these would live up to the claim reloadable. I'll give a special shout out for the Dawson grip tape. They're contoured to mate up to but not overlap the grip panels. That's a very nice touch. And I've shot all season with the first of three that came in the pack and it's still showing no signs of edge peeling or wearing out.

I'm not a 3-gunner, but I'm running an M&P Core 4.25" set up for USPSA Limited. I can list all my upgrades, but mainly wanted to add a comment because you specifically mentioned weight. I shot a 1911 (SA RO) all last year and then the M&P build this year. Between the two, the M&P feels almost weightless by comparison. An exaggeration I know, but it is an amazing difference. I was initially bummed to lose the sight radius of shooting the 4.25" model too, but that hasn't been an issue. Believe it or not, the sight radius is basically the same as my 5" 1911. Anyway, it's a light package that transitions effortlessly and (for me) has natural pointability. I have the newer barrel that was the S&W attempt at addressing accuracy issues. It's now on par with the G34 I started out shooting. Which is to say it's not a tack driver but it's plenty accurate enough for our games.

What chrony do you use? CED M2 Are you happy with it? Why or why not? Yes. My first chrono worked just fine, but the digital display on the front could be hard to read in certain types of light. The CED M2 has a ton of features I'll never use, but I love the remote screen that sits next to me on the bench. How far away do you stand from your chrony? ~15 feet Can you read your chrony's display from that distance? Yup, it's on the bench beside me If not, do you prefer having a chrony that does the recording for you, one with a remote display or both? I've been slow to bother to learn the advanced features of this particular chrono because I simply don't need them. But it's nice that they're there and every time or two I take it out I end up learning a new feature. Do you use a tri pod? Yup This is my second chrono, and from the notes above it's clear that the only reason I bought it was for the remote display. I also have the carrying case they make for the M2, and it's well worth the cost. I should give a shout out for the CE ProChrono I started with. It was a great, basic chrono. Since it had no remote you did have to walk up to the chrono to reset strings, etc. That was a little irritating a couple times I was chrono-ing at a range with others and I had to wait for the line to go safe. But most of my chrono work was done wtih no one else around so it wasn't a big deal. But if you'll only be shooting at busier ranges that may well be a consideration for you.

Higher, but with one caveat. Someone once told me the reason heavier bullets land higher is because they travel more slowly and simply stay in the barrel longer. By the time they exit the barrel the muzzle has risen ever so slightly more from recoil. Made sense from a physics perspective and I've never heard a better explanation. But if that's the case, then a heavier bullet only lands higher because they are loaded to a lower velocity. Load one to the same velocity as a lighter one and presumably you'd get the same POI. [edit to add second thought] Hmmm... But would you then get more recoil because it would take more force to accelerate a heavier bullet to the same velocity as a lighter one? And would the greater recoil send it off at a slightly higher angle yet again? It sure would seem to. Okay, skip that whole bit about same velocity = same POI. But I think the original concept is still sound.

Here's another vote for the RO. I shoot one in 45. and it was my primary competition gun all last season with zero hiccups. I don't know what the round counts are for the factory mags in 9mm, but the factory 45 are only 7 round mags so I ended up buying all new mags to get up to 8 rounds for competition. Based on a survey of posts here I ended up going with Chip McCormick Power Mags.

+1 what MAC says. SWC will throw shorter COALs because of their flat nose. The way I was taught was to seat the bullet to the depth that just leaves a thumbnail thickness of shoulder above the rim of the case. Looking at my load spreadsheet, I see that all of my 625 JM loads with 200gr SWCs are to either 1.240 or 1.245. And FWIW, these loads feed just fine though my SA 1911.

Welcome Frank, you came to the right place. Don't stress too much on coming in last man, it's early days yet. It'll come. As you watch the better shooters at your match, notice how they aren't necessarily fast as much as terribly efficient. Good luck!!!

Many thanks!!!!

Thanks for the tip. Any hints which way is up?

TTI works great with the SSS magwell. My setup is TTI pads, SSS magwell, factory followers with the legs trimmed, and TF springs for 170mm mags with one spring loop clipped off. This gets me 21, although I've been shooting Lim-10 almost exclusively this year. I found the springs that came with the TTI pads a little weak. I was still running a factory (15lb I think) recoil spring. After the mags had been loaded maybe a half dozen times and the mag springs had broken in a bit I started having rounds occasionally hitting the bottom of the feed ramp. Based on some research here I switched to a 13lb recoil spring and the TF springs and have had no issues for approaching 5000 rounds.

While the divisions are pretty solid today, I think a Production Optics division would fill a growing and valuable niche for older eyes. I know someone's going to point out we have an optics division already, it's called Open. But you have to admit that Open comes along with a ton of baggage that isn't for everyone.

My rule of thumb for belling cases is to set it so that I can pick up a case with one of the intended bullets. I load almost exclusively lead and coated and I've never had a shaving issue with this approach. You can induce a little shaving if you have the bullet seated out of alignment with the case. But that's an initial bullet placement issue, not a belling issue, hehehe.

I've been happily shooting an M&P 40 CORE this season with the Apex FSS + competition spring kits. The gun has almost exactly 5000 rounds through it and at the match last weekend my trigger return spring broke. Curiously the trigger continued to function with just a minor hitch in the trigger pull. At any rate, I'd love to hear what advice people have on changing M&P springs. I'm guessing there are some you change well before they fail and some that fail so rarely that you just keep a spare in case. Thanks, Tom

While they are absolutely an improvement, coated bullets aren't foolproof on smoking and leading. Paired with the wrong powder they'll still smoke plenty more than you'd like. And you can get lead fouling from a coated bullet in mostly the same ways you get it from traditional cast lead bullets (improper fit to barrel, unintentional swaging during loading, etc.). Another advantage though is the reduced lead exposure.

Hey JackHammer, welcome from a fellow Minnesotan! GIve me a shout if you're new to the sport and could use some info getting plugged into the local scene.

I loaded up some AutoComp in 9mm 125 MG JHP rounds for my CZ 75B once just dabbling (not for this sport). It produced an accurate enough load, but at manufacturer published loads it was pretty snappy and launching brass into low earth orbit. Presumably a fair bit of that could be tamed by downloading to PF. But all things considered, I'd go with the suggestion to trade it off. And seeing Kneeling's comment I have to give a shout out for 700X in 45acp. I grabbed a 4lb jug when I had a chance around the first of the year. It does leave a bit to be desired in the metering department. But it produced an amazingly accurate 230 LRN load at 172/173 PF with the lowest chrono SDs in my notebook.

I've been loading 200gr SNS coated at 1.150 and getting very consistent velocities. I'm not at home to check how much longer the 200s are than 180s, but my guess is they're around .040 longer. So while 180s and 200s aren't a direct comparison, that's an endorsement for consistency from loading on the shorter side.

I'm surprised I'm the first to say this, but it's not a good idea to learn on 40 Major or 9mm Major. It's not that there aren't established loads for both that our sport generally considers safe. It's that the loads we publish here are pushed pretty close to the edge and leave less forgiveness for newbie mistakes. Better to work through the learning curve on something more middle of the road. If you decide to press ahead, make sure you read up on avoiding setback and how to detect pressure signs on the primer and case. And for 40 Major start with slower powders of those you see recommended here and accept the slightly greater felt recoil. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip. I don't think I've ever done anything that permanent to a gun. Although the barrel bushing mod is permanent too, hehehe.

I'm going with a CGW accurized 97B converted to SA. I'll basically take David's advice on all the parts and have him toss on adjustable sights and a FO front. No lightening or reduction work planned at all. Locating a race holster and magwell are a little more of an issue. As kneelingatlas suggests, I think the best bet is one of the non-model specific CR Speed WSM 2s. Several local shooters have the Futuristic Magnetic holster and I'd really like to try one of those. But who the heck knows whether I'd be closer starting with their CZ Shadow or Tanfoglio Stock model. There aren't many of us game to compete with one of these bad boys And for magwell it sounds like I'll start with a large frame Tanfoglio magwell and expect some fitting work. And Tanfoglio parts for mag extensions and potentially longer springs. I know the whole magwell thing isn't as critical with doublestack mags, but I'm still leaning that way. I suppose after some dryfire mag work I may decide to leave it stock for a while.

Thx!

Hopefully one bump isn't too obnoxious

+1 for horseman's suggestion to shoot Limited with one of your Glocks. Although if the urge is on you to buy an M&P then go for it by all means. But even then, it's still not a bad idea to start out in Limited. Mainly because fewer mag changes frees up some of your attention for other things. One consideration is to pick up a M&P 40 rather than a 9mm. With 40S&W you can push the velocity up to get into major or download to a soft shooting minor. Of course major only applies to Limited/Limited-10, but having a gun that can do it gives you the option.

jriv9, Rotometals is where I get all of my alloying metals. I think you may only go to brinnell 18 for the higher velocity rounds like 357. An amazing reference on casting is available free online here (first link is HTML based, 2nd is same thing in PDF) -- http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf Not to be a wet blanket, but even though I continue to shoot predominantly cast bullets I actually bailed on casting my own. It is pretty time consuming. And that's coming from someone who loves any excuse to tinker in the workshop and considers time spent with his trusty single stage press pure bliss.

Here's some data for some 200 LSWC loads run through my Springfield RO. Not ideal since these loads didn't get fast enough for our game. I was testing some 230s at the same time and decided to just keep going with the 230 LRNs. But what you're looking for is likely just north of 5.1gr N320 COAL 1.240 Federal LPP 4.9 gr 157 PF 5.0 gr 161 PF 5.1 gr 165 PF