Carlos

We got the call for volunteers to FEMA to travell to the disaster zone as temporary FEMA employees; understandably we would serve as "volunteer relief workers" someplace in the zone & should expect: -no air conditioning; long hot days outdoors, harsh condisiotns, difficult physical labor/limited transportation. Beyond that, no details were provided. However, there was a FAQ that included this approximate exchange: -Q. I am a Federal/State Law Enforcement officer. Should I bring my badge and firearm? -A. No. Do not bring firearms when reporting to FEMA. Nor should you bring Law Enforcement credentials. Do, however, bring your Federal or state indentification documents. Somehow I would not want to trust my personal safety to P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police and the rag-tag mix of what he calls "law enforcement" down there right now. I will donate blood & money to help out the victims but without my Glock & valid VA CCW permit (valid in LA too) - I will not be headed down. FEMA & the rest of "government" just does not get it.

"You cannot configure it however you want without first adding US parts. The Saiga series is an imported firearm. Imported firearms are still regulared by "sporting requirement" provisions, which can be negated with the addition of US parts." Understood. My Saiga is made in the USA. Its an American gun. MOST parts were made here. Am I missing something in thinking that I can add a 25 round detachable drum, folding stock w/ pistol grip, threaded 18.5" barrel w/ a flash hider and a bayonet lug? - also, my Saiga is NOT repeat NOT a "streetsweeper revolver" nor is it a USAS-12; it was NOT even made by the same company and is NOT a clone of the above D.D.s. I am still not sseing any problem - other than speculation about what *might* possibly happen w/ such mods. Anyone have facts or law on this? Regards, C.

See also: www.czshooters.com www.czforum.com Regards, D.C. Johnson

Yo Rik! Good advice! I will add the following suggestions: Ray: WHatever improvements you make to the grip can generally be enhanced by the use of an abrassive tape like Eric Wesselman's Glock grip tape. Ray, you did not mention what gun we are talking about but I have grip tape on nearly every pistol I own. - if you are in the market for a gun with naturally small grip, take a look at the excellent Steyr M9. A BE.com member & Air Force Marksmanship Unit member (Tom Freeman) used the Steyr to earn his Master hard in USPSA so the gun has been proven capable. It also has an extrmely LOW bore axis for almost NO flip. As long as you are OK with a plastic framed pistol made & designed in Austria and with a Tennifer finish (gee - just like Glock) then the Steyr deserves a look. Regards, C.

B4 they shut down Deep Creek Rifle & Revolver club near Frederick, MD, we used to shoot pins with both shotguns (10 yards) and centerfire rifles @ 50. At 10 yards, 00 buck rarely knocked over more than 1 pin; sometimes we used slugs but they were capable of decapitating a pin hit in the thin section. Those were the days. Here are some links: The current club (range shut down due to noise lawsuit by people that moved in & THEN sued: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deeprunrifle/ -a group bragging about shutting down the club: http://www.nonoise.org/news/fire.htm

Even though my project was on hold for the World Shoot & the remaining parts are still on order, I managed to do some more work on this project. I was so pleased with the results of pointing up the MSH checkering, I decided to checker the front strap to match the MSH. Checkering files from Brownells come in 2 general types: 1) layout files that cut several parallel lines at once and 2) finishing or pointing up files like the one pictured above that works just one line at a time. The layout files make lines based on a fixed distance between lines & result in common checkering patterns such as the common 20 lines per inch or LPI. They can be used for making either serrations or checkering. I did not use a jig but rather a vice with aluminum jaws. The vice jaw face serves as a vertical guide for the 1st line or lines that can just barely be seen taking a little depth in this photo: After laying down the initial guide line, the work is raised up in the vice & each subsequent line is based on the initial line. Here you can see the back of the double sided layout file & my fingers putting even, straight, steady pressure on the file: Yes, that is duct tape wrapped around my fingers. Checkering files cut steel & will do a real number on your skin; hence, the tape treatment. Here is another photo showing how far I got before my hands, wrists, elbows & back made me call it a day; this stuff is hard work! The top of the work needs clean-up but effectively, the front strap is now serrated:

I use nickel plated suff in .40, 9 and 45 wihtout a second thought. HOWEVER, it always bothered me that people were scared to death of mild steel cases (even though they never tried them) and yet those same people ran a substance MUCH harder through their dies every day (nickel is a whole lot harder than mild steel. GRANTED, one is plated on in a thin coating (nickel) and the other is the actual case material, but still. When nickel wears off the cases (we have all seen that happen) where do you suppose it goes & what do you suppose it does along the way? Think about it.

CCI primers really are very very hard. I am running a RP striker spring & have gone all the way down to Federal primers to make it 100%. I would not use CCI in a Glock.

I think most of the Juniors travelled with their dad, mom, or another adult since, depending on the state or country, many of them are too young to possess the handguns they compete with. Thus, it appears every Junior had a "manager" in tow. I agree w/ Matt.

Bseevers wrote: "Yea these went to the Supreme Court but I always get the feeling a guy with a Russian/German accent saying "Your papers please" Vear are you going tonight? Its not right" Its not on the way. Its here: Its called the Real ID Act and it passed two months ago. Requires national standards for ID (like most supposedly "civilized" coutries that have "National ID's"). Russia had these under communism; it was called an "internal passport" and if you were caught without it, you went to jail. It was that way in Venezuela when I was there in the 80s (before that nut job Chavez took power). In the US, you technically are not required to carry the National ID - yet. THey have decared that you MUST reveal your ID whenever asked (for whatever reason). Sad.

Calrification of OAL: My 1st post suggested an OAL appropriate for Glock. It was not revealed in the 1st post that you are using a Bar Sto. I missed it the second time. It changes things as it may be possible to touch the rifling- I have no idea what sort of leade they cut on a Bar Sto (FYI - I have fired 1.200" .40 in a STOCK glock barrel. You have to single load it, but there is enough leade.). I appears that others are having trouble loading whatever bullets they use to longer than 1.135". With hollow points, that may be so. If you are limited to 1.135", then I would not attempt N320 Major .40. However, there are many published loads for Titegroup (TG) at Major & can be loaded to 1.135". Also, Titegroup in 8 lb jugs is about $90 to 100 bringing the price a little over $12/lb. - very inexpensive & safe. As doe N320 vs other V V powders, check a burn rate chart. 231 is temp sensitive and very dirty compared to TG in Major .40. I got Universal to work, but its finicky (search on Universal for more info) and it kicked hard. For your use & to save $$$$ , I suggest Titegroup. Regards, D.C. Johnson PS - I would throw out the Dillon sizing die & use a Lee or better yet, a Lee U die from EGW.

See my original post. 1.155" for Glock (and no shorter). Even at that length, N320 is marginal safety wise (one reason NO one will publish a book listing it for .40 - it is not safe in the hands of inexperienced reloaders going for major) & you would be wise to use N 340 or titegroup if there is a chance of set back. What dies are you using? Specifically, sizing and crimp die brand? Keep the questions comming - this is a good discussion. Regards, C.

BTT

Great stuff & a great company. HOWEVER, I personally have never had them custom load .38 Super Comp for me so I can NOT speak to how well they will do that. If anyone else responds about Atlanta, I would ignore what they have to say unless they have used Atlanta for the purpose of custom-loading a very very specialized round like Major Power factor .38 Super Comp. Anything less is not a valuable comparison.

Holy CRAP that is nice work! For those interested, CNC = Computer Numerically Controlled machining. Basically, a computer is hooked up to a mill or lathe. The computer operates the machine using special motors called "stepper motors". If you hve ever flipped up the front of your ink-jet or the old dot matrix printer while it was printing, then you have witnessed a computer operating stepper motors. You have also seen the effect in 2 dimensions on the printed paper. A CNC mill works in a similar fashion only it has to take into account at least 2 more variables: a third dimension and speed/feed rates (mills do not simply zip through steel like a router through wood; precision machining requires that steel must generally be removed in very small amounts in pass after pass). The beauty of a CNC however is that the computer does the cutting. Downside is that you still have to do the programming and set up (time consuming the 1st time; there after its easier). Some set ups are easy; things like lettering are done with a special program where the letters are already programmed in and such programs only require that you tell the CNC machine what letters & the size/location of the work; you get letters of a fixed depth & they are perfect every time. Other things, like an STI/SV frame from a billet, might require up to 8 or more "operations" and thousands upon thousands of passes back and forth by the machine. THese are typically done inside a special cabinate called a CNC machining center where coolant/lubrication is constantly sprayed onto the work, collected, filtered & re-sprayed. The best of these will even sellect different size mills or bits from a special rack and can accurately compensate for tool wear. Such centers are vastly expensive and require skilled operators. While there have been a few successful conversions of the mini-mill to CNC, in my opinion the precision is not there to begin with & hard to build into the system. For CNC work, it pays to get as much initial precision as you can reasonably afford. My experience was with my friend Joe's CNC conversion of a Rong Fu mill ("CNC Masters" did the conversion I believe) though sadly Joe passed away before we were able to use the machine to its potential. Regards, D.C. Johnson

So - March 2006 before we see .40 cal Caspian Limited magazine tubes? Any idea on cost?

You asked: "Also, what's a good load (180 grain FMJ) to start with? What performance should I expect with a 5" barrel and a 1.122" OAL?" DO NOT attempt to load to 1.122" OAL. - I am aware that that number is listed as the MINIMUM oal or col in the Speer & Vihta Vuori data. However, the MINIMUM OAL actualy means: "minimum safe OAL" Go shorter than that and pressures can sky-rocket & cases will blow. It is beyond me why reloading manuals FAIL to make that clear. In a Glock or other .40 based on the OAL of the 9mm, you can usually load out as long as 1.155" without danger of getting near the lands & the cartridge fits fine in the magazine (usually feeds better too). I will leave it up to others to explain why we so often use N320 even though it is not listed (in a nutshell - we are mostly loading out to 1.200" to 1.220" & shooting it in 1911 .40s with long-throated barrels. It is NOT appropriate nor safe for loading short; like to absolute MINUMUM .40 OALs & still trying to exceed major) Regards, D.C. Johnson

Are they a Glock factory-option sight?

Confirmed. In my Standard IPSC .40, I used TG @ 167 PF then switched to N320 @ 167 and both at same OAL; bullet was zero 180 jhp. TG got the barrel hot enough to burn my forearm after a long field course w/ a bunch of steel (maybe 34 to 40 rounds w/ all the stupid mikes). N320 noticeably cooler. Another difference? TG = 37% Nitro + 63% Nitrocellulose. (double base) N320 = 100% Nitrocellulose (single base). Related? I believe so. Regards, D.

Two words: ENERGY INDEPENDENCE We need it NOW. Price are a reflection of market fluctuations. What market? WORLD market. If we relied to a greater degree on US source energy, we would be less subject to forces beyond our border (and beyond our control). Couple of other solutions? Diesel: We pay good $$$ for waste disposal of usable, refined, diesel fuel. Yep - we throw it out & pay to do it. Take a look at www.greasecar.com So simple, it is unbelievable. US- source fuel is dumped into land fills. Don’t want to deal with the mess personally? Fine - but why are all the 18 wheel trucks running on premium imported diesel? We all pay for that every day. As for US source diesel, we can GROW all we want through crops like rape seed & pay the energy $$$ to US farmers to do it. Do an internet search on "bio-diesel" - the President visited a refinery here in VA a few weeks back & he is aware of it. The energy $$$ we pay at the pump generally goes right back into an economy - only its often the Saudi or Venezualan economy. Switch to US source bio-diesel and this time it is OUR economy & not the Saudis. Bio-Diesel NEARLY costs the same as refined diesel. Now, it costs bout 5% more now due to small production, but what are the other down sides? -better cetane (more power) -better milage -fewer emissions than current or 2006 standard diesel -cleaner engine (fewer repair costs) -NO modification to any diesel engines Hydrogen: I know the fuel-cell hoopla. Did you know that Mazda has a model of the 2005-2006 RX-8 car that runs on BOTH hydrogen and gasoline? Two tanks & you can switch fuels with a switch & keep driving. They have been refining the working design it every year since 1991. Energy independence is easily within our grasp; it is time that we, as voters DEMAND it through legislation that is far more effective than the recent, weak “energy bill”. Regards, D.C. Johnson

"I never had a problem with feeding my reloads, but they wouldn't fit in any other gun except a Glock. " This was the same experience a frined had w/ a Glock 22 & Dillon dies; worked in a Glock but not in any other .40 he owned. He had one seperation using a mild load of Unique. Likely due to set-back. A better test for set-back is to take your reloading calipers to the range with you for this test: periodically during shooting a full magazine, remove a round that has been chambered. Take out 4 or 5 champered. Measure it. Set back of les than 5 thou is normal. much more than that & you are risking a seperation. One more note: most guys see the listed OAL & think its the SUGGESTED oal when it is actually the MINIMUM OAL. DO NOT USE THE MINIMUM OAL!!!!. Glocks can handle out to 1.155" easily; I always consider using a longer OAL to lower pressure. Regards, D.C. Johnson

What about the threatened European boycott of the results on account of their ammo not showing up? Did it ever materialize? Also, there were reports of many shooters using 2 or 3 different types of ammo due to shortages and also the claim that "there is no way some of this stuff meets major" - which begs the question: -was EVERY type of ammo chronoed? If not, then there is a huge problem. Moreover, if a shooter had a jammed because they had to borrow ammo (through no fault of their own) then they really should have gotten a re-shoot, which calls the stage results into question. Overall, seems like this was a rather troubled match as far as ammo goes. Still no overall results.

<edit> nevermind.

DATA COMPILED!!! Used the Smith & Wesson 625 (model of 1989) w/ the 5" barrel 1st load up was the one listed above: 3.0 grains of Trail Boss under the strange hollow-based 185 grn TMJ'd or plated round nose @ 1.260" OAL: Average Velocity (12 rounds) 351.1 feet per second; SD 28 Power Factor 64.9 OK - stop laughing. Maybe I was a little TOO cautious here. Not a lot of recoil. Not much velocity either; you could see them flying down range. Next up was 4.0 grns w/ same bullet & OAL: 537.5 FPS SD 28.4 Power Factor: 99.4 Sooooo - not up to ICORE standards yet. May try again next week, though not looking good at all for Major. D.C. Johnson

Pins fly best when hit with heavy bullets; in. 45 ACP I used to use lead 255s @ about 800 FPS w/ the data you can find on Page 672 of the current Lee Reloading manual (second edition) : data is for "260 grain bullet/ HP-38 Powder"). HP38 is nearly the same if not identical to W231. Why different powders in IPSC/USPSA?? A pin match might be 4 or 5 runs X 5 pins (25 rounds) where as a USPSA match (around here) is at least 70 rounds indoors; 120 outdoors & up to 350 at a big match. Gun has to be 100% reliable & there are cleaner powders than Bullseye & 231/HP-38. My USPSA load was a TMJ'd 200 grn .45 ACP bullet loaded over 4.5 grns of straight Clays. A decent Pin load would be a 230 TMJ or FMJ over 4.0 grns of straight Clays at 1.260" D.C. Johnson