Carlos

Jim - it looks like you are the man behind Miossi Gun Works; if so, then you have quite a rep as a CZ gunsmith over on www.czforum.com and www.czshooters.com You are no beginner when it comes to 'smithing CZs. A couple of words of advice on 9 Major; -fast powders are a no-go. Forget about 231 & Bullseye & AA#5. They are at the wrong end of the spectrum. They simply will not work. They could well blow your gun sky high. -better? Vihta Vouri N350. If its not for sale in your area, you should be able to find IMR 7625 (now owned by Hodgdon). If that is not on the shelf, try (if you must) Power Pistol. I would not use crappy old antique "Blue Dot" - it filthy and unrelaible. -forget about 115s and START with 124s. Other members here have just barely managed to make it with 115s but its really on the ragged edge in my opinion. I'd urge you: don't risk it. Especially when 124s are so much easier. -Your Tanfoglios & CZ are strong guns & can handle Major. However, please load out to the max magazine length for a CZ: 1.155" to 1.160". You are gaining NO benefit loading shorter & are risking it as far as pressure. Do yourself a favor and search the 9mm forum here for safe 124 grn loads & the powders/OAL and bullets used. Regards for a CZ/Tanfoglio fan, D.C. Johnson

Did the bullets set back on these two rounds? I bet you that bullet set back is the cause. D. C. Johnson

3 best products I have found for .40: 1) Lee Factory Crimp Die - the ONLY carbide crimper. There is an additional carbide ring in the body of the crimp die to keep the bullet in place. Why use it? .40 seems to KB more than other calibers that people reload. Why? Lot of reasons but I think that set-back is a leading cause. The FCD helps prevent set back. 2) Hornady OneShot or other suitable case lube. USE WITH CARBIDE DIES TOO! Much easier on your press as well as your arm & your brass. OnsShot can be left on the case & shot that way. 3) Lee U or Undersized die. See #1. I have NEVER had a setback or KB & I use total crap brass (not recommended). Use OneShot & its no more trouble to load .40 with this. Regards, D.C. Johnson

Erik - thanks very much; PM inbound. Actually I had not heard the saying about making "chicken salad out of chickensh*t, " - but I did have in the back of my mind "silk purse? Sows ear?" - I am going for "silk purse" (like Brian's) but not expecting a miracle; just a shooter & piece with a personal touch. Brian - excellent work as always; your gun's trigger gaurd looks a little like STI built it . Thanks for the heads up on the casting's plunger tube (will add that to the list of possible defects). I guess I have become spoiled by working with STI and SV frames; in contrast to this casting, the CNC'd frames from S_I are so close to dimensionally perfect that parts are nearly drop in with minimal fitting required. In contrast, the old Brazilian slide & this casting took MUCH more work to lap together than any S_I ever has. Have not yet begun the work on fitting the bushing but I am hoping to find an oversize+ bushing in order to make this thing shoot the way I expect. I liked the way the MSH turned out so much that I have decided to use it. However, what is a custom competition 1911 without a mag well? The best single stack magwell I have used is the Smith & Alexander but that is integral to the MSH; I will have to resort to a Wilson (sourced one used, on the internet, for $10). Fitting it tight & keeping it tight will be a challenge. Can't do any furhter work until Sat. due to the monthly Shooters Paradise club match & the Sunday GSSF; Team Shooters Paradise GSSF lives on. Regards, D.C. Johnson

Thanks AET! I added the trigger & it was a donated part from a friend. Well, you mostly get what you pay for & this trigger needed help! The shoe was very loose on the bow. To tighten up the trigger, much peening was needed. Not pretty, but effective and the part that was peened will not be visible once the trigger is installed. Once tight, I tried it in the gun and it would not fit into the casting; there was excess metal that I had to remove with a fine Nicholson file. Next, I decided to lower the ejection port. For this, I used my bench-top mini milling machine. These mills are capable of completing nearly every machining chore on a 1911. They will cut sight dovetails, flat top slides, trim rails, cut bridges for ramped barrels, etc. and yes- they also lower ejection ports. I knew that the steel from which the slide was made was very very hard so I opted for a carbide cutter rather than risking a regular high speed steel mill. Please excuse the fact that the photo is rotated 90 degrees to the left; if you just cock you head to the left side or place your monitor on its right side, you will get a more realistic view. After milling away at the port, I could either bevel the port with a dovetail cutter or do the bevel by hand with a different carbide cutter; I opted for the latter. This saved time & did not risk my expensive dovetail cutter on this hard steel. D.C. Johnson

This is obviously not correct; the strut should contact the cap. Obviously your buddy bought a gun that had been improperly modified by the previous owner. I have asked how this gun shoots, but considering the problems encountered so far, I strongly suggest you take the gun directly to a person knowledgeable about the 1911 - preferrably a gunsmith speciallizing in the 1911. Since these problems were caused by the previous owner mis-installing parts (and who knows what else he did?), and these problems were missed by the gun's most recent buyer, I think it is unreasonable to either blame Springfield or expect them to fix it under warranty. What part of the country are you in? Perhaps we could suggest a good 'smith. Regards, D.C. Johnson

FortyfiveShooter wrote: "In my conversation with Dwight Van Brunt (VP Marketing) I told him that unless they were willing to donate some type of merchandise we would prefer not to hand out their catalog again this year for the 4th time. His reply was "we spend enough on advertising that we don't need you to hand out our catalog" and "they see no real benefit in donating merchandise to matches" "but we can sale you a gun at a discounted price"" After reading that, I checked to see if maybe Kimber was listed over on the USPSA site as a national Gold lavel sponsor: nope. Silver level? Nope. Stage maybe?? Nada. Seems to me that Kimber sent ZERO product or dollars to either USPSA or IDPA. This is important information on account of the new CDP rules as well as USPSA's "Single Stack" division set to begin on 1/1/06 - a division tailored to 1911 Single stack bushing guns. I will do all that I can to recommend that new shooters interested in CDP or Single Stack NOT choose a Kimber but rather, choose a Springfield Armory, Smith & Wesson or other sponsor's 1911 instead. Anyone else see a Kimber MIM thumb safety crack in half? I have. Another choice might be the new Dan Wesson 1911 since it was acquired by CZ-USA and CZ-USA has a dedicated considerable resources to our sport; I understand that members of the CZ-USA team will likely shoot the Single Stack Classic (neither USPSA nor IDPA) using Dan Wesson 1911s. The whole point of sponsorship is to promote & reward only those who choose to support our sport. D.C. Johnson

There was a M or possibly A class Limited/STI shooter using a red colored Kydex on our squad (4) at the Nationals ( the limited/production/revolver nationals). Will see if I can post a picture of the guy. Very fast, very smooth, & not slow at all on the draw. I am beginning to think that most of the time, race holsters are more trouble than they are worth.

Update: The 3.00 grns load worked but was TOO light; recoil wiht the HOLLOW BASE 185s was somewhere between a .22 and a .38 full wadcutter out of a heavy revolver. Pressures were too low to properly seal the case mouth; ther was primer soot down the sides of the case from the lack of case mouth sealing. Oddly, even at this low pressure, the stuff left the insides of the cases very very clean. Accuracy OK. I used Federal primers (required with a S&W 625) and I have NEVER seen Federals in such fine shape after firing. Usually, any of my Major loads of .45 will flatten the soft Federals quite a bit. Not the 3.00 grn load. Due to the round edge primers and the lack of case sealing and lack of any appreciable recoil, I feel safe in carefully increasing the charge with the 625 (a gun known for its strength and case support). D.C. Johnson Hopefully next time I will be able to set up the chrono.

I have only tried it in my older Dillon 650; meters GREAT and worked as advertised by IMR/ proper, accurate metering. Since you get lower/softer perceived recoil with a fast burning powder (and cleanliness IS important for a recolver) you might also consider straight Clays - though it is a double base powder.

Another option might be the Scotts Solo 1000 but its hard to find around here. Try a shotgun club maybe.

Flame cutting in a .38 special with Titegroup: hmmm, I suspect that Titegroup's 37% Nitro content might have something to do with this. TG burns hot. Its got the highest nitro content of the double-base pistol powders according to Hodgdon. Possible cure? Single base powder or a cooler-burning (possibly slower burning) double base. Let's look at the former: V V is out due to cost. That leaves: -IMR: there is data for .38 with the new Single base, fast burning Trail Boss. I tried it last night in another caliber. Trail Boss is specifically designed for LEAD bullets and you specified "RNL" which equals Round Nose Lead. It was unusually clean burning. Accurate too - and also CHEAP. Might just work out for Minor .38 special. Here is the link to the free data: http://www.imrpowder.com/data/handgun/trailboss-feb2005.php Looks like w/ a 158 grn SWC you can reach 804 FPS for a power factor of 127; not sure what your bullet & particular gun will do. Seems like very safe powder because it is so bulky that a double charge is impossible. D.

InThe Black - how does the gun group right now?

I understand your concern & can relate to expecting the bore to be smooth on a newish gun, but I must ask, how does it shoot? If it shoots accurately and reliably , why return it? If it is used, one would presume it is safe & functional (the previous owner shot it, correct?) I ordered a custom 1911 bull barrel in .40 from a well known USPSA sponsor that arrived with tooling marks that resembled your description; the barrel broke in just fine & has shot well from nearly day one. I would shoot that .45 with at least 2 types of ammo before demanding a new barrel. Please let us know how this situation turns out.

We need chrono data man! If anyone wants to take a look at the developed data by IMR, here is the website: http://www.imrpowder.com/data/handgun/trailboss-feb2005.php I also loaded up some .45 ACP though I will not be able to test fire until tomorrow. I took a much more careful approach; good to know that you had no pressure issues at 5 grains. I used the 185s from Berry's that have an outer profile/size of a 230 grn; these bullets effectively INCREASE case capacity dramatically. Even so, I based my starting charge on IMR's data for the .44 Russian considering bullet weight & OAL (even though its .43 cal vs .45 cal) and decided on 3.0 grn of Trail Boss w/ an OAL of 1.260". Just to be safe, I will test this first out of a 625 revolver- a gun known to handle .45 Super without modification. Will let you know how it turns out. D.C. Johnson

Brian Hawley at Expiramental Machining is your man. Top notch, supperior work done the way YOU want it. I think he is underpaid. I have also found that EGW's prices are more than fair. As for their reputation, I think its beyond question. D.C. Johnson

Lets try that again:

Thanks Larry & Mike! Chuck- thanks for the heads up; once my sear arrives, I will put it & my hammer on some transfer punches & see how far off the holes are; this thread might just generate a spin off: "Carlos teaches himself to weld" (i'd rather shoot than weld. How much are completed frames again? ). I made some progress this morning on the stainless mainspring housings (MSH) you can buy from CDNN for 17 bucks. They arrive in this condition: The checkering is either molded in or rolled on; either way, its crap & needed to be pointed up with a checkering file: The number of lines per inch (LPI) on this thing did not quite match any of the layout checkering files so I used a finishing checkering file from Brownells. The stainless cut easily & I think it turned out OK, certainly better than it was. The other really big job for today was fitting the slide. 1911 slides & frames are oversize and must be either machined, filed, or lapped to fit each other (sometimes all 3). In every case, lapping with some sort of grinding compound(s) is required. I used 2 grades of valve grinding compound; in the past I have used Clover brand compound or Flitz/JB and oil. It can be a laborious process & this frame was a lot of work for fit. The slide is incredibly hard steel; the frame less so. Most of the steel came off the frame. The fit came out very tight laterally & torsionally; there is more vertical play than I would like as a result of my machining the rails in the frame to maximum vertical dimension. Slide runs back & forth very smooth. Until next week, C.

In honor of the new provisional USPSA Single Stack division, I decided to complete a 1911 frame I had laying around for a few years. My goal was not to build the ultimate 1911, but rather to make use of what parts I had laying around or could beg/borrow/steal for little money & still come out with a working 1911 for the new division & CDP. The frame: it is an old Safari Arms casting; the exterior shows many casting flaws and it looks like the illustrations in bullet casting manuals as to what happens when the mold is too hot; there are vein patterns on the sections of frame that have not been machined. It has the letter "D" stamped in the recoil guide rod well; I suspect it was a frame that was rejected as "defective" due to the cosmetic flaws. This is going to take a bunch of elbow grease to get into shape! The slide: a good friend & amatuer gunsmith (who wishes to remain anonymous) volunteered an old Brazilian military slide purchased from Sarco some time back. The slide was suspposed to have faint military roll marks but this one had been stripped of rust (there were occasional pits) and possibly belt-sanded, then re-parkerized; there are NO marks anywhere on this thing. Also, the bore is well tapped out & will require an oversized bushing. Also, the military front sight will need to go, and the front & rear will both have to be dove tailed for appropriate sights. I have a take-off Novak sight I found at a gunshow for $5; I might re-finish & use it for the rear; I also have an LPA / Mec-Gar Italian adjustable rear (bo mar copy) that would work. A sight blank thinned to .090 should for for the front. Also, the ejection port will have to be lowered & beveled. Now that I write it all down, this seems like a lot of work. Am I crazy not to just buy a Springfield? No, this will be more of a challenge (if it works). Stay tuned, D.

Flex- we all know that shooting a USPSA match relieves stress. But if you shoot a match in sub-zero teperatures, will you realize greater stress reduction?

Key word: tool steels: GuildsF4 wrote: "S-7 deep treatment displayed average 500% life increase Vs non treated," Difficulty is that: barrels are, in general, either 416 stainless or chrome-moly. What USPSA parts are made of S-7 tool steel? SV hammers & sears. My SV hammer has cracked & been welded twice. Hooks are still in good shape though. It was formed useing a NO stress machining process (EDM). IF there is a benefit to cryo, then it would appear to most benefit: -non stainless steels -steels that may retain the most residual stress such as hammer forged or button rifled barrels. D.C. Johnson

CZ 97B in .45 ACP. Guiderod by "Stanley door hinge company" (yep - the modified door hinge pin - still has that pimpin' gold color plating too). Small amount of skater tape but otherwise stock & very very accurate.

Yo Minesotta! There are currently TWO types of plated bullets: -those with swaged lead cores. Swagin can only be done with pure, soft lead. these include Speer TMJ (thickest copper plate jacket) Accura/WCB, Berry, etc. -the bullet with HARD CAST LEAD core and copper plated over that core. Only ones I know of are from Frontier. These act a lot like hard cast without the smoke or grime (very clean). We get them real cheap here int he East from T&T reloading out of PA - they deliver for free right to your gunshow. Do a search on "Frontier" & you will find contact ifo for your state. I shoot a 625 too. Use Clays powder. D.

The "other" team (GSSF Team, "B" team, whatever you want to call us) will live on at least for the rest of this month; Team Shooters Paradise GSSF I & II will be shooting the Topton, PA round of GSSF. Phil wrote: "And finally, to my shooting teams. Rocket, Magic, Heatseeker, Lumber, Sparky, my lil buddy Turtle, JULLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEE, and Bill Schwab made up my "A-team" as Douglas liked to refer to it. And Douglas, Bernie, Russell, Jeff, Brad, Travis, Terry, Robb, Bonnie, and the other Jeff made up the GSSF presence at the Glock matches. It was an honor to have you all wear my shirts. It was great to know that I was being so well represented." As Team Shooters Paradise GSSF, at least 3 of us have so far shot 4 rounds of the '05 GSSF competitions. We won 3 out of 4 as an Amatuer Civilian team and set a new Team record for GSSF. Two of the shooters on Team I won enough overall GSSF divisions that they were promoted to GSSF Master. Its been great to shoot for Phil & for Shooters Paradise; I also appreciate the chance to create & run the USPSA program at Shooters w/ a ton of help from many loyal volunteers including Mike McAleer, Mike & Mary Hughes, Nic Costecu, Jeff Salzburg, Eric Paradisi, Vlad Drevitser, Brett, Jeff H. & Gene (Godspeed, Gene) thanks for the opportunity Phil! Douglas Johnson TY-44934 www.shootersparadise.com

I doubt that straight Clays had anything to do with your cracked barrel feet. Rather, the likely reason your barrel feet cracked can be seen & explained HERE <or cut & paste into your browser> http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=120227 With a Dillon 650, I used more than 13 lbs of Clays with that exact load - 4.5 to 4.6 grns of Clays in .45 ACP. It is great .45 powder that I will not hesitate to use again once I start loading .45 (generally switched to .40/Limited so have not done much with ACP). As for WST, its not sold around here; never tried it so can't recommend it. Clays & Dillon worked fine for me. Regards, D.