rooster mcbee

I have a new Ghost holster for my open gun. I've been using the same Safariland belt for years and was thinking about an upgrade. The CR and DAA belts seem to be the most popular according to the search feature, with no mention of the Ghost belt. Does anyone use the Ghost belt, or is it not up to par with the CR and DAA?

My Colt 1/7 twist loves the 69 gr sierra's with Varget powder. I never could get 77 Bergers to shoot as well as the 69's. I shot the 69 gr. in several 3 Gun Nats. and was always happy with their performance. For the close range courses the regular old 55 gr bullets worked for me, but when I wanted to stretch it out a ways, the 69's got the call.

Here's an update on what I've done. I measured my powder funnel/ expander at .354. My bullets measure .356 with my calipers, so I decided to leave the funnel alone for now. I went back and lowered my regular Lee sizing die to the bottom of the shell plate, where it was just touching, and raised my powder funnel/expander so that I was barely belling the case mouths. I also lowered my crimping die so it was crimping at .375 from .378. I filled up the primer tube and loaded the powder measure and was ready to load some quality ammo. I loaded 5 and took them out of the blue bin, pushed the bullets against the loading table, and every one of them sank in like they had no resistance at all. I was not happy. I went to the EGW site and ordered the U-die and also ordered a Redding competition bullet seating die for another business. I ordered late on Wednesday night, and got the U-die on Saturday, regular shipping. I put it in the tool head, set it up , reset my crimp die to .378, and proceeded to load. I pulled the first 5 bullets, measured them, pushed them against the loading table, and remeasured them. They didn't move!!! I loaded 300 rounds, tested a few throughout the process and everything was rock solid. I shot a 150 round Steel Challenge match yesterday with zero malfunctions, the pistol ran perfect. I segregated my "unload and show clear" rounds and brought them home to measure. Everything is as it should be. I would like to thank all of the forums members who took time out to educate me about reloading dies and dimensions, and problem solving. Without your help, I'd still be scratching my head and wondering what was wrong with my pistol. Doug

I was having the same problem recently, and on forum members advice, I bought the EGW U die. My problems vanished, and my pistol runs 100% now.

I run a 12 moa dot for Steel Challenge and a 6 moa dot for IPSC matches. For me, the big dot is faster to pick up on those close steel targets, but I like the precision of the smaller dot for "delicate" work. RACE ON! Doug

I used to love the 571. After reading your post, I looked back at my chrono notes. 10.3 grains with a 125 gr. D+J bullet and a Federal small rifle primer would get me a 1403 avg at a 175 power factor out of a 4 hole Hybrid barrel and a 3 chamber comp. Those were the days, man!

Thanks for all the help. I remember now that when I started loading this latest batch of brand new brass I was getting crushed case mouths when I would seat the bullet. I lowered the powder funnel /expander to widen the case mouth bell. I bet that is what is causing my troubles. Thanks for jarring my memory. Just to answer some of your inquiries, my overall length is 1.235. When I first started having trouble, I suspected the extractor. I run an AFTEC. I made sure it was fitted to the firing pin stop as per the instructions, and removed the rear spring. RH45, I'm going to look into the Zero .356 bullets. I like their JHP bullet profile a little more than the Montana Gold, because it looks more rounded to me. The Montana Gold bullets always seem to be available though, whereas the Zero's are always sold out, at least when I'm shopping. I think I'm going to buy the U-die just for added insurance, and maybe the Redding Competition bullet seater. I'm guessing the EGW U-die for .38 super is the one I want for .38 supercomp. Again, thanks for all your input. Doug

I've been suffering from mystery malfunctions recently where the bullet feeding hits the top of the chamber and the slide doesn't close. A gentle nudge on the rear of the slide is usually all it takes to close the slide. This happened to me twice at last weekends match. A shooting partner handed me a live round sometime during the match that he had picked up and I put it in a plastic ammo box with the rest of my loaded ammunition. Yesterday I was looking at my live rounds in the plastic box and noticed 1 round that was obviously shorter than the others. The bullet was set back all the way past the case rim. I'm 99% sure it was the round my friend had picked up for me because of its location in the ammo box. I went out to practice yesterday and it happened again. This time I ejected the round and examined it. The bullet was set back on it also. So, I've been scouring the archives and have been reading a lot about the EGW undersize die. I'm using a regular Lee .38 super sizing die now, but it seems like I need more neck tension. My first inclination was to apply more crimp, but after reading several posts, that doesn't sound like the right thing to do. My crimp measures .378. The round I'm loading is Starline .38 Supercomp brass, with a Montana Gold 115 JHP. Lee sizing die, Lee bullet seater, and a Dillon crimp on a Dillon 550. Is the EGW undersize die my next step, or am I missing something. Thanks for your help. Doug

Okay, right up front, I don't own either of these holsters, so my opinion is strictly about new vs. used and color selection. I think that unless money is the deciding factor, you should go with new, in the color of your choice. Its always nice to open the package on a new toy and enjoy the unblemished surfaces and crispness of the unused. And, if you are going to spend that much, you might as well get it in the color you like the most. After all, you are probably going to be wearing it for a while. And if I was going to buy one, it would definitely be RED!!!!! Race on!!!! Doug

I just switched to a Cmore after my Aimpoint Comp finally gave it up. I've used the Aimpoint since the late 80's and would love to be using one now. I just can't come to peace with the 4 min dot. I need something a little bigger. The Aimpoint is so rugged and reliable. You sight it in and forget it. Change the battery once in a while and race on. The Cmore does seem to benefit from a liberal dose of blue Loctite. I still don't trust that its going to hit where it was sighted last. I'm sure that I will learn to love it for its light weight and cleaner sight picture (less frame to look around). After all, it has a pretty solid winning track record now.

I am having the same problem with my 2011 .38 Supercomp. The slide will stop about a half and inch from completely closing. A gentle touch on the rear of the slide will cause it to close. I went to a 12 lb. recoil spring and took one spring out of my AFTEC extractor. I also made sure that my breechface is smooth and that there is a slight bevel on the bottom of the breechface where the disconnector initially is forced down when the slide closes. It almost seems as though it takes too much effort to force the barrel up into its position. All of my rounds are drop checked, so I'm confident its not the ammo. Those are the things I've done to try and fix this problem. It's better, but still happens about every 50 rounds. Sorry, I'm not trying to hijack your thread, I'm just anxious to see the replies you get so that maybe I can get my pistol to work as well.

Hi Steve, Where and when in Oklahoma?

My gun shoots either type brass without doing anything different. Supercomp feeds a lot better out of the mag. I'm glad I switched.

My experience with lead in the Super is that no matter how slow you run them, they are going to gunk up the comp. I agree, not worth the headache.

Alright then, I'm gonna do battle rain or shine. Thanks.

After being away from my local Steel Challenge range for 6 months, I'm finally back in a rotation where I can shoot. Unfortunately, the weather forecast calls for a 80% chance of rain on Saturday. So, am I going to ruin my C-more if it gets wet? It looks like it is sealed pretty well, but I would like the opinions/experience of my esteemed forum members. Is it safe to let it get wet?

I've been using a pair of NYX with an RX insert for about 4 years. Lots of lens colors to choose from and they are comfortable and strong with good coverage.

I bought a bottle of Pro Grip lotion back in April, and it has dried out, not fluid any longer. I kept it in the house when I wasn't shooting, not stored in the car. Is there a way to restore it back to its original liquid state, or is it done? Thanks, Doug

Hi Rick,Welcome back. My story is similar to yours. I took 12 years off from shooting before the bug bit me again. My problem was that in 12 years, I was into my 3rd glasses prescription. My readers worked well for seeing iron sights, but the targets were too blurry. With my open gun the dot was blurry as well as the targets. What I discovered was that my very first reader prescription was what I needed to see the dot at arms length as well as the targets. For iron sights, I ended up with my current reader lens in my right eye and my first reader in the left, the best of both worlds. To answer your question, yes, I have seen distortions with my readers. I think that they put more "prescription" in the middle of the lens than on the edges. If I start looking up through the top of my glasses when I shoot I definitely get a different sight picture than in the middle.

My C-more is new, too. I'd sight it in, shoot 100 rounds and it would be hitting 8 inches right. I read DaveRE's blog and decided to try his fix, because it described the symptoms my sight was showing and I'm not patient enough to send something in that I think I can do myself. Long story short, it was simple, easy, quick, and works like a charm. Thanks Dave.

I shoot 3N38 in my .38 SC. My shooting mates tape every impromptu match we hold, and are constantly talking about the flash from my pistol. I don't notice it behind the sights, but you can sure see it on the recording. Last week we practiced well into dusk. The fireball was obvious then of course. It was so big it was making me flinch!

my experience with nickel has been mostly with .45's and .38 specials. I think they split much sooner than plain brass. With that being said, I do like the idea of being able to pick my brass out from everyone else's. I may shop around for some nickel .38 supercomp. That would be sexy cool.

I shot a 9X25 Dillon, a 10mm necked down to 9mm, for about 3 years. It was AWESOME! Loads of gas, negative muzzle rise, and a blast that would crack concrete. RO's would step back about 6 feet when I shot. But alas, the loss of magazine capacity compared to the .38's was more than i could bear. The .357 Sig is in the same boat. Not enough capacity. sigh

I put off buying an RTS because earlier this year because the lense wasn't quite as big as I wanted. A revised version built as you described would be at the top of my must have list. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will come true.

After reading all of the posts on this topic, I decided to go to Harbor Freight and ask for walnut blasting media. The clerk says "I have tumbling media. It's walnut." Right there in a 25lb. box, brass tumbling media. About $25 with tax.