Smitty4313

Hey gang! I'm planning on shooting IDPA this year with my Colt Commander in .38 Super, and I was wondering what spring rates might be reccommended for it. I have no idea what's in it now, as far as spring rates go. It's brand new, I've only shot it one time, and it seems awful jumpy to me. I was using factory 130 gr fmj's. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Smitty

+1 on the Springfield Range Officer. All it really needs right out of the box is a fiber optic front sight, and a magwell. Competition ready for well under a grand. Smitty

Another +1 for the RO. I've done pretty much the same treatment for mine-Brown Maxi-well, VZ Operator II's, and I run Wilson 47D's for mags. I've left my reciol spring stock so far, and only changed out the main spring when I put the Maxi-well on it, 20 pounder. It handles really well right now. I don't even know what the stock recoil spring rate is. For the low price of admission that the RO brings, its a REALLY good gun! Smitty

This is a great thread. One thing I would contribute to this is, we also need to remember the mental components also. Case in point-my cousin is big into USPSA/Steel Challenge like the rest of us. He went out and spent 4 grand on a full-on custom Caspian, and he ended up changing everything all around because he couldn't make it work for him. During all this time, his wife, who shoots Glocks told him to give her L-10 rig a try, and he never would-STUBBORN. He always though of the combat tupperware as glorified boat anchors, and doorstops. She worked him and worked him to give it a go, and he finally did. Now he shoots lights out all day long with a BONE STOCK GLOCK 35!! Turns out, the Glock fit his natural anatomical point of aim WORLDS BETTER than the Caspian did. Moral of the story, as everyone here has said-don't be afraid to try different things. Even if its a major thing like an operational platform. In this case, 1911 based, versus Glock. He had it in his mind that Glocks weren't real guns because they were plastic, and cheap, and all the other garbage that we've all heard before too. Well, turns out that Glocks are better for him than anything else. Don't let EGO get in the way of what you can accomplish "In The Arena" of competition. Having what works in your hand, and fits you will always work better in the long run, which will bring into play another BIG mental component for what we do-CONFIDENCE. Confidence in your equipment, and in yourself will lower scores, because that opens many pathways of thought about what you CAN achieve! Shoot well everybody!! Smitty

Alrighty. Thanks Gents! Smitty

Hey gang, title says it all-what do you do with REALLY old ammo? Had a buddy of mine from work bring in some old 9mm with brass that have a 1952 headstamp on it. You can tell they're old, and have been sitting in the back corner of a deep dark cabinet in his garage. He asked if it was ok to shoot them out of a Glock 26. I would be scared as hell to shoot that stuff! What to do? Thanks in advance, Smitty

Thanks Gents! Smitty

Hey gang, just picked up one of my bucket list guns over the weekend-a Colt Lightweight Commander in .38 Super. I'm going to shoot some IDPA stuff, as well as use it for daily CCW. I was wondering if anyone knew of a good IDPA load for a non-comped Super. I'll be using commercial loads for carry, and I'll load my own match stuff. I've been loading a long time, but the Super is a new caliber for me. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks all! Smitty

Agreed. Nail it, or keep your mouth shut!! Smitty

Well gang, I think I got it figured out. My RCBS Rangemaster 750 scale wasn't zeroed out all the way. The readout gave me 1.5 grains as a zero point, and when I set my measure for what I though was 5.0 grains of Bullseye based on the scale, I was actually only throwing 3.5. So, I pulled 5 bullets of the remaining rounds, and sure enough, 3.5 on the nose for all 5. Not enough to get that Glock to cycle. Now I just need to figure out why my scale did that. I've never had any problems with it. But also, I need to check my head for not catching the zero issue. Be safe everybody! Smitty

You're right. It's a dual set-up. Smitty

It didn't function with me behind it either. I thought she may be too light on the wrists at first, but it did it to me too. I haven't ever changed out a recoil spring on a stock Glock guiderod. I'm also thinking that with the bullets being on the light side (115's), it's out of that short barrel so fast, that there wasn't time to get decent pressure built up with that load to blow the slide back. Not sure. Smitty

Nope. All my other toys are .40 or .45 Smitty

Storz, If I was in your place, I would build the 31 to Open specs since its a smaller, quicker platform than a 35, and grab a 23 for carry (my carry gun is a 23C). IMHO a 31 is a bit big for concealed, and a smaller platform for Open would be a bit quicker, especially comped. Just my .02 I see your in FV NC. I used to spend alot of time there when I was doing some course work up the road from you a bit at Wake Tech. One of my close buds at the time was a FV cop. We used to shoot together a ton! Smitty

Howdy gang! Well, I loaded up some light loads for my 12 year old daughter's first range trip with a handgun, stock Glock 26. However, I loaded them up so light, the load doesn't have the oomph to cycle the slide, the recoil spring on that baby Glock is pretty stout. I've been reloading for 25 years, and I've never come across this scenario. Here's the rundown- Berry's 115gr plated RN Mixed headstamp brass Winchester SMP's 5.0gr Bullseye 1.125 OAL Now then, here's my dilemma-do I pull all the rest of the bullets, and start over with a stouter load? LOT'S OF WORK. Or, would anybody recommend going through and deep seat the bullets a bit to bump the internal pressures to get the slide working? PROBABLY A SLIPPERY SLOPE. Any help is greatly appreciated. Smitty

If you want to shoot the high BC 7's, you can't go wrong with a straight .284! Nice and flat with great accuracy, and it won't burn barrels up. Just my .02. Smitty

Good luck getting a catalog out of Caspian. I made 4 attempts in the last 3 months to get one. 2 requests from their website, and 2 phone calls where I actually spoke with a live body-and still nothing. I have 3 1911 projects in the works right now, and Caspian will get NONE of my business. FWIW, I had a catalogs from STI and Wilson in less than a week! Smitty

I've been wearing Oakley M-frames for years. I like the Strike shape, good coverage without being too big, or too small. I wear Black irridium for bright sun, VR-28 for overcast days, and yellow or clear for indoor stuff. The Radar's seem to be on the heavy side, that's why I stick with the M's. Smitty

WST!! Smitty

DNH, I've shot the thing a couple times since I cleaned the hell out of it, and swapped back to my stock spring/guiderod. Everything is clicking along like clockwork right now. I'm starting to think it was something with the spring, like you said. My 21 has always run flawless-hot, cold, filthy dirty, squeaky clean. So when the hang ups started, I was puzzled a bit. So, other than a good cleaning, the easiest possible solution was the spring/guiderod assembly. So far, so good. Smitty

Well, quick update. After the suggestions of cleaning out the extractor, the plunger tube, and the internals of the slide, AND putting the stock guide rod/spring assembly back in, the thing runs like a champ again! No idea what it was that ironed it out, but ALL IS WELL! Thanks Gents! Smitty

Keep your chin up! I've gone through the same type of stuff with my ex too. The cool thing is, now that my daughter is getting older, she's starting to see what a POS her mother is. It's becoming a karma situation, my daughter now wants to spend more time at my house with me, than with her mother. Sounds as if you're on the right track, just be yourself, and take care of your kids, and good things will come to you on the end! Smitty

My single stack .40 is built with a Caspian Race Ready frame, and I feed it bone stock Wilson 47D's. I don't mess with the feed lips, or tweak springs, or anything. I take 'em out of the bag, load 'em up, and shoot 'em! They run fantastic! Smitty

I run bone stock Wilson 47D's in my single stack .40, FLAWLESS! Smitty

I throw 5.0gr of 231 under 200gr LSWC's. I run the same oal for both 200 and 230 LSWC's, 1.250". I've found that the round nose bullets have variance between some of the manufacturers as far as nose profile. In that case I light crimp at the top of the lube groove. Smitty