glockman75

I nearly lost a thumb nail on mine. It was pulled back and a little bloody. I hit my thumb with it a total of three times but I stuck with it. It’s an advantage. Good for table starts and it makes it easier and faster to rack the slide. Just train yourself to keep your thumb down. A couple of whacks and you’ll learn quick! I wouldn’t shoot open without it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Get your money back. This is your opportunity to get out before you really regret it. A Part time smith with no reputation to worry about sounds like a potential disaster after a long drawn out build and never ending waste of your time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I believe every shooter should get Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition book with their membership card. It's that important. Read it, set up a regular dry fire schedule, do the drills, listen to his podcasts, learn the three different shooting modes. Simple recipe for rapid growth. Guaranteed fast results! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have 3 of the 2.5 MOA DPP dots. I love them. If you turn them up really bright it effectively makes the dot appear larger. I feel that it's almost like having an adjustable MOA dot depending on how bight you have it. If you are concerned about it being too small just crank it up and I think you'll be pleased. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My MBX mags are perfect out of the box. Tried and true. I have lots of them. STI and Para. 9mm and .40. They are alll 100%. Most people I know use them and also recommend them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why not just have 170's? I was new to open and I bought 3: 170's and 3: 140's. A friend of mine has 6: 170's. I think if I had to do it again I would go all big sticks.

I prefer to bench rest the gun with the muzzle or frame on bags. I haven't found a difference in POI from holding freestyle. I aim at a 2" shoot n see circle pasted to a Metric target. I attempt to sight in my gun before every weekend match. I find it builds confidence because I know exactly where the current batch of reloads are landing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another thing to consider is what calibers are you loading now? I went with a .40 single stack so that I can use exactly the same ammo for Limited or SS. I find that loading .45 sucks due to the small primer pocket and large primer pockets. I don't like sorting them. .40 SS was a no brainer for me. I have the Tripp 10 mm mags that hold up to 10 rounds with the flex follower so you can run major or minor depending on preference. I load oal 1.185 and the gun feeds flawless. I went with a Para Pro Comp .40. I removed the series 80 added a shim and have an out of the box 2.5 lbs trigger. Stock items include magwell, fiber optic front sight, adjustable rear and the gun is competition ready for $1k. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My first Open gun was an STI steel frame and slide custom gun built from the ground up. 4.5" shorty with a steel Binary comp. it had lightening gills, swoop cut on the back, two tone PVD (black and Gold) and it cracked after 15k rounds! My second custom gun is much simpler. 5" Hard chromed with no lightening cuts. I added the PT grip and love it. I feel that the 5" is going to be the most reliable and soft shooting. I like the weight of the full size gun and especially the balance with the steel grip. KISS principle! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Buy Steve Anderson Books. Practice the dry fire and live fire drills regularly. Create a real practice schedule. Listen to his podcast for all sorts of tips and good info on how to improve your mental game. Call your shots and shoot at your current level of skill on match day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would go for it. Sounds like a good deal. I would think of it as an $800 metal gripped gun and $400 in mags and parts. I prefer the MBX Para mags to factory but factory with Dawson's base pads work well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like Bayou for coated and Zero for jacketed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's fantastic. I've been looking at that gun for a long time but haven't bought one yet. Nice work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today I practiced draw to one shot drills 10 yards on 8" plates: freestyle, strong hand and draw and transfer to weak hand. .99 Freestyle, 1.12 stronghand, 1.45 draw and transfer to weak hand. 50/50 hit or miss. I shot these as drills today. We'll see how long it takes to get more consistent. These are roughly average times some were better or worse. I was in speed mode trying to economize motion and get the sights up as fast as possible. It was fun! Single Stack .40 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

.79 - 1.04 consistent with a target focus. No need for a sharp front sight this close. I enjoy dry fire practice at this distance with a par at .60. It's hard for me to beat the timer at .60 but the speed and conservation of motion feels great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

VV N320 because it's super consistent, clean burning and accurate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have been shooting mostly coated bullets from Bayou. 180 .40 sized to .400. The company ships fast and the bullets are great. I shot Zero 180 .40 JHP and TMJ before coated bullets were available. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Para USA Pro Comp .40 is an amazing out of the box competition ready single stack gun. You can find them for $1k on GB. It has adjustable rear sight with fiber optic front, excellent 2.25 lbs trigger after you throw out the series 80 parts and put in a series 80 shim and a 17 lbs main spring. I absolutely love mine! Stainless frame and slide with high quality PVD finish, G-10 grips and aggressive front and rear cocking serrations. I did have the ambi safety replaced after it broke. The gun is awesome and has a lifetime warranty from Remington. Para was making some awesome guns right before Remington closed the shop. I use the Tripp 10 mm mags that fit the box with 180 grain loaded at 1.185. Absolutely flawless. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Akai! Shay stands behind his work. If you have a problem you need not worry. If you need to get in contact with him Facebook messenger will work, very responsive. His guns hold their value. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have several Paras and absolutely love them. I believe they are the best value in Limited class. I run MBX magazines with 20 .40 in each with no issues. The factory mags are fine just blocky and not as smooth to reload. He'll enjoy the Para! Para took me to Master Class. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I understand and agree. The strength of the slide will be a big consideration from this point on. The new slide is going to look like an STI Grandmaster. Just plain and simple. I want to shoot lots of rounds. I no longer really care how cool it looks and I am now reluctant to ask for lightening of any sort. L Thanks all for the input. This has been helpful. I'm glad that the gunsmith is helping me out. He's a good guy. I can't wait to start shooting open again. Hopefully for a much longer stretch! DVC

This seems to be what I'm hearing from most Open shooters. I didn't realize that they are breaking so frequently. As soon as I mention that it happened most people admit that it has happened to them and in some cases more than once. I am really starting to wonder about shooting a minor load for practice and local matches and just register as minor so that I don't have to worry about cheating or having an unfair advantage over someone else. This minor load would save the parts from beating themselves to death and possibly help by rewarding me for shooting high points during relatively easy matches (our local matches aren't all that tough compared to regional or national matches).

I just posted pictures. Take a look let me know what you think.

I'm an experienced shooter that has many guns and I have been shooting a long time. I've never had any issues with guns breaking. I've had thumb safeties break and that's about it. So I had an Open Gun custom built to my specifications. This is not about trashing the builder and I do not want to name any names. If you figure it out please don't ask or list the name of the builder. My new open gun that is 6 months old with 15k rounds now has a cracked slide. Its an STI frame and slide. 9mm major. Major load of 124 grain JHP 6.7 WAC 1.145. How often does this happen? The gunsmith is fitting a new slide, barrel and comp. I'm paying for the parts and the labor is under warranty. How does this sound to you guys? Is this warranty typical for the industry? I've heard about many cracked Limited and Open slides. What's the deal? Seems like it's happening a lot.

Get in the best possible physical shape. I jog, do push-ups and dry fire weeks and months before a big match. Then let it go to hell afterwards!