David Thomas

I hate two stage triggers. Hate them... except for the AR Gold. ARGold really is awesome.

Sorry if this question has been answered before, but i didn't see it. Does the eye relief stay constant throughout the magnification range?

I bought a Vinci about two weeks ago and took it out to shoot 5 stand and about 150 rounds of wobble trap. I am not that great of a shot in that arena, but with the Vinci I shot the best score I have ever shot: 20 out of 25 with a modified choke tube. The Vinci simply points perfectly, even better than the M2, which in my opnion was the fisrt gun to rival the old Browning A5 with respect to pointability and the way it fit me. The Vinci is lighter overall while still maintaining good balance. It kicks less than the M2 in my opinion and has less muzzle flip. No way to quantify, but the reduction is noticeable. The safety location is horrible and it is very stiff. For this reason alone, the M2 will still be my work horse and all around gun. However, in the duck blind, the new Vinci will get the nod. The break down feature may be nice, i would not know. My gun is so tight that I cannot get the barrel and reciever off of the stock. Maybe after it has been taken down a few times it will get easier. hope this helps.

I have had the most consistency from Winchester primers and use the exclusively now. For powder I use titegroup for all of my 45acp loads. For bullets, shoot whatever 230 gr bullets that you can find for the best price.

I like the bushing too. Looks like an EGW Monogram carry bevel bushing and plug. Didn't notice the front sight until it was mentioned. Very nice gun. I can't wait to see the rest of it.

Dmeis, Glad you were able to diagnose and fix your problem. I was also able to fix my FTF problems this weekend with the plated bullets. The bullets I have are Rainer 200 gr SWC, not Berry's. I was trying to load them to close to the same OAL as my lead SWC, and when they would not feed properly I tried playing with the OAL. Because of the type problems I was having and the longer nose of these bullets, I thought I needed to shorten the OAL - Wrong! I finally lenghtened the OAL and presto. They feed like the are supposed to now. Jaxshooter, looks like you were right on the money in regards to the OAL with these bullets. Thanks. I have over 3,000 of these bullets left, so you can imagine my relief in finally getting them to feed.

I recently bought 4,000 bullets at a fairly low price. They are either Rainer or Berry's 200 gr. SWC, not sure. I am also having trouble finding the sweet spot. My higher grade Kimbers and STI have troble feeding these loads. The base model Kimbers and my WWI Reissue Colt seem to have much less of a problem. All of my guns, both the single and double stack, run fine on jacketd ammo and the Lead SWC (as long as I reject the lead swc that need it). Like you I have tried varied OAL with no fix. Wide45, I am new to plated bullets and have always shot hard cast or jacketed in the past. What is it about the plated bullets that cause some guns trouble? The fact that they are so soft?

In response to the original poster, the Practical was set up by Benelli as a game gun, longer 8 shot mag tube, com/muzzle brake, etc... If I am no mistaken, they can no longer be imported or at least Benelli is not offering them to the USA market. It also had a longer barrel, but not sure what length. I think all variations had the muzzle brake, but I am not sure if it was removable. The tactical is offered w/ 18" barrel and 5 round mag tube. Choice of rifle style sights or ghost ring. If I were you and could find one for a decent price, I would get a Practical if the muzzle brake was removable.

I have a Browning Gold (same as an SX2) and an M2. I agree that the M2 has more recoil and movement off of a target, but I would not say that it was a big difference. However, one must consider the huge weight difference in the two guns. If it was possible to get a Gold or SX2 down to the weight of the M2, the comparison would be more fair, i.e. comparing apples to apples. The benefit of the M2 is that you lose the weight of the gas gun, while coming very close to acheving the reduced recoil of the gas gun and coming very close to or in fact acheiving the reliability of the pump.

I have been saying that for quite a while now, and every time I do people treat me like I am either crazy or stupid. Nevertheless, the fact remains that I shoot the stock GLOCK sights better than any other after market sights that I have tried, including the Sevigny sights.

I bought 10 of them. Got a chance to try them out this weekend, and they performed flawlessly. I can't wait for the clear/smoke Pmags to come out.

I voted for a backup G17. Its frame can be used on your 34 if needed, and I just really like the G17. Plus as stated above, the 17 can be converted into quite the little blaster.

Look at the CMMG uppers and rifles. They have several 16" setups with the midlength gas system and at least one with a rifle length system. Their website is www.CMMGinc.com Also PK Firearms sells 16" Sabre Defense barreled uppers that uses the midlength gas system. Also the LMT MRP uses the midlength system on the 16" barrels. Most of the big boys have been late to the table. Armalite and Rock River are the only two "Big" name companies offering a traditional Ar15 with the midlength gas system.

Rich, I think C Products makes the mags for Brownells (or at least they used to) and also makes the Stoner brand magazines for Midway USA. I have ~ 40 of their 30 round aluminum magazines and they are top quality magazines. I have a couple of their 20 round mags (free with order of ten 30 rounders). They are every bit as good as D&H, Lablelle, or any other top tier magazine. At their price, I have instituted a new policy of buying at least 10 per month from now on, after all magazines are cheap and abundant for now.

I have heard nothing but good things about their quality; however, I have no first hand experience. I am not yet sold on the piston operating system. I do want one of their 416 Generation 2 lowers, though. The POF 416 lower will propbably be my next purchase.

I would very much like to see an improved GLOCK in 45acp. I want to drink the G21 flavor Cool-Aid, but the grip is just way to large for my hands. The manual safety sounds like a bummer...

+1 I have purchased from mags from both 44mag.com & C-Products, but always directly from their web-site. Both had fast shipping and email tracking numbers right away. Never had a problem with the D&H mags sold by 44mag.com or the aluminum mags from C-Products. The last batch of Mags I bought came from C-Products at the price of $9.50 per mag (orange magpul follower/ no mar lube). I bought my mags (D&H - green follower/teflon coated) from 44mag.com at $10.00 per mag, but I think the prices have gone up a little since then. Do not hesitate to buy from either.

Mike, there appears to be a second "raised lip" inside the stock about 1.5" below the first raised lip. I know the stock tapers down, but since this is not a traditional screw on pad and since the taper does not seem too drastic this far back, I was wondering if the pad would snap back in on the second set of raised lips. Does the stock taper down enough to prevent the pad from slipping in or would it provide a tighter fit but still work. Was that second lip placed there for this purpose by Benelli, maybe? Curious if anyone has tried it. I was hoping to learn from some other brave soul. Thanks for the replies. David

I use titegroup in all of my 45 acp loads from 200 gr swc to 230 gr. fmj's. Seems as though titegroup deserve to be named in the poll. I am curious out of the 23 "other " votes: how many are titegoup. Clays has a big lead in the poll though. My vote was "other" -- titegroup

I have settled on 15 pound springs for my 9mm Glocks. I have tried the 13# springs and when the gun gets dirty or with hard primers on some factory ammo, the 13# just is not reliable enough for my use. The 15# springs allow the sights to track better for me. Everyone who has suggested that you get several different weights and try them out is correct. What works for some people doesn't work for others. I have a long noncaptive tungsten guide rod and a 13# ISMI spring for one of my 34's and I shoot better and the gun recoils better for me with a 15# Wolfe spring and a standard length steel noncaptive guide rod. Experiment and have fun doing it.

Thanks Scout454, but I have had shoulder sugery in the not too distant past, and I do not want to decrease the size of the recoil pad. My shoulder is still a little sensitive to recoil. I was looking for a way to shorten the LOP while still using the factory supplied recoil pad & stock. Thanks, David

I was looking at the stock on my Benelli M2 w/ comfort tech (I think that is what they call it). The recoil pad is held in be a ridge that rides in a groove in the recoil pad. Just looking at the stock there appears to be another ridge about 1.5" inches below the first, right before the rubber inserts on the side of the stock start. It looks like one could cut the stock down to that portion and the recoil pad would snap right back on. Has anybody tried this? If not has anybody ever shortened a M2 stock and how did you do it?

thank you both for your replies. I realize the abillity to change calibers and barrels may not be much if any use/benefit for 3-gun competitions and the usefulness of monolithic uppers will always be up for debate. However, that doesn't mean that the abillity to change barrels and calibers does not serve any purpose or benefit the user in other areas. I am tempted by the abillity to get into the 6.8 for just a few hundred dollars, plus get what appears to be a rather unique 556 upper (although for quite a few $'s). If more calibers are released then even better, right? I have a JP ctr-02 that is my go to gun for 3-gun style shooting/competition. However more options and varieties are always good, right? I am not asking if I should get one for 3-gun, rather I wanted to see how many people do use these uppers for 3 gun and what those who may have had a chance to shoot these uppers in 3-gun or other competitions thought about them. Thanks, David

I am considering buying a LMT MRP upper. I like the monlithic rail concept, but I think I like the quick change barrel and caliber aspect even more. These uppers have been out for a little while now, so does anybody use them for 3-gun? If so any new reports on how they are working for you. Thanks in advance. David

I have not shot mine beyond 300 yards and do not shoot much paper. I shoot steel almost exclusively. So, am am no help if you are searching for reports of group sizes. I do not think I could do the gun justice anyway. A quick and fun way to find out more information on these rifles is to buy Matt Burkett's AR15 video, which stars JP and his rifles and buy Patrick Sweeney's AR15 book, which contains a review of the CTR-02. My CTR-02 also has a brass deflector, although JP's brass deflectors are bolted on and are not the same as standard ARs. No other AR on the market offers anywhere near the amount of features the CTR-02 offers. Some of the AR Industry people are starting to make precision uppers (VLTOR's MUR and Larue) but JP has already done it. Features not (normally) found on other AR's include: stonger, beefier precision upper & lower with larger mag well Trijicon scope mount machined into Upper Adjustable gas block cryogenically treated barrel JP handguards that offer more flexible rail set up optional heat sink seamless compensator installation very nice trigger I am sure I am missing something, but I hope I made my point. The JP is worth the money and then some. I apologize in advance for spelling errors.