chuckstur

Remember that the bullet shape must be considered when discussing OAL. Some profiles are rather round, others more tapered.

For you serious tinkers, I put a 38/45 setup on eBay. I just lost interest and prefer to concentrate on USPSA as long as my knees hold out. (Not trying to skirt the Classifieds rule, I am "authorized" to post) Charlie

I trimmed the bottom surface of the slide stop as far as I felt safe, but had to trim half of my Grams followers to get proper lock back on my Eagle.

Thanks Waktasz and Mike...Did you use a spring made for a compact or did you trim a full size spring? If you trimmed one, to what length? Charlie

I have an STI VIP and want to find a spring combination that lets me shoot a minor load. I installed the 9mm Recoil Master spring and tried 200, 180, and 165 grain BBs I but I still can not get below 145 PF without short cycling the slide. A lighter mainspring and one piece guide rod are on my list, but I would like to flatten the learning curve. Any suggestions? Thanks, Charlie

"I think guys chasing low SDs do it to have more predictable chrono results and fewer surprises" Or, in my case, to placate a bad case of OCD.

Oops, that was 3.9 grains giving me 130 Min PF, 138 Avg PF Charlie

I get SDs in the teens when loading major (5.0 grains) but they jump to over 30 at 3.0 grains for a minor load. Perhaps I need a different powder for minor. Or a heavier bullet. 5" STI. Any similar experience?

Do not go the insert route. The fogging and multiple lens reflections will drive you crazy.

Can anyone provide the weights of 9mm and 40 cal mainsprings used in the various short 1911 grips?

4.7 WST at 1.17 makes major in my 5"

I have not shot the gun in the fixture. Too busy trying to make "B" as the years slip away.

My Springfield also has a long throat. Drawing attached, I hope. PM if you want a better copy. Charlie 9mm Springfield Chamber.pdf

Good guess. I load 180 grain BBIs over 3.7 grains of WST for minor. 1.15 to 1.17 works in our STIs.

CZMON: I made inserts from 7/8-14 threaded rod to go in all four stations. They had holes for pins made from drill rod. The pins floated so you could watch the alignment change as the ram was raised. This served to show both me and Dillon that the casting was twisted, or the linkage drilling misaligned, since you could only like up one at a time with the shell plate. Probably 100,000 rounds through it, Dillon owed me nothing but they replaced it. Great company. C

In my limited experience (no pun intended) the 40 S&W rounds don't accidentally pop out of the magazines as easily as the 9s. I attribute this to the straight sides of the 40, as opposed to the taper of the 9. I have always wondered why they tapered the 9? Anyone know?

My Springfield 9mm 1911 and STI .40 Eagle will not cycle reliably in cold weather with any thick lubricant. My 45 will. The 9mm is loose, the Eagle tight, and the 45 in between. To guarantee ignition in the 9mm I had to go to an extended firing pin and a 19# mainspring. I don't know what STI put into the Eagle. Please tell me you did not shoot the offending round.

135s from BBI. Best feeding

Mike: I don't know the IPSC rules, but this is for IDPA-legal magazines. Would you tell me specifically which pad? I have several extra 126mm tubes and if I can get 18 in one I can avoid buying any more 140s for USPSA. After trimming 2 coils I can only get 15 in, even with the Grams followers. Thanks, C

11 coil springs in 140mm magazines with a +1 base pad produces less than 2 pounds with the round flush with the magazine. The same spring in a stock 128 produces over 5 pounds. After cutting 2 coils it looks like about 1 point each.

Based on abysmal performance today, I am thinking I need to trim my 11 coil springs.How much?

It all but stopped my Eagle when shooting at about 50F.

The citation was "should" not "shall"

I basically concur with b1gcountry. Similar results in my Eagle @ 1.7" COAL except my velocities are slightly higher.

We loaded some 40s at 1.35" COAL instead of our usual 1.17". 4.7 Grains of WST under a 180 Grain BBI. The chrono showed the velocity dropped form 969 to 968 and the SD went up form 12 to 36. I expected just the opposite. (It was about 20F colder.) Any similar experience?