Flash74

Bingo! That is how they work as well as the full size M&P's. The Shield is my carry gun also. After years of carry, the thing always goes bang when I pull it out of my pocket. Full of lint, dirty, doesn't matter it has always fired. A couple weeks ago I noticed the trigger pull was long and it broke the shot at the end of the stroke. Weird, I removed the empty mag and a pea sized stone followed it. The stone bent the candy cane making for a long trigger pull. I readjusted the candy cane and all is well again. I was impressed the pistol fired with how bad the candy cane was bent and how large of a stone the oistol handled. My spare mag was in a pocket I had used to pick up range brass earlier. Somehow the stone got in my spare mag and ended up loading into the pistol.

I think he got it right that there may be too much/little crimp or diameter issues going on. My experience with factory M&P chambers is that they are generous being large and long. I often refer to them as garbage cans they are so generous. They have fed everything I could stick in them as long as they were shorter than 1.160 to fit the mags.

Everyone, thanks for the comments. FP, I finished with 220 grit. It took a lot of 100 grit to level everything then move to 150 and finally 220. I have not gauged them. However I measured the plastic pads at 143mm and the mags with the TTI 7G at 140.5mm. This was done with calipers. Measuring from the bottom of the base pad to the top of the back of the mag where feed lips start right where the gauge measures. Before I purchased anything, I asked TTI what base pad I should use with SPS 140mm mags for a legal magazine and they responded with the 7G pad. After my measurements I feel confident I could pass a gauge . All 8 of my mags measure within .25mm of each other and all are under 141mm.

I just wanted to show off a little. Here are my Pro Customs, a 16.40 for USPSA Limited and a 18.9 for 3gun. I have had the 16.40 for a few months and liked it so much I decided I needed an 18.9 for 3gun. I was lucky enough to get the 18.9 in the classifieds on this site. When I got the pistol it had an incredible trigger, much better than my 16.40 which I thought had a pretty good trigger. I asked the previous owner who did the work and he said it was simply a trigger swap, removing the series 80 parts and installing a shim, adjusting the springs and a liberal dosing of Slide Glide light. This sent me on a mission so I picked up the parts and converted the 16.40 to match. Both pistols have matching 2-2.5lb triggers that feel much better than the stock Pro Custom trigger. I liked the triggers so much I did the same to my 45 1911 for single stack. Now all my competition pistols have the same trigger pull. Having plain black pistols is so boring. The better a pistol looks the better it shoots, right? Fishpinoy27's sight tracker pistol gave me a little inspiration to add a little bling to mine, I glued some sand paper to a board and went to work on the flats of the slide. The coating on these pistols is tough. I had a tough time getting through it with 100 grit sand paper. I had to use a sanding drum on a drill press to get through the coating then go back to board and finish sanding by hand. My shoulders are not going to forgive me any time soon. While not as good of a result or as easy as a flat bed belt sander would have given me, I am happy with the results. The magazines are 140mm SPS with TTI 7G basepads. These are 23rd and 20rd reloadable and cost about $85 when completed. If you have a high cap Para and haven't checked out SPS mags you are missing out. Shipping from Spain takes about two weeks and SPS was easy to work with.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Why pay extra for a stock with a pistol grip. I always use a pistol grip stock since I have girly wrists. A conventional stock literally hurts to shoot. Having a pistol grip on your shotgun does not hinder load 2 or load 4.

Yes, good for 3gun. Where is the add from?

Easier to get to major with the 5". That is all I have got.

I think Steve was referring to run your minor 9mm loads through the pistol to see if they work. Not 9mm major. If minor 9mm shoots fine through the super barrel is there any reason to get a 9mm barrel?

Switching from an M&P to a Para in limited has helped. My scores improved a little, part of it is the added weight and part is the better single action trigger. I definitely notice I don't have to "strangle" the pistol as much when shooting quickly. The biggest improvement from shooting a gun that weights 12oz. more is the decrease in arthritis pain in my hands. After a 200rd match with the M&P, my hands would hurt and be stiff for a couple of days. Now with the Para, there is only a little pain the next day.

I have used 15lb main springs and they had no trouble with CCI, Remington and Magtech primers. However, switching between 15, 16 & 17lb main springs in my pistols made no discernible difference in trigger pull so I just stuck with 17lb main springs to ensure no light primer strikes.

If you look on Amazon, Greg Cote sells color coded spring packs that let you tune your pistol. I got a pack of recoil springs (11-15lb) and a pack of main springs (15-17lb). Although he doesn't list the manufacturer, I believe they are ISMI springs. They dont have the length or heavy feel of Wolf. This has enabled me to tune my pistols (16.40 & 18.9) to see the effect of different recoil and main springs have on the pistols. I tried each main spring and could not feel a difference in the trigger pull. I even had a 19lb and could barely tell a difference in pull. Even though a 15lb main spring worked, I went with 17lb for reliability. No sense in having a light strike during a match if I dont need to. Recoil springs worked out to be 11lb for 18.9 and 13lb for 16.40.

It will work, you wont be dissappointed.

There are several uncaptured guid rods out there, pick your poison and go with it. I went with Speed Shooters Specialties for all my M&P upgrades. I prefer the ISMI springs. They "feel" better to me in my pistols. I use 13lb in both 40 & 9 M&P Pros. Wolf has always felt stiffer then what they are rated on the package. I went from a 16lb factory to a 14lb Wolf and it felt stiffer and harder to rack then the stock spring. I have tried Wolf in M&P's and 1911's with the same results.

The pistol must be seen to be appreciated. I saw at Livingston today. I have Para envy, my Pro Custom is not adequate.

Nope, the rail is too long.

I cant believe it has not been posted yet, The Brass exchange (thebrassexchange.com). Their prices are good and they run sales all the time. 1K-40 cases for $28 has been my favorite.

The Sportsmans Den in Shelby Ohio has quite a bit of powder in stock from many manufacturers. I saw 3-8lb jugs of HP38, two dozen 1lb W231 and I picked up the only 8lb jug of W231. (W231 just shoots better than that HP38 crap ) It was nice to see Hodgden pistol powder on the shelves.

I would have to say it is a great idea to buy a Pro Custom in 2015, in fact I just bought my second one today. They are a great way to get a decent double stack 1911/2011 type pistol for not a lot of money since the prices seem to keep falling on all things Para. Decent magazines for competition can be had from MBX or SPS in Spain. Jump on one before they are all gone. When Remington comes out with their double stack I doubt you will be able to get a pistol outfitted like the Pro Custom for the $700-800 they are currently going for.

Chet, try them out, you will not be disappointed. After using them for a few months I am sold on them. They are much more uniform and load easier than the others I have tried (Bayou, Blue, BBI). They shoot just as well as any of the coated bullets I have tried.

If you have an older M&P then the spring under the sear is small (1/16"). S&W changed to a larger spring in later models of the M&P to prevent this sear flutter. Apex mentions this in all of their replacement trigger videos and recommends getting a new sear block that has the larger hole for the larger spring. You can get the blocks at Brownells or you can send your pistol to S&W and they will replace the block. The Ram only provides and audible click when resetting your trigger. I don't think it is causing the trigger to not reset.

I don't have the compact model ©, but I have one of the early full size 22 models. It is a great 22 pistol that shoots well and more importantly feeds everything I stick in it. Lead, copper washed, high velocity, target ammo, subsonic ammo, it doesn't matter the type, it all feeds and functions. It rivals my Ruger MkII's and Buckmark's for reliability. I cant say the same for the Sig Mosquito, Walther P22, and a couple various 1911 22's. All had feed issues and only worked with certain brands of ammo.

I don't like using in ear protection, but sometimes it is a necessary evil. When I know that I will be shooting a rifle in an awkward position, I put in foam plugs under my muffs. That way if my muffs get moved a little there will be no hearing damage. When I am done with the stage I remove the plugs and just use muffs. If a stage is all offhand, I don't bother with the plugs.

Another great match complete at WCRH. I look forward to 2016.

Nice work, I really wish I had a welder, I would have so many different target systems by now. I really enjoyed the spring making, I have never seem them made by hand.

The stages look great. I love these high round count matches. I wish I could go but the wife unit would have some serious objections. Thinking out loud here, since the match doesn't follow USPSA guidelines already, wouldn't it be fun to change up mag requirements? 15rds for prod and L10, 10 rds for SS, big sticks in limited, limit open to 10 rds (ha ha)!!