al503

Thanks, Rich. I'll ask them about the Springfield cut.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I talked with the folks at Dawson about their "custom" front sights. The only dimensions they would customize was the length and height of the blade on one of their off the shelf sights. No custom dovetail lengths. I finally machined a sight for the gun. Ugh. I'll call them up tomorrow and see if they have any ideas. Thanks for the advice, guys.

its a very short post. I could try to drill it out but then I would have to remove material from the top of the blade to get the FO to light up at all. Besides all that, I would bugger it up somehow...

Yeah. I tried a new Brazos novak cut (I know he builds them slightly oversize) and it was too loose. I wish I had the equipment/know how to make one from a blank. Actually, I wish my eyes were good enough to use a plain, non FO sight...

Kodiak Custom. Built in '99, according to the build sheet. I'm wondering if there was a different dovetail back then not being used any more? Thanks for the Table.

I purchased a pistol off the classifieds that has a non fiber optic front sight. The dovetail measures .335 x .068 x 65 degrees. (I'm not 100% sure on the angle but I have a 60 file and its definitely a little more than that.) I have a kimber/novak cut sight (.330 x .075 x 65) on hand and it was close but too loose/had a very slight bit of play to work. I'd like to replace the sight but I'm not sure what to order. I looked on the Dawson sight and they have a bunch of different cuts but they don't list the specific dims. I googled to see if I could find a resource/table/list of dovetail cuts but couldn't find anything. Any help would be appreciated.

Yup. I wouldn't worry about it. I'd just keep an eye on it if you're worried about it. I've never had one go down and I never checked that part on any of my 1050's.

I've owned pistols with the DP1, Millennium Custom, Brazos thundercomp 1 and 2, and stock trubore comps. I'm a big fan of side ports as it seems to help keep the dot track straight up down better than ones without. For instance, the millennium custom, which had two side ports on the last 2 (of 3) chambers was ok until I had side ports drilled into the first chamber. It tracked better for me after that. The DP1 was OK, but it was too heavy for my taste. If I bought another pistol with a DP comp, I'd drill sideports into each of the first three chambers and chop off the last port to lose some of the weight. There's probably not much gas left by then anyway. Out of them, I prefer the Brazos thundercomp 2.

It's where the feed ribs touch the round that matters. Without a spacer, the ribs hit the bullet (there's going to be some slop), not the brass (which is wider).Try this: load a 9mm round into the sti mag without a spacer. You'll probably be able to wiggle the nose of the bullet side to side. Now push the bullet forward about the width of a spacer and try to wiggle it again. It should wiggle a lot less.

The rib(SV) or ribs (STI) that run down the sides of the mag just keep the rounds from binding side by side. I don't have any mags in front of me but the ribs that matter in feeding are at the lip of the mag. They make sure that that round is pointed correctly for the feed ramp. Again, without them in front of me and as I understand it, the STI's ribs are out a little further than the SV's so they make contact with the bullet and not the case. The difference is minimal but that could lead to a round that isn't pointed where it should be. Hope I made sense.

I load my 147 grain RN x-treme loads out to 1.245" and 135 grain RNFP x-tremes out to 1.2" At those lengths, there is no issue with setback. No issues with reliability out of SV mags. Whether your barrel has enough throat/freebore is anyone's guess. I would load up your 135's out to something around 1.23" and do the plunk test with your barrel. Keep reducing your OAL until you get a nice 'plunk.' (Make sure the chamber is clean.) After you get that length, chamber that round at least a few times and see if the OAL stays the same or you're getting setback. Its my understanding that its not the OAL but that the spacer pushes the case forward enough so that the case rim contacts the magazine's ribs on STI tubes. Some report no issues without spacers and some report the opposite.

Two things I would look into before polishing anything on the barrel are the weights of the recoil and mainsprings and the firing pin stop. Who knows what you have in the pistol right now but going with lighter springs will help with unlocking the slide. Springs are cheap so I'd start there. If the firing pin stop doesn't have a bevel on the bottom you could carefully file on yours or buy one (like the ck arms).

I know it isn't what you asked but unless you have another complete press to compare it with or even some experience with a 1050, I'd suggest boxing it up and sending it to Dillon and have them get it up and running. Besides the missing parts, there are probably many parts that need to be replaced. I'd give them a call and get some details.

Graf's 'free shipping' works out to be pretty expensive if you buy in any quantity. I was looking at their 3n38 compared to PV and you're looking at ~$5 more per pound and ~$14 more per 4 lbs from Grafs besides their handing charge. The most PV has ever charged me for a full (50 lbs of product/~60 gross shipping weight) is $19.99. 50 lbs of 3n38 would be about $166 more from grafs compared to PV. (I have no association with either outfit.)

Precision makes great bullets. They just need to update their coating for less smoke/smell. For crimp, I seat a bullet without crimping and measure the OD a couple/few mm below the case rim. Then I set the crimp die to where the OD at the case rim is about +.001" larger. You never have to worry about overcrimping and I've never had an issue with failure to go into battery using this method.

+3 (or whatever its up to) for the Bobro.

No issues with jacketed, plated, or moly/poly in several AET barrels in 2 different calibers.

I had to buy a kit for a single basepad. If you ever have a problem with your set up, PM me and I'll send you a spring and detent.

Make sure that the slide is going back far enough. Play with the allen bolt that holds the primer slide stop. Loosen it up a touch to allow a little more travel.

He's a vendor here: http://www.gramsengineering.com/

I had a couple of barrels done by Grams. Call him up. The $ was very reasonable and well worth it.

I've got a couple of JP15's and I would go with the RC handguard and no thermal dissipator simply to cut down on the weight. With an aimpoint micro/RDS, they handle OK. With a Vortex 1-6, its a brick, IMO. My next mod will be a CF handguard that's about 8 oz lighter than the RC.

How many rounds do you have through the mags and did the issue develop or were they from the get go? I have 2 of the 140 9mm mags and have only been able to cycle them once (they worked without a hitch.)

Eberlestock 57" soft drag bag should work and not weigh a ton.

Get the lite. I use the needle oiler bottles from brownells for oil. Not sure how well they would work with grease, though.