SWprotected

I shoot a STI Eagle in 40, I did not buy it just to shoot IDPA but as a backup limited gun but went with the bushing barrel so I could do both. The nice thing is I don't change a thing on the gun to shoot minor and it has always run perfectly.

This does not appear to be a feeding issue to me but a failure to extract in which case COAL would not matter. The fired case is not being pulled from the chamber and into contact with the ejector. I would say extractor tension should be checked. I would first remove the extractor and clean, the extractor tunnel can get debris in it and it can effect how the extractor works.

OP, why change? If you ran MBX for the last year why not just put in a new MBX spring and be done with it.

I don't know about some of the other parts listed, but every custom builder I have dealt with likes EGW parts. I have them in all of my 2011s and the triggers on my open guns are a little less than 1.5#s and the older one probably has 30K on it without any issues. EGW sears a through hardened so they are supposed to last a long time.

Where at in VA, there are a lot of matches available depending on where you are and how far you are willing to travel.

Your last two sentences are it. Learning to shoot in a way that will allow you to win stages or matches is the real goal and your class will be a by product. Each division has the ability to teach us something. I don't know that any one division is easier to be competitive in vs another, maybe at locals but not at nationals. I tend to agree with the thought of shooting the division that has the deepest talent pool where you are. It gives you the chance to learn from others and some friendly competition will help make you work harder to improve.

After finding out about them here, I ordered one of the pyrex hoppers. Its very nice, I am using the cap from the other hopper instead or the one supplied but other than that I like it.

I did not know about these, that's cool. I will have to order one.

It's funny I thought the same way about open guns for a long time. I always saw guys having problems with them. I finally decided to buy an open gun and give it a shot, to my surprise with very little fuss I had an open gun that would run 100%. I have shot open for about a year now and have been happy doing it, I cant stand a gun that is not reliable. I will say these are high performance set ups and can require more tinkering to get right, but once you get it they are a blast to shoot. P.S. I will say I have been guilty of forgetting to unlock my holster on more than one occasion, not that it has anything to do with what gun I am shooting.

I have not had it come off but to make it a tight fit I put some masking tape around the bottom and pushed it down as far as I could.

For you it seems the choice is obvious, not based on gun reliability but the fact that you already shoot a CZ. A 2011 open gun will run many thousands of rounds trouble free. I shoot 2011s in Limited and was hesitant about moving to Open because I had similar concerns, I picked up a used gun here on the classifieds and after some minor changes It has been perfect for the last year probably 20K rounds. Magazines can be a pain with a 2011 but overall they are great guns. I know some guys who run CZs and are very pleased with them so I think you will enjoy open it is fun and there are things to be learned from shooting a dot.

I also use Blue Bullets, its funny everyone talks about smurf finger when loading them. I have this issue as well, but I also get black fingers from loading jacketed bullets so I don't worry about it. Blue Bullets work well and are accurate enough for my purposes.

I still think most shooters shooting single stack shoot .45 for a couple of reasons. First is .40 is not available in many guns, and second .45 seems to be less problematic. I know a few guys who have .40 single stack guns and they work but I think they are more picky about magazines than .45. I think the first reason has more to do with it in reality.

I have had good luck with MBX mags. I did put a new spring in one of my 140s, but thats the only issue in over a year of use.

Instead of training to make M or GM, maybe train to be a better shooter all together. If you only practice classifier type skills you can make M but then may struggle in matches. If you train to just be a better shooter your classifier score will improve as well. There are a lot of skills that are needed for this type of shooting and not all are tested when we shoot classifiers. I try to shoot a classifier just like any other stage, risk v/s reward not hero or zero, meaning I see match points not classifier scores. If I have done my part in training I will shoot the classifier well and do it without blazing through hoping I got my hits. Having a goal is a good thing, and classifiers do help measure your ability to perform certain tasks on demand just don't let it become your only focus if you really want to improve as a shooter.

That is about the same result I had with it. Seemed like a pretty good option.

Not sure about abrasive, but it is very dense. I tried some in 9mm and 10.4gr. Wasnt a full case. Seemed to work pretty well for major, others have said its very dirty but I havent shot enough to know.

I like the 155 for stages that I have to do a reload on, so I don't have to drop my 170's. The 155's do load better than a 170 but I still prefer to load to a 140 if I can.

6 months for a custom gun really isnt that long. Atlas builds very nice guns, the guns from LSI I have seen are also nice. Limcat is also another option. SVI is good but they no longer build 9mm open guns so that is a consideration as well.

Ben Stoeger's dry fire book is good. When working on the draw, it breaks it down into smaller drills with par time for each part.

This is a tough question to answer, what you like in an open gun may be different than what I like. I have had a couple of open guns, One is a longer gun, short dustcover, TI comp, and has a polymer grip. The gun is about 43oz empty. I also had a gun that was shorter with a long dustcover, TI comp, and had the PT EVO grip. That gun weighed 53oz empty. I loved everything about the shorter heavier gun, except I was slower with it. I think the optimal barrel length will be determined by the type of gun you are building, and how you want the gun to feel. The same could also be said for the grip, I really liked the EVO and with the long dustcover it balanced well. If this is your first open gun you may be better off trying to find a good deal on a used one, shoot it for a while and figure out what you do and don't like. I think most guys try a few different guns before they figure out what is best for them.

I would say this is pretty accurate, I chose 9mm for a couple of reasons. First I already had everything I needed to load 9mm. Second brass is cheap and if I load it a couple of times its about a penny per round. I dont sort it I load what I have and seperate any cases that might be suspect as I box ammo and check primer seating. Third I dont want to worry about brass at a match, I want to focus on shooting. SC has some advantages but the cost outweighed them to me. If I found a great deal on an open gun I dont think I would let the caliber stop me from buying it, both work well.

Coated bullets are all I shoot in my limited guns. I have tried Blue Bullets, and Bayous and they both work great, very little smoke and very accurate at 25 yards. If you are planning on shooting limited stay with the .40 as mentioned above no 9 major except for open.

I don't disagree I think limited is fine the way it is. It does eliminate the scoring disadvantage for 9mm since so many seem to have an issue with it. I personally don't want to shoot 9 major but hey if someone else does go for it. I have 40s for limited, I figured out when I decided to shoot the division what was best for being competitive and built guns accordingly.

Easy fix, let 9mm make major in limited. Major has an advantage in scoring, really this is ground breaking news.