Detritus

Well, wound up getting a pound each of Bullseye and Power Pistol (on recommendation of a fellow shooter), loaded up some test batches, and today finally got out to the range to see how they shot. In think my gun likes 4.4gr of bullseye.... this was the furthest back of the three targets that I tested the loads on for group. I set it up to simulate the approximate longest engagement(s) typically found at my local match. my point of aim was the bottom of that blue 4-paster patch at the top of the scoring zone. looks like i'll be spending Friday morning driving around town for the brass and bullets i'm low on and the afternoon loading a batch for this Sunday's match

Getting time for more powder and I cannot find my old standby 45 powdwer W231 locally. What I can find are unique, bullseye, and WST. I'm loading plated 230gr rn and looking to make USPSA major. And have no experience with any of these three powders. Advice etc would be appriciated Thank you for your time and advice

According to Hodgdon 4.8 of Titegroup is max pressure... yes, and the hodgdon data was produced using a COL of 1.20" instead of a more standard COL of 1.26-1.275". Because of this the Hodgdon Max loads for 45acp can wind up being barely ahead of Starting loads from independently produced sources. From personal experience I can tell you that using Hodgdon data and loading W231 behind a 230gr Berry's RN with a COL of 1.27", the max loads produce lower than expected velocity, a dirty burn, and (in my gun at least) mediocre accuracy. I don't have my notes in front of me but I think I actually got all the way to 6.0grs of 231 before everything settled in and "shot right". This is why having multiple sources of load data is helpful. Most load manuals seem to simply reprint the factory data from the powder manufacturer. and as noted here that can lead to, let's call it Misleading data, due to some form of wacky condition/spec used by the manufacturer in producing said factory data. but there are a number of other sources producing independent data out there. this is part of why I buy the "Load Book" mini manuals for cartridges I think i'll load often.

One of the reasons I started this thread is because the majority of the data I've been able to find is either, 1. a reprint of the Hodgdon factory data. which in 45 Auto uses a COL that is weirdly short pretty much across all bullet types (1.200" and 1.220 for 230gr and 200gr loads respectively.)their listed COL for the 200gr LSWC will not in fact feed in my two 1911s. Because they loaded to the short side the hodgdon data is known to be a bit weak/inefficient if you are loading to a more standard COL. case in point, take a look at some of the Non-hodgdon data for W-231 with a 230gr bullet, the Hodgdon MAX is mid-range of most other data, and Some of the non-Hodgdon data has Start loads that are 0.1 grain below Hodgdon max. 2. labeled "this is an old favorite for Bullseye". my response is "So?" I shoot USPSA not bullseye, so due to the emphasis on accuracy regardless of and sometimes at the cost of velocity bullseye loads regardless of how accurate they are, are not all that useful to me. those bullseye loads would classify as Minor, and 45 minor is kind of a dumb thing to do. I need a minimum of about 850fps to feel comfortable in my loads for my chosen game. I started this thread (and it's clones elsewhere on the web) to get an idea of about where other shooters, more specifically other USPSA and IDPA shooters, were topping out with their loads. so as to have a more accurate idea of what I was looking at, since the Hodgdon data and it's reprints would and do give me mediocre results. And no bull I know to work up to a load. if the powder I had on hand was anything BUT Hogdon/IMR/Win, or I was loading for a cartridge other than 45 auto I'd be following the book data without a question, but their data for 45 is known to be out of whack, so it is not as useful of a guide to someone loading to Proper COL, and looking for 800+ fps.

Right now my reloading stash for .45acp consists of a sample bag of 200gr coated SWCs from blue bullets, most of a pound of 700x, and enough brass and primers to load up the sample. what I don't have is a good load for that bullet+powder combo. so i'd like to know if any of you do. my only other Caveats are that my gun seems to like these (feeding wise) at an OAL of 1.270" and not the 1.220" of the hodgdon Data, and, if it is known to you, whether your load does or does not make USPSA Major. Thank you for your time, as always any and all advice and data is appreciated.

I then added another patch of tape bringing the OD of bushing to .697" insertion into the slide was MUCH firmer and when i tried to turn it into place, This was as far as i could rotate it by hand I currently do not have a bushing wrench available to me (the wrench I have is with my wife's pistol, the gun that needs it), so I didn't try and go any further. I also had to use a short piece of Delrin rod to help gently tap the bushing out of the slide at this point. any further input or advice is welcome, but seems to me that .697" or thereabouts would be a best guess as to the ID of the slide

ok played with it some more... with a little scotch tape on the bushing bringing it's OD up to .696" . the bushing inserted easily. But when I turned it I experienced a patch of resistance. the tight spot started here and then freed up at this point in rotation

well, currently the rear lock up seems rather good/solid. with it in battery I can not perceive any give or wiggle when pressing on the barrel through the ejection port. all movement seems to be at the muzzle/bushing end. and even if it doesn't make a huge difference, it is mainly for the experience. as I mentioned, my intent is to at some time in the future gut this gun and rebuild it the way I want it. Including fitting a match grade barrel etc. At this time the intent is to get the experience at a point where it's not overly critical that I "not screw up", and I'm hoping that putting a tighter bushing in will bring the group-size down even just a little and increase my confidence in this gun for match use (USPSA). so I guess in a way I'm wanting to try a $25-50 dollar fix now, in hopes of delaying/restraining the urge on my part to go ahead and start the rebuild, which in it's first step would be close to $1K. Because prior to and in addition to the first batch of parts the first step in starting the rebuild is to buy a Springfield RO, or similar to shoot while I'm rebuilding...

Metro AC-II, inexpensive Philippine 1911 that I originally bought with the intent of shooting for a year or two then stripping to the frame and slide and starting over. For Less than the cost of a Caspian frame and slide set I got a functional gun, and overall I've been happy with it. I'll answer this as a block because the answers will run together a bit. first off I simply want to see if fitting a new bushing will improve this gun's accuracy. my standard of comparison in this case is my wife's 1911, which is otherwise identical to mine (she shot mine and said "get me one just like it")EXCEPT it has a fairly tight barrel to bushing to slide fit. a little over a year ago I took both of them to the range and put around 32rds through each at 50ft, pics below this was off hand not rested on a sandbag or anything, and I was rushed and tired... (excuses excuses) My pistol 2014-06-17 veiw one Trisha's pistol 2014-06-17 veiw 1 in the pics above the difference isn't as noticeable as it sometimes is, but from my own experience I know that out of 100rds My gun will throw probably 10-15 more shots out toward the edges than hers. and if possible i'd like to see if a new bushing will help that a bit. Plus to be truthful I wanna do it to have the experience.

I'll have to call and custom order one, the smallest bushing OD they list on the website is .699" , the ID of my slide is .696" (gonna re-measure it one last time before ordering and also make sure there isn't a burr or something, but it I keep getting .696)

over the past year or so I have seen numerous mentions of using "custom" bushings from EGW to remedy factory guns with "less than optimal" barrel to bushing to slide fit. So I am contemplating this as a route to possibly improve the accuracy of my current 1911, which most certainly suffers from a loosely fit bushing. Now I have, to the best of my ability, followed the instructions on the EGW website for how to measure my slide and barrel. but at this point I am unsure as to the next step, or am not understanding the process... since there does not seem to be a on-line selection for "Click this enter your measurements and we'll get back to you/make you a bushing", nor do any of the ready to ship bushings/bushing and plug sets has both of the correct measurements. so what's the deal do I email/call them and say I need a bushing of a certain ID and OD buy an oversize bushing and send it and the gun to a local 1911 smith (hoping this ISN'T the case) or am I just missing something and am as lost as i can be?? Many (but obviously not all) of the mentions of EGW bushings I've seen on this forum and others seemed to be by guys who were at most hobbyist 'smiths instead of pros. If I can get EGW to send me a bushing that is Sized to the measurements I have and have it fit without too much further work (or complicated/specialized tooling) that would be great. while I do intend in time to put together all the tools etc to be able to hand fit a bushing, it will be some time before I get to that point. so anyway, what are the experiences of those here and what advice or information can you give me? thank you for your time, patience, and any info you choose to share.

I get the impression that at least some of it is lingering backlash, even after all this time, from the change to the "Series II" guns. the "Pre-II" guns were nearly the best deal you could get you're hands on. better fit and finish at a price competitive to Springfield, decent guts, and if you liked em fancy looking the Royal was standard offering. series II guns came out, price went up, quality went down, stupid crap (slide stops for example) started breaking, people started trash talking.... basically if you remember the older guns, then you're more likely to think that the Series II guns suck, and in competitive circles that bias seems a bit more prone to spread. all that said, a few months ago I saw a Pre-II Custom Target (used obviously, and stainless) for around $1K and was very tempted, but I don't have the spare change at the moment.

I have never seen any difference in overt/conscious attitude or treatment of men Vs. women in any shooting competition I have done. That said, some groups, be they the gun club as a whole or different "discipline groups" at the same club seem to be more or less "female friendly" if that makes sense. something I have seen is that sometimes there is a group that is "The group" for a particular competitive discipline or set of disciplines at a given club, and they can at times tend to be accepting of their own demographic, be it gender, ethnicity, being from the same town/county, or any other demarcation that happens/happened to define that group when it started or last re-formed (came out of a schism). and less so toward anyone not of that demographic. or a group can have habits that make it an uncomfortable for someone outside "the group". For example the USPSA group I started with, in 4 years (but only 18months serious about it) I saw a grand total of 4 women there and that was at only 3 matches out of ever how many I shot or observed in that 4 years. and I think a lot of what caused this was an unconscious vibe of "we come here to get AWAY from women (wives)" from a large number of the shooters. frankly that club seemed to give anyone that wasn't male, W.A.S.P. , local to the county or related to it's early history, and over 45 yrs old, the cold shoulder to varying degrees. Now that I've moved halfway across the country, my new USPSA club has much higher female participation, and is tremendously more diverse in background. though the diversity may be because of location... conversely my personal experience with the two Rifle disciplines I've dabbled with (NRA Service rifle, and F-class) has been one where the groups were much more accepting and friendly toward anyone that shows up.

for everything I own that is Centerfire (my .22s haven't seen a rod in over a decade) I use Pro-shot brand rods. which are not coated. though it looks like none of the three models I use is currently available through midway, since all three of mine have a knurled, natural Stainless Vs. banded, red anodized handle, and both of my rifle rods have 50+ inches of working length. personally I think for the most part coated rods are a gimmick, If you're using a quality one piece rod, with a properly fitting jag/brush, you shouldn't ever touch the sides of the bore. plus many of the coatings are even MORE likely to pick up grit than bare stainless rod (Brushes should always be bronze, brass, nylon, or similar).

I'll weight in even though it wasn't technically "My gun", having borrowed it from a friend for that particular match... my first and so far only in-match parts breakage, and one of the most bizarre moments I've ever had while shooting was about 16 years ago. Was visiting a friend out of state and he wanted me to shoot this ww2 themed multi-gun match his club had cooked up, so I borrowed his GI style "Frankenstein". other than a Colt made "Spare" slide I have no idea where the parts came from, and I doubt my buddy did either. 3rd stage dang thing ate its own lunch, somewhere in the 2nd mag the whole slide went off the front! link and lower lug had parted company with the rest of the barrel. last time I ever shot a match with a gun I hadn't personally cleaned and inspected beforehand. and I think the owner still has the two "halves" in a shadow box on his wall to remind him to question any too-good-to-be-true deals only funny thing about this was the chorus of "WHAT THE ~BLEEP~" and similar from the gallery, while I'm standing there trying to figure out why I'm suddenly holding half a gun. I swear to god when that thing left it looked like one of those 50's "Cold catapult shot" segments from navy training films.

Ok, off the top this is basically a re-post of a thread from a year ago. But since that other post I've moved from TX back to central NC so all the suggestions I was given a year back are now almost 1,300 miles away. so I figured I ask again with regard to my current location I am asking this question mainly for my wife's benefit. even after spectating at the matches I participated in in Texas, she would like to find a class or regular place to make a more gentle transition into the sport than jumping in with both feet. And I can understand why. She's a rather good shot, but she's never practiced or delt with the rest of the match experience, multiple targets, movement from one position to the next, shooting on the clock, etc. though at least some of this is on the agenda for our personal range visits once she gets up here (she's overseeing the sale of the house) and we have a "local" range again. What she's looking for is a class or other opportunity to be able to be exposed to and practice those aspects of a match that currently make her nervous in an environment without the pressure of a match. how'd she put it? " I don't want to go out there the first time, having never done this before, having never walked through a stage much less with someone explaining what's what, feeling like everyone's watching me, and guy with a timer, and a scorekeeper following me! I want the chance to practice this stuff a few times where I don't feel like folks might laugh at me". so basically she's looking for something where someone other than me can walk her through the basics of a USPSA type match and let her try it out in a fairly relaxed atmosphere. As for me I feel I could use some advice and instruction too, I'm comfortable with the match environment and all but frankly I'm new enough to all this that I don't know where and what mistakes I'm making. thank you for your time and any info or advice you choose to share.

have been wondering what if any advantage(s), perceived or otherwise, there are to a 200gr Semi-Wadcutter over a 230gr round nose. is there a difference in inherent accuracy? easier to make PF? economics (price), though this seems kind of a slim thing if any. some other advantage I haven't thought of.. anyway this recently came back to my mind and I figured I'd ask.

I'll add to the chorus of "get suspenders they're a godsend for those of us with odd shapes (or changing shapes due to diet)" I currently suffer from two issues that effect how my belt fits, first, I'm pear-shaped with no butt. second, due to minor changes in diet and exercise level I've dropped two pant sizes in the past 18 months or so. enough that even when i'm wearing pants that fit, I can stretch or do something else that pulls my gut in slightly and run the risk of having a loaded gun-belt pulling my pants down! So anyway, because of the above, I'm a big believer in Perry suspenders to keep my kit off the ground and my tighty whiteies out of sight....!

Safariland makes the 775 slimline Open Top which is a triple, but it looks to be made for their solid duty belts not the ELS type...

This is really a follow up to a thread I started back in December, in which I was exploring options for replacing the cloth Tuff Products 8-in-line mag pouch I've been using. In that thread someone suggested, since I like the relative compactness and bullets-out config of the 8-in-line, that I find a local maker and ask them to copy it in Kydex. Well after thinking on this for awhile, I figured I ask if anyone knew if maybe what i'm after is already available. and if not i'll look into the custom option. so here's the feature list: Kydex, I know Safariland makes a piece that's real close to what i'm after in a leather like synthetic, but I'm looking for kydex bullets out configuration Five mag "slots" minimum prefer six. the logic in my head says 3-4 "normal" reloads (assuming full 32rd stage, and I shoot Single Stack BTW) + at least 1 "just in case" approximately one magazine width of space between each "slot" for easier access. (I currently run my 8-in-line loaded as follows 1-3-5-7,8 for this reason) a good solid set of belt loops, stiffeners, whatever's needed so that it doesn't flop/move around on the belt. I know this is a real "No Duh!!" feature, but this is one of the major drawbacks of my current setup. It doesn't have rigid belt loops it has a set of MOLLE straps/laces, and two Velcro loops. No matter how tight I am able to get the thing secured to the belt the fact that the attachment points are fabric allows the pouch a small but annoying amount of movement. anyway that's my current dream sheet for a mag pouch (array), anyone know of anyone currently making something like this or close to like this? thank you for your time and any info you care to share

they do, Garret Industries sells the SLMC="Spring Loaded Mag Carrier" http://www.giholsters.com/slmc-model-a/ noting though that the description mentions only single Stack 1911 mags.. But I think a few years ago that garret was making one for AR mags, maybe sales were weak for that one? And frankly I could see why, with the differences in both length and shape between the various capacity AR mags, not to mention mag-body exterior designs ("traditional" aluminum Vs P-Mag, Vs other polymer body designs) a gear maker would have to specify what mags would and would not work with it. and let's face it some folk are down right religious about their chosen AR mag. Anyway feedback I got about six months ago when I was contemplating the above linked 1911 oriented version as an alternative to the Tuff 8-in-line I've been futzing around with for close to 2 years now, was along the lines of it being good in concept, but that in execution/actual use it's only real advantage over individual pouches is a reduction in belt real estate. And that it has an increased chance of a mag fumble compared to singles Personally I'd like to re-discover the maker of the six slot, bullets out, kydex pouch (similar to the one Balmo showed in post #2) I came across in 2011. which would amount to a kydex copy of what i'm using now, with better belt attachment.

Well, I've made the move. and at this point I have a couple of shooting related items near the top of my "things to do as soon as I secure employment" list. First where in the triangle area is the most likely/best place to find a decent selection of powders? Specifically pistol powders suitable for .45acp, W231, IMR 700X, etc. 2nd I still need to find an affordable place to shoot. Even if I can get on at The Range as of right now it would only serve my pistol related needs. The Rifle lane has been indefinitely closed due to some numbskull deciding that they would shoot a TV while said TV was sitting in the back of one of Frank's range-prop vehicles!! All previous suggestions for range locations are being considered, just looking for all the input I can get. after paying less than $200 a year for over 10 years in texas, the local dues most places are a bit... I guess pause inducing is appropriate. again thanks in advance for any advice etc.

where I am now, short of highly degraded visibility (got be able to see the targets) or dangerous road/range conditions (as far as range condition I mean actual dangerous not "ooo it's muddy"), I am willing to shoot a match in just about any conditions that occur. But it seems that most of the local shooters are a bit more afraid of mud than I am and I swear that if it's rained within 3 days of a match we get cancelations!! I haven't been able to shoot a match since October, because every time I am home the weekend of a match it gets canceled because someone doesn't wanna get their shoes damp. You'd think a group of shooters who mostly grew up in this area and know how the weather here works would have found a way to deal with it (better bay drainage?) and shoot. will say in fairness that at least at my local gun club some of the fault lies not with our club's USPSA group but with the group that designed and implemented the recent "berm improvement plan". Which had no eye toward improving or even maintaining proper drainage of the pistol bays, our largest bay which prior to this would be simply muddy a day or two after a rain, now can be visibly flooded 3-4 days afterward. Sorry sore subject.

I can imagine, and I have made trips of similar length (Memphis TN to Raleigh NC) in around 9-10hrs. But again I try not to repeat such feats. this may happen, depends on many things. hell even if I do stop for the night, I'll probably only stay long enough for a 5 or 6 hr nap and to be out of the cab.

thought I'd tag along on this as I have a similar issue coming up in my near future. Going to be moving from TX to NC and due to circumstances (easier to sell a mostly empty house) I'll be taking all but two of the family firearms with me, along with pretty much everything out of my personal work-room area, all my clothes, and two small dogs, and all crammed into a standard cab F150. the dogs, overnight bag, etc have to go in the cab everything else goes in the back under the camper-shell. the sheer amount of "stuff" involved precludes unloading the firearms related items at the motel. Leaves me wondering if the number of moving boxes etc plus putting the "gun stuff" (mostly packed into the dismounted "gun safe") in first and packing around it will be camouflage enough that I can stop and get a few hours rest without too much worry. this move is a solid two day run for me, 9 hours of actual driving is about all I can fit into a day and still stay sane any more (once drove El Paso to Houston in a single 24hr period. will never attempt similar again). so if anyone has relevant advice about moving (with) firearms, please share as well.