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I don't have Cha-lee's grip strength, so I have to rely on gun configuration and tuning. Without getting into detail, injuries prevent more than 75 lbs. of grip strength before serious pain sets in. I started Open with 40sw. I also thought the goal was total flatness. So I worked up loads until I got to dead flat. That was 188PF. The 6 MOA dot on the upright slide ride exploded, just as Cha-lee describes. It was also so loud and violent I feared for my hearing and the longevity of the gun. So I dialed it back to 172PF and lived with the dot movement. A lot later on I decided to experiment with slower powders. I had been using Autocomp and Silhouette, because everyone else did. When I switched to Major Pistol powder I had enough gas to seriously flatten the gun AND make it softer shooting at the same time. I have yet to achieve those levels in my 9mm major gun. I'm very close on flatness, but not softness.

25 yards. I know the holdover at close distances and I don't have to worry about anything between 15 and 70 yards. Some course designers DO take advantage of the 100 yard pits.

Yes, but not in 9mm unless you have a welder's grip. A friend shot my gun and it did not move. He can crush an apple in his hand, so that will give you some idea of the grip strength required It is much easier to achieve in 38SC and 40sw with a more normal grip strength. I'll also say that chasing perfect flatness is a waste of time IMO. As long as there is not a lot of muzzle rise and the dot returns to the same spot very quickly, you are good to go. If you are shooting snake eyes with .2 second splits or faster, your gun is set up perfectly, even if the dot rises.

You can also achieve the same thing with a cone comp, and save 2+ oz. of reciprocating barrel weight in the process. I've never heard of a cone comp coming loose. With bull barrels the comps are always coming loose unless you have them pinned. That is especially true if you are running Ti comp. You can put poppels in a cone. Depending on the comp you choose, you may be able to put them in the comp instead of the barrel. I've had both. With the threaded bull barrel you could count on the comp coming loose at every monster match. You are shooting so fast and so often the comp gets really hot and the Loctite lets go. Not so with a cone comp. The threads are back further and not in the high heat area.

Yes. A lot of bullseye shooters like an almost square FPS, because it delays the rearward motion of the slide and felt recoil is reduced. A side effect is it makes the slide a lot harder to rack. It is definitely not something I want on my Open guns for just that reason. However, it definitely did reduce slide caused muzzle rise. I started with the EGW square with a 1/64" radius. I kept increasing the radius a little at a time until I was past the 'normal' angle. As you would expect, slide speed increased and the slide was easier to rack with each increase. That being said, you have to tune everything to your individual gun. For example, I started with Aircolled6racer's custom comp cuts, a standard Cheely Open FPS and a 17 lb. mainspring. A 7 lb. recoil spring worked the best for that. It didn't shoot as flat as I liked, so I had two 3/16" poppels added in a V2 configuration. The gun shot flatter, but everything else changed. It hit my hand harder, slide speed increased and the slide hit the frame harder at the end of the stroke. I ended up going to a 19 lb. mainspring and that helped. I had a problem with minor ammo short stroking and stovepiping the case. So I increased the angle on the FPS so it hit the hammer as high as possible. That cured the stovepipe problem with minor ammo, but slide speed increased again. Going to an 8 lb. recoil spring cured that. I'm just finishing a dedicated minor Open gun. When it is finished I'll go back to a Cheely standard FPS for the major gun and start over. Not having to accommodate minor ammo should let me tune it a little better.

And that's why you don't let that happen. There is a HUGE difference in muzzle rise and feel in my gun between 7, 8 and 9 lb. recoil springs. 7 slams, 8 doesn't and 9 is a teeny tiny short stroke (I think) at 169PF with a 115. Still runs 100%. 9 doesn't work as well for 140PF minor.

115s @ 950 and 1050, and 124s @ 1000 work fine in a Leadstar Prime. I have some 105 poly coated TC bullets on the way to try. However, I only going to use them when I swap the Leadstar barrel for a Wiland USA. I really don't like the heavier bullets for anything, unless I'm trying to knock down badly calibrated steel.

Why? Is it not flat enough for you? Take a look at the data from Binary Engineering. If you are going to use his comp again, ask him what a third 3/16" poppel will add. I think he will tell you that if you add more holes, go to the 2-port comp.

I started with the RTS2 6 MOA. I had three of them. I could barely make it through a match before the dot dimmed. Switched to the DPP 2.5. Loved its brightness, battery life and ergonomics. The dot was dazzling and bloomed at high brightness settings. It was distracting to me, because I felt I was paying more attention to the dot than the target. I switched one to an SRO 5 MOA. I immediately loved it and ordered two more. With the SRO the dot stays round even at max brightness and it is a duller shade of red. I find I'm looking at the target and see the dot superimposed on it. I like it that way. The SRO auto setting is perfect for any USPSA COF that does not not include white steel. If it does, go to manual and up the brightness. For SCSA I always run it brighter on manual. Also, the rounder glass seems to help with centering round SCSA plates.

I disagree with the analysis of SD above. A load with a huge SD will still all land in the A zone at 25 yards. SD basically stands for consistency. The lower your SD, the more confidence you have your loads will chrono major at a match. If the SD is large, you have to go up in power factor to make sure each round makes major. Then you put up with more muzzle rise and more recoil. Here are a couple of examples: My first Limited load had an SD of 4.84 and a PF of 172. The slowest round went 953fps. The fastest was 966fps. So the slowest load had a PF of 171, well above the 165 PF floor. In fact, I later reduced the load to a 168 PF and the slowest round still made major. So I reduced recoil and muzzle rise and had a more comfortable load to shoot. One load I tried had an SD of 17.97 and a 170 PF. One of those rounds did not make major. So there was a 10% chance that one of the three rounds chosen for chrono would not make major. Since several other rounds barely made it, there would be a real risk of being reduced to minor. If I decided to use this load, I would have to bump it up to 172 PF to be sure of making major. With higher SDs you have to bump it up even more. Personally, I'm happy with single digit SDs. My Open load had an SD of 5.90 for a 15 shot string. No matter how many times I try it the results are the same. 169 PF. Minimum PF is 168.2. With my last Open load I had to be at 172 PF to be sure of chronoing major.

I immediately used two springs when installing a new Aftec. However, I compress them according to the instructions. No problems at all. The youngest has 9000 rounds through it with zero failures.

I am a firm believer in poppels. I've shot with and without them and the guns with poppels always ran flatter. I've shot 40 Open with and without, and 9mm major with and without. There is a huge difference between them. In 9mm, case capacity is the deciding factor. Put too many holes in the barrel and you cannot make major with any powder that will fit in the case. More smaller holes do not work as well as fewer larger holes. For 9mm major I currently use a custom 3-chamber comp with two 3/16" poppels in the comp in a V2 configuration. That, with my load, is the best compromise I could come up with balancing softness with flatness. I started without the poppels and the gun shot softer, but not as flat as I wanted. So I had the two poppels added. That flattened the gun out, but robbed the comp of gas, so it hit the hand harder. If you want soft and flat at the same time, you need a case with larger capacity. The 40sw has a lot of capacity. My main gun had a 4-chamber, 5-port comp and two 3/16" poppels in the barrel pointing straight up. I shot that with WAC and Silhouette, but was not satisfied with the flatness and the recoil characteristics. I switched to slower powder and discovered the more I added the flatter and softer the gun shot. I finally ended up with 10.1gr MP under a 155 at 1.150" OAL. It was a delight to shoot, and much flatter and softer than my current 9mm gun. 38SC would do the same. You can fit gobs of bulky powders like 3N38 in and still make major with lots of poppels. I would have gone the 38SC route except for the cost of brass. I lose about 7000 cases a year at what are for me lost brass matches. So the cost of brass was a prohibiting factor.

There is no rule that says every port in your comp has to work. I don't like the heavy bullets for Open, First, it feels like everything is happening in slow motion. Second, recoil is harsher because the comp is not worked effectively. I would stay with 115 or 124gr bullets and go to a faster powder. Personally, I use Major Pistol powder. Since you have 3N38, use it. You'll like it.

If I was the MD I would not allow you to shoot that load. It tears up pins. a 22 will clear pins just fine, although they fall and roll more slowly. If you like the snappy slide action and fast return of sights a light bullet provides, go for it. Geez, a 115 @ 950fps (109PF) load out of my XD 4" 9mm knocks the pins off cleanly and the gun barely moves. Runs 100%.

There are three effective approaches to shooting Open for falling steel and Steel Challenge. The first is with a comp and 9mm loads at around 150PF. My friends who shoot such loads are around 5.4~5.6gr Autocomp under a 115. This is hot enough to work the slide with 100% reliability, and knock down any steel. The disadvantage is it is faster than the 1250fps limit some clubs place on steel. Go to a 124 with less powder if that is the case. The second is to forget (or ignore) the comp altogether and put a single poppel near the front of the barrel. Go with a faster powder and a lower PF. The comp will do nothing, or next to nothing, but the gas exiting the port will keep the muzzle down. The third is to forget the comp and the popple and shoot out of a plain barrel. You can shoot a much lower PF with fast powders and the gun will barely move. To give you an example, my stock XD 4" 9mm is stock except for a trigger job. Recoil is stiff with most factory loads, and muzzle jump is pronounced. With 115gr @ 950fps, the gun barely moves when fired. It cycles 100% with the factory spring, and feeds perfectly. That's 109PF. As a plus, you don't have to use plated or JHP bullets. Poly coated are fine. Shoot factory for knock down steel. BTW, there is no rule that says you cannot go with the third option and shoot it out of your comp. The comp will still do a little something and recoil will still be a lot less than you get when trying to get the comp to work with slow powders. However, you cannot use jacketed or poly coated. My Steel gun wears a custom 3-chamber comp with two 3/16" poppels. It is set up exactly like my major gun. That is the reason for that configuration. I have trouble getting that gun to run with anything less than 150PF in the Winter. 135PF works fine in the Summer. On a lark I tried some 124gr @ 1000fps loaded with fast powder and it worked fine. I just ordered a Barsto plain barrel for that gun. I'm going to try these light loads through it and see what happens. I suspect everything will be fine, and taking 3.5 oz. out of the front of the gun will let it transition faster. Have fun with your experimenting.

I don't use any at all. I bought super high quality screws. I torque them down and they don't move. If you have cause to ever remove them, throw them away and use new. Reaally torquing them down stretches the threads and they don't hold as well the second time. If I were ever to use Loctite, I'd use Purple. It is a little weaker than Blue.

I went through several bags and packs. This is the one I use now. https://www.goutdoorsproducts.com/tactical-range-back.html Normally I put it on my stroller 'gun cart' along with the other stuff I carry. If I am just going to the range for practice, I sling it over a shoulder. I particularly like this one because it has dedicated pockets for a lot of stuff. It carries everything I need for a two gun match, including mags and ammo. I do use the included padded gun bags for guns that fit in. For my Open guns and mags I use the DAA sleeves. Personally, I like this bag a lot better than the DAA bags or packs. I bought mine on Amazon.

I'd never shoot one for USPSA, because I'm old and cannot see iron sights. Even if I could, there is only one guy who routinely shoots a revolver for USPSA. He is as slow as a turd, but always 'wins' his Division, because he is the only shooter. One club near me has an annual 'revolver friendly' USPSA match. There are always 6 or 7 guys shooting a revolver in that match. If I owned a suitable revolver I'd shoot it in Open for Steel Challenge. There a revolver can be an advantage in that you don't have to get a slide to work. Geez, I can run downrange faster than some of those bullets travel. When a revolver doesn't move when fired, you know it's a bunny fart load.

I will absolutely not pass inspection, and you will not be permitted to use that gun in the competition. There is ZERO tolerance with safety issues. BTW, they are not gentle about pulling the trigger during testing. If you have already shot a stage, they will run your rounds over the chrono through that gun. If you have a backup that uses the same ammo, they probably will not chrono that gun if the RM declares it is substantially the same as the disallowed gun and allows the switch.

I started 40 major with 180s because that was what 'everybody' was doing at the time. I came to prefer the 165s because there was less muzzle rise and the sights came back more quickly. The trade-off was a snappier hit to the hand. I originally shot 180s for minor also. Now all I shoot for minor are the 155s.

The last thing in the world I would do is order Federal ANYTHING. I have a shooting buddy who uses Federal Syntech ammo. He has a couple FtFs and at least one squib per 6 stage steel challenge match.

Barry, the vast majority of micro reflex sights are on a .550" hole spacing, regardless of the threads used. If you are willing to have the sight sit a little higher than it would if properly milled, you can screw on a thin (1/8" adapter plate and thread that correctly. Since your friend screwed up the first go round, I'd send the slide out to someone professional who does that for a living. It is definitely possible to salvage the slide.

Open guns with lots of ports (poppels) are way louder than ARs. I use either 33dB disposable Howard Leight foam plugs inserted properly, followed by 26dB electronic muffs. When I remember to take them out of my shotgun case, I use custom molded ear plus that are better than 33dB. I still use muffs over.

I also shoot single stacks. There is no problem with either 9mm or 40 sw with 8-round mags. When you go to ten with either, you run into problems. 40 is easier, because there is only one mag that holds ten and fits in the box. So you experiment with mag catch shelf heights and OAL until you find the right combo. Then it will run 100%. Hint: you need higher than standard with Tripp mags. 9mm is much harder to get to 100% with 10-round mags, because the mags are all different. As far as I know there are only four different mag catch heights you can buy. If you want to use a certain mag and can't find a catch to match, you must modify the catch or the mags. Then there is the problem with the springs. They are too strong when new. If you don't condition them for weeks you are going to get nose dives. The problem is the 9mm tapered case. The top round is angled correctly for feeding, but is not supported in the front by the round underneath because of the taper. The rounds do not stack the way they do in 40 and 45. If you don't believe me, look at a fully loaded translucent carbine mag. The problem with 10-round mag springs is excessive pressure on the top round when fully loaded. Cutting a coil or two off the bottom of the spring can help, but reduces spring life. IMO that is an acceptable trade off. The next problem with 9mm (and to a lesser extend 40sw) is barrel link. If your barrel is fit with a #3 (slightly elongated to allow the barrel to sit on the barrel rest) or a #4, the integral feed ramp sits at the correct angle. With a #1 or #2 you have your work cut out for you. Although I've never tried it, I'd bet it impossible with a #1.

As usual, Brownell's was out of every single thing I wanted to order, or didn't even carry it. It's a shame. I usually wait for Graf's to have a sale and order a bunch. $9.99 shipping for the entire order no matter how large, and $12.99 hazmat.