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I had to condition my mag springs by leaving them fully loaded for weeks before the first round nose dive disappeared. Loading shorter in the 1.145" to 1.150" range also helped.

B, let me preface this by saying I am a 45 ACP lover. I competed for years with my 1911 45 and loved it. However, I was at a serious disadvantage in some games. You mentioned 40 and 45 in a 1911. You also mentioned USPSA. With a 1911 you can shoot SS minor and major plus L10 minor and major. In 40 there is only one mage that fits the box and runs 10 rounds reliable. That is the special Tripp. In 45, the only thing you cannot shoot is SS minor with 10 rounds. 40sw brass is plentiful and cheap. It costs less to reload. It doesn't hurt to leave it on the ground and forget it. Not so with 45. Brass costs a lot more and reloading costs more. I shoot 7000 rounds per year in events that are essentially (for me) lost brass matches. So I would go 40 in a heartbeat, for that reason alone. If you don't want to reload, there are many, many places you can buy new or remanufactured 40sw in both minor and major. Since SS 45 has always been a handloader's game, very few places reman any 45 ammo. For those that suggest 1911 9mm minor, I'd say that in my experience they are not as reliable as 40 and 45 in a 1911. When you go to 10-round mags you roll the dice. I had to go through four brands of mags in the last 1911 9mm I built just to get it to run. So really it comes down to how much you are willing to pay for brass, and reloading costs. If you don't care, go for the 45 in a heartbeat. If it is a concern, consider 40sw. If you don't want to reload, 40 is your only real choice. BTW, the Max trigger pull sucks, but is fixable, even without removing the 80 Series stuff. Your holster choices will be severely limited because of the slide shape.

Thanks Zach.

I use the Geco Semi Auto. Feeds perfectly in all my 22s. Another thing you can do is use the old bullseye trick. Run a streak of oil on the top round of each mag. It works wonders in tight chambers.

I tried the CCI clean. I got 70% FtF, even apter thre/four tries. The problem is all my pistols have match chambers and the RFRO has a Benz chamber. The coating on the 'Cleans" is too variable and only works in more open chambers. Geco, SK Standard Plus, Norma, Wolf, etc. use a wax that is almost liquid. Even in the cold you get some on your hands wile loading mags. Ammo like that should cure and wax hardness problems.

This ^^^^^.

For rifles used for Steel Challenge I mount the sight at the front of the rail. You get a narrower field of view through the sight and center the target more easily. Then use Max Michel's advice: if you see white, pull the trigger. For USPSA I would mount in the middle. For hunting- at the rear.

I have Ruger 10-round clear and a bunch of Tandemkross Double Kross mags I put Ruger guts in. All of them are tensioned 8 spaces as per Tandemkross instructions. I have no problems with CCI Standard, Geco, Norma Tac-22, cci AR Tactical or Fiocchi Standard. I leave the mags in the range bag and don't worry about keeping them warm. The coldest match so far has been 25 degrees. No problems at all. One thing that may be causing your problem is kinking the spring when pushing it in far enough to get the hook in the notch. If you push the TK spring pusher in too far it jams and you kink the spring when you pull it back out. I did that once and the mag would hang up on the 7th round. Took the kink out and it worked fine again.

You have to deprime, then swage the primer pocket.

Having just gone through this process myself, I may be able to help. The key to SCSA is transition speed and reaction time. All of the rifles you mention are heavy and have a lot of weight hanging out front. I took a serious look at the MR Switchbolt, with their not publicized light stock and carbon fiber barrel. I decided the only way to get what I wanted was to assemble on myself. So that is what I did. I went with a Tactical Innovations Elite Left Charging receiver with black nitrided match bolt. https://www.tacticalinc.com/catalog/product/id-6743 Kidd Single stage trigger. https://www.coolguyguns.com/KIDD-Single-Stage-Trigger-Unit-Drop-In_p_29.html Wiland USA LLW 11 oz. barrel http://wilandusa.com/10-22-llw-barrel-22lr-sporter-chamber-6875-precision-slip-fit-tenon-diameter/ Blackhawk Axiom stock. https://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/stock-parts/rifle-stocks/ruger-10-22-axiom-r-f-stock-lightweight-prod55621.aspx The finished rifle weighs 3 lb. 5.5 oz. and transitions like lightning. Aside from the light weight, the key is the Wiland LLW barrel. Although it only weighs 11 oz. all of the weight is between your hands. The rifled barrel is only 5.5" long. The rest is a lightweight steel shroud to get it to 16.1". Mine is 3 lb. 11oz. with the sight I have on it. Everyone who tries it loves it, including a shooting buddy who is now dissatisfied with his Ruger Competition. I let him shoot it on Roundabout and he was a full second faster with my gun. Weight matters. I have to put a different stock on it to shoot in NJ. The extra 1.5 lbs. make a difference, and my transitions are a touch slower than with the lighter stock. Some of that may be I don't shoot the heavier stock nearly as often, but I still think it is the weight. Good luck with your search. BTW, read the Lightest 10/22 barrel thread lower down in this forum. Lots of good, useful info.

I have Open guns with two holes in a row, and guns with a V2 config. In a row at 90 degrees straight up gives more flattening. V2 at 30 degrees each side gives less, but the glass stays cleaner and the target is less obscured. I also think, but cannot prove, the dot behaves better with the V2. I never really thought about it until I put a V2 in my two new guns. First time I shot them was WOW, much clearer. Personally, I wouldn't do a shorty, even if I stroked it, especially if I was planning poppels. I'd want poppels as close to the muzzle as possible. You rob less velocity and they apply more counter-rotational force there. The idea is too eliminate as much muzzle rise as possible. So it would be a standard 5" or a middy for me. None of my older Open guns would shoot minor loads reliably. So for Steel Challenge I just put an optic on my Limited gun and shot Open. It worked perfectly. I did that for two years until I decided to build a dedicated 1911 Open for steel challenge. I built the 1911 upper the same as I built the 2011 gun. I figured I could eventually fit a lower and have a backup 2011 for USPSA. It had a custom 3-port comp with two 3/16" poppels in a V2. Unless I use minor loads in the 150PF range using slow powders the comp does nothing. On a lark I shot some 125PF loads designed for a PCC through it and was surprised to find it softer and just as flat as the 150PF loads. So I'm ordering an uncompensated 9mm barrel for it. I'll fit it and see how it works for mouse fart loads. If I were retrofitting your gun, I'd order a 9mm threaded barrel without the threading. I'd fit it and shoot it that way to see how I liked it. Then I could shoot lead, poly, plated and jacketed without worrying about leading. If I wanted it flatter I'd put two poppels in the extended part of the barrel in a V2 and call it done. Then I'd use plated or JHPs.

Ben, it all depends on what you are looking for. For factory loads in 124 @ 1100fps you really don't need a comp. A comp will make the gun shoot a little softer, but not by a lot. Going to a 2-port comp will do nothing. Either the third port on your existing comp isn't used, or it is a little. The only thing a two port comp will do is lighten the front and make transitions a touch faster. Adding poppels is the way to go for flatness. I'd put two 3/16" poppels in your existing gun and call it done. If you ever do shoot major again it will be a lot flatter, but it will hit your hand harder. If you like the way your existing setup shoots for major, rebarrel without a comp and add the two poppels. Even close to the muzzle where I would put them will make a noticeable difference. You want them there so you don't bleed off too much high pressure and fail to make minor with factory. I like Magtech, but don't shoot it in my Open guns. Jacketed leads up the comp. I've been shooting PRVI Partizan factory JHPs when I don't have enough reloaded. They work great.

No less accurate. Very slightly slower on some splits, especially when you have to put four or six shots into the same target. Monster matches and the Classifiers of the type you mentioned come to mind. For steel challenge I don't think it much matters what you shoot. There is no way I can transition fast enough that the sights aren't long settled by the time I'm on the next target. My grip is the same for minor and major. Maybe that's why minor moves a little less.

Amen. I shot the XD9 4" I won at the prize table. It kicks like a mule with full power loads. Even with 130PF it was a handful to shoot fast.

LOL. Okay, put me in the pansy category. My Limited gun barely moves with my minor load. It moves more with major, so that means it is harder to shoot.

I don't know; however, there is such a thing as a carbide reamer.

I'll say that some of the opinions expressed here may be because of the area of the country they are in, or they are just guessing about something they have no first hand experience with. First, major IS harder to shoot than minor. It has nothing to do with damage on the target. It had to do with recoil and controlability. Those who say 40 Limited is dead absolutely don't shoot in any of the matches I do. Limited is alive and well, and well represented. Yes, there are a lot of Limited minor shooters. When you ask why they shoot minor the answers are always the same. I already have the gun and don't want to buy another, or I don't want to reload. The idea of making Limited minor only and limiting mag capacity to 20 is simply daft. How would that be enforced? Does the RO, who already has a lot to do count shots while running the shooter to make sure no more than 21 to start or 20 thereafter was shot? As an RO I say NO THANKS. That would be a lot harder than counting targets for Production. If they made minor mandatory I'd simply use my 40sw minor steel load. I don't give a crap about 20 vs. 23 in a mag. PCC: personally I think USPSA is a handgun game, but I'm okay with them. I just wish they would stop using quiet, bunny fart loads so I don't have to climb up their butt to record the last shot. I actually bought my own timer capable of picking up PCC shots from a distance, because all three of the CED timers usually provided have a hard time picking up PCC when adjusted properly. Divisions: I don't really care. I, like a lot of others, shot what they had even if it was uncompetitive, until I decided I liked the game and wanted to get more serious about it. I had a ball shooting my 1911 45 in Limited before I bought a double stack 40 complete with race holster, etc. I had even more fun after. Now I shoot Open everything and don't care about the other Divisions. I would certainly not add more. You can make a reasonable case for four divisions. Optics major and minor, 140 mags major and minor, 10 round mags major and minor and PCC.

Yes, especially since you have slide mounted optics. With too light a spring your dwell time at the rear of the stroke will be long, the muzzle will rise more, and it will feel like slow motion. Repeated firing can/will damage the pistol. For me, if the brass gets tossed 3-5' to the side, the slide locks back when empty, and there are no FtFs, the spring is right. After that it is all about feel. Note that more than one weight of spring will do that. So experiment with what you ordered, starting with the heaviest and see what works the best. For bullseye, I want as little muzzle rise as possible, given 100% reliability. BTW, you can do that with bullets too. I don't shoot 9mm for Centerfire. With 45 I find that using a 185 gets the dot back on target that the 200s I have been using for years.

You make your 9mm bullseye load for maximum accuracy, and then spring for whatever the load needs. My bullseye buddies say the need fast 9mm for best accuracy. For your current load, try a 10 lb. conventional spring. You may have to go to a 9 lb. The idea is to get it to work 100% and return to battery as quickly as possible for rapid fire. There is a decidedly different feel between 8, 9 and 10 lb. springs. They are cheap, so experiment. You may also try some variable springs.

That will not work. A friend with a Czechmate had to have the throat reamed so he could run 1.160". If you try it you may end up setting back the bullet and raising pressure a lot. Before I bought mine, several friend who had them told me that if I loaded to 1.126" I'd never have a feeding problem no matter what the bullet profile. They were right. The standard 1.135" failed to reliably feed some profiles.

The only one I know of was discontinued by RCBS.

'Normal' Dillon dies resize the case small, then expand. The produce a wasp wasted case. Yours is not doing that. So try a different sizer, not a roll crimp.

That does not sound like what a MBF funnel does. Like the M die illustrated above, the MBF funnel is two step. The bottom expands the case to .354" and the short top section expands to .356". Your resizing die is not sizing the case correctly. Try a different one. I happen to use Hornady dies. The sizing die squashes the case down to where you cannot push the MBF funnel in by hand. I only use .355" dia. JHPs in my Open loads and I use a Lee Factory Carbide Crimp die for crimping only (not seating). The bullets are held very tightly. You may consider changing your bullet profile. Truncated cone bullets have more bearing surface than round nose. BTW, I shoot with a bunch of shooters shooting 9mm revolvers for steel challenge. They all taper crimp.

Using a dovetail adapter for a mount allows you to use any reflex sight you want. If you have the slide milled you are limited to those sights with mounting screws on .550" centers. If you also want locating pins, your choices are more limited. I have a custom 1911 with an RTS2 mounted directly to the slide. I also use locating pins. I believe the Romeo series uses the RTS2 footprint. If so, it should work fine. BTW, I thought mounting the sight closer to the bore would help with close shots. The difference in hold over for 5 yard head shots is minimal. I would not do it again because of the expense in having the slide milled and then refinished.

The problem is caused by the excessive bell/flare of the case mouth. I'll assume you replaced the Dillon expander plug with the one that came with the Mr. Bulletfeeder. There should be no bell on the top of the case. If you insist on having some, make it microscopic. A large bell cannot be fully compressed in the crimping die, so the bullet will not be held firmly. The MBF does not require any flare to drop a bullet. A Lee FCD will cure an excessive bell, but it will swage the portion of the bullet in the case to .355". It is better to have no bell in the first place. If, for some strange reason, you are not using the MBF expander/funnel, do so immediately.