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Simply pouring the powder in and scraping off the excess I get 9.8 gr in. If I pour some in, tap the case on the table five times to settle the powder, then repeat two more times I can get 10.8 gr in. Your 1050 may exert more pressure than my Hornady LnL. The most I can compress 9.4 gr is 1.175". I don't want to load that long.

I shoot with a lot of Open shooters Except for a couple of guys with new DVCs they haven't sorted out yet, I don't see failures. The first two Open guns I bought were used. I went through them and changed out the springs and anything else I thought was worn. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. There is a nice SVI Open gun in Classifieds right now for $2500. The 38 Super barrel is about useless, but the 9mm is not. There is no rule that says a 'top tier' gun has to cost $6-7k. There are plenty of good gunsmiths that build guns with top of the line components for a lot less. They don't have the 'name', so they cannot charge the premium the 'names' do. I'd also argue the dumbest thing you could do when just getting into Open is to buy a new, expensive custom gun. Why? You have no idea what you don't know. You don't yet know what you like or don't. You end up going with what others tell you is right, and that is a mistake. I shot my two used Open guns for two seasons, plus some other shooters guns. I learned what worked for me and what didn't, plus what I liked or not. So armed with that, my new full custom gun is exactly what I wanted. I would not change a thing. Now I'm going to make another exactly like is as a spare. I will tell you taht if I had bought what others recommended, I would not have been happy.

Murphy's Law states when your gun goes down it will be in a major match. It happened to me. Fortunately I had a backup gun with me. You can carry fitted spare parts with you, but it is not the same. A corollary to Murphy's law states the part that breaks will not be one you brought a spare for. Here is my couple of cents worth. Having learned the hard way, several things on your backup gun must be identical to your main gun. The grip, thumb rest, frame mount, optic and comp/popple arrangement. It is no fun to switch guns in the middle of a match and play find the dot, or your splits are off 'cause one gun has poppels and runs flat and the other does not. IMO this is a minimum. Ideally they would be identical, even to the point where you could take the slide off one and use it on the other.

Alliant e3 is a super clean powder that works perfectly with poly coated bullets. If you like N320 burn rates, go with Sport Pistol, or Solo 1000.

I can't load any longer than 1.165". Also I only use fully processed brass that has been roll sized, so case capacity is diminished. Even with a 124 I could not compress the powder enough. I thought about using it for minor, but I've got so much Silhouette, WAC, Solo 1000, etc. to use up I think I'll just wait for someone local to need it.

I bought 12 lbs. of 3N38 during the shortage, because I was building a 9mm major gun and everyone said 3N38 was the cat's meow. I measured 9.4gr and tried to pour it in the case. It didn't fit. I had to tamp, pour, tamp and pour more. Plus I could not compress it enough. All 12 lbs. are still sitting in my reloading room waiting for a local to want some. For 38 Super I'm sure it's the cat's meow. I've switched to Major Pistol powder for major loads. It is half the price of 3N38, burns clean and meters like water. If MP becomes unavailable, I'll switch to AA7. I'm using up the rest of my WAC and Silhouette for minor steel loads.

I did not. 0.02 seconds would not be noticeable, and I doubt the average timer would pick that up. I do have problems. A lifetime of wounds and injuries leaves me with a left hand that is barely functional for gun handling purposes and a right hand that on a good day can manage 70 lbs. of grip force. So softening and flattening the gun has had a major impact. On average, my splits are 0.1 second faster. Close targets sound like the gun doubled. Distant targets are 0.2 seconds faster. As I mentioned earlier, my average HF is 1HF higher than before the change. I don't run any faster, so the increase is mainly due to the softer, flatter shooting gun. Added later: I was just notified my new AMG shot timer, reportedly accurate to .01 second will arrive today. That should give me move accurate numbers.

Night and day difference Jack. I tried a lot of powders when i started Open. I went with WAC, because that's what everyone used and I didn't know any better. I eventually switched to Silhouette, which was essentially the same. When I switched to Major Pistol powder the gun shot softer and flatter, and my average Hit Factor improved by a whole point. Splits are faster. Consider a 32 round stage. 0.2 second faster splits equals 3.2 seconds less time on the stage. That's huge.

My first two Open guns were essentially the same except on had two 3/16" poppels. With the same load, the poppeled gun ran 4PF lower than the other. IOn my latest Open gun, 4.6gr Silhouette under a 124 ran fine for Steel Challenge. I wanted the gun to shoot flatter for USPSA major, so I added two 3?16" poppels. Now it takes 5.1gr to get the gun to run minor. Any way you cut it, poppels rob gas.

$900 more for a full custom build is a no brainer. Do it.

I believe your problem is too much bell and it isn't getting completely removed in seating and crimping. I had the exact same problem with Dillon dies. A Mr Bulletfeeder expander/funnel will cure that and several other problems. It is a two step expander designed to hold the bullet vertically in the case so it doesn't tip when indexing. A benefit is you need only a microscopic bell and the Dillon seating dies takes care of that. I was not willing to spend the time push through sizing. I now load on a Hornady LnL with Hornady dies. I use the Mr Bulletfeeder expander, only seat with the Hornady seating die, and crimp with a Lee Factory Carbide Crimp Die. With this setup, the only failures I get in the Shockbottle/Hundo are caused by a too sharp extractor dinging the rim. I remove those, fill down the burr and the drop in fine. The Lee die resizes the case as it crimps.

Remember, the gun works as a system. What happens when you add poppels depends on what type of comp you are using. Correctly positioned poppels do two things. They retard upward movement of the muzzle and rob gas from the comp. Here are two examples. One Open gun has two 3/16" poppels near the front of the barrel and a 4-chamber, 5-port comp. With my original load of Silhouette, the gun ran pretty flat, but hit my hand harder. Moving to Major pistol powder generated a lot more gas and the pistol shot flatter and softer. A second Open gun originally had no poppels and wore a very efficient comp. Almost no gas exited the front of the comp. It shot soft, but not as flat as I wanted. So I had two 3/16" poppels added in a V2 configuration. It now shoots flatter, but hits my hand harder. The poppels robbed the comp of gas and I can't fit enough extra MP powder to make it up. They suggestion to shoot a sample of what you plan to have built is a good one. Your hands grip and grip strength are also part of the equation. I like flat shooting guns. I'd rather have two 3/16" poppels than more smaller diameter ones. You can go to far with poppels. Add too many and you can't get enough powder in a 9mm case to make major.

So try them with a very slow powder. If that doesn't work, switch to 115s and use the 124s for minor.

What weight recoil spring are you using? With that light a slide you will probably need a 9 or 10 lb. to start. Too light a spring lets the slide move faster and when it hits the rear it raises the muzzle. No amount of powder tweaking will fix that. Too heavy a recoil spring will make the muzzle dip when the slide returns to battery. So play with spring weights to see what works best. Then move to a lighter bullet and more slow powder. I'm guessing by your OAL that this is a 38 Super/SC gun. If so, 3N38 will work. If 9mm, use AA7 or Major Pistol powder. CFE, WAC and Silhouette are all too fast for that setup.

Put a magwell on it and use mags with thick base pads.

Gans does nice work. Expensive, but quick turn around.

Really? That's all you said? Explosivo is in the same boat.

Yes, and that reason is to add weigh up front. Everything is a trade off. You gain something but give up something else. At the last match I handles a friend's new Limcat with a Ti sleeved barrel. We both though it nearly identical in feel to my custom with a Trubore barerl The barrel must travel to the rear to unlock. That makes it part of the reciprocating weight while it is moving. The front of the cone and the front of a bull barrel are the same diameter. The cone comp barrel weights 2 oz less than a bull/comp.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Have you ever shot 40 Open in a match?

119838sc, my MBX 170 held 26 reloadable. 99.9% of the people dissing 40 Open have never shot it. It is easier to load for, shoots softer and has no disadvantages other than mag capacity and bullet cost. I shot 40 Open for years. 26 is not a disadvantage, because there are always spots to reload without costing any time. The naysayers don't buy it because they are mentally hung up on mag capacity. In 9mm Open I run 155s and 170s. So that's 26 and 29 rounds reloadable. Unlike 40, the 170 does not get constant use. On longer stages I run with the 155s and reload on the run. I'll use the 170 on 22-24 round stages where I an absolutely sure I can get through without a mag change. That is exactly how the M Open shooters I squad with do it. That being said, at the clubs I shoot all the stages require running (except Classifiers). There are no stand and hose stages. I went from Limited to Open when my eyes forced the issue. Several friends told me 9mm was a pain to reload for, had ejection problems and went kaboob. So I found a good, somewhat reasonably priced custom 40 and bought it. I have no regrets. I later bought a backup for it. While I was shooting 40 Open I watched all the other Open shooters. First there were a few 9mm. Then there were more and more. There were no kabooms and the only people having ejection problems were running vertical frame mounts with Sliderides. So all the 38 Super fear mongers and the hangers on were wrong. When I decided to build two new Open guns I went 9mm. Yes loading for them is not as easy as 40, but no where near the sob stories I got previously. Case capacity is a problem, but not insurmountable. So having shot major and minor in both extensively, I can say two things with authority. With identical setups and PF, 40 shoots a lot softer than 9mm. 40sw bullets cost more than 9mm. That's it. Mag capacity? Rubbish, at least where I shoot. I can count exactly one time 29 in a mag would have let me run a more efficient stage plan. I'm sticking with 9mm now, just because of how much I have invested in two full custom guns (with a third coming). I would not dissuade a new Open shooter from 40 if the found a nice gun and that's how they wanted to go. All the naysayers who never shot 40 Open but voice all these strong opinions are just talking out of their nether regions. Just hold your nose and more on to the next post.

You simply cannot trust burn rate charts. None of them agree, and the testing method does not match what happens in the chamber. The number one basic rule for pistol (and other) powders is slower powders require more charge weight to reach the same velocity as a fast powder. As an example, in one of my Open guns I require 7.2gr WAC, 7.3gr Silhouette and 8.3gr HS-6 to make 172PF. It takes 10.2gr Major Pistol to make 168PF. So clearly the progression from fast to slow is WAC, Silhouette, HS-6, MP.

NO, it isn't. That powder chart is wrong. HS-6 takes 1 gr more powder to make the same PF as CFE and WAC. It is definitely slower.

I purchased the barrel from Eric (aircooled6racer). That's his handle on these forums. Send him a PM. He builds his own guns (lots of them) so he may fit the barrel for you. If not, there are any number of local competent gunsmiths who can do that for you. If not, Hellfire Custom Guns is relatively close to you. Scott can do all you need, including building you a complete new gun. If Eric doesn't have one available, you can buy one online and send it to him for the comp cuts. You definitely want someone to fit it for you, because it is a PITA. You can't even get the barrel into the slide until you remove a lot of material from the barrel. I have no idea why STI decided to machine them htat way. Probably to cut costs.

Here is my three cents. Buy a good, used 9mm Open gun and run it for a while. When you decide to step up, you can sell it for most of what you paid for it. If you want to buy new, give Scott at Hellfire Custom Guns a call. 610-247-0793 http://www.hellfirecustomguns.com info@hellfirecustomguns.com He just built a new open gun for one of the guys I shoot with regularly. Cheely Custom frame, Caspian slide, KKM barrel with Binary Engineering Ti comp and all EGW internals. $3k. He does good work. It will cost you more if you want to do real fancy slide lightening, etc. If you buy a 9mm major gun you DO want a frame mount and reflex sight. you DO NOT want a Slideride. The mount has to be offset so the brass can clear. You DO want to buy fully processed once-fired brass. You will have no problems at all, at only 4 cents each. If you are not locked into 9mm major, consider a good, used 40sw gun. There are zero ejection problems because it is a straight walled case. It is super easy to load for and pressures are below SAAMI limits. You could go stupid crazy with PF and still not exceed that limit. Good luck with your hunt.

The simplest was to convert to 9mm is to buy a new Trubore blank and have it fitted. I bought two from aircoller6racer with his custom comp cuts and fit them to my two new builds. He places the ports way forward, so you have room to add two 3/16" poppels in the comp itself. This way you end up with an almost identical feel when you are done.