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I often see WST in 1lb and 4lb on the shelf. It is an excellent powder for 45 ACP. So are any of the VV powders, except you will have to go above published loads with N310 if you want defensive ammo speeds.

I bought these. http://czcustom.com/CZ-Thin-Medium-Silver-Grips.aspx They reduce the width of the grip by .100" and fit the TS perfectly.

JM, last year I faced a similar dilemma, except mine was CZ TS vs. 2011. I'm a 1911 pattern pistol fan. So much so that I am just finishing a custom 1911 pistol for bullseye, and starting another on Monday for games. Once I decided to buy a hi-cap 40 for Limited, the choices narrowed down to two- CZ 75 TS or build a custom 2011. I decided not to build, because I was in the middle of another project at the time, funds were tight, and I wanted to get started right away. I had the opportunity to shoot several TS in 9mm and 40 at the club. I was very impressed, so I ordered one. Here is a quick synopsis. When I received my TS 40 I field stripped it to clean it. I was literally appalled by the rough surface finishes on everything inside the pistol. As an ex tool and die maker, I was disgusted. I cleaned it, lubed it and took it to the range along with 100 round of WWB 165gr. It was a shooter right out of the box. Good 2lb trigger with a slight bit of creep and accurate. The only things I did to the pistol were to install a FO front sight, change to the thin aluminum grips and add extended base pads to the mags so they would hold 20 reloadable. I like the pistol. It feeds and operates flawlessly. I don't know how accurate it is because I've never benched it. However, I can hold the center of the A zone offhand at 25 yards all day long, so it is more than accurate enough for Limited. It handles minor loads just as well. So for a price at the high end of your range I have an accurate pistol with thin grips, a FO front sight and four 20 round mags. I like the pistol and do not regret buying it. I'll run it in Limited this year. However, I'll never "love" the gun. I'm pretty sure I'll replace it at some point with a custom 2011 I'll build myself.

Can't answer most of your questions. I recently bought four of the 8-round Cobra II mags. They are beautifully made, but do not function in my custom Sig 1911 Tacops. The mags hang a little lower than do the Wilson tactical mags. With a couple of rounds in them, they sit low enough the slide will not strip the first round from slide lock. Very frustrating. If they don't work in the new STI 1911 I building, they will go back for exchange.

I load 175 LSWC and 180 LTC bullets to 1.126" for my 40 TS and have no problems feeding either. That being said, I use the 180 LTC for all competitions because I feel it feeds a little better. In my 1911, the TC bullets definitely feed better.

I agonized over the same question when I ordered my TS. I had read many times on various forums that they were not very accurate. Fortunately, they are pretty well represented at my club, so I had an opportunity to shoot both 9mm and 40 S&W before committing. They are accurate guns in their own right. I ordered without an do not regret that decision. YMMV, but I do not require bullseaye accuracy in an action pistol. My 40 TS can easily hold center of A-zone at 25 yards

Once, when wanting to make some really soft 12b shotshells, I called Alliant to ask that question. I was told by Ben (ballistician) that "detonation" was a myth and I could go as low as I wanted. I don't know about rifle cartridges, but I fairly sure normal pistol cartridges follow the same rule. As a RO, I see a lot of the results of poor reloading praactices. You would be amazed at how often I hear a squib load. I am often asked to help clear a gun or remove a stuck bullet. In no case were there pressure signs. I do believe you can get varying pressures (and velocity) round to round from reduced power loads, and it seems to be much more prevalent in large case, low pressure cartridges like 45 ACP. For example, powder puff 135PF loads in 45 ACP almost never give me good SDs when I chrono them, even with nicely metering powder like N310. Yet in 40 S&W loaded down to 135PF, the opposite is true. I use e3 for 40, and from 135 to 170PF, it is a rare occurrence when I do not get single digit SDs. I tried an experiment last time out with my 45. Using the same batch of reloads, I shot 10 over the chrono the same way I usually do. I insert preloaded mags and fire using a rest. Results were typical. For the next string I did the same, with one twist. Before firing each round, I tilted the muzzle up to vertical to settle the powder in the bottom of the case. Then I carefully and slowly brought the muzzle down to the rest and fired. The results were much more consistency shot-to-shot, and a much better SD. BTW, the load was WLP, 3.8gr N310, 200gr LSWCBB seated to 1.240". That charge of N310 is tiny. You could easily fit two charges in with room to spare. I'd bet you could fit three. I think you will find the same with any such loading using small amounts or dense powder in large cases. I think the problem likely to be worse with slower powders, because they generally have retardants on them. I believe I don't see that in my 40, because the 40 S&W case is so much smaller, and the powder charge almost fills up the space left after seating a 180gr bullet. Also, the pressure of a 40 S&W 135PF load is far greater than that generated by a full bore 45 ACP.

I haven't found e3 to be reverse temp sensitive. In fact, I've not found it to be temp sensitive at all. I just looked at my chrono data, and i got exactly the same fps and PF at 85 as I did at 39. I'll chrono some of the same batch in the middle of winter and see if there is a change. I'd bet not. At pistol distances, air density and humidity play almost no role in velocity drop. As stated above, it is the temp sensitivity of the powder that causes the change. For example, one of my fav 45 ACP loads is 3.8gr N310 with a 200gr LSWC. That's was my bullseye load ( I currently use 4.0gr). At 85 deg it produces 749fps. At 39 it goes 674. I didn't chrono at 24 deg, but the brass just dribbled out. It is the most temp sensitive powder I've encountered so far.

I like mine a lot. I replaced the plastic guide rod with the CZC SS unit. I run a 13lb spring which works for anything 135PF up to factory. I bought a lower Dawson FO front sight, then sanded to stock, fixed rear sight down to match. I recut the notch and rounded the sides and beveled them. Now there are no sharp edges and I use it as a slide racker. I added the thin aluminum grips, because my hands are small. I shot a couple at the club before I decided to buy one. They were very accurate, so I didn't have the AccuBushing installed. I'm glad I didn't spend the money, because mine is certainly accurate enough to hold the center of the A Zone at 25 yards (two handed, aiming).

SU_OG, point taken. I own custom pistols and the workmanship is a point of fascination. The most beautiful pistol I've ever owned is a custom Sig 9mm P226 USPSA two-tone. It was a year in the making at the Custom shop, and it was flawless, no matter how granular you want to go. That build is what I aspire to in mine. Beauty AND function. I'm happy your builds worked out. I'm disappointed that mine involve what I perceive to be manufacturer rejected parts. Although I'd love to own a Bridgeport, or any more modern mill, I don't. So mfgr's that make me spend hours to overcome their shortcomings just piss me off. I've looked at your homegrown CNC milling thread. I'm jealous. What you do with milling, I do by hand. The result is a finer finish, but at 10x+ the time. Add: Posted after your last post. I took no offense at any of your posts. I'm glad you were fortunate. I was only trying to let the OP know that what "they" promise is not always what you get.

SU_OG, I don't have a problem fitting slide to frame, or barrels, or any other part. And I certainly don't have any problem with stoning, polishing or any other handwork. I have all the tools. Refining is what building your own is all about. However, sometimes you cannot because tooling marks are so deep you cannot remove enough metal to eliminate, or the surface finish was too poor. Chatter marks are just bad machining, no matter which way you slice it.. And those things are not what I expect when buying components that are touted to be the creme de la creme.

I'd be interested to know who's mags, extensions, followers, etc. Caspian's are 18 max, as are the Tanfos that fit. If I knew you could get 20 round mags for the Hi-Cap, I'd already own one.

Congrats on the Hi-Capacity. That's what I'm going to end up with when I replace my current Limited gun. BTW, unless they fibbed on the timeline, Caspian will have a bunch of brand new 18-round reloadable 40 mags on the shelf starting today. I think they were around $75 each. The last time they had them they sold out almost immediately, so move quickly.

From the data posted on these forums, WST really isn't "reverse" temp sensitive. You lose power when it is really cold, but nowhere near like N310. You gradually gain power to the 60s and 70s, then lose power again as it gets warmer. I can confirm the low to midrange curve, but not the warm end. The only chronoing I did with WST at 85F was using a different bullet, so I can't compare.

I'd ask the same question. With a 40 you have the choice of minor or major, and the minor loads shoot softer than a 9mm IMO. Are you thinking of converting this to an open gun in the future?

Update: I called Caspian. They sounded genuinely surprised. They said their usual complaint was the fit was too tight, not loose and wobbly. They are issuing a call tag. They said they would fit a new slide if possible, or replace the receiver if not. I forgot to include this in my previous post. When I couldn't get the Wilson frame/slide I looked to Les Baer. I was warned off them by two people who had built guns using their frames. I was told they were a bit rough and required a good deal of handwork. In another life I was a tool & die maker, so maybe I'm being too fussy, I really don't have much tolerance for bad machining, tool marks or poor surface finish. If it takes more than 15 minutes to completely polish a trigger track, for example, the machining was bad or the surface finish poor.

I have experience with three. The first was a Wilson frame/slide/fit kit that my buddy bought from Brownell's. He brought it to the range to show. It was perfect. The slide to frame fit bore on all required surfaces. The slide had to be tapped onto the frame. Machining was awesome. My STI forged frame was a bear to finish. First, they had not blasted all the scale off from hardening. The trigger track had serious chatter marks from broaching. I can't tell you how many hours it took with a trigger track stone to smooth it out enough so the trigger would glide. Dimensionally, it was perfect. The matching slide, not fitted, was perfect. The bottom of the slide had .006" of extra material, so be prepared to have it milled, or file a lot. The third is the Caspian frame and fitted slide I just received. The finish work on the Caspian slide will be minimal. There are what I'll describe as chatter marks of the outside top edges of the rails. Since it is an investment cast frame, that shouldn't be. A few strokes with a file will cure that. I had the factory so a slide/frame fit. It is abysmal. They took too much material off of the bottom of the slide and the frame rails are too thin up/down and left/right. Worse, they are not planar. The rail with measured across the frame goes from .746" at the front of the rails to .7515" in the middle to .7474" at the rear. When installed and in the battery position, you can move the slide left and right, up and down and rock it. It is a lot worse in the recoil position. It is going back. Added later: after I saw my buddy's Wilson kit I immediately went online to order one at Brownell's. They were sold out. I called Wilson and they told me they were so backed up with their own orders they could not predict when they would make frame and slide components available again. He guessed it would be a really, really long time.

Well, I'd bet most of those on the super squads are sponsored, or employed by the sponsors, so they are shooting new ammo and there are people to look after their guns, etc. I'll use Max Michel as an example. His pistols see a lot of rounds, but they are lovingly looked after by Sig's armourers. Each of the loads he shoots is a new, match round custom made by Atlanta Arms. Sig orders each of them 50,000 at a time, and Max shoots them for practice and whatever, not just for matches. His job is to practice, shoot, win and teach the clinics. It isn't to mess around with feed lips, followers and the like. Mike brings up a good point with chamber checking. I go even further. I was hugely frustrated when I first started shooting in competitions. I was shooting a custom Sig P226 9mm and a custom 1911 Tacops. Both were hand fit and polished by Sig's armourers in the Custom Shop. Both were, very tight and beautifully made. However, I could not complete a match with either without jams, FFs and what not. As I said, frustrating. I eventually found and solved all the problems, but until them it was no fun. At our ranges you are required to leave your gun on the safe table until just before you will us it on a stage. Same with your ammo and mags, but on another table. Well it turns out the shooting raises a lot of dust and grit and that gets into everything, including the inside of the pistol and the mags. Now I keep the pistols in closed, zippered bags until it's my turn and I'm ready to holster. Same with the loaded mags. Zero grit problem now. My pistols are stripped, cleaned and lubed before each match, so they start out clean and wet. Each round to be used at the match gets individually wiped with a rag to remove any lube, etc. and it gets dropped into a chamber checker. If it doesn't drop all the way in, then out when inverted, it gets put in the practice pile. Since I've been using these procedures I have had only one malfunction, and that was my fault. I had a round in the chamber and did not seat the new mag forcefully enough, so it didn't feed. The point of this is it may well be that a lot of the problems seen are not faults with the pistol per se, but deficient care and feeding. I do know that at a recent club championship, my pistol and one other were the only two that made it though all the stages without a problem.

K5o4, you don't say what you are shooting, but I think you can go even lower if you want. You are about 145PF with that load. I shoot 40 S&W out of my CZ TS. My two minor loads are 180gr LTC bullet @ 139PF and 165gr HP-HPCB plated bullets @ 138FP. I could go lower, but I want to be able to shoot both minor and major using the same recoil spring, so I don't. The 180 load is amazingly accurate. I'm still tinkering with the 165 load. These loads go 773fps and 841fps respectively, and there is no keyholing.

My 1911 runs best at 1.240" with SWC. If they are the true H&G 68 shape they will run at 1.250", but no longer. Since you can run 230 RNs, just load your 200 SWC to the depth the ogives match. If you can't tell, then try this. Remove the barrel from the gun. Drop a loaded 200 SWC round in and see where the end of the round is vis-a-vis the back of the hood. If it is longer than the hood you are too long. If the same depth as the hood the shoulder of the bullet is just touching the leede or the lands. Make it just a couple of thou shorter and you should be good to go.

They are legal, but they come bullets forward. You have to convert them to bullets out yourself. All the parts are there, you just have to reconfigure them.

Chuck, there are a boatload of ROs at my club. In fact, they are so highly though of as a starter 1911 there is a poster stapled to the wall recommending them. LOL, think of it as a non-electronic FAQ. I'm a RO and we are a friendly bunch at the club I shoot pistol at. I'm offered a look/see and asked to shoot a lot of the new pistols the members bring in. They want to show off, and they want my opinion. Here is my take. A Springfield Range Officer at $700 to $750 is a good value for the money. If the store has several, ask to see them all. Examine them for fit and trigger pull. The trigger pull in particular appears to be quite variable. The grinchiest, creepiest triggers seem to sort themselves out a LITTLE after about 400 rounds. Other than the trigger, I would not mess with anything else, as the pistols already shoot better than most of the shooters who buy them. One of my shooting buddies shoots Glocks. He tried my 1911 and fell in love with it. He went out and bought a RO, because that was what everybody recommended in the low price range. He loves the pistol, shoots it well, but complains about the trigger being gritty and creepy. It's not like mine. Well, my 1911 is custom and has a custom trigger job. I tell him, what do you expect. Give it to a good smith and for between $55 and $75 you'll have one just as good. He won't do it. He shoots Glocks which have, next to the M&P, arguably the worst trigger pulls on the planet, and won't spent up to $75 to make a trigger that is already an order of magnitude better, perfect. I don't get it. The RO is a good pistol and a good value. If you like it, buy one. If you get one with a bad trigger pull, a little bit of money fixes that. Unless you cannot stand the sights that come with, that's all you need for IDPA. Geez, a looong shot is 25 yards. Regarding mags, just buy the Wilson Tactical 8-round mags and be done with it. Yes, there are a little more than the CMC and Magpul mags, but they run and are worth it. The Tripp Research Cobra II mags are equally well made, but in many pistols, mine among them, they sit too low and when loaded, the first round will not strip from slide lock. I have four brand new ones, and that is what happened in both my custom 1911s. As I said, I'm a RO. I run a lot of the stages and get to see what people shoot and where the problems lie. There are a lot of Failures to Feed. I can't tell if it dirty guns, bad ammo or the mags haven't been cleaned in a year, but so far, the mags with the least problems are the Wilson Tactical. BTW, if you need 10 round mags, buy the Wilson 47s. You will probably have a problem getting them to seat properly (without a big hit) if there is a round in the chamber, but they seem to be way better than the rest. Here is a tip. Buy the Trip hybrid follower only from the Cobra II mags and replace the follower that comes with the Wilson 10 round. The Wilson follower has a convex bump on the follower and that compresses the mag spring more. The Tripp is convex and when fully loaded, you can push the top round down about 1/2 cartridge worth. That little bit of slack is the key and makes inserting a full mag into a gun with a chambered cartridge an no-fail proposition. You can shoot USPSA SS with your IDPA rig (you'll need at least two, and preferably three more mag pouches and 10-round mags for Limited 10 and all the games that are set up around those rules). Good luck with your new pistol whatever you get. Shoot it stock, except for the trigger job and possibly sights. Then after two three seasons of hard practice, games and IDPA you'll have worn some of the internals down. For $135 you can order a complete 5-piece trigger kit from Nowlin, Brazos or my fav, Cylinder & Slide. Drop the pieces in and you are good to go for 4-5 years more. I don't own a stock 1911. My Sig was custom built. I'm in the process of building two more from scratch. I like dong it, and I'm a tinkerer, plus, in another life I was a tool and die maker. You get the picture. That being said, if you said I could eventually do anything I wanted, but I had to start with a stock pistol, I'd probably pick the RO. I'd get the trigger job ( I really am a trigger snob ) and I'd shoot the gun until the internals started to wear. Then I'd replace them with really good after market parts. There is not a lot to go wrong with 1911 pistols. If you need it, $135 buys you a preconfigured, drop-in trigger parts kit. $150 buys you a Clark Custom drop-in match barrel that shoots better than anyone I know. An Ed Brown spring and pin kit ($17) takes care of all the little annoying things that break or get lost. So maybe 2-3 years from now you have to plunk down up to $300 to make your pistol better and longer lasting than new. So what. I've had to have a trigger job on my custom 1911 and it only has 15,000 rounds through it. For what my opinion is worth, I don't consider the RO to be a "budget" gun. At $800 for the pistol WITH a good trigger job, I consider it to be a no brainer. You start with a good pistol; one that has good bones and can be used as the basis for a good customized pistol in the future.

bigdave24, I haven't found that, but I'm going to give it another try. My powder puff Minor loads are 139PF and my "real" minor loads are 149PF, so maybe that is the reason. Any lower than 135PF with the 13lb spring and the slide won't lock back on a mag with a "plank" follower. I think I'll load up some sub 130PF just to see what happens. As I stated above, the 11lb spring does not work for me. I think I'll order a 12lb and see what happens. If nothing else, it's a chance to experiment.

I was told that if I ran 40 S&W ammo at 1.126" OAL I would never have a problem. I haven't. After reading many posts by BowenBuilt, I started loading to 1.135". I don't have a lot of 1.135" under my belt, but my preliminary conclusion is that TC bullets are better at 1.126" and RNFP are better at 1.135". YMMV. If memory serves, Atlanta sells 40 S&W in two OAL lengths. I know they do in their match ammo, but maybe no longer in their reman. I have not personally tried it, but the freebore on a TS 40 is not that long, and many have posted here stating you can't fir 1.180 OAL in the mag.

sig, I'm a 1911 fan, but not a 2011 fan, at least not of the STIs I normally run into. Basically I don't like the frame and fit. It takes a fair amount of effort and money to make them "perfect" and the fortune you have to pay for properly tuned mags is offensive, especially since they don't seem to stay that way. I don't know if it is the guys using them or what, but i can drop my 1911 mags in the dirt 1000 times and they still feed fine. Sure you have to keep them clean, but I have never had to "tune" and 1911 mag. This summer, after I had decided to buy a hi-cap 40 S&W for limited I looked around. I HATE DA, DA/SA and striker fired pistols. So my choices were, build it myself, buy a stock STI, buy an STI from Brazos Custom and have him tweak the necessary items, buy a Brazos Custom pistol with already tuned mags, or buy a Para. I was in the middle of a 1911 build at the time and didn't want to start another project, plus I really don't like the 2011 frame, so building was out. A stock STI was out for the same reason and the funds for a Brazos Custom were not available. 16 rounds in a Para mag means you are either perfect or you change mags more often, so the Para was out. Several people at the club have CZ 75 TS, all of them more or less stock. I shot them and thought them a good buy at $1200. A little cheesy looking, but accurate, and a really good trigger. Not as good as a 1911 trigger, but light and safe. So I ordered one. When I took it apart for the first time I got my first shock. The finish on the internal parts is mean. In another life I was a tool and die maker, so the internal finish, or lack thereof was appalling. Even though I now know the pistol functions perfectly, I still find it offensive. 3500 rounds later I find it always works perfectly, isn't finicky about ammo and loads and is accurate. It also handles Minor loads perfectly, as long as you don't go below 135PF. I'll keep the pistol and run it in Limited this year. I've got the extended base pads and a Competition One holster, so I'm good to go. That being said, it will not be my last Limited pistol. I recently ordered a slide and frame for another 1911 build when Caspian had their 20% off in-stock parts sale. I almost ordered their HiCap frame at the same time. Since they now have their 140mm, 18 round reloadable mags available again (plus Tan's fit), I'm pretty certain that will be my next build. For all intents, it is a hi-cap 1911, and pretty much feels like it. If you decide on a 2011 STI, I'd order it from Brazos and get his 4-pack of super tuned mags to go with. They are only $100 each if you order with the pistol. On another note, he has what I'll call semi-custom guns available from time to time. They are all tuned by him, but don't have all the bells and whistles. They cost a little more than half of what his full custom guns cost. Good luck with your decision.