KOBGT

Thanks for that. The mags will fit 29 easy. But to be reliable I have to load 26-27. I'll work on sanding/polishing right away. I didn't buy these nice basepads and follower kits to run 26-27.

STI tubes

Sorry. I'm shooting 38SC

I have 3 170mm mags all 3 tuned. All 3 have TTI follower and basepads. 1 of them runs great, but the other 2 have the same issue. I'll go through 3 or 4 rounds and the follower/spring get stuck in the tube and no longer follow the rounds to the top of the mag. With tension no longer on the rounds, you can actually turn the mag over and dump them out. It doesn't happen all the time, but enough that I give pause. It looks like the follower is rolled over sideways and wedged in the tube. Any ideas?, does the inside of the tube need to be polished? Follower trimmed? These are relatively new mags. BTW all 8 of my 140mm run perfectly.

This also wouldn't hurt.... http://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/Matt-Mclearn-Long-M2i-Firing-Pin-P449.aspx

Here is a DAA mount before and after I had it Cerakoted in graphite black.

I know there has been some stuff written about this. But the case sticking in the MBF powder die is driving me crazy. Anyone use the Dillon powder die instead of the one that comes with MBF? I know the MBF die does a great job of expanding the case just enough for the bullet to drop in perfectly, but the case sticking just sucks. Any thoughts or remedies? Would like to get back to the 650 running smoothly and don't want to use the Dillon die if I don't have to.

Not seeing Mink in results

Matt Mink at Automatic Accuracy makes awesome match ammo.

Matt Mink at Automatic Accuracy loads all kinds of ammo. I've bought .40 long from them before. If they don't have it listed on their site doesn't mean they don't have it.

What took so long!

Anyone use one in your open gun? Why or why not?

Some powders work better with different calibers. 3N38 seems to be the powder of choice with 38SC and 38Super folks. Although other powders will work, 3N38 is especially good in guns that need a lot of gas (i.e. guns with numerous holes - barrel and comp) I run 9.6g of 3N38, 1.235-1.240 OAL, 124MG in my 38SC Mclearn open gun that gets me 178pf that is nice and flat. However, I still run Autocomp at 7.5g and it performs almost, not quite, as well. I know guys use HS-6 too and have good luck with it. Autocomp seems to work very well in 9mm Major open guns and since not as much powder is needed, there is not as much limitations on case size. I know guys who run 9major and use 3N38 and HS-6 and several who use 3N37 and N350 too. My Autocomp load at 7.5g gets me about 170pf out of my 38SC Mclearn. Friend of mine ran the exact same out his Bedell gun and was at 174-175. Difference being my barrel has 3 popple holes his doesn't have any. I haven't been reloading long, so this is all new to me, pays to ask questions and experiment, find a low starting point and build your loads up slowly.

That's exactly what happened to me. Was working loads up last week and was getting 172pf with about 9.2g 3N38 but the dot was really jumpy. Ran the load up to 9.6g/178pf and the dot started to behave a lot better. It depends on the powder too. I tried autocomp at 7.5g for 170pf the dot seemed fine, although not as flat as the higher 3n38 load. . after the results I got from 3n38, I was curious what would happen, I tried bumping the autocomp load a little up to 7.7 and 7.9. The gun got really violent and the dot got a out of control, so the higher PF with the autocomp didn't have the same result as the 3n38 at higher PF. Granted I'm new to reloading but it doesn't take long to figure out how different EACH powder is and how different individual guns are.

Magnumtarget.com

This forum is a good place to start, as mentioned above. If you are going with a well marketed shop/smith, there is obviously going to be more information on them. And as also mentioned earlier, there are a good amount of local or regional guys that do amazing work and their guns run great. If a gun comes up for sale, do a little research and vetting and you will find enough guys who have used those builders to give you an opinion on their work. Just determine "brand" and go from there. Unless you buy SVI, Tanfoglio, CZ, or stock STI, most of the custom builders start with an STI 2011 frame as the foundation. As Atlas said, 2011 is the most popular platform in the open division. Don't be afraid to buy used. A gun with 20,000 rounds may seem like a lot, but in this sport, in my opinion, that's really not a lot, especially if the owner has properly maintained and taken good care of their gun(s). So vet the owner and don't be afraid to ask questions. On that note, if you buy used, I would bet that the original builder would accept the gun for a "tune up". In fact, I purchased a couple of open guns on the forum a few months ago, and the seller agreed to ship them to the builder for an inspection before purchase. After doing some minor work and other than some cosmetic wear from holster and general use, the guns run like new.

I know someone who loads both in his 9 major open gun, with the same OAL and same bullet. It takes almost a full grain more of HS6 to get the same velocity as the Autocomp. But, according to burn rate charts, Autocomp has a slower burn rate. I am new to reloading, so bare with me, when I ask this, but as you go down the burn rate chart, shouldn't you need more powder not less. Or is there a component to the formula I am missing here....?

Getting some loads worked up for my new open gun. Need a starting place, I'm reading loads that are all over the map I'm using 124MG JHP bullet These are the ranges I am finding OAL 1.225-1.255 9.4-10.4 grains 3N38 PF 165-180 Tell me what you are shooting and what gun setup you have (i.e. popple holes, no holes, etc) I am looking for 38SC data only.

I have virtually a brad new set of 4 TTI basepads for my 2011. Got home from a match the other day and noticed one of the pads had a missing retaining pin. Anyone have any issues with this coming out? I love the pads, but if this is an issue I might want to switch with something else. Does TTI sell replacements?

If you have 2 open guns Your "match" gun is 38SC Your "backup" gun is 9major What happens if your Match gun "breaks", is it a problem to use the backup gun even though it is not the same as the match gun? Please answer the question before you pontificate on "why would you want to have 2 open guns with 2 different loads?"

Anyone ever tried this with 38SC? Seeing lots of postings for use with 9major. I'm working up some loads and have a good amount of HS6 and Autocomp. Also 115 or 124g bullet? Remember this is for 38SC not 9 Major

Ok so after reading all that, it is ok to assume there is no reason, OTHER than brass cost, to choose 9mm over 38

9 out of 10 Open guns built today are probably 9's. At the Majors I shoot at and the locals around here only a few dinosaurs shoot 38. I tried to keep a count at the last Area match I worked but it was so overwhelmingly obvious that 9MAJOR was the caliber of choice that I quit counting. Have talked to many 38 shooters who said the only reason the keep shooting it is they don't want to spend the money to rebarrel and rework their 38's.38 is a dying breed. Since the mods have already homed in on me that's about all I'm allowed to say. I won't argue the point any more. Ok, so you've established that 38 is a dying breed and most people shoot 9major now. But other than brass cost, no one has stated an advantage of 9 over 38 super/supercomp. Still want to know as I am new to open.

I'm not stoking the fire here. But what are the other reasons other than brass cost to have a 9 major open gun vs 38 super/super comp?

^^^^what he said^^^^. Also, Steelmaster wasn't really made to run major power factor ammo. Comp, length of slide, etc all built for running factory 9mm ammo. Now you could run it in Open Division in USPSA but would be at a huge disadvantage with the minor scoring. Great gun for Steel Challenge though.