AustinMike
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Posts posted by AustinMike
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I got soooo lucky when I found mine. Got it in San Antonio at a little gun shop there years ago. I stopped in while I was in town just to browse and my eye caught the Gold Hunter sitting on their used gun rack. It looked brand new. I asked to field strip it and it was clean as a whistle. How much? $475! I couldn't get my credit card out fast enough! They said someone bought it there and brought it back a few months later, needing money for Christmas. They must have stolen it back from him.
I've only used mine for skeet and trap over the years. I don't think I can bring myself to tear into it and give it the 3-gun treatment. I'll just be keeping my eyes peeled for the next sweet deal. They're out there, just gotta be patient and be ready to snatch 'em up quick!
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I've been using both. For IPSC major, 230gr. with Clays or VV N310 feels the softest to me. I tried several variations of 200gr. major loads, but the recoil seemed too harsh to me. I have noticed that guys who shoot a lot of Open guns prefer the lighter bullet, so I guess they're just used to the gun slamming into their hand. For Steel Challenge stuff, I've been using 200gr. bullets loaded at a minor level. Loading 230gr. minor feels too slow for fast steel stages. I'm thinking about trying some 185gr. for kicks.
I've used a lot of Rainier plated bullets in the past and those worked good (although my Kimber doesn't seem to like their SWC.) I've been using Precision moly coated bullets as a less expensive alternative lately. They shoot OK, but in my barrel they lead pretty bad. Other people don't have this problem and I think I've got a rough spot in my barrel. I also have to seat the bullets fairly deep to get them to feed reliably. I just got in some Zero 230gr. FMJs and so far I love them! Groups are tighter than other bullets I've tried and they aren't much more expensive than plated, considering that there are several vendors who will ship in USPS flat rate boxes. Unfortunately, Zero doesn't make a 200gr. RN, so I'll have to give their 185 or 200gr. JHPs a try.
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I noticed those on sale too. Tempting for the cool factor.
Since it wouldn't be legal for competition though, I think I'm going to save my money for more base pads. I got in on Midway's birthday deal this week for some other stuff. That's great that they started doing that!
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I don't consider myself to be a real competitive person, but I do like to know that I did the best I could possibly do. I try not to dwell to much on where I place in local matches right now. I know I'll be in the lower third most of the time, but above me will be be shooters who have been doing this a lot longer than me, many of them in Master and A class. I've only been doing this a few months, so while I strive to be my best, it's rather futile to think that I'm going place anywhere near a Master.
I love shooting the local matches and I'd like to shoot a major match someday, but that will probably be quite a ways off. Not placing real high in a local match is one thing, but I figure if I'm going to spend all the money for a high match fee, plus travel expenses, I'd like to go in thinking I've at least got a slim chance of winning something! I couldn't see spending all the cash just for fun, when I can shoot locally for a fraction of the cost. It's only $15-20 to get my butt kicked in a local match (and have a good time, of course.)
So, yes, all things considered, having "no hope of winning" does keep me from competing when we're talking big matches where there is considerable cost involved. The other thing for me personally is that I don't want to deal with the stress and pressure of trying to "shoot to win." Shooting, like my other hobbies, is something I do for enjoyment. It's an escape from the daily rat race. So, while I want to do my best and strive for the next level, I'm not willing to get all worked up over being a winning shooter and dealing with the potential disappointment. I do want to improve myself as a shooter over time, but I want to keep a balanced approach. If I push myself too hard, shooting becomes another job and I work way too much as it is! If it becomes stressful and not fun, it's time to back off.
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That's terrible news! I hope she is alright. Sorry to hear this, Chuck. You're in my thoughts & prayers.
-Mike
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Scott at SDM informed me that the Millet actually sits about .050" higher than the factory rear. It's all making sense now.
[Foghorn Leghorn voice on] I knew, I say I knew, something wasn't addin' up! [Foghorn Leghorn voice off]
I put my slide rule away and I've got an order in for the .360"\.300" combination! Thanks again, ya'll!
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A Used Trojan
I wasn't so sure I wanted to see the picture after reading the title!
Great gun pic!
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I got my first card based on the initial 4 out of 5 classifiers that show up out there. I've shot more, but I guess they're running behind with updates. I've got one 'C' level score on record so far. Gotta practice, practice, practice!
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Dude, you just had three of us tell you exactly what sights to order!
I think you're making this a little too complicated.
Yeah, I tend to over analyze everything!
I'll quit fretting and place an order.Thanks for the help!
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Thanks for the recommendation, ya'll! I'm going to have to go make sure where the gun is hitting for sanity before I order. With the .270" front post and the ~.370" rear (kind of hard to measure on the gun), I've got the rear dialed up a good ways. From the bottom of the frame notch to the top of the rear blade is about .400", so about .030" elevation added. That would seem to indicate that I'd need to have a blade that would reach .430" from frame to top of blade if the front sight increased to .300". With a .360" blade, that would be an additional increase of about .040" (about .070") in elevation from where I'm at now, assuming that's what it takes. That seems like a lot (of course, it's getting late and I'm bad enough at math when I'm not tired - this hurts!)
I only shot this gun a few times after I bought it (caught a deal too good to pass up) and set it aside until I had time\money to work with it, so another trip to the range may be in order before I get the sights ordered, just to be sure where its hitting.
Thanks,
Mike
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Thanks for the info, Cautery. I suspected mine may need a little more modification in the area you described. I'll take a closer look and I may end up just letting Ralph touch it up. I did get through a long match last time I used it without the trigger jam happening. It may have smoothed out on its own (I hope!)
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The trigger safety needed to be trimmed back just a hair more, but that was a non-issue, especially knowing that I wasn't finished anyway...
I'm curious about where you are trimming. I got one of Ralph's kits a few weeks back and it feels great, but on rare occassion I've had the trigger safety lever kick out so far as to jam against the frame behind the trigger when I go to pull it, right below the slot where it's supposed to tuck into the frame. When this happens, it takes either a forceful trigger pull or flick against the trigger to knock it loose. This has happened a few times on the first shot from draw and never during a course of fire. It's rather hard to reproduce, but Ralph said he'd be happy to take a look. I was planning to shoot it a bit more first and see it will just break in on its own. I'm wondering if I just need to trim a little off the back of the trigger safety lever?
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Go with the .360" Millett and the .300" SDM f/o up front.
One thing I forgot to mention. I do prefer to aim at the 6 o'clock position on the target (pumpkin on a post view.) Would the .360" rear blade work with the tall .300" front without having to crank the elevation near max? Just want to make sure I've got enough wiggle room.
Thanks!
-Mike
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I've shot both .40 (Limited) and .45 (Limited 10) intermixed the past month and I don't really see one as shooting "softer" than the other. The .45 is kind of like a slow "shove" and the .40 is more of a fast "punch." It's really a personal preference as to what you want the gun to feel like. With either caliber, you can tinker with loads and springs to change the feel. I'm fairly new to competition shooting, so my mind is probably on a lot more things than recoil when I'm shooting a match, so I may think differently down the road. Neither one really feels better over the other, at least at this point.
I prefer reloading .45 for reasons Dave (XRE) already mentioned. There's a lot of room to play and I don't have to be picky about brass. I use just about any range scrap that will hold the bullet and reload 'em until they crack or get lost (usually the latter.) I'd be a lot pickier with the higher pressure .40.
I like my 1911 .45 a lot and in most matches, it's fine even though I have to reload a time or two more than other shooters. At the recent Coleman "extreme round count" match, I opted for my .40 Glock 22 and 20 round mags!
At steel matches, I still like to shoot my .45 and mag changes aren't an issue with the 5 shot strings (unless I'm having a REALLY bad day!) Dave teases me about how long it takes the steel to ring after the shot. He's just jealous because I've got time to grab a drink while I'm waiting for the bullet to get to the gongs on Outer Limits! 
I have been loading lighter 200gr. bullets lately for steel and using 230gr. for IPSC. The 230gr. feels better to me at major PF.One thing I do like is that very few other shooters are shooting .45 at local matches, which makes it a lot easier to find my brass!
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I'm looking at replacing the sights on my 5" 625-3 Model of 1989. I'm kind of confused about what size (height) to get. The current front blade (which I assume is factory) is about .270" high and .125" wide. The rear seems to be somewhere around .370" high (also factory, adustable.) The rear notch is .125" wide.
I'm wanting to go with SDM fiber optic front, as I'm enjoying the fiber optic sights I've installed on my semi-autos. I think the .250" high would work with the factory rear. The .300" would probably be too tall, unless I replaced the rear. Is it worth replacing the factory rear sights for Millet? If so, what is the recommended SDM/Millet combination with a 5" barrel? (.300" front and .410" rear? .250" front and .360" rear? none of the above?)
I did some searching out here, but I remain confused.
Thanks in advance!
-Mike
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Just be glad you don't live in San Francisco! Proposed San Francisco Gun Ban
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Local place or ??
I have a 35, want to do the same thing: get a 17 and a 22 as well.
Summit Gun Broker Mark is a great guy to deal with. The rebuilds I got from him look like new, come in a new box with 3 new mags, with a lifetime warranty, and run great!
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Buy both, I did!
I found a dealer selling factory rebuilds for cheap and got one of each. G17 for production and steel, G22 for limited. -
I received my first classification card from USPSA today. I'm officially a 'D' shooter. Sigh...gotta start somewhere.
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I hate those under-bed spare tire mounts too. Guaranteed to get you dirty and aggravated. My F-150 has a useless bottle jack stored in the engine compartment. I keep a floor jack behind the bench seat. I found one at one of the auto parts stores in a plastic case and it fits just right back there.
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I'm not sure. I'll have to measure it when I get a chance. I didn't specify anything when I ordered, other than the .100" width. I got the Dawson rear sight together with it.
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SWEET!!!!
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I'm using an Uncle Mike's with a G22 and Dawson sights. No problem with fit, but I guess there could be tolerance differences.
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That was a really fun match for me, even though I didn't shoot all that great. Wow, definitely a lot of stuff there beyond my skill level, but everyone was super nice and it was a fun, casual match atmosphere. Many kudos to the Coleman folks for putting together a great match and super challenging stages! "Make it stop" really kicked my butt the first time, but I got some pay-back on those damn Texas Stars by buying a reshoot! I had to reshoot the Train stage just because it was so fun!
Way to go, Austin "Super Squad!"
Since it wouldn't be legal for competition though, I think I'm going to save my money for more base pads. 
So, yes, all things considered, having "no hope of winning" does keep me from competing when we're talking big matches where there is considerable cost involved. 
I have been loading lighter 200gr. bullets lately for steel and using 230gr. for IPSC. The 230gr. feels better to me at major PF.
Powder Volume/bulk
in 44/45 Caliber
Posted
My experience with Titegroup is that it works better in hotter loads. I personally didn't like it at all with 230gr. bullets. It did better for me with 200gr. bullets. It's VERY dense and you can barely see the charge in .45 cases. I prefer Clays myself. It's "fluffy" and much easier to see in the case. It burns clean and recoil is soft. I haven't had metering problems with my Dillon press. I'm currently experimenting with N310 and it's also very nice. Not sure if it offers enough advantage over Clays to justify the extra expense, especially with minor loads.