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My firing pin broke at a match the weekend before the Lucas Oil PCC Championship. The tip that hits the primer was misshapen and it was snapped in half right where it goes from thick to thin. This was a Taccom, but not one of their newer ones with the larger strike face in the rear. In any case, I also use a Hiperfire 24C and was using the heaviest springs(silver), which have higher hammer drop energy by roughly 35% according to the instructions. This delivers the lightest trigger pull. When you said you were using the "lightest" springs, did you mean the lightest springs or the springs that deliver the lightest trigger pull? Just curious...after replacing the firing pin, I've decided to try the yellow springs to see if it makes this one last longer. It should supposedly deliver "low-end stock hammer energy".

If you shoot indoors frequently, you probably have bigger things to worry about than the coated projectiles. Most lead exposure is going to come from the primers. There's lead-free options, but so far, I haven't found them to be as reliable or readily available. Good ventilation is a must, and even so, you're going to get more exposure indoors than outdoors. As for the heavy smoke, this isn't a guaranteed thing with coated bullets...it's usually caused by poor powder choice and/or over-crimping and breaking the coating. One thing I've learned from talking to reloaders locally is that about 90% of them have no idea what their crimp measurement is on their pistol loads...bad loading habits are all too common =/

I shot a RIA Pro match 40 for a season, and it was honestly a lot of gun for the money. Eventually I got a CK Arms with a plastic grip. It shot great and was definitely more accurate at longer distances, but after about a season of shooting it, I just couldn't shake how much I liked the extra weight from the RIA. Ended up selling the RIA to fund a metal grip to fit to the CK. I only got to shoot a few matches before I had to focus on PCC for a bit because the Lucas Oil match was coming up, but I was definitely getting more alphas overall after the change. Seemed like a lot of doubles that were previously alphas with a close charlie were now more likely to be two alphas. I'm more of a medium grip-strength shooter when I'm going as fast as I can, and I usually bear down more for harder targets. If you always do a death-grip, I suspect it may not be as helpful...

I checked it out a while back, and it seems like a good powder. Mostly been using Prima V and Prima SV. It metered well, gave good accuracy and pretty much checked all the boxes. Still, just like with PV and PSV, I had hard time trying to get myself to settle on it due to possible availability issues. Currently checking out Sport Pistol as a possible go-to powder.

Wish I could have seen him shoot, he must have been a beast. Was definitely a different kind of match than I'm used to; The PPCC thing from above is pretty accurate. The added challenge of playing around in mud soup on Friday made it even more interesting lol...glad everyone who shot the next two days got better weather.

I don't have any special knowledge on this, but I'd think it would make sense to go back to a more basic lineup of good quality pistols. From the beginning, I just haven't understood why they would ditch all of their normally priced models and replace them with flashy looking factory guns that cost just as much as custom/semi-custom and based on reports seem to have more problems. FWIW, we have two SHOT 2017 models in the house that my wife and I use for 3gun. We got a good price on them and they run great, which is the niche that I always thought STI filled - that price point between the non-modular metal guns and custom/semi-customs.

Pretty happy with the TTI.

Mostly 6 for the outdoor ones. Sometimes, on really hot months, they take it down to 5.

This is normal - to an extent - but you must be sure of why the shortening is happening. So what do I mean? If you chamber a round over and over, even a factory round, it may get shorter by a few thousandths. You should never do this with ammunition you intend to shoot. This is normally from the feed ramp and will probably vary depending on the firearm being used. Depending on the feed angles, some firearms will push the bullet up he feedramp and others may nearly launch it right into the chamber and hardly touch the feed ramp. The amount you are describing could absolutely be very dangerous and does not sound normal. One important question is whether or not the bullet is being jammed into the rifling. If that is the case, then your bullet setback will be even more extreme than in the above scenario and you have a potentially dangerous situation on your hands - possibly even he first time you chamber that round. Did you determine the length at which your bullet touches the lands to be sure that this isn't the case here? Last, your crimp doesn't hold the bullet in place. If you are getting significant setback under normal circumstances where the bullet is not impacting the lands, then you need to be looking at your sizing die and make sure that it is providing adequate neck tension. If the die you have isn't providing the needed tension with proper adjustment, you may need to look into a different one, possibly even a U-die.

Yeah, that's pretty crappy. I've never noticed any relation to the number of rounds I get out of them as much as to the weather. Long matches on really hot days seems to be what kills them the fastest to me. The ones I've had that lasted the longest(aside from the Talons on my G17 that wasn't used as much as some of my others) have been Traction Grips. They're actually cheaper too, so that's a bonus. Only found them because when I was looking for some for my X-Calibur, they were the only ones I could find that had them.

Just got my 34 Gen5 a couple weeks ago. Earlier this week I did a TTI trigger kit and Dawson Precision Gen5 MOS sights. Pretty happy with it currently! I was actually a bit frustrated testing the changes at the range yesterday because I was clearing plate racks quicker with the Glock than my 9mm 2011 for 3gun =/

A few thoughts... 1. ES isn't as critical in pistol shooting as rifle for your practical shooting sports. I've had loads where the ES was over 60 that were more accurate than other loads where it was less than 20. The distances, in general, just aren't far enough for it to make a huge difference. 2. If you aren't happy with your ES, it's probably not the mixed cases. I use mixed cases and have loads that end up with 30 ES or less...sometimes considerably less. I was ladder testing yesterday and had two out of five steps where one was ES 14 and one was ES 15 at the higher end of the charge data. 3. Most of the time your variation will become less as you approach the higher end of load data. For this reason, it's harder to make these numbers look good with "ultra soft loads". 4. It probably doesn't apply here since you're loading soft loads, but if you're getting that kind of variation on loads that are on the higher end of the data, the problem is more likely to be inconsistent powder drops than mixed cases. At some of my steps, 0.2 was making a 60fps difference in velocity, so throw that variation on top of the 30 ES from the lower end of load data and you can see where this is going... 5. For softer loads, you can try shortening your OAL to increase pressure, and hopefully improve these numbers. You must re-work your whole ladder test if you do this, because you can increase pressures significantly by doing this. Always load safe!

Proper prep is key to making them last longer - longer being the key word. Alcohol to clean, let dry, and then heat and pressure for application. Still, I've come to start thinking of these as consumable items...they work for a bit, then when you're shooting on some 100 degree day, they start to come off. The guns that get used the most, they last the least amount of time. On the occasional blasters, they last for years. My Glock 17 is finally starting to peel after about 5-6 years

Personally, I'd go with the STI for a lot of reasons. I started USPSA with a RIA Pro Match, which is basically an all steel double stack 1911 like the Remingtons, so I have some experience there. Now I shoot a CK Arms in USPSA and a limited SHOT 2017 STI for 3gun. My dad has the Hawk for 3gun, so I've gotten some hands on with it. I haven't shot the Remington double stacks, but I've shot some of their 1911's. 1. It's S70, while I'm fairly sure the Remingtons are S80. 2. It's modular and can grow with you. Naturally there are parts you can replace on both guns, but on the STI you can stipple and/or replace the whole grip. 3. Quality. Yes, there are better options than STI at a price premium, but as far as factory pistols go I just don't think the two brands are comparable. 4. Resale value. If you decide to sell for any reason, whether you are getting out of the sports or just moving onto something nicer, the STI is going to hold value better. 5. Fairly sure the Remingtons use a lot of MIM parts, while I seem to recall hearing that STI isn't using any MIM nowadays. 6. Your magazines will be useless if you get the R1 and later switch to a 2011 platform. If you start with the Hawk, you could sell the firearm and use the mags in your next upgrade. Sounds silly, but you'll find that magazines are quite expensive, so this adds up. Now, none of this is to say that big cheap steel 2011 knock-off's don't have a place. They do...I started with one, and for $800 I don't think it could have been beat. All that said, my advice is to take them for what they are - a cheaper option to get into the double stack 1911 game. Except the R1 isn't really much cheaper, so what's the point? If I wanted a cheaper option to get started, I'd go with a MAC or RIA. If I had $1500 to spend, as you say, I'd choose the STI for all of the reasons I mentioned above. Just my two cents...

My frame is CK Arms, so I cannot say whether my experience will apply to people with frames from other manufacturers. All of the fitting I had to do on the grip itself was on the block that fits up into the frame. They had to be filed down slightly, and then the front and top edge of the blocks were filed slightly to get the grip bushings to line up properly with the holes on the grip. Where the top of the grip meets the frame on the back where your hand would go was already lined up very well and I did not do any blending there as a result. The most involved and time consuming part of what I had to do was blending the beaver tail to the frame. Since it came with the grip, it was already blended to the grip very well, but not so much on the frame. Pretty much all of the edges extended past the frame on the top and bottom of it and needed to be blended. This, of course, is probably by design so that you can be sure to get a good end product without modifications to the frame. If the opposite were true, you'd have to file on your frame to get a good blend. Hope that helps!

I just fit my E2 last night and will get it out to be finished tomorrow. I've never held an EVO, so I'm not going to talk about something I have no knowledge of. That said, I wouldn't describe the E2 as "not grippy at all"...I had seen some people describe it as a sort of "medium" texture and was actually surprised at how grippy it is compared to my expectations based on other people's descriptions. That's not intended as an insult Maximis228, just my personal opinion. Haven't shot it yet since I just got it fitted/blended last night, but the E2 seems very comfortable and (IMHO) plenty grippy.

CR Speed works good and are cheap. Mine also seem to fit in my Ghost360 and DAA pouches fine as well.

From what I've seen, PV and PSV both take a long time for the powder to actually settle. I don't let the hopper drop under half full to be sure that everything is well settled before it gets to the bottom of the hopper. The real issue is that because it takes so long to settle, it can be frustrating. I've had times where I did 20-30 drops and thought it was settled because it seemed steady, ran some rounds and checked and was half a grain or so higher than previously. Once it is finally settled though, it seems to be good for the long haul, but you have to play that game again if you empty the hopper at any point. Both are great powders as long as you are aware of that. I recently started testing BA 9 1/2 and initial results look promising. Supposed to be similar to N320, but it definitely seems to meter better.

I have shot CZ-style firearms that friends own and ran the RIA Pro Match for a season of USPSA, so I'll share my thoughts. The RIA is nice for the money, but set your expectations properly. It's not going to be custom-gun accurate, but it's plenty accurate for the sport and really heavy, so it soaks up the 40 S&W recoil easily. Being based on the 1911, if you're familiar with that and appreciate everything that entails, then that is it's own benefit. On the downside, the finish leaves a lot to be desired and it has some rough edges. Would have been nice if it were deburred from the factory. Mine was 100% reliable from the factory and would eat any ammo I fed it. My experience with the CZ-style firearms hasn't been bad and they are great products. The safety has never really worked as well for me, so that is one of my main complaints on the platform itself. Aside from that, it seems that everyone I know who shoots one complains about getting parts and finding gunsmiths to service them. I've been told there's like one place local that works on them here, and of course you can send it off for service if you don't mind rolling the dice on when you might get it back. If you're one of the "home gunsmith" types, then that may not bother you. I figured I'd upgrade to an actual modular 2011 at some point, so I went with the RIA that I did some small upgrades on myself and was happy until I moved on.

Thanks for the extra info there! Been wanting a 2011 3gun pistol, but since that's only 25% of the matches I do, I really didn't want to pay as much as I did for my Limited one. Was pretty excited when I saw their post about these.

Honestly, as long as you are always following rule #3, there should be no issue. You are 100% correct about that, but the faster people go, the more like they are to make mistakes. No matter how fast you draw, if you leave the manual safety on until you clear your body, you're not going to leave with any extra holes that you didn't have at the beginning of the day. I'm not comparing apples to oranges here. If you can have an added level of safety at no real cost to your performance, there is no reason not to do it, regardless of whether it's any different than drawing a striker-fried pistol. Just my two cents; I'm not here to impose my will on anyone else. You do you.

On another note, CK posted a while back that they would have a line called "The Solution" that is more budget oriented. Still custom-fit and no MIM parts, but less bells and whistles when it comes to fancier parts, slide cuts, stippled grips, etc. I think the starting price for those was going to be around $2150 for a limited pistol if I recall. IMHO, the "STI" or semi-custom choice is about to get a lot easier since you can't find much from STI for under $2500 these days. The Hawk and Marauder are all that comes to mind.

I generally disengage it just before I get it up to where I will obtain my sight picture. I have seen some shooters disengage it as soon as their hand comes into contact with the holstered pistol, but I feel like that would make for a pretty nasty ND. I think the earliest place you should even consider disengaging it is after it clears your thigh/foot area. That said, I'm just another lowly B-class shooter, so take that FWIW.

I just got my wife set up with a RO Elite Target 9mm for single stack, and I'm pretty happy with it. Ran out of the box, accuracy is good, and fit/finish are solid for the price range. All I did was put an extended magazine release on it and a DP magwell. Between that and a RIA, I'd make the same choice again, based on my experience with my RIA Pro Match 40. While I like my RIA, and it works quite well, the fit/finish leaves a lot to be desired. I'm sure there are better options, but not without a significant jump in price range, IMHO.

I use the ACT ones at the link below with Dawson Precision base pads and TTI followers (I dremeled them a bit). They easily fit 21 reloadable. You can fit the 22nd in, but it's REALLY tight. Starting a stage with 22 rounds is nice. Think they cost me ~$60 each. https://gregcotellc.com/cart/armscorrock-island-armory-c-152/rock-island-armory-1911-a2-40sw-10mm-16-rd-or-p16-oemp164015b-p-1612.html