Bamboo

IMO The heart of the kit is a mandrel for forming the lips, works for STI, caspian and tanfo mags. The fence ring pliers, diamond files, vid, etc. are just a bonus. The kit doesn't include a hammer, BTW. Is it worth 100 bucks? I didn't feel cheated.

Agreed, the lanolin based Dillon case (or Midsouth) lube works well to keep things clean. BTW - Fluid Film is also lanolin based. There is something about the lanolin that works well to keep the comps from crudding up and makes them easier to clean. If I'm going to shoot lead (cast bullets) I'll use a q-tip with some Fluid Film lanolin based wire rope grease/fluid film liquid/dillon case lube and wipe the interior of the comp down. I've also tried things like tri-flow, wd40, or breakfree and the lanolin based stuff seems to work much better and last longer. Been shooting cast lead in my PCC and it works there, also.

^^^ What jcc7x7 said. Unless the frame is already cut for a ramped barrel there is no advantage in a .45 1911.

Welcome and you might want to check out the 2nd Sunday of the Month Action Steel match at PMRPC. Lots of fun - like a cross between USPSA and steel challenge. It is on practiscore now if you want to sign up.

I load some flake powders like Clay Dot, American Select, and 700x and I think that polishing the interior helped the throw consistency. If I got a new power measure I'd polish the inside.

https://cpwsa.com/products/guga-ribas-c-more-scope-protector It looks better in person. The guy who showed it to me said it works pretty well in the Florida sun. I've been using a 6moa or 8moa dot (definitely brighter than the 6moa, BTW) on C-mores and haven't had a problem unless the sun is very low and behind my back, which is a situation I don't think the sunshade would help.

I hear the GR sunshade help a lot and it just snaps on.

Indeed, Fluid Film is great stuff and good at preventing compensator junk buildup. Can also mix it with a little MEK or Acetone and let it sit in the comp as the penetrating fluid to help lift the gunk off...but you still have to do the mechanical scraping. Not sure I'd use that much heat on a comp to melt lead, some are held on with loctite which heat affects.

Nobody knows. I have used the PSA lower with KVP uppers, and know of others who have used the PSA lower with parts uppers. They all run fine.

Just as a data point - I've chronoed 115gr Winchester white box 9mm out of my 16" pcc at 1400fps (about 160pf). I find the 16" pcc gains about 15-20 pf over my 9mm gamer pistol loads shot from a 5" gun Good Luck!!

Ihoward762 - the extra .001 would be nice if you are shooting coated or cast lead, but if you run only .355" plated it probably won't matter. I got mine from Brownells, but understand you can order direct and even tailor the throat profile if you want a custom reamer. You are correct, the bare metal exposed from reaming won't wear noticeably faster in a 9mm luger pcc, especially at our gamer velocities. So, no worries there at all. I do wish Faxon/Kaw Valley would change their chambering tooling so the barrels would take longer loaded bullets. Stock, the Kaw Valley won't take many common factory loads without jamming the bullet into the rifling (won't pass the plunk test), which is kind of nuts. But, once reamed I've had no issues and the kaw valley barrel at 19 ounces is light and handles well. I'm slowly piecing together another PCC with a kaw valley barrel and am thinking of doing some bench rest accuracy testing with quality jacketed bullets and a high power target scope (T-36) and see what type of groups it yields at 100 and 200 yards.

Agreed, try some real jacketed bullets (zero, precision delta, montana gold, hornady, etc.) and try again. If you are still having issues check your comp alignment to make sure you aren't touching the baffles as the bullet passes. I bet it is ether the bullets, or the comp alignment. I have a super with a well used wilson barrel and you can hardly see the rifling in it anymore, but it will still shoot >2" at 25 yds. off bags. FWIW - I haven't had good luck with any plated bullets I tried even though i know some who do, I've had better results with coated or plain lead. Jacketed are best, though. And yes - Nowlin makes a very good barrel. If you are retrofitting the barrel into an existing gun just make sure it has the wilson/nowlin ramp cut.

I throat reamed my KVP 16" 9mm barrel with very little drama. I'm setting a second identical gun up (but with iron sights) and will be reaming that one soon. Since I had a Manson reamer I started with that one as Mansons are pretty cheap and I already owned it, then finished it off with a Clymer reamer i got for that job. The Clymer is about .001" larger diameter than the Manson and is a bit better if you are going to shoot coated lead bullets. I've got almost 3k of lead/coated bullets down the pipe of mine and it is plenty accurate (minute of paster at the 20-25 yard range off bags) and i don't get leading, even when using cast lead (not coated) bullets. Use lots of lube and go slow. There are different lubes that people have success with like heavy cutting oil (Ridgid pipe threading oil), but I've used Automatic Transmission Fluid either straight or with a splash of kerosene or JetA and have always had good finished results so that is what I used. I had never throated a blow back rifle before and started a thread to ask if anyone knew of any pitfalls of throating a blow back rifle, and the thread became several pages with lots of people sharing their experience. The title of the thread is: "Throat Ream 9mm PCC?" you can search for it and get more info there.

That is some great powder for 38 super w/124gr bullets at major. If you wanted some faster powders to try in your pcc you may be able to find a local open shooter and trade some of the SR4756 for a cleaner powder. (if you are in the Central Florida area, i would). I've had really good luck with American Select and Vectan GM3 - both burn cool and leave the PCC very clean with no junk or chunks. Just a little light soot that is hardly noticeable and wipes away easily. Shot a steel match yesterday with 125 grainers loaded with the last of some ww231 I had. WW231 is a great powder but the compensator, lower and bolt needs a good cleaning now. So, I am in the faster powder camp. Low NG content or single based preferred.

De nada. I really like American Select. Let us know how it works out for you.

I I don't know of any aftermarket drop in releases, but I have two caspian wide bodies and they have both been "drilled and tapped" for a mag release button. The Ed Brown is a nice button and isn't too bulky. As rishii says, they are hard. If you don't have the right stuff might want to send the mag release to a gunsmith who can do the job for you. Busting off a tap in the hole is a real bummer.

Chopper94 - Out of a DW PM9 1911 (5") I get the following with American Select: 147gr SNS FP at 1.135" OAL 3.0gr American Select = 126pf 3.2gr American Select = 129pf 125gr Lead RN at 1.120" OAL 3.8gr American Select = 128pf 4.0gr American Select = 131pf If using coated bullets add about 2-4 pf to the above. As a reference this is what I get with Nobel Vectan GM3: 147gr Bayou FP at 1.135" OAL 3.0gr GM3= 128pf 125gr Lead RN at 1.120" OAL 3.3gr GM3= 125pf 3.6gr GM3 = 131pf If using coated bullets add about 2-4 pf to the above. 135gr Bayou RN at 1.140" OAL 3.2gr GM3= 127pf 3.4gr GM3 = 132pf All of these are accurate (<2" at 25yd off bags). and both are very clean burning powders with soft recoil. Nobel says GM3 is around AA#5 or SR7625 and I just am not getting chrono data that supports that...it seems to be a much faster burning powder...similar to American Select. Interestingly, in PCC I can load 2.8gr of either GM3 or AS with a 135gr SNS and get the same velocities (130pf), same POI, and same recoil feeling. Good Luck and always use a chrono when developing loads!

The Leupold is a nice scope, and it is 250 bones with a $50 gift card as a bonus at Midway...so the actual cost is 200 bones.

Ok, I misunderstood. Sorry. I use and like AA#7 for major. In my guns with 5.4" barrel with three ports i get 170-ish pf with 124gr jhp at 1.235" with 10.2gr AA#7. Been chroming this load for the last three lots I've used (all post 2012 and made at St. Mark's in Florida) and it has been very consistent, so 10.0gr is not a bad place to start and adjust as required.

Double post, sorry.

AA#7 is great for major loads in the 38 super, not so great for low minor or power puff loads used for steel challenge as it tends to burn dirty at low pressures...which is what I think your SC stands for? If you can, try a faster powder. The usual suspects like 700x, WST, WW231, red dot, American select, etc. will all be much cleaner burning and give you less recoil. You may have to tinker with your springs and load up to what runs your gun to run the lighter loads if the gun was set up for major.

I agree with what KneeingAtlas mentioned. Also, might want to have an old open dog shoot your gun with your ammo to get their input. It could be your grip or some spring/firing pin stop tweaking might help. Lots of good shooters used the cheely comp, so a new comp won't help if there are other issues involved. Shooting an open gun isn't as easy as some make it look. Good luck!

Kaw Valley has this note posted with their bolt carriers for PCC: Many after market drop in triggers use modified hammers and can be temperamental in Blowback systems. For the most consistent results a mil-spec fire control group is recommended. However, in our testing, these aftermarket fire control groups should work in most circumstances: POF, Hiperfire EDT and 24 series, Geissele, Timney, Rock River, and Spikes. I've had good experiences with the POF triggers and is what I have been using mostly (about 2.5k rounds now). I tried a Timney 3 pound trigger for a few hundred rounds and it worked fine, too. The hyperfire 24c seems to be popular with the PCC'ers here on the forums and at matches, and is the most common after market trigger I've seen in PCC guns at matches.

Sorry to hear wideners is getting out of the primer/powder biz. They were always a solid source. Maybe it is only temporary.

Yeah, that is weird. I have the Widener's Flier for this week and they advertised Auto Comp for $107/8lb. and CFE pistol was on sale also. Probably a webpage mistake. Call them if you want the powder and they can probably help you.