Hamar

I am not a Gunsmith. I have been an R&D Machinist for 26 years. I know my way around the machine shop and the equipment in it fully. I wanted to see what the big deal was concerning the building of a competition level 1911. It couldnt be all that hard right? I did build my own high cap. Para. I fit the slide to the frame, I fit the thumb safety, I even lightened the slide. I radiused all the edges on the frame and yes, I fit the Bull Barrel. Well, sort of. I was able to ask a friend who has built alot of Raceguns for some of the best shooters in the northeast alot of questions as I went. He was patient with me and gave me the hints I needed to do it right. When it came time to fit the barrel, I was doing ok, I did the frame cut, I fit the lugs, I fit the hood, I fit the bull barrel to the slide, then I moved along to fit the lower lugs. I understood the mechanics of the whole thing, sure. What I didnt understand was how quickly and how easy it would be to get too aggresive and go too far. It didnt take me long to find out. I went right ahead and almost ruined a brand new .40 Barsto Bull Barrel by over cutting the bottom lugs and it happened very quickly. I was fortunate to have my friend available to rescue me and save me the cost of a new barrel. My gun shoots well and I am happy with it. Very proud to have been able to build it. However, When it's time for my new open blaster to be built, I know I'll be asking my friend to build it for me. He knows these things way better than I and can get it done a whole lot faster. I'll stick with a professional and have a Gunsmith do it. Just my .02 from my own experience..........

I'd say combine the two. Zombies wandering aimlessly through a wallyworld after a devastating flood. Remember the myth that Zombies can only be killed by head shots. No no-shoots, just aisles of upper A/B zone targets (the rest of the target hard cover) at different heights and distances.

Eric, I agree. I was thinking that the center line mill may help with target alignment from wierd shooting positions. We shall see when I get a chance to shoot it. Thanks for the nice comments.

This was a used para frame that I had just hanging around. Those holes were once used to located and secure a thumb ledge. If I had them welded up, I would have gotten a funky discoloration in the hard chrome from the weld.

Thank you. That's for the trigger bow. They make an insert that goes on there but I didnt like it.

Whew! This is my brand new blaster. Older Para frame with STI slide. Barsto barrel. Plating by Tripp. This is my first attempt at building a rig from scratch. I did all the machine work and fitting. I did lean on a very good friend of mine to rescue me after I managed to screw up the lug cut on the barrel. I must give thanks to Dan S for the pointers and my constant questions. Well, I cant wait to shoot it. Comments are welcome good or bad.

Just to clarify for you, The BarSto pistol is essentially an STI. There are some minor differences but nothing that should stop you from buying a BarSto.

Ah yes, David Allen Coe. One of my all time favorites for sure. Along with Merle Haggard, Hank Sr. As for the New Country? It's not Country really. But I'll listen to Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and maybe George Strait. Allison Krause (sp) is a fantastice Bluegrass singer and her band it top notch. If you like bluegrass, take a listen to Del McCoury (sp)

Very cool! Congratulations!

Thank you Rob, I was in process of getting all that info together.

I know exactly what you mean....LOL

Good to hear you wont be going the combo route. We sold off the Bridgeports and bought a brandy new Prototrak DPM3. I wish you luck with whatever you do purchase.

I just sold two J head Bridgeports with tooling for $500. I would not buy a combo unit such as the Smithy. You will outgrow it's usefullness and find it's limitations a bother. Buy the open gun and have fun instead of sitting in your basement cursing at a machine that wont leave a nice finish...........

Bob, I'll try to find a copy of the Mass Regs and post a link here. Thank you.

Any chance on a Massachusetts compliance certification as well?

Boo, My comment was certainly true in my case anyway. Although it was better than ten years ago. I participated in an other areas Area match. I went there with my "C" card. I ended up 4th place over all and my Match percentage was around a 96 point something. I received a congratulations card and a nice hand written note from Val along with my new "M" card. I was anticipating an "A" card due to the classifier scores I was shooting at the time. I guess that my performance at that Area Match bumped my up. Do they do that anymore? I dont know for sure to tell you the truth. I've only just come back to the sport after 13 years.

I am building my first blaster right now. It is a .45 Para frame with a Barsto Bull .40 barrel and an STI .40 slide. The slide has been lightened a bit and custom milled. The gun will be sent to Tripp late next week for hard chrome. I'll post a couple pics when its back and all together. Sounds like exactly what you want to build! Just a heads up, It took five weeks to get the barrel from Barsto. You may want to order that asap if thats the route your going to take.

Shooting any major match will also help you get your classification. It may speed up the process too. Sedro will use your result percentage towards your classification. Go to the match, do well and enjoy yourself!

uscbigdawg, Wanted to drop a note to say thank you for your service. I also wanted to tell you that my Brother in Law is currently an SSG, in Iraq with the 3rd I.D. (stationed out of Ft. Benning). He's roaming around a couple FOB's in Northeastern Iraq near the Iran border. I am hoping to get him involved in USPSA and IPSC shooting when he returns. I will let him know that you fellers have squared away the barracks for their arrival home! Thank you !

Well, I started this shooting game back in 1989. I bought a Colt Delta Elite 10mm and showed up at a match cold. Liked what the game was all about and decided to become competitive. I shot the 10 stock for that whole shooting season. I finished that season as a D class shooter. Over the following winter, I installed a set of Bomars, Had a Barsto barrel with a dual port comp fitted and added a mag well and an ambi saftey. The following season I progressed but only to C class. I decided to get deeper and wanted to do way better so I had my local 'smith build me a 9x21 full race P9 (witness). Jerry hadnt shown up at the Nationals yet with the Pro Point so it too had iron sites. I started dry firing 1-1.5 hours every other day and shooting at practice, a 1000 rounds a month. "A" class came withing the first 3 months of 1991. When I "retired" in 1992, I was shooting the P9 with Optics and had just made the big M class. Along with the dry fire and live practice fire, some nights would find me in the back yard, four or five shooting boxes spread throught the place. Getting into and out of those boxes was worked on too. Getting "good" is about what you put into it. I filmed shooters like Robbie, Mark Mazzotta and others so I could sit at home and learn. My wife or another friend would video my stages so I could see what I was doing wrong or where I could make improvements. I am now back to shooting after 13 years of not even picking up any kind of firearm. I'm shooting factory ammo with a PF of around 195. I have won the L10 class now 3 times (out of 6 matches) and looks like I'll get classified as a solid B. Is that good? Well I'll leave that for others to decide. But, I know I dont have the time or energy as I did 13 years ago to devote to the sport. I'm happy and having fun doing just what I'm doing. If I get any better thats just the gravy on top! Having fun is what its all about.

Ron, I'm building this .40 myself. I've always wanted to bulid my own blaster so when a friend told me he had an old Para frame that he'd sell really cheap, I grabbed it. I'll post a pic when it's completed. When it's done, I'll then have the choice of shooting in L10 and in Limited and it never hurts to have another toy in the safe!

Thanks Joe! I knew the stuff was hot and I knew I was handicapping myself by shooting it. I should get the Dillon going!

Just shot this one recently: class U Limited 10 58pts 0 penalties 8.58 6.7599 hf Shot first string left to right, second string right to left. Finished the stage 4th over all behind a couple A class opens and a M class Limited. I felt pretty good, could have pushed faster but saw the sight on every shot and made a smooth reload.

Here is my blaster I'm shooting in Lim10. Nothing fancy but it shoots great!

I have just recently returned to the USPSA after a long vacation to do my share in raising my children. I pulled out the trusty .45 single stack and proceeded to shoot in the L10 class. I only have two 10 round mags and the rest on my non velcro belt only carry 8. My holster is the oldschool Safariland 008. I have yet to re-setup my dillon 550 so I'm shooting the winchester white box 230 fmj factory ammo (whats the PF on this stuff?). Ive shot maybe 6 local matches since I've returned to the sport, All 6 in L10. I've won the L10 class in 3 of them and finished 2nd in the remaining. I would have to say the the SS .45 is in fact competitive in the L10 class. I am however in the process of building a Para .40 so I can go play in the Limited class too.