matteekay

Oh wow. Yeah, that'll probably stand for a while, lol.

I liked that stage at IRC '18... but it didn't have the spinner back then. What's the bounty?

Wait until you try to insert a moonclip full of spent brass...

I've been a good(?) little boy and read through the whole thread! A few quick follow-up questions: What's been more popular for opening up the gas ports - #32 drill bit (.116) or #29 (.136)? Is there any fear of going too big? It looks like most people regard the perpetually unavailable Advanced Tactical long compensator as the most effective. Has anyone used their medium version? It's actually in stock, but the porting looks wildly different. I guess the Grizzly Gunworks one is the only other option. Thanks again for the wealth of information!

This is awesome information. Thank you both!

All right, I guess I'm headed back to the beginning. I'll probably skip Genesis, though - the "begat"-ing gets tiresome after a while.

Boy howdy, I'm late to this party. I just picked up a VR80 (also my first semi-auto shotgun) and I'm looking for a little guidance on: Break-in procedure Cleaning Ammo preferences When to use the "heavy load" vs "light load" gas ring The manual is a little... wanting. Is there a good "starter" thread for these guns? I'm sure there's a ton of info here but it's a little hard to extract from 59 pages and counting. Thanks!

Ditto. Instead, I suffer in 6-shot major. Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

I have four Chiappa Rhinos. Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

They do! I have them in my big mags and they engage the lock with one round left. I tried swapping them into the 10-round tube and they still don't give quite enough room to fit #10.

Oh, I am! I got a pair of 10-round tubes with some 126's I bought; I figured I can stick guts in them and have them as backup mags, if nothing else. They'd work well as a third mag, too, since there's no reload after that. Thanks for the help!

Why else would I want 10-round mags?! 2011's are legal in CDP and ESP, provided they meet all weight and size requirements. Or, if you're a crazy person like me, you can mill it for an optic and run in Carry Optics. I took your advice on the followers and ordered a set. I can either learn to count or use standard 126's for mags 1 and 2, and then use the 10-rounder for mag 3.

That's really good to know! The only downside I can see is that those won't engage the slide lock. For IDPA purposes, having it function is pretty handy. On the other hand, I bet I can count to ten...

Boy, that's a lot of qualifiers... Hello! Like the title says, I'm assembling some STI 126mm 10-round 45 ACP magazines (gen 1 tubes). I tried using gen 1 followers and 11-coil springs, and they feed very well, but it's literally impossible to get the 10th round in there (to say nothing of being reloadable). Does anyone know if there's a different spring I should be looking at? Do people trim the 11-coil guys? Thanks!

Thanks for the reply! Using the MSH and grip safety from the 1911 had the same effect. I finally got smart and took apart my other 2011 and tried swapping the parts from that. Great success - the same grip safety that wasn't working with my current MSH *did* work with the one out of my other 2011. It looks like the curved-bottom STI housings are slightly taller than your standard 1911. As a bonus, the grip safety was even functional once I pulled the pin from the MSH, so all I'll need to do now is get an STI-style MSH.

Hey all, I'm retrofitting a non-pinned grip safety to my 2011 for some IDPA hijinks. I picked up a memory bump unit from Fusion and it seems to be too short? With everything installed, it can pivot out past the mainspring housing without the "ears" making contact. I moved it into a 1911 frame and everything fits fine there; I also tried a different MSH in the 2011 frame with no success. I bought this gun used so I don't have exact specifics, but it's an STI 2011 frame with an Extreme Shooters grip. The current beavertail also looks like it would be too short if it wasn't pinned. Is this a common issue? Is there a grip safety that's known to work?

I never solved that part. The shaving issue got better with the correct stem, but I still saw enough of it at the base that I eventually changed to FMJ bullets. Then sold the SDB and ordered the 45 conversion kit for my 650, lol.

Would 2011's qualify for CDP if they make weight and are chambered in .45 ACP? Like a lot of people, I kind of assumed they wouldn't be allowed, but I don't see anything under the newer ruleset that prevents them (other than caliber, size, and weight).

That's a very good callout. I'm aware of this and load faster than I need to (in all powders, actually). I still clocked at 172ish PF out of a 4" barrel in nearly 100-degree temps at the IDPA state championship. I load to the low-ish end of my ladder but never the very bottom.

I'm a big fan of WST for .45 (and now I'm using it in .40 S&W). Clean, meters well, makes power easily, and inexpensive.

6-shot, which is ideal for USPSA Revo major and IDPA. Works great for ICORE Limited 6, too, just a little extra hand-slappy.

Not bad, actually. If you're into full-blown race holsters, Ghost makes a model specifically for the Rhino that works really well. I use the Chiappa/Ghost molded plastic one for the 6" Rhino - I've cut it all the way down to the front sight so it's a pretty short draw. Unfortunately, the Ghost hole spacing doesn't align with anyone else's so I made my own hanger for it. There's lots of companies making Kydex holsters for the Rhino - my favorite is Dara. I bought their IDPA holster and then trimmed it down to the smallest it can go and still be IDPA legal. Like most companies, they only make a holster for the 4" Rhino (there are only two Rhino holster drones on the market - a 2" and a 4"). The good thing is that Chiappa uses one frame and attaches the longer barrels, so a 4" holster will work for a 2", 3", and 5" (as long as it doesn't wrap in front of the muzzle (and if it does - dremel time!)). 6" models, like my pair of Charging Rhinos, have the top rail so they need a specific holster. While I'm on my long-winded soapbox... I also dabble in Kydex, so I'll probably make my own holster at some point specifically for the 5". I'll have the Charging Rhino out at the Rocky Mountain Regional and the IRC. Grab me and give it a whirl! I maintained for a bit that they'd never be as fast in competition as a Smith. I'm starting to backtrack a bit on that - with a little work (and a really good triggerman), I think they can hang. I'd never argue that they're better - only different. The difference-maker for me was having Toolguy/Protocall chamfer the ledges inside the cylinders on the .40 S&W guns. Suddenly, I can drop loaded moons from... the moon... and not have to worry about them seating all the way.

You sunnuva.... That was with a 627, for the record. Which broke, lol.

Those are all fine choices. The 610 is the most versatile if you ever want to toy with competing (a 4" is an ideal choice as an IDPA ESR gun). That being said, I do love the SP101 frame size. Not that I'd recommend ANYONE going full-stupid like me, but these are all 9mm or 40 and I do compete (poorly) with them...

I literally built it as a joke (because the Charger platform is... sorta stupid) and it's turned out to be WAY more practical than I thought. I keep toying with throwing a 1-4x on it for the ultimate bush gun. You know, there's probably quicker ways to test it than to drive 10 hours, lol. I'm pretty iffy on the Classic at this point but it's not an impossibility. Yes? Well, it was - now that it's pirated, I'm pretty sure it's a YAAAAAAAAARger.