egldriver

Ok I'll look at those

I am an IDPA Shooter and have been shooting esp with a 1911 then a 320 legion. I recently purchased an sp 01 accu shadow because I have had some grip safety issues with the 1911. I know get a good grip and it won’t be an issue. Let’s not go there. The legion tends to have some flyers and I can’t afford to give up those points. be that as it may the accu shadow has met all my expectations. I have big mitts so I decided to try some arminov palm swells. They fit the bill nicely...but now the guns overweight by 1/2 an ounce. I have relieved some aluminum off the back of the grips but there’s no way I can take a half ounce off. other ideas on how to lose that half ounce? Dave

I have a LNL and a 650. Saying that "anything is better than the Hornady" is just fanboy nonsense. I have loaded multiple thousand of rounds on the LNL without problem. Their customer service has been pleasant and responsive. So has Dillons. The biggest problem to me is how much the case feeder cost for the LNL.

I shoot in esp so wanted to keep the magwell. Reducing the grip weight size was easy.

I cut the grip weight just below the rubber retainer and beveled the edges. The gun is now at 42.99 oz with a 43 oz limit. Probably too close for a sanctioned match so I will either bevel some more or drill a hole or two. The metal is very soft so easy to cut. I think it is important to bevel the edges so there is no interference with the mag going in.

Ok I’ll let you know how it goes.

Same weight as regular x5 weight. Thanks for the reply.

I was able to get a 320 x5 legion. So far so good shoots flat like a 1911. Good trigger about 3 1/4 lbs with a pretty clean break. I primarily shoot idpa esp so the stock gun is a little over the 43 oz limit. I took out the grip weight and now it’s under now problem. It occurred to me if I could neatly trim some of the grip weight off I could get it right at or a little under 43 oz. it feels a little nose heavy without the grip weight but still balances nicely. So good or bad idea to neatly trim the weight?

what brand of bullets?

It’s the bullets....I had some .452 lead bullets so I loaded a few. They are right on the money. The xtreme .452 bullets are actually .451 perhaps because they are double struck. I got in the neighborhood of 900 FPS with the lead with 6.0 gns of 231...right in line with the loading manual. It is possible the xtremes are not sealing properly. They are supposed to interact like lead bullets so that’s my best guess.

Yea...I don't get it. I'm going to get some factory rounds and put them over the chrono. I really like WST but it's not working for me. I have checked all my reloading parameters and everything is within spec.

I have chased this rabbit round the hole. I bought a stainless range officer. I put on a smith and Alexander mag well, bulletproof extractor and cylinder and slide trigger although the factory trigger was pretty good. The problem was the gun wouldn’t group very well by my standard. Horrible actually. Springfield’s accepted accuracy translates into you better be a steady shot if you want to be zero down at 20 yards. Some people report great accuracy others not so.much. So I had a kart barrel installed. It has always been very reliable. If I had to do it again...dw pointman or valor and Ed Brown snakeskin magwell. Done. If you shop for it you can find the pm9 for pretty reasonable prices (gun watcher is your friend)

Looks like 6gns of 231 to get it done. My plated bullets are giving jacketed ballistics according to the hornady reloading manual

I tried it again at about 60 degrees. A little better but still not there. Some other guys shot different rounds (.45 and 10mm) and they thought the results were right so I think the Chrono is ok. I tried just a lead round nose thinking that the plated xtremes where doing it but it was the same. It looks like I can push 231 a little over 6 grains so I will give that a try. I am shooting a stock les Baer custom carry so I would think the barrel is good.

shooting 200 gn I need at least 825 FPS. I'd like a little margin so my goal is 850 FPS. I don't want to load 230 gn just because I have a lot of 200 gn.

I am reloading .45 acp with the intent to shoot CDP in IDPA. I need to make major power factor. I am trying 231 and WST but am having a hard time getting the velocity I need. I tried 5.5 grains of 231 with a 200 gn xtreme round nose at 1.250, Sellier and Belliot primers. My 5 shot string was: 620 730 768 668 697 Pretty pathetic. I then tried 4.8 grains of WST, same parameters and got: 741 755 748 775 765 Better but still no cigar. I shot this with a Les Baer 5" and a Wilson CQB 5" with similar results. I then upped the WST to 5.0 grains, almost max according to Hodgeon and was getting barely 800 FPS. It is cold, around 35 degrees. The 5.0 WST load was very snappy so I'm not going any higher. I don't know if my chrono is messed up, the temp is affecting the powder or what. My crimps are all good and all rounds fit through a Hornady case gauge. Ideas? Dave

Did it come with 2 or 3 mags? I have a 9mm and really like it. A .40 is on the way. My 9 came with 3 mags but the description of the .40 indicated 2. The 9 is very accurate and the trigger is perfect.

That's not good. My other two are good shooters. Maybe the barrel is bad, somehow, because the mechanics of the gun are strong from what I know of a good 1911 fit. I hesitate to send it back to SA again because they have already repaired it, shot it, and declared it good.

So I have a relatively new range officer champion 9mm (4' bull barrel). I like the RO's (have two others .45 and 9mm) but this one is giving me some problems. When I first got it I had a lot of jams so I sent it to Springfield. Came back with a polished ramp and a flat wire recoil spring assembly (not stock so they upgraded it). It runs 100% now. However, the accuracy is not up to par. I have loaded 115, 124, 147 with some variations in velocity and powder loads, of them all the 115's are the best but still not what I would call good. I know accuracy is relative, but this thing seems to have large groups with inconstant flyers even off sand bags. Sometimes it will group well and then have a round go 6-8" away from the group (at 15 yards). I had another shooter try it off bags and he had the same results. We tried his ammo that resulted in a ragged hole off sandbags at 15 yards with his 5" Range Officer (we both shot it), mine still scattered that ammo. The gun has an excellent slide to frame fit, very solid lockup and no barrel movement when in battery. I don't see any obvious crown damage or anything inside the slide or frame that shows abnormal rubbing. Sights are solid. That's about all I know to look for. Any ideas as to what else to look at? I would like to shoot IDPA with it but have no confidence in it. I get it that most of the time its the indian not arrow, but based on how I shoot with my other guns I don't think that is the case here.

Sounds like a good deal! Let us know how it goes.

You can rest assured that I am quite calm about this. If I can avoid damaging something I own I will seems like a prudent thing to do. You can assume that I practice. So no freak out and no condescending attitude is required. Just engaging in the conversation if that's ok with you.

Do you think it will scratch the frame? I put some scotch tape, trimmed to fit on the back of the checkering plate with the hope that it wouldn't scratch. I have a blue version coming for my aluminum frame champion but am having second thought for fear of scratches. Dave

One more thought on the RO. I added a Wilson combat front strap checkering thingemabob. It actually works very well, a lot more stable than I thought. For $10 a cheap investment. It doesn't exactly match the finish of the gun (stainless) but neither does grip tape. Maybe not the most elegant solution, but a solution none the less. No help on the front serrations. Dave

I have a range officer for IDPA (staying with G34 for USPSA). In fact I have three range officers (5'" .45, 4" Champion, 5" 9mm Stainless). The 5" guns are very accurate but benefit from an aftermarket (EGW) bushing. The Champion went back for jamming issues, but I had an excellent support experienced and they fixed the gun (even upgraded internals) in about a week and a half. Now they are all very reliable with reloaded ammo. If I were to do it again, I would have got a Dan Wesson Pointman or Valor even though I think highly of the Range Officers. Depends if MIM bothers you or not. If it does and you end up changing to tool steel parts, you might as well buy the Dan Wesson. The front strap checkering on the DW will almost make up the difference. Guns are a risk because you cannot really try them (unless you can rent) and once you buy there's no returns. Good news it seems that used gun asking prices are not that much less than new (if you shop right) Dave