M1A4ME
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Posts posted by M1A4ME
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I never had any use for fiber optics front sights. On pistols. My Ithaca M37 has had a FO front sight on it since I got it in 1969.
My first pistol with a FO front sight is the XDM 5.25" 9MM. Big ol' orange FO front sight that hangs out there like a fuzzy soft ball. I hate it. All of us shoot the 3.8" XDM 9MM better (standard metal front sight) than the FO 5.25" gun.
Then I got that used CZ Tactical Sport .40 (bought it from a member here) with a tiny little green FO front sight. What a change. I really like that front sight. I don't know if it's the color or the small diameter. But I can see it. I can focus on it. It doesn't "overfill" the rear sight notch. It makes it easier to shoot the pistol well vs. harder to shoot the pistol well.
On the other hand, I have two RMR's CZ pistols. A dual illuminated amber dot on the P07 and a dual illuminate green dot on the P09. Under poor light conditions (me in low light and the target in bright light) the amber dot is way easier to use than the green dot. The green dot is all but invisible. I can find it, barely, if I spend long enough looking for it. The amber dot is right there under favorable or unfavorable conditions.
So, use what works best for you. You won't know that by asking other people. You'll figure it out by trying different options out for yourself.
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What distance do you shoot? Most people have stated, over the years, that inside 300 yds. or so a flat based bullet will give just as good, if not better, groups than a boat tailed bullet. Might save yourself some money for more ammo/practice with the right bullet.
Some rifles/barrels do very well with a load that other rifles don't shoot so well. Your barrel might shoot many loads well, or it might be one of those that you need to find "that special load" for.
I've bought some of those heavy match bullets but haven't gotten around to using them yet. I load mostly 55 grain FMJBT for .223 and don't shoot past 100 yds. In the days I did shoot past 100 yds. I got the best groups from some 45 grain varmint bullets and IMR4198 (not in an AR15 rifle).
These days I use more BLC2 for 55 grain FMJBT (Hornady) bullets in .223 and my AR15's than anything else. It meters very uniformly through my RCBS Uniflow powder measure. Same for H335, but I seldom use that powder.
I won't say you'll get better/more consistent groups by segregating your brass by head stamp. But, I will say that when using my misc. brass (small amounts of various head stamps that I lump together in the same bucket and reload for plinking) I may get a very nice group followed by another group with a random outlier or two. When I was hunting with my .223 I sorted by head stamp. For range/plinking ammo I just dumped it all in the same bucket.
Accuracy improvements usually require consistency in ammo and technique.
Good luck.
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Shell holder?
I don't use a Dillon buy I've never had an issue with pistol brass (any caliber) in Lee/RCBS shell holders.
I do have issues with PPU and a couple other foreign .223/5.56X45 brass in both Lee and RCBS shell holders. That brass is made different. Even this brass chambers/extracts/ejects 100% from my AR15's.
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No red dot on mine. Just irons. It's not as serious as yours. Just a cool (to me) looking carbine. If I had a scope on it I could shoot better groups as the front sight is out of focus for me. Did I mention I like the way it looks? Nothing fancy about the barrel. One turn in 10". Was a 16" barrel till I had it cut/threaded and the flash hider pinned/welded to keep the length legal. I may have to build another one with a flat top upper so I can put a low powered scope on it.
Winchester white box is junk ammo in mine. I won't buy any more. I've tried only 115 grain bullets in mine. Win. WB fmj, Fed. fmj, my reloads (using Blue Dot powder) with Precision Delta and Zero Bullets 115 grain hollow points. Either one is good.
My 9MM carbine
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I have a P07 (usual EDC). I used to wonder why people were always modifying the surface of the grip. Mine was fine, no issues.
Then, one day last summer when it was about as hot/humid as it ever gets around here I was at the range. My shirt was soaked as wet as if I'd been out in the rain. My glasses were fogging up so rapidly that I couldn't shoot 5 shots without taking them off to wipe them on a pants leg or a tissue (my wife carries lots of stuff around in her purse, you know). And that P07 was moving around in my wet, sweaty hand. Every couple of shots I was having to re-grip it. That had never happened before. It's a .40 S&W and I shoot some fast 135's in it. About as snappy as a snub nosed .357 with about the same amount of flash/bang. That's when I knew I had to change something.
I ordered a set of the Talon wraps for it and they really made a difference. Follow the cleaning/installation instructions and they work.
Another one of those things I didn't "believe" till it happened to me.
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If you can get H335 it's a very consistent metering powder in my RCBS Unflow powder measure.
I meter the charges. I weigh one of every ten, to make sure nothing is moving out of adjustment. On a couple of occasions I've loaded 400 rounds in an afternoon. Once with BLC2 and once with H335. That means I weighed forty powder charges of each type.
With BLC2 I had a few (don't remember the number) that were 0.1 grain off the target weight. One or two were 0.2 grain off.
With H335 every single charge I weighed was dead on the target weight.
I prefer BLC2, smaller groups with the 55 grain Hornady FMJBT I load most of the time.
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I didn't mean to say it's okay to use pistol primers in .223 loads. I meant people say good things about the S&B small pistol primers for pistols, so I had bought a 1,000 S&B small rifle primers to try for .223.
I used some small pistol primers in .300 BO one time. Just once. The pressure of the loads was supposed to be about the same as the .40 S&W or 9MM +P loads. Several left the .300 BO carbine with holes blown through the primer. I didn't try that again. Either the primer material (thickness/strength) or the firing pin itself, or (possibly) the pressure was higher than the reloading manual suggested. Even though none were max loads (some low enough I didn't get the carbine to function correctly) some of the primers were perforated. Never had it happen with small rifle primers, even with loads containing enough powder to make it function correctly.
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It's not a bad idea to buy some different bullet styles/weights to try with your powder (just like you would with a handgun) to see what loads you can come up with that are both reliable and accurate (and safe).
The cheapest primers I've seen are the Tula small rifle primers, but they seem to be drying up/going away. And, in the last year or so we've had 3 dud rounds loaded with Tula primers. I'm not used to having duds. I still haven't pulled those down to see if I can figure out what happened to them.
I've bought some S&B small rifle primers to try. People like the small pistol primers and Cabela's will put them on sale every so often for even less than I was paying for Tula.
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The Hornady 55 grain bullets, even the FMJBT are pretty good. I have boxes of 52 and 53 grain Sierra's in the attic from over 30 years ago. I actually got my best accuracy (in the M700) from the flat based 45 grain Speer and Hornady bullets (1 turn in 12").
In the .30 caliber rifles (M1A and 03A4) the Sierra's were better than Hornady or Speer bullets. Again, that was over 30 years ago. There may be better bullets now than Sierra, I haven't tried any long range stuff in years. Around here the range is 100 yds. max. and the area I live in is about the same. Flat land and trees.
This is a 100 yd. target. Rifle was sighted in for POA/POI at 25 yds. and was way high at 100. I couldn't get the scope to adjust down but I did get it to adjust to the right. Three shot groups. AR15, 20" barrel, cheap 3X9 scope that went in the trash after I got home. Gave the rifle to my oldest son (probably should have kept it and given him one of the others.....). 21.0 grains of IMR4198, Hornady 55 grain FMJGT with CCI primers.
First group is off to the left. Second was off to the right (went to far). Last group was in the center. Just could not get the scope to move down. Even smacked it with a stick a few times, tried going up, then back down. Nothing worked. Even the big groups are nice for a "nothing special" rifle bought as a parts kit and built on a lower receiver.
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On my pistol, the dot is close to 2 ft. from my eye.
So I did it the same way on my AR15 pistol (not a PCC, put similar in size). I mounted the DP Pro out on the free float tube to put it at about the same distance from my eye.
I don't really notice the frame/lens of the sight anyway. Just where the dot it on the target. It's a mindset/habit/perception thing. With the DP Pro, I leave it "on" all the time. No buttons to push/operate. It's off, till I pick it up to use, then it's on. Would be the same if I had put a dual illuminated RMR on it.
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My favorite (since 1981 when I got my M700 VS in .223) powder has been IMR4198. If I want (and I do) consistent powder charges none of the three powder measures I have will do it. I have to weigh check every charge and use a trickler to get the correct/exact charge weight. Or use the electronic (Hornady) powder measure/scale unit my wife bought for me. That is slow.
I found a load of BLC2 that works as well as the IMR4198 with the 55 grain FMJBT Hornday bullets I load the most. It runs through the powder measure pretty well. I weigh check one out of every 10 powder charges. One day I loaded 400 rounds and had 5 or 6 out of the 40 I weigh checked that were off by 0.1 to 0.2 grains of weight.
I loaded some ammo for my youngest son a few days later. He insists his rifle shoots better with that same bullet and H335 powder, so that is what I used. Again, I loaded 400 rounds. I weigh checked 40 random charges during that session and (absolutely) everyone I checked was dead on the set/desired powder charge. Every single one.
I'm using an RCBS uniflow these days. I load in batches. I resize, trim/chamfer/deburr brass and put it in old plastic coffee jugs. When I get enough and have some nice weather I'll sit on the bench in front of the garage and prime it with a Lee hand primer. I get a big coffee jug of primed/ready to load brass and sit down to load some ammo. So don't think I clean/resize/trim/prime/load 400 rounds on a single stage press in an afternoon.
Being able to run the tray with 50 cases on it under the downspout of the powder measure and work the lever up/down, up/down, up/down till 50 cases are charged really speeds things up vs. weighing every single charge. Find a powder that measures consistently and gives you the groups you want and reload some ammo.
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Not all brass requires swaging the primer pocket. And if it does, you only have to do it once. I have the RCBS kit that installs in the reloading press. I use the swaging attachment (fits into the ram arm like a shell holder) to check the brass while sorting it or when trimming it. If the tip won't fit in the pocket pretty far, I set that brass aside till I get enough to make it worth sitting down to "fix" it. If the pocket needs swaged, the tip won't begin to insert. If the pocket is just tight (new piece of brass) then the tip will go in, maybe not all the way, but fairly far into the primer pocket.
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The cutter head on the forstner lasted for almost 20 years. The ones on the Lee hand/drill operated units don't last too long - but they are cheap.
I have a bench out front of my garage. Even on a 40 F day if the sun is shiny and the wind is out of the north, that bench (south side facing the sun) is warm enough I sometimes have to pull my jacket off in the afternoon. I sit out there and sort brass, inspect brass, trim/chamfer/deburr brass. I get a lot of brass work done in the winter. Sitting out on the bench using that drill to trim the brass is easy. I'm retired. I get up and let the dogs out of the pen for some petting/treats every so often. Life is good.
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No crimp. Never have crimped on the M1A/M1 Garand, the assorted semi auto deer rifles or the AR15's.
I used to use a Forster case trimmer. Wore out the cutting head, had some trouble finding another one, bought a Lee trimmer set up that I run with a battery operated drill and stuck with it for the last few years. I go through cutter heads on the Lee a couple times a year (when they get too dull to use on the .223 I write .30 only on them and put them with the .308 and .30-06 case trimmer stuff.)
I've read, on other forums, that folks use the .308/.30-06 X dies and have seen a reduction in the need to trim as often. I don't keep track of how many times I reload brass so I can't say for sure it works - std. dies vs. X-dies.
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Four to five hours in a vibratory cleaner with crushed walnut shell media cleans up the brass really well - unless it's been there awhile in the weather and turned really dark.
I pick up every piece of .223 brass I find at the range. I've never had a case separation (in 40 years of reloading) but I have had some split necks/shoulders (that stuff becomes .300 BO brass).
Use a good consistent metering powder like H335 or BLC2. Makes for a faster reloading session.
I use a single stage press and RCBS X dies and usually only trim the range brass or a batch of brass I buy (done that a couple times in the last few years).
I've never found that cases have to be spotless inside.
Good luck.
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TS/TSO size
in CZ
Handle one before you buy it.
I don't thing they are chunky - they're huge. Mine is 3 lbs. 7 oz. loaded with 140 grain hollow points.
Doesn't kick much though.
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I don't push a rod/tip/brush through a barrel. I pull it.
A rod in tension (pulling) stays straight unless you intentionally (or carelessly) angle it so it contacts the lands and bend it.
A rod in compression (pushing) bends and contacts the lands somewhere in the barrel and you can't stop it from bending (the rods just aren't large enough in diameter to be strong enough to resist the force).
I never use a jag (have to push them through the barrel). I use the patch tips and brushes.
I clean from the muzzle end by pulling the patches/brushes from chamber to muzzle. I'm trying to "clean" the barrel of the crud created from firing ammo through it. Why would I want to push that crud back into the chamber/receiver area? The last time I used a chamber brush was when I was cleaning an M1 Garand I'd gotten from the CMP. Once I get the chamber on a newly acquired rifle clean my normal cleaning of pulling solvent and dry patches through the chamber to the muzzle seems to keep the chambers clean.
Been doing it that way for over 40 years now. Won't be changing it for the next 10 or 15 years.
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Was the load developed in/for the revolver?
I have/had a favorite 140 grain lead bullet load for my M&P 9MM. Shot pretty good. Moved from the M&P to the CZ pistols and those loads tumbled like crazy in the CZ's. Every one of them (P09, CZ 85, two or three CZ 75's). I just kept shooting them till all of them were used up (I think). I never did slug a barrel on the CZ's.
I loaded up some of the same bullets (have a few boxes of them) with a different powder at a charge weight that increased the velocity and saw no tumbling. Groups are nothing to brag about, but the bullets didn't tumble at the higher velocity. Have you tried (if you can for that powder) increasing the velocity?
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I've only used stones. It's slower than files, but better to take off too little, then have to go back to the stone and take off more, than to take off too much. I use knife sharpening stones (bought for using on the guns, not for the knives - use a Lansky kit for the knives). I just use regular gun oil on the stones, nothing special.
I've really only fitted three safeties on CZ. Had to modify the height of the cam that fits under the sear finger/arm on one of them (used the CGW adjustable sears after that) and the right end of a couple left side safeties when installing ambidextrous safeties on a couple pistols.
Either way (files/stones) you've got to maintain angles and clean the parts up before test fitting, lube them when done, clean the stones up afterwards before you put them away and go slow. I've never used calipers to measure the before/after on parts I was stoning. I used "does it fit/work yet." If you used calipers, remember that one of the steps is to stop filing/coarse stoning soon enough that when you do the final fine stoning/polishing of the part that it doesn't end up too small/short after the polishing part.
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Seems like about the only powder company that lists 5.56X45 loads separately from .223 Remington loads is Accurate Arms. It's right after the .223 data, starts on Page 30.
http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/WesternLoadGuide1-2016_Web-1.pdf
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I can tell brass is cracked (if I don't catch it when sorting/trimming) when it goes through the resizing die or the expander die. I use a single stage press though, so it's quieter and easier to see/hear/feel it when somethings not quite right.
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I have no idea what the spring in those mags looks like. I had a similar issue with the original P14 magazines that came with my pistol. I could shake it, or smack it and the follower would pop up and work right, for a few rounds. Then do it again.
I tried cleaning/lubing the springs and that didn't help.
Then I realized the newer magazines I'd bought weren't doing it. I took the mags apart and found the springs were different. The original spring changed coil size from top to bottom. Bigger at the top/bottom, smaller in the middle. The springs in the new magazines had the same sized coil all the way down. I'm not talking about spring wire diameter, I'm talking about the length/width from side to side and front to back of the coil size.
I believed the original springs were allowing the smaller diameter section of coil to get hung up in the bigger sized sections as that design allowed the spring to compress down into itself vs. stacking one coil on top of the other.
I bought new/replacement springs and they were made the same as the springs in the newer magazines. I installed those in the original magazines and had no further issues.
So, check out those springs. Might not be your issue, but it's something to check.
Good luck.
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I've replaced the factory hammers on two CZ pistols with the Cajun Gun Works race hammers and adjustable sears. Amazing improvement vs. the factory hammer.
Somethings not right about either the hammer you bought or with your trigger/trigger bar. Did you leave the firing pin block in? I did on one pistol and took it out on another. With the firing pin block left installed you will feel the trigger sort of bump/stop when the lifter arm starts to lift the firing pin block safety, then stop when the sear has to start moving. That first little bump of the lifter arm to the sear movement isn't creep.
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Call Cajun Gun Works, tell them what you have and what you want to be able to do with it and they'll be glad to talk to you about it. Great people to buy from.
CZ P01 steel frame with rail, safety. What's the story?
in CZ
Posted
Does it have the P01 style frame? But have CZ 75 Compact on the slide? They made some like that.
Or does it have the P01 style frame but say P01 on the slide? They made some like that, too.
The ones that have CZ 75 Compact stamped on the slide do not have the grooves in the front/rear of the frame/grip.
Can't say about the ones that are stamped P01 on the slide, but still have a steel frame. I didn't buy any of those.
The first batch (stamped CZ75 Compact on the slide) was said to be a contract over run for a foreign military or police force with 50 imported into the US and sold. Later, it was said there were more than 50 and still later it was said that 2nd statement was false and there were really only 50 imported.
The second batch (stamped P01 on the slide) doesn't have as much known/claimed known about it or stated about them on the internet.
I bought two of the first type (CZ75 Compact on the slide) and they have, by far, the worst triggers of any CZ75 I've ever bought. Gritty, rough, draggy, stagy, etc., etc., etc. the hammer/sear contact areas look like it was done with a file. Just nasty. I installed a CGW race hammer and adjustable sear as well as a SAO trigger from CZ USA and it's one of best shooting CZ75 Compacts. Several others on the CZ Forum bought them and many make the statements that it has become their favorite Compact.