R.Elliott

My dad had his hand crushed in a mining accident when he was young. Because he was wearing a leather glove when the ore carrier ran over it, the hand remained attached to the wrist and they managed to save it. The rehabilitation exercise they gave him was simple; hold a sheet of newspaper at arms length by the corner and using only your fingers, gather it up into a ball and squeeze it down as small as you can. It worked for him. He's in his 70's now and he still has an impossibly powerful, bone-crushing grip. Shaking hands with him is like sticking your hand in a machine. I've done this exercise a few times myself and it sure does seem to work. Burns like hell too!

No, unfortunately not. I've copied this from the Canadian Criminal code (see below). Also, you can go here and review the regulations for non-residents: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/information/visit/index-eng.htm (4) A cartridge magazine described in subsection (1) that has been altered or re-manufactured so that it is not capable of containing more than five or ten cartridges, as the case may be, of the type for which it was originally designed is not a prohibited device as prescribed by that subsection if the modification to the magazine cannot be easily removed and the magazine cannot be easily further altered so that it is so capable of containing more than five or ten cartridges, as the case may be. (5) For the purposes of subsection (4), altering or re-manufacturing a cartridge magazine includes (a) the indentation of its casing by forging, casting, swaging or impressing; ( in the case of a cartridge magazine with a steel or aluminum casing, the insertion and attachment of a plug, sleeve, rod, pin, flange or similar device, made of steel or aluminum, as the case may be, or of a similar material, to the inner surface of its casing by welding, brazing or any other similar method; or © in the case of a cartridge magazine with a casing made of a material other than steel or aluminum, the attachment of a plug, sleeve, rod, pin, flange or similar device, made of steel or of a material similar to that of the magazine casing, to the inner surface of its casing by welding, brazing or any other similar method or by applying a permanent adhesive substance, such as a cement or an epoxy or other glue.

Can't say on the paper work since I already live here, but note that Canadian regs limit mag capacity to 10 rounds so if you don't want to permanently alter yours you might want to consider borrowing some and leaving yours at home. I can assist with this if we can sync up on the same squads. Pat probably can too.

124gr plated bullets at major velocities is a no no. They can and do shed the plating at major velocities. That's bad. 147gr plated or jacketed bullets are essentially, not used in Major 9 for the reasons I indicated in post #2. Do some searching in this sub-forum (9mm/38 Caliber) for a ton of additional info on 9 major. Swaged plated bullets won't stand up to major velocities, but hard cast plated will. I've tested mine to 1500 fps and they work just fine. 124's @ just under 1400 fps no problem-o. 124's are certainly the better bet for comp effectiveness, though I've had some interesting results messing around with 147's and Autocomp (38 Supercomp).

I've tried the *thumb rest [generic]* twice now; once for about 6 months and again later (different gun) for about a year. Many people were arguing in their favor so I wanted to give it enough time to really know if it worked or not. Tried mounting it forward and further back and always ended up either steering the gun or not being able to consistently take the safety off. Some days it would seem fine and other days I would be deflecting the gun all over the place. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling that particular day tension-wise, but I note that since I've removed it the gun tracks consistently straighter and sets up quicker. Naturally your mileage may vary.

If you want to see what too much tension does try this: Grip a magazine in your shooting hand the same way as you would a hammer, but place the tip of your index finger just on the flat surface as if it was resting on the surface of the trigger. Now squeeze as hard as you can and hold that tension while you try to tap your index finger as rapidly as possible against the flat of the mag. Now relax your grip and try tapping again. Much faster, isn't it? Too much tension kills speed, and there's really no way to tension only part of the hand (consistently) without tensing the trigger finger as well.

From the IPSC rule set: 8.7. Sight Pictures and Range Inspection 8.7.1. Competitors are always prohibited from taking a sight picture with a loaded firearm prior to the start signal. Violation will result in a warning for the first occurrence and one procedural penalty for each subsequent occurrence in the same match. 8.7.2. If match organizers also prohibit taking a sight picture with an unloaded firearm prior to the start signal, competitors must be advised in the written stage briefing. Violation will result in a warning for the first occurrence and one procedural penalty for each subsequent occurrence in the same match. 8.7.3. When permitted, competitors taking a sight picture with an unloaded firearm prior to the start signal must only do so on a single target, to verify that their sights are prepared as required. Competitors who test a targeting sequence or a shooting position while taking a sight picture will incur one procedural penalty per occurrence. 8.7.4. Competitors are prohibited from using any sighting aid (e.g. the whole or part of an imitation or replica firearm, any part of a real firearm including any accessories thereof etc.), except for their own hands, while conducting their inspection ("walkthrough") of a course of fire. Violations will incur one procedural penalty per occurrence (also see Rule 10.5.1). 8.7.5. No person is permitted to enter or move through a course of fire without the prior approval of a Range Officer assigned to that course of fire or the Range Master. Violators will incur a warning for the first offense but may be subject to the provisions of Section 10.6 for subsequent offenses.

I had the exact same thing happen. Couldn't figure out what was hitting because nothing was. By process of elimination, I'd say spring expansion as it compresses loads the bushing. The bushing (like most of the Tanfo parts) is hardened and brittle and eventually just failed. Mine broke into several small bits and locked things up very nicely. Nice deduction. that probably it. when you broke yours what weight recoil spring were you running? Leo 10 lb Wolf spring if memory serves. The lightest spring Tanfoglio shipped their guns with was the only one that wouldn't nose dive the gun, and I ordered Wolf springs as replacements. But I don't think the spring weight really matters. It would be more about spring length and compression I would think. On the other hand, there may be nothing that can be done about this other than replace the part when it breaks, or perhaps have them annealed before installing.

(sigh) I guess. Kids these days.....

Oh Pat, it's obvious you have gotten soft in your old age. Tell you what; I'll come pick you up on Saturday and we'll go run the hills at 16 mile creek using my patented "knapsack-full-of-metal" technique. That will get you leaning forward more aggressively! Sorry I missed the match by the way. Looks like it might have been more fun than the yard work I did all day.

I had the exact same thing happen. Couldn't figure out what was hitting because nothing was. By process of elimination, I'd say spring expansion as it compresses loads the bushing. The bushing (like most of the Tanfo parts) is hardened and brittle and eventually just failed. Mine broke into several small bits and locked things up very nicely.

Just noticed cracks in mine under the trigger guard. I'm leaving for SC on Thursday after work so there's no time to get another one and install it before SC Sectionals and Area 6. Anyone out there have any idea how many rounds I'm likely to get before it becomes un-shootable? Please tell me several thousand rounds....

I'm using a plated bullet locally made in Canada. Consistent availability is a problem here for jacketed stuff, and when available tend to be brutally expensive. Anyway, these are hard-cast and plated thicker so no problem driving them to 1400 fps. They are as accurate as I can hold.

Actually, I can attest to that. I was on that same squad with you guys and overheard the comment. Definitely an icon and a great ambassador for the sport, AND sportsmanship.

Outdoors. I've heard of that. Crap, I hate winter!

Poking a hole in the nose of the bullet while keeping it at the same weight displaces metal. This displaced material ends up in the base of the bullet, which is also the bearing surface that engages the rifling. As well, lengthening the base has the effect of improving sectional density (ratio of mass to cross-sectional area)which in turn improves its ballistic behavior.

It's not a surface treatment. Just polished or blasted metal. You could bead blast it if you want.

Needle nose pliers is how I do it. Just be careful, work from the front of the mag, inserting the pliers longitudinally and just "roll" the lips in a bit until parallel and properly gaped. Note that if you grind off the slide stop node it won't get bumped by the rounds cycling up through the mag, so you can keep it in your bag as a back-up. Also, I bought a box of hardened steel dowels in the correct diameter and length, and all I have to do is grind a little notch in them at the end to capture on the spring. I now have enough pins to last me about twenty lifetimes, since I have only ever broken one of the stock cast pieces! Cost only pennies a piece.

I have several SPS mags with Grams followers. They all run fine and weren't difficult to tune; about 20 minutes each. I have some SV mags as well. They are definitely better quality.

Have you compared the feed lips on both mags? It sounds like an early release issue.

Guys, it's not a hard chrome finish that is applied externally to the frame and slide; it's a chrome alloy steel. Think "stainless" finish and you will have the correct impression. Go with the chrome; the black scratches off too easily.

Less about residue and more about fit. Less gas blow-by and better accuracy.

There is no problem shooting lead out of these guns. Depending on the bullet, you may actually find the lead build-up in the bore to be minimal or virtually non-existent. That was my experience at least. Note that you will likely do a little better with .356" diameter rather than .355", but your mileage may vary.

Hmm, I feel like quite the sloth. I normally run around a second at ten yards, can get low .90's if I'm warmed up, mid to low .80's if I'm really dialed in and properly caffeinated, and haven't done anything below .80 since I stopped doing the snatch draw some years ago. Mind you I did inherit ape arms from my Dad's side of the family.....

No problem. I learned something too from reading this.