Gti18T

could have been you dragging your thumb or something on the slide causing it to slow down and be unable to have the force to fully chamber the next round. Just another idea i figured i'd throw out there.

Is it legal in IDPA to have the weakside paddle ground down to almost nothing? I figured i would ask as this is my first entry into ESP and i dont know what they regulate on.

Bryan, it worked like a charm. I popped it out and did some filing and then polished it back up and it works great. Thanks. If the few seconds that it took me to fidget with that are gone tomorrow and i shoot master class at the qualifier i'll thank you again.

Well it is indeed something with the mag release. You can see where it is supposed to go past the slide release bar on the other side. It is only catching on that one side. If i angle the mag to go in along the side where the mag release button is, it doesn't catch. if i do it on the opposite side, you can see where it gets hung up. Can i just take my mag release unit out and file whatever it is getting stuck on? I checked the grip screws and i can't even see them coming through. I inserted the mag a few times and it kept hitting that one spot and getting caught. I tried to see if i could get a file in there, but it is just angled too weird to get it to work. I am going to have to take the mag release out somehow. This is my 2nd 1911 and i've never gone further than taking the slide and grips off so i am not sure how to go about taking the mag release out. Thanks for the help guys. Dan

Joe, i did change the grips and the grip screws. That may be it. I'm going to go investigate some more and i'll let you know. Thanks Dan

I've having some major problems with my springfield metalform mags. When i insert the mag it gets hung up and sometimes i have to slam it or actually bring it back out and insert it again. it seems like when i angle the mag on the way in sometimes it works out better, but is this normal? Also, sometimes my metalforms will not drop free. What's the deal with these things? Dan

I got a trojan 1911 9mm and it has the ambidex. safety on it. the other side gets in my way a bit when i am firing and i was just wondering if anybody ever just cuts the other side off so i just have it on one side. I see there is a pivot point and everything, but if i just cut off the actual part that sticks out it should work. Just wanted to make sure there isn't some big problem with doing this. Thanks Dan

Yeah it was about 6 inches at 15-20 yards. It was kind of wild it took me a second to find the where it hit. I'm going to head out after this snow storm we are supposed to get today and run both loads through again and see what happens. I just picked the gun up so i guess i'll have to do some experimenting with it. Thanks guys. Dan

I have a new trojan 9mm which i shot some blazer through just to make sure it cycled ok. I then put some reloads through that i've been using for a few years now in my glocks. The reloads were hitting 6" left of the blazers at 15 yards. What's the deal with that? I thought changing bullets might effect elevation but not windage. Thanks Dan

sounds good. was just trying to get an idea if the 1911 platform with a 9mm and then also with lead would be like a malfunction machine. I'll have to try it.

I know the 1911 in 9mm is kind of picky, but wondering if anybody runs lead reloads through their 1911 9mm. Thanks Dan

I see that there are a few different makers of metalforms for 1911 9mm. I see the ones designed by Rob Leatham in the dillon precision blue press for 32$ each. I also see some listed online as springfield metal form and some which are made by other companies. Does it matter which ones i get as long as they are metalforms?

I have a spartan with about 1,000 rounds through. I am using chip mccormick power mags. I have been dry firing tonight and sometimes when i rack the slide with an empty mag, the slide wont stay back. I am new to 1911's and was wondering what part of the mag engages the slide to lock back. Every time i get a mag in there (not happening with just the same mag, but all them) that isn't locking the slide back, i hit the mag release and it seems like the mag doesn't want to drop free. Is this a result of the gun being a little dirty? The mag is seated all the way too. But whenever i notice the slide not locking back, and i try to drop the mag, it doesn't drop free and i kind of have to wiggle or pull it out of the magwell. Any advice would be greatly appreciated before i attempt to use it in an IDPA match tomorrow. Thanks Dan

I switched to the spartan as my first 1911 from a glock. I used to get an extremly high grip on the glock (getting the snake bites on the web of my hand often) but i just shoot that way and am efficient like that. When i get a really high grip on the Spartan, it seems like i dont get the pressure on the grip safety that it needs to compress it fully and the trigger will lock up when i'm trying to shoot. Are there any safeties that are like bigger than what is on it now that will mean less to compress when i get a grip on the gun? Also, are the grip safeties easy to install or do i have to have a gunsmith do it? Also, what do you guys think of a lighter recoil spring in it? I'm shooting 4.3 of clays over a 230Berrys RN. Thanks Dan I love the gun though!

I set up some loads for my 1911 .45. I just got some lead 200SWC (betterbullets.com) and i the COL is 1.275. I got some blanks set up and loaded 5 into a mag and put it in the gun. i then tried to cycle the slide to make sure they would eject and the damn things keep getting caught up. They seem like they are too long, but i'm already at the COL that is stated in the book and from what i've seen online. Also, i'm right over the lube a tad, so i dont know if seat it any deeper or not . I thought i had to seat so the crimp was right at the edge of the forward part of the lube. This is my first time ever using lead or 200swc. Thanks Dan

I wish it was 35 when i was shooting today! I just came home and it is 20 degrees here in PA at my range. I would shoot 3 mags, and get back in the car to reload them, hop back out and shoot another drill and jump back in the warm car to reload.

This is from Mattburkett.com. Something matt mentioned in his forum. "Just some general chrono advice: Always check your ammo at several different temperature variations. Keep one box in a cooler, one in the shade, and one in the sun (unless its AZ then it will blow up - JK). You maybe surprised at the amount of variation you get. Also test with the gun hot and cold. Something else to remember, if you live in a humid environment, get the powder out of the powder measure and back into the can! Changes in the humidity level of the powder itself can seriously mess with the burn rate. At a minimum don't leave the top of the powder measure open. Take care,"

Doug, i assumed i was just going to have to stop whining and shoot it. Ha. Another question though...You mentioned the VV310... Do you think it will meter better/more consistant than clays w/ my xl650? I'm having just a hell of a time w/ that clays to get consistant throws. Thanks i appreciate it. Dan

Today i went out and shot the 4.3 of clays w/ Berrys 230 FMJ out of my new spartan. It feels like there is too much recoil push to the gun. There isn't a whole lot of muzzle flip but i could feel the webbing between my thumb and index finger was taking alot of the push. Could i fix this by shooting a 200 grain bullet instead and maybe switching to a different powder? Does the clays burn slower and therefor have more push to it than snap? I need to swtich from clays too, i can't for the life of me get that stuff to meter well. Some are average throws of like 4.2 and others are like 3.9, 4.4 and so on. Called dillon and they told me it was because the powder is like flakes. Thanks Dan I'm using to shooting 147gr w/ 3.2 grains AA2 out of my 9mm and i think i'm still in recoil shock changing over to shooting a .45.

At 50$ per 1000 rounds though, how can you beat shooting lead if your gun runs reliable w/ it?

I have two questions. First off, is there a difference in accuracy, feed reliability, or anything else in shooting a round nose verses a Semi wad (both of these in lead like betterbullets.com) Also, is there any real difference in shooting lead versus shooting plated FMJ? Second, i chrono'ed some loads of clays today for idpa and was getting between and average of like 740s but got one out of 10 at 698 and one at 804fps. All the others were right on at about 738-755 What is the deal with the low one an high one? Is that to expect? i was using mixed brass so that could have been it. Thanks Dan

I picked up my spartan tonight. The guy at the gunshop along with myself had one hell of a hard time getting the damn guide rod out. Ends up we had to take the slide off of the gun to take the rod out. Is this right? It seems like the guide rod could be like 1/8 of an inch shorter. I couldn't get the bushing to turn past the guide rod unless i took it apart and ajusted where the end of the guide rod hit the barrel before it would push down far enough to turn the bushing. Sounds confusing, but is this something STI does intentionally or is mine messed up or did i do something wrong?

xl 650

I am having trouble cycling my press consistantly. Often, a case will get stuck because the angle of the casefeed adapter may be a tad to the right or left. I seems like if it's not pushed towards where that nipples goes into the hole, the case will get stuck and i'll end up with an empty spot in my turret. I dont know if this has been discussed before as i didn't see it in the FAQ section, but i get it with both my 9mm adapters and now my .45acp adapters which i just bought. I have to like push the casefeed arm more to make sure the case drops or push the casefeed adapter a tad in a certain direction to get the case to drop through. Let me know if you have had any similar experiences and what you did to correct them. Thanks Dan

yeah, i'm going to fill up the powder measurer more. I tried it again and it seems like when i stop loading for awhile and go back to it, it's usually off, but once i get it on i can keep with +/- .1 gr. The other thing i just noticed when i went back down to try to load some more was that part number 18086 was broken. The Shoulder Washer. The skinny part of it broke off from the wider section which goes under the Failsafe bracket. I dont think this would effect how it throws loads as this is just primarily for resetting the measurer (and it did reset correctly), but i'm going to get a new one tomorrow. Thanks if anybody else has any words of advice i'd love to hear them though anyway.