born-in-45

Registration is now open for the 5th Annual SUMMER SHOOTOUT to be hosted by River City Shooters in San Antonio, Texas on June 27th. This is a "Cash Back" match with payouts doubled over last year's match. HOA could walk away with $500.00 while Division winners will also cash in. Classes will potentially pay out thru 4th place, depending on number of entries in the class. Each overall stage winner will add more dollars to his/her pocket. 7 great stages, approximately 175 rounds, open squadding. If you haven't shot this match before, talk to someone who has and then come join in the fun. Details and entry form can be found at Summer Shootout. Limited to first 100 shooters registered by June 15th. Note: our web site was built using MS Publisher and some users of Firefox and Apple have trouble displaying web pages. If you have trouble, just drop me an email for information and entry form.

www.triadtactical.tactical has the muffs and the gel pads. Have both and they are fantastic. The gel pads are a great addition as they seem to form better around the ears/glass earpieces with no discomfort during a long day of shooting.

I am using a Quinn II on my SteelMaster without any lens residue issue during a match. While the Steel Master has a short barrel/slide, it does not have any poppel holes in the barrel. That may be part of the reason I am not experiencing any residue. I do clean the lens after each match as part of my normal gun cleaning.

Wilson may have made one but can not find it on their web site now. Think it was called their "standard" version. Brownells describes it but doesn't appear to have a separate order number for it. Brownells link Brownells

You might try tuning the ejector - see the following link for help in doing such Brazos Custom Ejection Perfection

I have used Bob's trigger kits in 3 of my guns and every single one has supported a 2 pound or less trigger pull with nothing more than a very slight tweak of the main spring. Results in a very crisp trigger. I also had a Limited Pro Series and have an Open Pro Series that have virtually the same trigger and feel. I would heartily recommend his kit for anyone wanting a super trigger upgrade with minimum hassle. Absolutely worth the money compared to other alternatives.

Take the breechface out yourself rather than relying on someone else to do it.

Steel Master - Running MG 124 CMJ using 6.1 of True Blue with OAL of 1.170 for a PF of 132. Absolutely no feed problems. Recoil spring is a Wolf 8 pound variable. Shoots flat with minimal dot movement. Really enjoying the gun.

Lots of folks using them in Production, both 147 and 125. The 147's feel softer than the 125's. Just a matter of which you prefer but would recommend you try a few of each to see what fits you and your gun best. Have been using Precision bullets in all my guns except Open for several years with nary a problem. Buy with confidene.

+1 on the Warren "straight eight" sights. Really like them on my M&P Compact. Great night sights.

Along with 4.2.3, here ya go - "9.2.2 “Comstock” – Unlimited time stops on the last shot, unlimited number of shots to be fired, stipulated number of hits per target to count for score. 9.2.2.1 A competitor’s score is calculated by adding the highest value stipulated number of hits per target, minus penalties, divided by the total time (recorded to two decimal places) taken by the competitor to complete the course of fire, to arrive at a hit factor."

The Krebs style guard (sold by Brazos) requires a slight milling of the frame area above the grip. There is a groove on the back of the Krebs that fits into the machined area so the grip will slide on like normal. I have one on my Brazos Open gun and just finished putting one on my SteelMaster. They work! Any Smith should be able to do the slight milling (single cut).

Loading 38SC with .355 MG JHP. Should the seating die and crimp die be 38SC or 9mm or does it matter? I have a Dillon 38SC sizing die but am wondering if I can or should be using Dillon 9mm seating/crimping dies since the bullets are 9mm (.355) rather than Super (.356).

1/8" hex for the grip screws.

STI: 1. Remove magwell 2. Remove Mainspring Housing 3. Remove Trigger Guard Screw 4. Remove top Grip Screw (both sides) 5. Remove Grip Screw Bushings (push in) 6. Holding grip use thumb to push grip away from bobtail of frame. To further simplify (recommended) reassembly, also remove the thumb safeties (which requires removing slide from frame) and grip safety between step 2 and 3 above. SVI: Same as STI but you will need to slightly pry the top edge of the grip off the frame (after step 5 above) to get it started. Believe that covers it.

Eric, I have a Steel Master that I use 6.1 gr of True Blue for a 133 PF. Winchester brass and primers, 124 gr MG CMJ with OAL of 1.170.

Eric, thanks for the info. That is exactly what I was looking for - using the same everything except bullet weight. When did you move out to Albuquerque? Any chance you're coming to San Antonio for RCSC's Texas Single Stack Shootout on September 27th?

I am using both STI and SVI. Shooting 9mm, the 140's are SVI w/+2 bases and the 170's are STI w/o spacers (but Howard Smith "smiled" on the 170's back when he 1st started tuning for folks). Using Grams internals exclusively. Running 124 gr MG CMJ at 1.170 oal and absolutely zero mag problems. From a reliability standpoint it seems if you ensure the tubes are in spec, run good internals, and keep them reasonably clean, they'll run for a long time without failure. Mags are one thing I don't have to worry about when shooting.

Anyone know if there is a rule of thumb for the velocity difference you can expect if you use the same powder charge with a 115 gr bullet vs a 124/125 gr bullet? Couldn't find an answer using search but I may not have used the right argument.

My 3 week old Steel Master (9mm) does not have the 9mm "ledge" on the breech face so maybe STI is using the single 38/9 version on their new guns.

Why not order straight from Montana Gold? They show their 124 JHP in stock. Order a case and save a few dollars. Shipping is included and their delivery times have always been speedy (to San Antonio).

A quick call to STI would get you an answer on their current version(s). 512-819-0656

2nd trip to the range to chrono this morning. Decided to focus on True Blue and WSF. They feel very close to each other and have about the same accuracy. Both are proving to be pretty flat (dot stays in the lens) and the dot tracks well. Same ammo specs as 1st trip - 1.170 oal, MG 124 CMJ, Win brass/primer and temp was the same. True Blue 6.15 gr - 1078 avg velocity, 133.7 PF, High to Low deviation 20 WSF 5.1 gr - 1074 avg velocity, 133.2 PF, High to Low deviation 43 Since I have 8 pounds of True Blue, I am going to work up several loads of it for comparisom - 6.0, 6.2, 6.4. When I tested the Winchester factory 115 ammo it was showing an average velocity of 1145, a 131.7 PF and deviation of 48. I suspect that 6.1 gr of True Blue will be right in step with the factory ammo in regards to PF but I want to see if a little deviation can result in a flatter gun.

Ron, I got the 40, went thru it and freshened it up so I would have a good 40 for SS. I really prefer to shoot Open but with the eye problems I have had I was leary of going back to Open. So I finally decided I would try it shooting Minor (and steel) to see if the preassure bothers my eyes. If it works, I will then have to decide whether to stay with it or give Open major another try (I still have that Brazos Pro - 38 sitting in the safe). At my age I am just wanting to shoot for fun so maybe the Steel Master will allow such with optical sights. First outing was promising. I'll bring the 7625 (only loaded 20 rounds from it) to the next match as I definately prefer True Blue over it in the Steel Master. I am going to try 340 tomorrow, along with hotter loads of True Blue and WSF. I'll see how that goes before making a decision on the N350. Don't know that I want a much fuller case than what N340 may be. I have 10K plus of MG 124gr so I will likely be sticking with them for some time. GRINS

Went out this morning to chrono a few powders for my Steel Master. Temp: 87 Sunny Ammo: MG 124gr CMJ, Winchester brass and small pistol primers, 1.170 oal. RESULTS True Blue 5.8 gr - 1026 avg velocity, 127.2 PF, High to Low deivation 16 WSF 5.1 gr - 1025 avg velocity, 127.1 PF, High to Low deviation 25 Universal Clays 4.8 gr - 1090 avg velocity, 135.1 PF, High to Low deviation 39 7625 5.1 gr - 1067 avg velocity, 132.5 PF, High to Low deviation 12 7625 4.8 gr - 1028 avg velocity, 127.4 PF, High to Low deviation 18 True Blue felt the best, less flip and more straight back push. I am going to bump the load up a couple 10ths as I am expecting something in the 1075 to 1100 range to be where I want to wind up. Will also play some more with WSP as it exhibited good dot tracking as well. I want to give N340 a try as well. More later. GRINS