Hagop

I want to thank everyone that has participated in this post and all those that will continue to add to it. I want to specially thank our host Mr. Brian Enos and "Infinity" for his reply on this particular topic. I have gone ahead based on what has been said here and purchased a grey Ribas Gugas holster from 2alpa Inc. @ >http://www.2alpainc.com< in Montreal,Quebec,Canada. Yes....it is an expensive holster....but feel that it is a holster with a lot of versatility and durability for the long haul. Again thanks to "Infinity" for his addition and helping me make an informed choice for many years of enjoyment in the shooting sport of IPSC. Even though nothing has yet been said about the Speedsec from Germany, it probably is a holster that could and should be considered by IPSC competitors around the globe. My choice is made thanks to this forum and all its participants.

I have been shooting from a Safariland 011 holster for the longest time and am in the market for a new competition holster for limited division. There is not enough information out there from IPSC competitors using these holsters in order for me to make an informed choice. The Ribas Gugas holster is a Brazillian product where as the Speedsec 5CW is a German one. I need your help and input on these two products.... be the pros or the cons of either. Help me make the informed choice. Thanks

dajarrel, I myself own two SVI extented framed pistols for limited division and have installed a one piece EGW tungsten guide rod in my primary pistol and a two piece EGW tungsten guide rod in my back-up pistol. And may I say....they both work like a charm after 15 to 20 thousand rounds of major ammo. The only difference between the two is the overall length, the two piece is about 1/8" to 3/16" longer than the one piece and sticks-out past the the front of the slide about an 1/8th of an inch. They have both functioned with neither a problem in both my pistols.

I have experimented with powders for SAAMI specific chamberings for the .40 S&W wich is indicated in most reloading manuals at 1.135 oal. And have tried HS-6, VV N350, Power Pistol,Universal Clays & Winchester Super Field.....and have come to choose two powders for SAAMI OAL for the .40 S&W and that would be Hodgdon's Universal Clays & Winchester's Super Field.....for consistency, cleanliness and efficiency. As for freebored .40 S&W chamberings where the bullet is seated out longer than SAAMI specs. I have tried and shot Hodgdon's International Clays, Clays, VV N320 & TiteGroup.....and have just recently settled on Hodgdon's TiteGroup behind a 180 gr. Hornady FMJ bullet seated to 1.230 oal. I shot International Clays seated long for three years behind a 200gr. bullet before I made the transition to Titegroup. So if we are taking votes for powders for the .40 S&W where the bullet is seated beyond SAAMI specs.... then, TiteGroup gets my vote. Gentlemen

Doc, I do not shoot a pistol in .357 Sig....but may I suggest Hodgdon LongShot I noticed that Hodgdon does have data for a 124gr., along with 147gr. bullets that would meet the current power factor with no problems. This is a high density powder in the likes of TiteGroup or HS-6 & HS-7. Buy a pound and develope a load and see?

EricW, Suit Yourself?

EricW, That was no example I gave you.... it is the truth. I shoot lead for practice and jacketted for matches only, and can say that the barrel is difficult to get clean when it is time to clean it. So I decided to speed things along and quiken the time spent cleaning.... I elected to use JB bore cleaner along with JB bore bright thereafter to finish up every single time I had a cleaning session....that did my barrel in. You said it yourself.... it is a mild abrasive. The owner of the reputable McMillan rifles has gone to say that if you use JB bore paste in his rifles.... that he will void the warranty. As far as using it for a last resort or for saving a barrel that you feel was lost.... well.... I guess you have nothing to loose in that case? I speak and state what I say from my personal experience with this product and not heresay. Use it at your own peril.... use it for extreme cases.... and not for routine cleaning?

Chipster, I just had to change a Nowlin bull barrel in .40 S&W with major tumbling problems with both jacketed & lead bullets. This particular barrel had roughly 35,000 rounds fired through it.... unfortunately it was time for it to go. The wear was pre-mature because of my anal tendency in having the barrel spic & span after a cleaning. I used flitz polish along with JB bore cleaner and JB bore bright every single time I cleaned the barrel. This process rounded off the lands in the barrel amongst other things.... where as when new,the lands were sharp and gripped the bullet in its transition down the bore. What I am trying to say here.... it is not just the rounds fired in a particular barrel that will wear it down.... but your particular cleaning technique that can be damaging the barrel slowly over time to the point that you may be pre-maturely shortening its service life. Never, Never, put JB bore cleaner or JB bore bright down a bore for cleaning out a barrel. Use bore solvents such as Hoppe's #9 or Birchwood Casey bore scrubber. I learned my lesson the hard and expensive way.

I concur with kimel.....get yourself a Wilson #29S stainless match bushing from our host before you open the door to a unnecessary expenses. I have tried other makes of bushings, and have found the Wilson fits the Para slide the best dimensionally out of the package with minor to no fitting. Mic the inside of your slide and the outside dimensions of your barrel and compare. The Wilson advertised bushing dimensions for the #29S is .825 Long X .581 I.D. X .702 O.D.

I concur with both of which Flexmoney and benos has stated here. And would like to add that with Hodgdon Clays powder in particular because of its fast burning rate more so than VV N320 & Titegoup in the .40 S&W, oal should be above 1.200 because it reduces the peak pressures by doing so when using this particular powder in the .40 S&W and reduces how fast and how soon the pressure spikes upon ignition of the primer, increasing the safety margin to more tolerable, if you will level. The violence of the ignition pressures is not as abrupt or "explosive" in comparison to loading with this powder to a shorter oal. Having said that.....this is a powder that should only be used in a freebored barrel with a chamber that fully supports the case. And for those that do not mind the trade offs this powder has to offer you in its use on living on the edge. If having a piece of mind is more important to you than the edge this powder may be giving you.....then use VV N320 or Titegoup in your loads.

Rocket, Safety? As long as you are freebored and seating your 180gr. MG bullets out over 1.200 oal you are on the right track as far as assuring a better safety margin with this powder (Clays). Using an extra long firing pin such as the Limcat is another plus,along with the use of small rifle primers. Assuring the chamber fully supports the case and that the throating has not been over done is again another plus with the use of this particular powder in our sport. Inspecting the quality level of the brass is another area that special attention should be paid with the use of this powder. I myself am partial to R.P brass & Speer brass,yet most often come across good deals on once fired Winchester brass. Federal brass I have a tendency to avoid because it is the weakest of the other three as far as .40 S&W brass is concerned. Monitoring the powder mesure before starting a reloading session and during it in random checks,will also increase the margin of safety with this powder (Clays). It may seem as a lot to do in assuring a good safety margin in the use of this particular powder....but in fact this is a general practice that should be ingrained when using powders such as N320, Titegroup, International Clays and last but not the least Clays. You are on the right track if you are doing these things in a consistent manner.

DWLS, I recently ordered a Universal Shooting Academy "Pro Series Holster for Brownells and am awaiting to recieve it as I write this. I to was in a dilema in choosing a holster for my Glock 17 that I plan on shooting in Production division under IPSC rules that do not put restrictions on race holsters and did not know which one to get. For me it came down to the C-R Speed holster and the U.S.A pro-series holster. I rejected the C-R Speed because of two factors. The muzzle platform was not to my liking and found I would probably want to replace it with an Arrendondo muzzle platform for the long run, and also the fact that the locking mechanism could and may be forgotten to be activated or de-activated at appropriate times. Take a good hard look at the Pro-series holster that GM competitor Frank Garcia has to offer, you may just like the features it has to offer for your Glock.

Quote: from ong45 on 3:34 pm on Jan. 2, 2003 Incidentally, the word i would use to describe the 220-.40 load is "plush", the sight tracks very predictably and after shooting the open gun, seems like" it takes forever to get back down". James Ong

"When do you replace a recoil spring?" The way I determine whether or not to replace a recoil spring is....I have a SDM Fabricating recoil spring tester and I use it to note the mesured closed and open weights of a brand new recoil spring before it goes into my pistol. Once I have that mesurement on hand....I use it to gauge off of every time I take the pistol apart for reqular maintenace or cleaning if you will. For example: I run a mesured 13lbs spring when the pistol is open and 7lbs when it is in battery. If ever that drops to say 3lbs below the mesured open rate or 2lbs below the rate when in battery when installed originally....I tend to replace it. That is the maximum loss of weight I am willing to tolerate. This tool will also tell you if the spring is to long and needs trimming in order to avert coil bind. So to recap....once the spring is mesured to have 10lbs open and 5lbs when in battery gauged off the original mesured weight.... into the garbage it goes.

Quote: from ong45 on 5:35 am on Jan. 2, 2003 220 gr. plated bullet for .40 . Kinda reminds me of my .45. James Ong ong45, I think in your case we will call your choice....familiarity? 2alpha is not far off the mark when he says the choices are very subjective. I guess the familiar feel of the .45 ACP in your transition to .40 S&W was more important to you than starting anew? I would assume that this would also hold true for those competitors transitioning from open division pistols to limited division pistols or those competing in both divisions. They would probably opt to go with a lighter bullet travelling at sonic speeds in order to capture the subjective feel of their open pistols in their limited pistols? Would you say familiarity is the edge? Have we come full circle? Has it been staring us in the face all this time under the guise of familiaritiy? Is that the edge....just like everything else becoming familiar and attunned? (Edited by Hagop at 11:05 am on Jan. 2, 2003) (Edited by Hagop at 8:08 am on Jan. 4, 2003)