want2race

An update since my last post. I picked up a Keltec PF9 off a prize table. I was in the market for a micro 9mm so it was perfect timing. Shooting two handed the recoil is a bit harsh, shooting one handed is actually much better. Accuracy was great although it shoots a bit high. Doesn't bother me though, this isn't something I shoot regularly. Just enough for some grip n rip drills and function tests with carry ammo. It has spoiled me. It is so light and so small, the m&p9c now feels huge.

I figured it was just the first show, of at least a few, that would cover the Pro-Am. They've done multiple shows on other events before I think. They could do an entire episode just on the side matches.

I start with Apex parts for M&P trigger jobs, then tune them the same way trigger parts are purchased and used for a solid 1911 trigger job. They are good parts, but I still do quite a bit of work.

Ive seen a similar made gun by a local smith. The gun was ruined as it affected the disconnect function. I wonder what it was trying to accomplish. Wouldn't it just need a new slide? To the OP: Get 4 slide stops on hand. Cut each one different, very small radius, standard radius, large radius (from base to FP hole), and cut one with a flat "wedge" angle. Test each one with your spring combination and ammo. Use a timer and do something like 5 yard bill drills on the clock. Try to run the same speed (2-2.5 seconds) with each change and just watch the sights and record the accuracy of each run. I shot a wedge for a while, then a small radius, then large. Now I think I'me back to a standard radius. In the end, all mouse traps catch mice. Happy testing

Winner! Best response yet. Nevermind the cost, my simple-jack mind cannot see any benefit in terms of recoil management.

HAAAAATE SP .45 brass. Federal, darn you....DARN you straight to HECK.

Davis Monthan AFB Tucson, AZ. That puts you 1.5 hours from home and the Desert Classic (Area 2). There are also clubs in Tucson.

Keep an eye out on the classifieds and boards. I once picked up an older gunsmith built 2011 with a bull barrel for $750. It needed sights, to be refinished and scope mount holes filled in. Turned out to be a really sweet gun. I wish I could find more train wrecks. If you have one built, you will have a trophy piece that you can shoot. I usually build my own but I'll be shooting an FGW gun next year. There's nothing quite like a new gun to motivate me to practice.

Unless your Lamp is from the Pro side, an AM lamp means you SHOULD be shooting Pro next time. Maybe I can get a matching KelTec. No seriously, it's the first prize table gun I've kept. Amazing match. Glad they are doing it again. Just watched 3gunNation last night featuring some ProAm JR coverage.

Very good point about buying one mag with the gun. Very good idea indeed. I forgot about your second point (above). Also very, very true. I have been on the gunsmith side of that one myself. I was upset with myself and a bit embarrassed that a gun I worked on was having issues. When I got it, parts had been swapped out/"adjusted" different from when I last touched it. That point was not disclosed to me, I had to discover it myself. Another example, things like changing triggers. Different triggers have different bow lengths and that can cause havoc with the functionality of the trigger job. These were just sent to me regarding the earlier topic. What do you do, as a builder, when a solid customer sends back a gun that is failing to operate properly for him but during retesting works 100%? This gun was sent back. Time lost due to retesting, proofing on video, ammo costs etc. Customer even sent 200rds of his own ammo, all of which functioned 100%.

I understand what your saying. You pay a premium price, you want it to run and you want perfection. Me too. The question is, what is perfection? Really think about that for a minute, what is YOUR perfection? You must relay that to your builder BEFORE your gun is built. If my "perfection" is ZERO tool marks, bank vault lock up (I can break it in), no sharp corners around the grip safety, reliable trigger job under 3#, hand filed chamfered edges on the slide, one of a kind cuts on slide, etc...then I need to let my builder know those are my expectations and anything less will not do. If the builder wants to pass on the job fearing I may NEVER be satisfied then he may do so BEFORE the work has started. Do you want $6000 Gemini Customs perfection or do you want $1499 STI perfection? If it doesn't run, the builder will make it right or he won't last long in this business. Period. If it happens more often than not, he won't last long. If the builder knows what they are doing, it really isn't hard to make a gun run with standard ammo. The problem lies in the variables. What happens when the customer uses "xyz ammo" with his own "abc magazines" and has issues the builder did not encounter during his own testing and final test fire? Basically two variables that the builder has no control over. What happens when the shooter has poor shooting technique causing finger induced doubles and blames it on the "crap trigger job". Said gun is returned, tested, tested again by other shooters, has no mechanical issues found. Then what? Do you tell the customer, "sorry you just don't know how to shoot a $3500 gun with a sub 2.0# trigger on it." Of course not, but these are the very things that happen that fall into the "it doesn't run right" catagory. Worse for me than feeding/extraction type hiccups would be accuracy. My first custom 2011 purchase had worse accuracy (much worse) than the factory Edge I sold to buy it. That was the day I started building my own 2011's. No where else to point the finger if my stuff doesn't run. This isn't a dig on people that complain about their brand new, custom built, race gun doesn't run. It should run. But there are some other things going on sometimes that the gunsmith could not account for. Perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

I always recommend the 771's. Best (fastest), cheaper than CR's. I use comptac, don't care for bladetechs. I use a fixed rear, plain. FO front. Getting the sight/notch width ratio to where you like it is important too. Ambi's are not necessary, they break more often too. I prefer single sided, with a small paddle. I run 185gr LSWC, down from 200gr. I don't notice much of a difference except my point of impact is closer to point of aim with my fixed sights. I like the way the gun tracks with them. I think I only have 5 mag pouches, not sure I can fit 6 plus a holster on my belt.... Dry fire reload, dry fire reload, dry fire reload.

So it's OK for a major manufacture to state their pistols have a 500 round break in period, but not OK for a hand fit custom to possibly need one? 2011's are kind of a special circumstance because of the fickle nature of the magazines. The gunsmith may have his own personal magazine that he KNOWS works, uses it to test his guns, sends gun to customer who uses mags that may or may not work, customer has issues with it, never gives 'smith a chance to resolve issue (real or not), slams gunsmith on every forum he has access too. It's a story I've heard many times. It's even better when the story involves a FREE prize table gun. I look at guns like cars. Every once in a while a lemon sneaks off the line, it's what the builder does after the sale that matters to me. The gun should run, out of the box, but if there is an issue and the builder takes care of it it should not be a black eye. I've had to tune guns to run a very specific type of ammo. If I had not known ahead of time about the ammo, there is a good chance they would not have run very well, or would have had a very short life span. Just food for thought.

Do you have the belgain style flash hider with forward angled ports? That thing is brutal. Recoil accentuator! Remove it and the recoil will be less. Remove if you have this: http://www.dsarms.com/Belgian-Type-Short-Flash-Hider---002D/productinfo/002D/ I ran a Holland brake on my 16" barrel and it was very very mild. That was surplus barrel gun that would shoot 2moa with irons at 200m, factory ammo. Some of them can shoot pretty well. Also, what scope mount do you have and is it secure?

I never use the light sear or striker springs. If you rounded the striker at all when you polished it, or reduced the "hang down" length then you've changed the engagement of it to the sear. By reprofiling the sear, you've reduced it's height as well. Because it pivots, by reducing the length from the pivot point (you removed the "wave", which reduces length) you've reduced it's overall height which also reduces engagement. The sear angle is important. If you cut a 90* angle relative to the top of the sear, once it's installed and it pivots up to it's resting position, only the very bottom edge of the striker will engage the sear. That in itself is not so bad, but if the angle and spring rates are just right (or wrong) the the striker will push down and override the sear as the gun cycles. Fortunately you cut the stock Pro sear. Order the Apex sear. If nothing else you can compare their angle to yours. They have gone through a couple of different sear profiles (that I've seen). But they work. For now. Cut the front of the sear in the area that will allow it to pivot higher up, change to the stock sear spring and retest. BTW you can use a Glock orange armorer plate to inspect the engagement of the sear/striker while assembled.

I'm in. I've been close on the last 4 months worth of classifiers. FYI, no club that I shoot offers muligans on classifiers. You can't buy your way out of a bad one. You can't keep paying for runs until you get a good one. want2race A56938 Single Stack 92.21% Limited 90.15% Next month in SS, an 81 will replace a 91 so I'm going backwards...

Well CRAP, you have a MILL? Clamp up the barrel, center tool head on bore, then use the cutter. If the work and the tool are held firm, it should not chatter. I tried using it by hand and with a 10" drill press. Took me FOREVER to get the chatter marks out. Turn the tool very slow, the slowest speed on my drill press is like 500rpm.

Of course it's a quickie job with a lathe. That's like cheating.

That tool chatters and the finished product will look like ish. Turned by hand or faster, it didn't matter for me. Basically I couldn't get it to cut smooth. Flush the barrel by hand with files. I used a dremel (gasp!) and a round ball stone to break the edge of the crown. This was on the Hacksaw 2011.

Pucker factor is an 11.1HF for 100%, which is 3.6 clean. Since it's only 40 points the hit factor falls rapidly. Stage one placed a LARGE emphisis on getting into and out of the shooting positions. If there is a large distance to cover, sprint as hard as you can up to about 3 steps before the next shooting positions. I watched many shooters run about 70% from posisitons. The positions that had the small circle ports, I shot the first one from about 6 feet back from the port. The shot difficulty didn't change and all I had to do was get the bullets through the port and I knew they would be in the A zone. It saves about 2 seconds of movement time since you don't go all the way up to it. Don't know your time but low 30's was a fast time. Classic MOVE fast, SHOOT slow stage.

If the barrel is fit right, the link does nothing but pull the barrel out of lock up. If the link is used to tighten the lock up then two things happen, short link lifespan and reduced accuracy. Check the tightness of the lock up, then remove the link and recheck the lockup. If it's the same, reinstall the old link and enjoy the pistol.

On an EB I thin it similar to an STI, then blend to the frame. Starting with an STI saves time. With the STI you can also remove the grip safety without haveing to remove the main spring housing. I can modify the EB to do the same but again in the effort to save time starting with the STI is better for me. I have a big thumb knuckle and this allows a very high grip to be comfortable. No sharp corners. Pics are at various stages of completion. I use a Dremel to save time, finish with a 320g MX wheel then blast for matte finish. Mag well in pic was in the test phase before final finish.

You can also get some custom stuff done, before you get it. ...I couldn't help myself...

That thing is a monster compared to my press (small deal B ). Always makes me chuckle, and be a bit jealous.

You can shoot with while pressing your thumb on the back of the slide. Nothing happens except the gun is a single shot. They even teach that in the Glock Instructor course. If the slide doesn't move, the barrel doesn't unlock. Yes, I was aprehensive about trying it but it works. ...and barrel crowns are over-rated...