R. Batt

That's what scares me about doing this without more information. Who knows if "direct replacement" means exactly the same or close enough.

According to Alliant, Clay Dot is a direct replacement for Clays in shot shell loads. Has anyone tried it in handgun loads? If you have, does it pressure spike like Clays? I don't want to do anything stupid but I have a lot of it and would like to try it out once I get a little more information. Thanks.

Thanks want2race. I'll get a loose one for fitting and save the good one for the gun.

I hope this isn't a stupid question and that it hasn't been beat to death here. I tried a search and was unable to come up with anything. I'm getting ready to fit my first barrel and after reading the Kuhnhausen (sp) manuals and on the Internet, I have a question. I've read that when fitting the barrel hood to the slide an old bushing should be used to hold the front of the barrel in place. Is there any reason to use an old, loose bushing over the bushing I'm going to use in the completed gun? Does the bushing get damaged during the fitting process? Is the play in the bushing needed in order to properly fit the hood to the slide? Does the barrel need to be fit to the slide before the bushing is fit? I'm planning on ordering an angle fit bushing from EGW and don't plan on having to do a whole lot of work to get it fit. Thanks.

There are a lot of good choices out there, but the LOKI that Matt1911 mentioned looks to be a great rifle at a great price.

Their reticle section mentions second focal plane, but its hard to tell if that is all they offer. I couldn't find anything on pricing.

The magnums should be a little hotter than regular primers. I've seen about 20-30 FPS difference in loads. The magnums shouldn't give you any light strike problems.

I've never shot an official USPSA three gun match, but the matches I have shot scored the spinner as neutralized after one complete rotation.

Smokshwn has an excellent point. We all seem to try so hard to get away with the smallest amount of movement possible that we often end up shooting at targets that we aren't squared up to. We can get away with it with most targets, but the spinner is a different beast. Taking the extra time to get in front of it pays off.

I say bend away. I know a guy that will do it for you for cheap. I think he uses the incredibly accurate combination of body weight and the spokes in the wheel of a truck to achieve accuracy perfection.

I used to have an SX2 and I now shoot an SX3 for both hunting and three gun. I haven't had any problems with 7/8 to 1 3/8 oz. loads. They shoot soft since they are gas guns, but are still light and easy to move around. I've been more than happy with them.

If you have to shoot bird shot, a 2 3/4" pheasant/heavy game load of 6's will spin one with two well placed shots.

Most of our local hardware stores sell two or three foot sections of 1/4" brass rod for $10 or so. You can cut a small piece off to use as a punch and a little longer one to use as a squib rod. You'll have enough left over to last a long time.

Thanks Eric. I'll check those out.

Thanks for the replies. I think the shop will provide collets. I'll start with 3/16, 1/4, and 3/8 like Shred suggested and go from there.

Sorry. I should have been more descriptive. I plan on buying the slide and frame and all the other parts and fitting them together. I probably won't even do the sight cuts this first time. I'll just order the slide with them already done. I have the AGI videos and the Kuhnhausen books and have studied them. I'm a novice (especially at machining) but I think I somewhat understand what I'm getting into. I'm sure there will be surprises along the way though. Thanks for the help.

I just found a local machine shop that will rent mill time to me but I need to supply my own tooling. What do I need to build a 1911 from the ground up? I plan on fitting the slide and frame, barrel, and also doing some slide lightening. I'd like to get a basic set of end mills and build from there. Thanks in advance.

Great match. Thanks to Tim and everyone else who was involved.

A generous amount of slide glide will help minimize the rattle.

I'm a big fan of Tru Grip. I like it a lot better than a stippled grip.

I've only shot Bear Creek bullets out of my Limited, but they have been way more than accurate enough for USPSA.

What part of Idaho? We have good clubs and great local matches on both sides of the state.

I normally just use paper towels and Q Tips.

I wish there was an International Skeet field around here. I'd like to give it a try. I've shot the international shot sequence on an American Skeet field and it was plenty challenging.

One more vote for WST. I've thought of trying Solo 1000 and Ramshot Competition, but WST works so well and has so little smoke I haven't changed. It does seem to dirty up my guns a little though.