Canuck63

Hi all, next year I'll compete in the Classic (SS) Division here in Italy with two Les Baer guns.Rules allow for optic fiber front sight and I'd like to swap to ones originally fitted on my guns with OF ones.The sights on my LBs seem to be pinned somehiow to the slides to center them.Is there a safe way to remove them sights without damaging the latter or marring the slide? TIA Manny

Thank you guys for your fast and kind replies!Gonna order a dozen of screws with the (supposedly)right thread and try them...they'll set me back a tenner or three...no big deal if they'l end up in the tool box unused ! @BlueOvalBruin...thank you for the link!You've hit the nail on the head with this one mate...not being "controlled parts" ordering them shouldn't be a major issue. @Bob...too bad you cannot ship "not controlled" parts outside the USoA anymore...I've used them on all my guns!Last week I've emailed Brazos Custom asking if I could still order a few front sights directly from you since they're virtually unobtanium here in Italy but I got a neg ! Cheers Manu

Hi all, as incredible as it may seem I'm having a hell of a hard time finding spare upper screws for my guns' grips . The Italian Infinity importer has sold them all and Midway-Italy's waiting for a new shipping.The only viable quick option would be,you've guessed that,eBay....but I don't know what to look for ;I've found this seller ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gw-Bhs-10-24-X-1-2-10-Button-Allen-Head-Screws-Hardwa-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3367182e06QQitemZ220772969990QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories ) and he should have what I need but since in Italy we go by the metric system I really don't know what to ask for! Any help in this matter would be GREATLY appreciated! Cheers Manu P.S.; God bless the U.S.Navy SEALS !

My Schuemann Ultimatch barrel will chamber 1.25" loads all day long. I think it'll go out to 1.3. All of my SVIs will chamber loads up to 1,260" without a glitch...and they even won't rattle inside the mags!

I've got 1000s of new WW and Starline cases but I reload just about anything I pick up at the range...and use it in practice!Then I sort it by headstamps,check it for splits,close-to-unreadable stamps and use it in minor matches and leave it on the ground.I steer the hell clear from APC and Federal NT brass...the former's not so popular in Italy,while the latter,which comes straight from LE ranges Staside has ring-crimped primers pockets which are a real PITA...even if you do have a single-stage and a swaging tool...or a Dillon swager,for that matters! GFL(Fiocchi) cases are a tad finicky sometimes but I kinda like them.Speer and CCI are quite good but they split like hell. Cheers Manu

IMHO all this hype about S&B being cr@p or near-to-impossible to be loaded easily is often brain-f@rting!Some batches (and we all know that a batch is made of shiploads of them!) may have the primer pockets that are a wee tighter than usual and shoving up the primers like mad would only add to the problem..and that would happen even with Starline brass!They're a tad thicker than CBC,Starline,CCI and such but if many top shooters in Neandertheurope use them in the European Championship and in the World Shoot I reckon that they could be used by American shooters too! It's good brass and will last for a long time before becoming brass to leave on the ground! Just my two €.002 Manu

First thing first I keep them in their bags and every time I switch springs the unused one off in its bag it goes....as easy as that!I also thought about measuring the thickness of the wire but stopped doing that when I noticed that the thickness of a 12lbs ISMI had the same thickness as a 14 pounder I had measured a few minutes before and that the wire of a 18 pounders was thicker than the wire a 20 lbs spring was made of...confusing?Don't tell me! I decided to take what's written on the bag for granted (if it works the way I want it to it's ok to me!) but in order to avoid confusion in case of two or more springs on the bench at the same time I dip the part that's hidden inside the plug in gloss modeling enamels and write the color on the bag! Cheers Manu P.S.;if the springs are used on competition guns I go the extra mile and write on a piece of tape the number of rounds shot with that particular spring and stick it to the bag!Anal?Heck, YES!

Many thanks for chimin' in guys !Jimini, I also considered SR primers....and last season I did shoot 25K rounds...and that not to become a GM,but to learn how to hit a lake standing on its bottom ! Btw...yesterday I chronoed the same load but with a COL of 1.20" and guess what?151 PF Cheers Manu

I lube my SVI with 10/W40 Synthetic Motor Oil and that works great...but after a few hundreds rounds (coated/fmjs and VV 320/340) everything gets kinda "gummy"... ! Do you guys lube sear,disconnector and trigger?I've been told that it's a no-no...just curios! Manu

I love the 45 and wouldn't have ventured into 40S&W territory if it wasn't because of the difference in mag capacity between the two when shooting a SVI(14/15 rounds against the 20 some shooter have in their mags thanks to custom,hand-made pads!).I've had a fairly decent match season with my ADC Standard (Limited) with 16 rounders and running my fave set up for the ammo I use consisting of a stack of three Wilson blue buffers and a 12,5lbs ISMI,turning it into a black and green mini-Grease Gun,but after returning to 40S&W I must say that I'm quite happy with this choice even if, to me at least,45 is king!Of course...shooting in Limited Ten is a different matter altogether...would have been the capacity of the magazine the only issue I'd have bought two 45 SVIs instead!

To Duane,Nemo and the others who have chimed in...thanks a lot for reading and helping yours truly and see clearer ! Manu

Thanks for the replies so far guys!I think I'll buy a 1K box (the shop only ofer this option...and it's factory!) and see how they perform...should the be bad performers,kings-of-the-keyhole and stuff like that I can always use them for CQP(close quarters practice); presidentes,Bill Drills and all that jazz! Thanks again for chimin' in! Cheers Manu

The nny brass that I had was about a year ago. I bought two boxes of Wolf gold (brass cases) in 22-250 as they were very inexpensive. Thought that it would be decent plinking ammo and would have the brass to loas to boot. The headstamp that was on the rounds that came out of the wolf box read nny. They may be using someone elses brass. I wasn't aware of Wolf ammo with brass cases..marked ppy to boot!In Italy we only have Wolf ammo with grey laquered steel cases.If this is the case (pun not intended!) I think that Wolf (or whatever its Arsenal number) has really acquired ppy or that there's a "joint venture" between the two......I opt for the first possibility! Cheers Manu

I don't think that "nny" is now owned by Wolf,which is a former State-owned Russki factory producing military ammo but is a Jugoslav factory run by the Jugos;"nny" is in fact "ppj" written in cyrillic which stands for "Prvi Partizan Jugosomething"."ppy" brass is nice and is more and more used in Europe by factory reloaders making match-grade pistol ammo (Italy's 20yo Paolo Montera,who made it to second place in the Junior Standard in Bali use this brass and he's very picky).On the other hand,"ppy" factory used to be crap,with an un-beaten record of at least sixty-five malfunctions outta of a box of fifty rounds during the Jugoslav war years....probably due to sabotage!After having experimented myself such kind of "records" I've steered the hell clear from them cartridges since the mid 90s,but looks like they perform decently now! Keep the brass,and if you do have "ppy" brass which is nikel-plated keep it and use it by any means..it's great! Merry Xmas Manu

Thanks for replying Yoshida! Merry Christmas Manu

Hi all, went to the range today to chrono a few 40S&W reloads,and amongst them there was a well known and widely used one by Italian IPSC shooters of the Limited (standard in Italy) Division,namely a 202grs plated RN bullet over 4.7grs of VV320 ignited by Winchester primers. Looks like Italian shooters have a hard time understanding that one of the pluses of the 1911/2011 is the fact that the rounds can be made longer,therefore this load,giving an average of 171/175 PF is kept to a COL of 1.195"/1.20",while IMHO cartridges could be made a tad longer.I've made mine 1,240" (my Infinity Competition ran wonderfully) and as I espected,the speeds didn't reach major,giving a 148PF. Would I be better off trying a shorter COL (1.195"/1.20") or could I try to reach major with more powder? TIA Cheers and Merry Xmas everybody Manny

thanks mo Ed

Hi all, after year after year of shooting 45s I'll shoot a 40SW SVI in the Limited Division (Standard in Italy) next year...one of the local gunshop is closing and I could get Berrys bullets at a very interesting price,question is...are they any good?Only 155 grs (the ones with the hollow base) and 180 grs (both plated) are left and I could get several Ks of them but before committing I'd love to hear from the more informed members out there ! TIA for stopping and reading Cheers Manu

Words fail me guys...this forum is the greatest,period! d906670,I do have the Dawson pad on some of the magazines of my standard built around a PO frame but they're a big no-no here in Italy..I know that back in the States you can do as you please (within certain limits,of course!) in matches held at a National level,but here in Italy the International rules apply even at a club level (I kid you not!),including them %$&%$ boxes!I have PO magazines fitted with custom made alu pads increasing the capacity to 16 rds (after "abusing the inner thickness of the base of the pad,the follower and the spring) and the gun barely fits into the box! Anyway...I've opted for two .40 guns and I'll probably have a 45 barrel fitted on my practice gun just for the sake of it...cannot bear the thought of not having a 45 option ! I've had a friend who's an Italian top shooter have a go with my 45 in its actual tune-up(four buffers and a variable 13lbs Wollf)..told him to shoot it as fast as his trigger finger would allow him to do and it couldn't believe that the gun would perform like that...200 rds shot at a near-smg rate without a failure and near to perfect targer re-acquisition...to quote his words at least! Ok...let's start my first serious saeson in Limited(Standard) with a 40...I'm confident I'll find a lot of help here as far as tuning-in and realoads are concerned! I wish y'all a great weekend! Manu

It would be nice to have a limited minor/Lten in Italy as a class in its own right...when you declare bullet weight and PF before the match you'll nevertheless rub elbows with the rest of the competitors using a major PF...and that would mean that with your rat f@rts you'd have to make all As to have a chance to do well!That would be interesting though...I'd like to try it myself at a club match; 10lbs recoil spring and 200 grainers over less that 4 grains of N310! Talking about felt recoil...as far as I'm concerned I find the recoil of the 40SW unpleasant,and I can choose any kind of recoil reducer for my SVI! Many Tanfoglio shooter (even "works" ones) have often to make do with 15/16 rounders yet they do extremely well...I think that you have to compensate with other skills,i.e. fast mag changes at the right time and place!

Trevor,Richard and Redman, thanks a million for chiming in with your commments guys ! Trevor,you hit the nail on the head with the ammo thing...15/16+1 rds against 17,18 or even 19+1 is a con in a way,but it's also true that a well placed hit on a plate is worth one or even two misses with a 18 rounders...and then the ammo advantage goes to the dogs!I nearly made to B in the Italian Championship and that means competing against the likes of Adriano Santarcangelo who finished 7th at Bali;Taran Butler was 8th and Midgley 6th)..in the last stage of the last match that he won in Italy I made a 72%...clearing a jam while running out of a barricade...a little thing for many but a thing I've been proud of..after all it was my fourth REAL match !Some say that the 45 is more punishing recoilwise than the 40 but then again,even when I had a mint SVI in .40 I kept on competing with my "anti-tank gun" or "pistol/shotgun" as my buds call it!Dunno...it's probably me but I feel comfortable with the bigger caliber...maybe because since January 2007 nearly 60k rds of 45 went thru my guns while a mere 3500 were shot with the .40 ! Redman...the oddest thing is that you can actually own as many handgunsguns (no restriction for rifles and shotguns) as you like in Italy but only use six,I mean...as soon as you buy an extra gun you've got to ask for a collector's licence...put the "extra" gun(s) in your collection (which is absolutely virtual!) and only use the ones that are outside of the collection!You must remove a "vital" part from (barrel,slide,firing pin,bolt...you name it)the guns in your collection and you're not allowed to keep the ammo in their calibers...if you have pistols in those caliber(s) outside the collection then you can keep the ammo but again cannot use the gun in your collection...confusing ?Yes...and then some! Cheers Manu

Hi all, please cope with me if this topic will have me called all the names under the Sun by the shooters with 100s of matches under their belts(that will probably ), but I've just placed an order for two SVI guns for the next season and there’s something I’d love to discuss about the caliber of the guns I’ve ordered before the fitting of the barrels would start. This year of 2008 has been my first year in FITDS (Italian IPSC) competition,and in 5 events I'd have made it to B from D (that granted me the slots to take part to the Italian Nationals),if it wasn’t for two matches that were marred by all sorts of mechanical troubles (and lotsa misses in the match held in my Club's very range ) that stopped me on my tracks at 59% …which thing I’ve put down to experience anyway ! The gun I’ve used has been a ADC Custom in .45ACP,a not very common choice of caliber for ISPC,as some may point out,but since I love this caliber so much I opted for this choice with no regrets whatsoever if not for the less rounds of ammo held by the 45 mags.That’s the only thing that puzzles me a bit as far as the choice of caliber for my next SVIs is concerned;the ADC magazines(built around a Para Ordnance frame)could held 15/16 rounds of ammo with an aluminum extended pad and that was enough to me,after all a shooter “argueing” with steel plates would soon sap the ammo supply of any magazine in any given caliber,be it a L10 or a 34 rounder,so that would be an answer,not to talk about the As that would have been Cs if it wasn’t for the big,neatly cut holes left by the 200 grainers I use ! As I’ve said above I’ve ordered two twin guns in 45 caliber,but I’d like to know if there’s a way to increase the capacity of the magazines to at least 15 rounds without using pads that wouldn’t be “kosher”,read the pistol not fitting inside the box! I know that Arredondo makes followers that would allow for an additional round,increasing the total to 15 and that would be nice (15+1 in those “condition one” stages) but I’d love to know about more tricks to increase the capacity of the magazines without decreasing the reliability. Yes...a .40 magazine would held a few more rounds and that would be something for a serious shooter,but looks like I don't feel myself comfortable enough shooting this caliber...after all I own a .40 SVI Competition that it's near-mint and that should speak volumes about the love affaire with the Forty-Five:I'm going to sell this gun to a bud to make place for the other guns,since in Italy we can only own six "sports" guns! One more question;if it wasn't for the number of rounds...would there be any reason as to why the 40 would be a better choice?Not trying to be smart...just curious!It's probably me but I seem to handle better a 45Major than a 40Major. Thank you for stopping reading and (hopefully) replying! Greetings from a very rainy and snowy Italy Manu

In fact I'm a Canadian citizen but I've been living in Italy thirty years now!Yes,Italians can own a military caliber like ,45ACP...they can own ANY caliber actually,excepting the 9mm Luger (used by the Police,the AAFF and the Carabinieri) and the .50BMG!Of course,Armor Piercing,Incendiary,Explosive and tracers are a big no-no as are silencers and full-autos! Italy's quite "liberal" but while you can own as many carbines/rifles/shotguns as you like you cannot have more than 9 handguns...six "sports guns"(like the SVI in my avatar)and three "non-sports" guns (like the Beretta 98/92)...I know it's weird! As an IPSC shooter I've got a special license to buy/own/transport 1500 rds of handgun ammo (against the 200 the law allows you to buy/own/transport)...while in the US you can have ammo by the buckets! Cheers Mammy

Hi L9x25 thanks a million for your reply...I either use very good lead projectiles and first quality FMJs,but I mainly use the former! Cheers Manny

Hi Wide, I already own a .40 SVI...I simply don't like the caliber...I've used a .45 in the past season and nearly made it to B from D (with only four matches under my belt!)...and many an alpha would have been a Charlie if it wasn't for the big,neat holes left by my 45s (round-nosed swcs) . It's probably me but each time I shoot a bud's .40 I've got this feeling that this caliber is,as they say in Argentina, "ni chicha ni lemonada",i.e. it ain't neither booze nor lemonade! Thank you for asking and for the heads-up! Manny