Recommendation for new Open Pistol

[BigBore56]

I am enjoying my STI Trojan, but want to buy an open gun next. I have saved the cash to buy a new STI Trubor ($2500)in 9 major, knowing that I probably will load it to minor class for steel. I looked around on this forum and GB.com, but don't see any used ones. They must be pretty good if people are holding onto them.

Would appreciate any recommendations on the purchase. I read the SVI's are great guns too, but not so much a "packaged open gun" type pistol that comes ready to run like the Trubor. I don't shoot my .40's much anymore, as I prefer the 9 and have a Lock-N-Load set up just for it. My wife also shoots my 9 mm guns every weekend, and likes them much more than the .45's.

Another option would be a .38 Super, but I have thousands of once fired 9mm brass already, and all the components on the shelf. Not opposed to buying a used gun, if it had low round count....pretty picky about my pistols. I built several AR platform guns and still enjoy the 1911's the best of all my toys.

The open/race guns seem to be fairly rare in the new or used marketplace?

[G-ManBart]

I am enjoying my STI Trojan, but want to buy an open gun next. I have saved the cash to buy a new STI Trubor ($2500)in 9 major, knowing that I probably will load it to minor class for steel. I looked around on this forum and GB.com, but don't see any used ones. They must be pretty good if people are holding onto them.

Would appreciate any recommendations on the purchase. I read the SVI's are great guns too, but not so much a "packaged open gun" type pistol that comes ready to run like the Trubor. I don't shoot my .40's much anymore, as I prefer the 9 and have a Lock-N-Load set up just for it. My wife also shoots my 9 mm guns every weekend, and likes them much more than the .45's.

Another option would be a .38 Super, but I have thousands of once fired 9mm brass already, and all the components on the shelf. Not opposed to buying a used gun, if it had low round count....pretty picky about my pistols. I built several AR platform guns and still enjoy the 1911's the best of all my toys.

The open/race guns seem to be fairly rare in the new or used marketplace?

You have two reasonable choices and a whole bunch of "maybe" choices out there. One, is to go with a quality used full custom gun. Two is to buy a new TruBor from someone like Bob at Brazos and opt for the High Performance Package (Dawson has one called Super Tuned) to go along with it. I wouldn't expect that every stock TruBor would run 100% in 9mm (either Major or Minor). 9 Open guns can definitely be made to run, but they often require a little more attention to make 100%.

Buying a stock TruBor, either new or used, isn't as likely to leave you happy....just sort of the way it is.

If you're already set to load 9, and have lots of cases etc, it's probably not a bad idea to go with an Open gun in 9, provided you keep one or two things in mind. One, you have to keep your ammo separate if you load 9 Major (often on the long side). You don't want to try using that in most stock 9mm guns and it often won't even fit in the magazines. Two, you'll only get a handful of uses out of cases loaded to Major before the primer pockets loosen up, and it's probably not a great idea to try loading 9 Major with old brass you've had around for a while and maybe loaded half a dozen times in the past. If you have a supply of fresh once-fired, ready to load, then it's an easier choice.

I'm semi-lazy so I only load 38SC to Major and 9 to Minor...can't mess that up. R,

[WDB]

If you already have 2500 saved up, I would put it off just a little longer and have one built for a little extra and eliminate the headaches.

[JRBean]

If your planning on loading minor for steel shooting you might want to look at the STI Match Master in 9mm instead of the Trubor. Lighter slide for faster cycling and overall lighter gun for faster transitions and it should be good for shooting major with as well.

The best deal right now though is the Benny Hill open gun in the classifieds. It's a steal for the price plus it comes with mags. The gun is chambered for 38 super but with the money you'll have left in your budget plus maybe a few more dollars. I'm sure Benny would be happy to rebarrel it in 9mm for you.

There are lots of nice open guns out there for sale if you are patient and look around for them.

[BigBore56]

bart: I didn't realize that a new TruBor would not run 100% out of the box. I have a lot of gunsmithing background, and guess I didn't plan to have to "tweak" a new $2500 pistol!

I set back about 3000 round of once fired 9mm brass for the open gun; I keep logs on all my reloads. I figured I would ditch it after a few loads. I also keep my regular 9mm loads (MG 124JHP over 6.0 Power Pistol) segregated for the Trojan and SIG, and only run them about 8 times before scrapping.

Been shooting/reloading wildcat cartridges for 40 years, so i am pretty OCD when it comes to brass and failures. I even built a few cartridges that noone else ever heard of (per my sign on name). Getting too old to shoot the handcannons anymore, as most of the left eardrum is gone!

Money is not really a problem on this project...just wanted to get a nice rig that ran well without all the headaches of a new build from parts. If I had the time, I would just build one myself from components. There are no "custom smiths" in Central Kansas that build these guns, so I would have to work with someone in another state. Option #2 is to buy a NICE custom gun that is proven to run.

Everyone in this part of the world specializes in 1000 yard Tactical Rifles nowadays. It's the hot ticket in Kansas, and you need to plan on $4K and 2 years to get one....then another $3K for optics. Pistol competition is CHEAP!

[G-ManBart]

bart: I didn't realize that a new TruBor would not run 100% out of the box. I have a lot of gunsmithing background, and guess I didn't plan to have to "tweak" a new $2500 pistol!

Yeah, it's really a coin toss whether a stock TruBor will run reliably or not....less likely with 9 than Super/SC. I know, we all think the same thing....$2500 guns should run, but it isn't always that simple. R,

[G-ManBart]

Some interesting reading on how folks picked their Open guns/gunsmiths:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=86201&view=findpost&p=992893

[werewolf45auto]

I would either keep an eye out here in the classifieds for a used gun or have a gun built the way you want it if you’re at that point. But it doesn’t sound like you’re at that point where you know exactly what you want. Then you have the fact that a lot more 38 super/supercomp guns come up for sale then 9 major guns. If you call around to the pistol smiths that are often mentioned on BE then you can get a good feel for the guy you want to do business with based on price, wait time, their conditions and willingness to meet your requirements. Plus they can build you a gun for your shooting style and ability based on the info you give them.

Hope this helps,

Dave

[TwoShot]

If you want a Trubor, I suggest buying it from a gunsmith who is an STI dealer. I bought mine from Dawson Precision and Dave has been great about answering questions and getting the gun running. I paid extra to have Dave go through the gun and set it up. Brazos Custom will do the same thing with a factory Trubor and there may be others.

[gunut]

Give matt (m2icustom) a call and see if he can build one for you

[Joe4d]

You'll have to tweek a $2500 gun because people tweek $2500 guns, I wouldnt tweek a $25 toaster from Wally World that didnt work. No way I would ever spend thousands at company A only to turn around and pay company B to get it to work. That's just wrong and enabling an industry to produce items with unacceptable QC. Ok off my soap box.

Despite a few squeaky wheels STI is a great company, most of their guns run, run well, and run a long long time. If they dont they will pretty much fix em for free.

Definetly go with 9mm over 38. There are a lot of nice 38 guns out there getting bought and sold to people that then realize there is zero brass available, it's rarer than hen's teeth.

[Pezco]

There are a ton or reasons to buys new, but the one I use is accountability by the builder. Your post questioned the STI to SVI. I have a custom built by Bedell (highly recommended) and one on the way from SV. I don't believe you can go wrong with either gun or a quality, known gunsmith but I'm a big fan of SV from a Customer Service standpoint.

[G-ManBart]

Definetly go with 9mm over 38. There are a lot of nice 38 guns out there getting bought and sold to people that then realize there is zero brass available, it's rarer than hen's teeth.

That's being overly dramatic and appears to be a bit of an assumption....unless all the new Open gun buyers have been updating you personally I think I've seen two threads where people said they were getting set up for a new gun and couldn't find brass. In one, I pointed out where it was in stock and in the other someone sold them enough to get them going.

Regardless, Graf and Sons has it in stock right now. Midway has nickel in stock as well. Yes, it has been harder to get the last six months or so (what hasn't?), but it shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks at most that someone would have to wait if all of the suppliers are out. Not only that, but I think the couple of times someone here has posted that they really needed to get some brass, for whatever reason, somebody hooked them up. R,

[BigBore56]

Thanks for all the good info...you got me thinking in a couple of different directions. I am open to the 38 Super platform, as I did check and can get brass pretty quick. Dies are easy and I keep the rest of the loading components in bulk. That gives me more options as far as buying a used custom gun. I didn't realize the 9's were more tempermental than the 38?

My STI dealer is 100 miles away, but I might stop by today and visit. I believe that the last gun I got from him went thru Dawson's shop first for FO front sight and quick testing/tuning/checkout. It has run perfectly, and is extremely accurate. Guess that't why I thought all their guns would do the same. I am sure if I pick a TruBore or Steelmaster, I would have it sent to Dawson first...as my dealer did say was well worth it. He shoots TruBor's as does his wife (competes in matches weekly), so I heard lots of good things from him.

Just ordered a new S&W Model 41 this morning from another buddy that is a dealer. Should have it next Monday. These were hard to get for a while, but are finally showing up at the distributors.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I would still look at a 9mm for open and shooting steel. I have a Bedell shorty now and I am building a Open 9mm 5" to try now. The 9mm really works well and does everything I need it to do. Thanks, Eric

[G-ManBart]

I didn't realize the 9's were more tempermental than the 38?

That's mostly related to the case length...there's a bigger gap where the case isn't guided by the chamber and hasn't hit the ejector yet. Extractor tension is the critical point followed closely by ejection angle. The sideways scope mounts solve many of these problems because they allow for a wider ejection angle...no mount to bounce off and wind up between slide and chamber.

Just ordered a new S&W Model 41 this morning from another buddy that is a dealer. Should have it next Monday. These were hard to get for a while, but are finally showing up at the distributors.

Mmmmmm...love M41s. There's an interesting thread on them in the other shooting sports section (think it was the Steel Challenge area). I have two, my father has one, and I try not to even look at them on GB for fear of bidding! R,

Bart

[shootingchef]

For $2500 I was able to get my first Open gun built by Gary Natalie at Gansguns.com. Using a STI slide and frame, he built a solid RUNNING pistol in 2 weeks.

[werewolf45auto]

Don’t let anyone talk you out of 38 supercomp or 9 major. They are both viable options and in my opinion should be picked based on your source of 9mm. If you have to buy 9mm as once fired at the average cost I see it in the classifieds or from brass sellers online then take into account how many times you can reload it versus how many times I can reload 38 supercomp that I bought new then the cost breaks down to nearly the same cost. So it’s my opinion that if your not getting 9mm for free or a really good price then I would just stick to 38 supercomp.

On the supercomp availability it sure is out stock more often but depending how much you shoot 1000 pieces could last you for a long time and as Bart mentioned above it seems like Midway always has nickel in stock.

Just food for thought

Dave

[DWFAN]

But you also have to consider how much of your brass you can recover. Over half of what I shoot locally is pretty much lost brass. I can choose not to shoot those places, but then that really limits my live fire practice.

[Chris iliff]

For $2500 I was able to get my first Open gun built by Gary Natalie at Gansguns.com. Using a STI slide and frame, he built a solid RUNNING pistol in 2 weeks.

You beat me to it. This is my standard answer to this often asked question. GO WITH GARY AND DON'T LOOK BACK. GREAT SERVICE, GREAT GUNS THAT RUN AND RUN, AND GREAT PRICES AND TURN-AROUND TIME. I think he has little gun elf's working full time.