STI Modifications for IPSC.

[Seth]

Per the OP for me the reason I modify a 2011 platform(pick one) is because i CAN,if we wanted stock non modified, we would cartainly go back to the venerable 1911 that has served so many for so many yrs now, tho the ones coming from the manafactures these days do not look like your grand daddy's old warhorse so even that platform has been updated, and over the yrs of doing this silly sport i have come to like certain things on my 2011 platforms that the manafacturers dont supply with the firearm...as for buyin any custom gun and expecting it to work out of the box is fancifull at best, i have YET to have a custom 'racegun/2011' platform perform flawlessly out ofthe box/gate and I have had some built by some reputable makers not just billy bob the local gun hack, I sent one back w/ some of my ammo and was told their guns only run on 'new brass' not my reloaded more than a few times stuff...its a custom gun people, the tolerances are(or should be) a lot tighter than 'factory'(pardon if i offended any factory types) then there is the issue of the person using their own ammo that is loaded to who knows what specs??? an expect it to run??? not always...its a relationship, you have to get to know what it likes and doesnt,and work within those parameters

That's plain SAD.

My 6" arrived from Tripp Research on Friday September 10th. I put 30 rounds through it to function test with my ammo and then drove to the MidAtlantic Sectional. I put 20 rounds through it to sight it in and then shot the match on Saturday the 11th - 200 more rounds.

Since then I've put another 1200 rounds through it and have NOT had ANY malfunctions of ANY sort. Regular old STI/ SV mags with grams and bolen guts. No tuning. Old springs. Oh... and brass? I buy brass in buckets. Don't tumble, don't sort. Just make sure its all .40 and not split. 100% range pickup junk.

That's EXACTLY the same story I can tell with the 5" gun I had Tripp build in 08. 30k rounds through it and I've NEVER had a failure. NEVER. Not a single issue.

Perhaps your choice of gunsmiths should be adjusted. Virgil and Colby build guns that work.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Seth

[ShooterSteve]

I bought an Edge that was very very lightly used. I put about 1k rounds through it and the rear sight broke. I had a sectional coming up, so I called STI. They said to send the slide in and they would fix it and get it back to me quick. The turnaround from NC was only a week, and the work was great. Not only did they replace the sight, they polished everything on the bottom along with the breechface, and did a reliablity tune up on it. Since then I have put about 7k rounds thru it, and it has not burped once. It shoots great, and runs great and I am very happy with it. I am also very happy with the quality service I got from STI. Now if I can save up the money to get my eyes fixed, I might even be able to see the front sight! Every one warned me that getting old was hell...I didn't listen.

[ahtsay]

I currently have two STi EDGE in 40 and I can only say good things about them. I shoot matches every weekend, and 1 practice day per week. Of course it's not 100% stock, I've changed out the trigger to an SV with Enos insert, Koenig Hammer and a trigger job. They have been really reliable thus far. Most of my jams are usually ammo related and it is very rare. I estimate a jam every 2K to 3K rounds or so, and usually its ammo that did not fit the gauge getting mixed with my match ammo. Heck even those that doesn't fit the gauge goes boom 99% of the time. I can't really say that I was short changed by STi as I didn't experience anything wrong with my 2 pistols. Based from my experience, I wouldn't hesitate recommending an STi to anyone that plans to shoot competitively.