oddjob Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Now that the shorty open guns have been out for awhile how have they been holding up?? I ask because my son wanted one (so I can get my open gun back) and we fired a friend's shorty gun (1/2" shorter & with a titanium comp and ports in the barrel). After about a 100 rounds my son made a comment about how violent the thing was compared to our 5" open gun. A friend of mine also attended a class put on by a "pro shooter" who advised to stay away from the shorty because of maintainance problems. I was thinking if this guy is a sponsored shooter and stays away from shorties my wallet doesn't stand a chance. Another concern I have is loads. One of the local shooters has a shorty open gun, but is somewhat limited to the loads he can use. I know the shorty seems to handle quicker, but I guess I'm asking at what expense?? Is a 1/2" too short....Maybe a 1/4" is better.....?? Any thoughts would be appreciated before I cough up the money for my kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 My Dawson minigun has 30K rounds on it already and is still beautifully tight, accurate and 100% reliable. It is a tad more violent than a big 5", but I've had no problems with it. My experience with loads is you have to use ~0.5gr more powder. That can be a problem with 9x19, but in a Super case, everything I've tried still fits (barely for 4756 & N105) If you don't know you want a shorty, I'd get a standard 5"-- nothing wrong with 'em and they are a tad more user-friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpty1 Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 I've got one of JL's short 9s with about 8000 rounds thru it. Having primarily shot Glocks prior to that, I guess you could say my shorty is in fact maintenance intensive. I've probably cleaned it a half dozen times, whereas the Glock I would have probably only cleaned once after that many rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKooi Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 I have also been shooting a Hardy Custom commander length gun for over a year now. I have always had hybrid barrels in my guns so I really don't feel that the short gun with holes in it is all that different from a 5" with holes in it. If the 5" is not ported in the barrel and the shorty is, then I can see how one might feel the way your son did. As far as maintenance goes, I don't see any undue wear problems because of the shorter slide assembly. The gun has to be set up properly in order to work 100% of the time, but so does a 5". I echo Shred's thoughts with regard to loads. Even in the 9x19 major there are plenty of powders available. The bottom line is different strokes for different folks...if there was one wundergun, everyone would have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 if there was one wundergun, everyone would have it. Ahhhhh, but there is. Everyone just does not know yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.J. Norris Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 I've heard of no problems with short guns wearing out/breaking abnormally. I just ordered a Pro Sx from Brazos after shooting a updated design at FL Open, I tested the one I was shooting in the match and the shorty back-to-back and though quite a bit more violent than the full size guns, it was much flatter and needed much less effort to move the gun at the same speed. Loads should not be that limited if you get it in 38 Super/SC/TJ etc than if you got it in 9x19. A couple of questions. Was it a ported barrel or a hybrid barrel? The reason I ask is that hybrids tend to shoot harder than ports. Second, How old is your son and what’s his build like? This can make a big difference to how the gun is set-up. If he’s say 11 or 12 and is pretty bulky already then he's probably a better candidate for a short gun then a 14 or 15 year old with a slight build. BJ (14 years old). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Hey BJ, great to meet you at the FL open. I have been through the whole spread of short vs. long vs. 9mm vs super. Most of it does come down to personal preference. I was a nat's ass away from buying one of JL short guns and chicken'd out. I had a short super built for me and it had two hybrid holes and a four chamber comp. Shot good, just to violent for me. I really did not think there would be that much difference, but there was for me. Now if I were to start playing around again, I would look at a 5 inch gun in 9mm. Check out RL website and what he says about his setup. I have no doubt that all of the guys shooting shorties, JL, CPTY, RKOOI or even Brazo's shorty, love them and swear by them. I just felt like a small nuclear bomb went off in my hand shooting the short guns. BUT, that same short gun I sold to a medium statured woman and she loves it, go figure. You really have to experiment and test fire a few before you can make an honest choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Ummm, you forgot me on that list Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddjob Posted March 9, 2004 Author Share Posted March 9, 2004 The gun was a ported model. My son is 17 and to be honest is a pretty good shooter. He can sense and see things I can't. But I'm getting older. He's looking for a quicker target to target set up. Couple of people have told him that he'll get used to it real fast. What I don't know is the loads we test fired. I don't know if they were 115's or 124's. I forgot to ask. Looks like people for the most part like shorties. Guess size really doesn't matter!!! I would still appreciate other comments before sending the check off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpeters8445 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 I have about 35,000 rounds threw my Pro SX and Nothing has broke on it. This is my first open gun so I have nothing to compare it to, but it shoots great, runs great, and the service is great. IPSC G34, What is the updated design? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazos Custom Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Still in prototype stage. (It's supposed to be a secret ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 And if Bob's building it, you know it's gonna be swwweeeeettttt! Singlestack, my bad brother, you too. I guess your tag name throws me off. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bulm5 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 u-oh!!!!busted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markm Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 I've got one of Bob's open guns and DITTO what others have said. All the way around, Bob is the Best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.J. Norris Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Heyyyyyy, you never told me to keep it secret!! But just think, if you don't tell anybody what it is they will be lining up to buy them......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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