wmspdi Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I have a Para P16-40 Limited with Dawson pads for USPSA Limited. I am thinking of picking up a used Para P18-9 to build into a 9mm Major compensated red dot gun for open division. What is holding me back is finding one or two 170mm magazines that are USPSA open legal. I tried various searches but did not find anything current on this subject. Do I have any options other trying to modify a STI mag? A new or used S_I race gun is out the budget for a few years, so my only other option would to be to build the gun based on a Glock G17 Gen 3 with Taylor +10 extenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Rather than modify several STI/SVI magazines, send a mag catch (can be purchased at Brownell's) to Richard at Canyon Creek. In short order he will modify your catch to work with STI/SVI mags. Someone "permanently borrowed" a range bag with my Para magazines a few years ago. Rather than start from scratch with Para mags, I purchase a tuned set of STI mags. That gave me a slight head start toward outfitting a nice STI open gun. Plus those STI mags dropped my reloading times nicely. Canyon Creek is a forum vendor and Richard is a heck of a nice guy. I highly recommend this work. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaGunner Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 https://www.sps-dc.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=38&language=en I have the same plans but I'm trying to decide to use sps mags or modify a mag release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Halley Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) First off with my research recently being in the OPEN forum I would say skip STIs and go to SVI's for the capacity. Bolen follower and spring and 4mm base. With the right tuning you should achieve 30 according to the consensus of others. I like SVI mags because they go in and out of my P16 like a dream with no magwell. I also changed the Mag release to a sti 2011 untapped. STI's are doable also you just have to grind the humps at the rear of the funneling body down to get it to drop free. I did this with a 170 40 mag recently and it runs well. Don't forget to bevel the insides of the mag body base and the bottom ends of the creases in the sides of the body so the follower or bullets dont hang up. Goodluck. Where are you getting SPS mags? I want a 170 40 or two. Sorry the site was down when last I tried it. Edited January 20, 2011 by Forrest Halley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzYooper Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Before I could afford my STI I was using a Para as my open pistol and I have tried SVI, STI and the SPS (STI style not Para) mags. I feel, as most, that the quality is in that order also. I decided early on to modify my mag release myself so I would be able to buy whichever mags I wanted and still be able to sell the ones I did not want. The modification involved adding a little metal to the "shelf" that the mag catch slot sits on. My mags only needed to sit a little higher in the frame to work properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuthh Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Rather than modify several STI/SVI magazines, send a mag catch (can be purchased at Brownell's) to Richard at Canyon Creek. In short order he will modify your catch to work with STI/SVI mags. Someone "permanently borrowed" a range bag with my Para magazines a few years ago. Rather than start from scratch with Para mags, I purchase a tuned set of STI mags. That gave me a slight head start toward outfitting a nice STI open gun. Plus those STI mags dropped my reloading times nicely. Canyon Creek is a forum vendor and Richard is a heck of a nice guy. I highly recommend this work. Bill You mean Para or STI mag catch that need to be tuned? Thanks Yuthh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Rather than modify several STI/SVI magazines, send a mag catch (can be purchased at Brownell's) to Richard at Canyon Creek. In short order he will modify your catch to work with STI/SVI mags. Canyon Creek is a forum vendor and Richard is a heck of a nice guy. I highly recommend this work. Bill You mean Para or STI mag catch that need to be tuned? Thanks Yuthh The mag catch is Para (Brownells Part No. 199-000-296 in SS or 199-000-293 blued). Richard welds a little material to it then grinds it down to tbe correct dimensions. If I remember correctly, Richard prefers working on the carbon steel (blued) catch. I kept the original mag catch intact should I decide at a later date use factory Para mags. Turns out I could have saved a few dollars because I will not be going back. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Reading thru the forum, does anyone have the correct info for Canyon creek-richard. I googled it but not sure if it is the correct vendor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 never mind...found it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I would also suggest getting SV magazines and a mag catch that will make them work in a P18. I'd go with that vs any Open Glock. The upside of Para for Open is that they already have the steel grip/frame that some people are paying crazy $$ to get on their STI or SV gun. Downsides are mags (do not try to make Para mags work in Open, not worth the effort), pin-hole locations (can shorten the life of your trigger job), trigger choices (few), and thin dust cover (for mounting optics on). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv Z Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 STI mags fit perfectly in my Pro Custom 18.9 with no mods to the mags or gun. I use one of Rich's mag catches in my 16.40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschultz Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I use a STI 170 in my Para also no mods made to the catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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