Mark C Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I just got my my first open gun. It's a STI 2011 5" with a comp. in 38 super bull barrel is marked .355 with c-more red dot. It came with 4-140 and 1-170 mag. I bought some Remington UMC 38 super +p 130 gr factory ammo. On the last round the slide fails to stay open, is this becuase the ammo is not producing enough power and the gun maybe short cycling? and it does it with all 5 mags. I put in a new 9# recoil spring and still the same thing. I have ordered a 8# and a 7# spring. Am I on the right track? I am going to be reloading ammo once my bullets and brass arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vxhybrid Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I would start by sticking an empty mag in the magwell and pull the slide to the rear and see if the slide locks to the rear. You can also stick a mag in and pull the slide to the rear and verify that the slide lock is contacting the follower in the mag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Most open guns are set up that way, they will not hold the slide open. You are not supposed to run dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Yes the slide locks and stays back on all the mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Foxbat your saying its not suposed to lock open on the last round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splashdown Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Correct. Most USPSA/IPSC competitors in Limited or Open division prefer to disable the slide lock. The primary reason is that these guns tend to lock the slide open with one round still in the mag, so we just disable that feature and mentally keep track of our round count as we shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Man thats going to take some getting used too. I was thinking it was a spring or ammo power problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Since your mags do lock back on empty, it is very likely the the factory rounds are underpowered for your gun. A lighter spring may result in feeding problems, but you can try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Correct. Most USPSA/IPSC competitors in Limited or Open division prefer to disable the slide lock. The primary reason is that these guns tend to lock the slide open with one round still in the mag, so we just disable that feature and mentally keep track of our round count as we shoot. The only reason they lock the slide back with one round left is if the aftermarket followers weren't properly adjusted. Can't really blame the gun for that. I wouldn't go so far as to say most shooters in Limited disable the slide stop...I know a lot of Limited shooters who run active slide stops, and almost everybody does for L-10 (often with the exact same guns as Limited...doesn't cause any problems), SS and Prod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I bought some Remington UMC 38 super +p 130 gr factory ammo. On the last round the slide fails to stay open, is this becuase the ammo is not producing enough power and the gun maybe short cycling? and it does it with all 5 mags. I put in a new 9# recoil spring and still the same thing. I have ordered a 8# and a 7# spring. Am I on the right track? I am going to be reloading ammo once my bullets and brass arrive. Yes, the gun is short stroking/cycling. I run a 9lb spring with 170-175PF loads, and had to drop down to a 7lb spring to get my guns to run with 125-130PF steel loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 (edited) I would recommend buying loaded ammo for 38 super from Atlanta Arms & Ammo if you are not going to reload. Stay away from FMJ ammo since the lead base on the bullets is exposed. Stick with CMJ or JHP ammo so you don't leave lead deposits in your comp. It is a pain in the a@# to get lead out of a comp. FMJ full metal jacket lead base of bullet exposed CMJ complete metal jacket lead base enlosed by jacket material JHP jacketed hollow points lead base enclosed also Edited May 22, 2011 by Jaxshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 It's not the gun, it's the ammo. The hottest commercially available ammo you can buy for 38S (besides CorBon and AAA, and maybe 1 or 2 others) is probably Magtech +p, and it won't cycle your gun reliably, even with a 8 lb spring with 2 coils cut off (ask me how I know). Going to a 7 lb spring will allow you to shoot the gun with regular commercial ammo, but it will be sub major, and the comp is just gonna act like a weight out there on the end of the gun, instead of working like it's supposed to. Went through all this 2-3 years ago when I had the exact same gun as you.... Buy a press, start reloading...Besides, buying commercial 38S ammo will kill your bank account in no time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 I have a Dillon 650 and a 550. I'm waiting on my brass and bullets to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 What powder and bullet are you gonna be loading with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 GrumpyOne PM sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Got the 8 and 7 lb springs. The gun works with the 7 lb and factory ammo. Just waiting on my brass and bullets then i'll but the 9 lb spring back in and work on building a load for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Yes the slide locks and stays back on all the mags. Mark, Now that you've solved the issue with using factory ammo, there is another reason why most STI/SVI Limited or Open shooters configure their equipment so the slide never locks back on an empty mag. If you run the gun dry and do a reload with the slide locked back you will over insert the mag and the gun will lock up. You can have the slide release lever modified to never go into slide lock or modify the followers in your mags to disable the slide lock function. I prefer to have the slide release lever modified as you never know when you might need to use a fellow shooters mag. You never want to go to slide lock in our game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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