front sight on hybricomp barrel w/caspian x-comp

[jaredr]

I'm thinking my next project gun will be a stainless full size comp .45, either for pins or just because I think comped .45's look cool. Intention was to use a schuemann hybricomp and caspian x-comp, but I'd like to stay with iron sights. My guess is the best place to put the front sight with this combination would be a dovetail machined into the caspian x-comp. I don't have any experience building comp guns, so if anyone has any thoughts/suggestions on whether this will work (work well, or work at all) I'd appreciate your comments.

thanks for reading,

Jared

[Flexmoney]

Jared,

It will be interesting to hear the replies that you get. Will this be a double stack gun? Any USPSA use?

[Loves2Shoot]

A couple things to keep in mind. .45's dont generate much gas, thus you would have to use a light bullet and push it REALLY fast to make the hybrid work well. The sight would be getting blasted with gas every shot if you put it up there and so you wouldn't want a fiber optic. You might have more success with the .38 super in that configuration.

You might consider getting a threaded barrel that accepts a cone compesator and have a sleave made so that you could have .45 that was comped and one that was not in the same gun. The novelty of a comped .45 might wear off pretty quickly and it would be cool to be ale to switch back and forth.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[pcschwenke]

The Hybrid holes in the 45 ACP do work extremely well. My experience is mainly with the 45 hybrid barrels. They work much better than the comped guns of years past but, I'm sure the 38 would work slightly better.

The capsian x comp is not commonly used for pins but, may work well. I use the ed brown 4 star comp for pins.

Sights on the comp work best, do to it staying put, while the slide cycles. Better tracking!

Paul

[jaredr]

Thanks for everyone’s replies. I don’t have any experience building comp guns, so it’s nice to hear that putting the sight dovetail on the comp is not unreasonable. For those who asked, it’s a pretty long-winded rationale, but the reason I’m leaning towards .45 single stack is:

• I’m building this pistol just for general range use – I’m not worried about whether it will be a hindrance against other IPSC competitors because of limited mag capacity or a less efficient comp. I might take it to a local IPSC match, but if I do, it’s just for some practice on the clock.

• I have tons of .45 and 9mm brass, and very little .38 super brass. That basically knocks out .38 super for me because I’d like to be able to load up 3K-4K rounds at a time and then shoot for a bit with out having to constantly go back to the press.

• Also, .38 super brass is kind of a precious commodity compared to .45 (you don’t often find .38 super lying around the range) and of course 9mm brass is cheaper then water. If I build it in .45 or 9mm, I won’t be too ticked off if I can’t find every last piece of my brass on the line when I’m done. Yes, that attitude is a little stupid when you consider that I’ll put about $1000 in parts into this gun and new super brass is 8 cents a round. Oh well.

• If I go with a single-stack in .45, I’ve already got tons magazines. It’s nice to be able to load up 15 mags and then spend some time on the line. Granted, if I went with a double-stack .45, I might have to only load up 7 or 8 mags to spend the same amount of time, but that’s 7 or 8 (pre-ban) mags that I don’t have. If I go with a double-stack caspian in .38, mags will be even more expensive and tough to find (my understanding, anyway). A single stack in 9mm and I’d need to buy mags, even though they would be cheaper then any double-stack calibers.

• Only other reason I’m leaning towards .45 (besides the fact that I think comped .45’s are really cool) is that in order to load a 9mm high enough to work the comp, I am assuming that it would take a pretty full charge of whatever powder I was using (in terms of case volume). I load 6.8 grains of Alliant Power Pistol under a Rem 115 gr. JHP as a defense equivalent practice load. This load happens to fill up much of the available case capacity, and I’ve found that loading this on my XL650, no matter what I do (including clipping the spring under the detent ball), I inevitably find spilled powder on the shell plate after a while just because the cases are so full as they get shuffled around. This is a minor concern, but all other things considered, I find .45 ACP is easier to reload in large quantities.

Basically, it comes down to .45 or 9mm double stack because I don’t want to have to buy lots of high-cap mags for a plinking gun, and since I’m not planning on using it as an IPSC gun, I’m not concerned about either mag capacity or making a power factor (if I went with 9mm).

I don’t have any experience loading 9mm for major power factor (which I am assuming you need to do in order to work the comp better then a .45 200 gr LSWC at 800 fps). I’m not averse to building the pistol as a 9mm single stack (single-stacks mags being much more affordable then doubles), would ask a couple of questions for folks who have been through this before:

1) I plan on shooting lead bullets (because they’re really cheap) – would leading be a concern with a quality hard-cast bullet at the speeds/pressures required to work the comp well from a 9mm 147 gr. Bullet?

2) I have an unlimited supply of brass, but it is mixed range-pickup brass – would this be a cause for concern if I start loading up the 9mm above standard pressure limits in order to work the comp?

Ok – this post turned out way longer then I had thought, but it’s a decent (if long-winded) explanation of what I want out of this pistol, and why I’m leaning towards a single-stack .45.

Thanks for reading,

Jared

[DougCarden]

Jared, here is a thought. Most guys that have been around already have single stack .45 pinguns in their safes. Some of them might be willing to sell them........for a song. I know where half a dozen hybrid .45s are, but the owners dont want to sell. My point is, if you want a pin gun, post a wanted to buy ad on the USPSA website and on this site along with others. I am sure that you can just about find what you want already built and wont have to pay retail, plus the soon to be former owner will be happy as well to turn over the piece to someone who will shoot it and appreciate it! You might contact Randy Hollowbush in Topton, PA who runs the Handgunner gun shop. He is a good smith, and had at least three or four .45 single stack pin guns in various configurations in his shop this last fall. Of course, if you have your heart set on a new gun, go for it! What you want is out there, and with the money you save, then you can have your double stack super as well........ When you find the blaster you want, let me know and I and some other pinshooters can get you some loads to try! DougC