mark carr Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I am building a 6" 40 limited gun what is the ideal weight for the slide I found allot of info on overall weight but I couldn't find anything on slide weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Although I'm sure someone will post numbers (11oz-12.8oz), the ideal slide weight really comes down to how you want the gun to feel. Where do you want the balance point? Some like nose heavy for recoil management, others (me) like the weight as close to the hand as possible for transistions. If you are building it yourself, start out heavy and lighten it as you go. Get it shootable and start testing. For me, a good baseline is a Tritopped bushing barrel set up. That is already on the lighter side though. You could start with a bull barrel, then turn it down to a bushing set up later to test both set ups. I remember being given this exact advice. Just passing it along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIIID Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 There isn't a magic number, weight needs to be removed to get the gun to balance in the hand and function/handle to an optimum level. There are a host of variables such as-metal frame, polymer grip, heavy/light magwell, dust cover length, barrel type, guide rod,.... Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 My SV with a signature steel grip weighs 44.4 ounces total with a 12 ounce slide. It shoots very soft/flat with a government recoil system, two shock buffs and a 12# Sprinco recoil spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Hello: The sweet spot for a 6" slide is 11-11.5ozs I think. You get good slide speed and it transitions very well if most of the weight is off the front of the slide. Use a bushing barrel like Benny Hill does on his "Fat Free's" also helps. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark carr Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 Cool thanks for the info its going to be a bushing barrel I would like to keep it fast handling but didn't want to get the front end to light I was going to send the slide off to have it machined so I was just trying to figure out a ball park wight to tell the gunsmith no smith's in my area have any experience with this type of project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirpy Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Check out Ganns Guns for examples of slide lightening cuts. Haven't had them do anything for me (Yet) but haven't heard anything negative about their work. FWIW Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark carr Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 Hey Chirpy Ya I was thinking on sending it to Gans Guns I'm shooting a Gan gun in open and love it but I heard he's not taking in new work right now but I haven't talked to him personally yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNsTeR Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I don't understand why anyone pays attention to balance. The weight of a limited gun will change by a pound as you shoot it from full to empty. On average, you will probably have at least 12 rounds in the gun. How it balances when empty means nothing. $.02... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hello: Try a full 6" slide with no cuts in it. Then try one that has been lightened. See the difference, I thought so I fitted a 6" slide with no sight cuts then starting cutting away till I found what worked for me. I then cut the sight cuts and added the sights. It ended up at 11.6 ozs with sights. I then built another one that was 11.2 ozs with no sights. The last couple have been right at 11.1-11.2ozs with no sights. You are correct the pistol does get lighter as we empty the magazine. All that weight is in your hand not sticking out the end flapping in the breeze or moving back and forth. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark carr Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Ya I handled a 6" eagle untouched definitely felt front heavy but I never handled a fat free gun yet but I sure seen allot at the nat's last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hello: If you are going to the Nationals this year you can see my 6" Limited gun and back up as well. They are both very light but different from each other. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueOvalBruin Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I don't understand why anyone pays attention to balance. The weight of a limited gun will change by a pound as you shoot it from full to empty. On average, you will probably have at least 12 rounds in the gun. How it balances when empty means nothing. $.02... +1 It can take several weeks if not months to get used to a new gun if it’s different enough from what you’re currently using. So a single shooting session or handling demo won’t be very indicative of how well you would shoot that gun long term. Balance is overrated because you eventually get used to it and it won’t seem unbalanced anymore. I’ve had a couple guns that I thought were very awkward and after a month I couldn’t imagine shooting anything else. Similarly, if you’re used to a heavy gun and then shoot a light gun you might be amazed at how fast the transitions are with the lighter gun. I’ll bet though if you cloned yourself and you shot the light gun while your clone shot the heavy gun, after a while the scores will be very similar as your brain adapts and settles into a pace. When I switched from a glock limited gun to an FDC Sti Edge type gun, I thought man this thing is a tank with the bull barrel and FDC metal frame and metal mags. But now there’s no difference in transition times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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