Msfinlayson Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi I went to my first Tuesday night steel match this week and had a tun of fun. Now i am trying to decide which gun i should use with the plans that if i was going to modify or make improvements to which would be the best to start with. So i have a Kimber Pro Raptor II and the Sti Spartan both in 45acp. I reload all my own ammo as well so is it better to shoot minor loads for Tuesday night steel ? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuzinvinny Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Our local steel league, steel challenge type static steel, has no minimum power factor, so most shooters are using a 9mm or for the revolver guys 38 special. Even loaded down, the 45 has more kick than the 9 or 38. If you are serious about being competitive, you will probably need to buy another gun. If you just want to have fun using your existing equipment, either gun will do, although I'm partial to STI products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I'd say the STI. It is a Ser 70 gun and easier to get a nice trigger. As far as load, I always like knocking down steel with authority so I would shoot a load with a pf around 145ish. For my open gun, I just switched out the 124gr bullets for 115gr bullets and used the same load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msfinlayson Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) I have been thinking about picking up a 9mm for it but it is just not in the budget at the time so i am trying to work with what i already have. But i will probably switch at some point. Edited December 11, 2011 by Msfinlayson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Shoot the full size gun for now, probably with 185 or 200 grain bullets loaded down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Shoot the gun that you can shoot with the best accuracy. If you are reloading minor will help you slightly. Be sure to test out your minor load not only that it runs the gun and gives you a good feel, the poi will change with the different load, maybe just enough to cause a miss. I shot a steel match today and started with a very light load but soon determined in the cold that the gun was just too sluggish, so went to the truck and brought out the 150pf load to replace the 125pf load. (9 mm open gun). 230gr Factory is 190pf. I loaned out my SS to the SIL for 3Gun, so if that Raptor miss behaves send it to me I'll dispose of it correctly. Have fun with the SS, as a B open I have to keep my head in the game or I'll get beat by a Master Class SS shooting a Kimber. No reloads on the steel so I lose that advantage. Practice your draw to first shot it is a huge factor in Steel matches, I've broken the 3 second barrier on the runs, with just a little extra work on the draw, my draw to first shot is just under 1 second. Accuracy in steel match, nothing messes with your time like a miss, its the balance go as fast as you can make the hits. If your accuracy is poor steel can be very humbling. I can remember being beat by an 80 year old lady with a Bersa Thunder, I just kept trying to go faster and the more I missed the worse she beat me, that's what we call the wheels falling off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I got rid of my 9mm today at a steel match. I may get a Ruger 22 if I find one cheap and shoot steel with that when I don't feel like shooting my Open gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msfinlayson Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Shoot the gun that you can shoot with the best accuracy. If you are reloading minor will help you slightly. Be sure to test out your minor load not only that it runs the gun and gives you a good feel, the poi will change with the different load, maybe just enough to cause a miss. I shot a steel match today and started with a very light load but soon determined in the cold that the gun was just too sluggish, so went to the truck and brought out the 150pf load to replace the 125pf load. (9 mm open gun). 230gr Factory is 190pf. I loaned out my SS to the SIL for 3Gun, so if that Raptor miss behaves send it to me I'll dispose of it correctly. Have fun with the SS, as a B open I have to keep my head in the game or I'll get beat by a Master Class SS shooting a Kimber. No reloads on the steel so I lose that advantage. Practice your draw to first shot it is a huge factor in Steel matches, I've broken the 3 second barrier on the runs, with just a little extra work on the draw, my draw to first shot is just under 1 second. Accuracy in steel match, nothing messes with your time like a miss, its the balance go as fast as you can make the hits. If your accuracy is poor steel can be very humbling. I can remember being beat by an 80 year old lady with a Bersa Thunder, I just kept trying to go faster and the more I missed the worse she beat me, that's what we call the wheels falling off. I have been shooting the raptor the most lately but i shoot both about equally i would say. If i was going to invest anymore more money in to a gun to improve it i was planing on the Spartan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Shoot the gun that you can shoot with the best accuracy. If you are reloading minor will help you slightly. Be sure to test out your minor load not only that it runs the gun and gives you a good feel, the poi will change with the different load, maybe just enough to cause a miss. I shot a steel match today and started with a very light load but soon determined in the cold that the gun was just too sluggish, so went to the truck and brought out the 150pf load to replace the 125pf load. (9 mm open gun). 230gr Factory is 190pf. I loaned out my SS to the SIL for 3Gun, so if that Raptor miss behaves send it to me I'll dispose of it correctly. Have fun with the SS, as a B open I have to keep my head in the game or I'll get beat by a Master Class SS shooting a Kimber. No reloads on the steel so I lose that advantage. Practice your draw to first shot it is a huge factor in Steel matches, I've broken the 3 second barrier on the runs, with just a little extra work on the draw, my draw to first shot is just under 1 second. Accuracy in steel match, nothing messes with your time like a miss, its the balance go as fast as you can make the hits. If your accuracy is poor steel can be very humbling. I can remember being beat by an 80 year old lady with a Bersa Thunder, I just kept trying to go faster and the more I missed the worse she beat me, that's what we call the wheels falling off. I have been shooting the raptor the most lately but i shoot both about equally i would say. If i was going to invest anymore more money in to a gun to improve it i was planing on the Spartan. A 9mm Spartan would be a good gun for steel, for Iron Sights, get one from Dawson with the Fiber optic, the thinner one the .100 opens up some space in the sight so you can see the steel. About the only other thing it would need is a little trigger work, no reloading in SSC unless you miss a lot, no need for a mag well. Another thought is a 22 call conversion for the 45. Seems like some parts of the country have a lot of 22 cal steel shooters, here, nope very few, everythings big here in TX, they bring out the big sewer pipe guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msfinlayson Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 I have the 45acp Spartan. But I will diffently look into the Dawson front sight that has been one of my only complaints is that I feel I pick up the sight a little faster on my Kimber. With a little more practice with the Spartan I think it will be solid for me in single stack. I was looking at a speed chute or mag well I had to reload twice in each stage last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) are you planning to be the tuesday night steel world champion? or using it as a cheap and easy way to get some more competition and work on speed and transitions? If it's the latter, then shoot whatever you compete with on weekends at whatever you compete at (idpa, uspsa, whatever). I shot a bunch of weekday steel matches this year because my first 2 idpa matches i was slow, but accurate, so i figured it would help my speed. i alternated between shooting my idpa gun (m&p40) and a buckmark22. It did end up making me a faster and better shooter to judge by my last 2 idpa matches, btw. Edited December 12, 2011 by motosapiens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroe3 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 The rimfire crowd seems to have a ton of malfunctions at steel matches. Perhaps it's the wet, cold weather or maybe it's the filth from the 22 round. I'd stick with centerfire and avoid the frustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 The rimfire crowd seems to have a ton of malfunctions at steel matches. Perhaps it's the wet, cold weather or maybe it's the filth from the 22 round. I'd stick with centerfire and avoid the frustration. i personally had zero. if you have a gun that won't run, I would recommend fixing it before taking it to a match. ymmv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hi I went to my first Tuesday night steel match this week and had a tun of fun. Now i am trying to decide which gun i should use with the plans that if i was going to modify or make improvements to which would be the best to start with. So i have a Kimber Pro Raptor II and the Sti Spartan both in 45acp. I reload all my own ammo as well so is it better to shoot minor loads for Tuesday night steel ? Thanks Are you shooting Tuesday steel at Rio Salado? A friend of mine uses an old Colt Gold Cup with 230 gr. LRN and 3.5 gr. Trail Boss - you can almost see the bullet going downrange. I believe he uses a 10 lnb. recoil spring. The steel goes down without any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msfinlayson Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hi I went to my first Tuesday night steel match this week and had a tun of fun. Now i am trying to decide which gun i should use with the plans that if i was going to modify or make improvements to which would be the best to start with. So i have a Kimber Pro Raptor II and the Sti Spartan both in 45acp. I reload all my own ammo as well so is it better to shoot minor loads for Tuesday night steel ? Thanks Are you shooting Tuesday steel at Rio Salado? A friend of mine uses an old Colt Gold Cup with 230 gr. LRN and 3.5 gr. Trail Boss - you can almost see the bullet going downrange. I believe he uses a 10 lnb. recoil spring. The steel goes down without any problems. Yes thats where i went i am going to play with the Sti Spartan and use it for steel and keep the Kimber as my carry gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote4x4 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Are you shooting Tuesday steel at Rio Salado? A friend of mine uses an old Colt Gold Cup with 230 gr. LRN and 3.5 gr. Trail Boss - you can almost see the bullet going downrange. I believe he uses a 10 lnb. recoil spring. The steel goes down without any problems. The lights are just right at Rio and yup, I have seen the bullets of .45s going down range. It's really trippy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Msfinlayson: Welcome to Tuesday Night Steel at Rio Salado! Your plan to shoot your STI is a good one. You might even want to try the Kimber, and allow the sport of shooting steel help you determine which pistol you shoot best. Over time, you might decide to try a different platform or caliber, and there are lots of good choices. The main thing is to: Be safe Have fun Don't worry about what is "in" or "cool" - shoot what you like because YOU enjoy it Use this forum (and others) to educate yourself, ask questions, and don';t let information overload have a negative effect on you. KW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebridge Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 +1 on what he said!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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