My Open Tanfoglio

[Blake Keiser]

About 3K rds through this admittedly "industrial chic" looking pistol w/o any failures but one due to an extractor set up for 38 super when I'm shooting rimless (fixed). Several upscale 2011 shooters have been impressed with how soft it shoots (10 gr AA7 and 7 gr 7625 with 124s from MG and Xtreme). Great gun and a keeper. I'm just an "A" limited shooter but have been shooting way over my head with this pistol in Open.

[a matt]

That's a great discription industrial chic. Nice piece

[Guest]

Cool! Tanfos do have a certain industrial look, but I like 'em!

Rich at Canyon Creek makes a nice compensator for the tanfos. I have one with his compensator that was built from a .38 super limited elite (no barrel holes) and really enjoy shooting it with loads similar to what you describe.

One question - The chamber on the one I have is a bit on the big side and it bulges the brass more than I would like (to about .393) . I've heard that this isn't uncommon for Tanfo .38 super barrels. How is the chamber on your gun? Getting the bulged belly on your brass? It isn't a huge deal other than I get more rejects after resizing.

[kneelingatlas]

That's a beautiful thing, I'll most likely end up building a 9Major top end for my Hunter and I've been debating standard or long slide, have you tried both? It looks like you shed some weight up front, was that a part of the original build? Or phase two?

[bigbearhunter]

great looking pistol

[Blake Keiser]

Ti Comp and slightly shortened dustcover to reduce weight at the nose. Can't say much about it as I had it set up that way from the get go. Haven't miked case heads but notice they have a bit of a belly. Reload and chamber fine though. I use a U die but doubt its necessary. Haven't tried short slide as Henning recommended against it. Slide to frame fit is... generous. Probably not as accurate a piece as it could be welded up but I'm just shooting it for now. Fuss later.

[kneelingatlas]

Haven't tried short slide as Henning recommended against it.

Blake, did he recommend against the standard length slide (like the V12 Gold Team), or a compact slide?

I'm really interested to hear from anyone who has shot both the long slide and the standard slide with all things being equal.

[gunnit]

Short slide vs long slide, there is no right or wrong, It really comes down to personal preference.

I've seen guys shoot both, and it always came down to their load in determining how there gun felt or ran.

Shorter slide has a slightly faster cycle rate, but felt a bit snappier to them. Longer slide is a little nose heavy and seemed slower to them, but it felt like it shot a bit flatter. And everyone has their own idea of how they perceive recoil, this is only one persons opinion. What's more important is what you want it to feel like. It's your gun, your shooting it not someone else.

So unfortunately, you may have to try both to find out what you prefer to play with. But that's fun too.

[Blake Keiser]

What he said was that the short slide (not sure how short and/or if there are different lengths labelled short) ate barrels and that any advantage would be offset by the difficulty in obtaining replacements. He told me that I would be happy with a LTD Ti comped and I am. I actually think that we gun nuts spend way too much time agonizing over stuff like this and would be better served by shooting more and thinking less. As a side note, I had many Open shooters tell me that I shouldn't expect a new pistol to work right away and that I should expect a lengthy and vexing break in period.

How ridiculous.

[gunnit]

Blake, where did you get the Ti compensator from ? and did it fit the slide perfectly, or did it have to be machined down to blend in with the top and sides ? It really looks good on the gun.

[Blake Keiser]

Rich Dettlehouser, Canyon Creek Custom, made it. It's a design he and Henning settled on apparently.

[gunnit]

Excellent, thankyou.