sti eagle for uspsa and idpa?

[3djedi]

I do uspsa and idpa and was thinking about getting the eagle to use in both sports. I know very little about 1911 style guns so forgive my ignorance! I have a couple questions:

Could I buy the eagle 40 with bull barrel and get a 9mm bushing barrel conversion for it for idpa use? Is that even possible? If not, can you do the 40 bushing to the 9 bushing?

If none of that is possible I guess a 40 bushing for use in uspsa and idpa is the way to go...

What are the pros and cons of bull vs bushing?

Thanks!

[ogiebb]

im not sure if STI has a conversion for 40sw to 9mm unless you change the entire top end (slide barrel, extractor ..etc...).. i would go for a 40sw bushing shoot minor for IDPA ESP and Major for USPSA Limited.

Bushing is probably what you want as bull barrel 5" gun i believe is still illegal in IDPA..

either way you go im sure it will be fun : )

Edited August 6, 2013 by ogiebb

[3djedi]

OK. I thought maybe you could just swap barrels. Lol

Yes, the bushing is required for idpa. But what will be the difference between bushing and bull? Is one inherently more accurate? Less recoil with the bull? I wonder if putting a tungsten guide would help mitigate recoil in the bushing gun?

Edited August 6, 2013 by 3djedi

[ogiebb]

OK. I thought maybe you could just swap barrels. Lol

Yes, the bushing is required for idpa. But what will be the difference between bushing and bull? Is one inherently more accurate? Less recoil with the bull? I wonder if putting a tungsten guide would help mitigate recoil in the bushing gun?

as long as its a quality barrel and the fit is good accuracy will be a non issue...a tungsten guide rod will def help out if you want the extra weight for USPSA loads...

[CHARLES D]

I purchased a 40 Eagle to shoot IDPA. Power factor is only 125 for ESP so I downloaded on my reloaded ammo. Since then I no longer shoot IDPA and use the Eagle as a backup for my Limited Gun. A little more recoil for major but as my back up it works fine.

[3djedi]

I wonder how the tactical 5 compares to the eagle.......

[3djedi]

Never mind looks like it only comes with full dust cover and bull barrel...no good for idpa...

[bigfish]

If you get a Eagle I would get the .40. I would think .40 minor would be better for IDPA than 9mm would be for USPSA. The price of used Edges have come down the last couple of months. You could by a used Edge for USPSA a but a cheap Spartan 9mm for IDPA

[Forgetful]

Just get a eagle bushing in 40 to use in both sports if you only want to buy one gun.

[Bob DuBois]

Have a friend that does well shooting a 9mm Edge in IPSC, I've often thought an Eagle bushing barrel would be the way to go for someone wanting to shoot both games with one pistol. 140 magazine would hold 23 rounds for IPSC, need 126 mags for IDPA. All you would need would be magazines and holster rigs for the games.

Loading ammo, 40 Eagle would work the same. Shoot major in IPSC minor in IDPA. It's a good idea either way for someone on budget for one pistol and wanting to play both games.

[3djedi]

Right! I think I might even use the same holster for both games. Then I would only one set up for both. Just the different mags and we're in business!

[IHAVEGAS]

I use an Eagle 40 for IDPA and USPSA, it works but I don't think it excels at either. Perhaps I could work up a 40 minor load that would make it an excellent IDPA gun and then the only real drawback would be a bit more muzzle flip than necessary when shooting USPSA major, and maybe the need to remember to change springs when changing between major and minor loads.

An Eagle 9 and an Edge 40 is where I'd really like to be, if you are not in love with the STI double stack platform then maybe 2 glocks (40 and 9) or xdms for about the same price of 1 Eagle is the way to go. A backup gun is a good thing.

[3djedi]

Or maybe I should just go with the edge for uspsa limited and just use my carry gun for idpa...(Walther PPQ M2) So many choices....so little money.

[3djedi]

How does the tactical 5.0 compare with the edge?

[Forgetful]

I shoot a tactical 40 in uspsa. No real difference from an edge aside from having a Novak rear sight cut and the tac rail.

[v1911]

Just get the Edge for USPSA Limited.

You can still use it in IDPA where MDs permit the new Non-Competition (outlaw) division. You'll be limited (no pun intended) to local level I matches tho.

[2MoreChains]

I shot a .40 Eagle with bushing barrel for a couple of years as my do-everything gun for USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, and 3-gun. It worked, and I feel like I was able to be competitive with it. I loaded major PF for USPSA Limited div, and shot minor for everything else. I bought three 126mm mags for IDPA, and used the 140's for everything else. As I recall, I also changed recoil springs when switching back and forth between major and minor. You can work up some pretty ridiculously soft loads in .40 minor... almost to the point where you feel like you're waiting on the slide to return to battery!

Then about a year ago I got the itch to build a 6" gun, and once I had that up and running I had a 9mm top end built for the Eagle. I still have the original .40SW top end but it only gets returned to that configuration when I need a back-up gun to my 6" .40 at a major match.

Personally I'm a huge fan of the Eagle in 9mm. This gun is a lot of fun to shoot, and 23+1 capacity is nice to have in 3-gun. I suppose the only downside to a 9mm Eagle is the inability to be scored major PF in Limited or L-10. But for everything else (IDPA, Steel, 3-gun) it is a great platform.

[3djedi]

I only get to shoot probably 6-8 uspsa matches and 12 idpa matches a year. I want to get a nice gun and be able to shoot as much as possible with it. I think the eagle with the bushing barrel in 40 is the way to go. That way, I can get proficient with one gun and be totally awesome with it. Lol I would probably use the same holster for both sports just different belts. Mag holder is the same as well. The safariland 773's or 073's can't remember the number. What do you guys think?

[3djedi]

Man I wish I had endless loads of cash so I could get the edge in 40 and the eagle in 9!

[warpspeed]

There is no disadvantage to shooting 40 S&W in IDPA. There is a huge disadvantage to shooting 9x19 in USPSA Limited.

The catch is the magazines. IDPA legal mags will be a disadvantage in USPSA and the USPSA 140mm mags are not allowed in IDPA.

One gun, a STI Eagle busging in 40 S&W with 2 sets of mags is the least expensive way to go.

[3djedi]

Sounds about right. Although in idpa you could probably shoot faster with 9mm over the 40. But then again, accuracy over speed in idpa.

[Forgetful]

Sounds about right. Although in idpa you could probably shoot faster with 9mm over the 40. But then again, accuracy over speed in idpa.

Loading 40 to the same power factor as 9mm will make no difference in speed.

[Sthrngnr]

I shoot an eagle .40 using minor for IDPA and my splits are the same when using 9 mm at around the same PF.I have beat Master class shooters (IDPA only) using a .40, while they use a 9 mm.

I've had several STIs and the Eagle is one of my favorite. The Eagle with bushing barrel is great if you want one gun for all sports.

The only recommendation I have is if you are going to shoot mostly 3 gun, go with a 9 mm eagle , mainly because of the extra mag capacity.

[2MoreChains]

I only get to shoot probably 6-8 uspsa matches and 12 idpa matches a year. I want to get a nice gun and be able to shoot as much as possible with it. I think the eagle with the bushing barrel in 40 is the way to go. That way, I can get proficient with one gun and be totally awesome with it. Lol I would probably use the same holster for both sports just different belts. Mag holder is the same as well. The safariland 773's or 073's can't remember the number. What do you guys think?

That's what I did for a couple of years, and I had a hoot doing it. I modified the STI aluminum magwell by grinding down the sides a little to fit in the IDPA box, or supposedly the "Tactical" magwell that STI now offers is supposed to fit the IDPA box. Or you can just take the magwell off everytime you shoot an IDPA match.

For holsters I started out using a BladeTech DOH (removed the DOH bracket for IDPA) and Safariland 773 mag pouches for both USPSA and IDPA. But after about 6 months I got tired of taking apart my USPSA belt each time I shot an IDPA match and ended up getting a dedicated holster for USPSA (Center of Mass) for use with the 773s on a CR Speed belt, and kept the BladeTech for IDPA and bought two Comp-Tac singles for the STI 126mm mags. Incidently for a while I even used the CR Speed inner belt for IDPA until I got a different belt.

The cool part was the .40 Eagle with bushing barrel was the same for everything, and I made that work for a couple of seasons until I could afford to have a separate gun for each sports. That being said, if given the choice of a 9mm or .40SW for IDPA I would pick the 9mm (cheaper to reload for, plus you get more capacity when shooting 3-gun). So given that you shoot more IDPA than you do USPSA... that begs the question of should you just get the 9mm Eagle to start with (even though that means you shoot Limited minor in USPSA, but it sounds like you're more of an IDPA shooter), then in a year or two go get yourself a .40 as a dedicated USPSA gun if you still have the itch. In the long run it would be cheaper than doing what I did.

[3djedi]

Thanks! Just when I thought I had it figured out you go and throw a wrench in the mix...lol