I'm curious..

[ChuckS]

Maybe for you they've done that but I have been running them (Rainier 135's) for years in my guns up to 1400fps.  They work fine for me and others.

Good for me also. The last time I shot em off the bags they gave me a 3/4" group at 25 Yds. Offhand, I can usually keep them in the upper A zone when I do my part. Just don't crimp them heavy.

Later,

Chuck

[JerryDGeek]

I understand the temptation to take a .40 (10mm) frame into the Dark Side.

I suggested it myself to Dave Skinner (Mr. STI) 18 months ago, in reference to my STI Edge in .10mm.

Dave didn't seem particularly receptive to my suggestion which he interpreted as F***ing up a perfectly operational Limited gun, and mentioned the higher magazine capacity of the .38 super, and mentioned that to change from .40/10mm to a .38 suoer would not be possible because of the different ejector position of the .40/10mm frame.

but still ....

The .38 Super has a smaller circumferance, so it would not be possible to change to the preferred higher-capacity round.

but stilll ...

I've seen a few .40/10mm guns shooting Open, with the admittedly lower magazine capacity and using an on-the-slide OPTIMA sight. It didn't work, perhaps because of the limititations of the OPTIMA sight.

but still ....

Conventional Wisdom is that, if you're going to muck up a perfectly good Limited gun, you should sink the difference into a new frame/slide assembly and keep your serviceable Limited gun for when you decided that the Open gun wasn't going to work for you.

but still ...

Actually, I have not yet heard a justifiable reason why you could not accept the limitations of a .40/10mm gun when translating it into an Open Gun. What is the difference? You have to buy the sight (preferably an OK or a C-More sight), and invest in high-capacity magazines which would admittedly not provide you with the round capacity of a .38 super.;

So what is the diff?

You get a high-capacity mag (you can use longer tubes, or buy the Dawsop Plus-1 or Plus II or Plus-III magazine base. Costs some money, but it IS do-able at a cost of about $200.

You have to buy the compensated barrel, and that will cost you another $300 or more.

You will need some hi-cap mags (at a limited return for your investment), which will cost you, say, another $140 per magazine.

So you have put, say, $600+ into your existing gun, and you can't go back to your Limited gun without tearing it apart and re-installing your 'old' components (barrel, Red-dot sights, don't use your 170mm-magazines.)

This is assuming, of course, that your trigger etc. works acceptably for you.

But you will have determined for yourself whether it WORKS as an OPEN gun, which to my mind is worth the expense if you can afford it.

Here's my personal take on the exercise:

If you can't to take a chance on your technical assumption, you shouldn't try it.

If you do try it, the worst case is that you've just lost your $600+ investment, plus whatever you have invested in your Limited gun and will have to start all over.

However, assuming you like the results of the experiment, you've just bought yourself a perfectly functional Open gun for $600+, even though your Limited gun willl require some work (you haven't lost anything by having to remove the sights and restore your original barrel to restore the "as it was" situation) if you decide it isn't worth the investment.

As for your 170mm magazine tubes ... I'll gladly give you ten bucks each toward my own personal experiment toward converting a Limtited 10mm Edge into an Open 10mm Edge.

How can you possibly go wrong?

[ktyler]

Tom,

Since I know you and your ability, you should really check out JL Hardys Mongoose. I picked one up and WOW it is really a shooter. I think you would really excel with his set up. If you want to try mine out just message me and we could meet up at a match her in the Portland area. If you have any questions about his guns, message me with a phone number.

Keith Tyler

[Chuck Anderson]

Tom, shoot me a message the next time you come down to Tri County or Dundee. I'll bring my two open guns and you can play with them. Both or 5", one is a 9mm built (or last worked on by Gene Shuey) and the other is a Benny gun in 38 Super Comp. Both run great.

Chuck

[bgary]

Ditto from me, next time *I* am in town. I have two open guns, a standard-length standard-width, and a short-light gun. Both are non-hybrid. Both run great. You're welcome to try them both, whenever you want... could even meet you at MRC for a play-day.

Bruce

[TDean]

Wow, I appreciate all the help guys and gals. Proof that the folks on these forums are tops!

[bgary]

Our pleasure....

And, hey, if you *really* want to shoot .40 in Open, I *might* be willing to sell you my Original Open Gun. It is an EAA Witness "Silver Team" in .40, circa 1992, with historically-correct PDP-2 dot hanging off a Denny's mount. Handfuls of hi-cap mags, halfway decent single-action trigger (for a CZ clone)... heck, I'll even throw in the spare 9mm top-end (9mm is trendy now!)

Of course, it *is* a collectors item, so it might be tough to agree on an appropriate price. It has been lounging... uh... "safely protected in a humidity-controlled environment"... in the very back of my safe for 10 years or so, but I'm sure we could work something out.

bruce

[ong45]

TDean,

I have a limited gun with 2 top ends, .40 and .38 supercomp for shooting steel.

I don't see why you could not put a open top end with an optima or j-point, get some super mags and be ready to rock.

James

[J.L. Hardy]

ok, since my name was mentioned i'll put in my two cents worth.

first of all its good advise not to tear up one good gun to build another. if you set the gun up properly as an open gun then there will be things changed that aren't neccessarily tuned right for the limited side. if you don't set the gun up properly then you will never truly know if you like open or not. also if your not commited to trying it for a few months you will never know. lets face it we all have bad days no matter what we shoot and if your not commited then its too easy to blame the gun and switch back.

and secondly, as to the viability of 40 s&w for open. i personally picked up a schumann 4 port hybricomp barrel 4 years ago at barry off the prize table. i had it laying around a couple of months and decided to build a gun using it. i personally shot it for around 4 months and i can assure everyone that no one around here thought is wasn't competitive. the one limitation is big stick capicity, but properly set up you can get 26 rounds in the mag and one in the tube for 27 total. i start with 30 in the gun on my 9mm big stick but didn't feel disadvantaged at that time. 140 mags can be tuned to hold 20 rounds(which is easy using +2 basepads) plus one in the tube, which is exactly how i load my 9mm. the 40 case has plenty of capicity for lots of slow powder and you can use 135, 155 or 165 grain bullets and they work just fine. this particular gun is still being used by its owner and he shoots competitively in his class. also brass is dirt cheap just like the 9x19 so shooting costs can be reduced. good shooting, j.l. hardy

[benny hill]

There is absolutely no problem building a 38 SUPER on a 40 breach face. It will work fine. Just don't go to super comp.