xxDRBxx Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Lots of very helpful information here, thank you all! The gunsmith building the pistol asked that the mags I have be sent to him so he could verify function... in his words " no sense fixing what might not be broke" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 That scares me. Mags should just work. For years and years I keep hearing about tuned mags and how mandatory they are. They are NOT. What's mandatory is a gunsmith that can build a gun that runs. I've had multiple customs built, all by Virgil Tripp, and they'll all run with absolutely any mag you can stick in them. I've been building 21 round limited mags out of SV tubes, SNL Pads and bolen guts for years. They always run. No exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Doesn't scare me in the least... what he is saying is he doesn't normaly do or require mag tuning for his pistols. I had requested it as part of the quote, and I was told if I was that concerned to send along the mags I own for him to take a look at. Part of this also center around the fact that I own older "preban" Sti mags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaeOne3345 Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 That scares me. Mags should just work. For years and years I keep hearing about tuned mags and how mandatory they are. They are NOT. What's mandatory is a gunsmith that can build a gun that runs. I've had multiple customs built, all by Virgil Tripp, and they'll all run with absolutely any mag you can stick in them. I've been building 21 round limited mags out of SV tubes, SNL Pads and bolen guts for years. They always run. No exceptions. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I originally bought 10 STI magtubes and only built 5 of them with dawson base pads and Grams followers/springs. I was sold on the fact that I would have to have them tuned, but I also believed in trying them before deciding they were broke. To date, all 5 have never caused feed issues. I did polish them some, inside and out, paying attention to the inside of the feed lip area. The only downside to my mags, is that every one of them only holds 19 rds, but the gun runs awesome, so I had decided to just leave it alone. The other 5 mag tubes still sit inside my safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 With all this talk of mags, how many do you guys run on your belt? I have a few 126's that I plan to use for practice, but I'm trying to figure out how many 140's to plan for ( accounting for the difficulty getting mags in Massachusetts ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I usually run 3 on my belt for USPSA and speed steel. For matches like the Ironman, I run 4 on my belt and have one in my pocket to make the gun hot on the line, but those round counts aren't average by comparison to any other match I have attended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 Oh, another question that I've been going back and forth on.... Grip tape or grip stipple? I've decided to have the trigger guard under cut, but part of me likes the simple idea of putting grip tape over the stock grip instead of having a stipple job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermoto Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I prefer grip tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) Just an update on the build. Mr Glenn contacted me stating that the pistol will be going off to hard chrome by the end of this week and he expects to have it ready to ship back to me by the beginning of august! My initial deposit was sent in the 1st of May! I sincerely hope Frank's guns are as good as he is... he has been awesome to work with, without much of the "attitude" of many of the other custom builders I had spoken with prior. I'm already planning my next project with him, a single stack in .40 I know there are many awesome builders out there, but if your looking to have something built Frank is a great guy to consider http://www.glenncustom.com Edited June 26, 2014 by xxDRBxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 There use to be a post on TGO's website about Frank. He is a hidden gem of a gunsmith. Next to Don Golembieski and SV he would be my go to guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I looked at Franks Site, I get to the Phoenix area on occasion and may have to drop in sometime. If I were you, I would have Frank tune an extra extractor for your gun while he has it. Its one of the most likely parts to fail down the road, and having one that is already tuned for your gun by the smith that built your gun is as good of insurance as you can have in your bag. He lists a tuned extractor for $40, well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 I looked at Franks Site, I get to the Phoenix area on occasion and may have to drop in sometime. If I were you, I would have Frank tune an extra extractor for your gun while he has it. Its one of the most likely parts to fail down the road, and having one that is already tuned for your gun by the smith that built your gun is as good of insurance as you can have in your bag. He lists a tuned extractor for $40, well worth it. Yup, ordered the extractor as part of my original quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polymerfeelsweirdman Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 My 2 cents are that if the follower goes out of the mag in the way that the slide can get stuck on the follower on empty (slide is short of being locked back) then that is an issue and it needs to be fixed. This might be more obvious but I would also request a Bomar rear and some fiber front like a Dawson one if you haven't specified yet. I also don't think stipplong or grip tape is that important with the STI grip but that is just me. If I had to pick one and I was paying for it I would get grip tape because of the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hansolo Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Any of yall know where to get a good deal on a tool less guide rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaylanGivens Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Tuned mags is a must Not sure I agree with this for a 40 anymore. All of the newly manufactured 40 STI tubes I have received (at least 8 in the past 2 years) have all ran out of the bag by simply dropping in Grams followers/springs with a base pad of my choice. They all fit hold 20 and fit the gauge as well. They run no different than my 4 "tuned" Brazos mags, which also only hold 20 comfortably/reloadable. Feedlips are all within spec as well. Have someone tune them for 21+ maybe, but for 20? I don't believe the hype anymore. I find it hard to believe I got lucky with 8 different tubes bought on different occasions. Where is the best place to buy the STI magazine tubes? I see that STI sells them, but the bare magazines don't seem to be much cheaper than the complete magazines... Is there a better place to buy the magazine tubes, Grams followers/springs and base plates? What base plates do you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike21STI Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'd just buy the tuned mags from brazos if I were to do it again. Tuned mags fixed the feeding issues that I was having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 from memory, I think I had about $90 each into building my own mags. Its worth a piece of mind to have tuned mags for a few bucks more. Get a 4 pack of Brazos Mags, you wont regret it. After that, if you want to chance putting some together, go for it, but you will always have 4 that are absolutely perfect and you can rely on. I also just run my STI grip in stock form. It has more grip than most of my other guns. any high round count or vigorous practice sessions and anything meatier will start rubbing you in places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Given my recent customer service experience, my suggestion is to get an STI Eagle or Edge and don't waste your money or time with most gunsmiths. They are backlogged and don't have the support that STI has. If I had a million dollars, maybe I'd think differently. But I'm just glad to have ammo and be shooting that day, usually, and so I'm pleased as punch with my basically stock STI Eagle 5.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Given my recent customer service experience, my suggestion is to get an STI Eagle or Edge and don't waste your money or time with most gunsmiths. They are backlogged and don't have the support that STI has. If I had a million dollars, maybe I'd think differently. But I'm just glad to have ammo and be shooting that day, usually, and so I'm pleased as punch with my basically stock STI Eagle 5.0. Well, Im going to keep my fingers crossed... my custom build is almost ready for hard chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Given the fact that a high majority of people have issues with Stock STI's out of the box, most people don't want to pay $2200 or so for a gun that is more likely than not, going back to the factory to have it sorted out. Yes, STI has great customer service and typically if you send a pistol into them, they will make it right. My question is always why they didn't ensure it ran before sending it out the first time. Having seen that several times, I think that if your set on a Stock Edge, or whatever model, going through someone like Brazos or Dawson and purchase the Factory Gun through them, where they basically go through the gun and tune it up to ensure it runs perfect when you get it, is a good way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 In my case, the state I live in makes getting a stock STI pistol a real pain in the ass... living in mass pistols require attorney generals approval for sale in the state. Buying a pistol frame and having a pistol built escapes that BS. That being said, my custom pistol was all of $700 more than a stock STI edge and I got it the way I wanted it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaylanGivens Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 In my case, the state I live in makes getting a stock STI pistol a real pain in the ass... living in mass pistols require attorney generals approval for sale in the state. Buying a pistol frame and having a pistol built escapes that BS. That being said, my custom pistol was all of $700 more than a stock STI edge and I got it the way I wanted it Did you get your new gun yet? Any updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranoel Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) Slide/Frame: Caspian Barrel: Briley Internals: Wilson (though I am trying a different brand hammer, sear and disco on my 2 newest builds) Trigger,Hammer strut and firing pin: STI (Formerly Tripp Research) Controls (GS, TS, SR, MR): Wilson and or Brown Sights: Depends on what the gun's intended purpose is. Mags: CMC or Wilson. EDIT: I also like the Clark 4 finger sear springs. Edited August 31, 2014 by Dranoel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxDRBxx Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) In my case, the state I live in makes getting a stock STI pistol a real pain in the ass... living in mass pistols require attorney generals approval for sale in the state. Buying a pistol frame and having a pistol built escapes that BS. That being said, my custom pistol was all of $700 more than a stock STI edge and I got it the way I wanted it Did you get your new gun yet? Any updates? Yes, New pistol from Frank arrived last week. I havent shot it yet, as Im still acquiring components to reload .40 and I need a holster. The build wasnt without a few small misses in communication, but Frank is taking care of me on that. Pistol looks great and seems fitted extremely well. Im already discussing a second pistol build by Mr Frank Glenn ( Pics when I figure out how to post them here ) Anyone got an extra holster they want to part with? Edited August 31, 2014 by xxDRBxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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