Starting Open, Old School vs New advice (38s v 9M).

[DRobson]

I would go "new school" with whatever latest and greatest gun I thought was the best. After all this game is mostly mental so knowing you have the best gun out there may help your confidence. That being said, I've only been into this for about a year. I went straight for a 9 major from freedom gunworks.

[Parallax3D]

Is that an over exaggeration or fact there there were no 38super guns?

Out of all the open shooters at A5, these are the one's that I know for certain or am reasonably sure about.

Most of the people who I KNOW are running 9 Major are people I know and shoot with regularly.

1 KC Eusebio GM 9 Major

2, Shane Coley U 38S

5 Sherwyn Greenfield M 9 Major?

6 Darren Mulford M 9 Major

7 Nick Greenfield M 9 Major?

14 Mike Bellafiore II A 9 Major

20 Jeff Matsche M 9 Major

21 J Griffin A 9 Major

31 Christine A Guinn B 9 Major <--- Me.

34 David Overland C 9 Major

40 Monica Taliani C 9 Major?

41 Brian Hays B 9 Major

48 Marty Geringer A 38S

50 Chris Thomas A 9 Major

52 Christine Webster C 9 Major

55 Joel Parks C 9 Minor

Edited June 18, 2014 by Parallax3D

[Neomet]

The sole advantage to 9mm that I see is you can leave your brass on the ground if you need/want to. If you pick up your brass (as you should be doing anyway thank you very much) touting the difference in brass cost while shooting Open while you are using MG projectiles, Vit powder and buying the latest optic that is going to replace that damn plastic Cmore makes no sense.

Flat is not a function of caliber. It is a function and the relationship of many other variables. I have seen flat 9mm Open guns. My current load in SC is stupid flat and soft and I don't have to hold a finger on the case as I rotate the press to keep powder from spilling. I also have many more choices in powders that will make acceptable loads. Not a bad thing in today's fluctuating market.

In the end there really is no "wrong" answer, just preferences. The most critical thing you can do for a great Open gun is too beg borrow or steal 50lbs of SP2 from KneelingAtlas.

[kneelingatlas]

[Patrickxx]

When I ordered my new gun two years ago I was open to suggestions not having a lot of open guns to shoot and try I ended up picking one I'd had a 38 super. The gunsmith recommended 38 sc and I love the way it shoots. However I've never shot 9 major. My next gun will be a 38sc because I love the way mine shoots now.

[B45C22]

The sole advantage to 9mm that I see is you can leave your brass on the ground if you need/want to. If you pick up your brass (as you should be doing anyway thank you very much)

If we all picked up our brass, what would the brass whores do? They look like big chickens, pecking the ground, scrounging for my ruined, over pressured, bulged, unusable, 15 times fired 9mm brass.

They can pick it up of they want to. I ain't.

BTW - Somebody talk to Max about his SC loads. It is a formula that they developed back in his AMU days and it is admittedly outdated. So much so that the new AMU guys are actively trying to get it approved to switch the formula of the loads that they get from (AA&A?) Max's gun moves a lot for an open gun, but he has literally fired millions of rounds out of the same gun setup and with this formula so he has the timing down perfectly.

[Parallax3D]

The sole advantage to 9mm that I see is you can leave your brass on the ground if you need/want to.

No, the advantage of 9mm is that 9mm brass is more common, period! Go to a major event, and you are going to lose ALL of your brass, because they don't ALLOW you to pick it up. I'd much rather lose 300+ 9mm brass that I can easily replace than 300+ 38S or 38SC, which I'm probably going to have to BUY NEW to replace.

[lcs]

The sole advantage to 9mm that I see is you can leave your brass on the ground if you need/want to.

No, the advantage of 9mm is that 9mm brass is more common, period! Go to a major event, and you are going to lose ALL of your brass, because they don't ALLOW you to pick it up. I'd much rather lose 300+ 9mm brass that I can easily replace than 300+ 38S or 38SC, which I'm probably going to have to BUY NEW to replace.

Yup. Starline is probably the easiest new brass to get. Call them, order, and wait months till they have enough requests to schedule a run of 38S or 38SC brass.

I just don't have to wait very long to find another 3 thousand of once fired 9. New 38SC brass is $149.00 a thou + shipping. When I started shooting 38SC, new brass was around $90 and I could get once fired 9 for $18 a thou. 9 brass is now $40 a thou give or take.

I don't care how many times you can reload 38S/SC brass--when 50% of your matches are lost brass and the other 50% are local matches with tall grass and rocks--9 Major is the only option for us budget minded shooters.

Unlimited budget--I would have 38SC IMM as soon as SV could make it. In 50-60K of 9 major reloads-not one malfunction has been attributed to brass.

[38SuperWes]

I have owned three types... a build from a talented local gunsmith, a Dawson Mini Stroker in 38 SC and a SV 9mm full size.

Echoing much of what has come before on this thread, all three guns were amazing...once I figure out "care and feeding" of each gun... any hiccups were my fault. At the same time.... I have seen guys shoot the stock STI setups that were tuned by a Brazos or a Dawson or a talented local gunsmith both in 9mm and 38S or SC and those guns run like beasts if you treat them and feed them right. The "Indian verses Arrow" factor.

For me the 9mm/SC decision came down to cash.... I can afford to shoot 9mm all day long... SC got to the point that it was prohibitive personally from a cost perspective.

So I think cost is one of the biggest factors, and reloading supplies are getting tougher and tougher to find.

Take a hard look at your personal financial picture. There are lots of used guns on this forum and the USPSA forum, some from big makers and some not.... pick one that seems to be in good shape and run it.... if you want to go big, there is a Limcat for sale here and a killer SV for sale on the USPSA site. If you want to start smaller there are many options around as well.

I also think you can't lose by buying a factory gun from Brazos or Dawson that has been tuned up with new trigger parts etc.

So yes lot's of options.... but don't disregard the "finance" side of things.... you don't ever want to be in a position that you shoot less because you can't afford to "feed the beast".

Wes

[Neomet]

The sole advantage to 9mm that I see is you can leave your brass on the ground if you need/want to.

No, the advantage of 9mm is that 9mm brass is more common, period! Go to a major event, and you are going to lose ALL of your brass, because they don't ALLOW you to pick it up. I'd much rather lose 300+ 9mm brass that I can easily replace than 300+ 38S or 38SC, which I'm probably going to have to BUY NEW to replace.

No, that is only an advantage if I don't plan/resupply properly. I manage the reloading of both my wife's and my SC Open guns. We normally go through 1200 or so rounds a month at matches. (Yes I love living in Phoenix) We shoot our share of larger matches that are lost brass. I have never, ever been in a position where I did not have enough brass. Can you be more cavalier with 9? Sure. Is it a problem if you shoot SC? No. I agree though that SC brass that is left on the ground is SC brass replaced with new.

[Jaxshooter]

I have owned and shot both 38 Super Comp and 9 mm Major Open guns.. The last 4 guns I had built were 9 mm. I am currently shooting a Limcat Flashcat 9mm and an Akai Katana 9mm. Both guns run 100% and are extremely flat and soft shooting. I will never go back to 38 SC.