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SA Range Officer 9mm....I got one! What front sight?


sporter

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Ok, so I had a FFL friend order me in a new SA RO. I must say this thing is pretty freakin' awesome.

I shoot a G35 in L, and a G34 in Prod. This pistol is another world. Accuracy is dead on. I can basically write my name with it.

I put 100 rounds tonight through it, they were flawless; no issues.

I have Tripp 10 round mags on order for SS division.

What should be my first mods?

My main question is: What dawson sight front FO fits this pistol? (link?)

What should be my following mods for those who shoot SS Division?

For a bit of backround. I am a Lim. A, Prod B.

Thanks

Edited by sporter
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Measure your front sight height above the slide with a dial caliper. Then go to Dawson's web page. You'll need to decide what width you want but there's a lot of combinations of heights and width's. And if you want fiber optic, black, or night sights. Since your rear sight is adjustable it shouldn't have much trouble.

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Congrats sporter!

Here's a list of the goodies I hung on my 45acp RO and haven't regretted one bit --

Dawson FO front sight

G10 grips

Extended mag release

Smith and Alexander magwell

Dawson grip tape on the front strap

I also switched springs, but you'll need advice from 9mm 1911 shooters on what springs you may expect to be best. I know in the 45acp models the factory springs are a couple pounds heavier than we want for competition loads.

You may also want to go with a magwell with a bigger flare. I like the trim look of the S&A, but I also know I'm giving up some magwell size with that choice.

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Mine is ordered and should be here this week, too! I've been shooting my EDC aluminum-framed .45 Kimber for USPSA SS and IDPA CDP, but in addition to seeing advantages to shooting Minor in USPSA (and the extra rounds)*, my ammo sponsor, Battle Born Munitions, only has 9mm handgun ammo, so it will mean a LOT more practice and a LOT less time on the reloading press for the .45.

I'm putting together the same list of needed mods, and will include an arched mainspring housing.

*In local matches, course designers are not quite as 8-round neutral as they probably should be, and I'm a very-high-percentage A-zone shooter anyway, so mostly need to work on my speed.

Edited by MAC702
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I like the RO's plain black sights. I might change my mind later but for now I'm leaving the black front sight on my .45 RO.

I lightened the trigger, added a Nighthawk one-piece MSH+magwell, a Wilson extended mag catch button, an Ed Brown ledge-style slide stop, 10-8 front strap grip tape. That'll do for now, pretty middle-of-the-road.

Edited by GunBugBit
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If you change the main spring housing you will probably want a 17# mainspring. Also the firing pin spring is very heavy so you may need to change it to work better with the 17# spring. I started off with the Dawson magwell aluminum mainspring housing. Then added a Brazos front sight and trigger group along with a pair of VZ grips. All of this was just personal preference. Mine is 9mm also and ran great out of the box. It weighs 42.7 oz. with a Dawson mag. and is great to shoot. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine!

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I really like mine. Still getting a custom built, but this is keeping me good while I wait. Really enjoying shooting. I swapped out the recoil spring to an 8lb. Dont remember the mainspring or firing pin spring though. Put in an ambi STI safety (wasn't too hard to do, but it did take me forever since it was my first time). Weight is 42.7oz

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My wife and I have over 12k rounds through each of our SA 9mm 1911 loaded target(s). If you remove the ILS 19lb mainspring works well with a 1X FPS (stock is 2x) and the stock Ti FP. We're running 10 lb recoil springs, but our loads for SC probably wouldn't make USPSA minor (i.e., YMMV). Our guns, the shinier RO:), have been flawless.

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I got my order of 7 of the Tripp 9mm 10 round mags.

RugerP89IPSC,

Can you list the mods on your RO?

I got the Dawsons. It took a lot of monkeying around and shipping back and forth to get a set of 8 that functioned 100% though.

Springfield RO - 9mm

- 17lb mainspring

- 8lb recoil spring and matching firing pin spring from Ben Stoeger Pro Shop

- STI Ambi Safety

- Dawson 180x100 FO front sight

- S&A Flat Magwell

- Grips are off a friend's Sig 1911 ( just a pebble textured polymer)

Weighs in at 42.7oz

On the list to order:

- SV Flat Long Trigger/base

- Dawson Trigger Group 300109A (EGW)

- Wilson Combat Extended mag release button (blued with the silver button)

I will play around with the weight though. Right now, it shoot damn well and fast with 124s doing 125pf.

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Last Thursday night's single stack division was dominated by a young fellow shooting a 9mm RO. He had been having some function issues in prior matches. Now that his gun appears to be running 100%, he is the guy we'll all be chasing. He is fast, aggressive and possessed of admirable enthusiasm. I believe he is using the factory black sights, and he isn't missing much. For my own part, I like the plain black sights on my .45 RO.

Edited by GunBugBit
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Tonight is my 9mm RO's first match, a local Steel Challenge. It's still stock, except for some work on the trigger break, so it'll be the black sights and straight mainspring housing. I'm still undecided on the parts to order; just been too busy to sit down and do it.

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Tonight is my 9mm RO's first match, a local Steel Challenge. It's still stock, except for some work on the trigger break, so it'll be the black sights and straight mainspring housing. I'm still undecided on the parts to order; just been too busy to sit down and do it.

Lots of different opinions regarding an FO front sight for steel challenge. I have the Dawson FO and found that using a Sharpie on the top of the fiber cuts down the glow and gives me faster vertical alignment. Most seem to prefer the 0.100" front sight; the stock width doesn't give you much white space to work with - obviously SC doesn't require the same quality of sight alignment as range shooting.
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  • 1 month later...

At the risk of getting this off subject slightly...

I have a RO in 45 that I shot once in CDP then decided I preferred USPSA. I shoot Production so the RO sits in my safe and has seen less than 100 rounds in the last year. I have been toying with the idea of shooting Single Stack in Steel Challenge. Opinion request time...

Should I run the 45 RO or sell it and pick up a 9mm RO for SC? I got a smoking deal on the 45 and have enough mags that I could probably break even, then just buy 9mm mags. I don't reload for 45 and have less than 100 rounds of it on hand, where as 9mm I have thousands loaded and components for tons more.

Anyone have both to compare the accuracy? The 45 RO I own is the most accurate pistol I have ever shot.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

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Sight/Springfield/Front/1911/Opt/.160T/.100W/Patridge/Also Fits Dan Wesson1911/Tools Included

020-035-00

http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=80001844-1388518384

Yep this is what I did on mine. Using the .160T allows you to lower leaf on the rear sight so it is not cranked up so high, but still allows plenty of room for adjustment.

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180x100 from Dawson on my wifes RO. Had to do some small filing but it took less then 20 minutes to get a dang near perfect fit. Plus dawson sights come with a little tool that while cheap is a nice addition.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Congrats sporter!

Here's a list of the goodies I hung on my 45acp RO and haven't regretted one bit --

Dawson FO front sight

G10 grips

Extended mag release

Smith and Alexander magwell

Dawson grip tape on the front strap

I also switched springs, but you'll need advice from 9mm 1911 shooters on what springs you may expect to be best. I know in the 45acp models the factory springs are a couple pounds heavier than we want for competition loads.

You may also want to go with a magwell with a bigger flare. I like the trim look of the S&A, but I also know I'm giving up some magwell size with that choice.

ttolliver - what springs are you running in your 45 RO? I've been running the stock spring (16# I think?) and it's been very reliable, but going to a lower spring probably would help smooth it out with lower 170PF ammo. Thanks!

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I'm running stock springs in my .45 RO, shooting factory ammo. I'll be reloading to about 170 PF soon, and I gather that a 14# recoil spring should work well, but of course I won't know for sure until I try it. I have 12#, 13#, 14#, 15# and 16# springs in my spare parts bin so something in that range should be compatible.

I'm still liking the factory plain black front sight.

Edited by GunBugBit
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I thought the factory RO sights were pretty good. I didn't like the sharp edges on the rear sight when manipulating the slide in a hurry. I put a set of Dawsons on to fix that issue. I like the fiber front sight.

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