WaltonFeep Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 (edited) This topic is spot on for me. I intend to shoot steel challenge and USPSA open at the club level. I absolutely need optics to shoot as my old eyes have a couple of issues. I don't want to spend 2500 on a 2011. I love my M&P 45. Currently it has a Storm Lake ported barrel and a Burris FFIII mounted on a Sight Mount. I am considering milling it to lower the FFIII but would rather put money into a M&P Ported. For the M&P Ported route, I am on the fence on 9MM or 40SW. Prefer 9MM as I am setup to reload and have a lot of brass. Just wondering how big a deal it will be to shoot minor rather than major in open. I don't expect to compete for the top spot. I shoot for fun against myself. I'll be Senior eligible in a couple of year. Edited August 27, 2015 by WaltonFeep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziebart Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 I shot open minor last weekend, and beat a M class shooter who was open major. You can still do well, it is just harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 “They are out of phase”. I said. I'll be Senior eligible in a couple of year. Kids! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc10mm Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Does anyone know what percentage of competitors shoot open minor versus major? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Its a small percentage in general, and mostly nonexistant in the top 50% at most majors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 This topic is spot on for me. I intend to shoot steel challenge and USPSA open at the club level. I absolutely need optics to shoot as my old eyes have a couple of issues. I don't want to spend 2500 on a 2011. I love my M&P 45. Currently it has a Storm Lake ported barrel and a Burris FFIII mounted on a Sight Mount. I am considering milling it to lower the FFIII but would rather put money into a M&P Ported. For the M&P Ported route, I am on the fence on 9MM or 40SW. Prefer 9MM as I am setup to reload and have a lot of brass. Just wondering how big a deal it will be to shoot minor rather than major in open. I don't expect to compete for the top spot. I shoot for fun against myself. I'll be Senior eligible in a couple of year. You could add a KKM or Storm lake barrel to the 9mm gun and run major 9mm through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Does anyone know what percentage of competitors shoot open minor versus major? At the 2014 Nationals, there were 203 open shooters. 7 of them shot minor. The highest placing minor shooter was 95th place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaltonFeep Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 This topic is spot on for me. I intend to shoot steel challenge and USPSA open at the club level. I absolutely need optics to shoot as my old eyes have a couple of issues. I don't want to spend 2500 on a 2011. I love my M&P 45. Currently it has a Storm Lake ported barrel and a Burris FFIII mounted on a Sight Mount. I am considering milling it to lower the FFIII but would rather put money into a M&P Ported. For the M&P Ported route, I am on the fence on 9MM or 40SW. Prefer 9MM as I am setup to reload and have a lot of brass. Just wondering how big a deal it will be to shoot minor rather than major in open. I don't expect to compete for the top spot. I shoot for fun against myself. I'll be Senior eligible in a couple of year. You could add a KKM or Storm lake barrel to the 9mm gun and run major 9mm through it. Thanks! I still have a lot to learn. I have a Storm Lake ported barrel in my M&P45. So the 9MM match barrels are designed to handle hot loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaltonFeep Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Does anyone know what percentage of competitors shoot open minor versus major? At the 2014 Nationals, there were 203 open shooters. 7 of them shot minor. The highest placing minor shooter was 95th place. Good information. Do you have the breakdowns by caliber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecil Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 (edited) I shoot MINOR in my 9MM STI Steel Master... 5.5gr autocomp... 124gr Precision Delta HP bullets.... SPP... 1.16 COL ... this is a great load for steel.. Edited August 29, 2015 by cecil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I havent seen the actual breakdownm, but I bet I can guess. I would suspect that in the top 30 shooters, it was 90% 38SC. Maybe a few 38TJ and a 38Super or 2. Very few 9mm Major at the top. Maybe KC...? As mentioned, no minor. Not sure if there are still any top finishing shooters running .40. Once out of the top 20% or so, there was likely a fairly even split between 9 and the 38 variants, and as you got closer to the bottom of the list, there was an even higher concentration of 9mm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I shoot MINOR in my 9MM STI Steel Master... 5.5gr autocomp... 124gr Precision Delta HP bullets.... SPP... 1.16 COL ... this is a great load for steel.. Major/minor doesn't matter in "steel" though...no chrono. OP was probably asking about Open USPSA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sousa Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 (edited) I shot Open Minor last season in USPSA with a Glock. It was so much fun, and I learned a lot. I now use the gun strictly for Steel. I say go for it and enjoy yourself. Edited August 29, 2015 by sousa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboy69 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) My buddy does but he doesn't reload and he doesn't shoot major matches. Just plain out loves USPSA And there he is the post above me. sousa Edited August 31, 2015 by bigboy69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niltreth Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) you're shooting factory ammo don't bother with a ported barrel (you will most likely chrono sub minor) or a comp. Just put a dot and magwell on the pistol of your choice, get a big stick and have a good time Thanks for this post, and OP for thread. My same plan to get started. I'm working with an HKP30, but may switch to a VP9 (benefit of shared P30 mags!) or PPQ. I DO love my PPX too! May do something with that. Edited September 13, 2015 by Niltreth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrguns Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I did the same thing this weekend on what the op was thinking of. Since I don't have the funds yet to complete my open gun build. I pick up an inexpenside c-more mount for my RIA TCM 9mm, some allen screws at home depot, took off my magwell and mag release on my para p18 and voila!!!!. Since I'm still shooting production and will be shooting single stack minor soon, I didn't bother putting a comp on this gun that way I can load same ammo for all my three guns. I built it just for local match and a mess around gun. I only shot @ 100 rounds just to sight it in, so far so good. It's not pretty but it will do the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottlep Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I would not dismiss a comp for minor factory loads. They will help reduce muzzle lift and recoil. If you are looking for steel gun that is ready to run with no mods, consider this one. http://www.mountaincompetitionpistols.com/M9%20IPSC%20Match%20Pistol They also make a mount for a FFIII red dot, although it is not shown on the web site. You can also mount the FF in the dovetail mount, but you will need better screws than Burris provides. That (Beretta 92FS) might be the worst possible choice for an Open or Steel gun. Decocker safety means an extremely long, 5-7lb double action first shot, then long single action pulls for single action shots. Not that it couldn't be used, but they are many better choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I run a full size open gun with a TruBore barrel and shoot both minor and major through it without an issue. just a spring swap and I am GTG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudukai13 Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thank you everyone for your input, I didn't expect so much great info! I suppose another appropriate question could be who runs open division with factory, off the shelf ammo, as reloading is my biggest hurtle. I'm learning a lot, please keep it coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 There are a number of places to get major & minr pf ammo that is factory loaded ; Atlanta Arms & Universal Ammo are two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trgt Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) Thank you everyone for your input, I didn't expect so much great info! I suppose another appropriate question could be who runs open division with factory, off the shelf ammo, as reloading is my biggest hurtle. I'm learning a lot, please keep it coming! I found that factory Winchester 124 NATO 9mm is a bit hotter than normal 9mm (about 140 PF) and will run in my open guns w/o spring swap, i've bought it on sale to use as training ammo and to keep the brass, for times I couldn't easily load open ammo for training. http://sgammo.com/product/winchester/1000-rounds-ammo-can-9mm-nato-124-grain-winchester-mil-spec-ammo-q4318 Edited September 27, 2015 by trgt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggMike Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I run a full size open gun with a TruBore barrel and shoot both minor and major through it without an issue. just a spring swap and I am GTG. What springs are you using for minor. I'm trying to help someone out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I'm pretty sure I run a 6# spring for minor. 8# for major. Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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