Rudukai13 Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I'm getting closer and closer to making up my mind (I hope) on what I want to purchase as a range toy, and I'm leaning very much towards saving up for an STI Steelmaster. I'd like to hear from people who have shot/owned one of these pistols about what issues they are known to have, what upgrades are absolutely vital, and anything else I should know. Notes for consideration - I am NOT looking to enter and win competitions. I'm just looking for an open-type pistol, that will be fun to shoot at the range and to have non-competitive fun with if I ever find the time to enter some competitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecil Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I have owned STI SteelMasters for almost 3 years... my main Steel Master runs 100%... I load my own cartridges... I use 5.8gr Auto Comp using 124gr Precision Delta bullets.. small pistol primers .. bullets are seated to 1.15 COL... very flat shooting & fun to shoot.. guess I have more than 10,000 rounds down the pipe.. by the way I have a 2nd Steel Master that I have shot very little. it also runs 100% ... . might be interested in getting rid of it.. it sits idle in my safe.. PM if interested.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudukai13 Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Cecil, I appreciate the offer, but I still have a long way to go of saving before I'm anywhere near able to afford even a used pistol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 It's a minor pistol. If you EVER think you might want to shoot 9MAJOR in a match I would go with a trubore. I know you don't plan to shoot competition much but a lot can change down the road. you just never know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudukai13 Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Sarge, I had made that consideration, but I'm wanting this pistol to be specifically just a fun range toy, using factory box ammo, so that it's relatively inexpensive and easy to shoot for extended periods of time at the range. If I ever get the urge to compete with Major PF in competition, I would still want this pistol separately, I'd just look at getting a second open pistol designed for Major PF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echotango Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Owned one. Sold it. I would recommend a 5" gun. Perhaps a trubor(since it is the same price) as it can shoot major/minor and will be softer than the shorty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudukai13 Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Perhaps I should clarify - I appreciate everyone's personal experiences and opinions, but I'm more wondering about mechanical issues that I should be concerned with - Do the shells get stuck ejecting? Is it oversprung from the factory? Quality control issues? Does it actually run on factory ammo, and is it particularly finicky about which manufacturer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 No problems shoot a 1000 rounds through it and get the trigger adjusted the way you want it. Try springs from 7 to 9 lbs and find the one that fits your style of shooting and allows the fastest recovery on the dot on target. Try and shoot the SAME ammo all the time so the dot movement will be consistent Remember open guns are an addiction!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 That's my Steel master shown in my avatar. It's my full-time Steel Challenge gun. I been shooting it 14x/month for the last 1.5 years with 35,000 rds downrange and no issues - AFTAC extractor & custom Akai trigger job and that's it ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davsco Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 i actually bought my steelmaster years ago as a range toy with a fantasy of getting into competitive shooting. and i did start competitive shooting and have been enjoying the steelmaster in all the various steel matches i have done (steel challenge and a variety of falling steel matches). best thing about it is it's set up for winchester white box so especially if you don't reload, ammo is cheap and plentiful. i have shot it in some uspsa matches but am handicapped with minor power factor scoring (so of course i bought another open gun that shoots major...). all i did to it initially was turn the scope sideways and now have no problems picking up the dot. last year i upgraded the trigger group. the ejector actually broke at a match last weekend so will be replacing that. other than that, zero issues. I'm not going to say it has run 100% but the vast majority of matches i get thru without a single malf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedsouthshooting Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I bought a steelmaster and chronoed every factory load I could find. Winchester white box worked best. Mine was on the ragged edge of cycling. All of the factory Ammo I ran through it chronoed around 132-133pf. I have an occasional issue where the slide stop will lock the slide back when it shouldn't. Other than that it's a great gun. Shortly after I bought a matchmaster and suprizingly it cycles the same Ammo the steel master will but shoots much flatter. Now my favorite s definitely the matchmaster. They cost the same. My loads are a 124 plated rn with 5.2 gr. Of autocomp. Both guns run great with this load. I called sti and they said they both have the same recoil master system that the only difference is the comp. I guess is a few extra ounces out front is what makes the matchmaster shoot so much flatter. And if you wanted to shoot major pf, the gun is built for a pf of 165. Good luck and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudukai13 Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Interesting...I wasn't previously aware that the Matchmaster used the same shorty barrel length but with a longer comp as the Steelmaster. I sense more research is in my future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenexaMike Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 I have a new Steelmaster and I have a nightmare on re-assembly. I can never seem to get the slide to go back far enough to get the pin in the side. The guide rod appears to be hitting the comp (or something is hitting). I'm not about to force it. I spend 30+ minutes, and I do eventually get it, but I don't know the trick. All I should have to do is slide it back on the rails and it should go back. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm not going to keep a gun that causes me that much trouble every time I clean it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 lots of videos on YouTube about field stripping the gun & then reassembling it .... there are no real 'tricks' to it. My Shadow is much more complicated to completely take apart & it was a third of the price of my STI .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plunker20 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 is anyone running slow 147's through their open guns? im new to the open class stuff and that's what I run through my sti ..... I tried the in my steel master and it wont even chamber a round. my 147's are seated at 1.18ish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tino2212 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Open and slow heavy bullets is not the way to go . for the comp to work you need gas , so light bullets with slow powder . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 5 hours ago, plunker20 said: is anyone running slow 147's through their open guns? im new to the open class stuff and that's what I run through my sti ..... I tried the in my steel master and it wont even chamber a round. my 147's are seated at 1.18ish MAJOR or minor? Like tino said, you'll get better results with lighter bullets and a case full of slow powder if shooting MAJOR especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theWacoKid Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 On September 13, 2016 at 0:46 AM, plunker20 said: is anyone running slow 147's through their open guns? im new to the open class stuff and that's what I run through my sti ..... I tried the in my steel master and it wont even chamber a round. my 147's are seated at 1.18ish Many 9mm guns aren't throated long enough to handle rounds 1.180" long. 9mm saami spec max oal is 1.169" so you can't expect a chamber to eat 1.180" unless you're lucky or the gun is specifically built that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeathForbis Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 The only issue I have had is sometimes the spent casing bounces off the sight mount and gets pinched in the slide as it moves forward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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