Lucreau Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 (edited) Hey there, quick question. Been shooting limited A class for a couple of years now and want to make the trnastition into open. I’m set on an Akai open dragon, but at the moment won’t be hand loading my own loads. So my question is, and I’ve tried searching, can I shoot off the shelf minor 9mm ammo in a 9mm major gun? Also, with the dragon having 8 open ports on the barrel before the comp, will I run Int any issues shooting minor ammp through it? I understand I won’t get the full benefit of the comp or ports unless shooting major loads. I’ve been using 115gr magtech for years in my STI limited gun. Thanks in advance Edited January 21, 2018 by Lucreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdude Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 The compensator and ports will likely slow down the slide too much to allow off-the-shelf ammo to cycle. You'll have to test it. Some Nato, +P or +P+ ammo might work. If they don't, there are a few places that sell 9 Major ammo. Start with off-the-shelf stuff and see how it goes. The 9 Major manufacturers are: https://atlantaarms.com http://jjrammo.com https://ormtechammo.com http://www.universalammo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucreau Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 (edited) 15 minutes ago, superdude said: The compensator and ports will likely slow down the slide too much to allow off-the-shelf ammo to cycle. You'll have to test it. Some Nato, +P or +P+ ammo might work. If they don't, there are a few places that sell 9 Major ammo. Start with off-the-shelf stuff and see how it goes. The 9 Major manufacturers are: https://atlantaarms.com http://jjrammo.com https://ormtechammo.com http://www.universalammo.com Thanks for the reply, and I appreciate the ammo links. I will start there with off the shelf 115gr minor and see how all goes. As far as the gun though, it’s being sold as a “9mm major” gun. Will the shelf minor ammo still function? Guessing the oal is just a tad shorter on the shelf stuff thanks Edited January 22, 2018 by Lucreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdude Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 13 minutes ago, Lucreau said: I will start there with off the shelf 115gr minor and see how all goes. As far as the gun though, it’s being sold as a “9mm major” gun. Will the shelf minor ammo still function? Won't know until you try. The ports and comp bleed off a lot of gas and reduce the recoil impulse quite a bit - which is what they are designed to do. 9 minor probably won't cycle the gun reliably for that reason. Again, you'll have to try it to know. Maybe someone with the same gun will chime in and share their experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 6lb recoil spring and it should work fine. Has for me in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucreau Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 5 minutes ago, Garmil said: 6lb recoil spring and it should work fine. Has for me in the past. I’ll keep that in mind, thanks for the reply! 8 minutes ago, superdude said: Won't know until you try. The ports and comp bleed off a lot of gas and reduce the recoil impulse quite a bit - which is what they are designed to do. 9 minor probably won't cycle the gun reliably for that reason. Again, you'll have to try it to know. Maybe someone with the same gun will chime in and share their experience. That definitely makes sense with the gasses. I appreciate the insight. Just wanted to verify a few things before making the switch and draining the life savings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDL Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Atlanta Arms sells 9 Major Atlanta Arms 9mm Major 147 grain was designed specifically for the competition shooter. The 147 grain bullet allows the round to reduce overall pressure while maintaining the major power factor. This projectile has been the softest shooting major competition round we have ever made. Major Power Factor: 165 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingq Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 I have to change out to a 8lbs recoil spring to run minor but it works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucreau Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 All great info! Going to have to get the order going Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 (edited) Most factory loads are not really that light. Most will chrono over 140 PF. In my open guns with 6# springs WWB runs all day long. Edited January 22, 2018 by Flatland Shooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrondoShooter Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Compensator will prolong the barrel being locked, so don't expect much. My comp'd Glock wont run any off the shelf 9mm regular-P, save for the next step up, the Winchester 9mm 124grn. NATO Ball, which is 10% more PSI than standard 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedevil008 Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 NATO ball runs my open gun 100%. Ran 850 rounds of it through my gun last weekend. I haven't chrono'd it out of this gun, but that same ammo shoots 152PF out of my 5" Eagle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 My stock STI TruBor will run factory Remington green box 115 gr ammo at 127 PF, with my 10 lb spring, IFF the gun is Very Clean and Well Lubricated. You didn't ask, but my suggestion, before you spend that kind of money, get into reloading with a SDB for $425 before you get into Open. That makes it all much easier. You're currently an A in Limited (I presume you're shooting a .40 Major?) - you are NOT reloading .40 Major ??? Are you shooting .40 Minor in Limited, at the A level ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I see a reloading press in your future Drag racing a Honda Civic on pump gas is one thing, but once you buy a top fuel dragster, you're going to want to see it run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPSCLUVERRR Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 When you order it, just put in the comments or send an email saying that you want to shoot factory ammo out of it. Simple spring swap for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banacek Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 On 1/21/2018 at 6:24 PM, Lucreau said: Thanks for the reply, and I appreciate the ammo links. I will start there with off the shelf 115gr minor and see how all goes. As far as the gun though, it’s being sold as a “9mm major” gun. Will the shelf minor ammo still function? Guessing the oal is just a tad shorter on the shelf stuff thanks I would skip the off the shelf 115s, seen too many problems with those in race guns. Get some 124 to 147s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucreau Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Banacek said: I would skip the off the shelf 115s, seen too many problems with those in race guns. Get some 124 to 147s. I was, for now, looking at the few companies that make major ammo. Like atlant, orm or universal 10 hours ago, kneelingatlas said: I see a reloading press in your future Drag racing a Honda Civic on pump gas is one thing, but once you buy a top fuel dragster, you're going to want to see it run! I totally agree! A reloading press is in the very near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudukai13 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 5 hours ago, IPSCLUVERRR said: When you order it, just put in the comments or send an email saying that you want to shoot factory ammo out of it. Simple spring swap for them. ^THIS^ Surprised it took so long for someone to bring it up. If you're ordering a gun direct from a reputable experienced builder like Akai, just ask him what spring weight you need for factory minor and what spring you'll need to switch to once you go for handload major. He'll know everything you need to make one of his guns function with just about any ammo you can reasonably feed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedevil008 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Also, finding factory loads with longer OAL's will help with reliability. 2011's almost always prefer longer OAL's for better feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antny Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 I have an AKAI OPEN in 9MM with 2 poppel holes on top. Tried shooting steel loads around 145PF and did not work. Lots of failure to eject and that was with a 6# recoil spring. Shay even said the gun was made for major. Did not experiment yet with minor loads around 150-160PF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_striker Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 I think recoil and hammer spring weights have a bigger impact on whether the gun will run light ammo than comps and popples. I have two different 9major blasters that will run 115 PF steel challenge ammo. All I have to do is put in a 7lb recoil spring and a 15lb hammer spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knguyen1904 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 I have a 9 major gun and I just swap my #9 spring for a #7 and it’ll run 115gn shelf ammo all day. But why are you wanting to shoot factory minor ammo in Open? I feel that major PF is necessary to compete with other open shooters . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalRex Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 My STI Match Master is "9 major" gun from the factory. I did away with the recoil master system and put in the Dawson Tool Less rod and bought 7#, 8#, 9#, 10# springs. I run the 8# spring and it works fine with my hand loaded major and minor rounds which are Precision Delta JHP 124s at 1.165-1.17 OAL. I tried some American Eagle 124g RN but the gun didn't like them. Then I tried Winchester white box 115g RN and it eats them just fine. Turns out the AE rounds were pretty short (1.13-1.14 OAL) and the white box were a tad longer at 1.15-1.16 OAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 39 minutes ago, HalRex said: the AE rounds were pretty short (1.13-1.14 OAL) and the white box were a tad longer at 1.15-1.16 OAL. The STI's usually require either longer OAL, or a spacer in the mag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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