Open gun for steel

[abb1]

I know that many shoot open guns for steel. Shooting minor, what powders and loads do you use? I believe that you would still use a slower powder take advantage of the effectiveness of the comp, and use load data for minor. What do you use that makes the gun as flat as possible shooting minor? Thanks

Edited April 14, 2018 by abb1

[Knguyen1904]

I’m 9 Major . For mine I just do a spring change from 10 lb to 7 and run factory ammo. 

[zzt]

I shoot Open with a minor load and no comp.  Don't really need one.  That being said, I'm half way through building a 1911 Open minor gun for steel.  My plan is to use 5.4ish gr Silhouette or WAC under a 115 HAP.  Several shooters I know run the same load and it is plenty flat.

[igolfat8]

I shoot a comp’d G34, 4.2 grains WSF under a 124 cast coated boolit. Dot never leaves the glass.

[Don_B]

9 major also. You can just drop your load down 1 1/2-2 grains from major which will be around 140 pf depending on your powder but be aware that a lot of slower powders will be pretty dirty at reduced loads. You may also need to drop the recoil spring a couple lbs. 

[niroth81]

Anyone shoot 38 super open guns and run minor loads for steel?

[kneelingatlas]

23 minutes ago, niroth81 said:

Anyone shoot 38 super open guns and run minor loads for steel?

 

11gr of N105 under a 100gr bullet was pretty awesome in my Ti comped super shorty ?

[abb1]

21 minutes ago, kneelingatlas said:

 

11gr of N105 under a 100gr bullet was pretty awesome in my Ti comped super shorty ?

Lol, that must have quite the flames coming out of your comp  ! I was thinking about 7.0 gr of 3N38 and 121 gr bullet. It should PF at about 145, and have enough gas to keep the gun totally flat.

[kneelingatlas]

1 hour ago, abb1 said:

Lol, that must have quite the flames coming out of your comp  ! I was thinking about 7.0 gr of 3N38 and 121 gr bullet. It should PF at about 145, and have enough gas to keep the gun totally flat.

 

Why bother with such a heavy bullet if you don't care about PF, the same charge with a lighter bullet gives you just as much gas with less recoil.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I use my major loads - so I don't have to change anything - not the

springs or the sighting in for a different load.   

 

Yes, RO's love it when I shoot major 9mm loads at steel    

[Part_time_redneck]

I run 9 Maj and a while back experimented with SC loads a lot. For me the slower powders like 3N38 didn't like running well with reduced charge weights. Soft but just didn't feel right. Also changing springs & change in POI were a bit much. My Major load is 8.0g of HS-6 with 124g PD JHP's. For steel I keep the same charge and just drop to a 115 PD. Simplifies the process a lot and shoots great. 

 

My gun has a pretty heavy top end and just doesn't run well & 100% with reduced power loads. This year I plan on having a dedicated SC open gun built for minor loads only. Yes, more toys. 

[abb1]

6 hours ago, kneelingatlas said:

 

Why bother with such a heavy bullet if you don't care about PF, the same charge with a lighter bullet gives you just as much gas with less recoil.

The reason is that I want to experiment with what I have, and 121 gr is the lightest,  and I will not be doing a lot of steel shooting. There are a couple of good matches coming up though that I was planning on.

 

Edited April 15, 2018 by abb1

[Hammer002]

On 4/14/2018 at 6:32 PM, igolfat8 said:

I shoot a comp’d G34, 4.2 grains WSF under a 124 cast coated boolit. Dot never leaves the glass.

 

Thanks for this.  I already use wsf and was wanting to build an open minor load for steel.  This should b a good start.

[Honkeymcgee]

As some others have said if you want to run lighter loads I'd recommend just shooting the same charge with a lighter bullet. 

 

I have and know some people that have down loaded 38sc charges for some hoser matches. 

 

Didn't care for how it made the guns shoot.  The dot can get a little bouncy. 

Edited April 19, 2018 by Honkeymcgee