First open gun

[ChrisTSO]

Im looking at getting into my first open gun this fall. But im still at a toss up of whether to go new or buy used and if there is any builder/builders to stay away from. Any good information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. 

[Explosiveo]

You can save some money by going used. But buy from someone you know. So that you know how well it runs and you can get on going advice if any issues arise.

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[GeneBray]

Im looking at getting into my first open gun this fall. But im still at a toss up of whether to go new or buy used and if there is any builder/builders to stay away from. Any good information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. 

Are you in the Denver area?



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[quiller]

As already said, buy used if yiu want to save money. Good new guns are expensive and if you have the pockets for one id say go for it. However, if you’re like most folks spending north of 4k is simply out if the question. If you know some open shooters ask them if there thinking of upgrading! I bought my open gun here and could not be happier with it. Good luck.

[TANFARM]

The route I took was to purchase a well!! Used 9mm Trubor to see if the whole Major / optic thing was for me. 2 weeks later ordered my Chaos from Atlas. If for no other reason the Optics concept is simply the Best!!.....for my old eyes it’s a God send. Getting used to the Major power factor has been an interesting experience. Still trying to do my final tuning.

Open is a blast for an old guy.........and my Chaos is as good or better than my well used Titan.

[quiller]

41 minutes ago, TANFARM said:

The route I took was to purchase a well!! Used 9mm Trubor to see if the whole Major / optic thing was for me. 2 weeks later ordered my Chaos from Atlas. If for no other reason the Optics concept is simply the Best!!.....for my old eyes it’s a God send. Getting used to the Major power factor has been an interesting experience. Still trying to do my final tuning.

Open is a blast for an old guy.........and my Chaos is as good or better than my well used Titan.

Completely agree, "Open is a blast for an old guy". The bonus is you actually see what you are shooting at! What a concept!!! 

[ChrisTSO]

7 hours ago, GeneBray said:

Are you in the Denver area?



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No im in southeast Nebraska. 

[ChrisTSO]

46 minutes ago, TANFARM said:

The route I took was to purchase a well!! Used 9mm Trubor to see if the whole Major / optic thing was for me. 2 weeks later ordered my Chaos from Atlas. If for no other reason the Optics concept is simply the Best!!.....for my old eyes it’s a God send. Getting used to the Major power factor has been an interesting experience. Still trying to do my final tuning.

Open is a blast for an old guy.........and my Chaos is as good or better than my well used Titan.

Ive been looking at the chaos and it seems like a great buy without having to deal with the wait. Its a big investment so i want to make sure I do it right the first time. 

[echotango]

I would buy used.  You will learn what you like and don't like.  Then you can order a gun the way you want.  You'll then have a backup gun once your new gun is finished.   

Edited June 21, 2018 by echotango

[Lexor40cal]

To start I bought a used open gun, but made sure it was of good pedigree (Millennium Custom), and bought it from someone I knew and could trust that it wouldn't be a dog. Unfortunately a lot of people sell off open guns that aren't reliable, or they can't make them work for whatever reason, so they pass along the problem. Which is fine if you can figure out why it isn't reliable, but it had to have been built right in the first place.

 

I did my research first to decide if I was going 38 super comp or 9mm major, that's the biggest decision in shooting open, and it really comes down to, do you want to pick up brass or not. Decided on 9mm Major, and bought the Millennium Custom from a reliable source. Shot it for two years, classified as A class in the first month I shot, then spent a year trying to figure out how to compete at A class. I shot that gun for close to 3 years, then had a new Akai spec built. Shot that for two years and had another Akai spec built.

 

I sold the Millennium Custom open gun for what I paid for it 3 years later. 

 

So I agree with many others here, start off by finding yourself a used open gun, of the best pedigree you can afford.

 

 

[Sporky]

17 minutes ago, echotango said:

I would buy used.  You will learn what you like and don't like.  Then you can order a gun the way you want.  You'll then have a backup gun once your new gun is finished.   

I second this....

My first and second came from the forums.

You really won't know what you do and don't like until you shoot at least a whole "Season" of USPSA or whatever else you are going to shoot.  In my opinion it will take that long to understand things like what safety works for your hand, what thumb rest is best for your grip type, which optic is best for you and the way you shoot, are you sensitive to recoil......and so on.

Ask LOTS of questions on here, and do a bunch of searching. You will find lots of "answers" but in the end you will have to experience them for your self and make a decision as to what works best for you.

 

Good luck, and Welcome to the Dark Side!

[Lexor40cal]

Also, be prepared for the pain up the back of your strong arm. It goes away after a while.

[schaet]

Another option if you have a limited gun already is to have it converted into an open gun. You're looking at a lot less $$. The down side obviously is that you won't be shooting limited unless you take the gun apart. 

You are still looking at ~$1200 +/-  depending on what barrel/slide/comp/sight.. you go with. (of course I'm going under the assumption that you are shooting Limited and it's a 2011 style gun. Prices will vary from make to make)

 

If you go the route of another platform you can get into an open gun for around $1500 +/- . Like mentioned above; you're best bet is to be able to shoot it before buying it. You want to make sure it's trouble free and you're not inheriting someone else's headaches. 

 

Outside of the 2011's look at the Caspian platforms as well. I have a couple of buddy's that shoot them and they are really nice platforms and they are great shooters (the gun not my buddy's!)

[johnsonian85]

I bought a used CK on the forum and it's worked well since the day I got it.  I plan to get something built (or build) in a couple years.  Are you currently reloading?  If you want to shoot major that's almost a must so the cost should be considered. 

[ChrisTSO]

1 hour ago, schaet said:

Another option if you have a limited gun already is to have it converted into an open gun. You're looking at a lot less $$. The down side obviously is that you won't be shooting limited unless you take the gun apart. 

You are still looking at ~$1200 +/-  depending on what barrel/slide/comp/sight.. you go with. (of course I'm going under the assumption that you are shooting Limited and it's a 2011 style gun. Prices will vary from make to make)

 

If you go the route of another platform you can get into an open gun for around $1500 +/- . Like mentioned above; you're best bet is to be able to shoot it before buying it. You want to make sure it's trouble free and you're not inheriting someone else's headaches. 

 

Outside of the 2011's look at the Caspian platforms as well. I have a couple of buddy's that shoot them and they are really nice platforms and they are great shooters (the gun not my buddy's!)

I shoot limited, but i shoot a cz75 tso. 

[schaet]

You can convert that too. Not sure of the cost, I'm not overly familiar with the CZ's, also I do know that they have an open gun version (Checkmate ) 

 

If you like that platform then stick with it unless you are looking for something new and different. On the CZ side of things you may look into the Tanfolgio/EAA (Witness) line. I bet you could pick one up fairly reasonable and go that route. (pretty much the same gun as far as I know, but like I said, I'm not overly familiar)

 

Keep in mind also the feel of the two platforms, especially the trigger is different. If you want to go to the 2011 route and have never shot one, make sure you're going to be comfortable with it.

[ChrisTSO]

1 hour ago, schaet said:

You can convert that too. Not sure of the cost, I'm not overly familiar with the CZ's, also I do know that they have an open gun version (Checkmate ) 

 

If you like that platform then stick with it unless you are looking for something new and different. On the CZ side of things you may look into the Tanfolgio/EAA (Witness) line. I bet you could pick one up fairly reasonable and go that route. (pretty much the same gun as far as I know, but like I said, I'm not overly familiar)

 

Keep in mind also the feel of the two platforms, especially the trigger is different. If you want to go to the 2011 route and have never shot one, make sure you're going to be comfortable with it.

I like my cz but im wanting to go the 2011 route with the open gun. Ive heard some bad things about the barrel on the czechmate splitting before 10k rounds. 

[HalRex]

As others have said, if you know a local shooter that has one for sale its great because they can give you tips on loads/bullets and OALs they've tried. Almost all open shooters handload to customize the "feel" and sight tracking of the pistol. Also, most of these guns need some tweaking to get them running consistently when new (mag/ejector tuning etc.). Unless you are fairly skilled and knowledgeable or have a gunsmith as a friend then they can be very frustrating until you can make them function reliably. A used gun from someone you know usually has the kinks worked out.

[ChrisTSO]

1 hour ago, HalRex said:

As others have said, if you know a local shooter that has one for sale its great because they can give you tips on loads/bullets and OALs they've tried. Almost all open shooters handload to customize the "feel" and sight tracking of the pistol. Also, most of these guns need some tweaking to get them running consistently when new (mag/ejector tuning etc.). Unless you are fairly skilled and knowledgeable or have a gunsmith as a friend then they can be very frustrating until you can make them function reliably. A used gun from someone you know usually has the kinks worked out.

I would like to be able to handle one and possibly shoot one a little but i dont personally know anyone that has an open pistol so i dont really have the opportunity. To go to any shoots i have to drive a little over two hours east or an hour and a half west to the closest ranges to shoot so its been pretty difficult to make any friends in the uspsa scene. And to be honest most of the open guys seem a little difficult to approach. 

[Lexor40cal]

Wow, that's brutal. IDK where you live, but I'm in the ATL, and every one in the local area is super friendly, come to think of it the whole southeast is that way, actually I've shot all over the country and never experienced people being not easy to approach.

 

I borrowed an open gun from a local shooter to figure out is if liked it or not. Come on NE. shooting community, someone help this guy out

[schaet]

Damn, sorry to hear that too. Like Lexor40cal my experience has been all positive. I've been shooting as a USPSA member for a couple years up in New England and generally have met all nice people; to the point that I now consistently stay in contact with them and squad with them for matches. 

 

Granted there is always a couple here and there that are hard to approach, but that usually turns out to be nothing more than social awkwardness on their end. (I'm more or less a big goon and will talk to anyone) Once I got talking with them they were pretty cool. 

 

I guess the bottom line here is not to give up on the community. You'l find that it's really a friendly one and self promoting in the sense that they/we are willing to always help a new shooter/member. 

 

As for shooting 2011, it doesn't necessarily have to be an open gun. If you can get a chance to shoot any 2011 you'll at least get a feeling for that platform. 

 

[Hiroshi]

On 6/20/2018 at 4:01 PM, ChrisTSO said:

Im looking at getting into my first open gun this fall. But im still at a toss up of whether to go new or buy used and if there is any builder/builders to stay away from. Any good information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. 

Depends on your budget, I would go custom open gun.  Check out Atlas Gunworks and Akai Custom Guns.. 

[Steelix]

If you have the money, get the Atlas Chaos. It's only a 3 month wait, great gun guns right out of the box. If you buy a used gun you could be buying someone else problems or your buying a gun that's out dated. Not saying that a old gun won't run but, saying the guy it my club sold a older open gun 8 yrs old, brand new barrel in it. But it had the plastic grip and a slide ride on it. He sold the gun for $22k not a bad price. But if you up grade the scope to a min dot and a EVO grip on it your putting 10k more into it. Then add popple holes. Your getting there in price. 

[Wisemenofgotham]

OP, what is your budget?  If you can manage, I would also suggest that you pick up the Atlas Chaos.  Then, focus on shooting and not worrying about the firearm.

[kitestir]

What said!