Seriously considering open. Reliability concerns!

[B_RAD]

Nearing the end of my 2nd year shooting USPSA. I've went from production to limited to carry optics.  I really like the high cap divisions.  I've always wanted to shoot open just been nervous because of cost and it seems that nobodys open gun runs 100%.  

 

I don't buying quality.  I don't mind some upkeep (mags). 

 

But I want reliability!  I did shoot with a guy at AT who's chaos ran 100%. But saw most all other open shooters have issues. 

 

Is reliability possible?  I'll admit I was worried about the same thing when I went to limited but my Titans have been 100%!  

Edited September 24, 2018 by B_RAD

[Nevadazielmeister]

I have found with my experience in firearms is that it is always the guys that want to tinker and do their own thing. They also try to make their own gunsmithing work in an effort to save money. This seems true in almost any sport, but I see it so much with guys who are the "me too" crowd. They go on and on about how their cheaper firearm is "just as good" as the expensive ones. It is simple for me, "you get with you pay for" and "you buy once, cry once." For example, I saw a guy running 9mm major out of his 38 super Open gun and he had a jam. This ruined his stage. If he had just run the 38 super he might not have had any issues. But nope, he just had to tinker around with what already worked. 

 

If you buy from a reputable Open Gun manufacturer, one that will stand behind their product and give you a lot of after sale support, you will have no issues. My experience with Limcat has been amazing. My experience with high end optics has been great. My experience in custom long range rifles has been awesome. But it all came at a price. 

 

In my short experience, I could recommend Atlas, Limcat and Akai. I know from a friend's experience that he had problems with his STI Open gun, despite being one of their professional shooters. I am sure others will have good experiences and other companies out there to recommend.  

[RJH]

You should get a glock they are known for complete reliability  haahaahahahhaahaha

 

 

I see lots of open guns shoot without issue (except glocks), it seems that the main issue is finding ammo they like and maybe some mag tuning.  Disclaimer though, i personally don't shoot open, but did have one open caspian open gun that would shoot just about anything.  I do have several friends that shoot open guns from several different builders and even some factory guns and they seem to run just fine.  Bottom line seems to be that there may have to be a little tinkering to start with but then they will be pretty reliable.  Good luck, and since you already shoot an atlas in limited you might just start there

[Bullet56A]

Yes it’s possible. 

It takes a well tuned pistol, mags and ammunition. 

[KellyB]

Run! Run very far away! It will make your hair gray & cause wrinkles! You will question your sanity at times. Run!!!

[jnr88]

Have 3 Open guns , 9 major, and all are reliable. Any problems have been my ammo. I use MBX mags without a problem. If you have had good experience with Atlas get a Chaos although there are many good alternatives.

[Explosiveo]

Do it. We have cookies!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[B_RAD]

18 minutes ago, KellyB said:

Run! Run very far away! It will make your hair gray & cause wrinkles! You will question your sanity at times. Run!!!

Best advice ever!

[Unibrain]

19 minutes ago, KellyB said:

Run! Run very far away! It will make your hair gray & cause wrinkles! You will question your sanity at times. Run!!!

 

And you will love every minute of it.

 

Back to the question.  I tried a less expensive gun and it was a disaster.  I traded it for an Atlas and it's been rock solid.  As others have said there are other gun builders that make quality guns.  I suggest going with a well known and respected gunsmith, getting some good mags from the builder, and find a bullet profile that works.  

 

And we do have cookies

[Chillywig]

Group of guys I shot with today have been tinkering on open guns for a while. Today was rainy and about as piss poor a match day as you could expect. I believe I saw 0 malfunctions from our open guys. Limcat Akia CK Bedell FGW in 9s and 38sc. Keep the gun clean, well lubed and feed em good quality reloads. 

[Explosiveo]

 
And you will love every minute of it.
 
Back to the question.  I tried a less expensive gun and it was a disaster.  I traded it for an Atlas and it's been rock solid.  As others have said there are other gun builders that make quality guns.  I suggest going with a well known and respected gunsmith, getting some good mags from the builder, and find a bullet profile that works.  
 
And we do have cookies

Sorry I ate all the cookies.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[UpYoursPal]

Much like you, I started in production and eventually moved to Open.  Though that was after brief forays into revolver and carry optics, and only semi-enjoying both of them.  Once I tried open I was instantly hooked.  I have way more fun shooting open than any other class, even with the inherent difficulties.  What I did when starting out was take the advice of another shooter and buy used.  It was a way to get a gun that (hopefully) already had most of the kinks worked out and functioning nicely.  It IS more expensive, but if you don't mind that then this might be the category for you!

[Gooldylocks]

Lots of guns run 100%. Just need to test it and make sure everything works a lot before trusting it in a match. 

 

Best way to go would be have a brand new gun built by a respectable builder, get some good tuned mags (whether they are MBX, Grams tuned, builder tuned, etc), and shoot a bullet with a good profile for feeding. 

[yigal]

if u  know how tune it properly  don't afraid to shoot open gun.

when i shoot open gun   i used 2 guns for training and 1 for competitions.after i shot 1k  for tuning them they was 100% reliable. never had any malfunction with all of them.

one of them shot 70k . it was j-941 custom from tan. never change extractor or springs on them. i made for them  compensators from  al.al. 7075.

[36873687]

A lot starts at the  reloading bench. An the cleaning bench. Don’t worry before ya know it u will have 10 k in primary am back up gun .

[drewbeck]

Ammo is the biggest failure point but people don’t want to blame themselves so they blame “open” or the “gun”

 

also, cleaning isn’t as important as making sure it’s well lubed, a dry gun will fail way before a dirty gun will.

 

lastly, most open guns you see fail, are failing because the user didn’t want to take the time to figure out their ammo/reloading, or what needs to be done to not make it fail during a practice session, and instead rely on matches to identify and troubleshoot any issues they may have, that are their own fault to begin with.

 

nobody pulls a dragster out of the garage and tries to race without getting a good understanding of how it runs in different conditions and with different fuel, open guns are no different.

 

if you own a Honda and are trying hard to make it a dragster, you’re ready for open, just know There are more details to care about than changing the oil

[fatjoe123111]

Definitely buy quality. I bought a CK and had nothing but problems with it. Open is extremely fun if you don’t have problems. If you do then it becomes extremely frustrating. With my CK I couldn’t go more then 1 stage without having problems. I understand your concern. I have an atlas on order now and should be here next month. I’m hoping that will run better and from what I hear about Atlas, it will. Mags and ammo do take some messing around with to get everything running well however it’s all worth it in the end. 

[Hi-Power Jack]

In my experience, there is no difference in reliability between

Limited and Open - both use major power and high capacity.

 

If you can keep a Limited gun going 100%, you shouldn't have

any trouble running an Open gun going 100%.

 

It's the gun itself, the mags, the ammo and lube - once it's

dialed in, you're set to go.

 

I started with a TruBor 12 years ago, and the only time I

have had trouble was when the mag or gun needed a

new spring - the gun would run 100% for 3,000 rounds, and

then start puking.   Change the springs, and Voila - a new

gun that ran another 3,000 rounds.     

[Sarge]

If you have it built right, feed it good ammo, and take reasonable care of the gun and mags, it runs just fine. Matt Cheely built mine and except for an occasional mag issue mine just keep going and going. 

[mwc]

10 hours ago, B_RAD said:

Nearing the end of my 2nd year shooting USPSA. I've went from production to limited to carry optics.  I really like the high cap divisions.  I've always wanted to shoot open just been nervous because of cost and it seems that nobodys open gun runs 100%.  

 

I don't buying quality.  I don't mind some upkeep (mags). 

 

But I want reliability!  I did shoot with a guy at AT who's chaos ran 100%. But saw most all other open shooters have issues. 

 

Is reliability possible?  I'll admit I was worried about the same thing when I went to limited but my Titans have been 100%!  

DO IT!  YOU were meant to shoot open!

[toothandnail]

It's funny - sad, but funny. 

A guy has some sort of malfunction, if he happens to shoot Open, many will say "Yup Open gun"

Another guy same malfunction with a Glock (or any other gun) nobody says a word.

 

RO a few matches, you will see as many, or more malfunctions, per capita , in any other division.

[zzt]

6 hours ago, drewbeck said:

also, cleaning isn’t as important as making sure it’s well lubed, a dry gun will fail way before a dirty gun will.

 

I have a full custom Open gun and a semi-custom backup.  The full custom is tightly fit.  In the cold, I'd have ejection issues after the second stage, because the slide slowed down.  In warmer weather it would take 4-5 stages before it happened.  BTW, this is a hard chromed gun.  Relubing the slide ways after every two stages cured that.  Now I use Weapon Shield CLP Cleaner and CLP lube.  The gun stays a lot cleaner, and I don't have to relube during a match- even the 13 stage Area 8 Championship.

 

You still have to match your bullet profile, OAL, your load and springs to get to 100%.

[Nevadazielmeister]

25 minutes ago, zzt said:

 

I have a full custom Open gun and a semi-custom backup.  The full custom is tightly fit.  .....  Relubing the slide ways after every two stages cured that.  Now I use Weapon Shield CLP Cleaner and CLP lube. 

 

I and some others recommend against CLP. I had issues with CLP and switched to Lucas Oil. Others use just synthetic 5w30 oil and it works great. CLP is just not meant for our Open game because it is not slick enough. I used to swear by CLP for decades until I was told by an Open Gun manufacturer to stop using it on mine. The failures to fully feed stopped.  

[AHI]

You had me at cookies.

[Foxbat]

1 hour ago, Nevadazielmeister said:

 

I and some others recommend against CLP. I had issues with CLP and switched to Lucas Oil. Others use just synthetic 5w30 oil and it works great. CLP is just not meant for our Open game because it is not slick enough. I used to swear by CLP for decades until I was told by an Open Gun manufacturer to stop using it on mine. The failures to fully feed stopped.  

 

Most of my open guns were totally happy with just common motor oil, but the tightly fit SVI's refused to work, until I did what the company recommended - switched to Slide Glide. 

 

Then they became 100% reliable. 

 

Failures... yes, two weeks ago a round refused to go off.  It had no primer.    Fell out due to brass fatigue.