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Seriously considering open. Reliability concerns!


B_RAD

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I have owned one SV 9mm IMM and it ran fine but only owned it for a short time. The other two I have had are Limcat Phanterras and they are utterly reliable. Of course I do my part with keeping them clean and lubed up and also checking and sorting brass, etc. The only issue I have had (which cost me the match) was a broken STI mag catch and it caused the craziest of symptoms. Now I run only Dawson and they work perfectly and prevent over insertion. Both of my Limcats were bought used from the original owners. To me the gun builder backing the gun makes all the difference. Johnny is incredible and his guns have a lifetime warranty regardless of owner. I just bought my third open gun (Beastcat) and will be selling my Phanterra to some lucky buyer out there who gets to enjoy a gun that runs and runs and has an incredible company backing it. 

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Shooting open is great but I think you need to be willing to tinker with the gun, loads and mags to get everything running right.

The biggest problems I've had is with feeding/Mag issues. The mag tuning and cleaning was the biggest learning curve for me coming from shooting Glocks and never needing to clean or tune them. But there is plenty of videos from Atlas on YouTube that walks you through the whole process.

 

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When it comes to 2011s and open division in general, I never really "got it" til I tried it.

 

You spend $3,500+ on a gun and $75+ per mag knowing that none it is really designed to work out of the box.  Then you tweak and tune and fix until you get it *just* right with that one particular hand load.  Then after a couple thousand rounds, you have to respring a mag or replace a recoil spring and hope that the entire system isn't jacked.

 

Sounds crazy, right?  Well, then you go out and point and click your way through stage after stage, shooting well above your ability, then it's totally worth it! :) 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...
17 minutes ago, RJH said:

?? Explanation please ?? 🙂

Ha. Wasn't trying to be a girl and be all vauge. 

 

....but I am being a girl about all the dang malfunctions I'm having!  

 

Open Is fun when you crap works! I'm not having fun right now. 

 

Trying to chase down what's causing the issues. Pretty sure it's mags. Could be my ammo. 

 

I'm questioning my sanity right now. Wondering if I'm a a complete idiot and if I know how to do anything correctly. Yeah.... Not loving open at the moment!

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9 Major in Open is a good idea until it doesn't work. Everything needs to be "ON POINT" for 9 Major to work reliably long term. 38 Super Comp brass is more expensive but its also inherently more reliable in both feeding and extraction. 

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1 hour ago, CHA-LEE said:

9 Major in Open is a good idea until it doesn't work. Everything needs to be "ON POINT" for 9 Major to work reliably long term. 38 Super Comp brass is more expensive but its also inherently more reliable in both feeding and extraction. 

Yes.... I'm getting a lesson in that right now!

 

I'm almost certain it's my mags. 

 

I think maybe the feed lips aren't exactly square, if that's what you call it.  Maybe the bullet is getting pointed slightly off center. 

 

I get a bullet up feeding malfunction every once and a while. I mean, I'll go 300-400 rnds without one. It seems I've had it with all my mags. 

 

I'm using mbx.  Got some new grams guts coming tomorrow. Hoping that might help.

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Load up a couple of your mags to full capacity and then take some close up pictures of the top round both from the side and the front. That will show if the feed lips are at the correct width and if your ammo is being made properly.

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Gonna upload these. 

 

I see some differences. On mag definitely has the rounds lower. The feed lips on that one are .340 - .344". I'm using that one as a "control".  It's a firends mag and I've not used it yet. 

 

My mags are roughly at .345" at the rear and .355" at the front. 

 

 

Screenshot_20190408-191428_Gallery.jpg

Screenshot_20190408-191421_Gallery.jpg

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The stacking of the second and third rounds look good to me. It looks like there is full brass on brass contact with the rounds laying flat on top of each other which is exactly what you want.

 

All of my 9mm MBX mags are setup with a feed lip width of .345 - .350 from front to to back with the same width from front to back. I am also using a mag spacer in the back of the tube that biases the rounds forward. The OAL of my ammo is 1.140”. This combo hits the barrel feed ramp about 3/4 up from the bottom.

 

Black out the barrel feed ramp with a sharpie marker then shoot a whole mag through the gun. Then see where the marker is scuffed off on the feed ramp. The scuff marks should be somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 up from the bottom in a very consistent position. If the marker is scuffed off in a random pattern all over the feed ramp then it’s likely a really dirty tube, worn out mag spring or follower. If the scuff Mark is below 1/2 way up from the bottom then the ammo is too short. If the scuff Mark is above 3/4 from the bottom then the ammo is too long.

 

What is your mag cleaning and lubrication process after each match? Do you spray the tube out with a chemical cleaner then scrub it with a mag brush to remove all burnt powder? Do you spray the inside of the tube and follower with a Teflon based dry lube? If you are not cleaning or lubing the mags on a very frequent basis the burnt powder residue will add up and cause excessive friction while registering rounds to the top of the feed lips. This excessive friction or a worn out spring/follower can easily be verified by loading up the mag to full capacity then use your pointer finger to aggressively flick the top round out of the feed lips. The next round should register to the top of the feed lips with an authoritative “clack”. If the next round registers with a sluggish “shunk” then the tube is too dirty or the spring/follower is worn out.

 

I perform a chemical cleaning and Teflon lube on the inside of my mag tubes after each range session. This also gives me a chance to inspect the mag parts for excessive wear and measure the feed lip width so they can be readjusted as needed.

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I primarily shoot Limited these days but I still follow this same mag cleaning and lubing process after each range session. It’s simple and quick to perform after you get home from the range. 

 

I also proactively replace the mag springs at least 3 times a year and the followers once a year. I am sure I could milk these springs and followers for much longer than I do. But it’s cheap insurance to replace these things proactively before they start causing problems. 

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I got new springs and followers coming. 

 

As for cleaning, I've just been brushing out the mags, then using a rag or tee shirt tonwipe them down inside and out.  

 

Specifically, what cleaner would you recommend?

 

Ocne in have done all that, I'll do the feed ramp test. 

 

I pulled my barrel after the match this weekend to see what I was getting. Looks a little off center to me?

 

 

Screenshot_20190409-065731_Gallery.jpg

Edited by B_RAD
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