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Open Minor for steel?


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Anyone have experience with Minor Loads for shooting Steel Matches ?

I have several boxes filled with N320 Minor loads over 147 Blue Bullets and am considering re springing my back up gun to try using these rounds up.

With the current component situation having all these rounds loaded is frustrating....saving Major components like crazy.....strange times and I see no relief in sight !

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If you can get your major gun to cycle them, they will work.  However, you are going to gunk up the comp with lead and blue stuff.  Also, N320 is not going to work the comp much.

 

FWIW, I shoot 140 PF loads for steel (plated or JHP) because that is as light as I can go and still have the gun cycle.  To avoid POI problems I have an Open gun dedicated to each.

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Wife and I shot the Crazy Croc last year with minor 147/320 loads.   They ran fine in our guns (full size, Bedell comp, 3 popple holes) with 8 lb variable

springs.   147 Bayou TC coated over 3.4 N320, 1.145 OAL.     They mucked up the comps a bit, and the guns had more muzzle flip compared to shooting

major.   She has since switched to minor open (hand problems)  and I'm doing a load with HS-6 and a 95 gr JHP for her that works the comp and is

really soft in the hand.    

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I run 147 blues out my little DVC steel.  I dont use N320 however,  I use powerpistol.  I have not had leading issues at all using those bullets.  Spray the comp with a little dillon case lube to help keep any potential leading down.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well I tried the experiment.....minor with. Blue Bullets in my Chaos at an Outlaw Steel Match......well I got rid of 150 rounds anyway.....was a strange sensation....pistol was all over the place..Running  cut 7 lb. spring...ran perfectly....however recoil reduction was major.

Oh well back to Major loads.....

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On 9/24/2020 at 8:05 AM, Aircooled6racer said:

Hello: Try some 95-115 grain bullets at 140-150PF for shooting steel matches. Feels like a 22 and will run with no spring change in most pistols. Thanks, Eric

Does this formula keep the gun flat shooting?  I tried just using minor loads from my CZ and the dot was all over the place.

 

Thanks

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2 hours ago, BadShot said:

Does this formula keep the gun flat shooting?  I tried just using minor loads from my CZ and the dot was all over the place.

 

Thanks

 

Not as flat as 950 fps will. 115s @ 900-950.  105s about 50/100 fps faster.  I haven't shot 95s but I'm sure they will work at 1100 fps.  Just stay in the 103-110 PF range with fast powders and you'll be fine.  These are out of a 5" pistol barrel.

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Unless your pistol is actually a steel gun built for low power loads, in a USPSA built-to-run Major loads Open gun, if you want flat, shoot near-major powder charges and light bullets.  You want soft, download or change powder to lower velocities and run as light bullets as work 100%, but the dot will move more. 

 

 

 

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For Open major I want it as flat as I can get it. For SCSA Open I want softer.  Flat is a bonus.  As long as the dot is back where it belongs when I leave the plate I just shot, I'm fine with it.

 

I built a dedicated 9mm 1911 SCSA Open gun.  I built it to shoot major, because I wanted to use the same load for USPSA and SCSA.  It didn't work out that way.  One MD asked me not to shoot my major load (115 @ 1470 fps).  Another club has a 1250 fps limit.  So I'm developing minor loads for it.

 

One of the things I've learned about compensated guns is you can shoot powder puff loads through them..  The only problem is you feel the recoil more, because the comp is not working well.  Another problem is you have to up your mouse fart load to eject.  For instance, the 115 @ 950 load I mentioned above works perfectly well in my PCC, 4" XD and 5" 1911.  It will not run in my 1911 comp gun, because the comp does bleed off gas.  So you have to load a little hotter.

 

I recently fitted a Barsto bull barrel to my 1911 Open gun.  One of the clubs I belong to does not allow Open guns or anything with a comp in their matches.  So when I shoot matches there I simply swap out the barrels.  POI of the bare barrel is 1" low at 15 yards.  That's plenty good enough for those matches.  However, I may play with the lower lugs over the Winter to bring that up.  I'll have to try the bare barrel at an SCSA match and see if it is any faster or slower.  Having one mouse fart load that worked in three guns would be nice.

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I've been playing with my new JPL open 1911 steel gun a little. I decided to just stick with 115gr bullets because they are easy to find in JHP or plated and I don't have to get crazy with my seating die adjustments as compared to the .380 bullets. Right now I'm using Berrys 115gr plated. 

Powder puff rounds are awesome but as Steve said above even with fast powders at lower velocities the comp is bleeding off gas and you will get problems with ejection. Especially if you don't have good tension on your extractor. Powder puffs with slow powders are excessively dirty. My gun will run 115s pushing 950-1000fps with fast powder, but not quite 100% reliable. I think the comp is just so darn efficient on my JPL gun. Around 1050fps is where I want to be with a fast powder for 100% reliability using the 115gr. 

 

The fast powder I've been using is Ramshot Comp which is very similar to N320 in burn speed. I loaded up ~1500 rounds with the RS comp. I'm now going to do the same load but using Longshot and Shooters World Ultimate Pistol aiming for 1100 FPS and a 2nd load at 1200FPS. I will shoot both side by side for a bit and decide if shooter preference is more gas in the comp or a softer recoil impulse. Something to keep me busy at home when I'm not deer hunting this fall/winter.  Above all else I care about 100% reliability. COVID ruined the 2020 shooting schedule for me, but I'm going to be ready for 2021.

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Ezra, my barrel has three large comp ports, so I can make use of more gas.  I'm currently running a 124 JHP or plated over 7.0gr 3N38 for 140 PF.  It is soft and relatively flat.  It is very clean and runs 100%.  On a lark I shot a couple of 115s over 3.2gr Sport Pistol (a PCC load).  No recoil, but the cases barely dribbled out of the gun.  If I can ever get more SP I'll try 3.5gr and see what that gets me.

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