Converting Major Sti To Minor Steel Gun

[dickwholliday]

A buddy just got a used Brazos STI IPSC 38 super gun that had been set up to run IPSC major loads......he wanted to convert it to minor so he can shoot NRA action pistol/Steel matches.....With the gun set up as it was we tried my steel load which is 5.0 of titegroup and a 115 and it will not even begin to cycle the action......not knowing what spring was in it we replaced it with a 9 pound spring which felt lighter than the spring that came in it......the 9 pound spring would bearly eject loads and many stovepipes.......we then found a 6 pound spring and it would eject cases but feeding was a problem with a full magazine and the weak 6 pound spring...........Is there any magic way to get this gun to shoot minor loads???????

i'm guessing we'll just have to go back to an 8 or 9 pound spring and beef up the load until it works the gun reliably.......what do you guys think?????

thanks.....D I C K

[shred]

Assuming it's not one of Bob's commander-springed guns, I find a 7lb spring works well with light loads. You can also play tricks with the mainspring and cam profile of the firing pin stop (Dawson sells fast and slow-cam FP stops).

[Flexmoney]

And...you sure don't need full mags for those two games.

[nbright]

I run 3.9 grains of Titegroup behind a 115 and have a 5 pound recoil spring and a 15lb mainspring. The mainspring makes a big difference, you just need to make sure you get ignition every time.

+1 on Flex's comment on fully loaded mags, for steel matches I load 12 rounds per mag and reload after every string.

Edited August 31, 2006 by nbright

[ong45]

You could also try backing off the extractor tension, lighter tension should still extract with wimpy steel loads and help feeding.