Winchester Factory .40 Oal And Sti Edge

[Mo Hepworth]

Just was curious as to what the OAL of the win 180gr .40 ammo was, as I will be purchasing my first standard gun; a Hard chromed STI Edge with Fibre optic sight and stainless mag well.

I don't reload a lot, but I purchase ammo in bulk from a licensed reloader.

In the event that my reloaded ammo runs into shortages, I was wondering how well factory .40 would work in the Edge. I emailed Winchester, and got this reply;

Thank you very much for taking the time to contact us here at Winchester Ammunition. We are always glad to hear from our many friends and customers who share in the shooting sport.

The Over All Length for the 40 Smith & Wesson is MIN. 1.085 MAX. 1.135 inches

Thank you again for contacting us here at Winchester Ammunition. If you should require additional information, do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Winchester Technical Department

the Reloaded ammunition from the licensed reloader as tested out of an STI edge was making about 175pf using Montana gold FMJ. The OAL is between 1.130, and 1.135.

I have used the reloads 9mm124gr, and is off the highest quality, approx. 8000rds and only one jam due to a sticky mag follower. (HK USP Custom sport)

My question is, would this reloaded ammo more than likely cycle well in my Edge?, as the OAL is what I keep hearing about and that some people load longer. I looked on the Jeff Maas website and it appears very close to some OAL out of a .40 eagle.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Mo Hepworth

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello; I built my STI and had lots of problems with factory ammo and length. I tried some 155 Precision bullets that were 1.130 OAL and they would not feed. I also tried some 185 Precision bullets with 1.135 OAL and they would not feed. I decided to find out more about what the STI pistols like to shoot. I am lucky that I have one of the best builders of these guns here in my town. I went to see Benny Hill and he asked what the problem was and he said they are too short. Load them to 1.180 OAL and it should work fine. I did load some up that length and they work perfect. Thanks Benny! You may find the same thing on your pistol as well. You may want to phone STI and see what they say. Hope this helps. Thanks Eric

[Harmon]

the pistol should feed SAAMI length ammo w/o problems.

i have a STI open gun in 9mm and it will feed an EMPTY case from the magazine...if a pistol can be built to do that...im certain that they can get a 40 to feed short ammo 100 percent.

Harmon

[Mo Hepworth]

the pistol should feed SAAMI length ammo w/o problems.

I agree, although I realize some guns need a "breaking in" period, as I have been told about the STI Edge.

I have been shooting HKs for a few years, and they have been 99.9% reliable.

my 1st HK had a few jams in the first few mags, as did my second pistol. My 3rd pistol was a stainless, and only 1 jam in 8000rds.

I expect most pistols to run like that.

Suppose I rack and slowly release the slide a few hundred times before i go to the range...?

. You may want to phone STI and see what they say. Hope this helps. Thanks Eric

thanks for the advice,

I just emailed them.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Mo Hepworth

[Mo Hepworth]

according to STI technical reply;

The guns are reliable with all different lengths of ammo. The guns are tested at the factory with factory ammo that is 1.135. My personal Edge hand loads are 1.135.

Looks like i have nothing to worry about.

[unclez]

Thats the same reply I recieved from Chris at STI a few weeks ago. He also added that they could be loaded to around 1.200. Right now I am sticking to the 1.135 until I get it broke in good then I'll play with oal if need be.

[hitman]

You should be fine every STI I have built, sold or worked on excet 1 ran factory ammo fine.

If you run out try CCI they are cleaner than Win.