gun for shooting steel

[dave pasos]

Now that were getting close to the Steel Challenge I was wondering what are some of the setups being used by the readers of this forum.

I just wanted to get idea so that help me in deciding what route to go in building one.   thanks

[warpspeed]

Dave,

so many variables in your question.

What calibers are currently using in IPSC?

What gun are you currently using in IPSC?

(Edited by warpspeed at 8:56 am on April 16, 2002)

[ong45]

Dave.

I use an STI built by  Johnny Lim in .38 super comp. It is a bushing barreled gun with an aluminum comp . the slide is lightened and i am using a C-more. This gun is super light and i shoot about 110 pf in steel challenge. People who shoot it are usually surprised at how light it is. It recoils a bit more than you might think since it is so light , very fast pointing though which i guess is what you need for SC.

[dave pasos]

how does the aluminum comp hold up?   I was thinking of something like that.    I was thinking of 9mm.   thanks

[warpspeed]

Dave,

If you are thinking 9mm then you are in the right direction. pf for challenge is sub minor. You are looking for accuracy with longest shot at < 50 yds. Load needs to be a very light bullet like a 115 @ 1000 fps or so.

For the gun recomendation, look at a commander lenght slide with a 2 port cone  comp using a govt lenght barrel.

Since capacity is a non issue, if you don miss, a single stack is OK. But if you already have a S_I gun, have a new top end fit and you can use the same lower.

Short, light and quick.

[ong45]

Dave,

The aluminum comp holds up fine as long as you don't shoot anything too hot through it. 9mm  is a good idea if you get the correct breechface, i've been told that if you use a .38 super slide for 9mm that the breechface is too big and because the 9 is a shorter bullet oal, you get feeding problems , something about the bullet going in crooked.  An sv slide with the interchangeable breechface might be the hot thing.

James Ong

[ong45]

By the way , if you are alredy running .38 super or one of the other variants, the load i use is  4.1 of WST with a 115 jhp gets me around 950 fps .

James Ong

[dave pasos]

thanks orng45, does anyone know of the breechface differences between 9mm and super?  thanks

[warpspeed]

9mm is rimless, rim is same diameter as case

38 super is semi-rimmed, rim slightly larger than case

[dave pasos]

warpspeed, would it make a difference in using a super slide with a 9mm?  thanks

[ong45]

Dave,

A friend of mine did just that. He rebarreled his super with a 9mm thinking that 9 major might be approved or that he would shoot minor. He had feeding problems with the shorter 9mm bullet. I am told that it is very difficult to get a true 9mm slide . The reason the slides we have work with the rimless supers is that the bullet is long enough to work.

James Ong

[dave pasos]

Good thought.  

[warpspeed]

Dave,

There is not enough difference in the 2. Any "problems" are more likely due to other factors like spring weight, feed ramp angle, OAL, etc.

You might want to ask STI if they ship the same slide for a 38super and 9mm. I think the answer will be they are the same but you might want to ask.

I was going to have a super changed to 9mm and my gunsmith did not say a thing about the breechface being an issue. (I changed my mind since then.)

[dave pasos]

Warpspeed, how would a LW Alloy frame commander in 38 sup or 9mm work for a steel gun?  Two port comp.  Would mounting a scope to the dust cover be a problem?  Or could it be mount closer to the slide stop?   thanks

[warpspeed]

Probably real sweet.  I first shot SC with a SS Springfield in 9mm that had been lightened a lot.

The idea is to be able to move from plate to plate quickly. A long gun with weight out front doesn't help to do this.

Scope mount is a frame mount using an ADCO tube scope. Check out http://www.gramseng.com for a really nice one. The tube is the best hot ticket for steel. Bevin's mount puts it as close to slide as possible.