Joseph796 Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 (edited) What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. Edited July 11, 2007 by Joseph796 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. They're not "bad" guns, but if you pay the suggested retail for one ($2600) you're getting pretty close to the point that you could have a basic, solid gun built by a decent smith. The Tru-Bore might run, it might not and if you pay to have it tuned now you're really close to the price of a basic smith built gun. I'd put my money on a basic gun from a decent smith. Buying a nice used Open gun isn't a bad idea either...you'll get a lot more gun and maybe some extras thrown in. There are a lot of people that buy expensive Open guns and decide it just isn't for them pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph796 Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. They're not "bad" guns, but if you pay the suggested retail for one ($2600) you're getting pretty close to the point that you could have a basic, solid gun built by a decent smith. The Tru-Bore might run, it might not and if you pay to have it tuned now you're really close to the price of a basic smith built gun. I'd put my money on a basic gun from a decent smith. Buying a nice used Open gun isn't a bad idea either...you'll get a lot more gun and maybe some extras thrown in. There are a lot of people that buy expensive Open guns and decide it just isn't for them pretty quickly. I totally agreee with you for the $2,600 list price. But, on Gunbroker there is a NIB STI Tru-Bore for a Buy Now price of $1,900. Sound interesting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 This isn't mine and I do not know the seller but if this was a 9mm gun...... I'd check into it. I don't want a super gun STI in classifieds I know a guy who bought a Tru-Bore and had to send it back to Brazo's to get it tuned. It didn't run worth squat out of the box. Not knocking it, just what I saw. After he spent the money for the test and tune ($150.00 iirc) plus shipping (usually ~$40.00+) he has a gun that runs but still isn't 100%. It may just need a few more rounds thru it to get it broke in though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I highly suggest getting a STI through one of the guys that'll charge you some $ to go through it, tune it up and make sure it runs before you get it. Think of it as an insurance policy-- If you got a bad one for whatever reason.. you never see it, it gets fixed or goes straight back to STI to be fixed right. Usually they have discounts off list prices too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radical Precision Designs Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. They're not "bad" guns, but if you pay the suggested retail for one ($2600) you're getting pretty close to the point that you could have a basic, solid gun built by a decent smith. The Tru-Bore might run, it might not and if you pay to have it tuned now you're really close to the price of a basic smith built gun. I'd put my money on a basic gun from a decent smith. Buying a nice used Open gun isn't a bad idea either...you'll get a lot more gun and maybe some extras thrown in. There are a lot of people that buy expensive Open guns and decide it just isn't for them pretty quickly. I totally agreee with you for the $2,600 list price. But, on Gunbroker there is a NIB STI Tru-Bore for a Buy Now price of $1,900. Sound interesting? Randy- There are quite a few "FFL dealers" that list in GunBroker. I have dealt/received from a few of them on deals such as yours. Just realize that a "local" dealer to you might be able (maybe) to match those prices, and save you shipping, insurance, receiving FFL's fees, etc., plus give you a face you can connect to the deal for any discrepancies. May I suggest you do a couple of calls around before you buy. There are no guarrantees someone will beat those prices, but you never know unless you shop around... and make sure that what you get is what you really want. Like someone already mentioned, you still need to get a few more magazines, holster, "red dot sight" etc. Remember this forum's moto: "Maku Mozo" !!!!!! ( By the way on Thursday eve match at Markham, ask "Big Ed" about the gun he has for sale, he'll probable let you shoot it... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 For $1900 and the $2-300 that it would cost to have a smith go through the gun that seems like a reasonable deal. You can also just be alittle patient and keep your eyes open in the classifieds and look for a slightly used custom gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 For the small increase it will take to get a full custom gun I would go that route in a heartbeat. Number one, you will have a hand fitted gun, not a production line gun. Number two, you will already have all the best parts money can buy, not just good quality parts. Number three you will have a man that you can call if you have questions or problems, and he will work with you. STI is a great company to work with, but at this price level I wouldn't take a production gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 (edited) I'll throw out a different perspective... I have a stock Trubor and am quite happy. I looked at the custom builders, and at a minimum you're talking $700-$1000 difference before adding any bells/whistles (who pays msrp for anything?!). It's easy to double the cost of a Trubor quickly. That difference got me set up on mags, holster, mag pouches belt, reloading dies, brass, etc.... Even more importantly, being new to open division, I had NO idea what I wanted. Short guns, 5" guns, holes in the barrels or not, thumb rests, recoil systems, mag releases, etc etc etc. So why pay extra to have a gun custom built around me when I have no idea what I want?! Sure I shot a couple people's guns, but w/o experience I couldn't tell what really worked for me. After a couple years if I'm still into this open nonsense (and I'm having the time of my life shooting open, btw), I may get a gun built. Only then after tens of thousands of rounds and lots of matches can I call the smith and say "ok, here's exactly what I want..." And when I get to that point, I'll have the Trubor as a backup gun for those major matches. Perhaps a stock STI will not run as perfect as a hand built/tested gun. Of course with the horrid mag production capabilities at STI that means hand tuned mags are necessary. My Trubor seems to be dialed in (I don't want to jinx it before Summer Blast next weekend!). I had to do some extractor tuning for smooth feeding. I also had to tune half my magazines' feed lips. I'm no pro smith, but I did just finish building my first .45 1911 so I wasn't afraid to jump in there and fix a couple of minor problems. I also modified the slide stop to not lock the slide back and stippled my grips, all simple stuff I didn't pay someone alot of $ to do. just how I approached the decision... rvb Edited July 11, 2007 by rvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. They're not "bad" guns, but if you pay the suggested retail for one ($2600) you're getting pretty close to the point that you could have a basic, solid gun built by a decent smith. The Tru-Bore might run, it might not and if you pay to have it tuned now you're really close to the price of a basic smith built gun. I'd put my money on a basic gun from a decent smith. Buying a nice used Open gun isn't a bad idea either...you'll get a lot more gun and maybe some extras thrown in. There are a lot of people that buy expensive Open guns and decide it just isn't for them pretty quickly. I totally agreee with you for the $2,600 list price. But, on Gunbroker there is a NIB STI Tru-Bore for a Buy Now price of $1,900. Sound interesting? That's not a bad deal. There's a good chance it will still end up needing tuning to run reliably (yes it's crazy that you can spend $2K and not have a gun run). You'll probably end up spending maybe $200 to get it tuned give or take. You're still getting into the range where you could pick up a higher quality Open gun for the same money and probably be farther ahead in the long run. I think a lot of people buy a Tru-Bore and then wind up spending a lot of money to get it the way they want it...it's often faster and cheaper to just buy it that way in the beginning if you know what you want or are able to try some guns to sort that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph796 Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 (edited) What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. They're not "bad" guns, but if you pay the suggested retail for one ($2600) you're getting pretty close to the point that you could have a basic, solid gun built by a decent smith. The Tru-Bore might run, it might not and if you pay to have it tuned now you're really close to the price of a basic smith built gun. I'd put my money on a basic gun from a decent smith. Buying a nice used Open gun isn't a bad idea either...you'll get a lot more gun and maybe some extras thrown in. There are a lot of people that buy expensive Open guns and decide it just isn't for them pretty quickly. I totally agreee with you for the $2,600 list price. But, on Gunbroker there is a NIB STI Tru-Bore for a Buy Now price of $1,900. Sound interesting? Randy- There are quite a few "FFL dealers" that list in GunBroker. I have dealt/received from a few of them on deals such as yours. Just realize that a "local" dealer to you might be able (maybe) to match those prices, and save you shipping, insurance, receiving FFL's fees, etc., plus give you a face you can connect to the deal for any discrepancies. May I suggest you do a couple of calls around before you buy. There are no guarrantees someone will beat those prices, but you never know unless you shop around... and make sure that what you get is what you really want. Like someone already mentioned, you still need to get a few more magazines, holster, "red dot sight" etc. Remember this forum's moto: "Maku Mozo" !!!!!! ( By the way on Thursday eve match at Markham, ask "Big Ed" about the gun he has for sale, he'll probable let you shoot it... ) Venry, I'll give you a call later today. I wasn't really in the market for a new project but I came accross the Tru-Bore on a "STI" search on Gub Broker, item # 75555027. I bid the opening price of $1,600 on a whim, which did not meet the minimum reserve bid. Then I started asking questions here on BE. Randy Edited July 11, 2007 by Joseph796 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 The tru-bore is a heavy gun. To get it to shoot flatter & cycle faster you need to put it on a diet. To have the slide lightened, better trigger , etc., you will spend what a good custom gun will run. If you can make do with it as is, it is a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Come on, Benny... the TruBor isn't that heavy... lighter than many guns folks are running with... It weighs 41oz from the factory, which is not a "heavy" gun... As far as "flat" and "cycle fast" go, being that he's a C class shooter, faster cycling (which typically results in more palm slap recoil) isn't necessarily going to be positive, and you know as well as I do that "flat", for the most part, is an illusion... The TruBor, especially tuned by an appropriate smith, is a good starting point - especially since, as a C class shooter going into your first 1911-ish platform, you're not really going to know what it is that you want. You're going to need to add another $1000 on top of the cost to pick up mags, holster and mag pouches, reloading dies, brass, etc (if buying new) - a new custom rig could easily cost you $5K. A new TruBor rig has you under $4K, even at MSRP. $1K pays for a lot of mods later (including slide lightening, etc, if you like), or a lot of ammo. So - I think if you invest in having a smith go over it (ala Brazos or Dawson), this is a great entry level gun. Shoot the crap out of it, learn learn learn - and then think about a custom gun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Merricks Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Our sport is a money pit anyway. Trying to save a couple hundred bucks have always cost me more in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 We have 2 sti trubors in 9mm major. Both guns required quite a bit of tuning most probs were ejection issues. We used Dawson mounts..and they are very low on the slide so ejection angle is critical. The two guns have had about 28,000 rnds shot thru them since december when they were new..and are still tight and accurate. The triggers are a little heavy...but they will give you a .08 split pretty well. I did all the tuning so the cost was zero but I did replace the extractors with aftecs. A smith built gun will be hand fitted and tuned and most likely produce much less problems. I am only a lowly peon B class shooter so my cheap little sti suits me. Some people seem to think the MAGIC is in the gun...I think its more the MAN or WOMAN than the machine. At the top of the sport, where the competitors vie for the minute advantage...a super duper wizz bang may be required. For the rest of us mere mortals a less expensive alternative, may be good enough. grumpy old jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I wouldn't buy it in Super, magazine and OAL problems make Super Comp a much better choice. 9mm makes a lot of sense too, that is what I am running. No matter what you get you need to spend some money on magazines. If your magazines aren't right the best gun ever made is going to choke and puke on you. Spend the money, get GOOD magazines that are set up RIGHT, and that will go a long way to getting your gun running right. If you go custom get some mags from the builder, at least two. Then if you having problems at least you will know the magazines are set up the way the smith likes them. The other HUGE factor is ejection angle like Jim mentioned, Open guns have an extremely narrow window when compared to all the other guns you might have or see. The extraction needs to be consistent or the ejection won't be consistent also, extractor and ejector need to work together to make an Open gun run right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGentry Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 IMHO as stated in a similar thread - I see allot of shooters get into open with a "starter" gun such as a Trubor but don't have the knowledge to tune the gun and when it becomes frustrating due to it not running correctly and or they just have a hard time adjusting to open - sell their gun off. If you think you would like to get into open, try your local smith or someone with USPA shooting experience who can build you a reliable good running gun for not much more than a GM open gun from the factory. I know of a few great smiths that build reliable great guns such and Benny Hill and Dan Bedell for great prices! I think keeping the frustration level down will help new open shooters get a good start then upgrade to a full out custom gun and keep the first one as a backup. Just 2 cents....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 We have 2 sti trubors in 9mm major.Both guns required quite a bit of tuning most probs were ejection issues. We used Dawson mounts..and they are very low on the slide so ejection angle is critical. The two guns have had about 28,000 rnds shot thru them since december when they were new..and are still tight and accurate. The triggers are a little heavy...but they will give you a .08 split pretty well. I did all the tuning so the cost was zero but I did replace the extractors with aftecs. A smith built gun will be hand fitted and tuned and most likely produce much less problems. I am only a lowly peon B class shooter so my cheap little sti suits me. Some people seem to think the MAGIC is in the gun...I think its more the MAN or WOMAN than the machine. At the top of the sport, where the competitors vie for the minute advantage...a super duper wizz bang may be required. For the rest of us mere mortals a less expensive alternative, may be good enough. grumpy old jim .08 Split? You Sir, must have a damn fast trigger finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 If I could Just do it all the time I am NOT what you would call...consistant Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f250sd Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Although its not a Trubor, three of the guys I squad with and myself all have STI Grandmasters, 3 in 9 major, and mine is 38 super comp. All four guns run flawless as long as you do your part with good mags and good ammo. I run an aftec in mine, the other guys did a little trigger work and thats it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P. Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I used a STI Grnadmaster (Dawson Tuned) for my first year of Open. I had about 35,000 rounds through it and not once did it fail. It's a good gun that works and I get to spend more time on shooting versus surfing the web for "how to" fixes to keep it going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 My first open gun was an STI Grandmaster, it never gave me a problem from day one until I sold it. The only thing I had to do was lighten the trigger and set the feed lip dimensions on the mags. Some days I wish I had it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Egan Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 You can expect to immediately go up a class. I had attempted to make B class shooting a semi-tricked glock-24. Got the trubor from Dawson, and went up 15% at one sp classifier match. I'd recommend having dawson tune it and hard chrome it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGentry Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 (edited) Getting any good quality open gun that does not give you trouble - Priceless!!! I know most of us have had days where we knew it could and it did happen right at the time we did not need it to - and we just stood there in amazement trying to not to believe it!!! Now where was that spare extrator spring kit Edit (spell chucker) Edited July 13, 2007 by KGentry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWHaz Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) What are your thoughts, opinions, etc. about a "stock" STI Tru-Bore 38 Super. I am a C Class open shooter interested in stepping up from a Glock 35 40 S&W Open. They're not "bad" guns, but if you pay the suggested retail for one ($2600) you're getting pretty close to the point that you could have a basic, solid gun built by a decent smith. The Tru-Bore might run, it might not and if you pay to have it tuned now you're really close to the price of a basic smith built gun. I'd put my money on a basic gun from a decent smith. Buying a nice used Open gun isn't a bad idea either...you'll get a lot more gun and maybe some extras thrown in. There are a lot of people that buy expensive Open guns and decide it just isn't for them pretty quickly. I totally agreee with you for the $2,600 list price. But, on Gunbroker there is a NIB STI Tru-Bore for a Buy Now price of $1,900. Sound interesting? Randy- There are quite a few "FFL dealers" that list in GunBroker. I have dealt/received from a few of them on deals such as yours. Just realize that a "local" dealer to you might be able (maybe) to match those prices, and save you shipping, insurance, receiving FFL's fees, etc., plus give you a face you can connect to the deal for any discrepancies. May I suggest you do a couple of calls around before you buy. There are no guarrantees someone will beat those prices, but you never know unless you shop around... and make sure that what you get is what you really want. Like someone already mentioned, you still need to get a few more magazines, holster, "red dot sight" etc. Remember this forum's moto: "Maku Mozo" !!!!!! ( By the way on Thursday eve match at Markham, ask "Big Ed" about the gun he has for sale, he'll probable let you shoot it... ) I purchased a 38 Super Tru-bor from Dawson ($2375. + tax). Had it Gawson tuned, no hard chrome($150.) shipping($25.). The Tru-bor trigger can be tuned down to 2lbs if you know how. I put a DK trigger and CS sear and a 17# MS for a reliable 1.5# trigger($140.). Had the slide flat topped and 2 holes added ($150.) Mags 4 at ($100) each. I had to tune the ejector myself as Dawson left it to long for 1.250 OAL. Now I load 1.225 oal. The gun runs flawless and eats 38 super AND 38 super comp brass. The extractor holds the 38 super tite but still functions flawlessl with super or super comp. Good accuarracy. I am a C open shooter, but get accussed of sandbagging Add it all up and you can decide if you want a Tru-bor or a custom. As a side note as always happens as soon as I got my Tru-bor some guy at the club decided he had enough of open and wants to sell his custon 38 super plus mags and more for $2000. I do not know how it runs as I am afraid to shoot it as I may get even more pissed XCUSMYSPELIN Edited July 24, 2007 by TWHaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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