Dear Diary

[Tokarev]

I ran out into the hills east of town this morning with a handful of ammo and both limited guns. I shot all the ammo over my Beta Chrony. Initially, the day was nicely overcast but the sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds later into the session. I got a couple weird numbers off the chronograph and I'm going to blame them on the changing light conditions.

I shot in an area regularly used by the locals for target practice. I didn't have a target but, after chrono'ing, I did a couple of Bill Drills on an old empty propane bottle. I think the gun comes back onto target a tiny bit faster than the 5-inch.

Of the loads shot, the ones loaded with WSF seemed to have the least consistency. This might be a result of the fairly light bullet. I'll have to try again with a 180 and see what that does.

The factory WOLF stuff is still pretty much the softest thing I've got. And it's pretty consistent. Damn Russians!

Alright. Here's what I came up with:

5" results

WOLF 180 (ten rounds)

Hi---940

Lo---918

Av---928

PF---167

WWB 165 (ten rounds)

Hi---1072

Lo---1020

Av---1049

PF---173

200 Cast 8.2 AA#9 loaded long (eight rounds)

Hi---847

Lo---804

Av---824

PF---164

180 Prvi JHP 5.8 Longshot loaded 1.13" (ten rounds)

Hi---970

Lo---920

Av---948

PF---170

180 MG FMJ 5.8 Longshot loaded 1.13" (ten rounds)

Hi---962

Lo---878

Av---930

PF---167

155 Fed JHP 6.8 Ram Silhouette 1.13" (five rounds)

Hi---1077

Lo---1050

Av---1063

PF---164

155 Fed JHP 6.5 WSF 1.13" (five rounds)

Hi---1147

Lo---1087

Av---1121

PF---173

155 Fed JHP 7.4 AA#5 1.13" (five rounds)

Hi---1083

Lo---1048

Av---1060

PF---164

The WSF load seemed to have the loudest report. Also, the WWB load was rather loud. 200 Cast is very smoky!

[jasmap]

Did you chrono the 6" also or just the 5"? I didn't see anything listed for the 6".

Edited July 13, 2008 by jasmap

[Tokarev]

6" Results:

165 Speer Gold Dot (eight rounds)

Hi---1100

Lo---1063

Av---1083

PF---178

125 Speer Frangible (ten rounds)

Hi---1386

Lo---1344

Av---1366

PF---170

200 cast 8.2 AA#9 loaded long (ten rounds)

Hi---898

Lo---839

Av---873

PF---174

165 WWB (ten rounds)

Hi---1110

Lo---1067

Av---1087

PF---179

180 WOLF (ten rounds)

Hi---950

Lo---918

Av---931

PF---167

155 Fed JHP 7.4 AA#5 1.13 (five rounds)

Hi---1095

Lo---977

Av---1057

PF---163

155 Fed JHP 6.5 WSF 1.13 (five rounds)

Hi---1160

Lo---1081

Av---1101

PF---170

155 Fed JHP 6.8 Ram Silhouette 1.13 (five rounds)

Hi---1108

Lo---1009

Av---1065

PF---165

180 MG FMJ 5.8 Longshot 1.13 (ten rounds)

Hi---981

Lo---857

Av---910

PF---164

180 Prvi JHP 5.8 Longshot 1.13 (ten rounds)

Hi---979

Lo---869

Av---936

PF---168

125 Speer Frangible (five rounds)

Hi---1325

Lo---1285

Av---1306

PF---163

155 Fed JHP duty ammo (three rounds)

Hi---1267

Lo---1199

Av---1224

PF---190

[Tokarev]

I brought the 6er out today even though I don't yet have my holster, etc. I'm running out of time so I'll probably set my old CR Speed belt up for the new gun. I can always change out after the Nats. At least this way I'll be able to practice. I wonder how much of a difference a holster will make. We're only talking about 15-20 draws for both L and L-10 anyway.

I shot 80 rounds through the gun today. Most of this was from the 50 and the 25 trying to get the sights dialed in just right. I shot 40 rounds of my 200 load and 40 of my 155 load. Both are cast bullets. The 200 is loaded with Accurate #9 and the 155 is loaded with Unique. I know from yesterday that the 200 load is about a 174pf. I haven't chrono'ed the 155 yet out of the 6" gun but it should be about the same power factor.

One of the things I did was shoot a couple of Bill Drills at the seven yard line. I started with the gun in the aimed-in position and fired while looking at the target and letting the sights just sort of "be there." I did this 2x with both loads and the 155 seems to come back onto target a little easier than the 200. Both loads are soft and the 200 is a gentle nudge while the 155 is more of a quick and gentle snap. I can see what some of the guys are saying about the heavier bullets being kind of sluggish in the longslide guns. Now this could mean that lighter bullets are the way to go or it could mean that my 155 load is going minor. Or it could mean nothing at all.

When I sent Virgil all my parts to have him build this thing, I sent along an STI magazine with a Dawson follower. Since the Dawson follower has no provision to engage the slide stop, the lobe is still on that part in the gun. I noticed that when using one of my mags with the Grams follower, the magazine won't feed the last round. This is because the follower is hitting the slide stop but doesn't have enough oomph to push it up. I guess it's time for some new springs and/or different followers. I think maybe I'll get Dawson followers for all my mags.

Well, it ain't really a practice session but it's a start. I guess it's better than nothing.

[Tokarev]

I got a sample pack of 220gr cast bullets from SNS Casting in Illinois. They look like nice bullets with properly filled grease groove, etc. I weighed twenty of them and they range from about 218 to 222 grains. Overall length is .74"

I've loaded fifteen rounds to an OAL of 1.195 and will chrono as soon as I can.

I've got five loaded with 3.6gr of WSF

I've got five loaded with 4.6gr of AA#5

I've got five loaded with 5.3gr of AA#7

Winchester small pistol primers and Speer brass used for all 15 rounds.

I also want to load a few with Longshot and Silhouette.

[Tokarev]

More chrono data. This was fired between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. Nice clear morning with a temp of about 75 degrees.

Winchester primers used except for pulled cases.

220 Cast--Five shot strings OAL 1.195"

5.3 AA#7

Hi 816.1

Lo 803.4

Avg 810.4

PF 178.2

3.6 WSF

Hi 744.2

Lo 717.5

Avg 731.3

PF 160.8

4.6 AA#5

Hi 788.5

Lo 751

Avg 771.16

PF 169.6

155 Pulldown--Ten shot strings unless noted

4.5 700X

Hi 1008

Lo 864.1

Avg 934.77

PF 144.8

Stovepipes!

7.5 SR4756

Hi 1240

Lo 1136

Avg 1172.9

PF 181.7

7.5 pulldown powder--five shot string

Hi 1020

Lo 951

Avg 977.62

PF 151.5

7.5 pulldown powder--five shot string after twenty round mag dump

Hi 1093

Lo 1005

Avg 1056.6

PF 163.7

7.0 Ramshot Silhouette

Hi 1129

Lo 1061

Avg 1094.9

PF 169.7

180 Cast 4.5 American Select--nineteen shot string. WOLF rifle primers! OAL 1.13"

Hi 1009

Lo 956.9

Avg 993.94

PF 178.9

180 jacketed 5.7 SR 4756

Prvi Partizan--ten shot string

Hi 875.9

Lo 747.2

Avg 828.21

PF 149.0

Stovepipes!

Montana Gold--ten shot string

Hi 884.2

Lo 767.1

Avg 818.06

PF 147.2

Stovepipes!

Speer Lawman 125 Frangible--five shot string

Hi 1419

Lo 1394

Avg 1402.6

PF 175.3

Edited July 21, 2008 by Tokarev

[Tokarev]

Some chrono results from this morning:

Shooting Chrony

Ten ft. from muzzle (mas o menos)

75 degrees. Clear sunny day

6.0 STI longslide

220 SNS cast

Speer once-fired brass

Winchester small pistol

OAL 1.195"

4.6gr AA#5

Five rounds chrono'ed

Hi 777.0

Lo 755.1

Av 765.8

ES 21.8

SD 8.5

PF 168.4

Accuracy is good but not outstanding. It's pretty dadgummed soft, though!

I also ran a bunch of the Speer frangible over the chrono again. It's averaging 1400fps out of the 6" gun. It is a little snappier than the 220 cast load but it does rate a higher PF.

My load of 5.0 of AA#7 is too light. It's accurate but is coming in at an average of only about 675fps. 5.3gr of the same powder had previously given me an average of 810fps. I guess 5.1 or 5.3 ought to do it.

[Tokarev]

More chrono data for the 6". Does this count as practice?

155 LSWC

6.0 Alliant Unique

Winchester primer

Mixed brass

Lo 1100

Hi 1171

Av 1145

ES 71.4

SD 204

PF 177.4

155 LSWC

5.2gr IMR 700X

Winchester primer

Mixed brass

Lo 1128

Hi 1185

Av 1157

ES 57.1

SD 20.7

PF 179.3

WOLF 180

Lo 949.0

Hi 961.8

Av 951.4

ES 20.8

SD 7.5

PF 171.2

155 Fed pulled

Fed case, primer

5.2gr IMR 700X loaded long

Lo 1015

Hi 1052

Av 1033

ES 37.1

SD 13.8

PF 160.1

155 Fed pulled

Fed case, primer

5.2gr IMR 700X loaded 1.125"

Lo 1071

Hi 1192

Av 1111

ES 120.9

SD 50.6

PF 172.2

.45 ACP fired in RIA with Kart barrel

200gr Billy LSWC

WOLF pistol primer

5.4gr Alliant Unique

Lo 831.6

Hi 910

Av 876.1

ES 78.6

SD 28.1

PF 175.2

WOLF 75gr BTHP through Colt 6920

Lo 2703

Hi 2743

Av 2720

ES 39.2

SD 16.2

PF 204

[Tokarev]

.45 ACP

Rock Island w/ Kart NM barrel

200 Billy

5.4 Unique

WOLF primer

Lo 871.1

Hi 917.0

Av 894.2

ES 45.93

SD 20.14

PF 178.8

Speer 125 Frang.

Five rounds

Lo 1388

Hi 1422

Av 1406

ES 33.29

SD 14.73

PF 175.7

Bulletworks 200 cast

5.2gr Hodgdon Longshot

Five rounds

Lo 894.2

Hi 926

Av 908.7

ES 36.81

SD 12.36

PF 181.7

155 LSWC

5.0 700-X (700X too flaky--not metering well using small powder cavity. Runs anywhere from 5.0-5.2gr)

Ten rounds

Lo 1013

Hi 1121

Av 1060

ES 108.1

SD 35.07

PF 164.3

200 X-Treme plated

5.2 Hodgdon Longshot

Five rounds

Lo 752

Hi 864

Av 809.3

ES 111.9

SD 46.27

PF 161.8

220 X-Treme plated

4.6 AA#5

Five rounds

Lo 673.3

Hi 734.2

Av 713.3

ES 60.9

SD 19.2

PF 156.9

200 Bulletworks cast

5.2 Hodgdon Longshot

Five rounds

Lo 906.3

Hi 984.2

Av 941.5

ES 77.89

SD 28.0

PF 188.3

[Tokarev]

Made it out to the little match in Hobbs this morning. It was nice to see everybody again.

I've still not received my Safariland holster for the 6" so I ran in single stack. I took the Springfield .40 and used a mixture of Winchester factory 180 and WOLF. The WOLF is WAY softer than the factory Winchester stuff.

There aren't any results available yet but I had a pretty decent match considering I've not really shot since the end of April. No issues with the gun or related equipment but I did pop a no-shoot clamshell. I activated the clamshell, swung off the engage a paper target and then swung back to fire two into the target before the no-shoot popped up. I had the time to make the transition but was a little too slow and deliberate with the shots on the clamshell and paid for it.

My HF on the classier CM99-10 was 8.05.

[Tokarev]

I'm still messing around with the pulled 155 JHP bullets. I called Hodgdon on Thursday and asked the guy on the other end of the line what he thought the best powder would be for a major load with a lighter bullet. He suggested I use Universal.

I had my wife pick up a pound yesterday when she was in Roswell and loaded ten rounds last night. I used the Hodgdon starting load of 6.0gr. According to the website, this load was supposed to run about 1080fps. They list 6.6gr as the max load.

I chrono'ed five of these through my 6.0 and five through my .40 Springfield. Both guns showed signs of pressure with the 6.0 showing some cratered primers. Velocity from the 6.0 averaged 1230fps and the 5.0 Single Stack showed an average just under 1200fps!

I loaded another handful with 5.2gr of Universal. I'll see if that's more in line with what I'm trying to accomplish. I also want to call Hodgdon and tell them I'm showing pressure at their starting load. I wonder if Universal is very inconsistent from lot to lot.

[JKSNIPER]

Tokarev,

NIce weapons dude!

You ever try any of Black Hills ammo in your pistols?

Just curious.

I know the president, Jeff Hoffman, great guy and his ammo has a reputation among the L.E./Military/sniper/tactical crowd as being top notch ammo.

JK

[Tokarev]

Tokarev,

NIce weapons dude!

You ever try any of Black Hills ammo in your pistols?

Just curious.

I know the president, Jeff Hoffman, great guy and his ammo has a reputation among the L.E./Military/sniper/tactical crowd as being top notch ammo.

JK

No, sir. I've not used any of their handgun ammo. They do make some good rifle ammo though.

On another note, 5.2gr of Universal with pulldown bullets and cases is an average of 1032fps. 5.4gr will hopefully do the trick.

[Tokarev]

I don't have all the chrono numbers with me right now but 5.4 of Universal is about a 171pf in the 6incher. I'm hoping this same load will run a 165+ out of my 5" guns, as it would be nice to have one load for all.

[Tokarev]

I drove over to Levelland and shot over there for the first time today. The range took a little looking for but it's a decent little place and it was a fun match. Seven stages with a pretty good mix of stuff.

I shot okay considering it's my first real outing with the new 6" gun. My WSM II holster with the Model A belt loop is a little higher than I'm used to so the first couple draws felt a little strange. No fumbled reloads, etc.

I had a failure to feed on the first and second to last stage. I also had a "drop to halfcock" on the last stage. The failures were both with cast bullets and I wonder if I still have some of those little stubby Laredo bullets mixed in with my 155 cast load. Those won't feed right in anything I've tried them in. I also noticed a couple high primers on some of my ammo so that might be the problem. Anyway, the pulled Federal ammo ran fine and it looks like that's going to be my Nationals load.

I took a make-up shot on a swinger that I didn't need. My second shot didn't feel like it was there so I waited for the target to make another swing and shot it again. This tactic turned a 4.5 second run into a 6.5 second run. Turns out a made up a Delta with a Delta. It looks like swingers are still a weak spot for me. I should see about buying a cheap one and using it on practice days. What practice days???

Going off memory, I think I shot the classifier (CM99-55) in 6.58 seconds and was down three points. That should be about 81%.

[jasmap]

HOA in your 1st match in Limited in over a year ain't too shabby. Good job.

[Tokarev]

I have made it through most of the first two weeks of the drills in Sam Conway's book. I've started the drills before but have yet to make it all the way through the entire six weeks. That'll have to change one of these days. There's nothing Earth-shattering in the book but I like it because it lays everything out in a simple and easy to understand format and the drills listed in the 6-week course build on the previous weeks.

My 6" gun should be back to me on Monday or Tuesday. Virgil says it's running along fine. Also, I loaded up 1,000 rounds of the Federal 155 pulled ammo this morning with 6.9 grains of Silhouette. That load runs about 1100fps out of my 5" STI and, hopefully, it'll be good to go in the 6."

[Tokarev]

I just got done with the Limited Nat's and shot Day One of the L-10 Nat's. No problems experienced with reliability or accuracy/chrono with my 6" and pulled ammo. My Ramshot Silhouette load came in at a 169pf.

I did have a problem with the grip safety that was caused by me and my unfamiliarity with my new gun and has no reflection on Virgil's skill as a gunsmith. It would seem that the Ice magwell pushes my hand up higher on the gun than the standard STI mag well on my 5" gun. On the second day of shooting, I noticed that the trigger was starting to stick and not reset correctly. After I got back to the hotel, I pulled the gun apart for a good look. I found that the trigger bow was rubbing on the finger on the grip safety and had actually started to drag enough to keep the trigger from resetting all the time. I pulled out my Leatherman and filed the finger down a little and put everything back together.

I shot the first two stages of the day and was still having a problem so I took my 6" down to the vendor tent and asked Derek to deactivate the grip safety entirely. No more problems since.

As I said, this was related to my hold on the gun and nothing with Virgil's build. If I had had the time to really run the gun in practice prior to coming to Tulsa, I'm sure I would have found this problem before it hurt me on a couple stages. I would have preferred to have the mag well modified rather than have the grip safety modified. I'll probably get this stuff fixed once I get back to New Mexico.

Overall, not a bad performance. I placed 3rd in A and was 30th overall in Limited. I had two mikes and no no-shoots, etc.

We'll see how I do now in L-10. Today was okay but it was VERY rainy and wet. Shooting with a clear plastic bag over the targets sucks, to be frank.

I forgot to add that I induced a malfunction by loading the gun all the way up with 22 rounds. I've got one magazine I can stuff 21 rounds in but it takes a good solid thump to seat it. I used this mag, loaded in this fashion, as a start mag and it caused a stovepipe. I was being greedy on a 22 round stage and it cost me about 3 seconds. Live and learn...

Edited September 12, 2008 by Tokarev

[Tokarev]

Limited Ten went alright. I had no additional problems with the grip safety and experienced no malfunctions with the pistol. My ammo worked well and chrono'ed at 167.something at this match.

I note that I finished at about 82% in both matches. Last year, I was somewhere around 75% in Limited and L-10.

[Tokarev]

Finally getting around to making another post. I haven't really done much of anything IPSC-related since Nats.

I shot the Area 4 match out in San Angelo last weekend. I had no problems with guns or gear and shot in Single Stack. I used WOLF ammo because I didn't have the time to pull any Service ammo and didn't have the time to load some 155 Montana Golds and try those before the match.

The match went pretty well. There were a total of seven shooters in SS and I placed HOA in this division.

Swingers are still my weakness. My only "mike" for the match was on a swinger. I've thought about it before but I really need to buy a swinger so I can shoot at it from different distances and at different angles, etc to really work out my lead on those darned things.

Well, time for supper!

[Tokarev]

Since I won Single Stack at Area 4 while wearing an STI shirt, I was fortunate enough to get $350 from STI as a reward. The contingency money is an awesome program and why some guys don't bother to sign up is beyond me!

Anyway, I ordered one of the new STI GP-6's with my reward money. It arrived yesterday. I shot fifty rounds of Remington UMC and a handful of WOLF 9mm and Federal 124 +P+ through my GP6 this afternoon. Accuracy is about as good as anything and the gun feels about like anything else. Claims about the rotating barrel reducing recoil seem to be overblown as these claims usually are.

The gun points good and follow-up shots are quick and easy with the short trigger reset. I did find one peculiarity, at least with my specimen. If I start in the DA mode with the hammer down, a slight amount of downward thumb pressure on the safety--ala 1911--will deactivate the gun and the trigger won't engage until the pressure on the safety is removed. In single action, with or without my thumb on the safety, the trigger worked fine. I always shoot with my thumb atop a pistol equipped with a thumb safety so changing my grip is going to take some getting used to.

Once the weather warms up I'll see about running against the timer to measure my splits.

[Tokarev]

I've got no news other than to report that my GP6 is back at STI. I called to ask about the deactivation caused by the safety and the guy I spoke to (Chris, I believe) said he knew exactly what the problem was and would fix it right away. I'm hoping to have it back sometime after Christmas. I still need to get a holster for this gun and I think I'll just order a cheapy Fobus or something along those lines. Blade-Tech is supposed to be working on a GP6 holster but I'll hold off and make sure I like the gun before I dump $100 into accessories.

I did pick up an M&P Pro also and I did get a DOH and pouches for it. I've really done nothing with this gun other than some basic draw drills and a little dryfire.

Man! I'm so behind! Hopefully I'll get some trigger time after the 1st of the year.

[ap38]

Trigger time. HUH it was minus 12 this morning with 15 inches of snow. See the range in April.

[Tokarev]

Trigger time. HUH it was minus 12 this morning with 15 inches of snow. See the range in April.

Well, it's not quite that bad here in New Mexico but it was only 19 this morning. It warmed up to the mid-30's but then a south wind kicked up and kept it chilly all day.

[ap38]

Trigger time. HUH it was minus 12 this morning with 15 inches of snow. See the range in April.

Well, it's not quite that bad here in New Mexico but it was only 19 this morning. It warmed up to the mid-30's but then a south wind kicked up and kept it chilly all day.

That'll add to trigger freeze!!!

Merry Christmas!