phant0m_jester Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Hi all - I promised to share some pics of my "open conversion" project with my Match 9mm. I haven't shot it yet (I know Rich D. did), but I will be sure to post a range report in this thread.... Please keep in mind that it's not totally finished yet (hence all of the tool marks) as I can't decide on the final finish, so I am just going to get some rounds down range while I think about it....I am leaning towards 100% hard chrome to achieve the same look as the "Gold Team"... One pic has the EAA magwell on (and no grip) the other pic has no magwell and the factory rubber grip.....I EAGERLY await Henning's grip\magwell cobmo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ks-shooter Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Looks like it is going to be a winner! Lots of questions: Who spec'd the comp and it is custom or off-the-shelf? What is your investment in the pistol so far? What barrel is in it? Are there any ports in the barrel? Did Rich do any fire control work? Thanks and please keep posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam B Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 that looks better than a gold team, how flat does it shoot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eerw Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 (edited) that is sweet looking.. details details.. whose comp..did Rich make it..barrel?? factory or is it another.. very very cool.. checked over on Rich's site.. he now offers a bit a work on the EAA/Tanfoglio guns.. Canyon Creek Custom_Tanfoglio Edited February 21, 2008 by eerw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UW Mitch Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Very nice! Rich does great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 The barrel is a factory barrel. Rich created a custom cone comp, threaded the factory barrel and fit the custom cone comp to the barrel. With that out of the way, he reamed the front of the slide out (like a Gold Team or Limited) to fit a the cone barrel\comp and reverse guide rod plug. Slide lightening cuts were also made in the slide, at this point - there are no barrel ports... Then he squared the trigger guard, mounted the C-More on one of Henning's mounts, and finally cut a notch to fit the sidewinder. Firing pin was also replaced with one from Henning as well as all the springs. 8# Wolf recoil spring, 13#hammer spring. I haven't fired it yet, but Rich did and said it checks out. I hope to have a range report VERY soon with some different ammo.... All of the prices are on the Canyon Creek website (in a PDF doc). Here is the breakdown for everything: $469 - for the gun (local dealer) $150 - C-More scope mount (Henning) $25 - X-Long Firing pin (Henning) $7 - Hammer spring (Henning) $120 - Magwell (Henning) $700 - Custom Work (Canyon Creek - breakdown prices on their site) ----------------- $1471 (does not include C-More which I already had) I wanted to buy a Gold Team, but the reality is that they aren't available ANYWHERE....except for the .45 that has been on Gunbroker.com a few times....but .45 just doesn't work for an Open class gun....I think once this gun is all done up 100% in a hard chrome finish it will look better than a factory Gold Team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Gundry Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Nice - why did the bottom front of the slide get messed with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Nice - why did the bottom front of the slide get messed with? I asked that same question to Rich. He said that he reams the whole thing out, then welds a small piece back in to fit the reverse plug... I have never seen a Limited, Stock or Gold Team up close, but I would assume that Tanfoglio has the "stop" for the reverse plug machined into the slide while it's being cut on the CNC.... Once it's "finished" in hard chrome, I don't think you'll be able to tell any changes were made in that area... -Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Waring Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Looks awesome, He does nice work. I would like to see a top view for the comp design and the lightning cuts. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Ok - so I went to the range last night after work (indoor) and zeroed the C-More in at 10 yards and all was well. Super accurate some even in the same hole. I had several 5 round strings make a nice little "clover" design on the paper.... I was shooting a bunch of different factory 9mm 124gr ammo like American Eagle, Magtech, Blazer...etc. Gun shot best with the American Eagle and was as flat as it could be with factory ammo. It definitely will need a slow burning powder with plenty of gas to really work the comp. As far as performance with factory loads though - I was VERY impressed. I think some custom loads would work really well and this thing would shoot totally flat with no flip at all. Problems: Had a few FTE and some weak ejections, I will need to keep an eye on this... Had a ton of feeding issues with the 9mm magazines when loaded with more than 10 rounds. They were basically "nose-dived" while in the mag and when the slide was coming forward into battery, it couldn't pick up the new round and get it into the chamber - so the slide would just stop as if it was locked back (but in reality it was just resting on the rim of the stuck round still in the mag). Conclusion: Shoots fantastic! Very accurate with very little muzzle flip (factory loads are not the best choice for open guns), and feels great in the hand. Magazine is going to need some tweaking though. I am reaching out to Henning to try some Grams springs and followers that I can bend and tweak and try to make things more reliable... More to come...stay tuned... -Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAB33 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 You might see if Jim Anglin can help you out with the mags. He could save you a lot of headaches! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinnsyk Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Rob As extractor issues goes, check my article and you can adjust it to 0.045" as I do for 38 super rimless: http://henningshootsguns.com/tech/tech.tan....extractor.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinnsyk Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 As for mags and nose-dives, the 9mm is tricky in the large frame. Some people have been able to figure it out and made them work with high capacity. I've never messed with 9mm much. In worst case I'd re-chamber it for 38 super rimless and start shooting Starline 38 TJ brass. Changing for 9mm to 38 will blow out the bottom of the cases, but 38 TJ you can size all the way down. Also in 38 TJ I can get you 29 round high cap mags. I think you'll always struggle to get a functional hi-cap mag in 9mm like 170mm. Or you might have luck with 9x23. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 it's interesting when I loaded up my Stock II 9mm mags (small frame mags I am told). after about 13 rounds (not while in Canada) I noticed they weren't sitting quite the same in the mags. But I loaded all the way to 17. then I hand stripped the rounds to see what would happen. and sure enough they were nosediving. Hmmm I thought. next was live fire, all the mags but one functioned perfect with 17 rounds in them. after a bit of shooting (man it's hard to pull the trigger that many times in a row, I wish it had ramping to full auto like my paintball gun does), they all worked fine. Unfortunately I ran out of ammo and then had to pin the mags upon return to Canada, so I can't tell you how reliable they are going to be at the Worlds. I hope they'll be good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinnsyk Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Small frame mags measure 31.75mm (1.250") x 20.3mm (0.800") I shot a lot of 9mm in small mags up until '95 when they introduced the 38 super. Even 170mm mags worked flawlessly, but if you're shooting used brass with a bulgy bottom you'll get nose-dives. For important matches I always use new brass. Or use the EGW die and make sure to size the cases all the way down. For large frame... no personal experience, just getting reports from other they are having problems. Supposedly loading long might work or the spacered mags. Also the guys who make the Sun Devil AR's in Arizona have done some very interesting modification of the feedramp which supposedly fixed a lot of 9mm issues with odd and difficult bullets. The factory got the barrel / feedramp they modified and are looking into if its a stroke of genius or not. Time will show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Thanks all for the tips....going to try a little tweaking myself (love a challenge) before I give up and re-chamber for 38 Super rimless.... Good article on the extractor, I am definitely going to give that a try.... More to come as I tweak and test. Thanks again all for the great tips :-) -Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberneck Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Once it's "finished" in hard chrome, I don't think you'll be able to tell any changes were made in that area...-Rob I wouldn't hold your breath on that one. The heat used in welding discolors the metal surrounding the weld area and it will show through hard chrome. Most smiths will advise their clients not to chrome if there has been extensive welding done in a particular area for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Once it's "finished" in hard chrome, I don't think you'll be able to tell any changes were made in that area...-Rob I wouldn't hold your breath on that one. The heat used in welding discolors the metal surrounding the weld area and it will show through hard chrome. Most smiths will advise their clients not to chrome if there has been extensive welding done in a particular area for that reason. Interesting, thanks for the tip - I will have to look into that. It wouldn't be a big deal if I had to re-finish in something like KG Gun-Kote. I have seen Rich's work with the satin Gun-Kote and it looks really nice....I just love the look of the hard chrome :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houlster Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Any updates / pics on this??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Sorry - nothing yet....I just trimmed my black rubber grips to work with the EAA Magwell.....I am going to have Rich re-chamber in .38 Super, but he said he is waiting on reamers from Tanfoglio (Italy) before he offers that service. When it goes back to Rich for the re-chamber - I think it's going to come back in silver KG Gun-Kote with Henning's checkered grips......last thing will be a Henning Magwell when he finishes that project... Gun shoots flat and great, 9mm is the problem though - I just can't make the gun reliable with more than 10 rounds in the mag....they just nose dive into the front of the mag....very common issue with large frame 9mm.... Take the same 9mm mag and fill it with .38 Super Comp and the rounds stack perfectly and strip out perfectly.....very frustrating.....my 9mm HK USP has fed about 3,000 rounds without failure.... Once it's all done I will post some pics.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Hepworth Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) Sorry - nothing yet....I just trimmed my black rubber grips to work with the EAA Magwell.....I am going to have Rich re-chamber in .38 Super, but he said he is waiting on reamers from Tanfoglio (Italy) before he offers that service. When it goes back to Rich for the re-chamber - I think it's going to come back in silver KG Gun-Kote with Henning's checkered grips......last thing will be a Henning Magwell when he finishes that project...Gun shoots flat and great, 9mm is the problem though - I just can't make the gun reliable with more than 10 rounds in the mag....they just nose dive into the front of the mag....very common issue with large frame 9mm.... Take the same 9mm mag and fill it with .38 Super Comp and the rounds stack perfectly and strip out perfectly.....very frustrating.....my 9mm HK USP has fed about 3,000 rounds without failure.... Once it's all done I will post some pics.... HK USP is a different beast....I have fired probably 40,000rds in the last 4 years out of USP's,..the last problem I ever had was a dirty old style firing pin.....the mags are top notch,..no problems. IN fact,..it will eat +p ammo and under powered 120pf ammo with out a hick-up.... my friend used to fire some .45 wadcutters out of his HK Mark23. Edited April 17, 2008 by Mo Hepworth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant0m_jester Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Yea Mo - you are correct, I have thrown EVERYTHING at my USP....subsonics, reloads, +P, Hydrashocks, JHP, FMJ, WWB, Blazer, Wolf....etc. and I have NEVER had a problem. I was hoping my EAA would be the same way, but I guess it's just picky on the 9mm with the tapered case.... From what Henning tells me, they should have stuck with small frame on the 9mm guns.....I think CZ still uses a small frame design and the SP-01 seems to be taking over the Production Division.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Hepworth Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Yea Mo - you are correct, I have thrown EVERYTHING at my USP....subsonics, reloads, +P, Hydrashocks, JHP, FMJ, WWB, Blazer, Wolf....etc. and I have NEVER had a problem. I was hoping my EAA would be the same way, but I guess it's just picky on the 9mm with the tapered case....From what Henning tells me, they should have stuck with small frame on the 9mm guns.....I think CZ still uses a small frame design and the SP-01 seems to be taking over the Production Division.... in the USP's defense,..I did not clean the firing pin channel for approx. 4000 rds (at least) I love my tan's,...but I also will be getting the HK P30-L in 9mm,...just think,..a USP that can be customized (inserts on sides and rear) to fit your hand!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glk21C Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Hi all - I promised to share some pics of my "open conversion" project with my Match 9mm. I haven't shot it yet (I know Rich D. did), but I will be sure to post a range report in this thread....Please keep in mind that it's not totally finished yet (hence all of the tool marks) as I can't decide on the final finish, so I am just going to get some rounds down range while I think about it....I am leaning towards 100% hard chrome to achieve the same look as the "Gold Team"... One pic has the EAA magwell on (and no grip) the other pic has no magwell and the factory rubber grip.....I EAGERLY await Henning's grip\magwell cobmo. **I apologize right now for this question if it's something that everyone else deals with.** With the slide racker facing to the left and the c-more mount on the left, how do you remove the slide for cleaning? The racker would hit the c-more mount, wouldn't it? I don't want to believe that everyone always removes the slide racker when the slide has to come off the frame?!?! Or the c-more mount? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 **I apologize right now for this question if it's something that everyone else deals with.**With the slide racker facing to the left and the c-more mount on the left, how do you remove the slide for cleaning? The racker would hit the c-more mount, wouldn't it? I don't want to believe that everyone always removes the slide racker when the slide has to come off the frame?!?! Or the c-more mount? thanks That mount is not single sided. It has supports on both sides of the frame. The sidewider must have a set screw or ball plunger to hold it in place, and make it easily removable. The factory Tanfoglio slide racker has a set screw in the top. You lock open the slide, then use an allen wrench from the top. I had a ball-plunger installed in the frame. Any slide racker will work with it, you just have to kiss it with a drill bit in the right place to make a detent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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