Desk_jockey Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Looking for some advice from Open shooters. Relatively new USPSA shooter and I've caught the bug. I been shooting production with my IDPA gear and have dreams of Open glory. I am eyeing an STI platform in 38 Super and saving my pennies but it occurred to me that I may need to stock up on the mags now due to potential election outcomes. How many mags should I be thining about? Would 10 be enough for a moderately frequent shooter or am I going to wear them out and be stuck with a nice gun and no mags? Should I be going all 170s or mix it up? For the STI owners: Should I buy STI factory or look at other brands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Hello: I don't shoot open but have seen/heard alot that do To start I would get 1 170mm mag and 3 140mm mags. That should do you for years. You will also need base pads and springs with followers. Either the STI or SVI mags will work fine for 38 super if they are tuned but I would try them first. I would look for a pistol first since it my come with all the mags you need. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Looking for some advice from Open shooters.Relatively new USPSA shooter and I've caught the bug. I been shooting production with my IDPA gear and have dreams of Open glory. I am eyeing an STI platform in 38 Super and saving my pennies but it occurred to me that I may need to stock up on the mags now due to potential election outcomes. How many mags should I be thining about? Would 10 be enough for a moderately frequent shooter or am I going to wear them out and be stuck with a nice gun and no mags? Should I be going all 170s or mix it up? For the STI owners: Should I buy STI factory or look at other brands? IMHO--Start with (4) 140 and (1) 170 SVI. Order them now and order just tubes from Infinity (They somethimes take a long time to get). They may or my not have them in stock, but if you call you can get on their list. SVI tubes generally do not require any tuning. Your big stick will require tuning if you want it to hold 29 or more. You can get Bolen internals/basepads or Grams internals/basepads or use either internals and Dawson SNL (Sometimes not legal) basepads. Mostly base pads are a user's preference. Again, IMHO, there are no better mag tubes than SVI. You'd have to really abuse them to wear em out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRW Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The number of magazines really depends on the type of matches that you shoot. Locally, I seldom need more than 1-170mm (29rnds) and 2 -140mm (22rnds). I tend to shoot most stages with my 140mm tubes, and normally use (3), one in the gun and two on the belt. This being said, another consideration is potential forth coming legislature… One suggestion is to have a couple of magazines dedicated as practice magazines. These tend to get a lot of abuse from reloading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Minimum of 5 - 4 140, 1 170. Prepare to be able to carry 3 on the belt. Then you have one more for the gun, either 170 or 140. You don't really want all 170s - they're trickier to reload with. The shorter/lighter the mag, the easier it tends to load. More doesn't hurt, of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Sounds like great advice so far, but if you're "saving your pennies" (like most of us), you might consider STI's 9mm instead of .38 super - lot cheaper to reload (brass). And, try a Trubor (cheapest way to get in - just make sure you get the extended ejector. And Howard's customized mags. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The set in my Open bag right now is two 170's, a 160, three 140's and two 130's. Having 2 big stick mags is nice, you don't have to clean one and reload it immediately, you can clean it and reload it as time permits. The 160 is 27 rounds, nice to have on a 20-23 round stage. Having at least 2 140 mags is essential, even though my big sticks hold 31 rounds I will shoot most big field courses with two 140's or a 170 and a 140. One of the 140's is set up for 25 rounds, nice to have on a 15-20 round stage, and the other two are 23 round mags. The 130's are really nice to have for classifiers and forced reload stages, they reload so slick it isn't funny and still hold 21 rounds. I have a lot more mags than that, but that is what I take to a match lately. I want at least two of everything, that way I don't have to rush to get them cleaned and reloaded, should I have a problem with one of them like a big foot print on it or something I can just retire it for the time being and use the other also. I can just about shoot an entire club match without reloading mags also, I really don't like to burn my walk through time loading mags. I would recommend 2 170's and 3 140's as a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory_k Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I went with 4 140s and 1 170, all SVI. I don't know if or when I am going to have Barry build a 38 Super or 9mm open, but at least I'll have mags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbs007 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 In my bag I have 2 170s and 4 140s. When shooting a stage I normally have 2 140s and 1 170; so I'm pretty much set for two stages or a reshoot when I have all of them loaded up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogiebb Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 (edited) 2 big stick and 6 short for me. sometimes i like starting off with a 140 the reload with a Big Stick Edited September 9, 2008 by ogiebb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Man Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 2 170's, 6 140's. 3 of the shorty's need a little work but I'd use them if I had to. FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desk_jockey Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Thanks for the advice guys. I just bought 2 STI 170 and 6 STI 140 tubes to get me started. I may add a few SVIs to the mix if I can find them in stock anywhere. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desk_jockey Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Can't find an SVI 170 tube in stock. Should I back order? Any thoughts between SVIguns or Speedshooter.com for backlogs? I am assuming they are both about the same. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbs007 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Can't find an SVI 170 tube in stock. Should I back order? Any thoughts between SVIguns or Speedshooter.com for backlogs? I am assuming they are both about the same. Thanks I must have bought the last two from Speed Shooter, just got them in the mail yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 In my bag I have 2 170s and 4 140s. When shooting a stage I normally have 2 140s and 1 170; so I'm pretty much set for two stages or a reshoot when I have all of them loaded up. Same setup and all tuned by Beven Grams. The only way to go (no disrespect Howard)! Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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