Bianchi auto slide weight?

[Allgoodhits]

Success!!! The combination Kevin gave me was enough to get the gun to run well. Many thanks. I finally got to the range tonight. It was dark and the temperature had already dropped to 20. The gun was basically dry after all the machine work, so I put a little cold oil on the slide rails, some on the hood, and a bit on the cone. Other than that, no lube. The gun ran flawlessly for the two magazines I cared to shoot through it. No feeding jams, and the ejection has moved from 2-3 o'clock barely out of the gun to 4-5 o'clock and about 2-3 feet away. Why only two magazines in the test? Did I mention it got really cold today? It was 50 this afternoon, 36 when I went to dinner, and 20 when I finally got to the range to shoot. Planned accuracy testing with iron sights was abandoned.

So the winning combination for now is a 10.15 oz slide, a Nowlin W/N ramped barrel with a threaded cone comp, originally a four x 3/16 port, but with the back port now opened up to 3/8. Fp stop is still the factory 7/32 inch radius, which I may open up after more testing. Main spring is 17# ISMI, and the recoil spring is 9# ISMI. I will have 8# and 7# recoil springs for future testing, preferably when warmer, but I liked the slide speed in returning to battery. I also need to get a reference load and then check the other recoil spring weights to see if slide slap induced muzzle dip is happening.

The trigger pull weight I hope to bump up a little over 1/4# by bending the sear spring. Barring that, I'll be back for a bit more advice and some suggestions.

Presuming that the testing goes well, I then will knock off the sharp edges, and try it with the Gilmore mount and a PDP5 I found on ebay. I checked, and it does have clearance from the comp, even with the back port being lengthened. After a little sight in and accuracy testing at 25, 35, and 50 yards, the gun will go back to parts for a bit until I can have Ultra Coating put on one of their ceramic finishes. If applied heavily on the slide and frame rails, that can actually tighten up the slightly sloppy fit on a Colt series 70 gun without hammering the rails out. After that, I should be good to go for May. Further progress reports to come.

Scott

Scott,

Great project. Listen to Kevin and you will save a lot of time an aggravation. He has been there, done that.

You'll likely need to consider some type or prone pad/mag well if you intend to shoot prone at 20-25 yds. Many can get by without a prone pad at 50yds. At the closer distances, getting the line of sight up the additional inch or so, eases neck tension, and enables one to acquire the targets more quickly. The prone pad is for elevation purposes, not reloading purposes. However one of the larger magwells may serve you well. Additionally, the angle of the bore to the prone pad bottom, when calculated really helps to stay on the target, especially on the 3 and 3 string, 25yd Practical. Roughly, I would work the angle so that at 25 yds the line of sight (dot) rests in the 52 - 57" height at the target. It is an approximation since not all ranges are flat and not all target arrays are the same height. But ground to center of X ring should be approximately within this height range.* Check it at 20 and 50 yds too. This may vary a great deal based on your style of shooting prone and hand placement etc. At BC they use the Dillon type mats. Shooting off a cushy mat, a rug, piece of canvas, grass, gravel and concrete is all different. Try them all. You'll be glad you did! * Top of target 6 ft. Middle of target is 57". Bottom of plates 4 ft. Middle of plates 52".

Loads. A 115 gr bullet running 1090 - 1160 fps is likely the sweat spot for that set up, or a 125gr running 1040 - 1080fps. Don't worry about what the PF is provided that you have a cushion and the gun is reliable an accurate, and you like the way it feels. The feel and cycling is important beacuse at Bianchi, as you know, you shoot freestyle, prone, against the barricade and that weak hand only string.

My belief and we all have varying beliefs, is that if my gun feels better at 130PF but it is more accurate at 140PF, I will go with the 130PF provided it will still shoot <2.25" at 50 yds. A one inch gun is a hindrance if it doesn't feel good across the board on the Bianchi COF. I have seen countless persons who set up a gun based ONLY on maximum accuracy, and they can shoot one hole groups at 50 yds prone slowly, but it is a hindrance shooting between the beeps, or on the barricade, or WHO or whatever. It's the package that counts for the 192 shots, not just a group contest. Remember the balance. It's not the shots closest to center, it is the fewer bad shots that make the Champion in almost all cases. The gun that feels the way you want it, will help prevent those oh shit shots.

See you at the Cup during Bianchi Week!

Martin

Edited January 13, 2009 by Allgoodhits

[Alan550]

I'd agree with Martin in all respects with the exception of the ammo velocities. Be careful around the "speed of sound". If the round starts out super-sonic and goes sub-sonic on a 50 yd string, it can drastically affect the accuracy as it crosses the sound barrier. Stay on one side or the other of that sound barrier and you'll do well.

Sounds like you're on the road to a great action pistol! Congrats!

See ya' in Columbia!

Alan~^~

[Allgoodhits]

I'd agree with Martin in all respects with the exception of the ammo velocities. Be careful around the "speed of sound". If the round starts out super-sonic and goes sub-sonic on a 50 yd string, it can drastically affect the accuracy as it crosses the sound barrier. Stay on one side or the other of that sound barrier and you'll do well.

Sounds like you're on the road to a great action pistol! Congrats!

See ya' in Columbia!

Alan~^~

Alan,

You are correct Thank you for adding that important element of the equation.

Another reason that this forum of knowledgable and willing persons offers so much to so many of us.

MJ

[Cigar Guy]

Martin,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have one of Warren's prone pads that has been fitted to the frame but not otherwise cut. I will be putting that on around the same time as the shroud and will probably take it to Columbia for final sight in after some measurement at my home range and rough cutting. Warren builds them with somewhere from a 1-3* angle already in, but I can't say for sure right now since I'm 1500 miles from my stuff. Columbia is only a 2 hour trip for me, and I have tried to get to the club matches there from March to May when I'm not otherwise occupied. Kind of convenient, but I get spoiled easily. I have one of Warren's finger grips also, and need to get the gun set for being cross-eye dominant. I am weighing whether to leave the base pad full height and continue rolling my head over to my right shoulder, or come up with an alternative. New gun, new problems. Same story every time.

The load suggestions are good too. I'm going to see if Hodgdon's new Accucomp powder works well with lighter loads or if it is designed to be used only in IPSC open guns (i.e., compressed load, high velocity, major pf). I will check with Chris H. at the SHOT Show this weekend, not really going to load a bunch just to try. For Bianchi, I had been using .38 Special with Hodgdon Titegroup at 1040 fps with a 125 gr Zero JHP. For 9mm in USPSA, I typically used Winchester 115 FMJ (white box) for consistency since it always made power with some to spare. That and I was not terribly concerned about super accuracy in USPSA Production for most stages. I was going to start there and do rough sight in, checking how the gun grouped at different distances. I figure if white box works tolerably well, I can always improve on it. Once that was set, load development is the next logical step. You've given me a great start. If I can find a good load that will hold 2 inches or less at 50 yards that runs and feels good in the gun, I'm going to stick with that.

Pushing the edge of the power factor for accuracy's sake is admittedly stupid. Remember the year almost the entire German team had to run through chrono after every stage, and one ended up shooting for fun? That was with ammo they had loaded to their specifications by a major manufacturer. Not fun, especially not with an international trip involved. The gun has to be accurate, sure, but it also needs to run 100% at all distances for the whole match.

Thanks much, and see you in May.

Scott

[Allgoodhits]

Warren's prone pad is probably good as is, unless the heighth isn't right for you. It sounds like you know what your doing. I would not spend a lot of time coming up with a rounder wheel!

A quality 115, 121 or 125 gr bullet travelling in the velocity range needed using W231, HP38, WST and even Bullseye have time and time again proven to be very, very good. Spend your time behind the trigger, not behind reloading manuals and reloaders.

Once upon a time and I don't remember where it was, while at a match there was some huge debate over something, that seemed big at the time, but now I don't even remember what it was. But I do remember Doug Koenig saying, "how about we just shoot". Duh, that was the simplest answer and what we all came there to do. Often in whatever the situation is, I have learned to "how about we just _____________ ."

MJ