40 Open

[NMinzghor]

i would use a 40 over a 38 super but thats just me

Pretty sure everyone in this thread would agree with you.

[NMinzghor]

Talked to the guys at KKM yesterday. Sounds like before the end of the year he is going to make 5 each of 40 cal 5.4" threaded barrels with Para/Clark and Wilson/Nowlin ramps.

[idHawk]

Just curious.... What mag tubes are you guys using for your 40 Open guns (non Glock)?

[ChuckS]

Just curious.... What mag tubes are you guys using for your 40 Open guns (non Glock)?

STI and SVI big sticks.

[Jamiethesquid]

So here is my plan, and it is a crazy one fraught with complications, but I like doing stuff different and swimming up stream. I have been a Bullseye, USPSA, and IDPA shooter dedicated to the 1911 for a lot of years, but I am fraying around the edges and I want something new to tinker with. Cue Evil Laughter!!

I primarily shoot USPSA and 3 gun, with some Steel Challenge, Pin shoots, and some falling plate thrown in. I am a USPSA RO, and a type 07 FFL. I have a full time career, a wife, 2 kids, and have gone back to college for Precision Machine Tool at 38 years old, care of Uncle Sam's GI Bill and the US Navy.

On to the Gun, I have a Lone Wolf, Timberwolf frame and Lone Wolf G35 slide, I am putting a Zev Fulcrum trigger, and SJC Micro Dot Mount on it.

So here is my twist, I am planning on building a 9MM /.40 S&W / .357SIG setup. My reasoning? With 9MM, Well say I want to shoot steel, I can shoot Light loads, with or without a compensator, or I can use it for 3 gun, or plinking or the indoor USPSA matches during the winter months. I reload and have components for 9MM.

So now we move to the outdoor matches, pin shoots, fun shoots, Local USPSA, even Majors. I can play with various recipes of .40 Minor / .40 Major / .40 Max Open loads. Again I reload, I have the components, and the ambition to experiment.

Lastly, .357 SIG, Love this round, should be an easy swap out of barrel, feeds great, shoots very flat trajectory, lots of gas volume, I already reload this round. For USPSA, Pins, and Handgun Hunting, which is my chosen flavor of hunting.

I recently picked up 4 pounds of SR7625 and 2 pounds of Auto Comp, and then I have a few other various powders to play around with.

I am a High B shooter in SS, and love my 1911's but it is time to screw around with something new, for better or worse, I will either have a good time and build a good running gun, or there will be a bunch of lightly used Parts for sale in the Classifieds.

Whenever someone says "You Can't Do that", It just makes me want to do it even more.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Jamiethesquid

[bikerburgess]

Jamie

sounds like a fun project, and isn't that what we are all doing this for? one nice thing about the 357sig is you can make major with damn near any powder you can find, on the down side it can be a little on the LOUD side or so I am told by my squad mates and sometimes the people on the next bay over.

Mike

[Jamiethesquid]

yeah .357 sig is a brute, when I am RO'ing open shooters I am Doubled up on ear pro. My Carry gun used to be a G32, forget about night vision preservation with that thing.

I want the 3 calibers so I can experiment with different loads, I will have a Go Pro setup with 120 Frames/Sec so I can evaluate muzzle flip/dip, I hope to do some video looking at the dot to see where it is traveling. Especially nowadays, it is not what powder you want to shoot but what powder you can find to shoot.

I wish I had the funds for a STI/SVI/Caspian, but hey I don't, So I know the Glock, I trust the design, the mags are reliable and cheap out of the box, so what have I got to lose, worst case it becomes a limited gun. I once had a 1976 Porsche 914 that had a Chevy Ram Jet 350 cu/in engine in it. People scratched their head then too.

[bikerburgess]

one funny thing with the comp on the 357sig is it seams to kill the muzzle flash, I even ran a night match and was underwhelmed by the flash I was getting, but run that load in my G31 and WOW you get daylight visible target obscuring fireballs, but its still fun and that's why I play

[Tuflehundon]

For those that shoot an open Glock in .40, are you suing factory ammo or a custom load? My G22 gets back from Bobby Carver Thursday.

[CSStreett]

For those that shoot an open Glock in .40, are you suing factory ammo or a custom load? My G22 gets back from Bobby Carver Thursday.

Anyone running moly coated or just FMJ?

[splashdown]

No moly or lead with a comp! Unless you have a media blaster to clean it up frequently. It gets caked with lead and moly splatter.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: Everyone I have talked to that has shot an open 40 pistol and then switched to 9mm/38 would not go back. Some have tried light and heavy bullets in the 40 but still liked the 9mm/38 better. Around here 9mm open is the most common. Just more to think about. Thanks, Eric

[splashdown]

Of course 9mm is more popular. You obviously have been around long enough to know why. I sold my STI's, including my .40 open, a couple of years ago. I find myself wanting to try open again when I can afford a new build, but I want to do it with Glock (ZEV) and in .40 again. It's just easier for me to get into, b/c I prefer loading .40 and I already have all the mags I need to make it happen. I don't feel that I was at much of a disadvantage shooting the .40 open. Sure there was some disadvantage, but I'm not a contender to win nationals either, so it doesn't matter to me. If money was not an issue, I'd go with an STI in .38 super comp. I don't think there's any dispute that super comp is the best cartridge for open division. But it's at an expense that I cannot afford.

[mongo404]

I just ran some coated bullets thru a open 40 with no issues. the coating is my own and I cast all my own

[mongo404]

I have the 170 tubes with grams followers, dawson +1 base pads. I can fit 25 in with the last 5-6 I have to smack the magazine down pretty hard to get to fit.. Then I notice that a few come out dented from the rib of the mag. Is this normal if not any suggestions on how to remedy this issue?

[NMinzghor]

Sounds like your tubes are not spec. I sent mine to Beven and I can get 25 in easily on all of them and he can get 26 in them with his mutant strong thumbs.

[ChuckS]

I have the 170 tubes with grams followers, dawson +1 base pads. I can fit 25 in with the last 5-6 I have to smack the magazine down pretty hard to get to fit.. Then I notice that a few come out dented from the rib of the mag. Is this normal if not any suggestions on how to remedy this issue?

You need 2 things. First get your tubes tuned and secondly get one of these if you don't already have one. No thumb mutations necessary . If I am starting with a big stick, I always load 26. If I am going to reload to a big stick, I will down load to 25.

Later,

Chuck

[Tuflehundon]

Of course 9mm is more popular. You obviously have been around long enough to know why. I sold my STI's, including my .40 open, a couple of years ago. I find myself wanting to try open again when I can afford a new build, but I want to do it with Glock (ZEV) and in .40 again. It's just easier for me to get into, b/c I prefer loading .40 and I already have all the mags I need to make it happen. I don't feel that I was at much of a disadvantage shooting the .40 open. Sure there was some disadvantage, but I'm not a contender to win nationals either, so it doesn't matter to me. If money was not an issue, I'd go with an STI in .38 super comp. I don't think there's any dispute that super comp is the best cartridge for open division. But it's at an expense that I cannot afford.

Interestingly, I built my Glock 22 open gun, and now 3 others at my local club have said they had been thinking of doing the same and are now building open 40 guns. I got a ton of questions the 1st few times I used it, let a couple shoot it.

I am getting 25 rounds in the mags using the Glock factory 22 round mags with the Taylor Freelance +3's. So I'm only down 2 rounds. Not enough to make a difference for me. I'm in the process of building a load for it, and love the way it shoots.

[KAP Guns]

When did you start shooting open? 2012

Was 40 your first caliber in open? No I had a 9mm major and absolutely hated loading ammo for it. PITA to load & only a few powders that work and they were all dirty powders.

Why did you choose 40? I love 40 and my Limited gun was 40
What make is your gun? Limcat Flashcat

Who built it? Jonny Lim

What barrel length, comp and optic are you using? It started as a 6" bbl threaded down to accept the custom Limcat comp, I have a Trijicon RMR mounted on the slide (I started with a Cmore with a sideways mount
Do you run a big stick, and what capacity are you getting? Big stick 25 reloadable and 26 packed
What have you settled on for a load? 140gr Bayou Bullets with 5.2gr Red Dot Powder seated to 1170 OAL
What's your open classification? B (Sometimes I shoot like an M but others like a C)
Where do you live? Loves Park IL

[KAP Guns]

This is how it started

[KAP Guns]

The only time having a 40 is not cool is on a 25-27 round stage because I have to plan a mag change or make sure I hit everything with 1 shot. If I had a 9 I would have plenty. My gun shoots just as flat or flatter and less snap than my 9.

Here is a pic of the whole family. Open Gun, Backup Open Gun & the Limited Gun

[splashdown]

Thanks for posting that. I think you win the contest for best looking 40 open gun!

[Quackhead]

I just started shooting competitively earlier this year. I started with a CZ 75 B 9mm in production minor and after a couple of matches, bought a CZ 75 Tactical Sport in .40. I shot a couple of Limited major matches and then one Saturday after a match, someone broke into my truck as I was eating in a restaurant and stole my range bag with my Tac Sport .40 and my CZ75B...ammo, all my mags, holsters...everything gone in the blink of an eye. This happened back in August. A CZ 75 Tac Sport .40 is one of the hardest pistols to find these days.

I was at a gun show last weekend and saw this thing laying on a table. I asked the guy how much and I figured there was enough parts in my hand worth the asking price. It is an STI frame and slide with a Bar-Sto .40 comped barrel. On top is a Omni dot. I cannot find anything on the Omni dot, I assume they were used many years ago. I contacted STI and the serial # is not on their books. They estimated the frame to be from the late 90's, with a ser # CM XXXX.

The mag that came with it is engraved #4 J. Foote. It is hard to know if the mag has been with the gun, or was picked up separate somewhere along the way. I purchased this pistol in San Antonio, Texas. I have seen a few Open pistols and do not recognize the slide cuts. If anyone knows this pistol or recognizes anything about it, any help would be appreciated. I beefed the recoil spring a bit and shot a few hundred rounds of Winchester White box through it and it runs like a champ..I am sure factory loads will not bring this gun to it's full potential...but it is fun as heck to shoot, and dang accurate too.

[EkuJustice]

I would replace that sight with something that bolts directly to the mount. from the picture it looks like a rail was attached to the Sti mount the a cheap dot thrown on top. that rail and base add alot of space to the dot which is not good

[slemmo]

When did you start shooting open? Was 40 your first caliber in open? Why did you choose 40?

Last Wednesday. 40 is my first open division caliber and the reason for it is I'm not keen on loading 9 major, 38 super brass is a pain in the ass to get hold of, and I already have a Dillon 650 with everything needed for loading .40. Also, I'm getting into this because I want to win the 2 gun nationals here in Norway, not because I'm going to be the worlds greatest open division shooter. If I ever anticipate that happening I'll switch to something more optimal.

What make is your gun? Who built it? What barrel length, comp and optic are you using?
Glock 22, Lone Wolf barrel, Carver Custom comp, fulcrum trigger, Carver guide rod and Docter red dot. The Docter will probably be replaced by a C-More RTS2

Do you run a big stick, and what capacity are you getting?
Taylor Freelance +8, should get 23-24 with a loader. I almost broke my thumb trying to get 23 in it last night.

What have you settled on for a load?
Only tried it once with factory. Have ordered 155 grain bullets and N105. If that works it should make a ton of gas for the comp.

What's your open classification?
None yet

Where do you live?

Norway

Edited December 14, 2014 by slemmo