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40 Open


splashdown

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I was shooting my standard .40 major load of 180gr Zero over 5.1gr of U.C. Not the ideal open load. However, is there a point of diminishing returns with faster/hotter loads to work the comp versus the effectiveness of the comp? In other words, if the load is soft and flat in a limited gun wouldn't it be even softer, flatter in an open gun?

Yes. Most of the benefit would derive from the extra muzzle weight using the soft Limited load. My 180gr Clays load feels like a 38 Special in this Open conversion. The dot just jiggles. Your first question, I have to answer yes. A bullet can out-run the effectiveness of the comp. Their is a balance involved with both. Which is why I feel the 165 grain bullets might be ideal. For me anyway.

Jim

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Hey guys got a new load you may like. 8.9 3n37, OAL 1.177, FSP, Rainier 135 FP

1176, 1273

1196, 1282

1222, 1286 Avg PF 169

1245, 1289

1269, 1345

1238, 1300

1241, 1300

1242, 1310 Avg PF 173

1252, 1312

1300, 1388

first group of numbers were right out of the bag and the second the ammo had set in the sun (75) for a about 15 minutes.

Slaps your hand pretty good and it seemd to cycle faster than my PP load, but it appears to be pretty flat. Going to load up some more and compare it to my PP loads under match conditions (adrenaline) tomorrow.

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Looks like I may have a new recipe. Gun really comes back quick to POA and it's a clean load that doesn't haze my lense. Finish off the pound I have just to make sure before I spend more on it.

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Looks like I may have a new recipe. Gun really comes back quick to POA and it's a clean load that doesn't haze my lense. Finish off the pound I have just to make sure before I spend more on it.

You may find you will get the same results with ~8.0 gr of N-340.

Later,

Chuck

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Shot a classifier match yesterday with the 140 gr Bear Creek and 8.6 gr Silhouette. Seems like a nice load, but I do have to dig lead out of the comp. After the match we went to Cabela's where I found some Rainier 135 FP and 155 FP, but those are going to sit on the shelf for a while. I'm going to switch back to my Limited top end and start getting ready for Area 1.

I'll report back later this summer after I have a chance to try those bullets with load data posted here. Keep this thread going. This has become a one-stop-shop for sharing of open 40 experiences. The posts by the experienced guys have really helped the newbies like myself.

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do you have portsd in your barrel or just the comp? In another thread I was wondering about shooting moly coated bullets through my g35 open gun it has ports and comp.

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I'm joining the club, I bought the Caspian slide and barrels from this sight and put it on my carry gun(Sti tactical compact), instant open 40, 6 ports no comp, optima sight. Still working on a load, trying out n340 and 3n37 with a 175 lswc, now I just need a big stick

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  • 3 months later...

Thread seems to be dying out so I'll share some good news for us "oddballs". I won my class ( B ) at NC and VA-MD and only got beat by 1 A and 2 A shooters at each match respectively, I don't worry about GM/M guys yet because the other aspects of my game are not anywhere close yet. I think it's fun to talk to guys and they find out what you're shooting and they say "You gotta be $hittin me" , I just shrug my shoulders and say "It works" I also got bumped up to A class this last cycle. Now if I could just learn to shoot with both eyes open that would help, or so I've heard. So when people say a 40 can't this or it can't that, just smile and wait for the day that you you can walk up to them and say "You sure you don't wanna try out my 40"? :rolleyes:

Edited by WDB
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i'm about to take my "box o' parts" to Gary Natale and have my 40 upper fit to a frame

i've been close in the past, and have been talked out of doing this by shooters and smiths

my plan is to shoot the ported bbl and not compensate, and to further add to the oddballishness (is that a legal term) will primarily shoot lead bullets

they are smokey, but pretty reasonably priced by a local guy, and the quality is superb

i'll keep youall posted on the ported bbl in 40

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Congrats WDB on your wins and promotion to A class.

gcambi - be prepared to dig lead out of those barrel ports. They may even start to weld shut if you don't clean them frequently. It may take more than just elbow grease to keep it clean. Beware.

Area 1 is coming up in a few days and after that I may be playing with the open 40 again. I've still got those 135 and 155 gr Rainiers to try out. I'll report back in late summer, early fall.

Good luck to you all.

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Dear Splashdown;

I started shooting .40 Open approximately 15 years ago - I thought it was a more practical approach as the brass was easier to get, the powder volume was more reasonable, and, the extraction good. At the time I did not know of anyone using .40 in their Open Guns.

I used a STI frame and slide and ported the barrel and used a full profile Briley comp. The first attempt had 3/16" holes (3) in the barrel and I can tell you that was way too large. My current guns have 1/16" holes (3) all within 1 1/2" of the comp. and the gun works very well. I load 7.3 gn.'s of 3N37 with 165 gn JHP Montana Gold bullets to a O.A.L. of 1.19" and make major (approx. 168).

If I make another gun I will port the holes on a 45 degree angle in a V-8 pattern to lessen the blast on the scope. I currently have ythe holes "scouped" and that reduces the crap on the lens significantly. I use a CompC-SM so blast shields are not available.

The only mags I will use are SVI with Dawson +1 base pads with the Grams spring (Wolff) and follower- I get 25 in the mag and one more in the barrel on my 170 mm mag's.

I clean the Mag's every time I shoot with Hope's and brake cleaner then spray the inside of the tunes with a silicon spray from the Home depot - the least expensive I can find. The silicon helps a lot. Feeding is 100% 99.9% of the time.

I also believe in clean brass and a friend just told me that he uses approximately 20% long grain white rice over the brass then adds the balance of media using corn media - I use NuFinish car polish (approx. $5.50 for a very large bottle from WalMart)and the results are amazing - The rice makes the brass shine better than with any other approach I have tried. Do not eat the rice after cleaning your brass! This is no joke - the rice really works very well - better than with corn media alone.

Incidentluy i use a 9# recoil spring and the gun has a full dust cover and 5" barrel.

Results are very good - the .38 Super Comp shoots a little flater and re-sets faster but the brass is expensive and the pressure in the cases high.

Regards,

Grandpoobah

To date there have been 13 people vote for 40 in G-Man's poll, "What caliber is your open gun?"

I know there have been a few threads in the past, but I'd like this to be a place for us all to come together to compose a shapshot to answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how's. So, some questions, then I'll answer myself:

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

What make is your gun? Who built it? What barrel length, comp and optic are you using?

Do you run a big stick, and what capacity are you getting?

What have you settled on for a load?

What's your open classification?

Where do you live?

My answers:

I had a limited gun and put a 6" top end on it with the idea I'd reuse the 5" top end someday for an open gun. After finding little bits of information scattered all over this forum I decided to go for it. I primarily chose the 40 for financial reasons. I had the major components that were already fit to my frame. I get to use the same mags and dies in the press as my limited gun. In the end, I saved a few thousand dollars by going with 40. If I had the money, I would've gone 9mm, but i'm doing this on a poor man's budget.

I decided to have Gary Natale (gansguns) do my 40 top end. I just received it back from him this week and haven't shot it yet. I decided on his Model 5 comp with bleeders in the last two chambers. I thought it looked cool and he said it would work fine. My optic of choice was the Trijicon MS03, 8 MOA dot with a JV Dynamics frame mount. I chose the Trijicon to keep the dot low (don't like the high up C-more) and for it's lifetime warranty. Pics can be found in the gallery.

I'm interested to find out who the rest of you are, mainly just to learn more about it because I'm so new to "the dark side."

Thanks,

splash

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i'm about to take my "box o' parts" to Gary Natale and have my 40 upper fit to a frame

i've been close in the past, and have been talked out of doing this by shooters and smiths

my plan is to shoot the ported bbl and not compensate, and to further add to the oddballishness (is that a legal term) will primarily shoot lead bullets

they are smokey, but pretty reasonably priced by a local guy, and the quality is superb

i'll keep youall posted on the ported bbl in 40

You won't be disappointed with Gary. Thats who put my 40 Open together

Flyin

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those powders burn so slow they never achieve a high enough pressure to get complete burn.

to be honest, Universal clays, Unique and WSF are about as good as it gets for open 40.

titegroup and 200 grain precisions(my limited load) worked surprisingly well too.

white box 165s are about the softest economical factory loads.

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Question: Who makes / sells .40 Comps? I don't seem to be able find any on the net.

Or do I just order a 38 comp and have the gunsmith bore it out? Thinking of converting my back-up STI to an .40 Open. Thanks.

I use an EGW comp. The bullets seem to get out OK :rolleyes: so I am guessing that my 'smith bored the comp to fit.

Later,

Chuck

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Question: Who makes / sells .40 Comps? I don't seem to be able find any on the net.

Or do I just order a 38 comp and have the gunsmith bore it out? Thinking of converting my back-up STI to an .40 Open. Thanks.

I use an EGW comp. The bullets seem to get out OK :rolleyes: so I am guessing that my 'smith bored the comp to fit.

Later,

Chuck

Maybe they get squeezed down........Just kidding :)

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