Trubor or matchmaster

[rupture]

Would be my first open gun, and these are the cheapest I can find. I can't seem to find alot of used open guns I can afford.So what would be your choice?

[MikeFoley]

I think this is a personal preference. I would prefer the Matchmaster because of the shorter length and the slide lightening, but I shoot a lightweight shorty, so I tend to like the way this gun feels.

[G-ManBart]

Would be my first open gun, and these are the cheapest I can find. I can't seem to find alot of used open guns I can afford.So what would be your choice?

Neither.

The list price for the Trubor is $2864 and the Matchmaster is $2999. You can get them from someplace like Dawson or Brazos for $2577 and $2699 respectively, but to be certain that they're going to run you'd have to get one from someone like Brazos who will do a tune up package on them, which will bump the price another $150. So, you're looking at roughly $2725 and $2850 to get a factory gun that should run (with good magazines).

For $3195 you can get a Bedell Custom gun that will almost definitely run and will be made far better than a stock gun, which means it should last longer. So you're talking like $350 to go from a stock gun to a full custom.....it's worth every single penny.

Open+Cheapest= a bad experience from what I've seen.

Edited July 26, 2009 by G-ManBart

[kgunz11]

Susan has both the Trubor (more than 1 actually) and the Steel Master. I can give you my impressions of each if you want to chat about it. Send me an email and I'll give you my phone numbers.

kgunz11@msn.com

[Flexmoney]

Newbies (to Open) don't need short Open guns...from what I have seen.

[rupture]

Well unfortunately my club is kinda small and I have been to all the matches and no one shoots open. I should probably look for a used one if I can find it.

[rupture]

Newbies (to Open) don't need short Open guns...from what I have seen.

Please elaborate

[Flexmoney]

Short guns are a bit more to handle (generally) and shooters are often slower getting them back on target. Where as "normal" sized open gun will damper some of the recoil/shock.

[kgunz11]

Short guns are a bit more to handle (generally) and shooters are often slower getting them back on target. Where as "normal" sized open gun will damper some of the recoil/shock.

I think with a shorty correctly sprung and with the right load, the difference between a shorty and a full size is negligible.

[quade]

i've got to agree with G-Man. i have a bedell shorty so i'm a little biased. there are some affordable custom open pistols. bedell and benny hill guns being on the short list. my opinion on buying used is that your most likely going to end up with someone else's headache. if money's an issue we're talking the $400 between a custom and an off the shelf pistol just remember there is some lag time from ordering and actually having to pay the rest. my bedell was $525 up front and the rest at completion.

if you are a true newbie like i was a few months ago, start with a new pistol!! there are too many other things to worry about besides a gun not running.

[MikeFoley]

If you can go the extra $350, get the Bedell, no doubt. But I would say that now wouldn't I.

[Flexmoney]

Short guns are a bit more to handle (generally) and shooters are often slower getting them back on target. Where as "normal" sized open gun will damper some of the recoil/shock.

I think with a shorty correctly sprung and with the right load, the difference between a shorty and a full size is negligible.

Yeah...that thinking is what sells them.

[G-ManBart]

Short guns are a bit more to handle (generally) and shooters are often slower getting them back on target. Where as "normal" sized open gun will damper some of the recoil/shock.

I think with a shorty correctly sprung and with the right load, the difference between a shorty and a full size is negligible.

Yeah...that thinking is what sells them.

Yep.

I've had the opportunity to do a back-to-back comparison of both a full size and shorty Bedells in 38SC. Both had a load tuned to the gun (by the same guy) to the same power factor. There was a definite difference in the way they felt....very distinct.

I think the absolute difference isn't huge, but it's enough that the perception is very different. With the full size gun it does everything smoother and slower. With the shorty it's a bit more frenetic in every way...the dot may not move much more, but it does it quicker.

Some folks shoot a shorty and there's simply too much, visually, going on for it to click. I've seen that with new Open shooters more than anything. Once you're used to tracking the dot while not looking at it, used to the blast and noise the switch to a shorty isn't that big a deal if it's built right. There are folks that try a full-size gun and think it's wallowing along...and a shorty is probably the ticket for them, but I'm guessing those folks are in the minority of new Open shooters. R,

[CocoBolo]

I have to agree if you are thinking new go for a Custom built gun the extra bucks will be some of the best money you spend. If $400 breaks the deal you can't afford to shoot it anyway as a case of bullets even cheap ones is $295.

I have a Briley and a Competitor, these are at the extremes of lite and heavy, I like the way the lite gun drives but I prefer the feel of the heavy gun. Open is much more complex than people think when it comes to the gun, and it is a lot harder to shoot well than you expect. I have seen several production shooters and limited shooters switch and it slows them down for about 3 months, some don't make the transition they go back. If you can take few for a test drive you can figure out which one works best for you.

If you check this forum, uspsa, gunbroker and gunsamerica every day you will see a lot of open guns come and go. Most of the time they are cheaper than limited guns, problem is you don't know if they are any good or not, its a crap shoot you might win and you might lose. Safe moneys on the Bedell, Millenium, Brazos. Jordano has a good deal on this forum for a starter gun just to get your feet wet in open.

[Seth]

I acquired a Trubor thru a trade and still managed to spend a grand getting up and running with an open setup. The gun could have been acquired for about $1500 used... but the rest of the stuff was almost as expensive. Not to thread drift, but here's what my budget was:

Mag Tubes $310 (3 SV 140s and a 170 -- 2 used)

Base Pads $45 (used Grams)

Springs/Followers $80 (new grams with springs)

Brass $125 (5000 pieces 1x fired)

Powder $19 per pound hs-6

Dies

U-die $30

Powder Die $10

Seat die $23

Crimp Die $21

Conversion Kit $73.95

Case feeder plate $37.95

Toolhead $24

Bullets are $295 from MG.

That's $1k in misc stuff to make the gun go bang.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Seth

[kimel]

While researching open guns for my first Open blaster I shot a bunch of shorties and a bunch of full size guns. I definitely preferred the longer guns for a couple reasons. First and most significant to me is that shorties tend to have a crap load of holes bleeding gas and a lot of that comes back to pound on you. I didn't like that. Second, I simply liked the recoil impulse better on the longer guns.

Now, keep in mind I shoot a lightened limited gun so it isn't like I am big on steering a battleship class blaster. My open gun handles very similarly to my Limited gun. It points where I want it to point perfectly.

Mine was custom built to my specs by JPL Precision for not a lot more than what you guys are talking and I got EXACTLY what I wanted.

The way I looked at it I could buy a "stock" gun and put money into it, buy semi-custom and put less money in it, or buy full custom and get exactly what I wanted. In the end, the price difference would be negligible.

Take a trip and visit a few other clubs or go to a bigger match. Lots of sectionals, areas and other matches around so go shoot one of those or just go visit and ask folks if you can handle and test fire their guns. When doing my research I never had a single shooter say no. Bigger matches have vendor tents and the vendors will definitely let you fondle their guns. Some will let you shoot them.

Another thing to keep in mind that if you are going Major 9mm you will need someone that knows how to make them run go through your gun (if you don't go at least semi-custom).

[rvb]

I'm quite happy w/ the Trubor I got off Brazos.

After tons of timing drills I did lighten the slide some (for free) w/ my drill press to keep the dot from dipping when it closed.

The cost savings w/ the Trubor was enough to pay for .38-super reloading setup, holster, mag pouches, belt, maybe a mag or two, etc.

Being new to open, I had NO idea what I wanted to order something custom or semi-custom. I had tried a couple different guns, but at the time I couldn't even tell a difference firing just a handfull of rounds through them.

Now that I am convinced open is something I enjoy, should I ever upgrade to a custom gun, I'll have a solid back-up gun.

-rvb

[38supPat]

Having shot both, I'd stick with the longer open gun. I'm actually going to rebuild my shorty into a long gun. On the clock there is no perceptable difference. There is quite a bit of difference in feel and what you see, but the reality for me is it doesn't affect my score at all so I'm not willing to put up with the extra punishment the shorty dishes out.

[Flexmoney]

Having shot both, I'd stick with the longer open gun. I'm actually going to rebuild my shorty into a long gun. On the clock there is no perceptable difference. There is quite a bit of difference in feel and what you see, but the reality for me is it doesn't affect my score at all so I'm not willing to put up with the extra punishment the shorty dishes out.

And, your skill level is what probably allows you to shoot either with little difference.

I was hoping you'd chime in. I was wanting to use an analogy with race cars, but I wasn't sure which cars to use as examples? (Heck, it's probably better to leave the car names out anyway...as people get religious with car brands).

Anyway, what I was getting around to...

Some cars are easier to drive fast, right? Other cars require a well seasoned driver behind the wheel to keep things from getting...squirrelly?

[Tzygä]

Last year I shot short open gun and this year I shoot long open gun. Both are great guns. I like short one better when I shoot with one hand but long open gun do have lighter recoil.

[38supPat]

Having shot both, I'd stick with the longer open gun. I'm actually going to rebuild my shorty into a long gun. On the clock there is no perceptable difference. There is quite a bit of difference in feel and what you see, but the reality for me is it doesn't affect my score at all so I'm not willing to put up with the extra punishment the shorty dishes out.

And, your skill level is what probably allows you to shoot either with little difference.

I was hoping you'd chime in. I was wanting to use an analogy with race cars, but I wasn't sure which cars to use as examples? (Heck, it's probably better to leave the car names out anyway...as people get religious with car brands).

Anyway, what I was getting around to...

Some cars are easier to drive fast, right? Other cars require a well seasoned driver behind the wheel to keep things from getting...squirrelly?

Yeah, thats not a bad analogy. Ususally the harder car to drive may be as fast as the easy car, at the end of a race the easy car will win. Because it's hard to keep it running at the limit without errors, the errors in the easy car will be minor and easily recoverd from, in the hard car they will be bigger and more costly.

[matt2ace]

I have to agree with the 'longer open gun' camp. I prefer the impluse and overall balance of my full length open guns. I would also recommend Gary Natale and Gan's Enterprises. He built me two fantastic 9mm open guns this year for <$3000.

IMHO, you can do better than those STI built guns withtout spending significantly more money.

[Julien Boit]

I recently shot again my opens. I shot 95% of the times iron sights, so I can be considered as a newbie in open.

I have a V6 Trubor style pistol and a V4 shorty. I shot both with the same load and the longer pistol definitely feels softer.

The shorty feels snappy but fast, when the "trubor" feels slower and softer.

For a newbie, I'd recommend a longer pistol, it can later evolve into a shorty by replacing the barrel/comp and shortening the slide.