caz41 Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 What is the difference between the STI SM and MM? The only difference that I see are the "gills" in the barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh george Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Steel Master - 9MM Minor Match Master - 9x19 or 38 Super Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caz41 Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 So the MM can shoot major in 9??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 It was built to shoot 9 Major, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caz41 Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 (edited) Ok thanks. So I think I will be getting the Match Master, now I just need to decide if I go with 9 or 38. I have everything to reload 9, but nothing for 38. Is that my answer or is there another reason that should point me down the 38 road? Edited December 13, 2009 by caz41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockcomma Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I am also considering getting a Match Master but can't find anybody with experience shooting one. If anyone owns one or has shot one can you please share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 The only draw back to the 9 Major is reliable magazines. The brass is cheap and readily available, components will cost about the same between the 2 of them. There are lots of options for finding working magazines as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hello: I just started shooting 9mm open. I went the 9mm route because of the brass. If your local club allows you to pickup your brass after you just shot then it is a wash. I am a "Brass Rat" and pickup all my brass and get back about 98% of it. The club here are great at picking up brass for you and you do the same for others I can find range brass for sale in 9mm as well. The mags are a not a factor if you use SVI mags. The 170mm will need some major work if you want to get 30-31 rounds. The 140mm mags just need a little work. To start you will need just one 170mm and 2 140mm mags. That will get you through most matches. I like to have spares for my spares so I have more now There is lots of load data on the sight. I am using HS-6 and Silhouette powders. Montana Gold bullets in 95JHP,115JHP, 121IFP and 125 Zero's. I say use 9mm for Open. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero_down Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Another big difference between the MM and the SM is that the MM was built to shoot 9mm Major while the Steel Master was built to function with 9mm 115gr (minor) for Steel Challenge in mind. You can shoot 9mm minor out of the MM but it wouldn't be as reliable as the comp and spring would eat up alot of the pressure for proper function. I too have heard about 9mm STI issues but I've been shooting an Eagle in 9mm for IDPA for years without any issues (factory mags too). There are several guys in our club that shoot the SM 9mm minor and they have no problems either. I don't know if their mags have been tuned but they are STI mags and not SVI mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I have the Trubor in 9major and have zero mag related issues. My mags are SV tubes, Grams guts and base pads. Big stick holds 28 easy and reliable. The 140s hold 24 reloadable. The only issue I ever have is an occasional fail to extract which I've chased back to bad brass. I ran 200 rounds of 9mm Win White Box through the gun yesterday flawlessly... most of it with a topped off big stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caz41 Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 So here is my next question. I have read many posts on here about guys saying to go with a custom gun over an off the shelf open gun. I can't find any that are even close in price. I see that Dawson offers a tuned Match Master. What is best way to go? Just want it all narrowed down before I spend the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hello: I would ask yourself honestly how much you can spend? If you go with a custom pistol you will have to wait and will pay more. STI factory pistols are alright but not as well made as a custom build. The savings may be worth a years worth of reloads though. If after a year of shooting you decide you can sell the factory pistol and take a little loss then have a custom built the way you want. You can also look for used open 9mm but not many come up for sale and when they do the good ones go fast. You should give Benny Hill a call and talk to him and see if he can get one out fast and what his current cost is. Also phone some other smiths to see what they have? Hope this helps and you could search under factory or custom guns. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 factory gun all the way, you'll only be dealing with one company if there are issues, I just dont buy off on the whole concept of paying $2000- $3000 plus for a gun and then paying someone else for "tuning" I wouldt do that for a $25 toaster so I definetely wouldnt do it with a $2000 gun. I love my factory STI Eagle and it works perfectly but if there had been problems with it I am sure STI would have made it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.McDevitt Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 factory gun all the way, you'll only be dealing with one company if there are issues, I just dont buy off on the whole concept of paying $2000- $3000 plus for a gun and then paying someone else for "tuning" I wouldt do that for a $25 toaster so I definetely wouldnt do it with a $2000 gun. I love my factory STI Eagle and it works perfectly but if there had been problems with it I am sure STI would have made it right. +1 I agree I have 2 STI's that I purchased at the same time Steelmaster 9mm minor and STI Grandmaster 38 super (aftec in G/Master) I had couple issues, it took STI 7 days to correct the problem and they paid shipping. The have both run absolutely flawlessly ever since both 4000+ down the tube. And I saved a lot.. I know because I also have a custom 9mm Major it also has run perfect but it cost about $2,200 more (it should) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 An Open gun isn't as simple as a Limited gun and 9mm Major Open guns are probably the most challenging to get running properly. A new MM costs $2700 from someplace like Dawson. For $300 more you can get something like a Bedell or maybe a Gans or Benny Hill gun that is more likely to run perfectly, will be fit better and will be made with higher quality parts. Just upgrading the hammer, sear, and thumb safeties alone eats up most of the difference between a Bedell and a MM. If you go with a tuned MM the price difference is down to $100 or so and you're still looking at a gun with some less expensive parts in it. A true custom gun is definitely worth $300 more, much less only $100 more. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caz41 Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 An Open gun isn't as simple as a Limited gun and 9mm Major Open guns are probably the most challenging to get running properly.A new MM costs $2700 from someplace like Dawson. For $300 more you can get something like a Bedell or maybe a Gans or Benny Hill gun that is more likely to run perfectly, will be fit better and will be made with higher quality parts. Just upgrading the hammer, sear, and thumb safeties alone eats up most of the difference between a Bedell and a MM. If you go with a tuned MM the price difference is down to $100 or so and you're still looking at a gun with some less expensive parts in it. A true custom gun is definitely worth $300 more, much less only $100 more. R, I have looked into this and from what I have found the prices are not as close as you say. Here is what I have found; Gans does pre build guns, they will modify your existing gun. Can't find anything on Bedell. JV dynamics start at 4200. Major Nyne Guns start at 3800. Millennium Customs start at 3850. Brazos start at 4400. Johnny Lim starts at 4850. Still waiting to hear back from Benny Hill and a few others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I think when Shooters Connection was selling the Bedell Open guns, they were $3295. I don't know what they might cost from Velocity Shooters. Might want to give Tony a call. His website is http://velocityshooter.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I think when Shooters Connection was selling the Bedell Open guns, they were $3295. I don't know what they might cost from Velocity Shooters. Might want to give Tony a call. His website is http://velocityshooter.com/ $2995 with standard comp and finish last I knew. Right now, through Velocity Shooter they show the 6" Limited gun at $2795, which has always been just a couple hundred less than the Open gun. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 An Open gun isn't as simple as a Limited gun and 9mm Major Open guns are probably the most challenging to get running properly.A new MM costs $2700 from someplace like Dawson. For $300 more you can get something like a Bedell or maybe a Gans or Benny Hill gun that is more likely to run perfectly, will be fit better and will be made with higher quality parts. Just upgrading the hammer, sear, and thumb safeties alone eats up most of the difference between a Bedell and a MM. If you go with a tuned MM the price difference is down to $100 or so and you're still looking at a gun with some less expensive parts in it. A true custom gun is definitely worth $300 more, much less only $100 more. R, I have looked into this and from what I have found the prices are not as close as you say. Here is what I have found; Gans does pre build guns, they will modify your existing gun. Can't find anything on Bedell. JV dynamics start at 4200. Major Nyne Guns start at 3800. Millennium Customs start at 3850. Brazos start at 4400. Johnny Lim starts at 4850. Still waiting to hear back from Benny Hill and a few others. That's why I didn't mention Brazos, MC or JV ...wasn't even really aware of Major Nyne. Bedells were being sold through Chuck at SC until a few months ago. You could probably contact him directly here and see what his price for an Open gun is now. There are a few smiths turning out good guns that aren't $4K+. My Bedell had a couple of options on it (Ti comp etc) that pushed the price a bit over $3K, but it wasn't much. I also have a Millennium Custom which would run quite a bit more, and while I like it better, both have been equally reliable and accurate. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caz41 Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 I was able to get ahold of Benny Hill and Bedell. They are close in price starting at 3200-3500 depending on a few options. The turn around time is considerably more on the Bedell, actually close to double. Between these two, what are your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Flip a quarter, that would be as accurate a choice as any of us could make. They are both well built guns, by awesome guys. You just can't go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 When I first started shooting open I bought an STI Grandmaster in 38 super and never had a problem with it. I have since had 9-10 custom open guns built and never had a problem with them either including 4 in major 9. The MM and SM are just like the STI Stinger from several years back. In fact the only difference is the name on the slide and some lightening cuts. You might want to see what you can find out about the Stingers since they have been out for sometime. That might give you a little info as to how they run and also how they hold up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Susan is shooting a SM and has not had a single problem with it. As a matter of fact, I have not cleaned the gun since she's owned it. I wanted to see how far it goes before it pukes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockcomma Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I think the Stinger was a 3.9 And the Match Master/Steel Master is a 4.15 and I think the MM/SM have a full length recoil system which I've been led to believe is way better. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 The MM and SM have a 4.15" recoil master spring system from the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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