Grouchy Spike

CDR, to get you started with your 1911 visit this forum for information (and occasionally some disinformation): http://forums.1911forum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=6134a4925c9d7a8240617ca17bd49019&f=18 And their are others too - www.thehighroad.org http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech_library.htm http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2011/6/9/tuning-the-m1911-for-reliability/ Some reputable books by Jerry Kuhnhausen: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AJerry%20Kuhnhausen I have done only very minor tuning, so I'm no expert but I know enough not to put a Dremel and a 1911 on the workbench at the same time, at my skill level.

I'm a TB junkie, and I found a sheet from IMR with TB loads for the common rifle cartridges including 308 and 30-06. It lists a min of 10 gr TB, 1176 fps and 13.3 gr TB, 1061 fps respectively under a 150 gr under a NOS BT bullet. So I packed some 14.5 g TB under a 140 g 0.309 cast bullet for a 30-06 load in the 03A3 and gave it a try. The recoil was minimal, but the group at 25 m was about 2 inches. This load needs some more work. I'll try some 168 gr bullets of 0.309 and 0.310 diameter, various loads of TB, likely some 140 gr 0.310 bullets too. The capacity of the 7.5x55 case is about 98% of the 30-06 so I packed 12 g TB under a 140 g 0.310 cast bullet for the K31 and the holes in the target paper at 25 m were overlapping. That's encouraging. I later found some 170 gr spire point cast bullets, so when the weather warms I'll try them with various loads of TB. And I'll report the results.

Thanks, Clem. I'll share that recipe!

I just happen to have some 2400! I'll give it a try. Thanks! I remember seeing a low-velocity recipe for 2400 . I'll search for it.

Three of us did the inaugural BAM (modified) match at the Texican Rangers during the cowboy match. Three bolt action rifles from WW1 and WW2 were used on the Cody Dixon targets - a 1903, 03A3, and a Mosin Nagant (with bayonet). 5 rounds loaded and one reload for six rounds total. Yours truly missed the first target. Stage fright perhaps? Texas Tony and Marshal Willy used 1911s and I used a pair of 1917s. This category offers a promise of more fun! Watching Marshal Willy southpaw a right-handed Mosin Nagant bolt was something to see. I can see (and felt) that 32 gr of 4064 with a 168 gr GC in 30-06 is more than needed for Cody Dixon targets, the most distant which are 74 yards. I'm thinking Trail Boss now! Now if we can join those Long Range boys who use the strange rifles and the smokey powder........

Congratulations, Lone Dog! You deserved that pistol!

Bart, I have a XSE Combat Elite. Cleaned and lubed it, checked magazines for fit and function, shot about 100 practice rounds of 230 gr ball ammo, and entered the WB match. No hiccups. I haven't noticed 'sharp' edges so I just compared it to a S&W1911E, Ruger SR1911, Mag Research Desert Eagle 1911G. Perhaps the Colt's edges aren't quite as radiused as the others, but if so it's almost microscopic. In hand, I don't notice an appreciable difference and nothing feels sharp, except for the lower edges of the forward cocking grooves on the slide, but so are they on the DE 1911G and the S&W1911E. I think that you'll like the XSE! Tight barrel/slide/frame fit. Nice trigger, slightly heavier than the DE1911G but not objectionable. I don't have a trigger pull gauge, so that's a bit subjective. In Wild Bunch you'd not notice it. Maybe shooting 100 yd bullseyes you might. Miaybe. The 1911G has the lightest, smoothest trigger pull out of the box, compared to Rock, Ruger, Rem, SA, Colt XSE, S&W 1911E. And that's on three 1911Gs so it's probably not an anomaly. It's actually a sleeper in value for $557 at Buds.

Mingo, I have both the Rem R1 and the SA Mil-Spec. I used a magic marker to darken the white dots on the R1's sights. The hammer spring on my Mil=Spec is the strongest I've ever seen, so strong that I had difficulty retracting the slide with the hammer down. I changed out the hammer spring to a lighter spring, either 19 or 21, and removed the ILS while I was at it. Required a standard GI hammer strut, main spring housing and internals. Brownells had a kit at one time. Inexpensive. The trigger on the Mil-Spec is perhaps slightly smoother and lighter than that on the R1. Go with either.

Even the grip safety on A1 sometimes bites me. I don't shoot traditional very often but when I do I use BandAid Flexible or Waterproof on the web of my shooting hand. The ToughStrip peeled off a layer of skin when I removed it. it's one tough strip! .

45 ACP brass is available with Small Pistol Primers or Large Pistol Primers. Ask your supplier of brass, whether new or used, whether the brass is SPP or LPP. GS

The Texican Rangers ran five stages of 7-round mags, five mags per stage. 35 rounds of 1911, 7 rifle, and usually 6 shotgun per stage.. It was a hoot to shoot! When the shooter finally made it to the firing line. We had 16 shooters, saw about an hour per stage. In review, the group agreed that this was a bit much. We were plumb wore out by the end of the match. We averaged 100 seconds of raw shooting time per shooter per stage, including all of the usual hiccups with the 1911 and the 97. Another 125 seconds to stage weapons and then clear the firing line. Averaged 500 seconds per shooter for the match. The fastest shooter was 327 seconds. We usually had three brass pickers working to pick up 48 empty cases after each shooter. Summary - All Time in Seconds Average Match Raw Shooting Time per Shooter 502.02 Average Stage Raw Shooting Time per Shooter 100.40 Time for Match 18000.00 Time per Stage 3600.00 Time per Stage per Shooter 225.00

Red Cent, correction - I had a 13# recoil spring in the DE and not a 12#. Are you meaning that the mag spring may be too strong for the load so as to cause sufficient drag to on the slide to impede slide movement? Could be. I ran that DE today with the same load of 230 gr bullet and 4.3 gr Trail Boss but used stock Checkmate GI 7 round mags instead of the stock Tripps that I'd used earlier. No problem making slide lock with the Checkmates in 175 rounds. Another brand new unfired DE with 14# spring ran the same load and used Ruger magazines - had no trouble with slide lock. But two Ruger mags had weak springs because a round jumped out of the mag when the mag was bumped on a table. I installed Wolff extra power mag springs in those two magazines this evening and will try those mags in practice this week, with the TB load.

On the chrono at the state WB match, a 45 ACP loaded with 4.3 gr Trail Boss with a 230 gr bullet had a PF of 161. Happy reloading!

The Desert Eagle is a sleeper. Hitting 90 yard target with factory sight adjustment. I'll using a 12# recoil spring and a couple of times in 100 rounds loaded with 4.5 gr Trail Boss and 230 gr bullets, the slide won't lock back when empty. No problem with a 16# spring and full factory loads. I'll drop down a pound or two on the hammer spring to insure that the slide locks back on an empty mag every time and run it for a while. May bump the recoil spring back to 13# if that's working.

I was already hooked on WB, but now I'm hooked on the State WB Match. Billy Bob, Goatneck Clem, Dusty Boddams, Crooked Bullet, etc made that so much fun that I'm now having difficulty delaying gratification awaiting next year. Stage 1 with 30 targets with 36 rounds was entertaining too! Our match on the 31st will mimic that scenario, along with some 7 round mag scenarios. After the match I stopped to visit the granddaughters. The 13 yr old, shooting my 1911 for the first time on a dueling tree, was hitting five of six targets fairly consistently on the PD range. Almost crushed my ego after my difficulties on Stages 5 and 10 in the match. I told her that her next gun is a 1911, and she can join me in WB matches at ranges near her. That next gun is already ordered.

+2 to what Goody said. Good food, great match, awesome company! I'll be practicing trigger discipline for next year so I can hit those little targets on the dueling tree.

Thanks for the feedback. Well, I gotta try one. I don't think that it will arrive in time to prepare it for the TX State WB match, may have to shoot the lowly S&W or Ruger.

Is anybody shooting a Desert Eagle 1911G for Wild Bunch, or any other game? What's your opinion? It has good review on the 1911 Forum, but I'd prefer to hear from a WB shooter.

Thanks, Blackfoot! I'd forgotten about bullet weight.

Seven (7) Rounds in the magazine! And ten (10) rounds in the rifles and six rounds in the shotgun too. If I'm gonna drive to a match, I want to shoot as much as possible!

Thanks, Gentlemen!

I've been using 44 Special 180 grain RNFP bullets with 4.5 gr Trail Boss and 45 ACP 230 gr RN with 4.0 gr TB but don't have a handle on Velocity other than what is claimed in reloading data tables. I also have on hand but have not used TiteGroup. Does anybody have Chrono results for 44 Special and 45 ACP loads with these bullet weights and TB and TG? My local supplier has no other bullet weight in 44 but 240 grain, and I didn't want to be that heavy but if necessary to make PF I could adapt! I have some Clays but hope to dedicate that to 40 S&W reloads as it's reportedly not readily available until late this year (f then). Thanks