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USPSA - To Open or not to Open

quinnjalan

quinnjalan

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I just got into USPSA and I'm really enjoying it. I shot bullseye for years and moving while shooting is a real novelty. Recently I picked up a new (very lightly) used STI DVC Limited in 9 and its just like my Model 41, but with a bigger bang......and I get to run with it!

That's the good news......

The bad is I'm getting up in years and cannot see anything. I found a eye doc here and he set me up with a shooting prescription that's the best and worst of both worlds. I can see the front sight, but not the target.....well I can see it, but its fuzzy. My scrip is progressive and slightly different in each eye, so its not an easy issue to solve.

The other evening at practice I played with a Sig that had a red dot and I can see the appeal, very easy to pick up the targets and no trying to focus on the front sight. However, I simply refuse to shoot (Production - Carry Optics) MA gun with crappy trigger and yes I tried Glocks and spend countless dollars trying to make it better, but all failed. Enter my STI and I'll not going back to bad triggers. Besides my rig is set up for STI and I have a bunch of mags.....

So, finally here's my question or questions? Should I go full Open? Keep in mind I'm not into USPSA for prizes, just fun. I'm leaning toward the STI Steel as it can shoot off the shelf ammo. I reload, so I could tweak for an STI Open gun, but I'm on the fence. Should I mill the slide on my DVC Limited and turn my Limited gun into an Open gun by adding an RMR (Trijicon RMR Type 2 comes to mind, however, the newer STI race guns have smaller C-More's, not like the older 2x4 on top of your slide)? Or, should I keep pumping rounds in the general direction of the targets and hope I get Alpha's?

Anyhow, that's my story so bring it on.
 
You could try shooting a match first and see how you do/like your current setup. If it doesn’t work out, no big deal. Then go open. Do what’s the most fun for you and what your wallet can handle.
 
Go for it.
I'd go with 9mm for the brass. I wonder how you'll do with factory ammo out of a gun properly tuned for 165 PF. My Super will function @ 125 PF but it feels better with full power stuff.
Welcome to the Dark Side.....nothing like it when you mow stuff down just by looking at it........ .
 
First I would try focusing on the target and not the front site. This is how I should iron sight guns and it works very well.

If you do want to go full open, I would not get a steel gun. A fullsize will be much better if you want to shoot major through it.

Don't cut the slide on your limited gun, but you could have another topend to it, but the saving isn't really that great and its nice to have to separate guns

I would also look on Brianenos.com for used open guns, you can save a good amount of money
 
Supermoto said:
First I would try focusing on the target and not the front site. This is how I should iron sight guns and it works very well.

If you do want to go full open, I would not get a steel gun. A fullsize will be much better if you want to shoot major through it.

Don't cut the slide on your limited gun, but you could have another topend to it, but the saving isn't really that great and its nice to have to separate guns

I would also look on Brianenos.com for used open guns, you can save a good amount of money
Click to expand...

In bullseye all I did was focus on the target and when the red dot lined up squeeze off a round. I find it hard with iron sight to not focus on the front sight....and now that my eyes are getting bad I feel like I’m going crossed eyed trying to line everything up!

I’m definitely on the fence about killing my current slide and yes after all is said and done it will add another 6 to 800 dollars to the gun. I also thought about a new top end, but since the Limited has a full dust cover I don’t think STI can just slap on an Open top and call it a day. Wouldn’t the duct cover on the frame need matching. Also, according the STI site it’s not a cheap set up.

Having a second gun would be fun but I can’t really afford an Open without selling or trading my Limited. I could do it but the thought of have an expensive safe gun does not work for me. I tend to shoot what I have and keep the herd thin.
 
Supermoto said:
You can put a open top end on a full length dust cover
Click to expand...

According to STI: Different top end = 60% of MSRP of the Complete Gun. So in this case that would be $2400 assuming a new Open gun is $3999.00. It’s a lot of money for a top end but I’d end up with 2 guns! Hmm....more options. Ha, here’s the kicker...right at the top of STI’s Custom Shop page I found this: The STI Custom Shop is not currently accepting any new work. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
 
There are plenty of good gunsmiths that will do the work, you don't need to go thru STI. But the best bet is probably sell the Limited gun if you aren't going to shoot it and pick up a used open gun.
 
Supermoto said:
There are plenty of good gunsmiths that will do the work, you don't need to go thru STI. But the best bet is probably sell the Limited gun if you aren't going to shoot it and pick up a used open gun.
Click to expand...

Yup and yup. I'm going to mull it over for a bit but after practicing with my M41/Ultradot I think an Open is in the card.....
 
Well, it's not my money, so I'm not going to try and talk you out of buying a $4k Open gun, BUT, if it was my money, I'd strongly suggest getting a used gun from the classifieds over on Brian Enos' forums.

Only problem is that bargain time really seems to be November-February as everyone is offloading their gear and trying to get a new gun built for the upcoming season. The wait time on the reputable gunsmiths is several months at the very least.

An argument can be made that your shooting will progress slower if you jump right in to Open, but if you're just doing it to have fun, who cares?

Side note, have you tried the P320 X5? Trigger is better than a Glock. They're a lot of fun in CO. I borrowed my buddy's to shoot IDPA this past weekend.

I will plead ignorance on the mag issue in MA regarding the 170mm and 140mm sticks for any of these guns.
 
All, thanks for the feedback so far. While I waiting on a few places that get back to me on prices I took the advice of a few posts here and started looking for used guns. What do you think is the following: http://forums.brianenos.com/topic/261215-peine-custom-open-gun-9-major/?tab=comments#comment-2901956

I can’t find a whole lot of info on Peine guns but it’s a package deal (not that I need the extras but they’ll come in handy) and it certainly addresses my needs.

Thanks again.....
 
Its kinda hard to say, since there is no way to inspect the gun and the gunsmith is a relatively unknown, or at least I haven't heard of him. It isn't a huge savings over what the gun cost the owner as new and for $200 less you can get a CK arms new...not that I would order from Bobby or Matt again. But generally open gun prices are outrageous now. If I was going to get a new one, I would give Dan Bedell a call, see what his price and lead times are. Also, when you are at the matches, ask the open shooter to try their guns, so you get to know what you like and don't. Also see if any have ones for sale.
 
Supermoto said:
Its kinda hard to say, since there is no way to inspect the gun and the gunsmith is a relatively unknown, or at least I haven't heard of him. It isn't a huge savings over what the gun cost the owner as new and for $200 less you can get a CK arms new...not that I would order from Bobby or Matt again. But generally open gun prices are outrageous now. If I was going to get a new one, I would give Dan Bedell a call, see what his price and lead times are. Also, when you are at the matches, ask the open shooter to try their guns, so you get to know what you like and don't. Also see if any have ones for sale.
Click to expand...

Right, not seeing it is a bit of a worry. However, the seller did send me a bunch of additional info so I may reach out to some of the contacts he listed. I took a look at Dan Bedell site...he sure build nice looking guns, but I'm guessing that anything worth buying will be north of where I can afford to be.
 
quiller said:
Right, not seeing it is a bit of a worry. However, the seller did send me a bunch of additional info so I may reach out to some of the contacts he listed. I took a look at Dan Bedell site...he sure build nice looking guns, but I'm guessing that anything worth buying will be north of where I can afford to be.
Click to expand...

If you comfortable with the gun and the seller, then go for it. I bought around 6 2011 off people there and never had an issue
 
thormx538 said:
Well, it's not my money, so I'm not going to try and talk you out of buying a $4k Open gun, BUT, if it was my money, I'd strongly suggest getting a used gun from the classifieds over on Brian Enos' forums.

Only problem is that bargain time really seems to be November-February as everyone is offloading their gear and trying to get a new gun built for the upcoming season. The wait time on the reputable gunsmiths is several months at the very least.

An argument can be made that your shooting will progress slower if you jump right in to Open, but if you're just doing it to have fun, who cares?

Side note, have you tried the P320 X5? Trigger is better than a Glock. They're a lot of fun in CO. I borrowed my buddy's to shoot IDPA this past weekend.

I will plead ignorance on the mag issue in MA regarding the 170mm and 140mm sticks for any of these guns.
Click to expand...

One of the other shooters has an P320...not sure what version. It has a reflex which is a necessity for me. Felt good, kinda light and it had a trigger job, which was better than an Glock I had (with trigger jobs). A quick search on Sig I found this one P320 RX FULL-SIZE - P320 RX Full-Size

I might have to fell one up this weekend!
 
quiller said:
One of the other shooters has an P320...not sure what version. It has a reflex which is a necessity for me. Felt good, kinda light and it had a trigger job, which was better than an Glock I had (with trigger jobs). A quick search on Sig I found this one P320 RX FULL-SIZE - P320 RX Full-Size

I might have to fell one up this weekend!
Click to expand...

The X5 comes cut for a Romeo 1, so you just need to buy the optic and install it. It also has the flat Gray Guns trigger, which is AWESOME. Definitely worth handling/shooting one.
 
thormx538 said:
The X5 comes cut for a Romeo 1, so you just need to buy the optic and install it. It also has the flat Gray Guns trigger, which is AWESOME. Definitely worth handling/shooting one.
Click to expand...

I did a little research over the weekend and the X-5 seems to be a good shooter and so since it’s set up for optics it’s kinda a no brainer. Second on the Gray Gun triggers, I put one in my 226 and it’s really nice. In other news I bought the below (see link), just waiting on it to show up, however, since you can never have too many guns I will most likely pick up an X5 at some point. Here’s a link with some photos of my new toy.

Prime Photos
 

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