STI Spartan & Trojan accuracy ?s

Are these two STI pistols as accurate [out of the box] as say a Range Officer? Or are they built looser for faster competitive shooting? Interested in hearing feedback from those who own or have shot both.

STI is equal or better than RO. I have shot both and built both into BE pistols. The STI has nice front strap as well. Good quality parts on STI.
Jon

I started shooting Bullseye with a STI Spartan and have owned a few other STI guns.  All good quality.

sixftunda wrote:I started shooting Bullseye with a STI Spartan and have owned a few other STI guns.  All good quality.

Did you do any modifications to it specific to bullseye?

Jon Eulette wrote:STI is equal or better than RO. I have shot both and built both into BE pistols. The STI has nice front strap as well. Good quality parts on STI.
Jon

Jon -
Do have any recommendations for minor things a DIYer can do before he/she sends his/her Trojan to you? I had a local smith look over mine and gave him license to do what he wanted. He told me he did very little except for a deep cleaning and some polishing. He did set the trigger to my spec.

mparker wrote:

sixftunda wrote:I started shooting Bullseye with a STI Spartan and have owned a few other STI guns.  All good quality.

Did you do any modifications to it specific to bullseye?

No I didn't.  It was when I was first starting and wasn't sure if I was going to do the sport at all.  Used it for three matches and quickly moved up to a Range Officer.
I got the gun 48 hours before my first match and shot it with Winchester Factory hardball.  Ouch!  Shot a 734.

So, Are you saying that all of your STI guns have moved on and you are just shooting a Range Officer now?

I bought a new RO a few months ago. I could shoot ragged single hole groups with it but it dented and creased every piece of brass that came out of the chamber. I returned it and SA replaced the bbl. Now I am lucky to hold 3" groups on a good day. I returned it to SA and they would not replace the bbl because its "within factory spec". I am so disappointed that I am considering selling it and replacing it with a Spartan or Trojan.

I am open to advice. Should I consider replacing the bbl and bushing to try to regain the lost accuracy or dump it and move on in hopes of finding a more accurate pistol?

Jon Eulette wrote: Good quality parts on STI.
Jon

Yes, I ran into this by accident, while rebuilding a fair number of STIs.
I am very impressed with the quality of the slides..(and frames) Especially the upper lugs. Very concentric and  uniform radii..  Best I have ever seen..
Jerry

I think that you could go either way.  I think you will be further ahead with either one with a fitted barrel.  I don't think we could say that all stock STIs are going to be better than a 3" gun, but we can pretty much say that you will have that with a fitted barrel in either gun.

Any suggestions for barrelm / bushing combos or smiths? What could I expect to pay for a fitted bbl installed? Are there any drop in DIY kits that are worth it or do all requiring "fitting" by a smith to get the best accuracy?

Kart barrels are one of the best most accurate brands and the one  most used in  bullseye guns and they  make a "easy fit", model, not to hard if you also buy the installation kit , they shoot as good as any if fitted good, brownells sells them.

Are they (Kart bbls) good to shoot lead from or do they prefer plated or jacketed boolits?

The STI's are nice base pistol for building into good BE pistol. For the local gunsmith tojust polish and clean....sorry to say the STI isn't that good of a pistol :-)
I think adding Kart barrel and new bushing and link is really all it needs. The base parts are excellent. I prefer it over RO.
Jon

igolfat8 wrote:Are they (Kart bbls) good to shoot lead from or do they prefer plated or jacketed bullets?

Karts shoot both good, 2'' +/- at 50yds with good lead or jacketed built ammo is normal.