Centerfire Suggestions

As I posted in another forum on this site, I'm new to Bullseye. Actually, I'm actually new to firearms. In October I bought my first gun (Glock 22). In January, after deciding to compete in Bullseye A.S.A.P, I bought a Ruger MkIII, accurized it and have been steadily practicing. Until recently, I've been looking for a decent quality 1911 at a decent price that I could have as a project gun -- something to build into a competitive Wad gun for Bullseye so I could actually run a 2700. As it happens, I was at a gun show today and I bought a brace of Colt 1911's (Series 70's) for $645 each. They were a bit scratched and definitely need some work, but like I said, I wanted a project gun and I figure, as Colts, they will give me quality foundations to work from.

All that said, since I bought two. I figured I would build one up as a tack-driver Wad gun. Though I had intended to just use my Glock 22 or the 1911 for centerfire, since I bought two 1911s today, I considered converting one to a lower caliber gun for centerfire. I just don't know which one. I know lots of people like .38 Super (but I think it's more popular in IPSC and USPSA, than Bullseye). Or perhaps 9mm? Hell, I would even consider .40. As you might expect from having a Glock 22, I happen to like .40 S&W fairly well. Still, as service ammo .40 might be a great round, but I'm not sure if it suffers on the accuracy side at 25 and 50 yards compared to the .38S, 9mm, or .45 Auto. Hell, while I'm speculating randomly, I wouldn't mind .357 Sig, even. It shoot's long and flat and has less recoil than an uncompensated .40 S&W (but more so than 9mm, .38 Super or .380), and definitely less than .45.

By the way, yes I reload/handload my own and no, handloading .357 Sig doesn't bother me in the least (not sure why it would since it is no different than reloading rifle rounds -- easier actually, since you can just case resize with a .40/10mm carbide resizing die, then run though the rest with .357 Sig dies, and don't need to use any lube). I already have dies for .380 Auto, 9mm, .357 Sig, 40 S&W, .45 ACP, and the expense of getting any other caliber dies are not a detractor. Round accuracy (and a fair dose of feed consistency) is what matters -- not cost. Hell, I haven't found the prices on ammo or ammo components to vary enough between the various calibers to matter too much in the long run.

Your thoughts?

You will likely get many opinions and here is mine. Stick with .45 for your wadgun and shoot it for both CF and .45 stages. There are people who shoot 1911's in 9mm or .38 special in CF but many more just shoot the .45 twice. Keeps things simple. One gun, one load. Yes, some will use a different load for 25 and 50 yards but not everyone. Put a Kart barrel in your Colt and load some 185 or 200 grain lead SWC's over 4 grains of Bullseye and go shoot. A lot.

I agree with Dan, make one good 45 and shoot that twice if your goal is to make master or higher. If you are just shooting to have fun and play then shoot three guns if you want. I shoot 3.8gr of Hercules Bullseye with 185 SWCHP Zero short line and 200 Star SWC long line with no sight adjustment between the two. I was shooting the same load for both but then aquired the Stars cheap and wanted to use them. This is a very pleasant load to shoot with low recoil and the points I loose at the short line have nothing to do with it being a 45 and recoil. If you are new to shooting the 45 timed and rapid fire stages are a BIG difference from .22 so you will want to get all the practice you can. Scott

Agreed with the above, except for the load. Bullseye tends to be a bit dirty. I recommend N310 and match grade 200 gr lswc bullets from Penn Bullets.

I shoot the same .45 ACP 1911 for CF and 1911 stages.

Keep that 2nd gun as your carry peice or your backup, or set the spare up as a hardball/EIM/leg match gun.

Build one into a wad gun and the other into an EIC gun. EIC gun can be a backup to your wad gun. Move on to other fun calibers later.

I shoot 4.0g bullseye behind a variety of 185g cast or swaged bullets at 25 yd. All are plenty accurate. 50yd is more problematic and as said you will have to find the sweet spot for your gun although when pressed (read: forgot to pack my 50 yd load) I shoot the 25yd load at 50.

All Aces is almost right, Bullseye isn't a bit dirty it's really dirty,but it shoots good and I like the feel. And I've got enought to last me several more years. I might try something else when gone but for now it works. The important thing isn't the load or the bullet weight or the brand of cases or a multitude of other things if you are starting out, trigger time will be your best way to improve your scores. You can fine tune all that stuff as you learn and understand the sport more. Keep shooting, keep asking questions and don't worry about how fast you are progressing, everybody learns and improves at a different rate. Scott

Well said Scott!