[Buffalobob]

I took out the stock captive spring and put in the Wolf 17# (factory) and went and shot an IDPA comp and it worked just fine. I will say that I got a lot of exercise putting in the Wolf spring, running around all over the den looking for where it went to when it SPROINGED out of my hand several times. Captive springs is a really good idea.

So I ordered 5 boxes of Serra itsy tennsy weennsy 90 grain JHPs and loaded them up at the minimum load in the Sierra manual , which is 1100 fps, and went off to the range today. Of course they would not cycle with the 17# spring but 48 in a row cycled with the 14# spring. The cases only get thrown about 6 inches so I suspect when cold weather gets here that the 14# spring will not cycle them, if the bullets are cold. But the kit came with a 12# spring so I'm GTG.

The interesting thing was that with really low loads and light recoil you could see the affects of improper grip pressure on the pistol by where the bullet would strike on the target. If your left thumb puts too much pressure on the frame the bullet strikes to the right and if you grip wrong with your right hand you pull the bullet left.

I also tested out some military brass that I had removed the crimp from and loaded up to +P and it all cycled well with the 17# spring. I would say that in some other thread somebody, perhaps Longrange, said that removing the crimp from brass is just not worth the trouble and that is just about the honest gospel truth - you only save pennies and it is a real pain in the fourth point of contact.

Funny thing of interest to anybody local, is that the only other person at the range was a guy from Bethesda. He was a doc from a local hospital who wanted to practice shooting his 375 Mag from shooting sticks for his upcoming trip to South Africa. The Green Ridge range, which is an hour and a half drive from DC, is about the only place without a range safety officer where you can practice fast draws and lateral movements and as long as everyone is aware you can actually get in front of the firing line and shoot in the dirt. He and I had a good time breaking all of the range safety rules.