An Open gun in .40? Not that capacity is everything, but aren't you limiting yourself to ~22 rounds per mag?

 

24-25 rounds in open (170mm tubes if you can find a combo to make the tubes up) but .40 even with light bullets (135gr) has more felt recoil and slower slide speeds than 9mm/38 super, not many run open in .40, but hey to each his own.

 

Perhaps someone more enlightened than I can comment, but I *think* the Caspian double stack frame will only work with Caspian mags. That means you won't be able to use your 170mm mags.

 

Just like to add that before the ban. I had a para-ordinance chambered in 10mm.
135grn heads and it shot very well. However the two downsides were mag capacity and it was loud as hell. I had to use plugs and muffs. Shooting it in confined areas made my teeth rattle. My last gun before the ban was a CHIP MCCORMICK frame with Caspian hybrid slide & barrel chambered in 38 super.
Higher capacity and sharper/faster recoil. My advice would be to go with the 38 super or 38 supercomp.

 

FWIW, everyone I know who's had an Open gun built in the last year, has had it chambered in 9mm.

 

Without sounding like a prick, bad caliber plan.

Have it built in 9x19 or 38 Super.

Schuemann barrels may be easy to get and plenty accurate for IPSC, but lord help you if you have a billing problem with Wil.

Catch a few IPSC/USPSA matches and ask a bunch of questions and see what people are using. I bet you dont find a single open gun in anything other than 9 or Super.

 

I have been to several IPSC events and admit I am new to this aspect of the sport...but not pistol shooting in general or IMSHA....where the same phenomena was observed...ringing the targets with 9mm and 38s but not knocking them over...and here, no knock over = no count...I have been using my 45 acp and have no problem with knocking them over...and darn sure do not want to worry about hits and not counting and having to reshoot because I used some wimp round that scores as a miss...as someone said...you can not miss fast enough....Hense my reason for 40...maybe in the future the target weights will be regulated so that wimp rounds like the 9mm will reliably knock over the targets...such is not the case presently from my observations...and this was not even the question I asked...

What I asked about...was what is the most effective compensator for usage with the 40....?

Another reason I also want the 40 is I can get the 40 from Georgia Arms
by the 1000 for reasonable prices and know they will make major...maybe the other ammo might or might not...and I do not want to have to overload by hand, blaster rounds to attempt to make major with a wimp round...sorry...
and when I shoot them the targets don;t just ring they fall....and count...

 

thoughts on this project...

maybe in the future the target weights will be regulated so that wimp rounds like the 9mm will reliably knock over the targets...such is not the case presently from my observations...and this was not even the question I asked...

Like you I also shoot IHMSA. I have been ranked INT in Unlimited and Unlimited Half-Scale Big Bore and Smallbore for 6 years. In fact I have not missed a single big bore target in a sanctioned match since 2003. I have also been shooting IPSC since 1997 and a currently a Production Division GM and M in Open and Limited. I completely understand ringers and how steel must fall to score.

By IPSC/USPSA regulation, steel targets must fall when hit by a 125pf (a little under factory ammo power) 9x19 round.

Consider that the 38 Super, 9x19 and all the versions of the .355 bore have dominated the action sports since the early to mid 90s. If you really feel an open 40 is the way to go, have at it. Maybe you can start a trend.

Call a good gunsmith like EGW or Brazos about comps for a 40. I have only seen two open 40s since I started this game.

 

Consider that the 38 Super, 9x19 and all the versions of the .355 bore have dominated the action sports since the early to mid 90s. If you really feel an open 40 is the way to go, have at it. Maybe you can start a trend.

Jerry Barnhart won the USPSA Nationals in 1986 with a 45ACP. That was the last year a non .355 bore pistol was used to win the Nationals in an Open Class format.

 

like the other have said, get it in 38 super or 9mm
you're worried about ringers, in IPSC/USPSA matches the steel is calibrated to go down with a 125 power factor 9mm load. that's a 125 grn bullet doing 1000 fps. to make major you'll push the same 125 gr bullet to at least 1320 fps, giving you some wiggle room.
I run a couple of caspian wide body open guns in supercomp, the gun I currently shoot has a schuemann 4 port hybricomp barrel with a bedell titianium comp and a weigand plastic flgr. the other one has the same barrel with a steel comp and guide rod. the weight difference is only a few ounces, but I prefer the feel and balance of the lighter gun.
the only shop making after market parts for the caspian frame is
http://www.egw-guns.com/
and the internals on my guns come largely from them also

 

KC Eusebio of the U.S. Army Shooting Team just broke a world record at the Steel Challenge using a 9mm Hi-Cap.