Posted: 7/7/2014 3:09:23 PM EDT
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I bought one of the STI Tactical 4.0 pistols. I'm wondering if anyone with an STI 4.0 Tactical 9mm could post a picture of a group or something like that.
I had a little trouble with mine. It printed low at 25yds on the first trip out and I realized I couldn't de-activate the grip safety consistently (problem I don't have with 1911's so apparently it has something to do with the 2011 frame) so occaisionally the trigger pull would be very heavy because the grip safety wasn't deactivated. So I deactivated the grip safety, and adjusted the overtravel of the trigger. Next trip out, the weather had changed dramatically and the trigger had no overtravel. Again the pull was very very heavy. (I added some travel but haven't been able to get back out). So I have no idea how my pistol shoots, but would like to see some groups to give me some hope here. The gun seems to fit nicely. I have yet to get it to shoot like a well built 1911 in .45ACP. Also what types of cheaper ammo will shoot accurately would be good to know. I shot standard military ball ammo (124 grain military issue Winchester M882). I haven't shot anything else. |
| I would kind of like to know what bullet weight the barrels like to shoot. Maybe on the next chance to shoot the gun it will perform. It has been hard to get consistent results with the trigger issues so its hard to pass judgement. I looked around and didnt find any info on 4.0 performance and that made me wonder if the guns are bought mostly for aesthetic reasons. |
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Try the 147gr. I've shot my best groups with the slower heavier bullet out of the 5.0, right at 2" with the 147gr Speer TMJ. My partner shoots his STI Marauder in 9mm better with the faster 115gr fmj. Both pistols function well with every weight and profile we've fed them to date but those seem to do the best for us out of each of the guns. ETA: Don't put up with a shit trigger. For what those guns cost it shouldn't have a shit trigger and STI will fix it under warranty paying shipping both ways. ETA 2: Shot the 115 and 124gr fmj as well as the 124gr and 147 GDHP. In the TAC 5.0 the lighter, faster bullets grouped low for me with the heavier bullets shooting point of aim. The 5.0 is equipped with a bull barrel and Heinie straight eight ledge night sights. We've put the same ammo through my partners Marauder and he shoots high with the heavier bullets with the faster, lighter bullets shooting point of aim. Marauder is equipped with standard barrel and busing with adjustable rear and fiber optic front. Understand we're shooting free hand at 25 on paper and 50 (yards) on steel and not from a rest or bench (don't have one set up at the PD range). |
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Quoted:
Try the 147gr. I've shot my best groups with the slower heavier bullet out of the 5.0, right at 2" with the 147gr Speer TMJ. My partner shoots his STI Marauder in 9mm better with the faster 115gr fmj. Both pistols function well with every weight and profile we've fed them to date but those seem to do the best for us out of each of the guns. ETA: Don't put up with a shit trigger. For what those guns cost it shouldn't have a shit trigger and STI will fix it under warranty paying shipping both ways. ETA 2: Shot the 115 and 124gr fmj as well as the 124gr and 147 GDHP. In the TAC 5.0 the lighter, faster bullets grouped low for me with the heavier bullets shooting point of aim. The 5.0 is equipped with a bull barrel and Heinie straight eight ledge night sights. We've put the same ammo through my partners Marauder and he shoots high with the heavier bullets with the faster, lighter bullets shooting point of aim. Marauder is equipped with standard barrel and busing with adjustable rear and fiber optic front. Understand we're shooting free hand at 25 on paper and 50 (yards) on steel and not from a rest or bench (don't have one set up at the PD range). Thanks for the input. I noticed one other thing going on. The ambi safety on the left side (std side) of the gun isn't blended to the frame so it hits the knuckle of my thumb and is the reason I can't de-activate the grip safety consistently. A les Baer I have here has a really nice blend and I get a rock solid feel on the backstrap, where the STI safety creates room for play in my grip. I'm going to have to put some tape on the grip safety to build it up, shoot it, decide if I want to keep it, and then dremel blend it and KG coat it if I decide to keep it. The barrel fit is good so it should shoot. The safety is not ideal. It doesn't fit the backstrap profile of the gun. |
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I found a kimber safety in my parts box, modded it so I could get a good grip on the pistol, and shot the gun again. The pistol is accurate. Probably shoots just about exactly where the trigger breaks but the trigger itself despite being 3.3 lbs is a bit rough (not smooth) so consistently breaking the shot without movement of the gun is not simple. The front sight is smaller and hard to see clearly where glock is sharp. I and another shooter both compared it to a wilson barreled g19 and found it to be only about 20% more accurate. That pistol was a $1000 gun. It seemed to beg the question of whether the sti was worth more than double.
I believe the sti would be clearly better with a smooth trigger but the whole experience made me reconsider a custom built glock 17. At least when you shoot glock people dont automatically expect you to have a serious unfair advantage. |
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Commander sized guns are always going to have lower front sights, unless you have an adjustable rear sight installed.
In my experience, STIs will generally do about 2" at 25 yards with no trouble, and some will do better. I haven't run across a STI yet that didn't have a pretty good trigger with only a bit of sear spring tweaking required. The main benefit of using a 2011? Not having to shoot a Glock. |
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I don't have that model but my STI Elektra .45acp is extremely accurate, it amazes me. I agree with everyone else, have STI fix it for you, STI's are crazy accurate so don't accept anything less. I've had my eye on a 2011 for quite awhile but I can't afford another, my Elektra was $1200+ but SOOOO worth it. I wasn't very keen on a "plastic" trigger at first but after shooting the gun I love it so much I wouldn't dare change it.
Good luck with your gun, they are fantastic guns and if it's not impressing you there's a problem with the gun, hope you get it working as it should! |