Q: As I have grown older, I can't make out a sight picture as sharply as I once could. What kind of sights would help?
A:  High definition sights would be of benefit. That is, a larger rear sight notch relative to the front blade width, giving wider "light bars" at the sides of the front blade picture.

Q:  What can be done to a pistol to allow a magazine to be seated faster?
A:  A lighter magazine catch spring for openers. Then you could decide whether you want the bottom of the grip frame milled in a taper for faster magazine insertion. Or, you could add a Smith and Alexander magazine well.

Q:  I'm having trouble racking my slide with a heavier recoil spring installed. What is the fix?
A:  Have frontal grasping grooves cut on your slide.

Q:  I've noticed that my .45 acp brass varies in length. Obviously, this creates a headspace problem that results in larger groups. Do I have to trim all of my brass to the same length to solve this problem?
A:  If you handload for your .45, and you use a 200 grain plated swc, like the Rainier, you set the headspace from the semi-wadcutter shoulder to the slide face by having an appropriate throat cut ahead of the chamber. Using the swc shoulder as your point of positioning, headspace will be absolutely uniform, provided you do not change the die setting.

Q:  What is the exact reason for bullet dispersion horizontally and vertically when firing from a machine rest?
A:  Aside from the obvious necessity for seating the grip frame firmly in the rubber clamp of the machine and preventing any movement by securely clamping the machine rest to the shooting bench, horizontal dispersion is caused by a bad barrel hood fit and vertical dispersion is a result of a loose bushing.

Q:  When I recently allowed another shooter to fire my 1911 pistol on the range, he had a double fire in very rapid succession, ending with the pistol firing the second shot over the top of the berm. What could cause this problem?
A:  Gripping the pistol too loosely and not locking the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints. The pistol actually recoils into the flesh of the shooting hand and recoils , then bounces back, tripping the trigger for another quick shot. A bit of coaching will usually clear up the double bump problem in a relatively new pistol shooter.

Q:  I have inherited a fairly large quantity of .45 acp ammunition and 9mm Luger ammunition. The .45 is headstamped FA 39 and FA 40. The 9X19 ammo has a green case and the bullet is painted black. Are these safe to fire in my series 70 pistol?
A:  The FA .45's are corrosive and would require a very thorough cleaning after firing, preferably with one of the older bore cleaners designed to neutralize chlorate residue. The Luger ammo is a German WW-II expedient with steel cases and sintered iron projectiles. Firing these would result in damage. I would advise selling all of your inherited ammo to cartridge collectors, rather than firing it.

Q:  I'm thinking of having my Series 70 Colt ejection port lowered and faired like the Gold Cup. What is the actual purpose of the fairing?
A:  According to the literature I received with my 1957 Gold Cup (SN 896) the fairing was designed to allow steel cases to clear the port without jamming, since they eject at a different point than brass cases. A case in point would be cartridges with aluminum or steel cases, since neither of these metals expand and contract exactly like brass cases.

Q:  How are the parts on a Luger straw colored? Can this be duplicated today?
A:  They are heat treated in a very precise furnace atmosphere. I finish every Luger refinish by strawing the appropriate parts.