ken_mays

Heckuva deal with the 507 included!

My personal entry into the category, Kabar Dozier Hunter https://www.knifecenter.com/item/KA4062FG/KA-BAR-4062FG-Dozier-Folding-Hunter-3-inch-Black-Plain-Blade-Foliage-Green

Full length recoil guides make it easier to remove the top end as a unit. They also help make the slide action seem smoother since the spring is bound to the rod and isn't rubbing against the usually rough inside of the recoil spring tunnel. A 5" 1911 can be a bit more complicated to take down in the field unless you have a staple or other bit of wire, but shorter variants tend not to have that problem because you can lift the rod out without having to capture the spring first. I absolutely hate the two-piece guide rods that screw together, however... those definitely require the right tool to take down and have a habit of coming unscrewed at the worst moment. But if a 1-piece or GI guide rod comes in a gun, I tend to live with it and rarely swap one out for the other.

I believe RRA's Chuck and Mark Larson learned their 1911 craft under Les Baer when they were all working in the Springfield Custom shop, then later when they joined Les when he started his own shop. Mark passed away back in 2013 but RRA survives. I have a 6" RRA and it's an excellent shooter, as you would expect.

Thanks!

I’ve bought several used range guns. None of them were even on the on-ramp of the road to being shot out.

I finally got a few rounds through one of these and was pretty impressed with it. The trigger was something I could work with, and the sights and safety were a big improvement over even the MkIII standards. Accuracy was good too.

I usually tell people who have problems with Glocks to remember to point their support hand thumb at the target. This forces you to roll your wrists forward which gets the sights on target. People always say "lock your wrists" but that means nothing me to at all, my wrists don't have keyholes Over time, you just automatically tell yourself, "Pick up a Glock, thumb toward target"

Some 9mm 1911s have extended ejectors installed that will be too long to allow ejection of a loaded .38 Super round. From what I have experienced, you can often get by with just one shortened .38 ejector for both 9 and .38. Like someone suggested above, make sure the .38 case head will slide up the breechface. Chances are you may need to also purchase a new extractor and adjust it for .38 as well, since an extractor that will put sufficient tension on a .38 case will not put enough tension on a 9mm case for reliable extraction. You'll need to figure out what ramp style the Garrison uses for the barrel. Generally Springfield uses Wilson/Nowlin style ramped barrels but it's always a good idea to check your personal gun.

I've probably carried too many guns. I still have a bad habit of carrying about anything I have a holster for, but have more or less settled on the M&P, IWI Masada, and SIG P365 at the moment.

I like .40 pretty well and have shot a boatload of it through 2011s and polymer guns. However, I find the Glock 23 and 22 are quite uncomfortable to shoot, especially with factory ammo. The greater recoil seems to magnify all the ergonomic problems that I have with the Glock frame. Service pistols like the M&P for example are just about as easy to find in the $350 range and are far more comfortable to shoot for me.

Hi, I will take this... DM incoming

I'll take it, DM incoming

I have never sent anything out for refinishing personally. Now that Robar is gone, a few other shops seem to be offering NP3, but use at your own risk and check reviews before doing business with anyone. If hard chrome plating is on the table, I've heard good things about APW / Cogan and Ford's Guns, as well as Mahovsky's Metalife, but again it's just hearsay.

How does that Ruger shoot? I admit I've been tempted...

Ah, but they ARE!

The options are specified when you place the build order. Such as, I want this kind of sight, this kind of slide serration, this kind of grip texture, single side or ambi safety, etc. Infinity doesn't have standard models, every gun they make is from a customer order where the customer specifies the configuration.

Thanks for the kind words! It's been a couple years since I shot a USPSA match, so if anyone locally has one I haven't had a chance to shoot one. And at any rate (just my personal taste), I have zero interest in the Atlas offerings. I like the styling of the Infinity guns more, and at this price level, let's be honest, aesthetics are a big part of it. They offer a bewildering set of options via their Gunbuilder app, including some exclusive stuff they have patents on like the interchangeable trigger system, interchangeable breechface, etc. They make every part in-house including barrels and sights. And it's worth mentioning the fact that Sandy Strayer helped invent the darn thing back in 1993, so why buy from a Johnny-come-lately? Not a knock on Atlas, I hear great feedback from their owners... it's just my somewhat old-school opinion. At that level, you are really looking for something done exactly the way you like it; there is no reason to settle for something you might not be 100% thrilled with. I do hear that Atlas is probably little more flexible and a little less my-way-or-the-highway than the Strayer clan, and the wait time can certainly be a factor.

I would resell to collectors and buy more rounds of Wolf or Brown Bear or whatever modern steel case you can find the cheapest.

I've seen them. I haven't had the opportunity to shoot one. They have been around since about 2009 which makes them a new kid on the 2011 block. The 2011 patent filed by Tripp and Strayer (aka STI and SVI) expired in 2004 so that's why all the copycats popped up shortly thereafter. Atlas has a good rep from all I've seen, and have primarily been focused on the competition market. They make most of their parts and buy some from other outfits like Phoenix Trinity. They charge nearly as much as Infinity but their lead times are a lot shorter. The 2011 space is getting a little more crowded now that old school 1911 players like Nighthawk have entered the game. My personal opinion is that better values exist if all you want is a custom 2011 for competition. And if I were going for the ultimate spare-no-expense 2011, I would probably buy another Infinity. But that's just me.

A halfway decent comp will pull a lot of recoil energy out of the system and will make hot rounds almost mandatory.

I Cerakoted one of those LDAs not too long ago. It was interesting yet frustrating. "Frusteresting", I guess you'd say. I seem to recall the spring on the cam inside the hammer was a pain to get back in the right spot. I always thought they had pretty good DA triggers for what they were.

Milspec worked over by Elite Custom Guns.

The 10mm round will sit higher than a .45 because of the smaller case diameter. Depending on your particular feedlip design, it may or may not work well. When I shot .40 single stack in USPSA, I used .45 mags with a good rate of success.

I've had a similar issue with the RIA gun and some mags, like Wilsons, which sit fairly high. The mag lips drag on the bottom of the slide. First thing I'd suggest is to try different mags (which is probably what they will recommend). Also, 10mm will often feed fine out of generic .45 ACP magazines, so maybe that is something you can experiment with.