Dolomite_supafly

Maybe at some point in my life but no more. Now I am kind of soft and gooey, especially in the middle. Dolomite

Already spoke to DA and they agreed the security was breaking the law. The problem is finding an officer who would respond and be willing to start the process. Even if the process did get started the DA said they would just drop the case. I think another problem is LE doesn't want to upset the venue. The venue used to use actual LE but started using security instead. I think LE wants the side jobs back so they are less than inclined to make waves. LE is upset they lost this side job but they are hoping to get it back as well. I think it might be time to reopen the state's investigation into them. I got the ball rolling a year or so ago but dropped it after the show promoter paid me. Dolomite

If they did start outlawing guns the last to go would be revolvers, leverguns and single/double shots. Most countries that currently have gun bans allow a person to own at least one of these. Rimfires would also be the last to go regardless of platform. Dolomtie

Never blamed you for the issues with the pistol. I said what I said because cost was a consideration initially when buying the S&W, as opposed to the Equinox in the first place, so cost was probably an issue when you wanted to trade it in as well. Or at least that is how it would seem. I guess I was wrong and I am glad you let the dealer know. Hopefully the dealer does the right thing as well. I just get tired of seeing people trade their problems without letting people know. We have all been burned but it is one thing to trade off a range only gun but the S&W 380's are for one purpose, self defense. And if a self defense gun isn't 100% then it is a liability. Glad you got a much better pistol. I have a friend that is purchasing one to replace her S&W revolver. Dolomite

The majority of isses with AR's is not related to the lowers but the components used in their build. Dolomite

Now i hope you told the shop you traded it in to about the issues with it. If not you may have just traded your life for someone elses. If you didn't tell them you probably put someone else's life in danger now. Considering the majority of the users of the bodyguard are probably going to be women, who don't shoot as often as men, they will likely never know there is an issue until it is too late. If you didn't let the shop know it has issues then shame on you, both as a person and a member of the gun community. I would be very surprized if you did knowing you were trying to get the most out of it. Hopefully it doesn't cost the life of someone or if it does maybe it will be someone you care about. Also, I wonder if there are any legal liabilities on your part for knowing it has issues and not disclosing them. Afterall S&W already has a record of you knowing it has issues. Dolomite

That has been my observations as well. If and when I buy Aguila I always buy the pistol match. Dolomite

It could and yes I have done similar things in my builds. Too often it seems anymore. Dolomite

I have tried Botach on several occassions and it has never worked out well for me. Love the stuff they sell and for the prices but as far as Botach is concerned it generally is too good to be true. You haven't seen the hassle yet until you start the return process. Not so much the returning part to them but getting all your money in a timely manner. I had them bill me for something that was supposed to be in stock but wasn't. After a few phone calls I was told it could take weeks to get my money and that they would send a check. In the end I think they credited the account I used to purchase but not for a couple of weeks. I have even had them on the phone to verify something was in stock when I hit the order button. A few weeks later and no item so I called. I was told the item had been out of stock for months even though the warehouse worker said they had thousands on the phone. Just so you know the Botach company has some shady business practices. They are being sued by the Feds over some fraudulent contracts. One was a $300 million dollar contract in which they supplied Afghan coalition forces in Afghanistan with 40 year old Chinese made ammunition. Another recent issue with them is when they were selling Aimpoints as new that were actually surplus and that Aimpoint would not warranty. They are suspected in money laundering schemes as well as illegal arms deals overseas. Dolomite

If you are still have issues with the trigger not resetting let me know. I can walk you through the fix and it is easy. Because of tolerances the disconnect can sometimes not get enough of a bite on the hammer. It is normal but rare these days. Not sure what ammo you were using but for the first few hundred orunds on a new build I would use American ammo like Remington green box or the Federal bulk packs. After 100 rounds you should be able to fire almost anything you want. Also, don't over oil the gun. A light coat on the bolt and bolt carrier for break in. A little grease on the hammer where it contacts the disconnect as well as on the section that contacts the trigger would also help. Definitely a good looking stick you have. I absolutely love the Hogue grips, as a matter of fact that is all I use anymore. I have also always been fond of the Stag lowers, never heard of a problem out of them. Dolomite

Some of the best "budget" subsonic 22 is the Winchester Subsonic HP. It shoots the best out of all my guns. And it is Hollywood quiet with my suppressor. In my dedicated AR the hammer is louder than the shot itself. In my bolt gun the steel ringing at 100 ayrds is louder than the shot. The problem with CCI Subsonic ammo is the driving band on the bullet is higher than normal. This isn't a problem, and actaully helps, in sporter chambered guns but in match chambered semi autos it can cause cycling problems. As far as true "bulk" ammo the Wincester 555's or 333's are about the best right now. It all works in cycles, Federal was teh greatest a few years ago but is having issues now. Remongton is probably the worst right now. Dolomite

Ammunition. If you walk into the building with any kind of ammunition they will take it. Even if it is in a box. You are not allowed to leave and take it to your car. You will be detained until you give the ammunition up. They take it from you and dump it into a cup then point at a sign they have posted saying no magazines or ammunition. After they do it and the customer has left they sit around laughing about it. I've watched them do it dozens of times to people. The man loud mouth security guard acts like he is LE. He even tells people he will arrest them for disorderly conduct if they try to sell a firearm outside of the show. He has laid hands on vendors, including a member here. I even called the local DA and they confirmed they were breaking the law by taking the ammunition. The DA said a private entity cannot legal take another private entity's property without due process. The security guard owner is not liked among the local LE either. But the DA said they had more important things to worry about than a $20 box of ammunition. Same thing as if I posted a sign on my property that said no $20 bills then when someone enetered my property with a $20 I could sieze it based on their mentality. They got me once and never again but I see them take hundreds of dollars of ammunition each show. Mine cost me $20 in defensive ammo. Dolomite BTW they are Knoxville Contract Security Division and are a private security company. No doubt intentional considering the local LE is K.C.S.D.. They wear uniforms that look similar to the Knox County Sheriif's Department. They have patches and badges that have KCSD on them in the same style. The patches are shaped exactly the same as well. To a person who didn't know they woudl assume they were LE but they are not. It would seem someone intentionally looking like LE, acting like LE and threateneing to arrest people would be impersonating and officer. They are owned and operated by Gene Farmer, a well know idiot.

+1,000 The majority of people will never wear out a lower regardless of how it is made or how it is protected. Dolomite

It is actually used a lot more than you might think. I have seen a couple of lowers sent away for engraving come back missing paint chips. They were factory lowers that had never been assembled. Annodizing is cheap in bulk, generally under $10 per lower and some even cheaper. But painting is a even cheaper than that. Painting also requires very little specialized equipment. To expound on what rgaper has said. The fit between parts has nothing to do with quality. When parts are made they are made to a set of tolerances set by the customer. And those tolerances can stack for or against you depending on what you want. I have assembled lowers from the same lot using parts kits from the same lot and had trigger pulls vary from miserable to something I would pay for. It all has to do with tolerance stacking. Now some makers minimize the tolerances while others are not that worried about it. The biggest asset to durability is annodizing as it adds hardness to the surface layer. Once you get below that surface layer though most lowers are going to wear the same. Even cast lowers are durable if they are annodized but because of how they are made they can have tolerance issues if they are used straight out of mold. Dolomite

It is not illegal to sell a firearm as part of a private party sale. The fairgrounds can have a policy against selling firearms in the parking lot, or anything else for that matter, but that does not make it law. Private property owners can set their own policies but just because someone violates them doesn't make them criminals. Private party policies are not an arrestable offense if violated. What a private property owner can do is ask you to leave the property and you must leave or risk being arrested or cited for trespassing. They can ask you to leave the property for any reason or no reason at all. Problem is most of these rent a cops have no clue about the law. When actual officers work these shows there tends to be a lot less problems. Here in Knoxville at the RK Shows the security steal from customers all the time stating it is their policy to do so. Good part is the show promoter will hand out money to who ever complains about it. Bad part is you never get your items back. Dolomite

Very few manufacturers do this and it shouldn't be one of the criteria in determining a good lower. Anyone can thread their lower to do the same thing. It does make swapping buffer tubes or slings plates easier but other than that it serves no real purpose. I do like the idea and have done it myself but for most people it is not needed. Dolomite

It is a rarity to see one in that condition. As I said do not do anything to it. Take a zip tie and lock the hammer down to prevent people from cocking the gun. I would be intersted to see if it left the factory with those grips. Dolomite

Happened 20+ years ago while in the military. I was working with another guy when his pistol belt hit fell to the ground with a holstered 1911 attached. As the holstered gun hit the ground it went off. Destroyed the holster, a candy machine and put a hole in the wall. I was hit in the lower leg. It was a soft tissue hit that hit nothing vital. Had some dead nerves for a number of years. It actually didn't bleed that much either until the doctors worked on me. Looked like a cigar burn and felt like a pulled muscle. I was back to work a few days later and back running a couple of weeks later. Dolomite

As far as lowers go there are a few options. Forged, billet and cast. Forged lowers tend to be the most durable because there is some inherent hardening involved with the forging process. With today's CNC finishing there are no longer the tolerance issues of past with some forged lowers. I would consider a forged lower the best option for a lightweight, durable lower. Most forged lowers are forged and machined according to milspec standards. Billet lowers are milled from a single block of aluminum so they tend to have features not found on forged or cast lowers. They also tend to be heavier because of the extra features as well. They can have milspec features like annodizing but a true billet lower does not meet the standards to be called milspec. Because some billet lowers are not machined from forge blocks they may not be as durable as forged lowers or billet lowers machined from forged blocks of aluminum. Billet lowers are not milspec because milspec calls for a forged lower. Then there is cast. Avoid cast lowers as they are made by pouring aluminum into a mold. Their tolerances can be way off and the aluminum tends to be of lower quality. I haven't seen any new cast lowers in over a decade so the odds of finding one is remote. Cast is not milspec and is generally made from very soft aluminum because soft aluminum casts better than the bettew alloys. When talking about lowers make sure they are annodized according to milspec. Some makers, even major ones, have started coating their lowers rather than annodizing. I assume for cost savings but it does very little for the durability of the lower. Annodizing adds a great amount of surface hardness to the aluminum that coating alone cannot do. And if a billet lower is annodized it will have the same surface hardness as a forged lower that is annodized. And as far as milspec goes it is the minimum standard, not the highest standard. Kind of like a "D" on a test. Enough to pass but far from the best. And just because something isn't milspec doesn't mean it is junk it just means it isn't part of the milspec standard. Boron nitride coatings are far better than the phosphate coatings currently being used but even though they are better the boron nitride coatings are not part of the milspec standards. The forges are the ones who actually forge the lowers. Those rough forgings, without serial numbers, are then sent to the makers who finish the machining processes and add serial numbers. It is those makers who then engrave them according to their customer's needs. There are a lot more "makers" than "forgers", if that makes sense. As far as brands go most milspec forged lowers are going work well. The ones you listed are great to build off of. I will say stay away from HESSEE, VULCAN or BLACKTHORNE products. They are junk and the company itself uses shady business practices. Dolomite

Definitely nice enough to have its age verified by Colt. If it is a first generation gun it can be worth a lot of money, especially in the condition there. Just to reiterate, do not alter or try to polish anything on the gun. Wipe it down with some oil then contact Colt. Dolomite

FMJ is better than a pointy stick but far from as good as a decent HP. Dolomite

I walked around for about 5 minutes after taking a hit from a 45 ACP FMJ. I didn't even know I had been hit for the first 3 or so minutes. Same hit with a decent HP and it would have been a different story. A HP will expand to a size larger than the caliber and most FMJ's will not. This creates a larger permanent wound channel giving a greater chance of hitting something vital. FMJ penetrates better than a HP but that is about it. And in the case of a 45 ACP it can be too much of a good thing when it comes to penetration. People tend to use FMJ's to reach vitals but in the case of 45 ACP there is a good chance it will reach vitals even with a HP. With a FMJ there is more of a chance it will exit the target and endanger other. With a 25 ACP a FMJ is a must to get to vitals but not so with a 45 ACP. Dolomite

Mine is not used for fencing. It is used for correction so it is used sparingly. There are some dogs, like yours, that can exploit the weakness of the system. Because mine is rarely used any more he has no clue when the battery is good or bad. Dolomite

A HP, by design, is better than FMJ for defensive purposes. If a gun will not function with a HP then either fix the gun or shoot FMJ's. If it is jsut a range toy then FMJ's or anything it will feed is fine. But if it is a dedicated defensive gun I would fix it before I would carry FMJ's especially in 45 ACP. Dolomite

Except for defensive purposes. FMJ is more likely to pass through an intended target than a defensive round. I have had countless 1911's and with very little work all have fired everything I have ever fed them. As a matter of fact the majority would feed HP's without any work at all. As far as recoil spring pressure goes as long as the extraction and ejection aren't having issues you should be fine. Too stiff of a spring can increase felt recoil as well. Make sure to grease, not oil, the slide to frame fit. Grease the locking lugs and the barrel where it passes through the barrel bushing as well. 1911's work best greased. I use a molybendum disulfide grease available as a wheel bearing grease in Walmart. A large grease gun sized tube is less than $5 and will last a long time. Dolomite