Dolomite_supafly

The STI Spartan is a RIA just with STI branding. The Spartan pistol have Armscor frames, slides and barrels. The pistols as a whole are made by RIA (Armscor) in the Phillipines then sent here. The STI internal parts are shipped to the Armscor plant then the guns are assembled then returned to the US for sale. The frames and slides of RIA (Armscor) guns including the STI Spartan are made from investment castings. They are not forged and this was in a STI press release. They are the same except for a few STI internal parts and a few external differences. To me if I was going to buy a Spartan I would just buy the RIA and put the parts in myself and save a ton. Or better yet find a gun with a forged slide and frame and go from there. Dolomite

The last time I was at the Pressman estate, which was at least 5 years ago, they had dogs that made me uncomfortable about getting out of the car. I pulled up to one end of the warehouse and honked my horn then went around back to the "loading area" and honked it again. After a few minutes the owners came out. They showed us a around for a few minutes then lets us look around so long as we didn't take or disturb anything. The on site church is amazing with all the stained glass. There are a lot of buildings that are caving in on themselves and could eb dangerous to go into. We did and saw some neet looking items. Most of the buildings are long void of anything of interest or value mostly because the estate was the party place for decades. When the owners now took possession they said it took months to "convince" the locals that they could no longer party there. He even said they were threatened and had people taking pot shots at the factory when they wouldn't allow people to party there anymore. Farther down the road but sitll on the same plot is a large golf course with some interesting buildings that are still being used. They almost look like dutch cottages. Dolomite

It cost me $20 to replace the part that had to be replaced, the extractor. I could have sent it in for repair but I didn't want to wait and it is an easy part to install. The rest of the parts cost another $60 or so and those were to replace the MIM parts used inside. The MIM parts could have easily lasted a long time without issue and some smiths are reporting the MIM parts fail at about the same rate as forged or machined parts. Personally I can't see a cluster of metal fuzed together being as strong as a solid peice that is machined or forged and that is why I replaced the parts. There are plenty of high end guns who are using MIM parts. Springfield (which is also forged in Brazil) does, Kimber does (almost 100% of the internals are MIM), S&W does, Para Does, STI does, Taurus does and even Colt, who pioneered the technology, does. The only production 1911 on the market that has zero MIM parts is the Sig 1911. It is a process that was developed to reduce costs. MIM parts work well except when you get through the surface or at least that is what I have been told. MIM is surface hardened as part of the bonding process and when you work through the surface they parts wear quickly, again according to what I have been told. For those who have no intentions of modifying their 1911 internals there is no need to replace the MIM parts unless they fail, which may never happen. But if you do replace parts and they had to be filled to fit, which is almost always required, then you need to replace those parts. It is possible to take a bone stock gun and improve the trigger without replacing any parts. A little tweaking of the springs as well as the use of a good grease go a long way towards making the gun's trigger feel better. All guns have their positives and negatives but as long as you have a good foundation you are going to have a decent gun in the end. The American Classic has a very tight slide to frame fit. It is tighter than my COlt and was tighter than the RIA's I compared it to before buying it. I knew that as long as those two parts fit together well I could build the gun into a decent performer. I haven't had to replace anything to improve accuracy because it is a very accurate gun becaues the barrel to bushing fit is extremely tight and the barrel locks up tightly. Dolomite

I almost bought a PT1911. I bought another Taurus and after that debacle I will not own another. The barrel was extremely rough, the customer service was non existent and in the end I had to spend money to replace the missing parts on a new gun. This wasn't a PT1911 but it was a Taurus. Dolomite

I couldn't be happier. It has went bang every single time and is very accurate. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another or recommend it. Dolomite

+1 The owner(s) are good people that will allow you to look around with permission. It is a very nice piece of property with plenty of old buildings for you to explore. Dolomite

Bubbatn your box is full. Here is the response to your PM you sent me: Dolomite

When I was shopping for my budget 1911 I was looking at two, the Metro Arms American Classic II and the RIA offerings. I wanted a 1911 in 9mm so at the time I was going to buy a RIA because AC didn't make one in 9mm. That was the plan until I was able to hold and compare the AC and the RIA next to each other. That is when the doubt set in because the AC felt like a better built gun. It was also better finished. I spent at least 20 minutes trying to convince myself that I wanted that 9mm but decided that quality would win out over caliber. I bought the ACII and couldn't be happier. It shoots extremely well and actually shoots better than my Colt that the ACII was bought to replace as a carry gun. I have handed the gun to several people, including 1911 people and even they say that it is a very nice gun. Now I don't doubt that the RIA guns are running great and shoot well but for me the Metro Arms guns felt like a better built gun when I stood there comparing both side by side. The RIA's and the Metro Arms are made in different factories in the Phillipines. Here is my thread where I took my new ACII completely apart for inspection. http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/handguns/46092-american-classic-ii-picture-heavy-56k-beware.html The only complaint I have is the bluing seems a bit thin on my ACII. It is showing alittle bit of wear on the corners but then again this gun is carried everyday in a holster that doesn't do a very good job of protecting the gun. Here are some links to help you decide: The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site - Firestorm/MetroArms The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site - Rock River Arms I would definitely buy the gun again. If you are ever in the Knoxville area you are more than welcome to come to my house and shoot some of my ammo out of the ACII. Dolomite

Some jurisdictions have no clue what they are required to do or are just too lazy to do it. My county clerk has no clue what the law is and she determines what gets to the DA. I went up there to files criminal charges for threats after my brother said he was going to kill me, this is after he had already tried twice. Clerk said that my brother didn't break any criminal laws by making "open air" threats as she called them. She went on to say his threats were a civil matter and to sue him for liable. I did a WTF and after a few more words I just walked out. My brother brings up his mental status every time he gets arrested and they send him for a mental evaluation in lieu of any criminal charges. As far as running firearms my jusrisdiction will run the numbers but only if they have the gun in hand. The reason is if it comes back stolen through the NCIC they have to have access to it. Personally I do not trust them because of how they have acted in the past. Even today unless it is something really serious I would rather not call LE and bring them into my life. This is coming from a long time LE who has, or at least had, friends in my county. Dolomite

Look at the nose of the extractor. It should be angled and not square. If it isn't kind of rounded and somewhat thin you may need to hit it with a file or some sandpaper. After you have it contoured patially insert the extractor and put a little pressure on the part sticking out opposite to the extractor hook. You are trying to tighten it up a little. If the extractor is already a snug fit to put it in then there is not need to do this but if the extractor falls in or out of place it needs to be done. After that bevel the edges like in the link below. What was happeneing with mine is the extractor nose wasn't going deep enough into the groove at the rim of the cartridge. This was causing the cartridge to sit farther forward that it needed to be. As long as the ejected round was an empty it was fine but a loaded round was too long to clear the port. Here is a good site with some decent information about tweaking a 1911. 1911 Reliability Secrets Dolomite

Problem I see is right now a stolen gun WILL be recovered because LE are the ones running it. If we put it in the hands of everyday people there are some out there who would just keep it hidden. Not saying everyone but there are people out there that would not turn the gun in that they just bought or that wouldn't get involved if they did find out a gun is stolen. People tend to "look away" rather than get involved anymore. I was in Walmart the other day as the paramedics were responding to a person who had fallen. Turns out the person who fell decided to climb up the shelves and when he slipped and fell he was hurt. He looked as though he was already posturing for the upcoming law suit. The management spoke to several witness who said they say the man climbing the shelves but the problem was none of the witnesses wanted to get involved. Had I witnessed it I would have gladly been a witness as to what happened, not for or against anybody but just a witness to say what happened. Dolomite

It has a sling swivel stud on the bayonet lug from the factory. Dolomite

It has been about two and a half months since I posted this thread so I thought I would give an update on how things are going. The gun is still going strong and I am still very, very pleased with the gun. Since buying the gun the only thing that I HAD to replace was the extractor. It was out of spec as far as length goes and the nose was not properly contoured. I also replaced the internals like the sear, disconnect, trigger and sear spring. I also replaced the beavertail, mainspring and mainspring cup. Nothing was wrong with the factory pieces but because this was going to be my EDC gun I wanted to replce the MIM parts with known good parts. All this was done within a week of purchasing the gun. Since then I have no less than 500 trouble free rounds down the tube and most being on the hotter side. And since replacing the extractor I have had ZERO issues. Even with the out of spec extractor I had no issues while firing, just when clearing a loaded round form the chamber. The gun is still as tight and accurate as day one. I even got a comment a few weeks ago about how smooth and tight the gun was. My only real complaint I have about the gun is that the bluing is thin. I realize EDC isn't exactly gentle on a firearm but to already have shiny, silver areas of wear is a bit unerving. I am going to be coating the pistol soon to take care of that problem. It really isn't a problem that would affect its function. Other than that the gun is great. And even with the bluing issue I still feel this is a great value. Mechanically the gun compares to guns that cost much more. And even though I added $100 worth of parts it is still a tremendous value. In the end, would I recommend the gun? I do every chance I get. Would I buy another? Without a doubt. Dolomite

And to add a little more about the transfers the FFL's do. He listed the bare minimum of what happens. What also happens is a customer decides to buy a crate or two of Mosin Nagants to give to his family for Christmas. He doesn't notify the shop or give any contact info other than a name. Now the customer ordered the rifles in the summer but doesn't want to take possession of them until right before Christmas so his family doesn't find out. Now the shop has to sit on them wondering when or if the person who bought them will ever come in. Or the shop spends time and money trying to contact the seller to get the buyers information to let the buyer know the rifles are in and in most cases the customer already knows and figures the FFL is a great place to store the guns. I have stood in a shop when normal business came to a screeching halt as dozens of guns come in the door for transfer. And to make matters worse it always seems like the big deliveries happen at the end of the business day. This is why some shops charge what they do because they could be making more money doing things other than transfers. Dolomite

I understand Gunny's position. He must make some money to pay his employees as well as cover every day expenses. He can charge whatever he wants and that will be what leads to his customers happiness and untimately his prosperity or his death as a business. It sounds as though the economy as well as some misguided internal decisions are putting the shop into its last throws of death and I hate to see another option go away but such is life. I have been to Gunny's on a few occasions and even though his gun prices aren't the lowest I don't consider them out of line compared to what others seem to be charging in the area. I called to price a few firearms and in the end their prices were within $25 of the lowest once all the different fees and shipping tallied. To most who are spending $500+ on a firearm $25 more is nothing so long as they feel good about the purchase. Will I go back to Gunny's? Hard to say but it is very doubtful but not because of them but because of me. I have shot on his range but it was in the fall when temps were nice. I did like his range as well as the layout. I never had a problem with any of the employees either. As far as your statement Frontier Firearms. I am farthest from one who belly aches about pricing. If I don't like the pricing I just buy from someone else. You are making a blanket statement against everyone here when most here, including me, do not belly ache. Just as most FFL's do not gouge, most people here or even elsewhere do not complain. There are some people who complain just as there are FFL's that will lie, cheat and steal or cheat customers any chance they get to make a profit. I see it at every show I attend. I have caught them telling customers that ammunition made post June 2009 would expire in 6 months and then sell pre June 09 CCI Stingers for $27 a box and Federal Lightnings for $6 a box to that same customer. I have seen FFL's selling their battery operated 1x red dot Trijicon ACOG's for the great price of $750 to unknowledgeable customers (If you don't know there are no ACOG's that take batteries). I have also seen FFL's selling obviously home dipped ammunition as green tips. So in assuming that the few who complain must be everyone here you must also acknowledge that the few FFL's that lie, cheat and steal must be all of them, including you. I have honestly been trying to make my way to your store since it opened. I have never stepped foot inside but based on the fact that you see all potential customers as a problem I will save you the headaches or belly aches that is. Dolomite

The groups have more to do with the reloads than the age of the rifle. Even the best factory ammunition will not compare to most people's handloads once you find a handload your rifle likes. People ask me if relaoding saves me money and I reply that it doesn't save me any moeny at all. After the puzzled look I explain I spend just as much money as I did before but now I get to shoot more. Also, quality improves a lot when handloading and that is my main reason for reloading and not cost. A few more things to look at on your rifle. Make sure the barrel isn't touching the stock anywhere whether it is on or off a bag. If it has a synthetic stock the end can flex enough to touch the barrel. Even the light pressure can change the harmonics and throw rounds. Wood isn't as bad but the barrel still needs to be free flaoted because wood can change with humidity and temp causing issues as well. I was working on a Ruger 77/22 yesterday that had this issue. It wouldn't group better than 1" at 50 yards. After I put a spacer between the stock and the action at the front screw the barrel was no longer touching. The next set of groups had the rounds touching. To test take a dollar bill and slide it between the stock and barrel. It should not bind until it reaches the recoil lug. If it does then some releiving needs to be done. You can do it by using a spacer like I did or the better way is to sand the abrrel channel of the stock to give you the clearance it needs. Something I did that resulted in more consistent rounds was prep the brass to be the same. I use a flash hole uniformer as well as a primer pocket uniformer. The tools cost less than a pound of powder and in my opinion are worth the effort. You only have to do it once and after that continue to receive the benefits. And with that try to sort the brass by the same brand, mixing up brass can results in irratic results because some brass has smaller volumes resulting in higher pressures and higher velocities. You could also look into bedding the action in the stock. This helps keep the variables induced by the weather at bay. It does take a littel bit of skill and some patients to get a decent bed but once it is done it can be very satisfying once you see the gains. And finally make sure your barrel is free of copper. Clean it good using a decent copper remover. After that fire a few rounds to foul the barrel again. I have found that most barrels shoot better after they have started to foul. This applies to centerfires as well as rimfires. One of my previous Savages wouldn't group well until I had a lot of rounds through it. It fired the best group ever after firing roughly 250 rounds over the course of 6 months without cleaning. Every rifle is a different animal and as such you need to develop what your "animal" needs to perform. It looks like you are on your way but I would be willing to bet you can get better with a little more tweaking of the variables. There are a lot more things you can do to increase accuracy but most are overkill on a hunting rig. Dolomite

If he does a lot of moving and walking around I would recommend a sling that attaches to two points on the gun. A single point tends to shift as well as swing around smacking you in your knees or in your naughty bits. If you use a sling that attaches to two points it tends to stick close to your body and doesn't move around a whole lot unless you want it to. This keeps it from moving around or falling into equipment where it can get hung up. If he would ever need to run with it hanging from a single point it can be very painful as it swings wildly. I started using a single point then realized that it was wearing out my knees as well as getting caught on things like door knobs and such. When I switched to a dual point sling it made my life a whole lot easier. As far as how I am not really sure either as I don't use a sling with my shotgun. I am not sure if you would be interested but I have a Choate full length stock with a pistol grip that would fit your shotgun. It is like new and was on a gently used shotgun that I bought from a LE buddy of mine. PM me if you are interested, it is cheaper than you could ever think of buying one. It is the stock attached to the shotgun in the picture. Dolomite

Sounds like a great shooter. Glad everything seems to work well together. As far as Tula give it another try after you get a few hundred rounds down the tube. My rifle had a fair amount of rounds down the tube before giving Tula a try. It cycles in my rifle great and out of the 16" barrel chronographs at 2823. It definitely isn't made for match accuracy but is accurate enough and seems reliable enough for me to stash some for a rainy day. If and when you make it out we will chronograph your most accurate load as well as do your trigger. That way a ballistics chart can be made to help you with distant targets. Dolomite

AR15.com is the worst when it comes to people parroting what the few elitests atest to. I am a memebr there and ahve been for a long time. I agree with 99% of what is said but the 1 percenters are the ones who make it seem as though everyone elses AR's are junk unless they are wearing the most expensive equipment. I am and have always been of the opinion if it works for what you want it to do with it then go with it. I have been overseas and have used my personal equipment, not firearms, to keep myself safe as well as those I was protecting. I can also say I didn't spend as much as some of the guys over there that believe that their piece of equipment made of unobtainium is infintely better than my equipment. In the end my equipment never failed and neither did theirs, which is better?, I don't know but I did spend less for mine leaving more money for other things. I can say that some, not all, equipment is worth the money but some is nothing more the proverbial cup of tactical coolaid that the manufaturer wants everyone to drink from. And if you look around there are low cost alternatives to most of the high end stuff you see and I am not talking about Chinese stuff but quality American made stuff. As Warbid said the most important part of a AR that is going to be used for life and death situations is the bolt. Of all the mecahnical failures I have personally seen 90% or better was something related to the bolt or what was inside the bolt. Mostly the extractor springs are the cause but if the gas key isn't staked properly it will work loose and put your gun down. Bolts that aren't MPI tested and shot peened have a tendency to break as well. Do they break more than some that are?. That is hard to say but in a life and death situation you want to make sure to try to prevent any failures. Second to the bolt is the fire control parts and I do see some failures with those as well, mostly disconnects wearing out but I have also seen hammer and trigger pins break. I haven't seen a lot of hammer and trigger springs fail, I know they do happen but it has been rare for me to see. As long as you use quality parts you are going to have a rifle that will last thousands of rounds. On my main rifle I have well over 15,000 firing cycles on the fire control parts. Most are rimfire but it is still being cocked and fired. As Warbird said most parts come from a few makers. At a gun show walk to the nearest table with AR's. Most will have an upper with the keyhole forge mark nowadays. Several different makers all had the same forge marks. Same goes for most of the rest of the parts as well. The difference lies in the details such as the bolt, barrel and fire controls. Here is a good chart to see where different makers stand: http://cdn5.thefirearmsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/070810-ar-chart.jpg Here is a decent comaprison of others with pictures: BCM Complete AR15 Upper and Lower Receivers [2010-01-01] - 03DESIGNGROUP I do use cheap parts but not where it counts. I have used cheap scope mounts and as long as they stay tight I don't care how much I paid or where they came from. My wife's home defense AR in 9mm uses a cheap Chinese angle mount for her Bushnell red dot. It has over 5,000 rounds through the gun now and neither the mount or the scope have failed other than a few sets of batteries. My secondary gun, that gets shot the most now, wears a UTG quick detach front sight. A cheap railed gas block I bought used at a show for $20 then machined to work with my setup. It also wears a cheap set of Chinese rails, for a forward grip, that I attached to a DPMS $35 free float tube. I seriously doubt the rails are going to fail with how they are attached and the best part is the rail cost me less than $5 and perfomrs flawlessly. And finally, I have very few safe queens. Everyone who knows me knows I say all the time my guns are nothing more than tools. If they get dropped, scratched or abused I don't care as long as they still function. If they fail from being used, even used hard, I don't want or need them anymore. I am by no means and expert on AR's. I am someone who has built quite a few and I have seen failures. I have also bought a lot of junk in the past trying to save a buck but in the end it has always reared its ugly head. And as I said before you don't need to spend a ton to get a quality gun if you shop around. Dolomite

Thanks, I may have jumped the gun as well and I am sorry. I just hate when people think I am a gear queer when I am the farthest from it. I am a firm beleiver that even if it is cheap as long as it works why not use it. I do have some higher end stuff but those items are filling critical roles where failure is not an option. I have never recommended anything DD, not because I don't think they are good but because I have never owned any DD stuff. Even some of the highly regarded gear I will not recommend because I think that they are not a good value. As I have said early on and very often to people, it doesn't take a lot of money to have a quality, reliable and accurate AR. What is does take is selecting the right components to ensure you are getting the best bang for your buck. Generally buying a "kit" is the worst thing you could do because they are skimping somewhere to keep the prices down. My main "go to" AR has a SS 16" standard weight match barrel and quality components throughout the gun. The entire gun cost me a hair over $800 to build by shopping around and I have never had a single issue with it since round one. Whenever you want to get together you are welcome at my house. We can get your trigger done and sling some lead at the same time. Dolomite I was going to edit out the links and the other stuff but I think I am gong to leave it up so others can see and possibly get a quality gun for a reasonable amount of money. I am not leaving it up to try to upset you.

My wife's 9mm AR is always real popular with everyone. It gets shot almost every time a gun comes out at my home range. It is easy for everyone, including kids and women to shoot because it has no muzzle blast. It does kick harder than a 5.56 AR because it is blowback but that is what makes it fun for them too. Next would be her 45 ACP Savage bolt gun I built her. It is quiet enough to shoot without hearing protection but packs plenty of punch. It is a quick and handy rifle that was put together for her to use on nuisance animals that show up in the middle of the night. After that it would be the rimfires, an AR and a Paclite equipped Ruger 22/45 seem to be the popular ones. Dolomite

+1000 It is them, as well as their families here at home, that are making sacrifices that most Americans couldn't imagine. We need not forget those who also gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure we are able to celebrate this holiday as well as the holidays that are coming up. Dolomite

What kind of gun and what price? New guns are harder to haggle on while used guns generally can be haggled down a bit. This also depends on the shop as others have said. Dolomite

Wow, just wow. I can understand not wanting to fix it yourself, trust me I do. Problem I have is when a gun, with a known problem, is sold without letting the new buyer know. I can gurantee your friend didn't say " I want to sell this gun and it doesn't work". To me that is nearing fraud in my book and even associating with someone who would do that speaks volumes about you. Yes I have sold guns that had issues but I always let the buyer knew up front what those issues were. The last gun I sold because of a problem was a S&W .22 pistol. I bought it new for over $300 than sold it for $100 a week later when they were still newly introduced guns. I could have easily kept my mouth shut and sold it for over $200 but it just wasn't right. I tried to let S&W fix the problem but they wanted to use one of my lifetime tune ups for a repair. I didn't out of principle because it was a warranty issue related to quality control at the factory. I have had a couple of EAA Witness' over the years. They have all went bang when I pulled the trigger. My last one I shot A LOT and never had an issue with it. With that being said I will probably not pick up another new, not because they have issues but because I don't really care for them. No maker that makes a perfect gun 100% of the time. Dolomite

You are confusing me trying to help with being snobbish. I have helped a number of people on here to get quality guns built for not a lot of money spent for what they got. You don't need to spend a fortune to have a quality gun that shoots well, I don't. But you also don't need to skimp on the most important parts just to save $10 when you are spending the kind of money spend on building their AR's. Like I said their products are good. If I was going to beat them up just to beat them up I would claim everything they make is crap but I didn't, just their fire controls. I am the farthest away from being a gear snob but I do appreciate quality parts where they count. I do not own high end guns or even parts for that matter but what I do own I know have a solid reputation for quality. All of mine were put together sitting at my table using basic hand tools. One more thing, I hope the $875 you spent was on a complete rifle and not a kit and that was the total price including tax and TICS. Even if it was a complete rifle you got had by over $100. If it was a parts kit that you have to supply the lower then you really got had to the tune of at least $200. Delton sells their COMPLETE rilfes for $750, add $20 shipping then add $25 for the tranfer and TICS. At this point you are still in the COMPLETE rifle for less than $800. Del Ton Rifles: Carbine Rifles, Standard Rifle and M4 Carbine Models | Rifles from Del-Ton, Inc. Now if you order your Delton from Buds gun shop the COMPLETE gun shipped to your FFL is $723(this includes their CC fees and shipping insurance) then you pay your $25 fee for Transferring and the TICS and you have $748 total in your Delton as you walk out. I have ordered from Bud's several times so I know how much the "extras" cost. Here are some Bud's examples: ATI DELTON RFTH16-0 223 16 30 $698.00 SHIPS FREE ATI DELTON RFTM16-0 223 16 30 $698.00 SHIPS FREE And remember these are in stock and they will be at a FFL in the Knoxville area within 2 days or at least the guns I have ordered were. There are several FFL's in the area that charge a $15 transfer fee and of course a $10 TICS. There is no reason to spend the $50+ on transfers some dealers charge. Again I woudl like to say you were confusing me trying to help with being snobbish. I am far from it. I am willing to help anyone who needs help and I'll even offer the same to you. You are more than welcome to come to my house and we can do some shooting. I'll show you how to get a decent trigger on your AR with zero takeup for less than the cost of a single round of ammunition, even if you are shooting Wolf. Dolomite