graycrait

best thing about the 1911, other than it works well, is total out of pocket expense has been time and not a whole lot of that really.

The middle column of pistols, including the chrome one with fake mother of pearl grips, are Star BM 9mm, with the third one having an aluminum frame, but everything else is the same. Slide, barrel and bushing on the 1911 are 1942 Colt.

I paid 55.00 for this one.

None of these guns are hardly on anyone's radar otherwise I wouldn't or couldn't own them. Be that as it may these guns work, are fun and might save your xxx. Group photo: Except for one broken spring in a Phoenix Arms HP22, 2nd one down, right hand column, these are 100%. Crazy. Left hand column are S&W 422s and 1 622 .22LRs (same guns different finishes). Middle column are Star BMs (9mm except for third one down is a BKM (aluminum) frame. Right column are 4 Phoenix Arms HP22s and one Jennings J22. 1911 photo is of my made from parts 1911. Fired 50 rds today at 7 yards in a golf ball size hole, shooting two-handed left and two-handed right, and one-handed left and one-handed right using Independence 230 grain FMJ ball ammo and Chip McCormick mags. No FTEs, No FTFs. As good as it gets for a 1911 with a 69 yr old slide, barrel, bushing and who knows what vintage Essex frame and trial and error unknown small parts.

Food for thought here: Charles E tensioned barrel ?

I have checked 3 or 4 of these Taurus revolvers that over rotate. I think the problem lies in the shallow "excessivley" angled cylinder lock notches. Compare the notches to the S&W. The function is the same in both guns and that particular process is almost identical in operation. I took one guy's gun, a Taurus .44 Mag Tracker blued, and took needle files to a couple of the notches, profiling them like a S&W, end of over rotating on those particular chambers. Intially I thought it was a short cylinder lock (the part that engages the cylinder from the bottom of the frame). I took a little material off the cylinder lock "bar" and a little up under the frame so that the curved lock engagement surface could fully engage the cylinder locks. Then I discovered the poorly cut cylinder notches. I've had 5 Taurus revolvers over the years. I had 3 from the '80s that worked well, one titanium .357 ported snubbie it worked but was too stupid to use for anything other than range toy and an 85. None of these guns had a problem functioning. However, I have seen enough problems and hear enough through my FFL I tell folks to get a used S&W or Ruger. If I had to guess I would say that their cylinder notches are not being cut well, and that may be due to poor/old tooling, and maybe even a lack of QC checks.

Keep us updated on success and failures, there is always something to be learned, unless you are heading to a process and product that could go commercial, then best to keep secrets secret. Thanks for posting this. I enjoy "listening" to people who are enthusiast about "stuff" and apply some energy and gray matter to solve a problem or create something. Craig

Interesting. I knew a couple of tensioned .22 barrels existed, but had not looked at centerfire. I did a little reading and it seems you have your work cut out for you. Doesn't the tension change as the barrel heats up due to material differences reacting to heat differently? It sounds like fun though and puts you at the cutting edge it would seem. Online articles for centerfire tensioning don't go back too far with any volume. I wonder if anyone at this website has done similar work: AccurateShooter.com 6mmBR.com -- Best Guide to Precision Shooting and Precision Rifle Accuracy

Oops! Forgot to include in the list 1st Gen Glock 17 for 300.00. And today I saw several SKSs, some crazy looking Walther made S&W 99 in .45 acp, double strike capability for 375.00 (I think) and good shooter Winchester 67 single shot .22, well-worn exterior, yet fully functional with good rifling for 100.00. The madness must end or I need to stay at home.

A fella showed me a .22 pistol he had for sale. He knew I was a sucker for S&W .22 pistols of this style. This is a poorly stored and maintained 422 in reasonably harder to find 4.5" over the more common 6". It came with one rust covered magazine. The 422 mags are the same ones used in the Mdl 41. I covered this thing in Froglube, let it set then cleaned it. Put it in the ultrasound with a bit of dishwashing soap and water. I then took some paint stripper and took off paint remnants from the stainless slide with some fine steel wool. Ultrasound again. I am still contemplating if I want to sand the black off the aluminum frame. However, again, I was lucky. The barrel is like new as was the action, feed ramp and all the springs. With a brass bristle brush and the Froglube the magazine is nearly like new and they ain't cheap. The grips were screwed on with poorly fitting found on floor screws. I found some that fit better in my gun screw bottle and put them on. This is an ugly but perfectly functional 422. My new grip screws are not in the pic. Caution: if you get a 422/622/2206/2213/2214 buy some aftermarket firing pins, that is one of the problems with original pistols of this series, firing pin tips breaking off. Also this gun is easily threaded needing only a commonly found barrel thread adapter, no gunsmithing required or aftermarket barrel. This gun with mag weighs less than 21 oz. Threaded adapters, firing pins and barrel wrenches are are available from this great guy to do business with: www.ewkarms.com Last I checked firing pins were also available from: www.jackfirstgun.com I am a lucky man.

The date code comes out to Feb 1942 on this one. The Remington 550 and its subsequent model, the 550-1, were the predecessors to the 552. The only real difference between the 550, commonly known as a 550A, and the 550-1 that I know of is that the 550 has 2 extractors and the 550-1 has one. The 550 was made between 1941 - 1946. I got this one with paint on the stock and some dirt at my kind of price. Once I took the stock off I was shocked, the action had no indication of any real wear and no rust, pitting, or even hardly any carbon. The receiver upper and lower & bolt are nearly mint. Someone had taken some kind of solvent that "ruined" the barrel blueing making it look almost like color case hardening. The barrel finish "fits" me. I cleaned and lubed the action, cleaned the barrel and took some fine steel wool to the paint spots and gently removed them. I waxed the stock as the color is pretty nice as is and didn't want to change much. I am a lucky man. Now I have a real nice 550 and a nice 552. Additionally the seller threw in a 552 ADL that has a broken inner mag tube, no barrel blueing, missing stock and missing rear sight. I either have a parts kit for my other 552 or a build project.

One of my buddies and I go through this from time to time, eventually all roads lead back to Glock.

keep the 27, it ain't sexy, but it works everytime, buy a larger t-shirt

I hate letting a good priced Glock 9mm get by me, but I had to let it go. Also it was really hard walking past that G30, now that I sort of have the .45 ACP bug again. But a friend told me he will let me borrow his Les Baer to compare against my Less Beer "colt" Presentation 1911, which temporarily satisfies me. So I figure I'll wait till the right .45 comes along. I've been eyeballing that E Series S&W 1911 awfully hard... if I trade this gun, that gun and that one maybe I good get the E Series and some ammo......

I was perusing Tn Gun Country in Clarksville late this afternoon and they had the following used pistols for sale: S&W M&P40 300.00; XD40 375.00; G17 3rd Gen 400.00; G21 2nd Gen 375.00; G30 400.00; S&W 3904 315.00; Wilson Combat KZ45 650.00. Apparently all estate guns. I don't know anymore than that, just passing it along. When I see prices like that I start hyperventilating, so just had to leave as I have a Failzero EXO G19 on order. But I just could not not tell someone.

I have a spare Braziliero Excercito 1911 slide with a front sight missing if that is what you mean. I think I'll hang on to it for the time being to see if the old Colt slide holds up. Craig in Clarksville

The weekend before last I was lamenting the loss of my front sight off my Brazilian Army surplus slide that sits atop the Essex frame. It went flying off somewhere during my .45ACP shoot-off test against S&W M&P, a couple of Kimbers and a Bersa. So, this week I was telling a fella that my free to me parts built 1911 was working fine but had no sight and I was not going to buy a staking tool and get another sight if I didn't have to. Someone sometimes looks out for fools. This fellow produces a slide from a 1942 Colt, along with it were grips, grip screws, slide, barrel, extractor, slide stop, firing pin with spring and firing pin stop. The exterior of the slide is excruciatingly pitted but the inside was perfect. Someone had actually refinished the slide over the pitting so my job was done. I slapped it all on my poorly finished Essex frame and it is the tightest smoothest fitting 1911 I have owned out of 10 or 12 including a Springfield Loaded and Dan Wesson Pointman. Why all this bother? First I have more than several 1911 fan boy friends ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-80s, trouble is I know more about how they work than they do. I also like to thumb my nose at them with my never fail 9mm Glocks. However, two of these friends were members of the Army Marksmanship Unit, one back in the 60s after returning from SF duties in Viet Nam, another was a more recent AMU gunsmith. Both have told me that a perfectly serviceable and sometimes outstanding 1911 can be had if parts are chosen well. In my case the parts are choosing me, be that as it may this thing may be a real shooter. Range report next Saturday. I call this a Damascus slide, wouldn't you?

Had 2 Norinco Paratrooper SKSs, they worked well. Also had a Tula but didn't understand all the hoopla about the particular one I had so traded it. I thought the 16" barrelled Paratroopers were more practicle. Now I don't have any SKS's just one D-Technique VZ58. Craig

This is another project. It isn't pretty but it can keep a golf ball moving at 50yrds about as fast as you can pull the trigger. The barrel is Green Mountain Running Boar and the optic is Mueller Quick shot. Tac Sol mag release with a harrington 2lb trigger. Hogue rubber overmolded stock.

Hipower, Here is another long term project coming to fruition. Rimfire Technoligies Quantum M barrel threaded; R/T trigger group 2.75lbs break with Harrington rework, bolt with some Harrington rework, Boyd's Blaster stock with lots of Harrington rework to get LOP between web of thumb and trigger finger to agree. Wiegand 20MOA rail and Mueller APV 4.5-14x40 rimfire scope. This scope works on this rig providing balance to the very light .920 solid aluminum shrouded barrel. Total weight is about 6.25lbs.

HIPOWER, It is hard work to do all of America's practical self-defense gun shooting thinking for everyone:) Craig

First of all you must use a .22 rifle that will accurately & reliably shoot 60grain Aguilla Subsonics (older Remington 552 Speedmaster) which gets you in the ballpark of 55-62 grain .223 albeit at considerably less muzzle velocity, OK, give or take 2300fps or so. Then take an equally old yet clear steel tube Weaver V9 3-9x38 A0 scope atop cheap Tasco seethru rings. Install a Williams .570 1/16" gold bead front sight and a Williams WGRS grooved receiver rear sight with target aperture. Load it up and prepare to battle urban zombies, paper, maybe an errant tree rat. Come on... 99% of the AR toting public "don't need" some 1800.00 .223 with a 500.00 Eotech, along with Magpul or Krebs accessories. I've just saved all of you about 2.5 grand, I should get royalties.

Ruger is a very good value and can be made to shoot nearly out of its class with some minor modifications. ruger makes a threaded model now also. Look at the variations. My FFL has 4" 22/45s, a nicely balanced pistol. The 5.5" bull in any variation is a proven winner. I would not waste the money on one of those SS fluted hunters, for a bit more money you are almost into S&W Mdl 41 land. Get a 300.00 Ruger and never look back. You can make that Ruger into a pretty amazing pistol at your kitchen table. If you get a Ruger and have difficulties with it let me know - it ain't rocket science IMHO the Sig Mosquito is a waste of money. I would prefer a Jennings or a Lorcin .22 over the Mosquito. The Sig has great outward ergonomics hampered by a functional design that is reminiscent of one of my late 50's cap guns. Walter P22 is a cute plinker that lends itself to suppression. Buckmark is good, on par with Ruger, hard to get in the variation you want and does not surpass the Ruger S&W 22S or A or whatever works pretty good Want to have some cheap fun, get a Phoenix Arms HP22 and do the stuff to the action that the YouTube junkies tell you to do. Some will tell you its pot metal, but so is the Sig Mosquito, Walther P22 and ISSC. Not saying pot metal is necessarily bad, as you can see some companies place a hefty premium on their pot metal guns, it is in how the Zamak/zinc alloy or pot metal is used in a .22. In the Phoenix Arms HP22 it is used to produce a value laden firearm that works pretty well after redundant safeties are disabled.

If you go through the pics you will see three (3) 9mm Stars I own: a black BM, an OD Green BM and a "blued" BKM (aluminum frame) Star. I put aftermarket springs and firing pins in these guns and they are great shooting guns. Just for giggles: with no mag the BKM weighs 22.5oz and the BMs weigh 31.5oz. A 1st Gen Glock 17 weighs 21.9oz w/o mag. If you want a review of the Star BM by a respected and known gun writer/critic then here you go: A Critical Look at the Star Model BM If you look at the pics of the Black BM you will see that its rear and front sights are much "nicer" than either of the other Stars' "GI" sights. However and unbeknownst to me and the guy I got the Black BM from, the guy who dovetailed the slide for the front and rear sights and installed the sights didn't ensure that the sights fit tight within the dovetail. Superglue and 2,000lb 2-part epoxy won't make these sights sit tight. My question: Is there a way at my kitchen table I can make these sights tight? For instance: will JB Weld freeze these sights in place? Will Black Loctite work? Do I need to get a punch and crimp the dovetail to the sight? The front sight will actually slide out when the pistol is tipped, while the back slide has to be slightly tapped out. Both sights fall out when the pistol is being fired. There is no going back the dovetails are cut. What is the best way to make sure these sights do not move? Why didn't I find this out before I got the pistol? The new black paint kept the sights tight without firing the pistol. I think this style of Star pistol is the bomb, right behind the Glock 19. The Star BM is a little easier to conceal than the Glock as it is narrower by nearly a 1/4" in slide, and the BKM is nice and light, but against the Glock either the BKM or BM are a second tier weapons in capacity (single stack 8) and in theoretical reliability. Although the pistol looks like a 1911 without the grip safety the trigger is a single bar affair and requires a little work to make decent. However, the trigger geometry is great - no pinching and pulls straight back. Barrel lock up is 1911-like. Would I carry one to save my ass? You bet - but not the black one with its sight issues. Some would ask - why fool around with these Stars when you already have a 1911 range gun and 6 Glock 9mms? Because, IMHO, the Star BM design is the best concealed carry design I have ever come across. You can carry cocked and locked safely, the manual safety is very positive and completely blocks the hammer when it is "On." It fires arguably the best modern self defense round (9mm) accurately and can easily be handled by women, men, people with large hands or small hands. It has no peer in ergonomics: it is the Walther PPK/Glock/1911 all in one but in a package that is nearly as easy to fix/clean and manipulate as the 1911 (without tools!). I would love S&W to put this pistol back into production. They are the only ones capable but I fear the Star BM is doomed to history.

Barring buying a Power Custom sear/hammer honing jig I think the pins make a big difference also. What I am wondering is if the hole size or placement are off enough between generations or types, like plastic vs metal, of the trigger housings to cause issues. I suppose it would be best to mark my best homemade trigger parts, and put them throughout my other trigger housings.