1. Price: $429
2. Fit and finish: Excellent...very tight for a "mil spec" pistol. I know, I know...what mil-spec pistol has a ramped bull barrel...
3. Trigger: Slight take up, maybe a little heavy for target shooting, but certainly in a nice range for carry...clean break too
My other 1911 is a lwt compact; obviously very different. I find that I really like the feel of the arched mainspring and full length grip, even though I have pretty small hands. We'll see if this changes after a few hundred rounds.
I do plan on having a few things done to the piece: This is where it gets fun, or anxious, depending on how you look at it. I want to retain the classic look, but want some understated features to enhance shooting and carry.
1. As this will be a carry gun, the one thing I'm sure of is a bobbed grip. I've held a few Kobra carry pistols and the conversion sorta feels like an arched MS to me...plus, I think I'll need the added concealability.
2. Another sure thing will be some dehorning, since it will need refinishing anyway...this thing is real sharp...mainly to save some wear on my Brommeland holsters.
3. Depending on how bad it bites, I may bob the hammer too.
4. Sights...these are small of course. If I change 'em, I'll do the Mil-spec sights, or possibly the YB retro's...somethign that won't require machining the rear.
5. Possibly an unobtrusive extended thumb safety...we'll see.
I like the grips, and I'll modify them for the bobtail, but grips are like clothes...sometimes you gotta change 'em. Where I'm torn is on the finish. I love the parked look, but I also love the polished blue/ivory grip look. I'll have to decide on that before anything happens.
Anybody who has done any of these mods, please feel free to post your experiences and pics. I am determined to do it right the first time.
All right...finally here are some pics. You'll have no difficulty seeing why I'm sending the compact abck for a refinish. I through in the M9 for good measure.
I can't remember exactly how long I had it before the finish started doing that, but it was inside a year. I've heard of one or two others that have had the same thing happen, although I'm not sure to what degree. It has seen a lot of carry and a goodly number of draws, but it should definitely hold up better than that.
IMO, an aluminum frame is probably not the best surface for a bake on finish. I'd much rather see a finish like the one that's on the Beretta.
"Guns don't kill people; People with mustaches kill people."
HEY, I resemble that remark!
Seriously, that's some pretty severe finish problems. Reminds me of the trouble GM was having with their paint jobs peeling a few years back. You're much calmer than I would be.
Jack
Well, there's kind of a story behind that. I can see why one would wonder.
First off, it doesn't effect the function of the pistol. Second, it stays concealed, so its ugliness is less of a factor than it otherwise might be. Finally, the first 1911 I ever got was a micro compact. It made several trips back to the factory. They finally replaced it with this model. (sidebar: SA has the best customer service of any company I've ever dealt with, guns or otherwise) So when I got a pistol that has functioned flawlessly to date (2000+ rounds), the finish became less important. Besides, only having the one 1911, I wasn't willing to send it back and be without a carry piece.
p.s. Mark, if I recall correctly, at SA did a sweet trigger job on it before shipping it out to me (free of additional charge). It's every bit as crisp and consistent as any high end custom I have dry-fired. He also swapped the ambi-safety out for a regular extended safety.
P95 & Bud,
The grips on the parkerized Champion are some Hogue Palm Swell Panels I picked up at the last gunshow I went to in Pasadena TX. I think they were $12.00. They went with the gun when I sold it to my best friend for CCW. I also had a pair of generic wraparounds that were checkered that he liked as well and I threw them in with the sale.
The grips on the Stainless Champion were a generic pair that I picked up in a gunshop in Victoria, TX. They were just laying there in the case, no box and no information on them as to who the manufacturer is either. They owner of the store said he got them in a auction bid package with all kinds of other junk and he decided to keep them. I personally am glad he did. I Paid $10.00 for them. They came without medallions but had holes for them. I was wishing that Springfield made some grip medallions like Wilson, Colt & Para Ordnance that could be inserted but none to my knowledge. I was walking through a clothing store with my wife and found two stainless steel buttons made to be sewn on through a tang on the backside, similar to those for buttoning up a thick coat. They were the perfect size to fit the recesses in the grip. The design on the front was pretty cool looking so I bought them for .50cents went home and installed them using a 1/2" long piece of stainless 1/32" dia. rod to hold them tight from the back. I grooved the back of the grip panel to keep the rod from rotating or coming out. I really like the uncheckered, textured surface and the way it wraps around the front strap. I wish I had two more pair to put on my Wilson's. They are super comfortable and really work well under fast shooting drills to keep the gun securely in my hand. I like the black contrast to the brushed stainless. Here is a better view of the grips.
Tex - yes that pic really does show them very nicely.
They look to me, for my sorta taste - the ultimate in good function plus, to my eye they look just great. If there was something on the market, exactly like those - I am sure they'd sell like hot cakes.
I agree with you. I have seen many rubber wraparound grips from Hogue, Colt, Pachmeyer and so on. But I have yet to find them like the texture on these. I actually prefer the feel of the rubber on the front strap instead of the 30LPI checkering on my Wilsons. If Hogue made the wraparounds without the fingergroves, just the pebble texture would also be a viable option.
I was once given a pair of the Colt checkered rubber wraparound's that I tried and kinds liked. When trying to remove the Colt emblems pretty much wrecked the grips though. Just could not have the Colt logo on a Springer!!! Just my personal preferences. Glad they were free!!!
I'm also contemplating a test of sorts: To shoot the GI, without cleaning it, until experiencing a malfunction. This would likely be a rather long term test, as my shooting habits are somewhat erratic (not by choice, I assure you). Here are some guidlines. Chime in at will, with any suggestions. I'll probably start a new thread when I get it all figured out.
1. I will keep a log of all rounds fired, and types of ammo
2. During this same time, I will be function-testing various HP ammo (I will try to do this before many rounds of ball get fired, so as to eliminate the crud factor as cause for unreliable cycling).
2.a. Malfunctions with HP ammo will not be counted before I evaluate and pick a HP carry round. After that time, my carry ammo will be fair game in the test.
3. I will not strip the pistol to clean during this time. I will only apply a few drops of oil here and there (barrel, hammer/sear, disconnector, slide stop, link).
I went 2000 rounds of mixed loads in my GI (230gr. LRN over 6.0gr. Universal and assorted factory), before I got tried of carrying a dirty weapon. :tongue:
OD, sounds like you beat me to it...I'll probably still do it though.
Rocky, I hope so too...do you carry yours all the time? If so, then I'd say mine is an anomoly. Not sure what else it could be: I've never used anything but hoppe's, rem oil, or CLP.
Heading to the woods for the final weekend of deer season...hope to put 100 rounds through it, depending on how the hunt goes. Hopefully I'll have more to post on Monday.
Another observation while I'm at it: This thing WILL be dehorned. These sharp edges are gonna shred my leather (especially the muzzle end) if I carry it with any regularity.
Put another 100 rounds through her yesterday. I had one stovepipe incedent. So far, that's 130 rounds with one stovepipe. If I could pick a malfunction to have, it would be this one. I believe the unflared, high wall port leads to this...I may consider lowering/flaring to port if I experience more of this.
I guess this experiement is over, if I'm going by the stated parameters. But I will probably still wait to strip and clean it until I have 500-600 rounds through it. I'll keep adding oil though, as the oil/powder residue mix will help lap the slide cuts and frame rails and smooth it up.
My primary carry weapon will likely remain the SA Compact, but at times I will also carry the GI. Mainly I wanted a backup, should my compact be out of commision. I definitely want to work out any bugs before doing so. Now that deer season is out, I should be able to shoot more, so I'll keep the thread updated.
Forstr....just a suggestion. I didnt see any mention about working on the feed mouth. Ya might try loading a few empty cases and see how it handles that. If its a carry gun, having the barrel/feedramp matched and polished would be one of my first investments.
Why would I want to load an empty case? Seems to me that, aside from the apples/oranges comparison between a live round and empty case, the sharp brass edge could booger up the feed ramp and/or chamber. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
You raise a good point though. I hadn't thought of examining the feed ramp and chamber, only because it hasn't had any problems feeding. I suppose it is possible that the chamber, extractor, or ejector could have caused the stovepipe, by not allowing the round to be pulled out and tossed. But at this point, I'm willing to believe that the single stovepipe incedent (out of 130 rounds) was an outlier. More rounds downrange will tell.
Tonight I'll compare the barrels of the GI and the compact (particularly the feed ramp and chamber/throat area), as they both use a ramped bull barrel.
Supposed to hit the range on Saturday, so I'll post another report thereafter.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Defensive Carry
5.4M posts
117.5K members
Since 2004
A forum community dedicated to defensive firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about everyday carry, optics, holsters, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!