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Haven't shot it yet, but will this weekend.

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.

 

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Sorry for the late reply, but I was hunting all weekend. To the question about chopping the frame...I was just thinking of a bobtail conversion really...not the whole grip. As it will be a carry gun, I'd like to minimize printing. I really like the feel of the bobtail, but I really like the feel of the arched MS too. To the question about the Yo-Bo sights...I've never used them, but the reason for wanting them is two-fold: 1. I like the way they look. There more, well, retro. 2. As far as I know, they use the same dovetail cut that the original sight uses, thus reducing costs and keeping the classic look.

I did get to shoot it, but all I had on hand was about 30 rounds...believe it or not, there wasn't a Wal-Mart anywhere close to where I was. There were, of course, no failures. I love this pistol and can't wait to put a couple hundred through it soon. I cleaned it good and lubed it before shooting, but will probable just keep a few drops in the right places, and wait to clean until I put a few hundred through it. I figure that's the best way to break it in and smooth it up.

I haven't decided yet whether ot not a like the grips. I love the parked finish. I think that's one thing I've decided for sure...I like a polished blue, but the parked finish will better serve my purpose I think.

Can I get the YB sights without the white dots? I just want the dot on the front sight.

I'll post some pics as soon as possible.

 

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I guess I didn't look at the pics close enough...I definitely like those sights. Has anybody swaped one of the staked-in front sights? Is there a special tool for that? I'd just as soon purchase a rear sight tool and do them myself, but I'm not sure how the front sight would be done. Thoughts?

OD, those are some good looking pistols. I'll try to post some pics of my stuff soon.

As soon as I can run a few hundred rounds through the GI, my lwt will be making a trip to Geneseo for the frame to be refinished (you'll see why when I post a pic of it).

 

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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.

 

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It's a Maytag...

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.

 

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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.

 

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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).

Any other ideas?

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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I finally got out today and put about 400 rounds through the GI champ. The pistol still hadn't been cleaned, after a total of a little over 500 rounds.

Today I had 3-4 stovepipes...I'd have to say that I am pleased. Here are a few more observations:

1. I will be getting an extended thumb safety of some sort...something not too drastic, so as to keep more of the standard look. I like to use it as a rest for my thumb, and the milspec safety sure does dig in after a while.

2. The standard grip safety doesn't bother me...I'll keep that.

3. I will lower the port (don;t know if I'll flare it or not). I think that will take care of the ejection issues, although I don't consider it a real "issue" at less than 1% FTE, within the first 500 rounds at that.

4. Will swap the grips for something slim, not sure what.

5. I really want the bobtail conversion.

6. Pistol will need dehorning to ride in my nice leather.

At 7 yards I was tearing a jagged hole a couple inches wide, firing rather quickly. Obviously, I'm not that great of a shot, but it's more accurate than I am, surely.