Dream 1911, Glockettes need not reply

brutus51 said:

Well I can't agree more with this statement, in my 40+ years of handgun shooting I've owned maybe 5 or 6 Colts, everyone was a shooter.
Still own the series 70 gold cup I bought in the mid 70's and while it only functions perfectly with ball ammo I've never felt the need to have it modified. It is still one of the most accurate 1911's I own and unlike my Kimber's the old fashioned Colt Ellison adjustable sights have never needed replacement.
By the way I didn't troll the Glock people, I asked to keep this post 1911 orientated, they elected to put in their 2 cents.

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Colts and GI guns were the only 1911's I ever trusted to carry. I still have the last Combat Commander I carried when I stopped using the 1911's and moved on. It still gets shot regularly too. I carried a 1911 daily for over 25 years. That last Commander over 10 years by itself.

When I started carrying a handgun, the 1911's were really the only realistic choice for an automatic, and of course, they were really starting to take off at the time, with Cooper, and just about anyone else we were listening to back then, were pushing them so hard.

The only thing I would have done to any I got, but especially the 70's and earlier era guns, was to (at first), give them to Austin Behlert (actually George Smith of EGW, he was working there at the time) and they would do a "reliability package" (T&P, etc) on them, and put some three dot sights on them. When George went out on his own, I started taking them there. They always did great work and the prices and turn around were reasonable. Hes a hell of a guy too.

Ive never been a fan of the fancy, "worked" guns, and always had the best luck with the guns that "rattled a bit" when you shook them. Ive never paid more than a $1000 for one either. Sold a few Colts for more than that though.

A 1911 that works and shoots properly is a wonderous thing. Unfortunately, there are a ****load of them out there, that arent so wonderous.

mavracer said:

Not that those aren't nice but you should look up member bac1023 his is a amazing collectoin.

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Sure, I’m familiar with Brian’s collection.... He’s a long time poster over on Glock Talk and he’s posted pictures several times. No doubt he has many beautiful handguns!

I’m not a collector and I shoot all my pistols on a regular basis, so we are very different.

Not every gun is a tool... not every trip to the range is training. A Corolla will get you to the store just like a Lamborghini will. A Rolex will tell time just like a Timex. But if a finer thing gives one pleasure, and the price point meets the priority point, enjoy them! Not everything in life is simply a means to an end. I had a Wilson EDCx9 for about a month...it ran like a top and the fit and finish was outstanding. It just didn’t give me the wow that I was looking for. I still shot my Sigs and Walther better. I had a Springfield Professional that I sold quickly....again it didn’t give me what I wanted (truth be told, I never even fired it...just didn’t like the way it felt in the hand). However, I have a CQB and a ULC Commander that do the trick. Great guns. The ULC is a carry dream and the CQB is jewelry. Best shooter is still that ACW.

My own. Built with a Haas CNC mill in my new 40x60 shop. In 10mm, 6” slide and an extended comped barrel. Additional slide with a profiled shroud to match the slide housing the business end of a suppressed 45acp barrel. Barrels rifled with tool steel buttons and rammed through on the 10 ton arbor press (also new). All welds done by a miller machine hooked up to a fanuc m10 robot to make the welds not only good and pretty, but easily repeatable.

I think y’all get where this is going...

I don’t know much about heat treating, but I know I would need a furnace and quench tank as well. Throw those in for pistol #2 because the first is going to be made out of stainless anyway. And some stock material of buckeye burl.

I could blow a mill in a day. I need a bill to really live large...

tarosean said:

But you would still be stuck with 5 mediocre pistols.

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Stop using logic. This is a gun forum, and logic is not allowed.

Some folks will never be able to get past the perceived high cost of a firearm even when they can afford it, my dad is a good example of this phenomenon. Short of some rare historical 7 figure price tag firearms he could hypothetically write a check for pretty much anything he wants, yet it took a great deal of effort on my part to convince him to order a S&W 986 Pro and he still comments on the cost even though it is his favorite revolver. His only complaint being the titanium cylinder and aluminum cased ammo don't get along.

Realistically for the majority of shooters the advice to buy a Glock, HK, Walther, SIG, M&P, etc; magaizines, ammo, and a training class is rock solid advice. You can't buy skill, you have to acquire it by putting the work in, and honestly assessing your own performance and improving in a focused and structured manner.

However; at some point a shooter who is serious about marksmanship and has put in the time to be able to make bullets go where they want them to may want to consider stepping up to a nice tuned pistol that is more capable than a box stock polymer service pistol. Fact is you can be held back by your equipment once your skills reach a certain level. Anecdotally I would place this skill level at the point where a shooter can regularly shoot a 90% score on a B8 at 25 yards, if they can do that on demand then they have the capability to wring out the extra performance a match barrel, and better trigger can provide. They're probably at a point where they should absolutely consider adjustable sights or getting a set of sights custom regulated for the pistol. Now what flavor of pistol that might be is up to the individual, but more often than not that guy or gal who can shoot a 90% score on a B8 at 25 yards with their box stock polymer service pistol is going to find it easier to do with a tuned, accurized pistol with good sights and a good trigger. They will be able to shoot the same scores as before more quickly, or shoot even tighter groups at the same pace as before. Their targets will go from a 90% to a 95% with a lot more X's with just an equipment improvement. I've seen it more than enough times in bullseye competition, take a guy who can shoot a Ruger MKII pretty decently and put him on a Hammerli, Benelli, Pardini etc and watch his scores go up 5% or more across the board almost immediately.

Well if older eyes are vexing you for hitting targets at 25 yards, then it might be time to look at one of today’s crop of excellent slide mounted red dot sights. I’m currently training up on an Aimpoint ACRO P-1 mounted to a long slide kit (5” match fit barrel) HK VP9. So far the results have been nothing but positive as far as on target performance.

I used to shoot competitive bullseye pistol when I was in college, but that was almost 20 years ago (time flies!) and now that I’m 40 I notice it is tougher on my eyes to shoot iron sights as well as I used to. I can still do it, not in bifocals yet, and my corrected vision is 20/20 or better but what used to be easy is now more fatiguing. All the focal shifts your eyes end up performing when using iron sights, and the intense concentration on the front sight get harder. So with that in mind and looking ahead I elected to buy a second slide assembly for my normal carry gun, a soulless plastic framed pistol that is just a tool. On this second slide I had a red dot installed, so I can learn the ins and outs of running it before age takes its toll and I have no other choice but to learn an RDS if I want to keep shooting pistols accurately.

The red dot sight pretty much immediately solves most of the problems older shooters have with getting a sharp front sight, by eliminating the need to focus at that distance. With the dot you look at the target, superimpose the dot, and prioritize managing the trigger. If you can focus the target, your dot will appear crisply on the target. Don’t try to focus the dot! Your eyes will throw a fit if you do, just stay target focused and everything works.

If you get a chance to try out a pistol with a red dot, give it a whirl, you might become pretty fond of the functionality.

If you won the lottery, then you can afford all the expensive ammo as well. This Dan Wesson double stack in 10mm is pretty nice. I love my .45 ACP Wilson Combat, and you might possibly pick up an STI in .38 super.

https://danwessonfirearms.com/product/elite-series-titan/

brutus51 said:

Already have a nice commander in .45ACP for CCW but if you won the lottery, whose pistol and what caliber would you buy?
Lately I've become enamored with the .38 Super. A little to loud and to much flash for concealed carry but hey, I'm a millionaire now so custom ear buds and sunglasses with night vision won't be a problem.
Configured an Ed Brown 38 Super Cobra Carry on his website and it only cost a mere $3555 so I may have to buy two or three.

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For a long time I've been thinking of a nickel plated 5" .38 Super with custom Apache motif grips. I'm having trouble with Apache symbology, so it's indefinitely on the back burner.

Whatever you pick, be sure it matches your Holland and Holland double rifle.

Coal Dragger said:

Some folks will never be able to get past the perceived high cost of a firearm even when they can afford it,

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It is odd considering that they will last many lifetimes if taken care of.. Cannot say that about the vast majority of other products we purchase daily..

Deanimator said:

For a long time I've been thinking of a nickel plated 5" .38 Super with custom Apache motif grips. I'm having trouble with Apache symbology, so it's indefinitely on the back burner.

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Try Ravenwood? They have a ton of different designs.

Not Nickle, but she is in 38 super. (Right side)

All of my 1911s are standard factory offerings;



Left top to bottom; Springfield Armory MC Operator, SA Ultra Compact, SA MilSpec.
Middle top to bottom; Fusion GI Government, Kimber Custom.
Right top to bottom; Colt Government, Colt Commander, Colt Government.

All are good shooters, the Kimber and MC Operator are the most accurate.