We are saddened to learn the news of the passing of John Noveske. He was killed in a motor vehicle accident in which the details are still being investigated.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his Family and Friends.
John raised the bar in the AR-15 business and the gun industry as a whole. There are few individuals who had so much influence. He will be missed.
For the last month, this was my Carry Gun. I kept it concealed, and when I was packing it, no one knew I had it on me. This is an all steel 1911 Commander type, with ambi-safety, night sights, and a tac-rail. Really there is nothing special about the SIG’s No tricks, nothing out of the ordinary… Just a 1911 done very well.
The Cerakote finish is solid. The gun looked just the same from start to end, with no wear marks. The color is a good one for the area of the world I live in. In the holster, the grips blend in well with wooded or desert areas.
In shooting it, the number of malfunctions was Zero. The accuracy was staggering. I didn’t get any of the shooting on video as my camera was in the backpack and riding home on a motorcycle in the cold, I wasn’t exactly wanting to spend a lot of time. But all the hits were where I wanted them to go.
The trigger pull is very crisp, with just a little take up. Very predictable, and this allowed me to really get the most out of this pistol. The only production 1911 that I’ve fired that was more accurate than this, was the SIG TACOPS, which is essentially this same gun, just in black with different grips.
I really dig the Commander Length of the barrel and slide. I also like the fact that the safety levers are not overly extended. They are longer than GI’s but stubby compared to everything else. I consider these to be about ideal. The grips give the gun a Snake Skin kind of look, and goes very well with the flat dark earth colored Cerakote. The black controls and extractor and sights, really makes the gun snap. If there is anything I would do to this gun, it would be to replace the trigger. The straight DK pattern trigger is just too different for me. I’d put in a normal GI myself.
Speaking of GI’s…
While the Scorpion is a modern example of the 1911, the GI remains my favorite configuration, and out of everyone’s interpretation of what a GI is, the Springfield GI is the best of the best. The only thing you need with the GI is a lot of spare mags and ammo. Now, I know all this is fine and well, but let me put it to you this way. If I was going to buy another 1911, I’d buy a SIG Scorpion. SIG has the highest level of quality control of any production 1911 and they don’t hold anything back.
I would really like to see SIG do a simple GI pattern gun.
My last opinion on this, as an EDC Gun… While the gun carried well enough, it was heavy and the grip frame long. It seemed heavier and larger than the Beretta 92FS, because I was using a less than optimal holster. With a good holster, such as my AdamsHolsters Sharkhide Rig, even the larger, heavier Beretta carried better. This goes for any gun – the proper holster makes all the difference.
Since the last day of packing the Scorpion, I’ve carried the Glock 23, the Beretta 92FS, my GI, and a couple others guns… and I learned something. Packing a 1200 dollar 1911, I was always conscious of it. Always aware, always being careful of it. To be honest, I found it distracting. Maybe because its a 1200 dollar borrowed pistol. But I am much more comfortable packing something I am less concerned about. This is were Glock’s win. No one cares a bit about a Glock. It’s there, and if it’s loaded, it’s going to work. Any scars it gets along the way, just add character. Which it needs, because Glocks have none.
Packing a Beretta, scars help remove the Pretty Boy look and means you can take it serious. Maybe I’d feel the same way about the Scopion if it was my own. Maybe that’s the lesson here. Dont EDC a borrowed gun.
Winchester is rolling out a new cartridge at SHOT Show. The .17 Winchester Super Magnum. On the surface, it appears pretty spiffy. A magnum rimfire cartridge based not on any firearms cases, but a .27 Caliber Power Fastener case – Nail Gun Ammo. This bigger case allows the rimfire to kick it out there at 3,000 feet per second. That’s 500 FPS faster than the .17 HMR. That’s impressive, it really is. Kinda makes you want one, doesn’t it?
There is just one tiny .17 caliber problem though.
The .17 Hornet.
The Hornet round is firing a .17 caliber rice grain out to 3650. That’s right 650 FPS faster than this new Winchester Rimfire. So why if you are wanting a hot .17, would you stick with a Rimfire when you could gain over a thousand feet per second over the HMR by going with the Hornet? It makes little sense to me. I wouldn’t buy one. In fact, I wouldn’t buy a Hornet either – instead favoring the .204 if I wanted something that wasn’t a .22-250. But sticking with the .17 calibers, for me, it’s either the HMR or the Hornet. And that’s what a lot of gun buyers have been saying as well. You have to buy a regular sized rifle, might as well but the .204 or .22-250. Which is why we sell more .22-250’s than anything else when we are talking a Bolt Action rifle.
Savage and Ruger have come out with .17 Hornet rifles… Well, Savage has. We’ve not seen any of the Rugers that they said they were coming out. The Savages have had some gnarly magazine issues, and while they are very accurate, they just are not feeding right. That kinda takes all the fun out of them. We’ve yet to see a lightweight X-Bolt or Rem Model 7 in the .17 Hornet, which is what that cartridge needs. But would you want that in a Rimfire? I think not.
This new Winchester rimfire is doomed to fail, and fail badley.
I want to know what guys at Winchester thought that this would be a great new round, instead of bringing out what people have been actually asking for…. Cartridges such as a .25WSM. Since it’s come out, people have been Wildcatting the .300 WSM case down to .25 and getting close to .257 Weatherby performance out of their Short Actions. This is a cartridge that needs some Factory Legit backing. But evidently they would rather break out a new rimfire that no one is going to give a damn about.