Tag Archives: Pistols

Weapons

I may have been wrong. Maybe.

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At SHOT Show took a look at the brand new and shiny Kimber Solo 9mm.  At for some reason that I can’t put my finger on… I disliked it.  No, let me be clear.  I hated it.  I wouldn’t have one.  Even if it was gifted to me, I’d sell to some unfortunate nitwit who would think it was nifty and then I’d go buy something I liked more and could get more use out of… like blister cream or 8 Track tapes.

And now here it is, six months later.  To be honest, it’s grown on me.  I no longer hate it.  For some reason I can’t put my finger on… I kinda like it, and I wouldn’t mind having it.  But I’d still never actually buy it.

It’s… hmm… I’m searching for the right word for it… “Nice”.  It’s a nice little gun.   And perhaps that’s its problem from the start.  You see, a universally accepted good gun like a 1911 Commander .45 is great looking gun… beautiful, in the eyes of fellows like me.   At the same time it feels just gorgeous in the hand.  It fits.   It also looks like what a Weapon should look like… it looks like it’s going to destroy something, it just hasn’t decided who yet.  It has a form that’s based on it’s function and that function is to put large bullets through bad guys.

And this is where the Kimber Solo Nine Millimeter fails.  Even in the name, just say the name a few times out loud… it even just sounds “Nice”.  Like something Julie Andrews might have in her purse… it’s just well mannered and nice.  Or like something you might spread on a piece of toast.  It’s nice… Pleasant, without being fun or too interesting.   Like having a Brunch with your Grandmother… nice…  And that’s what put me off of the Solo.  It is completely lacking in Sex and Violence.

Julie Andrews approves of the Kimber Solo.

Now, if Kimber was to scale the Solo up… to say .45… then all the sudden it would become very interesting.  Or even something slightly different, like .357 SIG.  But just a 9mm?  Sure, it works… perfectly serviceable.  Certainly better than a .380… it’s nice.   But I won’t buy Nice.  Not for the price.  The thing is retailing for about $630 and for that much salad you have a world of other options that are less “nice” with more Sex and Violence.

Can you imagine the Solo in .357 SIG?  Kind of like a young Julie Andrews playing a lead role in a remake of Bound.  Proper, but she’s a dirty dirty girl behind closed doors.

Alternatives would be perhaps a Kahr MK9, or if you can find one, a Colt Pocket 9 – which I am still wanting one day.  A Springfield EMP9 would also be pretty cool.  But the Solo 9?  It just leaves me feeling less than satisfied.

I think I just might be the first gun writer that has compared a handgun to the star of Sound of Music… Well, at least not to Captain Von Trapp.

Weapons

Respecting Kimber

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I’ve had some emails where people think that I am disrespecting Kimber.  Actually I feel that Kimber has disrespected the American Gun Culture.  Taking us for granted.

Personally I have great respect for Kimber.  They changed the 1911 Industry as a whole.  Before Kimber, it was common to buy a new Colt or other 1911… and take it straight to a gunsmith so that they could make the gun simply run.  Kimber comes out with the gun they called the “Custom”.  And it worked right out of the box.  They sold so well, that the other 1911 makers had to step up their games or they were out.  It really kicked Colt in the Sweets hard.

I’m critical of Kimber because in my opinion they have let themselves down.. accepting lower standards and just expecting customers to just take it because they are Kimber and they know better.  Well, that’s just not acceptable.  Kimber needs to get back to building guns instead of making pretty.  The need to take seriously the gun making responsibility.  Guns are for Competition, for Law Enforcement, for Self Defense… These guns can Save Lives.  They should take seriously a sacred responsibility to build guns right.

Weapons

Glocking it today

8 Comments

You guys are of course well aware that I’ve been packing a 1911 a lot lately.  Let’s clarify just what a lot lately is.  About 3 days a week I’ve been packing my ATI 1911 Commander.  I’m pleased with it.  But the rest of the time, I’m packing my Glock 23.  Still.

Reason being, there is no doubt or question about the Glock.  It’s going to be there if I need it, and it’s going to do just what I need it to do.  Simple as that.  Also, it’s packing as much ammo in one mag as the 1911 packs in 2.    That’s a bonus.    Pretty much, the Glock 23 remains the perfect carry gun.

Weapons

I’m looking at you, Taurus.

11 Comments

You know, Taurus is one Gun Maker that has more than it’s share of detractors.  But I have to give them some props.  Their 1911 really is a solid and well built gun for the money.  Bang for the buck value is through the roof.   I took a couple that we have at the gun counter, hit them with some Slipstream… and I kid you not, the bloody things are the smoothest 1911s in the case now.  (In fact, I’ve never felt such a drastic effect from Slipstream, as I did with the Taurus 1911s!)   These are very good 1911’s, not just “for the money”, but very good 1911s – period.

The only real problem it has, is that they are not selling.

Continue reading I’m looking at you, Taurus. →

Weapons

Llama’s cute little .22 Auto

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We got here a Llama .22LR.  It’s very 1911’ish, small, and cute as hell.  The action feels well worn, and the finish is about 80%… but the gun still feels solid and it should shoot just fine.   We took it in for a hundred bucks… Marked it for 220 bucks.  It has the box, all that, and two spare magazines.  My question is should we mark it for more?   I mean, dang… this thing is adorable.

Continue reading Llama’s cute little .22 Auto →

Weapons

S&W 745

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This is an older Smith & Wesson auto.  I’m not sure of the value as the blue book on it only showed the 745 IPSC model, which looks just like this, but has a fixed rear sight.  It’s Single Action Only.  The safety lever is only a firing pin blocker, and does nothing to prevent the trigger from dropping the hammer.
The grip is slim, giving it a feel much like a SIG P220 with factory synthetic grips.  The checkering on the front strap is a little rough, but it’s factory checkering.  Over all, I like the gun.

Continue reading S&W 745 →

Weapons

ATI Commander Update

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The nice wood double diamond grips were just too nice for the ATI.  They didn’t go well with the matte black finish.  After awhile it got to the point that I found them just irritating.    So I got some nice plain old Hogue grip panels in OD green.  The matte finish on the Hogue work very well, keeping the ATI in a nice subdued scheme.

Makes me want to Duracoat the Slide OD.G as well.

The gun is north of 600 rounds now, with only one fail to feed.  Again, that failure to feed was in the first few rounds right after I got the gun, and it has never happened since.  I did replace the recoil spring after those first few rounds, because the gun did feel under-sprung.  The gun has been perfectly reliable since.  The gun shoots point of aim/point of impact at 30 feet or so… I’ve had no complaints about accuracy, only compliments from everyone that has shot it.  I’ve let a few people shoot it and no one has had a negative bit of feedback, and no one has reported any malfs.

The biggest question about the ATI is the quality of the steel.  So far, there has been no unusual wear on any of the internals.  So I am thinking, so far, that the steel is up to snuff.  I have no reason to suspect that its a lesser quality steel alloy.  I don’t think it’s anything great or special… but it doesn’t look bad at all.  The only real wear the gun is showing is on the finish, which looked suspect right from the beginning.  If you look at that photo closely, look at the muzzle end, you can see the wear.   I’ll have Joe at Crusader Weaponry give this thing a Duracoat treatment, and that will take care of the finish – no problem.   It’s a 450 dollar 1911, so you do have to cut it some slack.    And finish that shows holster wear only makes it looks like you actually use the thing… I think a gun with some holster wear looks better than a gun that looks like it’s a Safe Queen.  But that’s just me.