Damn it, Man. I don’t need a new 1911 .45. No, I don’t. Why do I need another one?
Tag Archives: 1911
SIG’s 1911s.
My name is Ogre, and I’m an addict.
We had a Kimber Desert Warrior that had come in on trade some time ago. It’s been riding the shelf almost completely untouched for a couple months. I remember selling the gun to the fellow years ago. This was before Kimber took they QC Nose Dive. I examined the gun carefully. He carried the gun a lot, then let it ride his gun safe a lot. But he didn’t shoot it very much. There is only a little finish wear on the frame rails from cycling, which is nothing because we have new guns on the shelf with more. The breach face still looks new.
My cost on it was real good. So it went into the back on Layaway. I’ll take my time getting it payed off… I’m in no rush to take it home. It still has those weird yellow waffle-like grips. I hate those things. Those are going Bye-Bye as soon as I finish the 4473 on it.
Respecting Kimber
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.
Springfield Range Officer.
We finally got in one of the famed Springfield Range Officer 1911’s. The simplicity and plain appearance belies the nature of the gun. It’s truly a Sleeper… a Q Ship. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
I’m looking at you, Taurus.
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.
ATI Commander Update
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.
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.
Ruger’s 1911, the rumors are true.
To have another Gun Maker coming out with a 1911, isn’t surprising. But for Ruger to jump into this crowded pool actually makes sense. Much like S&W before they entered the game, Ruger has been making 1911 parts for a long time.
The “SR”1911… because Ruger can’t say 1911… actually looks pretty good. I like the fact that the slide is Forged, even if the frame is cast. Ruger’s casting is the best in the industry. I’ll give them points for not putting on forward slide serrations. I’ll even go so far as to give them props for not making the slide a huge freaking billboard. The simple Double Diamond checkered grips also look good, with a simple Colt style medallion inset into the wood. As much as I’ve been hating on Ruger… I have to give them a nod here. Well done, Ruger. Well done.
Now if you would just change your Distributor Only business model so dealers could actually make a buck stocking your guns – yeah… that would be great. Because as it is now, I hope I don’t have to sell one, because I’d make more money selling anything else. Ruger and Glock… there’s no money in selling the things. So am just not excited about these things.
Commander, Sterling, and a P-11.
I don’t have much gasoline in the truck, and I’m so broke I can’t afford to pay attention. But I have ammo and Ballistic Testing Zone One is practically out the back door of Ogre Ranch. So we did a little bit of shooting while the kids were doing school work.
The Sterling was once again… impressive. The gun was flawless, but one of the magazines was under-sprung and caused two malfunctions when loaded to capacity. Continue reading Commander, Sterling, and a P-11.
ATI Commander Update
Had some emails asking about how this gun has held up. Well, I’ve not shot it much lately primarily because I’ve been off my feet letting my knee mend. But before me knee issue, I’ve put a number of rounds through it. It has about 350 rounds fired of mixed ammunition. PMC, CCI, Speer, Cor-bon, and Remington UMC. I did have one hiccup in the first round of firings, a failure to feed. That was with some Remington UMC ammo…. which any time I do have a failure in any gun – it’s usually Remington UMC ammo that has the hiccup. I really don’t like that ammo.
I put in a heavier recoil spring. Reason being, it felt like it was under sprung. Just a couple pounds more…. feels just right now. Since then, I’ve not had a single failure of any sort. Then again, I’ve not fired any more Remington ammo through it.
Ejection remains very consistent. Accuracy, while yet to be put on paper, has been Minute of Water Bottle. My impression is that it’s very accurate. However I still need to paper this gun along with a couple others. (My Springfield GI and the Sterling) When I am more “On my feet” I’ll do that. Until then I’m only speculating on the accuracy.
The gun shoots better than other 1911’s that cost much more. Cosmetically, the gun remains unchanged so far… as far as Finish goes. It’s only sporting the swapped grips I mentioned in another post. I’ve yet to have the finish altered in any way. So other than a spring and some wood, this ATI remains stock.
I do want some more appropriate grips for it. The very nice reddish wood grips don’t quite look right. They are too nice. And I need an appropriate holster. Simple brown leather.
I remain well pleased with this little Commander.