More Stainless Ugliness!

Found on Brian Enos Forum "A few weeks ago, while cleaning my STI Trojan 5" Stainless Steel in 45ACP, I noticed a crack in the front of the slide (see the two attached pictures). The crack fully penetrates to the inside of the slide. The pistol is slightly over a year old and has had about 9,000 rounds fired through it, almost exclusively WWB 230gr hardball. I have been running a 16 lbf recoil spring, a DP tungsten guide rod, and an AFTEC extractor."

1911 slide failures

What do these guns all have in common?

Broken Ed Brown 1911 Strut

"Perfected" geometry.

Code words for "Improper heat treating"

Broken S&W 1911

Everyone is secretly attracted to my collection of "broken stuff" pics.  here is a good one.  Looks like the "Scandium" didn't help..this is where most lightweight guns crack, fyi at the junction of rail and dustcover....

New blaster from Hilton Yam of 10-8 Performance

I always like reading Hilton's thoughts on 1911's and other fighting guns.  He is a savvy guy.  I first met him when he was selling Mad Dog Knives at gunshows and still in college.  Over the years he has developed the skills to build a first class 1911 even though he rarely does anymore with a hectic career and developing new parts to sell.  Here is his latest concept gun.  I particularly like the hammer/beavertail junction and the way Hilton performs the beveling and barrel crown Good stuff! Here is what he says about this gun:

I still receive requests for custom 1911 work, and unfortunately always have to reply that I no longer build guns to customer order. With a full duty schedule, designing parts, and running 10-8 Performance, there is not a lot of time left to do any gun building. While I don't foresee this situation changing much in 2010, I do still build some 1911s for my personal use and to further research on more 10-8 products. The latest of these research projects showcases a few new designs that are precursors to some exciting stuff we will be unveiling at SHOT 2010.


Hilton's 10-8 sight is an excellent retrofit to Novak sighted guns. Great sight picture and U-notch for fast but precise shooting.

Updated Mike Poulin's link

Mike Poulin, maker of the best ivory grips has a new website-click his link on my sidebar to check it out!

New Doubletap .38 Super load!

I really like Doubletap ammunition (http://www.doubletapammo.com/).  They are the leaders in specialty pistol and rifle ammunition and are best known for loading calibers like 10mm (15 different loads!), .41 magnum, 9x25 Dillon in addition to more mundane stuff.

Their quality is very high and on par with the best producers like Black Hills and the now defunct Pro-Load.

They are now loading .38 Super with my favorite Barnes XPB (115gr) loaded to 1425 fps for 519 ft. pounds of energy... I have a few boxes enroute. Expect a range report soon.

www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=366

Who's been reading my blog?

From Statcounter:

Tempe, AZ
Three Rivers, MI
Mountain Home, AR
Omaha, NE
Fremont, NE
Montezuma, IA
NASA
CIA

Wow

An all star list :)
I am flattered!

The worlds most powerful revolver? Bowen 500 Maximum Super Blackhawk

Whoa.  This may be the worlds most powerful revolver.

Built by Ham Bowen http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/ on a Ruger "Maximum" chassis with Bisley frame, it launches a (and I quote John Taffin) serious payload.

"Both John Linebaugh and Hamilton Bowen have offered the .475 and .500 Maximums on full-size 5" Ruger Maximum frames weighing close to four pounds. Recoil is absolutely awful with full house loads using 400 grain and larger bullets, and muzzle velocities exceeding 1,500 fps. There is absolutely no way to describe the recoil. It has to be experienced to be understood. I will say this, when I tested these guns 10 years ago I never fired more than 40 rounds in each one per day and in every case those sessions made me physically ill. This never happened with the .44 Magnum, heavily-loaded .45 Colt, .454 Casull, or even the original .475 and .500 Linebaughs. However, the Maximums are a totally different game and after a morning of shooting I would spend several hours recuperating by reclining on the couch."

Needless to say, I have 100 rounds of .500 Linebaugh and no .500 maximum loaded.  Should I venture down this path?  Maybe I will save this thing for my son.....he's gonna be a biggun..

Another HOT Custom 1911 This time a COMMANDER

I bought a like new Series 1 Kimber Pro Carry just for the frame.  I am crazy that way.  A few years ago the only quality alloy frame I could find for a Commander was Kimber. So I bought one, scrapped the top end (which sold for close to what the gun cost, go figure) and sent it to Garthwaite with a Shuemann AET .38 Super barrel and a host of good parts from Caspian, Kings and STI. 

This gun loves Corbon DPX and Winchester Silvertips.  One thing you quickly learn is that 9x23 has plenty of pop for a carry gun. At 28 ounces, this is one of the more size efficient 10 round packages out there. Robar applied NP3 finish to the whole shebang.  It looks good and resists corrosion although if your gun isn't checkered, it can be a little slick. I regret not checkering this gun. Pennywise and pound foolish I guess.
I like Wilson .38 Super mags and use metal baseplates with them.

A proper 10mm 1911 carry gun

Here is another 10mm (one of several).  This is a Jim Garthwaite creation. Jim salvaged a beat up old Delta Elite, added a Bar-Sto barrel, snugged it up and fitted some of his perfect sights-a reworked Heinie with a the gold bead front on a serrated ramp. Shoots great with most loads.  Great trigger. Like all of Garthwaite's guns, great metalwork and bluing.  Notice the subtle high cut? And the front strap serrations? Rubber grips on a 3K pistol?  I know I know...that's an affectation of mine. The only negative is that they hold moisture.  Otherwise they are hard to beat for a knock around carry pistol.

10mm can be a finicky cartridge-the long OAL, the extreme Power factor and pressure and smallish rim all add up to trouble in a 1911 platform if things aren't just right. GO to an experienced 10mm pistolsmith with your 10mm project and you will be much happier in the long run.

The kind of gun that wins IDPA Matches-EGW Single stack Caspian

Before Jim Milks left EGW he built me a few "shooters".  These were planned to be range queens, not safe queens.  After handling a few of the Caspian frames with tactical magwell I quickly decided that would be a fine path to take.  Jim expertly checkered this one, front and back, 20 LPI, added a Caspian slide, Kart barrel and my favorite Heinie sights with a black serrated .110" wide ramp front. 3lb trigger on Extreme Engineering components and EGW"s E-treat finish (similar to Tenifer).  It is chock full of EGW parts along with a Greider slide stop, SVI bar stock thumb safety, Brown mag catch and Wilson beavertail. Everything is pretty well seamslessly blended.  The barrel(Kart)/slide/frame fit is perfection.

When I first got the gun fresh from the finishing I had a few rough spots-the finish added some friction and was occasionally failing to feed-a little 2000 grit paper on a dowel smoothed the frame ramp enough that it went away.  It now basically feeds like a marble on greased glass-slick. I like the way the finish resists corrosion and kydex wear, but pretty certain I won't be having it done to any more guns in the future.

Its a super shooter and 1/2 ounce under the IDPA CDP weight limit.

A 10 from Ned

When my name popped up on Ned Christiansen's list a few years back I decided he was just the kind of quirky guy to build be a 10mm longslide.  After messing with a plethora of 10mm pistols over the years, I really came to appreciate the longslide in this caliber for the long sight radius and enhanced reliability.  A major benefit to building a 6" is the ability to use longslide springs, which are as long as buggy whips and will never go flat.  This gun was concieved as a "Combat-Hunter Longslide" with lo-profile adjustables and Ned's Conamyd treatment everywhere.  Ned does awesome machining and fitting.  This is one of the finest guns I own.  It is ridiculously accurate (Sheumann AET barrel).  I opted to use Paul Liebenberg's ISS sights for ease of front sight replacement-I have a gold bead, fiber optic and plain black post that can be switched out depending on range conditions. I look forward to doing more hunting with this guns.  Its favorite load is the Doubletap 155 grain XPB.  Not for sale at any price!!!

Do you like CUSTOM 1911's?? Then you have come to the right place!

Do you like custom 1911's by the top makers?? Keep watching this blog, the best is yet to come!

Jim Hoag-Custom 1911 Gunsmith to the stars

Most people don't really appreciate Jim Hoag. Hoag's guns however, are the MOST desirable custom 1911's to most pistolsmiths. Richard Heinie, Bill Wilson, Ed Brown-they all collect HOAG guns. Why? Well, he was the first 1911 pistolsmith who cared about fit and finish. Hoag was a contemporary of Swenson who started out working for King's Gunworks. After moving out on his own, Hoag's proximity to LA enabled many a Hollywood star to get custom 1911's built. Hoag is known for building James Caan's longslide 1911 in the movie "Thief", a pistol that heavily influenced other budding pistolsmiths, notably Heinie.

Hoag's attention to detail was far superior to Swenson and rivaled only by Pachmayr's Combat Special builds. This gun, my second Hoag is typical of a late 80's era gun built on a Colt '70 Series. It has a Bar-Sto barrel, Hoag's signature squared triggerguard, bordered checkering (Hand cut) and stubby (but practical) beavertail. A masterful example of what a bespoke 1911 should be. Unlike other masters of the era, the quality of the work stands up very well today. Mr. Hoag, pushing 80, still builds custom pistols in Canoga Park, CA.

Jim Hoag-1911 Gunsmith to the stars

Old Friends, New Blaster

My old friend Shawn died a few years ago suddenly and his guns were lost to some knuckledhead family members. Recently I heard that there was a neat gun a in a pawn shop 50 miles from where I live, about 300 miles away from where Shawn lived and died.

It was this gun, his holy grail. A Steve Woods custom circa 1991 built on a pre-'70 Colt Government, .45 of course with more than enough bells and whistles. Loads of checkering. Perfect checkering. bank vault fitting. Great trigger. Machine work by the BEST in the business, Pete Single. Uber-detailing and massaging by Steve Woods. One of the best makers of the '80's and '90's. If you ever see a gun with his mark, the Griffon-BUY IT. It will be worth more than the asking price. Shawn, I have given your "Grail" a good home. This time it will not get cast to the wind-I promise.

Original 1917 Military Issue Colt

This is my original 1917 Government Model Colt in 97% condition. They really knew how to build them back then. Even though this is a military production gun, all flats are flat and all rounds are round. Barrel fit is impressive. With a current magazine, this gun will feed ANY modern hollowpoint which tells you its more about the specs of the base gun than any extraneous doodads.

Garthwaite CCO-a Classic CCW 1911 pistol

Jim Garthwaite built me this gun over a decade ago. At the time, and now its pretty much state of the art. I purchased 2 brand new Colts-an "enhanced" Officers ACP and an enhanced Lightweight Commander and swapped the tops. I sold the bastard child for an exorbitant amount and sent Jim the parts and pieces. We settled on a ramped barrel made by my friend Fred Kart, whose shop I had previously visited. A Melange of Wilson and McCormick parts finished her up. I recently had the tritium front sight replaced with a Gold bead and had Jim install the solid trigger which I prefer. The only problem ever with this gun? A cracked firing pin stop that Jim replaced with a Caspian. Colt Series 80 parts have been (wisely) removed. NP3 makes her pretty and slick.

My favorite range gun-EGW "Waterhose" 9mm SVI

At one time I was shooting 2-3 IDPA matches a month and wanted to build a really competitive 9mm. I found that the S_I widebody frames fit my big hand better than any single stack and were easy to shoot well. I aquired an SVI frame (The best of the breed), a Caspian 9mm slide, Shuemann AET Barrel and sent it off to EGW in Pennsylvania. EGW had a great reputation for building competition guns and their turnaround was quick. While the gun was being built I sent 6 SVI 9mm mags to Beven Grams for his tuning services and spring/follower kits and ordered a grip from Jim Shanahan at Advanced Performance Shooting. This gun has over 15,000 rounds through it without a malfunction. I retired it for a while but am now shooting it in local Steel Challenge competitions. It's a one-hole shooter at any range! Hyper accurate and hyper reliable. Jim Milks was the head EGW gunsmith that built this superb gun-I recommened his work for these kind of blasters his shop is now http://innovativecustomguns.com/ and EGW no longer performs gunsmithing for the public.