1911 Build

The gun is basically done. The slide needs to be sent to CCA for coating, and the stocks need to be changed out for Crimson Trace lasers. Over 400 rounds though the gun, and function seems reliable. Thats a mixture of my hand-loads and factory ammo.

Here is the Mag-Well after bead blasting:


Here is the slide/frame/grip safety after bead blasting:


And here is proof I'm not going to be competing with Mr. Volk any time, every, as a gun photographer.


The next three show the barrel linking surfaces.

Top Lugs:

Bottom Lugs:

Back of the bottom lugs:


Stay safe,
AE

Vacation Pictures

We didn't see the gators, but did get a yard full of deer.

These are the ones who stuck around after I walked outside to get pictures. There were at least 7 in the herd.



This one shows one of the two biggest, who will have very nice racks come fall.



Of course I'll be there again in November, but I suspect the neighbors will object to rifle fire.

AE

Dog blogging

Because I'm uploading pictures from my phone: the latest round of dog pictures.

1911 Pictures

Here are some more pictures of the 1911 build. First up are the slide/frame fitting, with all parts blended, the next step is to bead blast to remove all tool marks.





Here is the magwell, blended to match the frame. This will also get bead blasted to match. I'm unimpressed with this style magwell, the joint between the magwell and the mainspring housing is not very tight, so the position when assembled is not as precises.



Stay Safe,
AE

AR-45 Pictures

My AR-45 project is starting to work. The goal is to build an AR platform rifle chambered in 45ACP, and feeding from a standard AR mag. Wally (of GBC fame) pointed out that this would require an AR-10 based build, instead of an AR-15 based build, and that has made life allot easier.

Here is the prototype magazine. You'll notice the follower is two pieces of sheet metal braised together. Aside from the spring I could build the mag from scratch this way, but but buying a mag body is easier.

And here are the internals of said magazine. The curved piece is the front block to keep the cartridges under the feed lips, and the feed ramp. The other flat piece is the back block to keep the cartridges stacked neatly.

The next step is to build up the lower, and order an upper. Then I can put the barrel assembly together.

AE

1911 Picture

The other question

The reason we debate Glock (and clones) vs 1911 is to answer the age old question* “what hand gun should I buy”, usually asked by a new shooter. I have three criteria I’d use to answer this: 1) will you be treating that gun like a lawn mower or a classic Porsche 2) what fits in your hand 3) what will your carry routine be?

Finding one gun to meet your requirements in all three categories may be impossible, so you’ll have to accept some tradeoffs.

That may lead to learning to maintain your 1911, which is frankly not rocket science, and if you can change your oil and a flat tire you can learn to maintain a 1911.

It might also mean learning to deal with the ergonomics of a plastic double stack.

The best case you can hope for is that it gives you an excuse to buy several guns and use the appropriate one for the appropriate job.

AE

*Other than being bored, and having nothing better to do then argue on the internet.

Asking the wrong question

All the discussion of the 1911 platform over the last couple weeks got me thinking, and 4 pages of statistical analysis, discussion of abusing the central limit theorem, and questioning the link between the reliability of a pistol design to the reliability of the one in your holster* right now I came to this:

Magazines are the weak link for self-loading firearms.

If this assumption is, true does the Glock/XD/M&P vs 1911* reliability debate really come down to an inherent reliability advantage in double stack magazines over single stack magazines? This could come from two things: 1) a mechanical advantage to the double stack, because of the feed lips, the tapered upper mag body or the wider spring or 2) most of the mags for these guns are made by the company which designed the gun and the mag as a matched pair.

*I'll spare you my sleep deprived analysis.

AE

Gun Blogger Conspiracy Christmas

This year I participated in the GBC Secret Santa.

I got John the Texaner some parts for his AR build, and one of my 'training mags', basically guaranteed to cause at least one good jam per range trip, providing the user a training opportunity.

Wai got me an awesome vacuum mug. Shown in its natural habitat keeping my coffee warm during our southern Virginia winter.

I'll be keeping that present close at hand until we get around to summer weather again.

Thanks to Wai for a great Christmas present, and PDB for putting it together for us.

AE

1911s vs the World

I've been agonizing over this for a bit, because I think Lady Tam has a valid point about gear arguments on the internet, but Phlegmy's first soliloquy during the VC new years show convinced me to share.

GunNutmegger wrote a bit on why the 1911 sucks, and on the whole missed the point. He's got a couple things right on technical issues with the platform: many of them ship with shitty magazines, and there are boatloads of the same for sale in the after market; on the gun-smithing issue I'm unconvinced that most 1911s are less reliable or require more worth to get right than other auto-loaders. That said, the cheaply made guns, and the very top end highly tuned guns are exactly as reliable as you'd expect. My experience running a couple thousand shooters through IDPA stages is that Wheel guns are the most reliable (only ever have ammo or speed loader related issues) followed by the Glock or XD (rare mechanical issues, but average for ammo and magazine related issues) followed by all other auto-loaders.

Far and away the most common failure is Magazine related, usually either they break into multiple parts or just jam up from dirt and filth. No auto-loader is immune from this. Maintenance is the only solution here.

Those are the averages, some people just had either bad luck, or too much time to monkey with their guns. Every club has that guy, and no matter what gun he has it doesn't work, and design doesn't seem to matter.

One clear advantage of the Glock or XD design is the lack of cleaning required, but a 1911 with proper tolerances (see highly tuned or cheap above) is probably good enough for the casual gun owner who cleans the peace after shooting. Personally, the Kimber I carry every day gets cleaned every month, or every 1000 rounds.

And yes, it feeds hollow point or any other ammo you can find, with out issue, after more then 1000 rounds of my reloads (230gr at 950 FPS).

Now for the area's where I disagree with GunNutmegger:

Single action is no more or less safe then any other. NDs happen when people pull the trigger and heavy trigger pulls don't seem to make that much difference. I've yet to see any study done but from all the stories I've seen its across all designs. The 1911 itself doesn't seem any more or less safe, and if 95% of owners were unsafe we'd see it on CNN.

As for the thumb safety being too hard to operate: the folks who get confused by the thumb safety also get confused by the slide locking back on an empty gun. Practice with the platform corrects this issue fairly quickly. The amount of practice needed to properly operate the 1911 is the same as the amount needed to operate any other semi-auto.

The bottom line, and why the 1911 pattern still sells, is that it fits allot of shooters. The combination of a big steel frame, and the slow .45 bullet make for very manageable recoil. The single stack grip and the short trigger make it easy to hold for normal sized hands. The grip angle works for a lot of people. These are not universal statements, I've had several students who said all the same things about the glock and hated them about the 1911.

It seems more about what works for you then about there being a single right answer. To paraphrase Lady Tam: "The best gun is one you'll practice with and carry". And thats where I'll leave it: the right gun is the one that works for you.

AE