Kimber, Ed Brown, or Wilson for the high priced stuff. I'd check out Springfield Armory to see if they have a commander in 9mm. Probably more reasonable price-wise, and I've always had pretty good luck with SAs.
Cool! Had I known I was going to get laid off and try getting back to AZ I would have build the STI in .38 super for Open Class. Oh well, guess I'll just have to build another one.
Cool! Had I known I was going to get laid off and try getting back to AZ I would have build the STI in .38 super for Open Class. Oh well, guess I'll just have to build another one.
After thinking about this a bit, I'm going to hold off on the open class build. Even doing the work myself just the parts themselves cost a pretty penny. So, I ordered a 5" Briely bull barrel and I'll fit that up for shooting 40 S&W in the non-compensated USPSA and IDPA matches. And so much for the slab side look: I added some cocking serrations at the front of the slide as I was having a hard time hanging on to the thing while attempting to rack the slide. Later I'll build a .38 Super top end for this frame so I can sorta compete in the senior class at the local USPSA matches. Then I'll need to find a good woodworker to make a nice case for the pistol and all three top ends (and mags). That should make it fairly unique.
My humble apologies for the lousy pics. I not much of a photographer.
This is what I'll use for the USPSA matches until I can get the 38 Super top end built. I had found a 'really good deal' on a ramped bull barrel in 40 S&W, only to find out when I received it that in all my excitement I forgot to really read the description. What showed up was a ramped 40 S&W barrel, but it was 6" long and cut for a long slide so I simply couldn't lop off an inch and call it good.
I almost sent it back, but decided to use what I had. So I cut it to proper length and crowned it, turned it down to .600", modified a bushing I had in a bin to fit the oversized barrel diameter, and called it good. I have needed to make a fixture for some time that would hold different caliber 1911 style barrels by the chamber and exactly on spindle centerline, and this was the excuse I needed to do so. The fixture uses a spud that is always .500" on one end and whatever diameter is required for the chamber I need to hold on the other. I then milled two slots on either side of the spud, one slightly offset so I could either drive the barrel by the hood or the ramp if it has one. I simply clamp it in the PB 3-jaw, dial in the spud bore to as close to zero as my patience permits (I usually stop once I'm under a half thou which takes a minute or two), and insert the spud of choice in the fixture. Killed two birds with one stone so to speak on this one.
Took this opportunity to start making a replacement mag funnel for the Kimber as I never liked the way it looked at the back. So here's a few pics (it's almost done...for now).
I especially like the way I managed to contour the back to blend better with the reshaped main spring housing. It's a bolt-on as I don't have welding capability yet. My mentor made a similar one that he welded on and I just kind of extrapolated from there. When I DO get a welder, I will fill in that bevel in the back of frame on either side to complete the blend. Hey, I'm unemployed and waiting for the house to sell. I have to do something...
And here's the STI with that new black Duracoat on it. Jury is still out on this stuff IMO. It's paint. High-tech paint, but still a 'coating' as opposed to using hot bluing salts. DON'T get this stuff on mating surfaces, as it adds significant thickness to the point where things that used to slide together may not. I had to scrape the stuff off the rails of the slide and frame to get them to slide back together.
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