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Production or Custom 2011????


Gman57

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I'm ready to make the plunge buying a new 2011 9mm major open gun. I can afford a custom if it's worth the difference and willing to wait out the winter for it but..... 5-6000 is a lot of cash vs 3-3500. Is it worth spending 2x the money for the custom. I'm looking at one of the better builders for the custom. What's your thoughts? Custom or not?

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Hello: Buy a used STI Trubor and some reloading stuff and shoot it for a while. Take some classes and really learn what you like in an open pistol. A lot of the custom stuff is like the old saying "Timex or Rolex they both tell time". What you want is a gun that runs 100% all of the time. Thanks, Eric

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59 minutes ago, Aircooled6racer said:

Hello: Buy a used STI Trubor and some reloading stuff and shoot it for a while. Take some classes and really learn what you like in an open pistol. A lot of the custom stuff is like the old saying "Timex or Rolex they both tell time". What you want is a gun that runs 100% all of the time. Thanks, Eric

Eric

Shooting is not new to me.... Just been awhile and now back in the saddle, I'm a Life member of uspsa with a 3 digit number. When I started it was a solid 1911 then few years later the race gun come about when we added a comp still with open sights. I was one of the first in my club to shoot 38 super back then..... figuring out how to make major 180 PF, I think that's when the term super face came about..... ha

 "Timex or Rolex they both tell time". I have one of those too. Guess I'm looking for some insight or maybe it's mostly pride of ownership.

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I was on this very same fence a few weeks back and like Eric suggested had just about made up my mind to go with a Trubor.  But when I started looking at the few things I wanted to change - grip, trigger, trigger work, slide racker etc. etc. - the price was slowly moving upward.  I finally decided the way to go was a custom build, so Glenn Rasch at Lone Star Innovation got the call and I decided to build my open gun with 2 barrels, one in 9 MM and one in 38 SC

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Same boat, same result, found a used GANS,  modifying it slightly and having Glenn at LSI build me a new one. I knew there were certain things I wanted, short flat trigger, thumb shield or shielded safeties, pinned not just deactivated beaver tail. 

jeff

Edited by redfisher
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Start out with a used custom open gun or something like a  new CK. Then after you have some experience in open, have a custom one built to your specs.

Starting with a custom gun is nice and all, but you are probably going to want to change things within the first year as you decide what you do and don't like about what you ordered in the first place. Then eventually you can have a $3-3.5K back up gun you'll almost never use instead of a 6k$ back up gun you'll almost never use.  

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So many viable platform options right now.

Long

Long with light comp

Short with a bunch of popples

Short with tungsten barrels

Plastic, steel, aluminum grips....

 

Every gun feels different and shoots different.  I agree with the suggestion of buying an off the shelf semi custom to start with (CK or Trubore or whatever), and perhaps change the grip from plastic to steel or aluminum, decide on which Dot you want,  decide on a caliber.  Many guns in 9 major are very reliable and consistent compared to what you may have experienced 20 years ago.

This is all assuming that you want to be competitive in that Division.  If not, go custom and have the coolest looking gun and pride in it that you may or may not like to shoot.

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If you really want a good Open gun and you want it by the end of the Winter, talk to Adam at Atlas Gun works.  He builds nice stuff, fairly quickly, and he is a wealth of information.  BTW, all the bells and whistles will run you around $4500-$5000.

Edited by zzt
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16 hours ago, Aircooled6racer said:

Hello: Buy a used STI Trubor and some reloading stuff and shoot it for a while. Take some classes and really learn what you like in an open pistol. A lot of the custom stuff is like the old saying "Timex or Rolex they both tell time". What you want is a gun that runs 100% all of the time. Thanks, Eric

+1.   I agree -  I bought a TruBor ten years ago, loved it, installed a racker, and bought a 2nd TruBor.    :wub:

        Had it in my hands less than a week after I ordered it - no too much money - it still shoots better than I do ...   :ph34r:

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There's an open 9major with a steel grip on the classifieds right now with an mbx 170mm mag for $3000. If I were in your position and are considering a dvc I would go with the gun in the classifieds here in a heartbeat. 

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3 hours ago, Shmella said:

There's an open 9major with a steel grip on the classifieds right now with an mbx 170mm mag for $3000. If I were in your position and are considering a dvc I would go with the gun in the classifieds here in a heartbeat. 

The black one with 25-30k rounds?

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Buy once and cry once... (i think that's how it goes)

First I would buy what I could afford.  Yes you can save some money with lower cost semi manufactured guns. In the end if you can afford it you will end up with a full custom.  I would skip the lower cost gun and then having to sell it to fund what you really want.  The hand built guns from the top builders are worth it. 

Make sure what every you buy has a comp that works.

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That gun in classifieds (assuming it works well) is priced reasonably. 

yes it has 30,000 rounds on it. You are still a very long way from a re-barrel or any major maintance. 

it has all the top $ parts, PT grip, Schumann barrel, akai comp, alloy cmore. you can generally tell someone who took the $ to buy the top parts in each part of the build also had it built properly. all used guns are a bit of a risk but for probably $200 (inc freight etc) or so you could have someone like anilson above check it out?

Then you could buy with confidence. 

otherwise I think the reasonable options are CK arms, or AGW STI based guns starting at $3300 with plastic grip, or their customs with steel grip at $4500.

but that used gun is a fair deal. donny has a great reputation and it's well priced I'd certainly look at it. 

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OK after some conversation... some a little late I made a choice. I have a terrible habit of going to the top and that would mean 6K + I have just got back into the USPSA sport after a BIG layoff. I thought I would go midline and see if the open thing was for me @ 59 and never able to compete like I did 25 years ago this would be a good starting point. If things go well next year I'll look at a full custom from one of the top builders. That said and after talking to Bobby at CK arms and having one just coming off the semi-custom build line not spoken for with all S/S upper and lower and with a little bling. I went with 9 major, and CK Arms. Waiting for the actual gun to arrive but this is the best rendition on my new blaster in the open class. Now just the wait to get it in my hand and to  the range!!

 

CKopen1a.jpg

 

CKopen2a.jpg

Edited by Gman57
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