digi531

Hello, I am not a business man having spent my career in law enforcement. Like you, I am a hobbyist builder for my own competition guns (mostly open division) for about twenty years or so. I guess I started because of long waits and the cost and I've enjoyed tinkering, adding better parts at first and so on. After buying most 1911 tools and eventually adding a small bench top mill and lathe I was able to do the open guns, slide cuts, etc. I agree with both parties above, especially concerning the running a business comment, people try things and succeed and others fail, theres a lot to consider. I once visited our local guy shop who has been successful for many years and we were talking about this stuff. He surprised me with a sudden comment " theres no money in building " as we continued to talk. I drove home contemplating his comment, considering how long he's been in business and has built who knows how many guns and other gun related work. Our other somewhat local guy (Atlas Gunworks ) started small and today has a successful thriving business, selling his wares for premium prices compatible to the industry, so it can be done. There is a saying, do what you enjoy and you can make a living at it, but probably easier said than done. Another saying " nothing ventured, nothing gained " so who knows. If you truly have the desire, discipline, dedication and so on that successful people have then go for it. In reality, you will never know unless you try, good luck and if you do, I wish you great success.

Hello, few questions first. What is the barrel O.D. before threaded area usually .693 - .694 and measure inside diameter of slide bore, is it close to .699 - .700 ? Did you polish the inside of the slide bore to remove any rough or high spots ? Also, you didn't mention if you removed any material from the barrel locking lug recess, especially the first ( closest to the chamber ). You need to mark those recesses right to the sides and see if it's hitting. If it is you may see bright shiny marks especially on the sides of the barrel lug recess area which may prevent upward movement. Once the barrel begins to move upward you will get light marks on the TOP of the barrel lug recess ( closest to chamber) where you must file ( lightly ) to allow upward movement and more barrel / slide lug engagement. Go slow with that filing, a little goes a long way. And, sometimes will bull barrels the very top about 3/4 to an inch back from muzzle area may be hitting inside the slide, mark this area and look for that bright shiny mark. If there remove lightly with a file, stone or even shoeshine the spot with 300 - 400 grit paper. Sorry for the long winded reply but bull barrels can be tricky and some brands are easier than others to fit. Be patient and go slow. Use a new piece of brass in the chamber and look through the slide firing pin hole. Your looking for a nice round and centered hole to tell you the barrel is high enough. Good luck.

Yes, I wouldn't waste my time building if I didn't.

I leave the comps bare.

I have used hard chrome for many years and received back my latest build a few weeks ago with turn around time about three to four weeks. I specify the matte finish because I don't care for shiny guns and small scratches don't show so easily, and the thickness for matte has not caused me tolerance issues. You can specify polished flats on the slide if you prefer and it's a nice looking contrast against the matte color. Hard chrome is extremely durable, has excellent coefficient value and will last and yes it can pit or rust through but you really need to abuse it for that to occur. My TI comps don't match but personally I like the color difference anyway. I believe it's the best bang for the buck.

Hello, we can speculate on how this pistol will do in the competitive arena since we don"t know to much at this point, other than the video's. However, I believe this pistol is a marvel of engineering, talk about engineers who were thinking " out of the box " so to speak. These people weren't thinking on how to improve an existing design, they wiped the chalk board clean and started from scratch. There is something to be said on handguns with a low bore axis and the Alien is about a low as possible. Couple that with s fixed barrel, low mass slide and gas delayed blowback system and you have one extremely fast cyclic rate pistol. Add to that a top rail with sights that don't move and no external safeties to manipulate and I ask you how this thing wont rock in USPSA match's, open division or otherwise. As an open division competitor I would certainly welcome the opportunity to try one and compare its performance value. And as far as holding up I can only guess, but I don't think the engineers would design a fragile lightweight thats going to fall apart after a few thousand rounds. As mentioned, only time will tell but I for one do admire the Alien pistol innovative and super modern design.

Hello, option two would be my choice, forget the Glock thing for sure.

Hello, I agree with the back up gun if your a serious open guy, along with all the mods up front at the get go. You don't want to start sending guns back for mods that you know you wanted in the first place. However, if you do go back up I strongly suggest it be ( Identical) to your primary, it's the right way. Good luck.

I use the aluminum buffs in my open guns with no issues. To me it's good assurance against frame damage and the aluminum is more of a dead blow hammer effect and much better than plastic buffs. It doesn't hurt to try one, if you don't like it or have a gun issue then you take it out, simple.

Hello, ( aandabooks ) method is the way I would go as well. The fact that it's a cone doesn't matter much.

Hello, I'll mention what Bob Lodrigan from Brazos wrote on a back up gun. And, he suggest a back up should be " Identical " to the primary gun. I follow this advice with my open guns being identical in every way and its makes sense. They feel, shoot and handle the same way as I can barely tell a difference from one another. Also, most importantly, the velocity is extremely close with no power factor worries if I need to change guns. If you can manage it, it's the best way to go for sure.

My three RTS2 work great and don't seem to eat batteries. The first and older one I bought a few years ago went back, but the newer ones thus far are spot on with no issues. I do turn off the dot between stages.

Try to keep it simple at first, install a 7 # spring and try it out, it wont hurt the gun. If not working then up the load slightly and try again. If still not functional, then back to the smith for examination.

Hello, I suggested this before on the forum. I bought a nice electric engraver relatively cheap on Amazon. Then I used a small screwdriver blade and rounded off the corners, then cut it to length and installed it. Talk about a time saver without all the heavy scraping like I use to with the Arredondo comp scraper. Also, you can set the engraver speed to where it works best and its like using a miniature jack hammer. However, be careful when using near the muzzle crown.

Hello ksf141, open division sized guns have been discussed many times and the bottom line is personal subjective preference. I break the size down to three categories , shorty ( Comdr. Length. ) midsize, ( Infinity, IMM ) and full size ( gov,mt ) length slide. Years ago I built a shorty similar to the Dan Bedell setup using a full length guide rod system. The gun was fast and light and in my opinion not much fun to shoot, it was just a bucking horse. Some people can handle it, you know strong grip and forearm strength, etc.. After years of my own building I,ve come full circle back to full length guns, using a 5.4 inch bull barrel, four popple holes and a titanium comp.. It handles any power factor, shoots soft and flat ( but I hate that term ) and most importantly, works foe me. Even if I were younger I would'nt use a true shorty with major PF, for steel yes, not for USPSA open division. However, I would use something similar to an Infinity IMM open gun size. Good luck.