Watermelonassassin

I stopped going to the gun shows around here a while back. I always liked the used and rare guns some tables would have. But now it seems to be nothing but a dozen guys peddling the same new guns at prices that put gander mountain to shame. Edited for unnecessary racial comment Youngeyes

Thanks for the links! I know with a custom gun you can go a little crazy with the measurements. I have just always been told that with 1911s the parts have to be just right in order for reliable function. So I would like it to be as close to "spec" as I can make it. So I don't have to worry about "spec" parts not fitting and functioning properly. Does anyone make parts better than or equal to WC but that won't cost my first born son?

I've had mine 3 or 4 years now and I'm starting to notice parts of the cup look flatten, but like most ear muffs, they have been compressed the whole time They are stil comfortable and as far as I can tell, it still seal around the ear well I have gone ahead and ordered just one set. Now I just need to find a deal on the muffs themselves. What is a "good" price for peltor tactical pros? the over the head kind not the around the neck kind.

From what I have seen about the Rock Islands, they can be nice with a little polish. If you measure twice smooth first you can make a pretty sweet pistol.

Well I have gone and held a RO and the shop I went to also had some custom shop pistols but they were all really expensive. I am going to shop around a little and see if I can find a better deal out there. I am pretty much sold on Springfield Armory as a the manufacturer. But out of curiosity, I held a Kimber at the store and it seemed really nice. Anyone use Kimber?

This may be a silly question but is there a list of measurements somewhere? like how thick the slide rail has to be. How open the channel on the frame has to be, etc, etc.

Do the peltor gel ear cups go bad, harden or otherwise need to be replaced? I am asking if I need to get more than one pair essentially.

Mark Housel of L&M precision. He was in Prescott AZ and is now somewhere in NC. I have been told mounting optics directly to the glock slide can make them die/break faster, even Trijicon RMR's. Is there any truth to this? Am I better of with a frame mount?If you want to go frame mount way I have a neumount gift certificate I'd be willing to sell I may message you about that. But I still haven't decided on the best choice yet. Appreciate the offer.

OK so it looks like I am going to use a R.O for a while and I am going to build from scratch a 1911 to replace it with (I have a post in gunsmithing about it) One of my friends is working on getting a tokarev caliber conversion running and is completely convinced it will be a game changer. I don't understand this at all. Anyone have any ideas what he is on about? Should I get a tok conversion?

HAHAHAHA. Never thought of using those. I did managed to hit up a local Winn Dixie when they were going out of business about 3 months ago and get a whole shopping cart of different size gauze pads and bandages. Best part....it was 80% off.

Thanks for all the help. I will likely come back to this thread soon. I am sure I will have loads more questions once the parts arrive.

I guess it is time to save for some Peltor tactical pros. Two questions: 1) I have head like watermelon. Any other big headed people here have them? Are they big enough? 2) I wear eye glasses. I don't like how some muffs clamp down so tight they drive the arms of my glasses into the side of my skull. Do these suffer from that?

Ok. any particular brands of fiber front sights I should look at in particular. And that EGW magwell does look nice...

So it seems the STI Spartan and Range officer are neck n neck. I know that 9mm would probably be a better choice for competing. But I also have always wanted a .45 1911. So i figured why not kill two birds with one stone? The people I know seem to have no problems being competitive and even winning with a .45. And I have a friend that reloads for .45 for competition and he will let me use his presses and dies for free, I just have to buy my own components. What are some of what you guys would consider the absolute essential upgrades for the competitions I am talking about shooting in? I am talking the bare essentials mods that you couldn't live or win without.

Thanks for the advice. I just ordered a SS frame and slide from PSA. I am going to slowly build it up with mostly WC parts. I will get a decent budget 1911 to use in the meantime. Wish WC parts weren't so damn expensive, but they make really nice stuff. Who makes the best bang for the buck barrels in .45 acp?

There are some guys near me that do single stack division. So that was my intention. So the range officer is good? What about the Springfield Loaded model?

Sounds like curlex or quick clot. Or a tampon..... I keep 5-6 tampons in my emergency medical kit. I have talked to numerous medical professionals (my dad is a doc so there are always docs and nurses around when I visit home) about it and they said tampons work great for gunshot and other puncture wounds. Also, after talking to my fathers friend who has been an ER doc for over 20 years, I bought some Bolin chest seals for the kit. He said in his experience 9 times out of 10 many fatal gun shot wounds to the torso would have been treatable if the first responder could deal with a sucking chest wound. Exactly what the Bolin chest seal is designed to do. Something you guys may want to look into for your kits.

I have had many debates with people about this before. I find that you get what you pay for with most optics from reputable brands. I built a loaner rifle a while back because I started a shooting group on facebook and kept having people that don't own guns want to shoot and go hunting with me. I used a Tikka T3 lite SS in .308 with a Ziess conquest 3-9 (with target turrets added) and I can tell you it is a sweet set up. It only gets used maybe 4-5 times a year and that is it, so pretty much the same usage level you are talking about. The Ziess is a nice scope for what it is, but if I set it next to my SWFA 3-15, or my Vortex Viper HD 1-4, or my Bushnell Tactical Elite 1-6.5. It is no contest. The other scopes are built much nicer, the glass on the more expensive optics is so much clearer, and adjustments are more tactile with clicks that are less mushy. For what you are doing do I think you need a Schmidt Bender? No. But I would spend at least $300-400.

I am looking at getting a 1911 in .45 to shoot competitions with. As a college kid I can't really afford to go out and buy a $3,000 pistol. I want a gun I can compete with and use stock but then upgrade as I go along to better suit the needs of competition play. My budget for the base gun is $900 max. Please let me know what you guys think I should do.

Does anyone else find that pyramid aggressive checkering on the main spring housing uncomfortable? I shot my friends enhanced and it was down right sharp. His hands bled after a few mags because the little pyramids were so sharp. Is that normal or is something wrong with his? Is that a part that is easily replaceable?

I spit coffee everywhere when I read this. That was a good laugh. Sadly no fresh out of kilns. And it seems like it wouldn't be too hard but would it be worth it over something like a springfield range officer? Cause I added up the cost of the parts I would want and I could just buy a Springfield. Also some people say you need all these specific 1911 building tools, others say you don't but aren't specific as to what you DO need if you aren't going to get the specific tools. So if I wanted to build one without buying the "for 1911 building only" tools, what would I need?

I wait until someone has a sale on the Dickies crew cut work socks with the Dri-tech and extra reinforcing on the toe and sole. Those things are so comfy for all day running and gunning on your feet.

Mark Housel of L&M precision. He was in Prescott AZ and is now somewhere in NC. I have been told mounting optics directly to the glock slide can make them die/break faster, even Trijicon RMR's. Is there any truth to this? Am I better of with a frame mount?

Do yourself a favor and rethink your hearing protection Every shooter I know, including myself, did what you're doing, just starting out, money's tight, spend it all on guns and bullets, and go as cheap as they can on hearing protection Now fast forward 10, 20 or 30 years later, we all have hearing loss, a bunch of us will go to lunch after the match, and half the guys are asking the other half what did he say, all of us have tinnitus And all of us now spend the money for quality hearing protection after it is too late to save what hearing we got left And I got a pair of the sonic defenders, and there're ok up to a point, and they may be ok for the gun you're shooting, but what are they shooting around you, if it is a typical match, you're squaded with open shooters, and those guns are loud 30 yards away, and what about a comped AR, I tired them and they sucked Spend the money now to get a good pair of electronic muffs, or just get a pair on passive muffs with a high NRR You'll thank me in 20 years Also note that they are only meant to last 6 months or so. The material will degrade and not seal as well, and you'll notice them starting to slip out on their own. A good friend had a pair slip out on him while shooting an 18" AR with a SJC Titan on it........the ear that the plug slipped out rang for a couple weeks afterwards he said, and he was pretty concerned about it....... I stopped using a set that I had since I didn't want to keep spending money on new ones every few months, so I started using that set for yardwork (mowing the lawn, edging, trimming).........one side won't seal anymore, so in the trash they want. They work great for a time, but are basically disposable and you'd be better served spending money on something that will last and protect a LOT! I agree with you guys. They are only a cheap temporary solution. I buy them in bulk and throw them away as they die. I have used them in conjunction with winchester ear muffs while shooting a Barrett 50 cal. I can understand them not being enough as I have had issues with people at the range using comps. I want to get a nice pair of electronic Ear pro but it seems like all the decent budget ear pro have crap reviews where they fail after a very short period of time. Do you have any suggestions on some better electronic ear pro that won't make me have to skip buying food this month?

I always had serious feeding issues with the CCI Shotshells in my G19. I only ever used them for dealing with snakes. But since it turned the glock into a single shot anyway I bought a S&W air weight and use the 38 shells since you get more and bigger pellets. Works decent as a snake charmer. But so specific in purpose it is really just a novelty.