Revopop

Thanks for the tip, now I got some on the way.

So a while back I got a Colt CCO for carry, and all was well. It just so happened that once I found a holster that worked well for me, it so happened that I got the same holster for a 5" 1911. So just to see, I tried carrying my full size Kimber. I found that the longer grip wasn't any harder to hide under the baggy tees and Hawaiian shirts I wear, so I figured I might as well get something with a full size grip so I'd have an extra round in the gun, familiarity of controls, ability to swap mags/grips, etc. The only downside was the weight of the gun. It was noticeably heavier on the belt, especially at the end of the day. I pictured some sort of lightweight Commander sized gun. So I did a little recon at a nearby huge gun shop, and handled a few different pieces. The one I fell in love with was a Dan Wesson VBOB. I really like the bobtail grip frame, and the one they had was a "blem" so I could actually afford it. The only thing I didn't like was the weight. I also handled a Springfield Loaded Champion Lightweight, and very much liked it. I also handled a Colt Lightweight Government, which is full sized but with a lightweight frame. Now I can't decide. The VBOB is definitely the most nicely fit/finished one of the bunch, and will probably only appreciate in value, but it's also the most expensive, and it has a steel frame so it's noticeably heavier than the other 2. The Colt is nice, and will also hold it's value well, but it doesn't come with night sights so figure an extra $100 or so and the hassle of having to change out the sights. The Springfield costs the least, so much so that I could actually send it to the Springfield Custom Shop and have it bobtailed and it'd end up costing about as much as the Colt with night sights added. Those are the pros and cons, but being much less experienced than most in carrying a 1911, I thought it best to ask some of you with more experience. So, what size/weight of 1911 do you carry and why?

So I thought this Mueller's shave bar thing sounded like a great idea, and clicked on the link to order some. Well, you can't get it on the website. It lists 3 places where you can get it, 2 of them are in Cali, where I expected them to be, and the other is Dahl's Foods in Des Moines, IA, not 2 miles down the street from where I lived a year ago. Now I'm 2 states away. Dangit!

Brass whore is the term I'm most familiar with. I first heard it from needknees. He was running his foot back and forth over the grass looking for empty cases. He said, "You know what this is? The Brass Whore Shuffle." Not a problem for me, I use moonclips so I get all my brass back! I got so much .45ACP brass that when I shoot single stack I just leave it laying there for the other shooters who want it after the match. Where I used to live in Iowa, there was a free public range that was only slightly out of my way between work and home. 2 or 3 times a week, I'd stop on my way home from work and check for brass. Always got at least a couple dozen, best I ever did on one of those trips was 300 pieces of once fired nickel .45ACP brass. I still have some of those, too.

So I was going back through some of my old topics as I occasionally do, and I thought it'd be nice to give my perspective now that it's been a year and a half. I ended up buying a used Kimber from Singlestack here on the forum. It's one of the older Clackamas-marked models, and he'd installed a front fiber optic sight, Techwell/Alumagrips, SV trigger with Enos Top Curve insert, Koenig hammer, and some skate tape on the frontstrap. I paid $850 for it. The only thing I've changed is that I switched out the SP Techwell for the Carry Techwell. I much prefer the look of it, but I also found that some basepads can get hung up on the magwell if there's no opening on the front. I friggin' love this gun, and I'll never sell it. Ever. It's in need of a refinish, as it has a ton of holster wear, but I've never had a single malfunction, and it's on my hip in an IWB holster as I type this. I've got a Colt CCO for carry now, but if it weren't so heavy I'd only carry my Kimber because I trust it absolutely. So, bottom line, a nice production 1911 was the right choice for me. If I'd saved up for a Baer, I'm sure I'd be happy with it but it would've taken me a helluva lot longer to get into the game. Maybe someday I will, thought I'm so happy with my current Kimber that if I get another full size 1911 I'd be more likely to get a full custom built just like I want it. I looked around and did a lot of research until I figured out what I wanted, narrowed it down to 3, then looked for the best deal I could find. I was open to a Kimber, Springfield, or Trojan. You don't see a lot of used Trojans outside USPSA circles. There were plenty of Springfields to be had, but at the time I actually had money to burn all of them that I found were either overpriced or poorly "customized" mil-specs and GIs. The thing that put me over the edge on the Kimber was that it was ready to race. Because I bought it used from a USPSA shooter, it already had a good trigger, good sights, and a magwell. As such, I've felt no need to add or change anything. I hit the ground running when I started to shoot Single Stack, and overall I couldn't be happier.

I'm with Sarge. I lean into the handle when seating primers on my SDB, & I've never had an issue. I've said this before & he's agreed with me, I think that Carmoney probably doesn't really need to hand-seat all his primers, but he's not the type to lose a match over a primer that's a little high.

You could get an inch or two cut off and lose the magnaporting. Then you'd have something really cool and it'd be USPSA legal.

in my case, it was a little different: Step 1: Convince Carmoney to sell you his backup. Step 2: Ask Carmoney what load the gun likes. Step 3: Load up a bunch of 'em. That's pretty much all I've done. Using the same charge, primers, OAL, and crimp, I've found a load that works brilliantly in my 625 and my Single Stack. It works with any jacketed, plated, or moly 230gr. RN bullet. I haven't tried lead, but that's just because Carmoney told me that gun was noticeably less accurate with lead, plus I don't much like lead after using Billy Bullets molys. Load is 4.0gr. Clays, 1.250" OAL, .469" crimp, and of course Federal Primers, though I now use whatever primers I can find for my single stack and reserve the good Federals for my revolver.

This. I have been carrying and shooting SS for more than a few years now and when it comes to a carry mag, I stick with 7-round flush fit Metalforms. Why 7 round? Colt makes 8 round flush fitting mags too.

Well, they wised up. Ruger has now released a new version of the LCR with much more concealable boot grips without the texture and finger grooves, and an XS front night sight to boot. I'm definitely buying one now. I still don't see the LCR as a huge innovation over the S&W M&P340, but I very much like that it costs half as much as the S&W. Still ugly as sin though. Does anybody know who's making holsters for these?

I finally got my carry permit about a month ago, & after much experimentation, I've decided that I'm going to carry my full size single stack. Trouble is, my Wilson & CMC mags have long basepads, & they don't hide very well. I've got some shooting star mags without basepads that hide very well, but they haven't been 100% reliable. I usually use them as Barney mags and for dryfire practice. Any suggestions for good, reliable single stack mags with little or no basepads? I really only need one, as I carry a spare with a longer basepad for ease of reloading.

Or this.

On the CProducts website, it says "If purchasing a 9mm magazine for use in a Rock River Rifle, you will need to adjust the magazine block .015-.020 lower to function properly in this platform." The Spikes block is much more adjustable than others, that's why it's at the top of my list.

Thanks for the info. It's nice to hear from someone with firsthand experience. Did you find that the Spikes block needed a lot of initial adjustment, or was it pretty close to drop-in? I plan to only use this lower for the 9mm, as I've got a Cav Arms lower with my 5.56 upper and I really like that setup. I have a JP "Tactical" trigger & hammer kit, but they don't recommend using it for a 9mm, so I'll probably just sell it off and put it towards 9mm parts.

On the Hahn website, they describe the dedicated magwell block as "removable at the armorer level". Could somebody tell me what that means?

Thanks for the info. The thing that appeals to me most about the Spikes block is that it's supposed to be much more adjustable than others, but at the same time I don't want to end up fiddling with it all the time. Thanks for the heads-up on the Spikes uppers too, they are definitely the most cool looking, and that's important to me.

How many wild spending sprees have started with the following phrase: "So I got this extra lower layin' around..." Anyway, I've got a Stag stripped lower and I have no real plans for it, and I thought a 9mm carbine would be fun, then maybe eventually SBR it and get a suppressor for it. There's a dizzying array of options out there, and I have no idea where to start. Thought I'd ask here first. To those who have 9mm ARs, what do you like and why do you like it? Is there anything you've tried and found it didn't work? Any potential issues I should know about? I've been looking at a Rock River upper with a Spikes Tactical magwell block and CProducts mags, or maybe an Olympic upper with a Hahn drop-in block and Uzi mags. I'm pretty set on getting a complete upper and putting the lower together myself. Any help y'all can give me will be greatly appreciated.

The obvious answer is to get carbon grips for the knife.

Good call-out, Flex. I often check the forums on my phone (when I'm supposed to be working, like right now) and it's a royal pain having to scroll through all that extraneous gobbledygook.

I've heard that if your Jag isn't leaking oil, it's because there isn't any. That must be why the Dang thing holds 11 quarts!

Funny you should ask...I didn't sell any to get it, but I just got off the phone with my mechanic and it needs a little work...about 2/3 of what I got out of the Limited gun I just sold...ah, the joys of Jaguar ownership... Even with that, though, I still got a helluva deal on this car.

Indeed it does. Also a windscreen, 4 tyres, and headlamps, and I put a torch in the boot in case I get a flat on the way to my flat.

Yeah, I knew going into it that this wouldn't be a cheap car to own, but. I just fell in love with it. We spent all day looking at cars, and we had it narrowed down to the Jag or a '99 Corolla with 20,000 more miles. While my girlfriend was telling me how the Toyota would be more practical, I told her she couldn't wave a steak under a man's nose and then ask him to get excited about a slice of white bread. In the next few days, I'll post pics with the top down and also a few of the beast under the bonnet. It's a British car, so that's what we call the hood.

For the first time ever, I've got a car I can be proud of. Of course, I've never paid more than $200 for a car before either... Anyway, I found this online, it's an '89 Jaguar XJ-S convertible with the V12 engine. It is sooooo sexy. I've had it for about a week and a half. Today I lovingly handwashed and waxed it. Haven't done that in years. I always used to say that God washed my car for me when it rained. My attitude has definitely changed. The best part, I bought it for a song. I'm not even gonna tell you guys how much, cause you wouldn't believe me. Enjoy the pics! It looks better now that it's clean.

Breaking news, just ran across an old Benelli 121 M1 for a few bucks less. Looks to be in near perfect shape. Better option?