Canuck63

Hi Hurley, thank you very much for chimin' in mate!I knew that Bill stands behind his guns but I didn't know that he offers a lifetime warranty on his guns..that's absolutely GREAT! Cheers Manu

Hi one and all, I'm going to purchase one of the Wilson Combat Classics the Italian Importer is going to receive next year and there are a few things I'd like to ask here about this gun. Looks like they've ordered a batch of "ordinary" Classics this time around,i.e. no Supergrades and I would like to know the REAL differences about the two.The Classic is a great gun per se and I'm really curious to know if the difference in price between the "Classic" and the "Supergrade",i.e. €4500 vs. €7500/8000 is really worth it,after all Wilsons are like Ferraris...there are Ferraris that cost €190K and Ferraris that cost €500k yet nobody would be unhappy with a "entry level" Prancing Horse and surely enough a €190K Ferrari ain't no slouch either. I've written an email to Wilson Combat late this afternoon (it was 11 AM in the USA) asking which mods I could have had on my pistol before they started working on it and Anthony over atr WC has promptly replied telling me that if the pistol hasn't been started yet there's just nothing that cannot be added to the gun. I went for a few mods like a wide ambi,countersunk slide stop,Tactical cone barrel with fluted chamber and custom serial #....oh...and Black Armor Tuff finish. Now,would you guys tell me if I've made a wise choice?I know that with a Wilson you cannot go wrong by any means (I own Les Baers and Les' guns are another thing I'd die for) but what puzzles me a bit is the HUGE difference in price between the "ordinary" Classic and the "Supergrade"...I could have bit the bullet,scrimp and save and go all the way and order a Supergrade in the first place but I just have no clue about the differences between the two. Are the mods I'm going to ask for worth it by the way?I own several 1911 with bull barrels fitted to them for example, and I like them a lot...I like the feel of a heavier gun under recoil,in fact I LOVED my LB Monolith Heavyweight! Cheers Manu

The Germans wouls say "Alles ist moeglich" which translates into "Everything's possible" but IMHO it ain't worth it!If the barrel is thick enough and if that's feasible I'd opt for a .308! Cheers Manu

Hi guys, I've read all of your posts so far with interest and IMHO there's definitely something wrong in the gun.A cosmetic issue wouldn't be too big a problem,after all just last nite I saw a similar thing on a custom gun while reading an issue of Guns & Ammo ...can post the pictures with all credits,of course! What did concern me more than the slide out of alignment (the right side is sorta ok,though!) is the barrel that has a little play to it inside the bushing.The owner says that it shoots great...yep..it will until the muzzle will rest exactly on the same spot,then it'll surely become erratic sooner or later!Having ownwed at least a dozen SVIs in the past I'm 129% sure that it hasn't left the factory like that!On the other hand,since the gun bear no wear signs it would nonetheless a bargain (the same gun costs in the excess of 4000 Euros,new!) and I could have a Bar-Sto,Briley,Wilson.KKM,Wilson or Baer barrel fitted by Sandro Amadini of Amadini Holsters fame or Roberto Dallera(well known to BE and a friends with Les Baer,whose components he's used on many of his 1911) http://adccustom.com/adc/ ...there are a few "Enzo Ferraris of the 1911" in Italy even if no red-blooded,1911/2011-loving Italian IPSC shooter hasn't dreamed at least once to move to the USoA,at the cost of making a living out of starting a shoestring retipping business or pole-dancing! Cheers Manu

+1. +2! Been using N310 for my 40 S&Ws pistols for ages and never had problems.Once I noticed that the cases were bulged where they were unsupported by the feed ramp and that happened with 220grs jacketed bullets with a load on the "hot" side.If you work your way slowly you will be fine but remember that cases will weaken soon,therefore you'd be better off using N310 either for ammo you'll shoot in matches or for minor loads.I cannot give you my minor "recipes" because they're on a PDF on another PC but I'll do that soon! HTH Manu

Hi one and all, here in Italy we've got two producers of cast and plated bullets,namely Target Bullets and Dynamic Bullets,whose products are scaringly accurate,especially so their T68 LSWCs,but they are most likely unknown Stateside and surely enough not available over there.Italy's Fiocchi,on the other hand,which is well known Stateside and which is one of the "Factory" STI IPSC Team's main sponsors,makes two styles of FMJ bullets which are amongst the most accurate I've shoot to date and I think that they are available in the USoA.Their 230grs FMJ(identical to the military hardball) and the 200grs FMJ are absolutely GREAT and shoot equally well from just about any barrel I've owned and tried,be they Bar-Sto's (hailing back to the very early 2000s),KKMs,Les Baer's,Wilson's,Nowlin's and Schuemann's. I'd suggest you to give this bullets a try if you want to have a go to a FMJ.I've been using N310 exclusively for the past 10 years and found it to be the best powder available this side of the Ocean.I use it in my 40S&W loads as well,and it works a charm, but in this case you've got to be VERY careful because the pressure limits are easily exceeded! Cheers Manu

Thank you so very much for your replies so far guys.I'll definitely pass on this gun and having had a lot of SVIs in the past I echo what Ltdmstr said..there's no way it left the factory with poorly fitted frame and slide and with a barrel with play inside the bushing.Something must have happened sometime! Cheers Manu

Hi all....seen the pistol in the flesh late this afternoon and there's definitely something strange in it.The "step" is noticeable on the left but hardly so on the right.Once stripped down the gun looks absolutely new with hardly a few 100s rds thru it,yet I've checked and double checked it and while the barrel bushing is a very tight fit the barrel has a bit of play in it...not some sort of "muzzle springing" it (the barrel) rests on the one part of the bushing leaving a small "light" between 12 and 5hrs....mmmmmhhhh...in my opinion the barrel has been swapped for some reason...too bad because it was a near-MINT Infinity 1911 with a spectacular blueing and a nice ramped barrel at less than half the current price in Italy. I'd have bought it and have a Wilson,a Nowlin,a Bar-Sto or a KKM fitted but those issues would heve haunted me forever...I think I'll pass! Thank you so very much for your help so far guys! Cheers Manu

Thanks a lot for chmin' in SV-Cop, just called the owner on the phone a few minutes ago...this afternoon I'm going to thre Italian SVI importer 'shop and fetch the spares for my other SVIs and while I'm at it I'll meet the owner (a Detective at the Police Station of a nearby town) and take a few more pictures. The extractor is properly blended,what I don't like is the slide resting a millimiter too forward as if there was no hold open fitted,if you know what I mean.

Hi Yoshidaex, I 100% got your drift mate but would that be acceptable on such a gun?I mean,I've owned at least a dozen SVIs and they were all very well cared for,but this detail sorta put me off...the gun'd definitely going to be used in IPSC matches but even in this case that detail is rather puzzling...the rest of the pictures show a gun that's been hardly shot but such a step IMHO could boil down to a badly fitted barrel lower lug or a similar issue!I'd like to make sure before forking out! Cheers Manny

Hi one and all, last nite a friend of mine called me telling that he'd seen a nice Infinity 1911 for sale and asked me to take a look at the pictures he had and forwarded me the ad for this gun.This morning I've called the owner to ask the whereabouts of this gun and he told me that it had been bought new,it was near mint,had shot only 400 rds of factory ammo,it was a tack drivers and all that jazz.I have no reason whatsoever to doubt what this very kind gentlemen has told me,yet the photo I'm attaching sorta puzzled me a bit.The rear of the frame stands a little proud (or the slide is millimiter too much forward)..this is a gun that has been hardly shot and well kept but...would it be acceptable on a top-end gun like an Infinity or something somewhere along the road from Texas to Italy went wrong? Thank you so very much for your time. Manu

Hi lot, we wouldn't have imagined to get all these replies and interesting comments...looks like they've been useful to stir something! Thank you so very much guys!

Hi Kyle, I don't think so but in any case they'd write them to suit their needs! Cheers Manny

Hi Walter, thank you very much for chimin in!That's what we've started doing...and your posts soulds like a "way to go guys!" Cheers Manny

Totally ignored!To add to the farce you cannot register after a certain date and even if there's a good % of vacant places (30 to 40% usually) you are not allowed to register after that date,and this is what a "Statt" Officer postred on our FB page today; "If somebody would tell me on Thursday that I have to print a dozen more equipment sheets and patches that would p#ss me off big time!If you don't like our rules just don't shoot!" I cannot afford training the way I should and would because of my job (I do all my training in matches actually!),yet I've managed somehow to get close to a 81% ave.but they will detract 16% from my total score because I reached this goal shooting in the "B" Championship.The Masters and Grand Masters won't be considered,hence even if I finished my last match at 77% from a Grand Master in the Classic Division I'll be granted a 61% for that match...that sux!Aren't my scores as good as his?I mean...his Alphas are worth 5 points...aren't my As supposed to be worth the same? Hope Vince will chime in and add his voice to yours. You may not know it but we,as a bunch of poor As,Bs,Cs and Ds are looking at you,US shooters,as our "last resort"...your comments are VITAL and DO have started to move something! Thanks a lot for your time and camaraderie! Best Manny

One question guys, a friend of mine called me this afternoon and told me that he just received FS and that there was a photo of me shooting at the 2012 French Nationals...I don't know to save my life if he was talking about the last issue or a much older one!How many Regions do publish FS?I doubt that in the last issue there is an article on the 2012 French Nationals! Cheers Manny

Pretty sure Darth Pinto would flip out. Hope so matey, just linked this thread to him and we (the "plebs" trying to bag a %) are eagerly waiting for his opinion! This forum's has had at least several hundreds new followers from Italy...not that it needed them but it goes to show how we consider the USA as THE Region! We thank y'all guys! Manny

Guys, thank you very much for chimin' in!Some may consider posting my thread here like a pointless thing but if you only knew how IMPORTANT are your feedbacks and replies you'd understand the reason why I've chosen this forum to ask for opinions from shooters of a Region that consider this sport the way it should! Thank you so very much shooters! Cheers Manny

Hi one and all, I know that this forum is for matches that will be held Stateside but there’s something I’d like to bring to the attention of shooters from other Regions in order to gather opinions to show my colleagues in Italy. Until 2011 the Italian Championship was identical to any other Championship,i.e. consisting in matches which anybody (Ds,Cs,Bs,As,Ms and GMs) could register to and which ended up with the Handgun Nationals,which thing wasn’t accepted anymore at a certain point before the 2012 Championship by many of the so called “Top Shooters” in that they couldn’t take anymore the fact that a quick “D” could register first,”stealing” the place in this or that group at the match that would be held at their (the “Top shooters’ “ that is) local range!!!! Now Italy’s got TWO Championships; The “B series”,for all the As,Bs,Cs and Ds and the so called “National Championship of Excellence” for Masters and Grand Masters to which As,Bs,Cs and Ds can register AFTER all the Masters and Grandmasters.The only As,Bs,Cs. And Ds who can register and are on the same league as the Ms and GMs are the ones who have reached a certain % in the Winter Championship,the others must wait for the very last day.Confused?Don’t tell me! Until 2011 you could pay thru bank transfer or on the range if you were well known...now you must pay thru Pay Pal and have ONE hour to do that,after one hour your name will be deleted from the list and another shooter will have the chance to register Further…Masters and GMs can register to the “B Series” AFTER the As,B,Cs and Ds but don’t get any award. There are two scores…one “overall” with Ms and GMs and another without the latter.To mudden the waters even further from the final scoring of the As,Bs,Cs and Ds a 16% will be detracted,so that none of them will “run the risk” to become a Master. Two matches ago I hit a 87% from one of the “Tops”,which will be lessened to a 71%...what do you guys think about that? Your opinions will be GREATLY and IMMENSELY appreciated! Cheers Manny

You're a riot!!!! :roflol: :roflol: :roflol: :roflol:

Gonna keep my eyes upon you Bruce ...you've asked for that ! "Optical telecommunications device or an astronomical instrument" ...guess who they gonna blame in case the aliens attack!

Hi Bruce, to most dealers Steside everything that's even REMOTELY related to anything going "boom" is a no-no when it comes to shipping...not because they willingly take nose-dives but because laws and rules are getting more and more draconian and they come to extremes just to be or remain on the safe side!The sales rep of one of the best known US custom shops refused to send a FO front sight because "It would have turned a gun into a DEADLIER one!" ...and I'm as serious as a heart attack;if I'll find the email I won't have any problem posting it here, deleting names ,of course!According to him an open gun would be only a step less lethal than a thermo-nuke device

Brian, that's what I (roughly) thought....a few hours before your reply I bought a set of 4/40 Allens off eBay thinking that it could have been the right size...now I know IT IS! Thanks a million! Manny

Hi Bruce, thanks a lot for the tip mate....done that already and they cannot (or won't)ship outside the ConUSA! Manny

Hi all, I need several spare screws for the STI and Wilson oversize mag release buttons fitted to my 1911s.They (the screws,that is!)are nigh to impossible to get where I live and US screw sizes/measurements are rather confusing to us leaving this side of the Pond...could a compassionate soul put me on the right track with the right tpi and dia. (lenght isn't an issue as long as my trusty Dremel will work ) so that a quick search on eBay will solve my problem? TIA Manny