S_I alloy/steel grips

[olp73]

I have been interested in gun design as long as I can remember.

One should expect a certain technological development, but the strange thing is that what is considered the best setup often contradicts the older solution. Given that the laws of physics are the same, what helps to fight recoil, for example, should be limited to some principles.

For a long time It was true that a plastic grip flexed during recoil and together with a long dust cover and a heavy bull barrel this gave you a gun that was easier to shoot straight and fast.

Now SVI seam to have dropped the plastic grips in favor of steel and have started to cut back there dust covers.

…….So I guess the Para/Caspian shooters where right all the time?

Edited February 9, 2010 by olp73

[Joe4d]

A heavier gun recoils less plain and simple. But we are shooting a game with many facets to getting your best score. Newer shooters tend to have less skill or ability to handle recoil and get back on target. They would score better with a heavier gun.

Lighter guns are faster on the first target and faster moving from target to target. More experienced shooters tend to have the technique and physical ability to better deal with recoil so they score better with a lighter gun.

What you have seen is our sport growing up.

Para's are and always have been a great design for practical shooting, However they just dont hold the quality on their fitting and parts to stay in the game long. You also have to consider we are a small segment of gun buyers. We generally have to shoot what gun company's make. What they make doesnt always make since for us.

[Pezco]

If I were to guess, the plastic grips were more of a cost saving issue to get more people into the S_I guns. Now both Brands are up and running and issues with cracked grips likely allowed/caused them to change over to the metal grips.

It seems higher level shooters like lighter guns because they are faster in transition.

My .02 cents.

[twodownzero]

I don't think the plastic grip was a cost saving measure at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the purpose of the plastic grip was to keep the 2011 around the same weight as a 1911, and that is why S/T were given a patent for the design.

The alloy grips add durability and texture without adding too much weight. Also, modern machining technology and metallurgy might have made them uneconomical before.

The 2011 was originally designed to weigh the same as a single stack and offer the increased capacity of a double stack. Was Para/Caspian right all along? I highly doubt it. Their guns are wider and don't offer the feel, neither in weight nor balance of the original 1911. That's not to say that they're not just as good, but the original goal/intent of Strayer and Tripp was to retain the feel of the 1911 as much as possible, and in my opinion, they achieved that quite successfully.

I'd also say that with people taking a lot of weight out of their slides, the aluminum frame can offer a gun of similar weight without the reciprocating weight (moving weight from the side back into the frame).

There are a lot of very good shooters shooting a full length dust cover gun with a bull barrel. I know there's a lot of talk on the internet about lighter guns for better shooters and heavier guns for shooters with less skill, but it's more a matter of preference than anything else. Most of the shooters I've talked to were so comfortable with the gun they'd been shooting for years that changing it seemed out of the question for them.

I don't think we'll see the return of 50 ounce+ guns for most shooters, but on the same note, I don't think people will continue to try to lose the weight. It even seems that the current trend in 6" guns is to get the length without any additional weight or change in balance.