$10K open vs $3K open gun

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: There are alot of guys who like the bling factor on there guns. A Rolex is a beautiful watch but it tells time just as well as a Timex. I think you will find that most of the Open pistols are using the same parts and what changes is the type of finish and machine time. If it takes more time to machine the parts then the cost will be higher. I have a custom Open 9mm shorty and my Frankingun that is ever changing. I like the Frankingun since it is the underdog and looks like it has been put threw hell. Both pistols run great but there is just something about that old dog that makes me want to make it better The Frankingun will be getting a new top end this winter and the old girl will be like new again. As some others have posted if the gun runs that is all that matters. Looks are secondary. As for a price it is what the market will bare. Thanks, Eric

[1911jerry]

At first, the cost of an open gun, whether it be 2K, 3K or more , may seem a bit high. But over the course of a couple of years, the cost is ammortized. Over the many years that you will hopefully be shooting, the ammo components will cost more than the gun itself.

If you buy a quality open gun, you usually only cry once about the cost. If you buy an unknown quantity, you may have to have the gun reworked for timing issues, feeding issues, or an assortment of "What the heck is wrong with it now issues".

If I were you and were in the market for another open gun, and I always am...., You might call a couple of the gunsmiths you have confindence in and let them know you are looking for a gun that runs 100% of the time and has a known history. There are lots of us who upgrade to a newer gun several times in our shooting lives.

The amount you spend on an open gun, or any gun for that matter, might depend on several things including: costs of parts, labor time spemt at the mill or at the bench getting the correct lightening cuts that the customer drew out on a piece of napkin, and maybe most of all, the Gunsmith's reputation. In the custom gun game, there are a lot of pretenders out there making guns, I personally would stick with a relative small group of known gunsmiths that will stand behind their work.

Here in Texas, we have several gunsmiths that make great guns, we are truly blessed....

Jerry Snyder

[jid2]

For the Original Poster, we have a great gunsmith locally that builds really nice open guns. My linkhttp://www.jplprecision.com/index.html

[Jman]

I have $1,200 wrapped up in my Open gun including big sticks.

I smoke A LOT of $3,500+ Open guns and get smoked by many of them too.

Ultimately the monkey on the button rules the day.

[pjb45]

I am not sure why you need five tuned mags for Open. Two big sticks and one small stick should suffice.

Three things influence the price of the gun: 1) Known Gunsmith, 2) Quality of parts, and 3) Cosmetics.

You can go from a Glock Open to a SVI in price range.

Coatings which relate to cosmetics can be very expansive. Good looking hard chrome is based in gun preparation. To remove tool and die marks, polish the sides, etc., takes time and skill. This enhances the hard chroming effort. The newer harder coating are not cheap either.

Now add it the special cuts on on the slide and you have more time and effort.

These two items alone can add $2 Grand to the price.

SV charges about $600 bucks for their steel frame.

I would estimate about $4,000 for a top of the line Open gun. I purchased my SV used for $2400 and got a deal. You can get a used STI for $1500.

Luckily you got someone to loan you one.

[Pezco]

Your original question was what makes a $10K Open gun better than a $3K gun - my guess is the person pulling the trigger. That of course could go in reverse, with the $3K gun being better.

Just my .02$

[Doug S]

I spent $2800 for my new Dawson/STI Steelmaster 9mm opengun. It's the first "New" open pistol I have bought and it came with one factory mag. I put spacers and followers into my un-tuned .38 Super mags and it has ran perfectly with both minor and major loads. With all the support gear included, I am still under $4000.

My other open gun is a used STI/Caspian .38S that I bought off the USPSA classifieds and I got that one for $2200 with 3 mags. This gun runs as good as my new pistol and has a great tigger. It hadn't been fired much because the gentleman I bought it from couldn't get used to the compensator blast! He said it caused him to flinch to much and he was going back to limited division. This is just an example of the deals that are out there without spend the kids college funds.

Open division is a blast (pardon the pun) and worth a try. If you have someone willing to let you try their pistol, do it before you buy one of your own. It could save you alot of money. Then if you like it, watch the classifieds for a good used one.

Doug

[GrumpyOne]

I have $1,200 wrapped up in my Open gun including big sticks.

I smoke A LOT of $3,500+ Open guns and get smoked by many of them too.

Ultimately the monkey on the button rules the day.

That there is the pearl of wisdom for the day....

[GentlemanJim]

You can spend a quarter million on a watch.

A ten dollar Timex keeps time within a second over many months

Dont overestimate the high dollar guns

Dont underestimate less expensive guns

Jim

[CocoBolo]

I have $1,200 wrapped up in my Open gun including big sticks.

I smoke A LOT of $3,500+ Open guns and get smoked by many of them too.

Ultimately the monkey on the button rules the day.

That there is the pearl of wisdom for the day....

And cornfuscious say "Even monkey fall out of tree." Why didn't he just say Indian so we would all know what he was taking about Grasshopper?

In the hands of a master class shooter my old Competitor shot 94% in the match, in my competent hands it gets to 65% go figure, so a 30% variace for the same price, just a faster Indian.

Back in 1978 I was winning races on 1/2 mile paved oval with a car that ran a 20 second lap and I spent $2500 buiding, in 1982 I needed to knock a second off the lap time to get to the front, it cost $35,000 for that 1 second, I set a new track record a 18:54. Could the same hold true in an open gun, well I don't think so.

[jaredr]

I have $1,200 wrapped up in my Open gun including big sticks.

I smoke A LOT of $3,500+ Open guns and get smoked by many of them too.

Ultimately the monkey on the button rules the day.

That there is the pearl of wisdom for the day....

Back in 1978 I was winning races on 1/2 mile paved oval with a car that ran a 20 second lap and I spent $2500 buiding, in 1982 I needed to knock a second off the lap time to get to the front, it cost $35,000 for that 1 second, I set a new track record a 18:54. Could the same hold true in an open gun, well I don't think so.

who knows, maybe you'll be the guy who figures out how to get a .355 caliber 50 gr bullet to go 3300 fps and with your new adamantium wunder-comp, you'll smoke everyone:roflol:

[818-DVC]

I've only fired a handful of open guns I didn't like for various reasons. Some were $2000, some were $5000 guns. I owned a $5000 gun and I had nothing but trouble getting dialed in. I bought an $1800 open gun that had some wear & tear, but It runs and I haven't done a thing to it. I sold the $5000 gun. It felt like buying & selling a boat, Being the 2 happiest days of ownership. Save the money & buy a nice used blaster and put the extra money away for reloading components. The gun, no matter how you slice it, is the cheapest component of the game.

[XD Niner]

Just remember that the cost to shoot a gun is not just the first cost. You should also consider the re-sale value.

I bought a used Brazos SC Open gun for just under $3000 in 2007 including shipping and FFL transfer. I sold it a few months ago for a loss of $16 after FFL transfers and shipping costs. In all that time it never gave me a lick of trouble although I did eventually have the trigger redone due to normal wear and tear. So for three years of total reliability with over 20K rounds through it I spent less than $100 per year.

It doesn't get any better than buying a name brand gun that is totally reliable and can be sold for almost what you originally paid for it.

[BBoyle]

It is hard to dispute the resale value but I have seen plenty of tinkerers destroy some great shooting pistols. I would not always just buy a used name brand because of who built it and expect it to be 100% unless I know it wasn't messed around with.

[Mark K]

Freedom Gun Works will build you a Custom Open Gun (STI) for $3000 new (polymer grip), Bobby will insure that it runs and provide fantastic support. Check out the FGW dealer forum. There are pictures, and videos - He just finished one for his wife that she shot at the Gator Classic and you can see her shooting it.

Mark K

[dansy]

I have own a couple of Dawson 5k guns and they were worth every penny....depends what you want and can afford