cjd1215 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 I am looking at making and open gun purchase. So many choices. I am looking for advice on the following guns: STI Grandmaster - factory but has a good reputation from what I have researched. LimCat - Flashcat or Razorcat or Phantera anyone own one of these and have advice on them and how reliable they are Cheely Custom - who owns one and what advice can you give me Brazos Custom pro 5" - any info would be great SVI Custom I have e-mailed Matt at Cheely Customs a few times and have been provided great responses. Johnny at Limcat has provided some great info. I have yet to received a quote from SVI. Brazos seems a little slow on providing information. I am really looking at purchasing 2 guns. One for 9MM major and one for 38 Super. All advice is most welcome and appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) Just wondering why one in 9mm and one in .38 super? How much experience do you have with competitive pistol shooting, at this point? What's your total budget, BTW? Edited April 20, 2013 by Hi-Power Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjd1215 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Share Posted April 20, 2013 I have been shooting production at local matches. Looking for both 9mm and 38 Super basically because of availability of ammo. By having both I can shoot whatever I have on hand. Also, I guess because I can't really decide. I would like to stay under $5k for each gun. I have the funds but I would like spend as least as I can to get a good quality product. I am 3 years away from retirement from the military. 27 years and 3 more to go. I told my wife I am buying everything I want in retirement now. That way I don't have to make big purchases while retired. Just spend the money to sustain what I have and have fun using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonglee0507 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 get the SVI man, it's a good retirement gun. very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmo412 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Talk to Bobby at Freedom Gunworks. He could probably get you a gun faster and cheaper than the other smiths you listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWLAZS Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 I have been running with 9 major Cheely guns since he started building them, long before he went pro. My guns run awesome and are super flat shooting. I have received lots of emails about my gun and load from folks that have checked out my videos. He is awesome to work with and an all around nice guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Merricks Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Since you are looking at one of them in 9mm I would stick with Johnny or Matt. I'm not sure you can get into a limcat with separate mags for under 5k, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hab25 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Talk to shay at Akai, at least 10 guys I shoot with, including me have them and we couldn't be happier. Great customer service and attention Florida NFA trusts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gennaro Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Definately Akai might be something to look at also, but Shay and Limcat and a few others will definately put you in the 5 large +, per gun range easily. Whatever your choice though, welcome aboard and have a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hab25 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Available now http://acguns.com/?page_id=223 Florida NFA trusts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
818-DVC Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 I bought used Brazos, Infiniti, and cheely guns. All were top notch. My first new purchase is freedom gunworks. Bobby is a pleasure to work with, and the wait & price is the best I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) I have a Limcat Flashcat and an Akai both in 9mm Major. Both guns has been 100% since the day I got them. I have also owned a Cheely 9 mm Open gun and an SV IMM in 38 super comp. I never had any problem with the Cheely. The SV had a few quirks that caused feeding problems. I sent it back to SV and they straightened it out and I never had another problem with it. Edited April 20, 2013 by Jaxshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EkuJustice Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 You can get 1 gun and have both barrels for the gun. I would look at freedom also as bobby does some great work. Limcat is nice but very pricy for the machine work he does on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koppi Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 You can try Paul at Grundhauser Gun Works he is really good and priced right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 two new open guns ? F- Yes ! I'd probably get them from Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lneel Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Did you do a Gunbuilder design at www.sviguns.com ? Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnivelingDramaQueen Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 I am looking at making and open gun purchase. So many choices. I am looking for advice on the following guns: STI Grandmaster - factory but has a good reputation from what I have researched. LimCat - Flashcat or Razorcat or Phantera anyone own one of these and have advice on them and how reliable they are Cheely Custom - who owns one and what advice can you give me Brazos Custom pro 5" - any info would be great SVI Custom I have e-mailed Matt at Cheely Customs a few times and have been provided great responses. Johnny at Limcat has provided some great info. I have yet to received a quote from SVI. Brazos seems a little slow on providing information. I am really looking at purchasing 2 guns. One for 9MM major and one for 38 Super. All advice is most welcome and appreciated. Definitely SVI , price be something like 5.000$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Get Matt Cheely to build your gun or guns for you. Matt has been amazing to work with. When I had him build my gun there was of all things, a barrel shortage. He could only get his hands on a brand X barrel that turned out to be poorly made and my comp would not stay tight no matter what he tried. Every time I sent my parts or entire gun to him he paid for the shipping and did the majority of the work for free. I finally got the barrel problem fixed. Other than the loose comp issue my gun has never ever failed to work 100%. Look no further than Matt Cheely for a custom gun build. He is sponsoring the Ohio match this year with a custom limited gun for the prize table. His guns are so good people ask if he is building a prize gun before they commit to the match. He will come in well under 5k for an Open gun and his work will stand up to anybody's. And he will always provide great service after the sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjd1215 Posted April 21, 2013 Author Share Posted April 21, 2013 Thanks for all the comments. I would like to say you all made the decision easier but I would be lying. So many choices and so many variables. I have e-mail Matt Cheely back a forth about his gun. Sounds like a stand up and man. He is 10 to 11 months. Talked with Bob at Brazos and he is a year out. Limcat is 4 to 6 months. Freedom Gun is 4 to 6 months. I did do a gun build at SVI. No response. I see no one has mentioned a stock STI. Why is that? My concern is warranty on the guns. Sti is for the life of the gun. They are not going anywhere. With a custom from one of the mentioned gunsmiths, what happens if they go out of business? Tough decisions to make. Not only do I have to decide who to buy from I am unsure which caliber to get. That is why I am contemplating just getting both. I will have plenty of time when I retire to shoot them and make bullets. Thanks again for all the comments. Any more advice to help is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drglock Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 I see Matt has quoted a 10-11 month wait on a open build and I know thats a tough pill to swallow. That's about what he quoted me for my open build,ended up be a little longer but he had a wreck that sidelined him for awhile also and it has hard on me waiting that long but with that being said I'm glad I went with him on the build. My gun has run flawless since the day I got,it has not had one failure during a match and that speaks volumes on how good his work is to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonS Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 (edited) Make bullets? Or reload ammo? FYI - Lead bullets are typically not recommended at open gun velocities. Edited April 21, 2013 by JasonS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
818-DVC Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Most reputable gunsmiths will warranty their work for as long as you own it. I went custom to get exactly what I wanted. A lot of people don't like the grade of parts in stock guns, and want parts that are machined from the highest grade materials. STI's are famous for not running out of the box, and have MIM parts that break. A custom gun is just that. Made just for you, and usually run 100%. You pay a little more for the custom, but I have read most people spend just as much to get the stock gun to run like a custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markm59 Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 My wife and I have STI GMs and they have been great. Both in 38 SC. Our first open guns and we love shooting open . I would recommend them if money was tight but if you have 5k then go with the others you mentioned. The only fault I see is the factory triggers are poor and they're heavy. But they're flat shooting, comp works great with SR 7625 @ 7.2 grs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 lots of great builders mentioned. Check out Cameron's Custom, don't know what the wait is like now with this madness going on but their guns are well made and reliable. can get an open gun with mags under $5k. try as many guns as you can from different builders in as many configurations as possible so you have an idea of what you'd like in a gun. there's the question of light vs. heavy, barrel holes or no barrel holes, upright scope or sidemount scope, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 I see no one has mentioned a stock STI. Why is that? I am unsure which caliber to get. That is why I am contemplating just getting both. I bought two standard TruBor's - one from Dawson & one from Brazos - they have packages and "go over the gun to make them shoot dependably". I love the Brazos. Only disadvantage that I've found (which is NOT a disadvantage to me) is that you cannot make the trigger pull lighter than 3 lbs without changing a lot of parts - I've got my trigger set on about 3 lbs and am very happy with them both. I did add a slide racker, which I have thoroughly enjoyed - many people don't like them - I did a few other changes to both guns which in retrospect I believe to be useless for me. I would recommend that you purchase one gun in 9mm major, and then if you feel like you're missing something down the road - then spend another $3-4,000 for a .38 super - don't think you'll need it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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