joakim Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Hi guys, Im getting a new gun for IPSC production and will check out the Stock III, I'm in Sweden. I can't decide if I should wait 'an undefined time' for a Stock III Extreme or settle on a Special instead, which is available now. From looking at the pictures I think the hard chromed special looks much nicer that the extreme but the extreme is better value as it has all the extreme stuff inside (which I probably would end up buying anyway...) Do anyone know if any Stock III Extremes has been shipped from factory yet? As I understood the timeplan the gun should have been out end of last year. BR /J Edited January 14, 2014 by joakim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunslingerDK Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I have yet to see any of the Xtreme guns at dealers. The finish is really nice I agree, but besides that you can turn you regular Stock III into an Xtreme without the help of a gunsmith, if you have an average knowledge of the platform. if you can get the normal one right away I would suggest you do. Since you are in Sweden Eric can ship you the parts you need within a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onagoth Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 My understanding is that the Italian government is holding up the export permits....for reasons unknown to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I have not seen any S3 extreme here in my country either. if I was you I'd buy the stock 3 special and buy the hammer, and firing pin (already have a brand new sear since it's a new gun, but could get a new sear if you wish). then get whatever grips you want, and get the guiderod if you want. I agree the GK cote on the stock 3 special is a great finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Checked out the Stock III special (nickel, not 'hard chromed' as I wrote above) and the GK and I did prefer the GK. Partly due to my big hands and the larger wood grip panels but the GK also seemed to have a smoother action (atleast comparing these two specimens). So instead of a shiny nickel gun I settled on a (sort of) black GK with wood grips, so Instead of the planned Ghost One I will have to get a matching leather holster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 The nickel coat is the GK coat. it's kind of a greeny/silvery colour. the black one is just 'blued'. it's not a GK coat. as far as blued guns go it's quite a nice finish but just be aware blued finish is no where near as tough as something like the GK coat... great gun though. and I like the wood grips too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) Strange, tanfoglio.it only shows three versions of the Stock III, the blued one, the nickel Special and the Extreme. My dealer also has a 'GK' version which should be the most durable finish of the three, it is priced slightly higher ($75) than the Special. I don't know the history here and if it was part of 2013 cataloge or not. Links (text in Swedish). The GK is dark brown/black 'metallic' colour, same wood grips as the blued one. Seems to be the same pictures on the website on the Blue and the GK unfortunately. GK: http://shop.textalk.se/se/article.php?id=39700&art=20949560 Special: http://shop.textalk.se/se/article.php?id=39700&art=20774822 Blued: http://shop.textalk.se/se/article.php?id=39700&art=20774820 Update: Found this picture on the 'Tanfoglio Stock III' facebook group, from December: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=699015893455643&set=a.699015856788980.1073741893.221957141161523&type=1 I guess the bottom left is GK and the right is blued. Edited January 16, 2014 by joakim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 this is the blued model (I think what you have). http://www.tanfoglio.com.au/p/204/tanfoglio-stock-sport-pistol.html This is the GK coat (nickel coat) - also called the stock III special. http://www.tanfoglio.com.au/p/210/tanfoglio-stock-special.html the shiny finish ones are hard chrome (they call it HC) like the stock II. I think he has some spec/pic mixed up. the stock III special is the GK cote one. it seems the 'standard' stock III comes in blued or hard chrome in some markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi BeerBaron, Interesting. This is a new area for me, mainly been handling Glocks and the difficult choice of finish then being black or green polymer This is utterly confusing.. Looking at the Special at http://www.tanfoglio.it/eng/catalogo/sport-amp-competition/stock-iii-special.html they state: "The Stock III Special has nichel(sic) finishing", no mention of GK or 'Hard Chrome'. Your picture of the AU 'Nickel GK' is not as dark as the 'GK' i handled (almost black). Looking at the tanfoglio.it website they have the other guns with GK finish that are also in a fairly light colour. But GK (short for 'Gun Kote' I presume) seem to be available in any choice of colour so maybe there are different versions. Maybe their 'Nickel' is a form of GK finish (i.e. called nickel in one place and 'nickel GK' in AU)? The special I looked at was more silver in colour compared to your picture above but with the same gloss, not as shiny as I would expect a hard chrome to be. On sites with multiple pictures of the Special (like http://shop.textalk....00&art=20774822) there is a difference in colour on the different pictures, maybe due to differnt light. From what I have seen so far my gut feeling is that there is no Stock III hard chrome version (but I could be wrong on this too). Maybe they offer different finishes on different markets or they are just lousy at communication... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) it is a bit confusing, but from knowledge of a range of their models you can figure it out. Any of the HC models (like eric gold custom HC) are Hard Chrome. You can tell the hard chrome as the flat surfaces on the gun are super shiny and any rounded surfaces are slightly dull. Any of the GK models are the nickel finish. (like eric gold GK, or stock III special). It's a slivery greeny kind of coating. it does look different in different lighting. having said that it seems they do make a dark GK finish too which is almost black. the stock III (regular model) is black and the finish is blued. I have also not seen a hard chrome stock III. as far as I can see there are 3 finishes. standard which is blued (black colour). GK which is the nickel coating (stock III special) extreme which is GK nickel coated frame and black GK slide perhaps there is a black GK version too... this is hard chrome: Edited January 20, 2014 by BeerBaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 in fact have a look on the aus site. http://www.tanfoglio.com.au/p/202/tanfoglio-limited-custom-hard-chrome.html you can see the limited custom GK is the black coating you described. so perhaps in some markets you can get a stock 3 special in that black GK as well as the nickel GK (which is the silvery greeny colour). Then look at the eric gold custom GK and it's the silver/green colour (which they call nickel GK). And the HC models are obviously the hard chrome. which is a really nice finish btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Ok, that makes sense. I agree that the HC guns looks really nice. I will post a picture when I get mine, will pobably take a month or two (or three..) to get the license. Cheers, /J Edited January 20, 2014 by joakim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Cool. I'm sure you'll love your new tanfo. The stock 3 is a great gun. It does lack the bull barrel like the stock 2 and that does change the balance a bit. Part of the reason the stock 2 shoots as flat as it does is that extra weight in the muzzle end. But the s3 will be quicker target to target with the lighter front end. It looks tough with the rail too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babo_al Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Cool. I'm sure you'll love your new tanfo. The stock 3 is a great gun. It does lack the bull barrel like the stock 2 and that does change the balance a bit. Part of the reason the stock 2 shoots as flat as it does is that extra weight in the muzzle end. But the s3 will be quicker target to target with the lighter front end. It looks tough with the rail too. Quite the opposite , stock 3 has a longer overall barrel and slide and lots more weight on the front than stock 2, this makes for a slow transition from target to target, on top of that because the skinny barrel and full size slide you get more recoil impulse from that heavy chunk of metal coming back and forward every time you pull the trigger . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 The Stock III barrel is 12mm (.47 inches) longer and it weighs 40g (1.41 ounces) more than the Stock II. Stock II AU and Stock III has the same length and weight. I suspect that the Stock III rail ads front weight that is comparable to the bull barrel. You also have the differences in trigger mechanism (Stock III getting more votes on the forums it seems) and the longer barrel (distance between front and rear sight) adding accuracy and weight (pro/con for IPSC/USPSA could be debated) In IPSC we can't change the internal parts in the same way as in USPSA so I'm not sure if it is ok to put the Stock III trigger parts in a Stock II (maybe it is since its factory parts). At the moment there were only Stock IIIs available and the Stock III was cheaper compared to the Stock II on last years price list (~$300) so the Stock IIIs sold better, fewer Stock IIs were imported. The price difference was supposed to be due to government contracts and larger manufacturing volumes. At my level in IPSC this will be a big step forward compared to my sturdy old G17 and I would probably be equally satisfied with a stock II or III. But it will be interesting to see what the pros run with this season... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onagoth Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 If I'm not mistaken...the stock 2 australian version has the longer slide/barrel and the bull barrel....the best of both worlds! The trigger differences will be non-existent on the extreme models, or at least i expect so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Cool. I'm sure you'll love your new tanfo. The stock 3 is a great gun. It does lack the bull barrel like the stock 2 and that does change the balance a bit. Part of the reason the stock 2 shoots as flat as it does is that extra weight in the muzzle end. But the s3 will be quicker target to target with the lighter front end. It looks tough with the rail too. Quite the opposite , stock 3 has a longer overall barrel and slide and lots more weight on the front than stock 2, this makes for a slow transition from target to target, on top of that because the skinny barrel and full size slide you get more recoil impulse from that heavy chunk of metal coming back and forward every time you pull the trigger . Sorry Babo, you are right, but I am also right! in australia the stock 2 already had the longslide and longer barrel (and longer dustcover). so when I compared stock II and stock III the stock III felt lighter to me and more 'pointy' to me. I am comparing my large frame AU model stock II to a small frame stock III. I didn't notice much extra weight from the rail, though it would make sense that it adds a little weight. but of course for all other markets you are right, stock II has shorter barrel and slide/frame than stock III. I'm surprised that the barrel is heavier in the stock III even vs the shorter stock II. there is a lot more steel in those cone barrels. There are some who say the stock III trigger is nicer than stock II, others tell me they are the same. but most everyone agrees using the extreme parts will give a better trigger. yes it's possible (I believe) to use the S3 trigger parts into a S2 as they are factory parts sold by tanfoglio for the whole 'stock' line. but again, the best option is use the extreme parts. they are IPSC legal too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 If I'm not mistaken...the stock 2 australian version has the longer slide/barrel and the bull barrel....the best of both worlds! The trigger differences will be non-existent on the extreme models, or at least i expect so yep, precisely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babo_al Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I had one of those Australian stock 2 last year right after selling the stock 3 { all small frames } it points just fine but a bit unbalance for my taste and front heavy { sorry my opinion } As for the triggers all of them come with the 2 peace sear now days , so it was no difference between them. The new extreme parts that I lately installed on my old stock 2 { old standard version } made reset shorter and I think they are a keeper for now. So for me was a round circle tried them all and ended back to the same old stock 2 model I had with some extreme parts in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e-mishka Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 this is hard chrome: Aussie stock 2 looks freakin awsome, I'd take two please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I had one of those Australian stock 2 last year right after selling the stock 3 { all small frames } it points just fine but a bit unbalance for my taste and front heavy { sorry my opinion } As for the triggers all of them come with the 2 peace sear now days , so it was no difference between them. The new extreme parts that I lately installed on my old stock 2 { old standard version } made reset shorter and I think they are a keeper for now. So for me was a round circle tried them all and ended back to the same old stock 2 model I had with some extreme parts in it. I actually tend to agree a little. not about the unbalance of the aus stock II. I actually find it feels really balanced in the hand (again, talking my large frame). but it does feel a little nose heavy in transitions. you don't need to wave it around as hard if that makes sense. it kind of has it's own momentum... for example transitioning from high target down to low target the first time I shot it I went past the low target to the ground and had to come back up. I'm used to shooting a CZ shadow of course and it's way lighter in the muzzle. once used to it though I love the balance and the biggest improvement is second shot split. it returns to aim very, very quickly. If I could have the trigger from my 5 year old CZ shadow, the sight radius, frame, fit, barrel etc from the tanfo then I'd be in heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 this is hard chrome: Aussie stock 2 looks freakin awsome, I'd take two please I can't take credit for that actually. that's a regular stock 2 (can tell as barrel sticks out a bit, and slide and frame are shorter). to make ammends, I'll post some pics of my stock 2 in a min (with wood grips and with silver extreme grips) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Please accept my apologies for the quality of pics in advance. They are taken with iphone, in my kitchen and in poor light AND the gun wasn't super clean (damn that hard chrome! it shows up dirt and fingermarks!) but here they are: aus model stock II, large frame, henning grip screws, henning bush (not in the pics), 2 barrels (9mm and 38 super), factory wood grips and extreme grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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