CK or STI 2011?

[pjb45]

Full disclosure, I am a SV addict.  That said, I have shot an Area match with Bob (Brazos). He was very generous in helping a squad member with his problems. He is a gentleman.  I have known two of his sponsored shooters, their guns ran and ran.  I have met up with him at various nationals and area matches which he supports.

 

His guns run great.  He will turn stuff around quickly if there is ever an issue. 

 

I have never shot an CK so I cannot demean them in any way but I do know Bob's stuff and if I did not shoot SVs I would have no problems with buying his guns.

 

[3gunDQ]

1 hour ago, mike4045 said:

I own both. I know  the CK is better fit and quality than anything that rolls off the factory floor.

 

1 hour ago, RangerTrace said:

I get what he's saying though.  The CK did roll off the CKARMS Factory Floor.   Which is a good thing.  

 

CK has a lot of love on Enos. I personally don’t own any.... they are like anything else. They still make guns on fridays, and they have screaming fans and people with stories of shit and/or mediocrity. Don’t be fooled that CK is not a factory gun builder... they build them fast AF and run high production. The good news is, for whatever reason, CK have good resale value. If you want a racegun... knockyourselfout 

[mike4045]

I have run guns from most high end builders over the years. I don't put them in those circles, but better than STI. I picked up the CK to hold me over until my custom is finished.

[Hi-Power Jack]

8 hours ago, mike4045 said:

I have guns from most high end builders . I don't put them in those circles, but better than STI.  

 

What is the difference between  1. high end builder and CK ?

                                                          2.  CK and STI ?

Accuracy ?

Dependability ?

 

???

[3gunDQ]

3 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

What is the difference between  1. high end builder and CK ?

                                                          2.  CK and STI ?

Accuracy ?

Dependability ?

 

???

 

The difference in my opinion in a high end custom gun and a CK gun is that a CK gun is basically a massed produced factory gun disgusted as a custom gun.... kinda like a Wilson Combat gun. They mass produce the shit out of "custom guns" that who customized? the buyer? hmmmmm, no.

 

Is a CK pistol accurate? maybe.

Is it dependable? also maybe.

 

There are more to accuracy and dependability of a racegun than the person that made the gun. You need good mags, tuned spring and followers, gun maintenance, good quality ammo, etc. Getting a well built gun is only half the battle AND I am not saying CK are not well built... I am saying they are not custom, they are factory mass produced guns. Are they better quailty than STI? surely they are, sti have been turning out some shit heep guns. 

[shakazulu12]

I've been eyeballing the IDPA legal CK's, however once concern I have is that a few members here have posted that the slide doesn't lock back reliably.  It appears there are a few owners on this thread (I recognize that most probably have limited guns in .40 though).  Curious what the experiences are with that.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I've been shooting a TruBor (The Cheapest STI-type Open Gun) for more than a decade.

 

Been wondering, if I spent double the amount of money for a true custom gun, what would

actually work differently, assuming that my TruBor is 100% reliable (it is) ?

[jcc7x7]

58 minutes ago, shakazulu12 said:

I've been eyeballing the IDPA legal CK's, however once concern I have is that a few members here have posted that the slide doesn't lock back reliably.  It appears there are a few owners on this thread (I recognize that most probably have limited guns in .40 though).  Curious what the experiences are with that.

Magazine setup is the key

[Sarge]

47 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

I've been shooting a TruBor (The Cheapest STI-type Open Gun) for more than a decade.

 

Been wondering, if I spent double the amount of money for a true custom gun, what would

actually work differently, assuming that my TruBor is 100% reliable (it is) ?

100% reliable? for a decade? Then you would gain nothing except better fit and finish and customizing the looks and feel of the gun. I think you are lucky to be able to say that about a stock Trubor? From what I understand the main parts like, slide frame etc are great. Heck, many custom guns are built with those parts to start. It's the small internal parts that are lacking compared to EGW, CK,  etc.

[mike4045]

5 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

What is the difference between  1. high end builder and CK ?

                                                          2.  CK and STI ?

Accuracy ?

Dependability ?

 

???

Ck vs sti. 

The sti required a couple of passes with file on  the extractor. Tight chamber needed to be opened up for coated and lead bullets. Factory mags didn't feed.  Easy enough fix.  

CK would not feed to ammo reliably.  Easy enough to fix.  Both guns reliably now with no spacers in old sti mags 

 

Ck vs full custom.  

I still like my full custom builds. No work needed until they got into 2nd and 3rd seasons.  Getting ready to have another built. 

[rowdyb]

to me there is a difference between a gun assembled by workers. just a factory gun. level 1.

 

then the next step up is a group of good parts from different places assembled by someone who is paying attention with doing minor fitting. level 2.

 

then the next step up is someone doing the above but with deeper knowledge, much greater hand fitting and doing what the customer asked versus just cranking out what is their "thing" level 3.

 

finally you have someone who truly mills and manufactures parts or from quality blanks. then does hand fitting extensively, then does what a customer asks. then tunes everything to work perfect and then still is able to inject enough custom touches or finishes for it to be instantly recognized as a "X" gun. level 4.

 

To me there seems to be a 1,000 dollar difference between each of these steps in price.

[RileyLV]

5 hours ago, rowdyb said:

 

To me there seems to be a 1,000 dollar difference between each of these steps in price.

 

 

Maybe more than $1,000 to get to "level 4" from "level 3", at least using SVI as a model.

[waktasz]

On 1/1/2018 at 10:08 AM, S&W686 said:

I have had four guns build by Bobby under Freedom Gunworks and have purchased three CK Arms guns from Shooters Connection.  All needed to be broke in, but after the break-in period they all have ran flawlessly.  If you do have an issue Bobby will take care of it.

 

ha.

[pjb45]

Some off the shelf guns run great, some don't.  Some custom guns need fixes, others don't.  Experiences vary.

Is a $8K SV worth it-if you can afford it sure otherwise go another route.

Are Bob and Eddie's (garcia) guns really better than factory-no doubt across the spectrum.

Buy what fits your requirements/constraints.

Like most general question of what is better you might find conflicting/competing answers.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Don't mean to beat this to death, but I've been very happy with my TruBor - it was

"gone over" by Brazos when I bought it, and I did have few things modified, and

I understand that the modified TruBor is less expensive to make than a level II,  III

or IV.

 

But, if I don't have either gun marked (can't be wearing a blindfold), what benefit

would I derive from a level IV gun than my TruBor ?

 

My TruBor has been Very Reliable (until it needs new springs), and is more accurate

than I am.

 

What actual benefit do I get from a Level IV gun ?

[RangerTrace]

19 hours ago, shakazulu12 said:

I've been eyeballing the IDPA legal CK's, however once concern I have is that a few members here have posted that the slide doesn't lock back reliably.  It appears there are a few owners on this thread (I recognize that most probably have limited guns in .40 though).  Curious what the experiences are with that.

With stock STI mags mine did for about six months then I started having some issues.  I changed mag springs to ones for 140 mm mags and it solved the issue.  Full disclosure, I am left handed and switched to a Wilson Combat semi-extended slide stop also.

[RangerTrace]

1 hour ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

Don't mean to beat this to death, but I've been very happy with my TruBor - it was

"gone over" by Brazos when I bought it, and I did have few things modified, and

I understand that the modified TruBor is less expensive to make than a level II,  III

or IV.

 

But, if I don't have either gun marked (can't be wearing a blindfold), what benefit

would I derive from a level IV gun than my TruBor ?

 

My TruBor has been Very Reliable (until it needs new springs), and is more accurate

than I am.

 

What actual benefit do I get from a Level IV gun ?

You "might" get a little more accuracy and a better trigger....maybe.  I think the biggest difference is in cosmetics.  

[teros135]

Pride in ownership?   Bragging rights? 

[Hi-Power Jack]

That's what I thought - and why I avoided it like the plague.

 

To me, my firearms are tools ...   NOT pieces of art.

 

 

[B585]

I bought my CK used.  The previous owner had put a PT Evo on it.  I had it tuned by a semi-local smith and it has had ZERO malfunctions in 6000 rounds and counting.  Accuracy is much better than me.  I never owned a STI so I will refrain from commenting on them.

[Steelix]

Ck gun are a good buy, but they are tight out of the box. I think mine was over tight and they take time to break in. After 5k rounds runs good now, but before it was not dependable. Right now like others I'm waiting on a custom build. The Ck will be my back up when my other gun gets here. But I still would take it over a STI. 

[DVC502]

I run a DVC Limited and think it is far superior to any CK I have ever shot 

[427Cobra]

I think it depends, a CK on paper is built with better components, a tuned STI is probably just as good. 

[mwray]

Which one is having the least amount of cracked slides lately?

[davsco]

On 1/11/2018 at 12:03 PM, 427Cobra said:

I think it depends, a CK on paper is built with better components, a tuned STI is probably just as good. 

this is the claim i don't understand.  sure, CK has some other name brand parts in it, and good ones, but STI's parts are the STI brand which is no slouch in the least.  a fair amount of custom guns start with STI frames.