Introducing: Project Nemesis

[jcc7x7]

Good fortune with the surgery.

 

Been following as this has been an interesting topic.

[Rudukai13]

4 hours ago, jcc7x7 said:

Good fortune with the surgery.

 

Been following as this has been an interesting topic.

Much appreciated! Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll have the EVO320 completed and a little better quality of life. I’ll have to think of something else to build next during my down time

[Rudukai13]

Despite all the other insanity that occurred, 2020 was an excellent year in the Project Nemesis saga. I’m very pleased with the current condition of the trio compared to this time last year, and excited for everything coming up next in 2021. Happy new year to everyone, I hope it’s a good one for you all!
 

[Rudukai13]

The ‘smith estimates the EVO320 will be wrapped up around February 8th, which works since I’m scheduled to be filleted in a little less than seven hours from the time of this post and it will likely be about that long before I’m up and moving confidently again. I’ll be using the down time to brainstorm, research, and look for inspiration for what my next P320 build should be. Whatever it is, I’m pretty certain it’ll have a “50 Shades of FDE” color scheme as that’s certainly one of the pigments conspicuously lacking from my pistol safe.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for builds, parts, or out-of-the-box experiments they’d like to see tried feel free to post here or send me a message, I’d love to hear what everyone else wants to see built next!

Edited January 6, 2021 by Rudukai13

[Rudukai13]

Well after some opportunities conspired to make it possible, I’ve settled on my next project. It’s a little...different:

 

 

Emphasis on different. And little.

By no means are my P320 shenanigans complete, there’s still plenty of testing and shooting to do when the EVO320 is finished and I’ll still be posting to this thread regularly. But as for the next gun I’m building I’m taking a short break from P320s to work on another project I’ve wanted to do for years as well. If anyone’s interested, you can follow along with that build in this thread:

 

 

[Rudukai13]

Just about a week out from when the EVO320 should be finished up, and shortly after that I should be in decent enough condition to take an excursion to the range. I’m getting antsy to get it back in final form!

[Rudukai13]

Spoke with my ‘smith, the EVO320 will miss going to the range today by just a few days but it should be wrapped up and ready to be picked up later this week!

[Rudukai13]

 

Pretty short range trip today, outdoor ranges and below-freezing wind chill are not a fun mix. Not much of a substantive update on the RS320s as most of my attention was focused on the first rounds through the Pug, but yet again no issues or malfunctions to report. They just keep chugging along as they should

[Rudukai13]

 

So this is how my Tuesday night is going. Got the call from my gunsmith this afternoon

 

 

 

 

The beast is now complete. New grip, Apex trigger, excellent balance in the hand - Absolute perfection. Range time this weekend

 

[UpYoursPal]

Looks pretty cool!  And glad to hear that it balances well because it sure as heck LOOKS front heavy

[Rudukai13]

33 minutes ago, UpYoursPal said:

Looks pretty cool!  And glad to hear that it balances well because it sure as heck LOOKS front heavy

Certainly slightly more so than the RS320s, but the IP aluminum grip module helps shift some of the balance backward into the hand and a full mag makes a noticeable difference as well. I imagine it’d be even better if I’d gone with Springer’s brass Open magwell but didn’t want to go quite that large/heavy

[FF112173]

Can you shoot major PF ammo through this? Love the look.

[Rudukai13]

12 minutes ago, FF112173 said:

Can you shoot major PF ammo through this? Love the look.

I believe the Bar-Sto barrel is rated for Major PF, yes. The three-port comp is definitely designed to utilize high-pressure loads. The standard diet for all of my P320s is factory 124gr NATO/+P loads and they run perfectly on that. At some point I wouldn’t mind trying a couple mags of Major PF loads through it, if I can find some

[FF112173]

5 minutes ago, Rudukai13 said:

I believe the Bar-Sto barrel is rated for Major PF, yes. The three-port comp is definitely designed to utilize high-pressure loads. The standard diet for all of my P320s is factory 124gr NATO/+P loads and they run perfectly on that. At some point I wouldn’t mind trying a couple mags of Major PF loads through it, if I can find some

Very interesting. I’ve had a very similar idea in mind for quite some time and just happened to stumble upon this. Really sweet work. Can’t wait to see a video. 

[Rudukai13]

2 hours ago, FF112173 said:

Very interesting. I’ve had a very similar idea in mind for quite some time and just happened to stumble upon this. Really sweet work. Can’t wait to see a video. 

Thank you! Pics and video will absolutely be coming from the range this weekend!

[Rudukai13]

Range trip pushed off until tomorrow, busier than expected yesterday and today. Shooting report on the EVO320 forthcoming

[Rudukai13]

Well crap, range time delayed again until later this week. My apologies, here’s another pic to partially make up for it:
 

[Lowsc3]

Did you have the maxwell shaved off the icarus comp grip ? Any pics of how it came out and the overall cost?

[Rudukai13]

52 minutes ago, Lowsc3 said:

Did you have the maxwell shaved off the icarus comp grip ? Any pics of how it came out and the overall cost?

All three of these P320s use the Tactical Carry grip module, which doesn’t have the integrated extended magwell of IP’s “Pro” competition grips:

 

 

https://www.icarusprecision.com/online-store/A-C-E-320-Tactical-Carry-p235343626

 

I sent them off to Springer Precision and they modified the grips for their ESP magwells the same way they would do on an OEM polymer grip module. Fit and finish is exactly the same, and there was no additional charge beyond their usual gunsmithing/installation fee.

 

On the page previous to this one there are more pictures of how the Springer magwell integrated into the IP grip module, it’s an excellent fit and very smooth inserting a mag

[Rudukai13]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMLI7MnAsYt/?igshid=1sxb49kzxmb16
 

I FINALLY got some time to get to the range with the EVO320. This was the first shakedown after getting it back in completed form from my gunsmith and it ran flawlessly as intended, never choked once on any of the 124gr NATO rounds. I did also run a handful of standard pressure 115 and 124gr loads through it as an experiment, and as I expected it had some difficulty on the lower pressure rounds - weak ejection on the ones that did eject, and stovepipes about 15% of the time. The RS320s can handle standard pressure ammo with the smaller two-port comps, but with the larger three-port comp on the EVO320 that extra gas pressure really becomes a necessity. I only ever buy 124gr NATO/+P loads in bulk though, so that won’t be an issue. A couple other shooters including a RSO got curious and asked about it and I let them all shoot several rounds as well, each of them commenting on how soft/easy it is to shoot. I’m absolutely thrilled with how this gun has turned out, and all that’s left to do now is to feed it all the ammo I can get my hands on!

 

[Rudukai13]

 

Snowed in and staying warm here in CO. Hope everyone’s having a good weekend!

[Rudukai13]

Alright I think it’s time to give a bit more substantial update here about what’s been going on and the status of these project guns. For those of you who aren’t aware, on the morning of March 16th I was hospitalized with a stroke (PSA of the month, don’t crack your neck at home). I received brain surgery on the 17th to allow the tissue to swell and drain normally. I’ve been resting comfortably at home since the morning of the 22nd, with interspersed scheduling of doc and physical/visual therapy appointments. Although it had the potential to be much more severe, I seem to have gotten off lucky with the only lasting results being a bit of double vision and some very slight instability when I walk - both of which I’m assured can be resolved via said therapies.

 

Moving on from the pity party, how does this effect the gun projects I’ve currently got going? The answer is, quite simply, not much. While it will take some time before I personally feel comfortable with live fire again, it turns out that pistol sights - both red dots and irons - make for some pretty effective visual therapy practice, so I’ll be maintaining my safe dryfire schedule going forward. There are no outstanding components or work to be done on the P320s and the money I set aside for the Pug knuckle grip is unaffected by my medical woes. The maker I’ve contracted to create them is hammering out the design with his business partner and there should be more significant updates in the near future.

 

In the meantime I’ll continue lurking and engaging on these forums as I have previously. If anyone has any questions or just wants to chat you’re of course always welcome to post here or send me a PM any time. My apologies for the delay in updates over the last few weeks and the slightly off-topic nature of this expository post. I can assure everyone that I, and by direct extension these projects, aren’t going anywhere any time soon!

[ddc]

Wow, that's a lot to deal with. 

 

Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.

[Rudukai13]

21 hours ago, ddc said:

Wow, that's a lot to deal with. 

 

Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.

Thank you very much! The way I figure it I’m just getting all the rough stuff out of the way before I turn 30

[Rudukai13]

Vision’s getting better even before starting proper visual therapy. The sights on my pistols (RDS and front sight) now appear to be one, relatively crisp dot as opposed to distinctly two different, very fuzzy points as they were when I first got home. Next range trip is scheduled for my brother’s birthday in two weeks and I plan to attend and shoot then. Early signs are good!