UpYoursPal Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 (edited) Good afternoon my dudes. I purchased an open gun from a fellow on gunbroker a few months back. It was my first foray into open, and I tried to read as much as I could on this forum before purchasing. Now, I've been shooting it consistently and really like it, but I still have a few questions about it. To start: it's an odd gun. As the pictures will attest to, it has some strange components that I haven't been able to find info on. The basic description the seller gave was ".38 super, Capsian slide, Tripp Research frame" Pics are linked because they're pretty big. https://imgur.com/AiRCrPb Here is the side profile. The serial number starts with "SS", and is a very low 3 digit number under 100. I've emailed Tripp Research and gave them the low-down, but if this thread (https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/180826-tripp-research-ss-1220-frame/) is any indication, it's a pretty old frame. https://imgur.com/a/S3cnNyE As you can see, the dustcover lists "TRIPP RESEARCH, INC AUSTIN, TX USA" Kinda weird since Tripp is located in Bastrop. I guess that Bastrop is close to Austin https://imgur.com/a/A0JrS06 Here you can see the weird scope mount, which is some kind of steel thing with a carbon fiber-looking appliqué on top. It has a the huge, honkin' Tasco Propoint II on top, although the Caspian logo looks nice. https://imgur.com/a/xhMh2vy Here you can see the weird mounting solution the gunsmith went with. It has some weird 4-hole mounting plate (with tapped screws) on the side, with the actual scope mount having three hex screws attaching to....? https://imgur.com/U3aJ1z4 Here's what the inside of the frame looks like. I have NO IDEA what to make of this. I haven't checked to see if this holes correspond with with the hex head screws. https://imgur.com/a/irzRpnA This is the barrel. It has no markings anywhere. No manufacturer marks, no caliber marks, nothing. As you can see, it has a cone mount comp. https://imgur.com/a/S3XRIO9 The comp. Other than being fit nicely, I know nothing about it. Oh, and sorry for it being so dirty, it's been a while since I've cleaned it. ------------------------------------------- So there you have it! Does anyone know anything about this strange frankengun? As an aside: the only things that I've added to it are the magwell, and a lighter recoil spring. The spring that came with the gun was HEAVY. It felt like 15lbs or more. I don't know if it was set up to shoot incredibly hot rounds, or if the spring was just very old, but it was one of the heaviest springs I've ever felt. On that note, what can I do to upgrade this gun? Part of me wants to replace the scope with something more modern, but the big tube works decently well. My only complaint is that I have to turn the tube on and adjust the brightness at the start and end of every stage. However, it is kind of nice to be able to adjust brightness based on your shooting environment. The trigger seems good, but I don't really have a good frame of reference since I came from shooting production Glocks. Slide-to-frame fit is pretty sloppy (it rattles a little if I shake it), but it's still very accurate. Could I replace the barrel? Should I get an entirely new frame and have the slide fitted to it? Another aside: this thing does NOT like MBX magazines. It REALLY likes gen 1 STI magazines. Edited November 18, 2018 by UpYoursPal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 (edited) SS serial number guns that low were probably the original Chip McCormick guns, I had one in the UK (1993). I think the grips were changed on yours at some point as mine had TRI as the logo. I think Weigand made the carbon fibre scope mounts, the offset plate was needed to clear the slide. At some point the frames were made wider, so the mounts were then sold with an offset plate for those with the narrower frames. Power Factor back then was 175… I used to run a 14lb in mine. Here's mine… not a great picture, scanned a long time ago. Edited November 18, 2018 by BritinUSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rishii Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 The mount is a hueing carbon fiber mount, I remember there was a mounting plate that had to be attached to the frame i wouldn’t get to attached to the propoint, it will break soon, but on the plus side that blue line on the back may mean it was bullet proofed by Dr. Dot or somebody just put a blue line on it on the inside of the dust cover are you asking about it looks like the screws were dremeled flush with the frame, it’s not the best way to do it, but it works i would look at getting the optic changed, I seem to remember hueing had his own hole pattern, you might luck out and have a c-more pattern mount work, or you may have to get a black mount and have a gunsmith custom drill it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Nice old school gun. Load up some115gr with 11 gr accurate 7. That comp wants lots of gas. That pro point way more accurate than c-more. Cure the rattle with Accurail. Thigter tha dick’s hat band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACree Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Looks like my first race gun in 1995.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CenTX Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 On 11/18/2018 at 12:29 PM, UpYoursPal said: As you can see, the dustcover lists "TRIPP RESEARCH, INC AUSTIN, TX USA" Kinda weird since Tripp is located in Bastrop. I guess that Bastrop is close to Austin Trip Research was originally in Austin, they are now in Bastrop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abb1 Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Yes, your gun is about 23-25 years old. The frame is the first design that was introduced by Chip McCormck. The scope is an older PDP3 which was left in the dust when the Cmore slide-ride was introduced in the mid 90’s. That is what our earlier race guns looked like. I had one similar MANY years ago that I sold in the late 90’s. It is quite a find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpYoursPal Posted November 27, 2018 Author Share Posted November 27, 2018 1 hour ago, abb1 said: Yes, your gun is about 23-25 years old. The frame is the first design that was introduced by Chip McCormck. The scope is an older PDP3 which was left in the dust when the Cmore slide-ride was introduced in the mid 90’s. That is what our earlier race guns looked like. I had one similar MANY years ago that I sold in the late 90’s. It is quite a find! Interesting. Someone up above mentioned that I should look into getting the scope replaced, but it was also mentioned that this particular frame is slimmer than the new frames so a mount might not clear the slide. Would it a good idea to get a new frame fitted in order to put a new optic mount on AND clean up some of the slop? Or can I get away with throwing on a mount and using the spacer plate that's currently on there? If I did get a new frame fitted, would that require also refitting the hammer, safety, and all the other internals? Sorry for the elementary questions. This is my first 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Hello: That frame should be just fine for a newer style scope mount. You will have to see if the holes are 0.375" on center or get a mount with no predrilled holes to match what you have on it now. The frame is thicker than a standard 1911 or a Para so no problem there. Cool old gun. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Hello: I forgot to add that the frame holes could be welded and then drilled and tapped for a standard mount also. Here is a frame I bought that needed fixing. It is my primary Open pistol now. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Eric, you have way too many cool toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 3 minutes ago, GrumpyOne said: Eric, you have way too many cool toys. Hello: It is just a really big Dremel that is over 60 years old. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 I had one of the very early ones, they had CMC on the grips. Chip was selling them originally, which didn't last too long. You could only get one mag with the frame and it was a while until you could buy additional mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 2 minutes ago, Aircooled6racer said: Hello: It is just a really big Dremel that is over 60 years old. Thanks, Eric Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 bought two of them when they first came out-still have one in the box. serial #'s SS21 & SS22. talked chip outta about 10 mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Hello: I have some of those base pads and maybe one of those mags still. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpYoursPal Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 23 hours ago, outerlimits said: bought two of them when they first came out-still have one in the box. serial #'s SS21 & SS22. talked chip outta about 10 mags. Amazing! That looks just like my frame and pretty much like the grip (except for the badge in the middle) Also I'm pretty sure I have the same magazines, albeit with new base pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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