bountyhunter Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I handled one at A4 and I think its an amazing value. Its as good as a 1K Kimber. Interesting you mention Kimber. When they first fired up, they were a lot lower volume (like STI is) and most of their guns were very tight, high quality, essentially hand fitted. Their quality, accuracy, and value were revered. When Kimber "ramped up" to mass production that was lost and they started basically shipping production guns...... many good, many mediocre, some junk, and none fitted tight. I bought my STI Trojan back in about 1999 and marveled at how much better it was than the junk that cost a couple of hundred less...... I also wondered how long it would be until they tried to transition into high volume, mass market guns. I hope they don't start shipping junk like the rest of the "big names". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 At 18 yards I strung my first 5 shots in one ragged line, bone stock, no tweaking. Maybe I got lucky, but it cleaned the plate rack from 10, 15 and 20 yards. That is good enough for me, especially for the price. It was a 3" to the left on sight in. I'll give you the chrome barrel isn't my preference, but it seems to shoot. I don't have many round through this, The sights aren't refined, but they seem to work and the trigger is by far better than anything I've seen on an factory STI in awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 (edited) Seems like everyone is trying to jump on the sub $600 1911 bandwagon. There are a number of these bottom feeders. It is true that I have not handled one yet, but the pictures are pretty clear. It would appear that Taurus is the current leader of the <$600 club. There are some things I don't like about the Taurus. Series 80 safety and the old blocky Springfield front strap come to mind. It does offer more features for the money. The grip can be fixed along with the Series 80 safety. I don't see why everyone gets so hung up on how a stock trigger feels. It takes about 30 min. to fix any 1911 trigger. If you can't do that yourself then a gunsmith can for $50. I must be missing something with the current Kimbers. Everyone I have handled was very tightly fitted. They are still the most accurate out of the box 1911 I have seen. At least the 6 I have owned were. My two current Kimbers will group well under 1 1/2" at 25 yds. The .40 will go under 1". What the heck. I may just buy a Spartan to see how it shoots. Edited December 5, 2006 by Joe D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysued Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 What the heck. I may just buy a Spartan to see how it shoots. That is the smart way to find out how good or bad a product is!! Not by assuming good or bad. So far, the folks that have actually handled the gun love it. Heck, I might just have to get one too!! Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary1911A1 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I might have to get one myself, but I have so many 1911s' now I can't see buying another which is something considering my online name. If I think about it long enough I'm sure I can rationalize it somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Seems like everyone is trying to jump on the sub $600 1911 bandwagon. Well, here is my reasoning, FWIW. My limited gun is over 3K. Tryinf to get new folks into the game, and past the sticker shock of what I use, it is nice to have products available that you can say here you go, that are reasonably priced. Of course tweaking the trigger isn't a big deal, but I have to charge for that, and that adds cost. So, having some products out there that are half the price of the nicer Kimbers, SA's, ect and shoot reasonably well is a good thing IMO. That is says STI on the slide doesn't matter to me one bit, that it might allow new folks to try something they might really like does. At that price for me, it will be a great loaner gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Wow...some of your are pretty quick on the keyboard for not handling the gun and not really knowing, for sure, the details.I'm as skeptical as the next guy, and I share BountyHunter's concerns, but this crowd (who has been hands on) isn't known to sing the praises of an inferior product. My pet peeve is getting anew gun that has to be reworked. It costs me about $70 for each "overnight" ride it makes going back to the mother ship. It also bugs me that my new gun is gone and I can't shoot it. So, I prefer to pay more to get higher certainty that a really smart gunsmith fitted the parts and made sure they fitted right before they went out the door. On a gun that costs $600, that is not possible. STI has provided excellent support for the ones I have, so I don't think they would reneg on backing up the gun. I would just rather spend the extra $250 and get a Trojan. $250 is only the price of a case of ammo. The gun will go through at least 50 of those in it's lifetime. It will be interesting to see how this works out for them. If they are somehow able to manufacture very well fitted (tightly controlled) guns with consitently high performance and quality, the first thing they should do is raise the price.... because their competition like SA, Colt and Kimber are not doing that consistently at that price point. If they don't..... I suspect they will not continue to ship them for long. To those who seem to hate a new STI that they have yet to handle or test fire, might some of you have paid $1700 or more for your single stack .45s? Paid $825 for my Trojan a while back, they were $925 last time I looked at dawsons. And I hardly hate STI, mine is the most accurate 1911 I have ever seen.... and hasn't failed to cycle in so many years I have forgotten the last time it didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishlad Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 If they work, I think they will sell lot's of them. In my area, you can't 'touch' a production 1911 with adjustable sights under @ $850 and if you want a 1911 without FP safeties, external extractors, etc your choices really slim down at any price under $1200. With the 1911 market growing so rapidly, more choices are a good thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 (edited) I havent been at the shop much lately but went today. I'm dissapointed. Dissapointed in Merlin. I thought he was a better judge of pistols that that. The Sparten is not a good pistol at that price point. The Sparten is a great pistol at that price point. Til you have one in your hands I would be a little less judgemental. Now and then one of them may need a little tuneing, but no more than all those 1700 dollar Les Baers that come thur here, not to mention the Kimbers and Springfields.--------Larry Edited December 5, 2006 by lkytx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Just got back from shooting the one in the shop with merlin & me. It feed EVERYTHINK I feed it fine. Rem. 185 jhp's went 1.2" @ 20 yds offhand by me. The cast bullets were a touch larger group. The barrel seems to like jacketed bullets better. This gun shoot's as good as any 45 I have fired & is dead on reliable. Others might not but this one is. But I get them all through the shop from $400.00 to the $3000.00 ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I saw two of these guns on Thunder Mountain's table at the SAR show over the weekend. Both were tight and had good triggers. They weren't Les Baer tight but they aren't supposed to be. Both guns were nicely finished and looked identical when compared side-by-side, which isn't something that can be said for all cheapo pistols. I've got a Taurus, have handled the Rock Island Tactical and the STI Spartan. While I haven't shot the new Rock Island or the STI, I feel confident in saying that these three pistols are going to be the best value in a 1911 for 2007. Now where did I put Thunder Mountain's phone number??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 The warrenty for the Spartan will be handled here in the US. Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mscott Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I kinda wonder if there might be any lawsuit type action from Remington since their imported Russian shotguns are named Spartan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 ????? Ivan Tell me more!! Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mscott Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Hey Ivan, I guess if you didn't know about the Remington deal you might look into it. Baikal's shotguns are now imported by Remington and the call it their Spartan line. It's been going for a good year now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooterbenedetto Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Can anyone tell me if I can buy this Spartan here in California? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_kahuna Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Can anyone tell me if I can buy this Spartan here in California? Not on the list. I believe STI has allowed legacy CA-DOJ certifications to lapse and stopped submitting pistols for testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonub Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I kinda wonder if there might be any lawsuit type action from Remington since their imported Russian shotguns are named Spartan? we in the philippines also have spartan branded slippers(flip flops) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Been there, done that with one gun & I'm telling you flat out if they are all like this one, the rest are in trouble. The ONLY thing I would do is change the front sight, it's that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Been there, done that with one gun & I'm telling you flat out if they are all like this one, the rest are in trouble. The ONLY thing I would do is change the front sight, it's that good. +2 (since I have two) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralChang Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Ok, here's the scoop from David Cupp and M. Boyett at STI. The gun was made to STI specs. Each gun is checked by either David Cupp or Chris Schirmer in STI's quality control department to make sure it meets the original specifications. Each gun is backed by STI's warranty/service. What's not to love? If David Cupp is going through the gun, it'll work. He built a couple of open guns for me that were flawless. Price seems right, coupled with STI contingency, what's not to love? Stop the trolling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 We've been inundated with crappy cheap 1911's for so long that it's hard for people to believe one can work that costs less than a grand. Ask anybody who's owned an AMT Hardballer or an Auto Ordnance what they think about cheap .45's! I've owned a couple Armscor/Rock Islands and I can tell you that the factory has made some real strides in the quality control department. This gun is sure to be a winner and will no doubt cut deeply into the entry-level 1911 market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Talked to him 2 days ago, at that time no one from this form No need to call once I got mine and test fired them All the convincing I needed. Now they just need to release a 9mm version... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Ask anybody who's owned an AMT Hardballer or an Auto Ordnance what they think about cheap .45's! The Auto Ordnance I owned was such a huge pile of crap that none of the gunsmiths I asked to work on it would even take my money. To a man they told me to sell it and buy a Springfield or a Colt. If they made the Spartan in .40, .38 Super or 9mm I might have to add one (or two or three) to the collection. I would like to see it in person (I am a touch feely kind of shopper) but I don't take the opinions of some of the people who have handled these guns lightly and would buy one site unseen based upon their recommendations. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary1911A1 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 For thoses of you who have seen, handled and shot the Spartan, is the frontstrap rounded like the Colt and post 2002 Springfields or is it square like the early Trojans and Taurus 1911? I was raised on a Colt 1911 and a rounded frontstrap feels right to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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