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.40 SS


harmonii

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So after long deliberation, I've decided I would like to find a SS (1911) in .40.

In the interest of research, who makes a good one that is not too expensive? say under 1K?

An STI Trojan will usually skirt in under $1K and there are probably a couple of Springfields and Kimbers that do so as well. You'll probably wind up changing a few things on any of them, but maybe less on the Trojan than the Springers or Kimbers (really depends on the model though) since you can pretty much throw a magwell on a Trojan and go shoot matches. You'll probably eventually want a trigger job done on any of them, so that's kind of a wash.

Keep in mind that many SS .40s can be a little picky about magazines and ammo OAL. My Trojan fed factory ammo perfectly out of the box using the mag with the spacer, but I had to play around with bullet profiles and OAL to get it 100% from slide lock using 10mm mags and longer ammo. I settled on 1.240" and it worked perfectly using Wilson 47NX and McCormick 10mm mags. The issue was only from slide lock, never while feeding while shooting. I've heard that STI has done some work on the profile of the barrel ramp to fix that issue, but don't have any personal experience with it. I recently got mine back after having a Schuemann Classic AET in it and now you can't even feel it feed from slide lock...very smooth...can't wait to do some real accuracy testing on it now.

I'm not so sure how easy the bigger manufacturers would be if you wind up wanting to run .40 long and your gun doesn't like it out of 10mm or .45 mags. I know one person that ran into that problem with their Trojan, they sent it back to STI and the problem was resolved quickly...they understand what we're doing, and why we're doing it, which may not be the case with more mainstream companies. R,

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If you can find them the springers in .40 are nice, but they don't make them anymore. STIs would be a good choice I just don't like the golf ball stippling they do on the front strap. If you can afford it a custom gun would be the way to go. I know its more expensive but it will have all the parts you want to start and should have the Smiths guarantee that it will run.

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I recently got mine back after having a Schuemann Classic AET in it and now you can't even feel it feed from slide lock...very smooth...can't wait to do some real accuracy testing on it now.

Let us know how your PF works out with the AET barrel, I just built a 6" STI with the AET, accuracy is good with 185 Precision bullets but I lost 3 points on PF over a 5" EAA witness using the same loads.

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Let us know how your PF works out with the AET barrel, I just built a 6" STI with the AET, accuracy is good with 185 Precision bullets but I lost 3 points on PF over a 5" EAA witness using the same loads.

Will do. I've got some good data from the old barrel and some left over ammo from a batch or two that I tested....that'll be the first to try. The AET's do seem to be a little slower than conventional barrels, but the AET in my MC Open gun is actually faster than the KKM in my Bedell Open gun. The KKM is a bit shorter, so I was expecting them to be around the same velocity, but it didn't work out quite that way. They're close enough that the same ammo should make Major in either gun, but the AET is measurably faster every time I've chono'd them together. R,

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Here is a tid bit of info. I pretty much all you need is a decent trigger job get the Trojan. Their trigger parts are better than Kimbers and Springfields in my opinion. With my Springers, other than the Trophy Match as its decent from the factory, I've replaced the sear, disco, hammer, sear spring, all other springs for that matter, Hammer strut and MSC for Ti parts, FP, trigger, MSH, and sights. Pretty much only thing I leave is the barrel, bushing, slide, frame, and extractor. With a STI gun you get decent parts from the start so have a smith clean up the trigger a bit, or get it from Freedom and let Bobby do it and you'll be shooing out the door. Let Bobby polish up the ramp and run some ammo through it to test it before it gets shipped out to you and you should be good to go with a factory gun. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a Springfield fan boy so that is what I shoot in SS and lucked up on the Trophy match.

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STI Trojan. Best fit there is. Best price Freedom Gunworks.

I am quite fond of the Trojan and I don't think you can get as close to a custom for under $1k. MTBfarms has a .40 Trojan on the way to him and maybe he can tell you what he thinks about fit and finish of one of our guns next week. I'm betting he feels like a hormonal high schooler in the cheer leaders locker room during shower time when he gets to play with it some.

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STI Trojan. Best fit there is. Best price Freedom Gunworks.

I am quite fond of the Trojan and I don't think you can get as close to a custom for under $1k. MTBfarms has a .40 Trojan on the way to him and maybe he can tell you what he thinks about fit and finish of one of our guns next week. I'm betting he feels like a hormonal high schooler in the cheer leaders locker room during shower time when he gets to play with it some.

Just imagine what a hormonal teenager would be like if he was told he would get a chance to sneak into the chearleaders locker room. I'm not getting any work done. Every vehicle that comes up the road, I'm running to see if its the delivery truck. Lol.

Thank you Kgunz11 I've never had customer service this great before.

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STI Trojan. Best fit there is. Best price Freedom Gunworks.

I am quite fond of the Trojan and I don't think you can get as close to a custom for under $1k. MTBfarms has a .40 Trojan on the way to him and maybe he can tell you what he thinks about fit and finish of one of our guns next week. I'm betting he feels like a hormonal high schooler in the cheer leaders locker room during shower time when he gets to play with it some.

I don't know if to laugh or be scared of that comment lol

Funny, like I said earlier, get one from Bobby!

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OK well it sounds like freedom is the place, (even though I realize the audience is biased... nothing wrong with that. )

I have most of it saved, so I am almost ready to pull the trigger, (pun!)

SO, question, freedom has a better price than STI out the door, I'll need mags too I s'pose. magwell from one of my 1911's fit?

I shoot BBI or Precision moly coats, no issue there? Don't think so but the load will probably change somewhat.

-H

Incidentally, for what it's worth, I run a USPSA club in MN. 40+ shooters a week!

Edited by harmonii
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I use the Wilson 47DE .45 ACP mags for my Trojan. I prefer those for the extended base pad which makes seating easier when using a magwell. Another advantage to those mags is you can put 9 rounds of .40S&W in there so you don't have to use a barny mag. Just load 9 into the mag you wish to start with and 8 in all the others (to be SS Division Major PF compliant).

ETA: Feel free to call me if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance. 229-330-GUNS

Edited by kgunz11
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I just picked up a dan wesson Pointman in .40. ramped barrell, stainless steel. all it needs is a magwell. Maybe a little lightening of the trigger pull. very nice gun. cost me 1050$

Yeah, besides my GCNM and 1918, I have two DW's man are they nice, .45 though, which has become prohibitive to shoot, hence the .40 search. They do make a nice firearm.

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STI frames are made so your hand gets higher on the grip to squeeze out a little better recoil control.

Its the fit and function of a high end custom but without the high price tag

You can't go wrong with a Trojan or Freedom Gunworks.

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Harmon, my next SS will most likely be a 40 - either a Trojan or a Fusion kit (leaning towards the Fusion). If you want to just slap some parts on it and go - Trojan. If you want to compile it yourself - Fusion. I'm estimating my dream build on a Fusion kit to be quite a bit more expensive though.

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Harmon, my next SS will most likely be a 40 - either a Trojan or a Fusion kit (leaning towards the Fusion). If you want to just slap some parts on it and go - Trojan. If you want to compile it yourself - Fusion. I'm estimating my dream build on a Fusion kit to be quite a bit more expensive though.

I'm not sure it would be more expensive to go with Fusion, but with either you're getting the same STI parts and the fit won't be any different/better than a Trojan.

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I'd really have loved to get a Trojan, but the finances won;t allow it. I just traded my old Kimber Custom for a Springer Loaded 40. It needed some TLC, but now I have the trigger where I want it, and it cycles (by hand) my dummy reloads fine from my Chip McCormick 45 mags.

Tomorrow is the true test though-will be my first chance to fire it!

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chrisjohn, could you tell me why you would pass on Fusion? Just curious, as I've been debating on getting one.

If you've spent any time on the fusion forum you've seen the beautiful pictures of customers weapons and read the raves from customers. I had been really wanting a 6 inch SS in .45 for a long time. The options have always been limited: SA made one for a while, STI Trojan/Rangemaster/Eagle 6.0, and the LB PII in 6 inch round out the production options. Anyway initially I thought I could get a Fusion 6 inch for something like 1300 USD, which was the retail price initially. By the time I had selected the options I wanted it turned out to be over 1600, should look at the receipt again for an exact amount. It seemed like I was purchasing a custom gun with exactly the features I wanted.

Wait time was much longer than anticipated but Bob Serva was always readily available so it was no big deal. Bob did a great job seemingly of asking me what I wanted and sent several updated excel spreadsheets outlining the build. Upon receipt, opened up the case and immediately knew there was a problem. I had specified a flat topped slide and this slide was a normal contour. More importantly I had paid extra for a flat topped slide. After clearing the weapon I proceeded with a safety check. The thumb safety didn't have full range of motion, would not fully engage the slide notch, and had no tactical of audible click. Handled a lot of 1911s and I have NEVER seen or felt a thumb safety like this. Trigger was 3 lbs as specified and acceptable, no creep, clean break, but again I paid extra for premium trigger work. Looking over the slide and front sight I noticed a sizable gap between the bottom of the dovetail and the sight. Frame and slide fit was pretty good but nothing spectacular and nothing approaching the average Baer if one was looking for a hard fit.

Called Bob and he told me that a gap underneath of the front sight was normal, send the pistol back and he would flat top the slide as specified, and the thumb safety wouldn't fully engage the slide on the 6 inch guns because of how the slide was fitted to the frame and that all the thumb safeties passed a safety check and that some people didn't prefer a tactical or audible click when either engaging or disengaging the thumb safety, even though in the thousands of 1911s I've never seen an example of one set up like this. Asked for my money back and Bob did the right thing and let me return it, unfired, on my dime. So I spent 100 bucks at the time sending it back UPS next day.

As always your mileage may vary and I'm sure there are satisfied Fusion customers out there. I don't know if someone assumed that I was 22 year old student by the .edu at the end of my email address and wouldn't know any better and think that I was actually getting a 1685 dollar weapon with a slapped together gun. Called Benny Hill and spoke with him about getting a STI Trojan6 inch fat free'd. Yes, after hard chroming it turned out to be two hundred dollars more but the weapon I received is FLAWLESS.

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Edited by chrisjohn
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