OK, just about ready to roll, so here’s some thoughts.
First, it was an absolute pleasure and honor to work with Chuck and Tim. What a rare treat to have their fantastic work on my bench to play with! As you can see from the pics, these guys did a simply tremendous job on the pistol, my hat’s way off to them!
Quick rundown of my wrenching on the thing, without going into too much detail...
Reliability work. Tim had already worked the frame feedramp.
Fit Brown extended ejector.
Action job. 4lbs. crisp, with C&S lockwork, entire action addressed . It even stands up well to the infamous Rogers’ “Creep Milking Testâ€. Hammer edges were rounded; sharp hammers are a pet peeve of mine on carry guns.
Grieder long solid trigger, internally lightened and fit with just a hint of play for reliability.
Enhance frame/slide fit to produce what I consider a ‘nice running’ pistol, erring on the side of full reliability. It was a bit of a rattle to start with.
Brown thumb safety fit and blended, with trimmed pad.
CMC grip safety fit and modified for easy takedown; polish runs up the sides.
Install new plunger tube. [Note: It is just lightly staked on, as I know it'll have to come off again before final polish/bluing. Whoever's last to touch it, please snug it up tight.]
Overall fitting and matching things up. Repolished frame and slide flats to 400 grit, mainly to clean up the inevitable little scratches that got on it while on the bench. A buddy of mine passed on a ‘lil trick to me that made this go much easier. I put a fresh sheet of paper on the magnetic chuck of my surface grinder, laid the frame or slide on it, locked it down, then went to town with the abrasives backed by blocks or long flat files.
Test fired the pistol with just over 300 rounds; a mixture of 185 JHP, 230 JHP, 200 LSWC, and 230 Winchester ball, using magazines from Colt, Wilson, CMC, and Wolffe, and rock'n'rolling at times
. The pistol runs splendidly with total reliability.
Chuck’s Bomar mods, Tim’s checkering, and a nice trigger break/reset made it a complete joy to shoot.
Accuracy will be more than adequate for anything short of high level formal bullseye matches; the standing lug profile which locks solidly on the pin (this is an original Colt barrel), and Chuck's match fit bushing and barrel crown, all add up to one straight shooter. I’d love to keep this one!
What next? It’s hard to see in the pics, but the parts that Tim blasted and the ones I blasted don't match perfectly, as the media Tim vs. I am using is very different (Tim's is coarser). Even at 120psi, I couldn't match his matte finish. So, this puppy's going back to Tim to even it out, and give it that final spit and polish he’s world renowned for.
But first, it’ll go to Uncle Luigi in Buffalo to get a custom holster started (Sorry Tim and Lou for the flip flop on this, it just makes more sense to get Lou started, and to minimize the handling of it after final metal prep at Tim’s.) So Lou keep an eye peeled for a Fedex box on Tuesday afternoon, and when you're done, please send it to the Timeister.
My sincere thanks to everyone for the chance to be a part of this fine project; it was a real honor and I hope this thing takes off. I’m looking forward to coming back from Gunsite in a week and being able to partake more in this merry band….I’ve been quiet as of late from being swamped with this and finishing a couple other projects before my class next week.
All the best!!!
[Edited for clarity and grammar]
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