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Kind of funny you mention Incerlik and the whole feeling of uneasiness there. In the late 80's I was stationed at US Army Field Station Sinop, on the coast of Turkey. The small town of Sinop made us feel welcome beyond belief and yet the two times I traveled to Incerlik and went off the Airbase there I felt like I wasn't welcome. Turkey is a interested country with a lot of history and my year there was probably the best job I had during my career in the Army.

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And this eternal resting place Is known as Fiddlers' Green.

While in Vegas--

We also went to the Mob Museum, that was interesting. My favorite thing? Two little .45 slugs in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre display that had nothing to do with the murders, directly. Dr. Calvin C. Goddard had just recently invented the science of ballistic matching. He tested every Chicago PD Thompson since-- if you recall-- the killers dressed up as cops. None of the CPD Tommy guns matched the slugs dug out of the victims and picked up off the floor after passing through them and hitting the brick wall (they have what they say is that wall at the museum).

I checked the serial numbers related to the different groups of slugs. Certain serial numbers I guess I have a good memory for. Took a pic just to be sure. One box said "Chicago #2 Thompson gun # T 4173". Hmm.

Here's me shooting that gun at CPD in, I think, 2007. Picture by Patrick Sweeney. He, Jeff C. and I "had occasion" to be there that day (thanks to Jeff).



The Thompsons that were used on Clark Street that day? Oh, here they are. 2006 or so. Dr. Goddard pronounced these to be the ones:

ALWAYS love shooting Thompson’s!!!

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

That is so cool. Talk about a real classic 45acp Thompson.

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Be safe and keep the brass flying

Terry Peters

Do your research but you get what you pay for front end or back end
http://www.pt-partners.com
@ptpartners_tx

Speaking of the Mob Museum.

I was just looking for a link to the story of these two St. Valentine's Day guns so I wouldn't have to type it myself and ran across this. The guns will be at the Mob Museum this SVD! Somebody at that museum knows how to reach out to people and generate interest!

https://themobmuseum.org/events-posts/t ... -firearms/

We have not done politics and world events here much but I note that even Switzerland is not remaining silent, so here is a little something I sent my friend in Ukraine:

"I hope you are still well. I have not written in a few days but you and all of Ukraine are at the top of my mind every minute of every day.

I can't believe how fast the time is passing and that this is not over yet. This is the most frustrating time I can remember-- and I am home, safe and warm, I don't forget that whatever it is for me, it is something different for Ukrainians. But I would like to note that where I would expect American outrage to be "wearing out" by now, it is not. Whether or not our government's response is adequate, average Americans continue to be very aware of the situation and supportive of Ukraine.

I and those like me can't help but see the war through the lens of our Constitutional guarantees. Our Second Amendment: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". Written of course in the language of the day, but as true today as it ever was! Whatever one might say about Ukraine's gun laws prior to the invasion, I think Ukraine has done a marvelous job of recognizing a need and turning that recognition into action by arming those citizens who wish to be armed.

I will be interested to eventually, hopefully, see a compilation of accounts of armed citizens outside the regular Ukrainian Armed forces defending themselves and their country with weapons handed them by the government. Having them constantly armed and trained and ready would be even better than arming them in a desperate hurry, and I hope that in the post-war era the government will not forget the value of having armed citizens. That value need not be gauged by statistics such as "each citizen so armed accounted for an average of 4.5 invaders". The greatest value is that it helps engage and encourage the citizenry and put worry into the minds of the invaders! Something written into the Ukrainian Constitution and the inception of a national training and safety education program would be marvelous and I'm sure there would be no shortage of Americans willing to help with that.

My best wishes to you and all of Ukraine."

Well said and excellent thought process.

Back to Gold Cups. I said early on in this thread that with the wide trigger cut in the frame, you wind up with a three-axis meeting of surfaces that, I am surprised, never leads to cracks.

Then a guy-- Bobby Cee-- brings over this GC I did in about 2005. Guess I had the same concerns back then, seventeen or so years ago (I think that was the "last GC I'll work on" prior to this stainless one, this is the last GC and this time I mean it ). I looked at this and said that's certainly a possible and partial solution, and, "wish I'da thought of that.... again."



Photos courtesy of Bobby Cee, thanks Bobby!
The problem area-- well, anyway, the "theoretical" problem area. Probably said it before but GC's tend to shot with milder loads and perhaps in general, less than some other 1911's. That one in 100 and shoot 10,000 full-on loads with it, then it might crack here:

I've never seen the point of a Gold Cup from the S70s till now as they all seemed to be a bout show and not go. Based on the ones I've handled the prior guns were built pretty well, but I still don't care for the look with the fat trigger. The standard Gov't and the mixmasters built with the NM angled serration (aka "Drake") slides do get my blood racing.

Ned you’re the man!! Glad You were able to look through it!! The pistol is pure class!

I would not really call this "pistolsmithing"..... it is just machining. But a little bit on the artsy-phartsy side maybe-- when I do something like this I sketch it up but that sketch is not the hard plan..... it's the "general direction". Details, I make them up as I go. The real smithing on this gun has already been done, and some time ago-- by Vic Tibbets, and no doubt, some more by its very capable owner, my Danish cousin Jess. Jess is a very-to-ranked revolver shooter and just in the last six months has done very well at the IDPA Nationals in CO and a few weeks ago at the World Speed Shooting Championship in AL.

This 6-shot, .45 ACP Model 625 is the gun he uses at The Pin Shoot in the 8-Pin event. 6 shots, 8 pins, yup-- the reload is kinda important.

Will a wild comp like this make all the difference? Will it give him the advantage he needs to get the "walk" in this event (walking to the prize table)? Well for other people it might help...... this particular guy it is almost impossible that this comp will be of any help, because-- he has never placed lower than 2nd in the event anyway! But in pin shooting, as long as it is not prohibited, it is allowed, and pin shooters have a long history of going to great lengths to get "the walk". How about two Rem 1100's, one left and one righty, fused into a single gun? Wild compensators, very specialized loads, guns that are for one purpose, for one week a year: Pin Guns!

No mods to the gun here other than the ramp leading up to the front sight base has been milled square to make it a locking abutment for the steel top cover the fit over. This top cover (prehard 4130) is held to the comp with two 10-32 cap screws but more importantly it has four 3/16" steel dowel pins to postively and accurately locate it to the comp body (7075 T6 aluminum). I was going to cross-pin this one on but getting the hole in the back for the barrel to fit into was going to be a really tough shape to machine into the solid so I did what we did in moldmaking-- you make the cavity shape in two (or more) pieces; into separate pieces you can machine all the shapes you need (sometimes) without resorting to EDM. You get all the inserts pieces together and voila, you have the cavity shape you need.

Freakin awesome!!

Caution! Mad scientist at work!