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Here's a pistol I picked up for $800 used on another forum. I'm the third owner. Story from the guy I bought it from was that he purchased it from a gunsmith who worked on it for his own personal carry gun, you can even see from the pics he even made a little carry case for it.

I like the matte hard chrome slide and the bob-tail. Don't know if he replaced the MIM internals from Springfield, but the trigger feels awesome.

Don't like the press on bull barrel do-hickey or the guide rod but I think the slide has been cut on for it and I'll have to stick with it. Also don't like the rear MMC adjustable sight, or the short thumb safety.

I'm on a limited budget right now but I want to upgrade a little bit. What kind of sight cut is that and what can I get to replace it without cutting on the chrome and needing a refinish.

Also want a real one piece bull barrel and an extended thumb safety. Maybe matte hard chrome the whole thing.

Any other ideas you can think of to make this a really good carry pistol?

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Never pass up the opportunity to shoot somebody elses ammo.

This is going to sound like an odd suggestion but if carry is your goal with that gun, and it runs right now, take your cash and take a good defensive pistol class- Randy Cain's 101 class is about perfect.

Good luck!

Brent

Thanks for the suggestion, without wanting to sound like a know-it-all though I'm a bit of a good shooter already. http://www.sditactical.com/instructors/a_frost.shtml

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Never pass up the opportunity to shoot somebody elses ammo.

The rear sight looks like the standard Novak cut, which you should be able to find plenty of replacements for that, it would just be your personal preference, Yost Pro, Novak, 10-8, etc. They should all be able to be fitted with no modifications to the slide.

As far as the barrel, I am sure that some of the smiths will chime in on that, but I am sure that you would be able to find another new bull barrel (one piece) that is slightly oversized to have it fit to that pistol. You might want to have it checked out, it may still be able to be used with a standard barrel/bushing if the slide hasn't been modified, I'm not sure. But I think Wilson and some of the others make bull barrels for your application.

I believe INTrooper is correct in that the MMC cut is the same as a Novak so you've got plenty of options there. Barrel shouldn't be any problem either. If I've got to have a full length guide rod, I guess it'd have to be a one piece as I've seen a couple of those two piecers come apart at the range. If you ditch that thumb safety, I'll take it off your hands.

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Thunder Ranch THG & UR(x2), Gunsite 250C,
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Id have John high cut that front strap, put a heinie rear on it, fit the extended thumb safety, put a barsto bull barrel in it and call it a day bro.

Provided it's reliable you have a nice cary pistol, but I understand your desire to customize it to your preferences.

As others have mentioned, the rear sight cut is the same as a Novak. you can fit either a Novak or one of the Novak cut Heinie's without additional machining. There may be others such as the Yost, 10-8 or others as well.

In terms of press-checking, you can train to either "pinch" or "over-hand" the rear of the slide to check the chamber or make use of the front serrations either under or over hand, making sure not to sweep yourself with the muzzle or cover the chamber.

Any competent 'smith can fit an extended thumb saftey. Save your money and keep the barrel unless there is a functional problem with the existing one.

I'd say you're good to go on the training side!

Brent

The rear sight is quite a good sight. In fact I've had several brands and I liked the MMC better than any sight I've used. Until I bought the new Caspian Adjustable Combat sight. I don't think you can do much better than the MMC
and I'd shoot it a while.

Shoot it and see how it runs. The safety is simple, almost anyone can drop in an extended thumb safety and get it right. The MMC you should give a try. If you like it, you've saved money. If not, you can sell it when you move on.

As for the full-length guide rod, I'd ditch it and install a reverse recoil plug (the kind with the shoulder you show in the photo) but sealed for a standard spring and guide rod.

The barrel may be just fine as-is. See how well it shoots. If it isn't up to snuff, a new one will be spendy. If the sldie is still OK with a bushing, you can drop in a good barrel with bushing for (estimated here) $200. If you have to have a bull barrel, the barrel alone is going to cost that, and you'll need a pro to fit it for you.

Pistol and parts have been sent to Drake Oldham of Drakes Gun Works for a makeover. I will post a new topic with pics when it returns!

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Never pass up the opportunity to shoot somebody elses ammo.

I'm eager to see Drake's work. Can't wait for the photos.