Almost 2 years ago, I was taking some co workers to the range when unbeknownst to me, a guy in the back seat of my SUV, inserted a mag, and chambered a round and tirggered a negligent discharge straight into my right elbow (230gr HP). I maintained control and am still recovering today; trying to get all of my mobility back. This was a tough lesson in keeping your ammo and weapons separate, even locked up if need be. The guy was not really a new shooter and I knew him but apparently not well enough. Anyway, more on the subject
here. This post isn't about the shooting though I will answer your polite questions about it.
This post is about my pistol I got shot with and how I had it customized. I apologize for the quality of the pictures but hopefully they're good enough to illustrate what I'm writing about. I will say I have no silly fears of an inanimate object but I did have a talk with the pistol to let it know I will make sure it will never be handled by someone who doesn't respect it again.
I am attached to the weapon and as it's a Kimber Series I that is very accurate and reliable, I decided to have it upgraded for reliability primarily with a few cosmetic upgrades as well. My goal was an everyday carry piece I'd be proud to show anyone, no matter how fickle their tastes. I was already attached to the weapon before the incident as I'd won several inpromptu shooting contests with it against more expensive guns.
The weapon was rusting after carrying for a couple of days and the stock Kimber protective coating was gone. I also wanted a carry melt along with having the butt/MSH rounded a bit to avoid printing. I knew I wanted something special and my gunsmith obliged me.
So I contacted my good friend Rob Bonacci and told him my intent. Rob is a school trained gunsmith and former Marine grunt; capable of doing anything from building a SPR type AR15 that shoots sub 3" groups at 600 yards to hand fitting an entire 1911. He's innovative and has exacting attention to detail. He is also the official
LRI gunsmith and in our classes has fixed everything from an AR10 to a 22-250 to 1911s. Rob is based in Denver Colorado and a sort of not so closely held secret (at least now!) amongst the circle of shooters I hang out with. Rob is the sort of "up and coming" sort that restores one's hope in our sport, hobby, and way of life continuing.
Rob bead blasted the frame and the slide, applied a Teflon/Moly coating to them after he finished his painstaking checkering of the front strap at 20 LPI, serration of the top and rear of the slide at 30LPI, checkering of the bottom of the trigger guard at 30 LPI, and even matched the checkering on the MSH with the front strap and the rear! A Wilson slide stop and Meushke ambi safety were fitted along with a Grieder medium length solid trigger. The Wilson slide stop was shortened and the frame was chamfered so that he slide stop would fit flush yet be easily removed. The Smith and Alexander MSH rounded out my envisioned black and silver color scheme. An Ed Brown mag release was fitted, contoured, and serrated at 30 LPI. The old Kimber ejector was replaced by an Ed Brown unit. A new
EGW HD45 extractor was installed. This is a new design and radically different than other extractors. Rob added a 45 degree crown to the stock (very accurate) Kimber bull barrel and upgraded all of the springs to Wolff extra power. The grip safety was replaced by an Ed Brown unti with a memory bump. The entire weapon was checked over for fit and reliability.
Before:
After:
Register
Login
FAQ
He thinks highly of your writing Patrick, your compliment will mean a lot to him.