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Can you share the story behind the serial number?
I can since this is my blaster.
Brenda is my wife's name, and the numbers in the serial number signify her birthday.
This pistol has been in the planning stages, on and off, for two years or so. After owning and shooting a few customs, I had a better idea of what works for me and what does not. Nothing like a little reality to ruin all of those ideas on what SHOULD work. Nothing like carrying a pistol all of the time to see what things were missed in the design process. This blaster is meant to embody what works for me and what does not. Everything, from the sights to the round-butt of the grip frame, are the results of lessons from other blasters. So I will explain some of the decisions made that resulted in the build.
First, this is meant to be a working gun. For me, that means concealed carry for many hours of each day. It also means about 5000 rounds per year since I try to shoot 100 rounds per week. Second, it means a good finish since carry guns in the hot humid south can rust in the holster. I went with hard chrome because I have had good luck with the finish and my wife likes the look. Third, it means a five-inch gun since I have had less than stellar results with shorter guns. Fourth, it means carbon steel since stainless never seems to run as smoothly as carbon. Fifth, it means set up for my small hands, hence the short trigger, flat MSH, the slightly extended magazine release button, and the grip reduction work. Sixth. it means lots of attention paid to getting rid of the sharp edges that slice both me and my clothes. The round-butt on the frame really helps with this, and it is as effective as the Bob-Tail. It also meant serrations instead of checkering on the front strap.
I went with a Caspian frame and slide because I wanted the custom serial number and the plain slide with the classic GI serrations. The frame and slide set are also a lot cheaper than a Commercial or Series '70 Colt pistol, especially when everything but the frame and slide are to be discarded. The Caspian slide was ordered with no sight cuts, and the frame had no additional machining. This allowed John to do all of the machining.
Some things to note that the pictures do not make obvious. First, John made the grips, and they are FIT to the pistol. I believe the grips have five coats of tung oil on them, and they feel very good for me. The interface between grip and grip frame cannot be felt by the hand. That is truly an amazing accomplishment. The grips are thin grips and yet they contain the right side of the Wilson ambi. Second, the rear sight and front sights widths are custom to match Bo-Mar Bullseye sights. This sight picture has a much smaller notch and much less light around the front sight that is currently in vogue for "fighting" guns; however, it works well for my eyes. There are no tritium inserts or dots to confuse my eyes. The rear started as a Yo-Bo rear with no sight notch cut for a Kimber. That way the slide could be machined for a Bo-Mar rear if I do not like the sight picture. I went with the Yo-Bo rear in an attempt to match the Bo-Mar sight picture while offering a bit more durability. John can tell you what I did to a Bo-Mar rear on a Series '70 Colt. Suffice it to say, the pistol is at John's shop waiting for his new fixed sight that fits a Bo-Mar cut.
Many of the features are standard for me. I have come to like the Wilson ambi trimmed for carry because it does allow me to manipulate the pistol with my weak hand. I have also found that the Wilson grip safety allows me to point the gun very naturally, and I get on target a bit quicker with it. The slide flattening and serrations make it easier for me to find the front sight as the apparent height of the front sight is greater. The front sight is pinned in the dovetail cut for a bit more security. The rear of the slide is serrated because I happen to like the look.
Some of the features are added because John suggested them. I let John pick all of the fire-control parts, the barrel (a Kart), and most of the internals.
This gun is a shooter. Saturday I managed to put a few rounds downrange with no issues and stellar accuracy. The test target than John provided shows the pistol is capable of very small groups, providing I can do my part. The parts fit is tight yet I can rack the slide with no issues; this does not feel like a new Baer pistol.
All in all, I am very happy. John, as always, is a gentlemen.
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