ltwguns.com

I like that 'old school' Shield Driver Ned!

RE: rear slide serrations.... while I do them a lot on client guns, with the exception of a couple of old Swenson Colts, I don't own a single gun with them. Believe it or not I still find them fun to do just like checkering and, like checkering, the challenge of running the file straight and getting the line even is just part of fun with rear slide serrations.

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Heirloom Precision
http://www.heirloomprecision.com

Wear safety glasses when you're working on guns (and anything else). Good ones are so cheap these days-- shameless plug for a local mail-order outfit I have come to appreciate, safetyglassesusa.com. I get 'em with a 1.5X bifocal "cheater" in case, ya know, in case some day my vision becomes less perfect .

In a 1911 I think full length guide rods can add to the danger just due to the extra fiddling necessary. This guy was also using a bushing wrench-- I never have and never will put out a custom 1911 that needs a bushing wrench to get apart.

The damage to these glasses doesn't look like much but that would have hurt very much and very likely caused damage.

Solid advice, we have a mutual friend that took a spring plug to the eye a few years back.... did some significant damage.

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https://www.graffcustom.com/

Not that it needs saying, but this type of attention to all of the details and the skill required to accomplish the end result flawlessly is incredibly impressive, and why I consider you the tops in my book, Ned.

Absolutely brilliant.

Thank you, Mark!

Last week's IDPA Nationals were held at CSEC in Cleo, CO. What an amazing place that is!

I was looking at Practicescore last week to double check on how my Danish cousin did-- Jess-- second revolver (in the whole dang country).

So I'm scrolling through competitors' names. Some guy named Stan. Stan Chen. Hmm.

Must be a few of those around....? Then three more Chens, all of whom have the first names of my friend Stan Chen's children.
https://practiscore.com/results/new/147916 (Note Jess's IDPA number. #3. Like, third guy to sign up after Bill Wilson and, I suppose, LAV).
https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads ... pdated.pdf

I was mightily impressed to see that not only is Stan still out there doing it, he has made it a family endeavor..... what a great Dad eh!?

Jess and Stan know each other-- from when the three of us shot the Single Stack Nationals together, I'll have to dig out the pics to get a date but-- 2007? 2005? I think Jason Burton was there that same year. Jason? Unfortunately, Jess and Stan did not happen to bump into each other..... pity. Anyway, good going, all five of you!

Sometimes the things that I do get done one way one time, another way another time. I should have had the surfaces below the area to be serrated already stoned before serrating. But I told myself I could stone and polish afterwards and not run over onto the serrations, which are fine enough (worked out to something like 44-point-something LPI) that they are, well, not delicate maybe but they will show any slips.

After I got the serrations cut I was a little deeper that I wanted to be at the bottom where they end. It didn't "look bad", I just got a little OCD about it and wanted to lower that surface.... maybe .005. Danger! If I used files I might slip up onto the serrations. Using a power tool, well, same thing. I went with a blue mounted stone at 40000 RPMs (or whatever it is). Those of us, those of you, who've ever done something with a Dremel or air grinder, you know that sometimes the grinding stone or wheel, whatever you're using, wants to "get traction" and..... zzzzipp-- you just ground something you didn't want to grind. So in this case the approach is, do it all from the left side so that if you get that "grab", the stone zips down-slope and not up into the serrations. A little risky still but I got it done with no booboos and then hand-stoned the whole area up to 600. It doesn't really need to be 600 but taking it there is a sure way to see if there are any deep scratches from previous, rougher grits that may need to come out.

Installing an Extra Stout Plunger Tube. Drill the holes using the drill guide.


Re-drill or ream the two new holes a little larger if and as needed, after trying the ESPT, until it will go in or most of the way in with thumb pressure. This ones’ going to need a little light tapping to get it seated—good.


After hours: Deer season is coming up, time to get the Winchester Model 1907 out again (ref post of Nov. 19th 2020). Ammo? You make it out of something else. Original ammo can be found for maybe $200 / box, and some custom loaders offer it, but it is not really that big a deal to make it. Take .357 Maximum brass, turn the rim down, cut an extractor groove, shorten the case. Add some 4227 and a Hawk JSP at about 1800 and you have an OK deer round. The original loading was a 180 JSP very similar to these but the consensus is that they did not expand well— the Hawks do.

This gun and cartridge was a favorite of lawmen and outlaws in the 20’s and 30’s. Somewhere in the vast expanse of the internet, within the last year, I ran across a site where people were discussing “go back in time and select better weapons for our troops, WWI and WWII” or something like that. These ‘07’s did see some use in WWI by the French as air-to-air rifles, but…. I think they’d have been great in the trenches too. Bigger magazines, say 20 rounds….. double-stack had already been done. Cut barrel to 14”—I don’t think this cartridge would miss the 20” barrel much. The 07’s predecessor was the ’05, in .35 SL, basically the same cartridge but shorter. And weak enough to have earned the name “the must useless rifle cartridge ever offered”. The ’05 was also offered in .32 SL….. also pretty weak and yet it is said to have been the basis for the .30 M1 Carbine round. One thing to keep in mind through is that all the WSL’s to include the mighty .401 WSL, were straight blowback—no locked breech, just a massive bolt. The .401 generates the muzzle energy of a .30-30, with an unlocked bolt.

For the “use it in WWI” exercise I might say switch it to a .30 caliber. Neck down the .351 WSL case, make it rimless (it is semi-rimmed)….. I’m picturing something like the .300 Whisper. Now that the Whisper is SAAMI-codified as the .300 AAC Blackout, we know it is meant to run at the same pressure as .223: 55,000 PSI max. Not sure we can make that compatible with straight blowback and since the .351 WSL predates SAAMI (and the Model T Ford!), I can only guess what pressures it might run at, I’m thinking 36-38,000. The late-WWII 7.92X33 for the Sturmgewehr (STG44 / MP44) had a 123 grain Spitzer at 2250fps, at 49,300 PSI. Well, within that 38K PSI parameter I’m thinking one of these 07’s might run .300 Whisper with, say, the original .30-06 bullet of 150 grains at close to 1900-ish FPS— ballistically speaking, pretty superior to the .30 M1 Carbine (40,000 PSI max) that would not come along for another 25 years. 14” barrel? I’d talk to Mr. Maxim about what he could do for us without lengthening it more than another 4”.

Left to right, .357 Maximum case, one of last year’s empties made from same, one in the chuck getting the business, a 180 Hawk above it, and on the right a handload with a cast 180 round nose.


That is not rust on the chuck, it is walnut dust!

OK, the last couple weeks there have been issues with the forum-- I believe that is now over, thanks to Susan Brian. Our forum hosting service is a little hard to communicate with-- or at least, I find it so; thankfully, Susan is more patient than me and has the knowledge and perseverance to get things done with the host..... for that I am most grateful.

I finally have #3 of 3 up on YouTube, regarding the Kimber Series II passive firing pin safety, what goes wrong and how the issues might be solved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax8yzAypUtU&t=28s

Please relay my wife and my thanks to Susan for her help in resolving the technical forum issues.

_________________
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

I didn't really do that much but thank you for the praise, Ned and Terry. Hopefully we won't be having any more trouble with it.

There are those of us who might not contribute much but we stop by often to see what everyone else is contributing and appreciate any help in keeping it up, thank you.

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

FYI the above-described .351 ammo is working well in this 1908-made gun (Model 07 Winchester).... after a few little hitches with bullet profile. In the .401, even better. Both will hold a quarter sheet of paper at 100 yards, good enough for deer behind the house. Both rounds using the Hawk bullet do the deal in wet newspaper, I might just graduate to ballistic gel next summer after we wrap a gel shoot in Patrol Rifle class. The .401 in particular is a powerhouse.... think 10mm auto with a heavy bullet (200 grains) and 900 more FPS. Both are straight blowback and really fling the brass.

I've been running into Staccatos. A lot of people are talking about them; I've now met some real-deal shooters who are using them.

I never got into hi-cap 1911's very much.... although I do have an STI VIP. I've shot it very, very little, but it has worked well. I sent it back to STI at one point and it was not what you would call a model customer service interaction. Honestly I've long been skeptical of them as a carry gun / duty gun and certainly as a military gun. There have been, over the years, a few things about the original company (STI) I didn't like. I was also skeptical when they changed the name to Staccato, claimed improvements, and changed their focus from competition to carry and duty use. They bumped up the cleverness of their advertising, and brought some credible gun industry / tactical-side personalities on board. I thought, OK, makes sense. You cater to the competition side, your "game guns" turn off a lot of potential buyers on the more serious side. Cater to the serious side and the rest will follow. They've done a good job or reinventing the company and the perception of the product, you can't deny.

On to the present. We had a few Staccato-armed guys come through Patrol Rifle classes this summer. Both were serious gun guys, very competent shooters who aren't fad chasers. That's Item 1. Item 2, at the National Patrol Rifle Conference and Competition, at lunch I sat with some shooters, one of whom had a Staccato on his hip, so I asked him about it. A very good report. Now, two of the above-mentioned guys are Staccato "Blue Team" members, meaning pretty much that they are brand ambassadors, so yeah, they get special deals (I presume and would hope so). But-- the guy I sat with at lunch wound up winning the NPRC. Now, NPRC does not involve pistol shooting much but competitors must carry their duty guns..... but the point is, the guy has to be a good shooter to win the match.

Item 3, making the acquaintance of a guy who has had a lot of influence over policy, training, and gear selection to include guns & ammo, of a very large, I mean very large, agency. The Staccato is authorized equipment after careful examination and testing. He's a fan.

Item 4, yesterday at a police conference, Staccato had a booth in the vendor area, manned by Blue Team members. I already knew a couple of them and knew them as real shooters. The booth staff were all very knowledgeable and I have to say that the guns on display were impressive.

Before the trigger job...... fit the trigger.

Just file or mill the top and/or bottom of the trigger shoe until it fits and presto, right? So few are that easy. Everything turns into something else.

I almost universally find that the trigger bow is too narrow, whether I'm looking at the factory trigger or looking to replace same. Its inside dimension is less than the width of the mag chute, and/or the trigger track in the frame is narrower than it should be and/or offset to one side; maybe the track is wide enough but it's deep on one side and shallower on the other side than the thickness of the bow material.

Why it matters: Mags will rub on the bow given half a chance. Result, variable trigger pull or draggy motion / sticking to the rear and not returning forward. Also, mags not properly dropping free.

The relatively easy part, usually: re-form the trigger bow. In this we are lucky that most aftermarket triggers and many factory triggers (especially when the factory sources triggers from the same aftermarket suppliers) are made of, well, rather soft stuff. Shoes are 6061 aluminum, not as durable as 7075 but a lot cheaper (even on such a tiny part, if you're making a lot of them). The bows, I don't know the exact material but it's something that is soft and "dead", almost like copper wire. It has no toughness or springiness to it. Honestly, these materials are "good enough" since when the trigger is in the gun, it's well protected. Outside the gun... be careful. But this bow material makes them easy enough to re-form. The hard part of the easy part is, if it's too narrow at the back where we have two 90-degree bends, there is no choice but to start by getting this area wider. Various tools come out, one of which is the forming tool from Brownell's. I use it some times for part of the process but it usually is also not wide enough. Once the rear crossover area is wide enough, the whole bow has to be widened and that's where the material used on most trigger bows makes things a little easier. To a certain degree, you can get this done with fingertips. Of course at some point, you get it too wide and it drags. Make it narrower! Then it's too narrow so make it wider. When you get it "juuuuust right", at that point the bow may be a little wavy. I'll take a certain amount of that in return for a trigger that works but.... sometimes ya gotta address it.

As I say, this is the easy part.

The hard part is if the trigger track is too narrow or way offset. Pillaring files work for this. I have a tool I've made and a process for getting this done faster / easier / straighter but pillaring files work quite well and leave a really nice finish.

The one I'm on now, I'm fitting two triggers. Only after I got them both to my satisfaction, and started to dig into the action work, did I discover one bow was too dang long-- causing zero pre-travel. Note to self, next time check this before putting work into shaping, texturing, and lightening the shoe and bow. I could have dealt with this in a number of ways but after trying a few things and considering / rejecting a few other things, I just swapped out the bow. I have considerable work into the shoe and did not want to do that over if I could help it.

Ya know there are a lot of Colt parts that are actually pretty dang good (my impression is that Colt's MIM parts are better than anyone else's). Most of their triggers have been pretty crappy in terms of shapes, contours, material and fit of the shoe, but I have noticed over many years that the bows are made from real gun metal. I took the crappiest Colt take-off trigger in the discard box, one of those with the shoe injection-molded over the bow, and simply clipped-off the plastic. The remaining bow is some tough stuff-- and still needed re-forming, considerably more difficult than with the soft ones. After re-forming I checked it for where it stopped going forward in the frame and it was a perfect match with the alternate trigger. This was not the first time I've done this but it has been so long that I don't remember exactly what I did last time. This time I made a staking tool out of a chunk of .45-70 barrel and re-staked the shoe to the new bow. Next will be to put lightening holes into the new bow, double-check for protrusion into mag chute width, and-- done.

Pics-- a brand-new, unused trigger bow. Just clip off the junky shoe and it's there for the using!



Staking the bow in place. Old bow is easily bent with light finger pressure (even before lightening holes are drilled). Note the solid O/T stop that is integral with the trigger. Something I suggested to EGW in about 2003 and they ran with it, glad they did. There are other good ways out there to skin the "screws come loose" cat too but I like these. Remove metal until you have enough O/T and it stays that way.

When I toured the Colt plant way back when, they were proud to show me the machine that broaches the "J" cut, the front end of the trigger bow slot.

The same machine they had been using since 1913. Once you find what works, you stick with it. Of course, if that machine ever breaks or wears out, you are royally screwed, but hey, not my problem.

And that's exactly why there is difficulty in getting the trigger bow cut and mag well consistent and concentric-- both are broached (in most brands). Broaching is a good way to get deep, narrow cuts with square corners but it's not always terribly precise. Some brands are EDM-ing these areas. Where the broach tends to follow the area that's been roughed out by drilling and/or milling, EDM does not, so there is better precision there (assuming all is done right).

I've had two 1911's where chips from broaching the trigger bow cut were left in the gun. Neither chip hurt anything or was in the way of anything but probably would have eventually been shaken loose and would either have fallen out harmlessly or tied up the trigger. Or would it...? One was a 1918 Colt! When discovered that chip had been sitting there wedged into the forward, wider part of the cuts for over a hundred years! The other was a fairly recent Colt Defender.

A hundred years without moving? Now that's stubborn!

Shortening the slide stop shaft to flush with the frame seems to be gaining popularity-- not to say it's just a styling thing, it's sure been a real thing for a lot of people, especially lefties.

I've done it a variety of ways over the years but now they pretty much all get A) measured for protrusion, B) Shortened bu that amount on the surface grinder, C) chamfered in the lathe. I made a little doodad to hold them close to concentric, the Buck Adjustable 6-jaw chuck gets me the rest of the way. I love retasking stuff. The fixture is made from a large diecast part which was part of a project I worked on in injection molding. Large plates of plastic linked together to form rolls which are rolled out over soft ground so heavy equipment can be used on it. The rolls are interlocked one to the next with these diecast twist-lock parts.

Wow, buddy! That’s a lot of work! (I’ve always just used a file...)

_________________
CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Sharpie, bench grinder and file.

i guess that's why I'm a writer, and not a high-end custom pistolsmith.

Speaking of burrs.

First three, new Colts, a New Agent I believe and then two of a Defender. Last one a 1918ish Colt.

The 1918 is more understandable. After all, there was a war on.

the others? Just being sloppy.

Once again, every once in a while a few things wind up in almost the same spot at almost the same time, and I take a pic. Left to right: reality, reality, maybe, and silliness…. but I could not resist. So, .45 ACP; .50 GI handload with 300 grain Gold Dot; a .50 GI necked to .45 caliber and loaded with a 230 Golden Sabre; finally, a .45 case necked UP to .50. Now we’re talkin’. Or babbling, maybe….


Trigger shape experiments. Neither is close to standard, both to me are awesome in how they feel, but.......

....which one will win me the match or the gunfight? Neither, of course. If either one “feels” 10X better than a standard trigger, it still makes little to no difference in delivery of lead on target. Or, at least, it shouldn’t. If I shoot “great” with one trigger and “can’t work” with another, the part of the gun/ shooter interface that needs more ‘smithing is…. me.

Grips and screws BTW are "shop" bits so I'm not putting wear and tear on this gun's actual bits as things get finalized.

Just back from SHOT. I'll share some impressions.

Sometimes you go looking for something you think is gonna be great. When you see it you are underwhelmed-- like the first time you meet Santa Claus and once you get up on that lap you find spaghetti sauce in a beard that you are shocked to find is fake. The combo cigarette / Bourbon breath is kind of a turnoff to your little seven-year-old self!

Then sometimes you take a look at something knowing it's gonna be crappy-- that's why you seek it out. You know it's crappy, it must be, and you want to prove to yourself that you are right. Then you find-- it's actually darned good. Maybe even better.

Naturally I checked out a lot of 1911's.... probably didn't see them all. Out of curiosity I made sure I checked everything Turkish-made that I could; previous impressions were that at least on the shotgun side, there is some good stuff coming out of Istanbul. I didn't visit or notice the Winchester booth but last I knew they were having at least one shotgun made there. It's...... OK, not great probably the least-good Turkish-made gun I've seen, where pretty much all the others I've examined in recent years range from good to very good and a few go great. Now that's based on close examination and handling at SHOT and NRA, not on actual shooting but I've talked to guys and have not heard any first or second-hand reports of crappiness. At SHOT this week, I found the same thing. Shotguns appear good to good-plus across the board. Companies that sell them, sell them under their own name and not a Turkish name, although there could easily be exceptions I did not notice. No one is hiding the country of manufacture but it is not really part of the promotional info, either.

Now, Turkish handguns-- of which there were a great many. I focused on 1911's. I have not really studied the structure of the Turkish firearms industry, which is extensive, and I don't know the ifs and hows of how the various company names may or may not be related, but there were several names represented. 95% of the Turkish pistols I looked at, inspected really, showed me that I had mis-imagined their capabilities. Tisas 1911's in particular seemed pretty darned good. I went over each one they had out and, no denying, they were well-put together. I looked at many other 1911's in the, what I guess we would call, production category, off-the-shelf. Some are or claim to be American-made...... talking here about some brands that are not as well known as the biggies like S&W, "K", SA, Colt, SIG, etc., the latter four companies having pulled out of SHOT at the last minute BTW (not a comment on anything, just informing). Some of those lesser-known US brands then, are not as nice as the Tisas. I'm not touting the Tisas, just sharing my opinion. My take on Turkey is that the government there is not a true friend to the US nor to human rights, I think that is to be considered. Also though, all the Turkish reps I spoke to were quite knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Apart from the government I will say that in my very limited experience talking to Turks-- and after the first experience I started seeking them out-- I found them warm and hospitable. Later, chatting with an American who is working with them, he says their culture as it pertains to business and personal-through-business relationships is one of working together and straight dealing, that bodes well if so. Discussing the Turkish products in general with other guys over dinner, I found that we had all come to pretty much the same conclusion independently with regard to their quality.

There was also a Turkish company offering thermal optics that to my admittedly-not-fully-educated-on-thermals eye looked better than other such devices being sold in the US. Most that I've used or examined are over complicated with too many gee-whiz features that in my opinion don't offer much beyond the wow factor. Umpteen reticule options, incline-o-meters, compasses, ranging grids, all cluttering the image and menu, are of little to no use on a scope being used on a flat-shooting rifle for targets not further than 300 yards the size of a hog or coyote.

Final point on the Turkish-made guns in general, I'd say it's important to not imagine the arms industry there as something like a Peshawar shop where things are crudely hand-made. What I saw and discussed with vendors was clearly made on state of the art equipment. Their arms industry goes way beyond what they export to the US for the commercial market.

The new FN Hi Power: I handled a couple of them at SHOT.

It's not the old BHP with a couple changes, it is a different pistol that strongly resembles the BHP. I mean in my mind it IS a BHP, it qualifies as such by virtue of its basic mode of operation and, of course styling. As to its manual of arms it is only slightly changed, pretty much only in take down. I'm not sure the percentage of interchangeability until I can get with one for a period of time but at this time I would say "if any". For sure not interchangeable, at least in the ones I saw:
barrel / slide
frame (has two additional pieces comprising the backstrap)
slide stop
safeties / detents
magazine
mag catch
guide rod
recoil spring (I hope)
grips

In the strictest of terms in the viability-as-fighting-gun context, it is better, assuming it's well-done inside. You know, reliable, safe and durable, accurate enough and ergonomically acceptable, it'll be an upgrade as a "gun" but as an addition to a collection, that'll be up to the individual. As with the 1911 or anything retro / nostalgic / collectible, purists will find it abhorrent I reckon.

A few things I didn't think were as I'd have done it might not matter to other people and are / might be easily remedied: The rear sight is in need of edge rounding and I'd rather not have a big hole in the front of the slide (a little one for draining, OK). Take-down is now via a lever on the right side; the safety does not lock the slide to the rear ( I looked stupid trying it a few times before I realized it was not set up for that).

I was not allowed inside it due to ITAR regs, as it was told to me. I think it's also possible that they aren't really quite done with it yet and didn't want the guts exposed yet. I mean SHOT is a deadline for releasing new products and it's common to announce them at SHOT and not have them available or even fully developed yet.

Also of interest at SHOT was "The Ounce" a folding .22 10-shot semi-auto. Clever as clever can be, talked with the designer / owner and his son-- the guy's a genius.
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/the-ou ... d-of-cure/

Also the BHP re-intro commented on elsewhere. Oh and a case feeder that sorts your brass by headstamp....? Come on! Lots of innovation and cleverness on display.

Another new 1911 mfgr that I think shows promise, doing everything "the new way", more on that later. Pretty impressive guns.

One other thing stands out that touches on the "new way". Enough companies are now doing 1911 and other gun manufacturing the new way, that there were several booths there representing cutting tool and CNC companies. Also a lot of companies offering point of sale software for places that sell a lot of guns and accessories.

Thanks for the report. I agree that the Turks are several cuts above the Pakis. They have a very well developed industrial base. My experience dealing with them as individuals was pretty good. There were some Turk contractors working in A'stan on major construction projects. We could always count on a good meal when dropping in on them. Not so good when flying in to Turkey. Pretty much felt like we were gonna get shot if we walked outside the lines painted on the ground at Incerlik.

I wish I'd had a magnet with me. I think one or both of the inserts that comprise the backstrap might be aluminum. I also think that regardless of what they are made of, the top one looks like it make it easier to do an extended beavertail.

I also thought this was clever and of interest. Nothing traditional here folks! But if these work as stated, good thinking:
https://www.ingeniousgunworks.com/

Today was JMB's birthday!

Jan. 23, 1855– Nov. 26, 1926

A hundred and sixty-two today, gone 96 years.

I saw that Ounce pistol the last hour of the last day. i was prepared to be underwhelmed, but doggone, that is clever.