FR's Gun Club - Friday's Gun Porn

None | August 1, 2008 | Shooter 2.5

[Shooter 2.5]

This is one of the first installments from Free Republic's Gun Club. It's going to be a daily discussion on subjects covering firearms, Gun Rights and overall firearms experiences.

Some years ago, Friday seemed to be the time to post photos of our favorite toys. I volunteered to make it a weekly occurance.

One of the things I did learn through the years, though. It's not the gun. It's just a tool in the hands of the person who makes it happen. That rusty and pitted .38 revolver may not look like much but to the owner, it may have helped in getting out of a lot of scrapes. Also, that match pistol may look good but it might have been instrumental in losing more matches than the one half it's price and bone stock.

So let's see 'em. The pretty ones, the ugly ones and the dusty ones including the old favorite grampa gave us when he passed on.

[hiredhand]

So far, it's looking it's going to come down to a Samsung, or a Canon. I found a Canon a470 Powershot at Butterfly Photo (Thanks Shooter 2.5!) and we had Canon Powershots before they croaked. They were GREAT cameras, and we had them for about six years. I'm pretty sure I fried one taking photos of one of my sons welding (I think I was just TOO close and the electromagnetic field zapped it), and it's hard to say about the other one. Both of these cameras survived THREE teenagers for many years!

Either way, I appreciate you all pointing me in the right direction. I really wished I had a functioning camera today when the call for gun porn went out! Ah well...soon! THANKS!

[6ppc]

F1 rifles?

No. The first pic is a Heavy Varmint class benchrest rifle shot in NBRSA and IBS matches. I'm not sure which class the second pic is. Check out Benchrest Central. I believe F1 is actually a combination of benchrest and high power.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I seem to remember Stevens being made by a major manufacturer and sold through Western Auto or a chain like it. Maybe someone can illuminate the history behind this famous brand...

[TC Rider]

I just can’t get the safeties off to get the grip safety off. I’m hoping with a little wear, it will finally loosen up.

I got an S&W 1911 a couple of years ago and planned on shooting it at a state match in few days. I'm cleaning it after a couple of weekend matches and I'm really trying to get all the grit out of it.

I decide to take the back strap off and hose it out with spray bore scrubber. I had seen someone do this before, I was essentially still a novice when it came to 1911 care and cleaning.

In my case, once the grips were off, the ambi safeties came out easy. I step back from the bench and start hosing it down with the Bore Scrubber. I'm turning the receiver this way and that, and then I hear a tinkling noise. I say whuh?, turn the receiver the other way and hear more tinkling noise. At this point I realize the noise I'm hearing is the sear, disconnect and assorted pins bouncing on the floor of the garage.

I got my big magnet out and was able to recover all the parts off the floor, then spent an hour or so downloading schematics from Brownells trying to figure out how to get it all back together.

All in all, a learning experience.

[Pistolshot]

From Wikipedia.

The company was founded as J. Stevens & Co. in Chicopee Falls, MA,[1] in 1864 by Joshua Stevens and backers W.B. Fay and James Taylor. Their earliest product was a tip-up pistol of Stevens' invention.[2] Business was slow into 1870, when it still occupied a converted grist mill and had just sixty employees.

The 1873 Panic only reduced this further, though it was making double shotguns as early as 1876.[3] In 1886, the company was reorganized and incorporated, as J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co., with slow, steady growth; as before, tools accounted for most of the company's output.[4]

Beginning in 1880, the company began making falling block rifles.[5] While less known than Ballard or Winchester, these were of comparable quality, but at the lower end of the price spectrum. Under names like Favorite, Little Scout, Crackshot, and Marksman, Stevens sold millions of reliable single-shot weapons, in the days before bolt actions existed; by 1982, the total exceeded 3.5 million.[6]

In addition, in 1887, Stevens developed the .22LR round,[7] which has served as an introductory caliber for children for decades, as well as being very popular for plinking, varmint and target shooting. The .22LR was available beginning in 1888, in the #1, #2, #9, and #10 break-top rifles, and in their New Model Pocket and Bicycle rifles.[8]

[Shooter 2.5]

One more for the revolver fans.

Yes, the grips are pretty but I goofed and they are way too small for my hands. I guess they'll stay on there until I shoot the thing. You would not believe how beat up this used gun was. It broke your heart just to look at it. A friend told me years ago, if you have a choice, buy stainless. You can always buff out the problems. He was correct. He even gets rid of that useless Ruger warning statement on his guns.

Smith and Wesson 686 .357 magnum. One of the best designs ever made.

[BCR #226]

LOL... PM sent

[hiredhand]

We bought a Taurus "PT-1911 AR" (at least what's written on the side of the pistol!) a couple of weeks ago. One of my sons picked it out. We've already got a Colt Series 80 .45ACP, so we were able to compare the two. The Taurus came with the following that the Colt doesn't have -

• Heinie hex head adjustable, low profile (no snag) front and rear sights.
• Full length guide rod, requiring NO special tools to field strip.
• Cuts at the rear AND front of the slide for better grip during charging the weapon.
• Ambidextrous safeties.
• Beaver-tail grip safety (no hammer bite!)
• Lightweight hammer (or so it appears!)
• Extended mag release button (MORE extended than the Colt!).
• Over-travel adjustable trigger - also drilled for reduced weight.
• Stippling cut into the trigger guard, front grip, and mainspring housing (better grip!).
• Ejection port cut-out to help prevent stovepipes and ejection malfunctions.

It DOES have a two groove Picatinny rail under the frame. THIS is the main reason it was chosen, along with the fact that we found so many excellent reports from other owners.

This pistol was tight, tight, TIGHT out of the box! We test fired it with 185gr SWCs and it is very accurate! At 50 feet, from a rest, I was able to keep them all in "about" 1.5". My shooting buddy was able to keep them in about 2". The trigger is crisp and we estimated to be "about" three pounds, with a barely discernible creep. It breaks quite suddenly and is 100% better than the stock factory trigger on our Colt. The slide to frame match-up was "snug", but not tight, as was the barrel bushing around the barrel, and in the slide. This loosened up just a tad as we fired it, but the pistol is still "tight". It seems as though it were built to be "broken in" by the owner!

There are only a few things I can think of that aren't complimentary about this 1911 clone. We've discovered that the Picatinny rail can make it slightly difficult to retrieve from certain holsters. We have a holster here that has a soft, nappy sort of fabric on the inside and the rails hang on it. But the pistol does NOT hang on an Uncle Mikes shoulder holster rig, or an older U.S. issue leather shoulder holster, or an older Bianchi leather holster that we have. We noticed that the rail causes a slightly snug fit in holsters designed for 1911 pistols. Also, because of the Picatinny rail, it's a really bad idea to carry this pistol tucked into the waistband, especially behind the hip. It hangs badly during retrieval when carried this way. We found the smaller, lightweight hammer to be a tad difficult to find and cock under stress. I'm certain that this can be overcome by the shooter with practice, or simply carried cocked and locked.

The first time we loaded it, we stacked a magazine with 230gr FMJs, released the slide using the slide release, and *clunk*...the bullet rammed into the feed ramp and jammed it back into the casing! Ruh Roh! We took a good close look at the feed ramp and it looks like it might have even been polished to some degree, so we didn't think much of this and simply used 185gr SWCs since they stripped off the magazine and loaded correctly. After firing a couple of magazines of 185gr SWCs though, we couldn't reproduce the FMJ feed problem, so we're chalking that particular malfunction up to it being new and tight.

All in all, we like this pistol a LOT. The cons that I listed above are very minor and we're still extremely pleased with the purchase. If you're a 1911 fan, you will NOT be dissatisfied with this pistol!

You can read more about this little gem at -

Taurus 1911-ALR

Here's what it looks like -

[Shooter 2.5]

LOL. Been there, done that. I learned the best way to find parts on a floor was to dim the lights and then use a flashlight. Put the flashlight horizonal on the floor and all missing parts will cast a long shadow. Hope this helps. One more thing. I hope you don’t need this again but it’s way cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P4XJTKzKEU

[Pistolshot]

Get a Tyler T-Grip.
Tyler T-Grip Adapter

It will fill the area on the frontstap and you can still use those nice grips. It will fill your hand better without adding bulk.

[Shooter 2.5]

That’s my experience except I didn’t have feed problems since I started with my loads of 185’s.

I’ll try to come up with another problem such as why did they have the need to put numbers, names, calibers, model numbers and all this trivia all over my gun. I was hoping to get that matte finish to a bright shine. No such luck on the slide. Maybe on the frame.

And the non glare finish is rubbing black plastic from my Blade Tech holster all over the top. It looks like it’s filthy.

Love the gun.

P.S. I think Blade Tech will sell you a holster that accomodates under frame rails.

[Shooter 2.5]

Thanks but it’s even in the width. I like a nice fat set of grips that make me use just the tip of the trigger finger.

Monkey Grips even sells their “chunky” set for those of us who want a large diameter on the 1911.

Those grips are beautiful.

[caver]

Cool, thanks for the detailed report! Very interesting! I’m not into the Picatinny rails but it is a very cool pistol. I think I’ll have to have one within a few weeks.

[hiredhand]

Good point about the finish! After a little use and carry it looks BAD! But then after cleaning and a dab of oil, it's like new again! The matte finish shows every little ding and minor scrape. I still highly recommend this pistol though. It's a DREAM to shoot! Last week, we went to the back yard intending on objectively evaluating the Taurus against the Colt, and we ended up having an informal shooting match just using the Taurus because it's so nice to shoot!

Eventually, my son is going to want to put a light, or laser under it (or combo) and we'll need the correct holster. The holsters we've tried so far aren't really much of a hinderance with the rails, but can you recommend a good holster that will accomodate the weapon with a light/laser-sight on the rails? Does Blade Tech make one like that? TIA! :-)

[Pistolshot]

I was thinking of the Tyler for your 686 grips.

:)

[hiredhand]

Cool, thanks for the detailed report! Very interesting! I’m not into the Picatinny rails but it is a very cool pistol. I think I’ll have to have one within a few weeks.

While I was at the Taurus website, I noticed that they had models that appeared identical with the exception that they did NOT have the Picatinny rails. Shooter 2.5 reminded me something else about the pistol, albiet minor.

The matte finish shows minor scraps very visibly. Our Colt is a different sort of matte finish and just doesn't seem to show small marks and scrapes. My son carries the Taurus when they work in the garden some distance from the house and the finish looks pretty bad after being carried around awhile. But a minor clean-up and some oil brings it right back to 100%! I certainly wouldn't let this affect my decision. It's still a FINE pistol IMHO. I've tried to trade him out of it twice now, and he's not budging! I don't blame him! :-)

If you remember, give a shout when you purchase and let me know what conclusions you come to. If you are able, compare it to another 1911 when it comes time to fire it the first time.

I'll be honest with you, this new Taurus reminds me more of my brother's Kimber than my Colt! :-)

[hiredhand]

Ping! I think I forgot to tell you about this! SORRY! :-)

[Shooter 2.5]

I just checked the Blade Tech website and they offer a paddle holster for pistols like Kimber that have rails. You’ll have to check to see which Kimber or Para Ordnance most likely is a copy of the Taurus.

I like that paddle holster. It’s one of the most comfortable holsters out there and you can change the cant.

[hiredhand]

I will definitely check out their paddle holster. Thanks for the advice! ...I’m outta here for the evening. I’ll check back in tomorrow. :-)

[hiredhand]

Oh hey...BTW...Squantos and Travis McGee had no problems with that graphic! I'm not sure what to think about your computer....inexplicable strangeness for sure!