Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Spent a few hours at the gun show this morning, got to check out lots of new possible CCW weapons. Both the XDS and M&P subcompact offerings felt odd in my hand. I played with a Colt new agent 1911, wasn't too crazy about the sighting system, and there wasn't much in the 3" 1911s that I couldn't live without. The two guns that really fit my hand and felt natural were the HKs. The USP compact felt great in the hand, as did the P2Ksk. The P2Ksk felt easier to conceal and I was able to talk the guy down to below any NIB price I saw online so I walked out of the gun show with this (and a box of hornady critical defense ammo).

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c8...psvwzsppsb.jpg

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Cool Brian!

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Awesome.
The Bentley of guns.
Color me jealous!!!

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Looks nice Brian!

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Anyone have any first hand knowledge on the Gunsite Scout Rifle?

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

haha Brian I think i commented on your post in HKpro! you have good taste! (i just got one in .40)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...0/801/f2jw.jpg

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Very nice! I figured I'd sign up there, I can already tell this won't be my only HK, I really liked the USPc and 45c as well. Do you carry your SK at all? If so what rig are you using? I ordered a full kydex IWB from zero concealment, they're lead time is about 30 days but they have so many options in colors and patterns that it's worth the wait to have something unique.

How's it shoot in .40? I'm hoping to get to the range today.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I plan on carrying it, I'm still working on get my CCW, i've heard crossbreed is the one to get, i'm still exploring my options.

The .40 isn't as bad as I thought it would be, its going to take some getting used to before I get as accurate as I want to be.

I'm also heading to the range as we speak haha

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Not a bad day at the range, fed 150 rounds through the HK. No malfunctions even running double tap drills. Here's my last 2 groups of the day, 10 rounds at 10 yards DA/SA. I'm really impressed with this little gun, think I made the right choice for sure.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c8...psc4mte5qx.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c8...psfs04rlrv.jpg

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Hey all you 1911 dudes... Looking to pickup a 1911 soon and to be honest, I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the choices out there? Kimber? Springfield? Para Ordinance? My head is spinning..... What do y'all carry?

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I have a Kimber Eclipse Pro II (and a WWII Remington Rand, but that's a different animal). The Kimber is a great gun, ultra reliable and not picky with ammo, mine is barely broken in and is a great shooter. Are you looking for a CCW weapon, target, or home defense weapon?

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I'm a Springfield fanboy. Love them. For the money, the Range Officer is a great buy. If you want to spend less than $750, Rock Island Armory makes pretty decent stuff.

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I love my crossbreeds :tu Carry one every day.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I want a "beautiful" looking 1911. I have several others that I carry concealed, but I want this one to be a thing of beauty. I will probably carry it occasionally. I'd really like to get a stainless finish and wood grips. It will definitely be my first grab in a home defense situation. I've heard good things about both Kimber and Springfield. I also know they both make a great looking firearm.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Not sure if I shared before but this is my first build. I do have the front site. This was as I was finishing it.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a91...ps5159c819.png

This is my second build in progress
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a91...ps434a4c6c.jpg

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

You can't go wrong with either, Kimbers seem to be a little easier to find in stores around here, but if you're willing to wait your local shop can order anything for you. Take a look at Colt as well, can't go wrong with a Colt, I have one on my want to buy list.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Any thoughts on sig 1911s? Bought two of em yesterday. Haha BOGO :)

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I have and carry a Kimber Custom II in stainless. I love it. I've had it since 2002. I've always wanted a Kimber CDP for carry though. Like all Kimbers, it comes with upgrades, as standard, not included on all other manufacturers like: beavertail grip safety, Schwartz firing-pin block (not operated by the trigger as on newer Colts), skeletonized trigger, dovetail front & rear sights, lowered & flared ejection port, and more. It comes with an aluminum alloy frame, in black, with a satin finish stainless steel slide, ambi-thumb safety, low-profile tritium night sights, and best of all, the melted treatment. What they did was round every edge on the entire weapon. It's subtle, but beautiful and most of all functional; reducing snags when drawing from concealed carry. It's about 13 ounces lighter than my full size model in full SS (25 oz vs 38 oz) but still has a metal frame rather than polymer. The pro-carry has the full length grip for larger hands but has 3/4" shorter barrel than the full size. It also has nice rosewood grips.

Here's a pic:
http://cdn2.armslist.com/sites/armsl...dp_pro_640.jpg

Just my :2

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/1...a2d202a7_z.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2824/1...0b46c1db_z.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3804/1...e9d419fcda.jpg

Springfield Stainless Mil-Spec with a few tweaks. My jewel of the collection.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

That's a beautiful piece. I'm super jealous. My next handgun will be a 1911.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Tharpt is one purty gun.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I've heard great things about them, haven't had the chance to shoot one yet. Congrats on the BOGO, saw a few of those deals at the gun show this weekend, a .22 would be a fun plinker.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Both Springfield and Kimber are well made 1911s, better than most. What I would suggest is make sure that you pick one with the hard to change features included. For example grip safeties and mag releases, are for the most part, drop in replacement parts. Ejection ports being lowered and flared, as seen on both of the above 1911s, is something that requires skilled machining. Likewise with dovetailed front/rear sights. If you have dovetailed sights you can easily swap out sights later on. Without dovertailed sights you have to have the old ones machined off and so on. That is something the Springfield above has only on the rear, not the front sight. I'm not nit-picking the Sprinfield, just using that as an example.

I'd love to see pictures of whatever you choose.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I don't know much about 1911's other then the fact that I want one.. no check that.. I NEED one. But i've heard that the new springfield and kimber 1911's aren't nearly as good as they used to be and that S&W and Sig make the better 1911's now unless you go custom built or very high end 1911. Just what I've heard from forum talk at least.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Where did you get those stunning grips?

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Not sure about Springfield but the knock on Kimber is the MIM (metal injection molded) parts and the plastic main spring housing. All drop in replaceable parts if you should ever have issue with them. I haven't had any issues that weren't self imposed. I rounded out the mag release catch pin, which is a small allen wrench head. I'm replacing it with a Wilson Combat one, that uses a flat head screw rather than an allen, and it costs $3. The mainspring housing takes almost no wear and Kimber went that route to decrease weight.

That said my Kimber is 12 years old so I can't say much about the newest ones other than the two my BILs own. Both have had good luck as well.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Springfields have never been better. They ceased production at the Imbel plant, and now final assembly is done in Illinois. My Mil-Spec has the same fit and finish as my full-rail TRP. A good friend of mine has a S&W 1911 and it's nowhere near as nice. And he paid more for it than mine. Don't know which forums you've obtained the info from...but I would suggest http://forums.1911forum.com/ and http://www.1911addicts.com. :)

Most production guns have MIM parts. Nothing wrong with them. My oldest Springer has over 10,000 rounds through it and no problems. As long as it's put together well, it will last a long time. Poorly fitted parts...no matter HOW they are made...are on borrowed time.

The grips are from http://www.thefinergrain.com

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

All kinds of good advice boys, thanks! I am almost certain I will buy a series 80 (internal firing pin safety) due to a ridiculous policy at work. So that does limit my list of options quite a bit. I will let you guys know what I end up getting. Thanks again. :tu

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Absolutely gorgeous! This is exactly what I was thinking I'd like mine to look like. Beautiful.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

That's a good looking rifle. Where did you get the custom rail covers?

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

My Kimber is just over a year old, no issues or malfunctions. Great shooter and not too bad to carry depending on what I'm wearing. Plus I think the Eclipse is a great looking weapon.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c8...E1544C1FED.jpg

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Very nice Brian. I love my Kimber!

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I bought them off Ebay. You can find all sorts of custom laser engraved items like that on there. Several good companies as well. My extended take down pins, extended magazine release, and Magpul grips were all done like that as well.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

So it is magpul stuff engraved by someone else? I will look into that on my next build. Be careful with magpul stuff off of eBay and amazon though. Not saying your stuff is but there is a ton of Chinese counterfeit magpul stuff out there.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I hear ya there. Tons of cheap garbage out there. All of mine came in original packaging and the sellers all have to be close to 100% rating. I carefully read through a bunch of transactions as well and try to avoid those with stock or blurry pics. I have about 3 or 4 go to people I look at.

Basically they take the new item and laser engrave it themselves. At least the ones I buy from. You can pretty much get anything you want to customize your build. A couple have retail websites as well.

Hope this doesn't break any rules.
Some buyers I have had great experience with:
ndzperformance ndzperformance.com/
eforcity
ecop!
donaldpk (glockplates.com)
rays_surplus
taniadeick

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Awesome. Thanks for the sources. I will write those down. Got some bills to pay before the next build starts.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Sweet looking Kimber Brian!

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

This!
It's no fun when you find out the sight you want costs as much as the rest of the build did.:(

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I just got mine in for my 4.25" railed 1911. Wearing it now. Most comfortable IWB holster I've owned. I'm normally a Comp-Tac freak, but the Alien is half the price, uses better clips, and holds the weapon tighter against my love handles than any of my others.

HIGHLY recommended.

Also…lifetime warranty, swappable kydex shells, and a free shell exchange if you start carrying a different gun! Not only that, but they've courteously and quickly answered all of my emails.

I'm sold. Ordering one for my XD9sc now.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Nice looking holster, but what are the benefits of this style IWB

over something like this?

http://oldchurchbbq.com/sharedpictur...WB_Outside.gif

The first one looks like a lot more material to fit inside the wasteband (I've already got enough in mine without adding more) and I would think the single clip would be a little easier to get on/off quicker as well. I am not trying to knock the Alien Gear style, just curious and looking for an education.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I have a similar holster for my Kimber, it disperses the weight a little more than a single point attachment and the sweat shield keeps the gun from rubbing against your skin. My Kimber is a heavy gun so the two clips really do make a difference compared to other holsters.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Steve, since the clips aren't on the body of the holster (Alien), it will be thinner and more comfortable. I've used a holster like the one you pictured, a Blade-Tech…very uncomfortable, and not nearly as stable. YMMV.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Interesting point about spreading the weight. I carry a lighter weapon than the Kimber, so that makes sense. Mine is also fairly slim already. I may try that style one day. Also, I agree completely about the sweat shield; I wouldn't' carry without one again!

http://oldchurchbbq.com/sharedpictur...B%20Inside.gif

Thanks!

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Even when I carry my Kel-Tec PF9, it's with the Alien style holster. That gun weighs nothing, and flat disappears when I carry it.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

All new Kimbers (identified by a II on the slide after the name) have a firing pin safety (FPS) as well. The way it's disengaged is how they differ. Colt's Series 80 disengages the FPS via the trigger. Many 1911 enthusiasts felt this ruined the perfect SAO 1911 trigger. The 1911's light, crisp, and smooth trigger is one if the best aspects about a 1911 and many felt Colt disregarded that by adopting the Series 80 FPS . Anyway, Kimber uses a Swartz FPS which is disengaged via the grip safety. This preserves the original 1911 trigger pull while still incorporating a FPS for the rare occurance you should drop your pistol on the muzzle. This is a rare case that supposedly happend when a 1911 was dropped from a long distance above the ground, potentially givng the firing pin enough inertia to strike the primer with enough force to cause the round the fire. Many custom 1911 manufacturers do not incorporate FPS and instead use lightweight firing pins and stronger firing pin springs to prevent this type of rare discharge.

Here's a pic showing both systems. The plunger stopping the firing pin is identical if I remember correctly, just what activates the plunger (deactivating the FPS) is where things are different.

http://oi49.tinypic.com/21lojv7.jpg

S&W also uses the Swartz FPS, as do others.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

BTW Brian, love the look of the Eclipse. Gorgeous 1911.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I just picked up this locking gun cabinet for $100.
https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/...40949058_n.jpg

The 3 guns on the right are mine and the other ones belong to a friend of mine.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...66089521_n.jpg

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

Very nice Earl.

A friend and I went to cabelas this morning for the spring sale. The pallet of .223 they had put out went like hot cakes. Wasn't that a good price either. I did find Ultramax .40 for $.27/rnd though so picked up 600rnds. The real deal was a Carhartt jacket out of the bargain cave for $34.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

I just fell in love with my ssa-e trigger.

Re: First Firearm Thread.
 

BOGO!
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...0/208/6vtx.jpg

Unfortunately, the scorpion is plagued with FTFs :( even after cleanings it gets to about 50 rounds then starts failing. But when it fires, it is an awe inspiring firearm I must say.