Being a fanatic of the 45ACP and curious about the cult like following of the CZ platform I purchased a 99% CZ97 B at a price I just could not refuse. Original box, papers, both original magazines for under $400 dollars including tax a few years back.

I always test newly acquired firearms with factory ammo before developing my own specialized handload. I tried a number of factory loads Winchester White Box, Federal and much to my surprise I was very disappointed and started to feel; my CZ purchase was a bad purchase. A friend of mine then recommended Fiocchi and says it shoots great in his CZ75. At this point, I really did not want to spend any more money on factory ammo. Having found a good price on a box of Fiocchi 230gr hardball, I decided I would give the CZ97 one last try. The Fiocchi brand printed nice for defensive style shooting and started to resurrect my confidence in this platform. Having read many forums and articles about the accuracy and reliability of the CZ line of pistols, I decided I would hit the reloading bench and work up a load to try and achieve the best accuracy possible. The ammunition reseller at the gun show I purchased the Fiocchi ammo from recommended I try 185gr Hollow Base round nose. He stated with the hollow base some say upon ignition would cause the base of the projectile to expand and engage the rifling better. Having 100% reliability thus far with 230gr Hard ball as well as Jacketed Hollow Point I figured I would give this Berry’s brand a try.

I started with a variety of previous loaded brass and W231 smokeless powder and Wolf Large Pistol Primers.
I loaded
5 Rounds with 4.8gr of W231 Very soft load
5 Rounds with 5.2gr of W231 Soft load poor accuracy
10 Rounds with 5.4gr of W231 Medium load better accuracy
20 Rounds with 5.6gr of W231 Feels the same as factory but greater accuracy

5.6gr of W231 with a Berry’s 45ACP 185gr Hollow Base is where I stopped. This proved to be accurate in my CZ97 B with 100% reliability.

I proceeded to load 200 rounds of ammunition with my final recipe for my next range trip. Upon arriving at the range, I setup my target with 3 blank Caldwell High Visibility targets for each range I planned on testing 7yards, 15yards and 25yards.

I shot 10 rounds at each distance with a two-hand hold from a weaver stance. Starting with the top target at 7 yards, the middle target at 15 yards and the bottom target at 25 yards.

I was very pleased with the outcome of each target but was especially satisfied with the outcome at 25 yards. This is probably the best I have ever shot at 25 yards.

With such positive results in the CZ platform, I loaded up a few moon clips to try these reloads in my Performance Center JM 625 revolver.

I put on a fresh target and ran it out to 15 yards.

Again very happy with the results.

Many experienced reloaders know there is a lot more to reloading accurate ammo than just the recipe. The overall length of the round also plays a very vital role. With this load I settled on 1.255.

The crimp is also vital especially with the 45ACP as it head spaces on the case mouth. Below is a picture of proper head spacing

My crimp ended with .470

The CZ97B has now quickly become one of my favorite semi-autos.

Reloading can be a peaceful and very rewarding activity. Remember safety is paramount and must be adhered to. Also remember this is a load tailored to my CZ97B, based on the results I was able to achieve my shooting partner wanted to try a magazine in his Wilson 1911. Out of 8 rounds there were two which failed to feed it was obvious these loads were to light for Wilson 1911.

The 45 Colt cartridge began as a black powder cartridge in 1872. It was developed by UMC and Remington for the Single Action Army Revolver. The .45 Colt remains popular with renewed interest in Cowboy Action Shooting. However, the round also saw resurgence as a cartridge in handgun hunting and Metallic Silhouette Shooting competitions in the 1960s with the introduction of stronger heavier framed handguns. It also became the basis for rounds such as the .454 Casull developed and designed by Dick Casull.

With the advent of Magnum and +P ammunition came very interesting debates about the capabilities of the 45 Colt. Today’s smokeless powder 45 Colt ammunition loads produce 400ft-lbs of energy at 860fps making it somewhat more powerful than 45ACP. Newer ammunition makers arriving on the scene like CorBon producing hot rod 45ACP rounds caused many shooters to debate why 45 colt when I can get the same out of 45ACP with greater capacity. Those against this debate will mention CorBon also produces 45 Colt ammunition in the same class of 44 Magnum. These 45 Colt rounds are often referred to in reloading manuals as Ruger only loads. Such loads are not issued by major companies such as Winchester and Remington. These loads cannot be used safely in any original Colt Single-Action Army or any replica thereof; such as those produced by Uberti, Beretta, the Taurus Gaucho, or the Ruger New Vaquero as these guns are built on the smaller frame with thinner cylinder walls. The 45 Colt is still very venerable and becoming one of my favorite cartridges. Though the 45 Colt vs. the 45ACP power debate comes up often in gun shops and internet forums, there has been no debate like that of 45 Colt vs. 45 Long Colt.

The debate over 45Colt vs. 45 Long Colt has been going on for well over 75 years and can often be seen debated even today in 2010 on forums such as thehighroad and thefiringline. Elmer Keith in his book Sixguns wrote of such arguments many years ago when he wrote “Some newcomers to the game claim there is no such animal, but if they had shot the short variety that Remington turned out in such profusion before, during and after World War I they would see there was some basis in referring to the .45 Colt as the .45 Long…” (Elmer Keith, Sixguns, page 285)

I have been involved in many heated debates over 45ACP vs. 45 Colt with my old man. I have often found the generation difference is one of the main drivers for such a debate. I did not come to appreciate the 45 Colt until I was presented with a great opportunity to purchase this gem as my first owned Smith & Wesson Performance Center revolver. The older I become the more I understand and appreciate my father’s wisdom.

This 45 Colt 625-7 with very low serial number has a 6inch slab side ported barrel, red ramp dovetailed front sight, round butt frame, integral Weaver style base rail with Hogue wood grips. It also came in the gorgeous Smith and Wesson Performance Center Aluminum case I am very fond of.

Fit&Finish Grade Excellent
The fit and finish is what many have come to expect from the Smith & Wesson Performance Center, first class. Stainless is one of the most durable finishes, not easily scratched and if you do incur any handling marks they can be easily dealt with. It has a very unique look with a slab side ported barrel with integral Weaver style base rail. The cylinder lockup is very tight and the cylinder gap measured .005 with my feeler gauges. It is only deserving of such a classy revolver to be finished off with a beautiful yet functional set of wood grips.

Handling/Feel In the Shooters Hand Grade Excellent
The Model 625-7 is based on the N Frame, which I believe is satisfying to all hand sizes with the proper set of grips. The balance with the slab sided integrated weaver base adds a little weight to the front of this revolver causing a heavy forward balance in the hand. If this were a 44 magnum the extra front weight would be a welcome addition to help with absorbing recoil. Being a 45 Colt this is not needed as recoil is very minimal with cowboy and standard saami spec 45 Colt loads. The wooden grips are functional but may only be suited for those with medium to large size hands. A beautiful revolver like this only deserves a set of wooden grips. Others with smaller sized hands may need to experiment to find the proper feel.

Trigger Grade Excellent
As would be my expectation the trigger on the Performance Center Model 625 is excellent. It is very smooth, crisp and consistent and has no over travel. This revolver carries the best trigger of any firearm under my ownership. In double action, this trigger has no feel of staging. The great man of wisdom, my father says this is the way a revolver trigger should feel unlike the trigger on the Model 29 I reviewed previously. This trigger is smooth as a baby’s bottom and breaks like glass. The double action trigger measures in right at 8 pounds as can be seen by my RCBS trigger gauge.

The single stage trigger pulls measures 2 pounds by the RCBS trigger gauge. I measured the single stage pull 10 different times as I could not believe it was so light.

To have such light single and double action trigger pull the return spring is still yet strong enough to ignite factory ammunition as well as reloads primed with CCI large pistol primers which are known to be the hardest CUP primer in the industry.

Sights Grade Excellent
From the factory, the 625 comes from the Performance Center with a red ramp dovetailed front sight, white outlined traditional adjustable rear sight. This sight combination was very easy to acquire sight picture and sight alignment quickly on the indoor range as well as outdoors. I even tried accuracy out to 25 yards with a shiny hard to see target. The red ramp front sight made it easy to focus on while still seeing the target clearly even with the lights reflecting off the shiny paper. The only better sights have seen and prefer are the combination of the Gold Bead front sight with the white lined tradition rear sight.

Reliability&Accuracy Grade Excellent
The 6 inch barrel and balance of this weapon provides a long eye relief, which lends itself to excellent accuracy. The firing of cowboy action loads as well as reloaded saami spec’d 45 Colt loads provides 6 shots of very accurate deadly lead down range. I am not a fan of hot rodded ammo so no ruger loads were fired in this revolver during testing or ever will be. If a situation arise which needs something more capable I move up to a larger caliber 44Magnum, 454Caull, 460S&W Magnum or even the 500S&W magnum.

The first 6 shots were fired with my reloads of 255gr lead sitting a top of W231.

This target looks as if it only has 4 holes but I assure there were 6 shots fired, imagine the smile on my face after this first round.
Continuing with the large smile on my face at the pure delight of the double action trigger. I loaded the cylinder with another six rounds and move the target back to 15 yards. I took aim with a 2 handed hold out of a weaver style stance and sent another 6 rounds down range. Below are the results.

Wanting to see what I was capable of with 45 Colt at 25 yards I turned to get another target only to see I had run out. I decided to use one of the peel off backing at 25 yards. With the reflection from the indoor range lights I at first didn’t think of this as a good idea.

I then raised the revolver focused on the front sight and noticed how well the red front sight stood out against the shiny background. I sent 6 shots down range not sure eactly where they struck the target. I have been so accustomed to the Caldwell Orange Peel high visibility targets the shiny backing left me with low confidence. As the target got closer I could see it wasn’t the grouping I was looking for but all 6 rounds hit the target. With lesser sights I am sure it would have been worst.

Overall the Performace Center 625-7 45 Colt has deserved an excellent rating from me. The fit&finish is outstanding and the lock up is very tight. The best feature is the trigger, the double action weighs in a 8 pounds and the single action 2 pounds. This action is as smooth as any trigger I felt in my 2 and a half decades of shooting. Do not mistake the 45 Colt cartridge it has taken many mens and beat lives in the Wild West and still delivers a venemous punch today.

Fit&Finish Grade Excellent

As seen by the picture above this is a Glock 30 Generation 3. There are currently as of 2010 4 generations of the Glock. Third Generation Glocks were introduced with thumb rest on both sides of the frame along with finger grooves on the front side of the rail. Functionally for the 3rd Generation Glock family the locking block was enlarged a load chamber indicator was added as well as a extra cross pin to aid the distribution of forces exerted by the locking block during recoil and return to battery. The tenifer finish Glock uses on its slides has to be one of the hardest most enduring finishes other than those of the stainless revolver I have seen. Witnessing many Glock law enforcement trade ins, which has been, holstered hundreds if not thousands of times with very little wear.

There have been many changes made to this Glock 30. An extended slide release, extended take down pins, extended magazine release, frame plug, front night site, and rear ghost ring night site.
Intended as a CCW or Backup to your full size duty weapon the Glock finish has stood the test of time and deserves an excellent rating.

Handling/Feel In the Shooters Hand Grade Great
The Glock 30 is considered to be a compact frame and considering I have very large hands I knew this would be an opportunity for me. I decided to purchase finger extensions for my magazines this improved the grip but something was still missing. A glock gunsmith recommended for the size of my hands I should also purchase the plug for the rear of the frame. A little weary already from being a long time revolver fanatic I took his advice, low and behold this is the ticket to give me the control and feel I needed to feel more confident. I feel most would enjoy the grip modifications including those with small hands. I ask my wife to hold the Glock 30 before and after modifications and she even stated the after was much more comfortable. Understand this does give up some of it’s conceal ability. For these reason the Glock 30 gets a rating of great.

Trigger Grade Great
Glock reports from the factory the trigger is set for 5.5 pounds. As I considered this as a working CCW firearm, I decided to keep the important internal mechanisms all factory. The Glock 30 trigger was smooth and consistent. Reset is also something I pay very close attention to in testing as well as dry firing as it helps me with faster follow up shots. Unfortunately the reset on this pistol was not very consistent and I am not sure why. At times, I could feel the reset and at times, I could not causing me to fully extend and release the trigger. I also tested trigger pull weight 15 times to discover this trigger consistently measured 4.5 pounds as seen by the RCBS trigger pull gauge below. The trigger category is given a Great rating because of the opportunities listed.

Sights Grade Excellent
On this topic I really debated if this was, deserving the top rating of excellent based on the changes I had to make in this category. Trying to ensure I remained consistent in my grading having not given the handling and feel an excellent rating due to the changes, which were made. Now wait before the criticism starts, the standard Glock sights can be ordered in a number of different configurations. Based on this variety and the standard sights, which I have used to put many rounds down range would receive and excellent rating from me. This being a weapon seeing most of its work at night via CCW night’s sights was a needed addition though I have to admit the ghost ring rear was only cool factor until I actually started to use it. I truly believe these sights improved target acquisition for me in day and night time settings.

Reliability Excellent&Accuracy Grade Great
In previous articles, this has been one overall rating. To be fair I had to split this category. The Glock 30′s reliability has been perfect since first day of ownership. In an effort to find, which ammo is most accurate for this platform I have fed the Glock, Remington and Federal factory ammo. I have also fed the Glock 30 a number of different reloads of my own which included jacketed hollow points, variable COAL (cartridge overall length) lengths including very light reloads and have never experienced a failure to feed, eject or any malfunction. Glocks are known for their reliability and is one of the main reasons most law enforcement agencies think highly of all Glocks.

Some would consider accuracy for a CCW or Duty weapon excellent. Again, to remain consistent with my testing which includes testing out to 25 yards lead me to the rating of great. Most defensive shootings happen within 7 to 10 yards. I am no lawyer but I think it would be very difficult to prove to a judge or jury of your peers that you shot at someone 25 yards or more away because you feared for your life. If presented with this situation I would want to be armed with a carbine or rifle though a .45 is more than capable of defense out to this range.

At 7 yards, the Glock 30 proved to be excellent and very accurate. Out of my first magazine, I put 10 rounds down range as fast as I could reacquire the target and pull the trigger.

I then proceeded to put an additional magazine of 10 rounds down range. This time using a two handed, hold weaver stance slow fire attempting to get the best accuracy as possible.

As you can see at defensive or handgun combat distances the Glock 30 proved to be very accurate.

I then moved the target back to 15 yards. Again taking a two handed hold with a slow deliberate firing attempting to achieve the Glocks and mine best accuracy.

Now comes this range visits hardest task 25 yards.

To my surprise, I missed my 5.5-inch target 3 times out of 10. Though most of this can be blamed on the shooter, the short sight radius of 5.77 inches presents challenges for me out to this distance. I started to load another magazine only to find I had five of my reloaded rounds left. I knew I did not have much time at the range so I only brought along enough ammo to accomplish the testing. Now I have to make the best of the last five shots. Not happy with my outcome at 25 yards this again would be my test.

Much better results this time.

Glock continues to own market share in the Law Enforcement Agency world for many good reasons. For me it is a great CCW platform and I have no concerns at all with Glocks reliability to entrust my life and my family’s safety to it. Since 1980, Glock has changed very few features until the introduction of Generation 4 at Shot Show 2010, which now includes replaceable back straps. The next few years will be very interesting to see how long Glock can hold on to its market share with new introductions like the Smith and Wesson M&P.

The 44magnum Smith and Wesson Model 29 was first introduced in 1955. This weapon became very popular in 1971 perpetuated by Clint Eastwood in the movie Dirty Harry where he played a San Francisco Inspector going by the name of Dirty Harry Callahan. Though most movie buffs say, Clint was carrying a Smith and Wesson Model 57, which is a 41 magnum, though it is difficult to tell the difference on screen. This particular Model 29 is sourced from the Smith and Wesson custom shop known as the Performance Center. On introduction, the Model 29 was once the most powerful handgun in the world. With the advent of the X-Frame S&W 500 and 460 Magnum this is no longer the case. Even before these monstrous framed revolvers, Dick Casull introduced us to the 454 Casull. Though it has been a very long time since the 44 magnum has reined king, it is still very capable of taking and has taken every animal on the Northern Continent.

Those of us familiar with the Performance Center you would expect the older style aluminum case. This revolver came with a Performance Center gun sleeve as seen below.

Inside this case, there is a pocket securing the normal documentation but I also found in this pouch a gold bead front site. As seen below the front site installed by the factory is a clear orange site.

Fit&Finish Grade Excellent

The fit and finish is first class. The bluing is very deep, almost a black color. It has a very unique look with the unfluted cylinder, clear orange front site and barrel profile with pre mounted scope base. I also like the interchangeable front sights as mentioned it also comes with a gold bead front. It is only deserving of such a classy revolver with a great bluing job to finish it off with a beautiful yet functional set of wood grips.

Handling/Feel In the Shooters Hand Grade Excellent

The Model 29 is based on the N Frame, which I believe is satisfying to all hand sizes with the proper set of grips. The balance with the unfluted cylinder is a welcomed center balance, which helps absorb the recoil. The wooden grips really add to the character of this Model 29 these may only be suited for those with medium to large size hands. I would consider it a serious abomination to see such a beautifully finished revolver wearing a set rubber grips but those with small hands will more than likely find a set of Hogue rubber grips a better fit. The cylinder lockup is very tight and the cylinder gap measured .006 with my feeler gauges.

Trigger Grade Excellent
As would be my expectation the trigger on the Performance Center Model 29 is excellent. It is very smooth, crisp and consistent and has no over travel. Just as important and often times over looked is the trigger reset, it is short consistent and very detectable. This is a feature I often pay close attention to on Big Bore Revolvers intended for dangerous 4-legged critters. I believe it helps with faster follow-up shots. In double action, this trigger is easily staged. Some purist and old timers like my father may not like the staging. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from the old man that a trigger should be smooth as a baby’s bottom and should break like glass scaring you when it goes off. In general I myself like the staging I believe it helps with speed and follow-up shots, just promise not to tell my old man that. The double action trigger measures in right at 10 pounds as can bee seen by my RCBS trigger gauge, though something Smith and Wesson has done makes it feel a lot lighter than that.

The single stage is even better weighing in at a little less than 4 pounds.

Sights Grade Great
On this category I debated for some time what was the proper grading due to the fact the Performance Center has given the buyer multiple options. From the factory, it comes with the traditional adjustable rear sight and a clear orange florescent front sight. This sight combination was very easy to acquire sight picture and sight alignment very quickly on the indoor range as well as outdoors. Therefore, you may be wondering why I only gave it a great rating. With the orange front sight my target tended to blur a little more than normal and what I believe to be acceptable, I am sure this is probably my eyes. I also like the blued gold dot front sight, which is provided which makes the weapons appearance a little more traditional like. I have a gold bead front sight on a Model 625, for my eyes, it just doesn’t get any better than that combination.

Reliability&Accuracy Grade Excellent
The 6.5 inch barrel and balance of this weapon provides a long eye relief, which lends itself to excellent accuracy. The unfluted cylinder provides 6 shots of 44 Magnum or either 44 Special.

With the trigger feeling so light to the pad of my index/shooting finger, I was worried some of my reloads would not be properly ignited. I typically use federal primers for my big bore revolvers as they typically have softer cups just about guaranteeing positive ignition. Though I have recently got some back in stock I had been out for a long time and the only thing I was able to get my hands on were Wolf and CCI primers which both has a harder cup. To my surprise, there were no failure to ignite and all ejections from the cylinder were nice and smooth as it should be. During this range session, I was using 18grains of 2400 with a 240grain Remington JSP sitting on top. My first 6 shots were fired from 10 yards, right away I was amazed considering these shots were fired standing with a two handed grip.

All 6 shots were dead center of the target though the target looks to have only 5 holes I promise you there were 6 shots fired.

I decided at this time to bypass the 15-yard marker and go right for 25 yards. On the first 25 yards, I didn’t do as well as I had liked but this was all shooter.

One thing to keep in mind before you start worrying about the Model 29 capabilities out to 25 yards and beyond. Keep in mind this is only after 10 minutes of being on the range and only having put 12 rounds of 44magnum through this firearm thus far. Again, these 6 shots were fired from the standing position 2 hand hold.

Having not done as well as I would have liked I decided to stick a Caldwell 5.5inch target on my silhouette and run it back to 25 yards. As you can see below the firearm is very capable as 2 sets of 2 shots each are touching one another. This confirmed for me yet again I need a bit more practice indoors at 25 yards with this firearm but unfortunately I would have to be returning it to it’s rightful owner.

Overall the Performance Center Model 29 is an outstanding firearm and receives and overall excellent rating. Again, the fit and finish is beyond reproach, the lockup is tighter than a bank vault and the trigger has the feel of hand blown glass very smooth. Were this my firearm I would right away install the additional gold dot bead provided by Smith and Wesson but this is a thing of preference per individual. I truly enjoyed another great day at the range with this Model 29. For those that want a great firearm capable of serving as a hunting platform or loaded with 200gr 44 Specials for home defense look no further as this platform can serve either role, not to mention the excitement and piece of history it provides.

If Clint Eastwood were to make a Dirty Harry movie today. This would surely be the menacing revolver the bad guys would be starring down the barrel of.

I know what you’re thinking — “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?

Why I bought it

I’ve been using a FNP-45 as a bedside gun for the past couple years. Its a good gun, reliable, accurate, low recoiling. However, I was never pleased with the trigger, and I’m not a fan of DA/SA guns. And although its totally subjective and meaningless, I just can’t love a plastic gun. Also I’ve really stepped up my shooting since I bought the FNP (by about an order of magnitude) and the more I practiced, the more it became clear to me that the 1911 platform was the one for me. The ergonomics are superior for my hand, and the control locations are very intuitive and functional to me. I shoot it more accurately, as well.

About a year ago I started looking at STI 2011s. I very nearly bought a Tactical 5.0, but decided not to for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I’m not a subscriber to the “smaller and lighter is better” school of thought when it comes to defensive guns and guns in general. My ideal bedside gun, I would want capacity, maximum weight, and length. That means full dust cover and all steel. Although STI does offer an aluminum grip now, but only as an aftermarket option totally untextured and unfinished, essentially sticking me with a plastic frame. I found myself wishing STI offered an all-steel version of the Perfect 10 chambered in .45, so I ended up deciding that my money was better spent on ammo for the guns I already had.

Ordering

Eventually I ended up checking out the SVI site and realized I could have them build exactly what I wanted. Words cannot describe how great a company SVI is to deal with. Once you decipher the myriad options in their gunbuilder software, you submit it to the factory. Every time you have any contact with them, whether via the gunbuilder or email, they get back to you the same day or the next business day. You’re talking to Brandon Strayer, the same guy that will be building your gun, and he responds to questions not only with good answers, but with detailed explanations and alternative suggestions, as well. When I placed the order in October of 2009, I was quoted a 1 year lead time. I changed my mind about a few small details several times throughout the process, and they had no problem accommodating me. About two months ago, I got in touch again to add on some spare parts and springs, and they told me the gun was in slide/frame fitting and should be done and ready for coating in 4-6 weeks. After being sent to coating and returning to SVI, they notified me that they were unhappy with the quality of the finish on the left side thumb safety and were sending it back to be recoated. It sucked waiting another two weeks, but that’s the kind of attention to detail you expect from a full-custom builder. In the end, I had the gun in my hands four months before the quoted time.

Initial Impressions

The minute I pulled it out of the box, I was astounded at just how gorgeous the gun looked. The machining and fitting is phenomenal. There’s a lot of intricate curves where the grip meets the frame, and its all seamless. The right side of the mag release is in the middle of one of these curves, and although you can easily see the joint, you can feel it. The slide to frame fit and slide to barrel fit are rock solid, like its one piece of metal.

Even unfired (by me, at least) out of the box, racking the slide was like rubbing snot on glass. It was unbelievable how smooth it was. My Les Baer with almost 14,000 rounds through it isn’t even nearly that smooth. In general, the Infinity in its entirety makes my Baer just look… not so nice anymore. Its by far the nicest pistol I’ve ever shot or handled, including every semi-custom 1911 maker. The trigger is astounding, possibly even better than my custom-tuned bullseye trigger in my .22 1911. Its even crisper than a Smith revolver in single action. I actually had them build the trigger a few pounds heavier than their typical standard, as I don’t think a 1.5 pound trigger is a terribly good idea on a defensive gun.

Also, the rear adjustable target sight is the most solid and durable of its kind I’ve ever seen. Since I prefer this kind of rear sight for every kind of gun, including carry, I’ve become a real pro at breaking them, but the way this one is built makes it seem like it will be invincible, but time will tell.

Inside, the fitting and attention to detail is still up to the same high standard. I can’t find a tool mark anywhere on the pistol.

If you catch the internal finish at the right angle, it makes a rainbow!

And while I’m posting stripped pictures, check out how beefy the barrel is:

nd here’s the extractor. I’ve never seen one designed like this before. Like the rest of the gun, its carved out of solid bar stock, and according to the people at the Brian Enos forums, they’re so tough you have to put it in a vise to tension it.

Shooting

The title is a bit misleading. I actually have 1200 rounds through it now. The gun hasn’t had a malfunction of any sort. It eats my carry ammo (230 +p HST) However, the mags fail to lock back fairly regularly. The people at SVI recommended bending the top two coils of the magazine springs up about 15 degrees to create a little more pressure on the nose of the follower and consequently on the slide stop. This worked great, but it just doesn’t want to hold on some of the mags. SVI offered to send me several of a new, more lockback-friendly follwer they’re working on, so hopefully that will fix the problem. In the mean time, I have enough reliable mags for non-range use, so I’m not too concerned. I should try to be reloading before lockback anyway.

As far as accuracy goes, I don’t like shooting from rests, but standing at 15 yards, its shooting the same 2″ 50 round groups that my 1.5″ guarantee Baer does, so its safe to assume that the gun is more accurate than I am, at least for the time being. I usually have plenty of target pictures to back these claims up, but I’ve neglected to save any of the ones I’ve shot with the Infinity. If I remember, I’ll take some pics on my next range trip and post them to the thread.

The recoil is light to say the least. Its obviously a hefty gun, weighting about 50 ounces empty, and 70 in full bedside configuration with light/laser,15 round mag, and one in the chamber. This translates to shooting a full-power .45 that feels like a 9mm. I’ve shot two nines recently, a Star Model B (or is in BM, I can’t remember) and a Taurus 24/7 longslide. Both had more felt recoil and muzzle rise than the Infinity.

Ergonomically, the gun is fantastic as well. The first thing you notice when handling it is how slim the grip is. Its not near as big as any other double stack .45 on the market. In fact, I got out my calibers with the current grip panels I have on my Baer, the 1911 is actually .005″ thicker than the 2011. Granted, the thickest spot on a traditional 1911 is a tangential point on a curve, almost infinitesimally small, while the thickest part on the 2011 grip is about an inch wide, but it still would be easily concealable. In fact, the mag well is much smaller that it seems as well, and I think that would be fairly easy to conceal, as well. And before you ask, yes, I am going to try. I ordered a holster from Blade-Tech, it should be here in a couple weeks.

The overall feel of the grip is fantastic, as well. I got the SVI “Signature” grip, which has a much different shape to it than the original plastic 2011 grips. There’s a lot of curve around the backstrap area. I really need to shoot it side by side with my regular 1911 (can’t at the moment, its broken AGAIN) but I think I might actually like this grip better than a traditional 1911.

I also like the finish. Its a PVD coating chemically similar to IonBond. It looks great, it should be pretty tough over time, and fouling just does not stick to it. Its very easy to clean.

As a reward for wading through all that text, here’s some more pictures:

Overall

I couldn’t be happier. This pistol is amazing. The excessive weight probably won’t be appealing for very many people, but its exactly what I was looking for. It feels great in the hand, balances well, and shoots like a dream. The only problem I have with it is that it makes my Baer look a little crappy, and now I find myself wanting a 5″ version of this gun with no mag well for carry.

As you can see one of the 1911′s and the first for review is the Les Baer Thunder Range Special 1911 by Les Baer.

Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special 1911

“We needed the best custom 1911 on the market — 100% reliable and reasonably priced. We settled on Les Baer Custom to supply us with that gun because nobody makes a better custom 1911.”
- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch

With this review I will be changing my format a little based on some user feedback I have received from the readers and users of this site. Hopefully this will deliver more of a real world unbias review as well as deliver consistency across all reviews. Myself along with the other authors have agreed on this new format to follow. Each review will consist of a grading for each of the following characteristics.
Ammo Used
Fit & Finish
Handling/Feel In The Shooters Hand
Trigger
Sights
Reliability&Accuracy

A quick view of the Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special 1911

Fit&Finish
With this package you get what anyone who has knowledge of Les Baer would expect, there is no flaw or let down in this category. The slide to frame fit is remarkably tight. I was worried that my reloads loaded at low velocity speeds would not be able to cycle the weapon properly, as you will see when you get to the reliability section this proved to be untrue. The front strap and mainspring housing are checkered. The front strap is checkered at 30 lines per inch. The slide serrations are deep enough for positive grip but not sharp. You will surely need a firm grip when cycling this weapon, again it is very tight out of the box. The blueing is a satin polish with the TRS logo and Les Baer lettering very crisply engraved into the slide. Some 1911 purist really frown upon the front serrations on a 1911, but remember this is a custom 1911 created for Clint Smith and Thunder Ranch as a working 1911 and I welcome the front serrations.
The Fit&Finish deserves an excellent rating

Handling/Feel in The Shooters Hand
Is there any handgun that feels better in the hands of any American than a 1911? I had no idea you could improve upon the feel of a 1911, wow was I wrong. Because of my large hands my 1911′s are all outfitted with the standard sized 1911 grips. The TRS is equipped with a pair of slim grips which has made this 1911 the best feel and fitting weapon to my hands ever. The grips are diamond checkered and feel just as good as they look. Unfortunately for me this probably means I will have to sped a little money switching out my 1911 grip’s for the slim versions.
Handling/Feel in The Shooters Hand deserves an excellent rating

Trigger
The trigger on the TRS has very little over travel but some is noticeable. This trigger is a solid model and has no lateral movement as it should, just straight front to back movement. Though I am not sure of the pounds it takes to pull the trigger it is of medium weight with a very clean a crisp pull. This is the only category which did not rate an excellent. Before you all bombard me with all kinds of hate mail let me attempt to explain. I have a S&W 1911 and I feel out of the box the TRS should have a better trigger. The S&W has an equal trigger in my opinion. This could mean my S&W 1911 has a great trigger or simply be a matter of my expectations. This outing at the range made me decide to purchase a Lyman Electronic Trigger Pull Gage which I hope to be here next week. Hopefully this tool will assist me in giving a better review of this category.
Trigger deserves a great rating

Sights
The TRS sights prove to be very bright allowing for quick sight alignment and sight picture. I am not sure if Trijicon has done something special for Les Baer on this model but they are brighter than any other night sights I have in my safe at the current time. I have a set of new ghost ring Trijicon night sights on a glock 30. Though I was amazed by the Glock 30 sights the TRS sights still out shine them. To ensure this was not the honeymoon affect I was dealing with my wife and I both sat in a dark room comparing both sets of sights and she to said the TRS had brighter sights. Yeah I know what a geeky thing to do, ask your wife to sit in a dark room with you comparing night sights. But what a great woman she was just as excited to look at them as I was.
Sights deserve an excellent rating

Reliability&Accuracy
The seven round magazines it came with works flawlessly, but I prefer the Tripp Research Magazines These have been such a success for me that I have even purchased their upgrade kits which come with a spring and follower to convert all of my 1911 magazines to this format. Les Baer also did an excellent job at polishing the feed ramp, nice and smooth no burs which probably has a lot to do with the flawless feeding of ball and hollow point ammo.

Les Baer TRS with Original magazine and a Chip McCormick which has been converted with the Trip Research spring and follower.

As I expected the Tripp Research magazine performed flawlessly with the TRS. I put 40 rounds of reloaded ammo through the TRS including hollow points without any failures.

Accuracy was tested at 7 and 15 yards with Shoot-N-C 4 1/2X7in targets 7 rounds per target. The top target is 7 yrds the bottom target is 15 yards.

I then tested my hollow point reloads W231 5.5gr Hornady XTP 230gr. Below is my very first 5 shots of hollow point at the silhouette head of my target at 7 yards.

I knew this gun was capable but if the shooter was is a different can worms. I tried to get my hollow points to group a bit better by firing 5 rounds and the very small silhouette box in the upper left corner of the target.

The accuracy and shooting performance far exceeded my expectations. I am not a fantastic bullseye shooter, but years of USMC combat hadgun firing courses has made me very comfortable with my combat skills, I can say the Les Baer surely increased my capabilities.
All shooting was done with a two handed hold and weaver stance.
Reliability&Accuracy deserves an excellent rating

Overall this 1911 deserves an excellent rating. It is well worth the money for a custom 1911. It is now time for me to start saving and pinching pennies for me to have one of my own.

Don’t forget to check back for the up and coming review of the Les Baer custom CMP LEG match 1911.

So you’re buying a revolver. New, used, doesn’t matter, you want a good one, right? How do check one over without firing it, right at the dealer’s counter or gun show table? This is how. All of this works with DA or SA wheelguns…”close the action” on most DAs means swing the cylinder in, on SA types, close the loading gate, on break opens, close ‘em. UNLOADED.

WARNING: most of these tests require violation of the “finger off trigger” rule. Therefore, be extremely careful about safe muzzle direction and making sure the gun is unloaded ahead of time, PERSONALLY, as you begin handling it.

Note: bring a small flashlight, something small and concentrated. A Photon or similar high-powered LED light is perfect. You also want feeler gauges if you’re not used to eyeballing cylinder gaps; at a minimum, bring a .002″, .004″ and .006″.

Note 2: no dry firing is required or desired at any point. It just pisses off the gun’s current owner.

Cylinder play

1) With the gun UNLOADED (check for yourself!), close the action.

2) Thumb the hammer back, and while pulling the trigger, gently lower the hammer all the way down while keeping the trigger back – and KEEP holding the trigger once the hammer is down. (You’ve now put the gun in “full lockup” – keep it there for this and most other tests.)

3) With the trigger still back all the way, check for cylinder wiggle. Front/back is particularly undesirable; a bit of side to side is OK but it’s a bad thing if you can wiggle it one way, let go, and then spin it the other way a fraction of an inch and it stays there too. At the very least, it should “want” to stop in just one place (later, we’ll see if that place is any good). The ultimate is a “welded to the frame” feeling.

Cylinder gap

4) Still holding the trigger at full lockup, look sideways through the barrel/cylinder gap. If you can get a credit card in there, that ain’t good…velocity drops rapidly as the gap increases. Too tight isn’t good either, because burnt powder crud will “fill the gap” and start making the cylinder spin funky. My personal .38 snubbie is set at .002, usually considered the minimum…after about 40 shots at the range, I have to give the front of the cylinder a quick wipe so it spins free again. I consider that a reasonable tradeoff for the increased velocity because in a real fight, I ain’t gonna crank 40 rounds out of a 5-shot snub.

If you’re eyeballing it, you’ll have to hold it up sideways against an overhead light source.

SAFETY WARNING: This step in particular is where you MUST watch your muzzle direction. Look, part of what’s happening here is that you’re convincing the seller you know your poop . It helps the haggling process. If you do anything unsafe, that impression comes completely unglued.

Timing

5) You really, REALLY want an unloaded gun for this one. This is where the light comes in. With the gun STILL held in full lockup, trigger back after lowering the hammer by thumb, you want to shine a light right into the area at the rear of the cylinder near the firing pin. You then look down the barrel . You’re looking to make sure the cylinder bore lines up with the barrel. Check every cylinder – that means putting the gun in full lockup for each cylinder before lighting it up.

You’re looking for the cylinder and barrel holes to line up perfectly, it’s easy to eyeball if there’s even a faint light source at the very rear of both bores. And with no rounds present, it’s generally easy to get some light in past where the rims would be.

Bore

(We’re finally done with that “full lockup” crap, so rest your trigger finger. )
6) Swing the cylinder open, or with most SAs pull the cylinder. Use the small flashlight to scope the bore out. This part’s easy – you want to avoid pitting, worn-out rifling, bulges of any sort. You want more light on the subject than just what creeps in from the rear of the cylinder on the timing check.

You also want to check each cylinder bore, in this case with the light coming in from the FRONT of each hole, you looking in from the back where the primers would be. You’re looking for wear at the “restrictions” at the front of each cylinder bore. That’s the “forcing cone” area and it can wear rapidly with some Magnum loads. (Special thanks to Salvo below for this bit!)

Trigger

7) To test a trigger without dry-firing it, use a plastic pen in front of the hammer to “catch” it with the off hand, especially if it’s a “firing pin on the hammer” type. Or see if the seller has any snap-caps, that’s the best solution. Flat-faced hammers as found in transfer-bar guns (Ruger, etc) can be caught with the off-hand without too much pain .

SA triggers (or of course a DA with the hammer cocked) should feel “like a glass rod breaking”. A tiny amount of take-up slack is tolerable, and is common on anything with a transfer bar or hammer block safety.

DA triggers are subjective. Some people like a dead-smooth feel from beginning of stroke to the end, with no “warning” that it’s about to fire. Others (myself included) actually prefer a slight “hitch” right at the end, so we know when it’s about to go. With that sort of trigger, you can actually “hold it” right at the “about to fire” point and do a short light stroke from there that rivals an SA shot for accuracy. Takes a lot of practice though. Either way, you don’t want “grinding” through the length of the stroke, and the final stack-up at the end (if any) shouldn’t be overly pronounced.

Detecting Bad Gunsmithing:
OK, so it’s got a rock-solid cylinder, a .002″ or .003″ gap, and the trigger feels great. Odds are vastly in favor of it being tuned after leaving the factory.

So was the gunsmith any good?

Look at the screws. Ideally, they should be untouched, meaning that the gun has not been messed with. If the screw heads are battered and worn, it means the sideplate has been off, probably many times. A gun like that may have a smooth trigger, but the parts may have been polished out of time or (if a S&W) the case hardening cut through so the parts will wear out rapidly. Many guns subjected to amateur gunsmithing turn up on the used gun market when the guy realizes he has messed up.

Next, cock it, then grab the hammer and “wiggle it around” a bit. Not too hard, don’t bang on it, but give it a bit of up/down, left/right and circular action with finger off trigger and WATCH your muzzle direction.

You don’t want that hammer slipping off an overly polished sear. You REALLY don’t want that . It can be fixed by installing factory parts but that’ll take modest money (more for installation than hardware costs) and it’ll be big time unsafe until you do.

The other thing that commonly goes wrong is somebody will trim the spring, especially coil springs. You can spot that if you pull the grip panels, see if the spring was trimmed with wire cutters. If they get too wild with it, you’ll get ignition failures on harder primers. But the good news is, replacement factory or Wolf springs are cheap both to buy and have installed.

There’s also the legal problems Ayoob frequently describes regarding light triggers. If that’s a concern, you can either swap back to stock springs, or since you bought it used there’s no way to prove you knew it was modified at all .

In perspective:
Timing (test #5) is very critical…if that’s off, the gun may not even be safe to test-fire. And naturally, a crappy barrel means a relatively pricey fix.

Cylinder gap is particularly critical on short-barreled and/or marginal caliber guns. If you need every possible ounce of energy, a tight gap helps. Some factory gaps will run as high as .006″; Taurus considers .007″ “still in spec” (sigh). You’ll be hard-pressed to find any new pieces under .004″ – probably because the makers realize some people don’t clean ‘em often (or very well) and might complain about the cylinder binding up if they sell ‘em at .002″.

The guns in a dealer’s “used pile” are often of unknown origin, from estate sales or whatever. Dealers don’t have time to check every piece, and often don’t know their history. These tests, especially cylinder gap and play, can spot a gun that’s been sent off for professional tuning…like my snubbie, the best $180 I ever spent .

As long as the gun is otherwise sound (no cracks, etc) a gunsmith can fix any of this. So these tests can help you pick a particularly good new specimen, or find a good used gun, or help haggle the price down on something that’ll need a bit of work.
This article was originally a webboard post at http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/…threadid=57816 from Jim March and re-published with permission and has had minor changes from the original post based on additional information contributed by others in that discussion thread. You can find Jim online at http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw/
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Well I finally got a chance to take it out and it was very smooth. Unfortunately it has been rainy and I had to shoot at an indoor range with terrible lighting.
I really couldn’t get a clear sight picture (more on that later) and had a hard time focusing much past 7 yards.

After warming up with some PMP 115gr FMJ, I thought I’d shoot it for a group with my intended carry load, the Ranger 127gr +P+ load.


I got this group

Which measured about 1” by .5” (center to center) shooting 2 handed at about 1 round a second. Enough time for the sights to settle and squeeze off another round (the nick in the upper left hand corner was one of the warm up rounds)

Function: The EMP functioned flawlessly, feeding 100% with all 3 magazines it came with. The rounds released cleanly from the Mac-Gar magazines and fed with no stoppages on the feed ramp. I had heard about some extractors being too tight, but that certainly wasn’t the case on this example,extraction was clean with both cases I tried.

Trigger: The trigger was a bit heavier than I would have preferred, but broke cleanly and consistently

Recoil: I noticed the recoil was a bit more snappy then I thought it would be, almost as much as my Kahr CW9 with the polymer frame. Nothing really objectionable, but I can see how it requires a firm hold.

Sights: I found the Trijicon dots in the Novak rear sight distracting when trying to align the sights. The silver rings caught the light of the range lights and that kept catching me eye. I was pretty happy with the group I shot, except that it was centered about 3” high (that’s an adhesive name tag in the picture). It most likely was a result of me not getting a distinct sight picture. I’ll have to take it out when the weather clears up and see it it gets better in natural light.

Fit:
The gun was tight and showed no undue wear after the range session. The only visible wear is at the muzzle of the barrel and the locking lugs seating in the slide.
The grip safety was fitted well enough to avoid any pinching of the web of my hand.
The thumb safety clicked on and off smoothly with just about the right amount of resistance.
The magazines all locked in positively when inserted with authority…you can’t baby them into the mag well as there is quite a bit of upward pressure in the fully loaded magazine.
I feel that the build quality of the EMP falls somewhere between the Springfield TRP and the Professional…which makes it quite a value at around $1k

Druthers: My only real complaint is with the serrations on thumb safeties being very sharp…my thumb was not happy after 50 rounds. I can see looking at having the trigger cleaned up and the thumb safety changed to a one-sided one with a slightly beveled edge. I think I’ll also be looking at changing out the rear sight for something in plain black…maybe the 10-8…and adding a solid (maybe flat) trigger too. as much as a like the look of the Coco Bolo grip panels, I’m eyeing the half-checkered Alumagrips with their new ripple texture.

Written and Authorized by “9mmepiphany” over at THR

There has been some interest in it lately and i thought I’d post a report and pictures when I finally got it. These are my impressions of the EMP rather than measurements (which you can find elsewhere on the net) or even a range report. I wanted to get some pictures before I took it out to the range and it got dirty. if there is an interest, that will be the subject of another thread.

The EMP has great proportions and the satin black of the frame, sights and hammer, contrasting with the polished slide stop, thumb safety, mag release and Main Spring Housing (MSH) are set off nicely with the bead blasted white trigger, barrel and slide

The EMP is not as small as I imagined. It’s about the same size as my Kahr CW9.


As a matter of fact the CW9 is actually thinner especially with the EMP’s ambidextrous thumb safeties

It comes equipped with a Novak rear sight fitted with Trijicon night sights and a serrated front blade with a front dot


something you usually only see on custom guns is the base of the front sight is blended into the slide

the slide and frame are lightly beveled…even the ejection port has been smoothed

…and the magazine well has been beveled

Nice touches are the steel MSH, beavertail grip safety and the skeletonized hammer

I didn’t care for the drilled trigger, but I liked the subtle undercut of the trigger guard (it’s more felt than seen)

An interesting feature is what appears to be a bushingless bull barrel supported by a full length guide rod

When you retract the slide, you find that the barrel isn’t flared/belled at the front, only the top surface is relieved back to the first locking lug.

While the guide rod is a double spring affair

It looks like the initial recoil impulse is taken by the larger outer spring, while compressing the smaller inner spring in a separate tunnel

The feed ramp is integral with the barrel and the chamber is fully supported

The slide to frame fit is very nice and there is no movement when you push down on the barrel hood

The only fit issues I had were the gap between the frame and the beavertail and the end of the extractor not being flush with the rear of the slide… but then I have to remember that this pistol’s price just pushed into four figures

The EMP comes with three magazines, made for Springfield by Mec- gar

…which were the perfect length for my Ranger 127gr +P+

I liked the South American wood panels with the Springfield logo

…and the minimalistic lettering on the slide

I found it interesting that the EMP came with a checkered MSH (metal), but a smooth front strap…I’ll have to give it some thought before deciding what I might like on it. I’m also thinking about changing out the thumb safeties for a single sided one and the trigger for a solid one (maybe even a flat one). I might even be willing to suffer the lost of one round to get a flush bottomed magazine, as the butt frame has plenty of room for three fingers.

I’m very happy with this gun and look forward to wringing it out at the range. I could see it replacing my Kahr as my regular carry gun.

Written and Authorized by “9mmepiphany” over at THR

I handled several different 629s before making the purchase, but I was still amazed at the quality of the trigger. Double action was relatively light and very very smooth. It was also consistent for the full length of the pull, with no stack-up toward the end. It paled in comparison to the single action, however. I haven’t measure the weight, but I’d estimate that it breaks around a pound and half, and what’s more amazing, it does not move. When you build up to the right amount of pressure, the hammer just comes down, and for the life of me, I can’t feel anything happen with the trigger. The $1800 dollar Pardini SP I shoot bullseye with does not even come close to having this good a trigger.

I had shot .357s before, and a three painful .454s through a Contender, but I had never fired a .44, so I wasn’t sure what to expect on its first trip the range. Thinking ahead, I had obtained a padded bicycling glove before I ordered the gun, so that accompanied me to the range. With me I had a box of Winchester white box 240gr JSP .44 Mag, Two Boxes of American Eagle 240gr JHP, and one box of Remington 180gr JSP .44 Mag. I started with the Winchester at 25 yards and was pleasantly surprised to find that 1) the gun was almost perfectly sighted for point of aim at 25yards, and 2) the recoil was substantial but not in any way uncomfortable, and 3) the long sight radius makes it a real tack driver.

I took it to 50 yards next, and tried the American Eagle. I was expecting the recoil to be a little harsher than the White Box, since the White Box .45 ACP is so soft, but they were about the same. Not used to the recoil, I had developed a flinch toward the end of the box of Winchester, and with some concentration and a few breaks for dry-firing, I had it worked out by the end of the first box of American Eagle. I made it most of the way through the other box of American Eagle (I didn’t want to try the Remington that day because the gun was shooting low at 50 with the 240s, so the 180s would shoot even lower, and I had forgotten to bring a screwdriver to adjust the sights) I shot a total of 140 240gr .44 Mags that day, and either because of my bike glove or the weight of the gun (53.5 ounces unloaded) I had no discomfort, and no soreness the next day.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that after shooting the gun a little and after hours of dry-fire practice, the double action trigger had smoothed up even more. Being a semi-auto bullseye shooter and a 1911 fan, I don’t see double action trigger much, so I’m absolute trash with them. However, I found that with a little practice, I can rapidly pull the trigger while keeping the sights fixed on a light switch ~ 20 feet away. If I slow it down a little, I can keep the front sight from moving at all. I tried a little rapid fire with the 180gr. Remington the second time I took the 629 out, and found that not only good I be fairly accurate with the double action trigger, but that the recoil could be pretty controllable as well. Its got me thinking about the possibility of CCing one with a shorter barrel.

I just got back from my third range trip with the 629. I shot another 100 rounds of the American Eagle 240gr at 50 yards on B-33 50 foot pistol targets. Here’s my best, overall:

Here’s my best group. Five shots inside the 9 (if you look real close at the hole on the edge of the nine, you can tell its three) the rest of the target is all over the place and I started a bit of a flinch again and threw one outside the rings, though:

(Targets were shot standing, two handed grip, much like the picture above. I don’t like shooting supported/rested.)

As soon as I can keep all my shots in the black on the B-33s, I’m going to move out to 100 yards.

So long story short, I’m in love with this gun, and I can’t wait to go back out to the range with it. I’m hoping in a few thousand rounds I’ll be good enough to poke holes in things 200 or 300 yards away. I love the concentration and focus that comes goes hand in hand with this kind of shooting, and I love the continuous cycle of setting and meeting new goals, and I think I’ve found the perfect gun to do it with.

Written and authorized by “The Wiry Irishman” over at THR.