...and here it is after a couple months in the holster:
When I had it built, I threw some grip screws in the box without noticing that they were ghey hex-head screws. As soon as I could get around to it, I went to Brownells.com and replaced them with proper slotted screws. Also, the Ahrend's cordia wood double diamonds were pretty, but my carry guns all have VZ Gatorbacks on them, and so I ordered another pair for the new gun so it would feel the same in my mitt. Lurve them Gatorbacks...
In other news, this is the first heater I've used with the 10-8 sights, and they made me a believer. The night sights on my Pro are starting to get dim, and I think I'll be replacing the Novaks with 10-8's...
Ew! It's a homo Glock!!!! Ew!
ReplyDeleteVery nice.
ReplyDeleteWhat Bobbie said (dang it she beat me to it).
ReplyDeleteI'll think about those sights for my next fixed sight pistol.
ReplyDeleteYer not fooling us Tam.
ReplyDeleteYou turned those grips grey and those screws into slots by gripping 20% harder.
The 1700s called and they want their screws back. Fashion be damned.
ReplyDeleteI seriously don't get the straight slot thing. The slots strip, cam out, get sharp little pointy thingees, etc., vs hex and torx which do zero of the above.
btw, the 10-8 guys are a good bunch of fellows, and good instructors.
The 1700s called and they want their screws back.
ReplyDeleteSome guy named John Browning called back. He says: "The magazine I designed doesn't have a hex bit built into it. It does have a nice straight piece that is ideal for unscrewing those straight slots in the field."
I have not heard of 10-8 sights (yeah; the web site looks great, but....). What do you believe about them? TIA
ReplyDeleteNo matter how many "but my friends are black" posts you put up, we still know the truth...
ReplyDelete;)
Guard duck beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteThere's pretty much always a flathead screwdriver, or something that can be used as one, handy.
Cocked while carried?
ReplyDeleteGood! The Right Way(tm)
ReplyDeleteAnd go read your email so you are not weirded out tomorrow.
On slotted screws: most people use ill-fitting drivers. This bungs up the screw slot. A good set of gunsmith's slotted-screw drivers offers 2 or 3 thicknesses for every driver width.
ReplyDeleteThe advantage hex, torx, Bristol and Robertson (etc)screws have is that the wrong size driver can't turn them. You can still mess them up but you have to work harder at it.
Slotted grip screws for a 1911 require a thin, wide blade, remarkably like the 90-degree bent end of the sear (etc) triple spring. I'd still suggest getting a proper-fitting driver.
(I'd like to point out that any truly loyal Canadian would be needing Robertson-drive grip screws.)
ReplyDeleteTam, neato.
ReplyDelete@ Roberta, thanks for the link... I followed it and found myself reading the following the post: Phillips or Pozidriv?
Ahh, teh intartubes.
Best
How do your dainty fingers grip that 1911? Unpossible!
ReplyDeleteWhat size did you go with on the sights? I'm getting .140 on my Berryhill, but I've never used the 10-8 sights before. I keep hearing great things though.
ReplyDeleteigor,
ReplyDelete"I have not heard of 10-8 sights (yeah; the web site looks great, but....). What do you believe about them?"
That the wide u-notch makes it fast to pick up when shooting at speed, and doesn't sacrifice much when making carefully-aimed shots.
Tam:
ReplyDeletePlease describe the front sight post. Is it tritium/bead/other?
Thanks,
SADShooter
John,
ReplyDeleteI believe it's a .140".
SADShooter,
This one has a plain black blade, which is a departure from the 3-tritium dot setup I've been using for years. I think I'll be getting the front replaced with a tritium dot, and go with a 1-dot setup on the Springer and Colt when I replace their sights.
How old are the tritium sight on your Pro? If I remember correctly that was a mid-90's acquisition, no? So 15 years?
ReplyDeleteNJT,
ReplyDeleteI got it in late '01, and it was probably a year old then. They've outlived my expectations already...
Nice workmanlike heater you got there. every modification I see there makes good sense.
ReplyDeleteI've been resisting the whale tale grip safety but they do make a big difference.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd the VZ Gators are great!
ReplyDeleteThe contour of the 10-8 sight is catching on. They have got to make racking the slide on the hip easier (or wherever on your person your personal safety threshold allows you to rack the slide.)
ReplyDeleteNovaks have been the standard for years, but that nice notched silhouette of the 10-8 (and the copies thereof) is the coming thing.
Gold bead front sights are the next big thing.
On the topic of 10-8 and grip screws, 10-8 is making the grip screws that can be tightened etc. with the rim of a .45ACP case. No more fishing for that hex bit...
ReplyDeleteAs a plastic gun owner considering a 1911 I have to ask (since I see it debated frequently) - how often _do_ the grips come flying off such that I need to field-tighten the screws?
ReplyDelete*ducks*
Sigs use Browing-scres. I need new glow-bug vials in both the Sigs fronts. Wish I could get 10-8's for 'em - the (dead) SigLight rears look like the rear end of a 68 Dodge.
ReplyDeleteEnough about the grip screws. Acknowledge that is it best custom 1911 for sale anywhere in the world today.
ReplyDeleteAnd you can get yours too simply by contacting the fine folks at Coal Creek Armory in Knoxville TN.
Agree with TJ. I've comparing Novaks and 10-8s on a couple of G17s. The Novak front sight - gold bead - is better, the 10-8 rear is better.
ReplyDeleteWhat finish is on that 1911?
Al T.
But Tam!? What about your dainty fingers and 1911 suckitude? ;)
ReplyDeleteAlso, +1 on the slotted screws. I can screw/unscrew them with spare change in a pinch. Hex head screws are just asking for Murphy to fuck with you.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's all the recent chatter, but I've got the wantsies for a solid 1911 pattern gun something fierce lately. Even the Rocky guns on GB are tempting me.
ReplyDeleteI've only ever fired a 1911 on one ocassion, a demo Springer when they visited my local range. One mag each at 5, 7, and 10 yards. By the time I ran the target back, I was putting them all in the same large ragged hole. I've never shot that well with a handgun, before or since.
Tam, why no tritium on the rear sight?
ReplyDeleteFront sight drives the gun. Think of the rear sight as a keyhole. Look through, not at the rear sight.
ReplyDeleteAl T.
Very sweet, Tam.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the picks and comments on this beauty.
How hard is it to install sights? Worth the $100 push-tool?
ReplyDelete10-8 sights look good. I'm wondering if the M&P Novak cut ones will fit my Smith 3913...I'm tempted to try and find out.
ReplyDelete-Rob
OK, maybe I'm exposing an embarrassing amount of ignorance here, but... how often and how critical is it to unscrew the grip screws?
ReplyDelete1911 Forum just reviewed the new Magnum Research 1911. An Israeli 1911. Am I being overly optimistic to think the Israelis will do it better than, say, a bunch of Filipinos? (Too bad it has a FLGR.)
DW: It is a 1911. The screws have to be adjusted after each round.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDelete"As a plastic gun owner considering a 1911 I have to ask (since I see it debated frequently) - how often _do_ the grips come flying off such that I need to field-tighten the screws?
*ducks*"
Let me ask you something.
How often do the lug nuts "come flying off" the wheels on your car?
Do you leave your tire iron at home?