Boomsticks: The Sistema Diaries, Volume II.

Sorry about the substandard gun pr0n, but it's oh-dark-thirty hours here and available light photography ain't in the cards today; gotta jet to the shop in a moment to handle some maintenance stuff.

Anyhow, here's how Project Sistema is shaping up:

Take one Sistema...

Parts I already had on hand: Dlask trigger, ParaOrd thumb safety, Wolff 16.5# recoil spring and firing pin spring, cocobolo grip panels from Springfield Pro, grip screws.

Stuff I'd bought: Ed Brown stainless rebuild kit (all pins and small springs), Ed Brown tactical mag catch, Wilson stainless checkered flat mainspring housing (I prefer an Ed Brown or an S&A, but the wholesaler I use was out of the former, and doesn't carry the latter; I'll pick one up later).

Just Added: Cylinder & Slide "Warp Speed" lockwork. Trigger pull is now a crisp 3-3.5 pounds.

I've pretty much reached the limit of what I can do unsupervised, as a lot of the work coming up will involve metalwork. Next up is lowering & flaring the ejection port, some Novak sight cuts, and rounding the tang off the grip safety a la a ParaOrd Tac Four.

Boomsticks: Sistema day!

Friday was pay day, which meant that the Argentine Sistema I had set back could be sprung from durance vile and brought home. This is the first time I've picked up a beater pistol for the express purpose of getting hands-on with it myself to learn more about the way the process works; I figure the more I know, the better a liaison between our customers and our gunsmiths I'll be.

Saturday I replaced all the pins and springs in the gun with an Ed Brown rebuild kit and a Wolff spring package. I also replaced the wretched grips and grip screws with a spare set of cocobolo slabs I had lying around, and then raided my spare parts box for a Dlask trigger and the thumb safety off a ParaOrd Limited I had lying about. I grabbed a box of Remington 185gr MC ammo and took the old beater out on the range and... quelle surprise! No malfunctions! Aren't these unmodified vintage 1911s supposed to be jammomatics? ;) Anyway...

Pics to follow, as well as running commentary as various experiments get tried on the piece.