Firearm enthusiast thread

[Lagduf]

I want an xm177e2.

 

[Andy Is A Bastard]

Recently got bit hard by the 1911 bug and purchased a Dan Wesson Guardian in .45, took it to the range to start breaking it in on Saturday.

I've never shot a 1911 before, but holy hell this thing shoots nice. It also motivates me to shoot more, because I don't do its accuracy any justice. I really want to make it my new carry piece, but I hate the thought of wear on the finish from a holster. I'll probably pick up an Alien Gear Super Tuck for it anyway (which is what I use for my Makarov).

 

[smokehouse]

Recently got bit hard by the 1911 bug and purchased a Dan Wesson Guardian in .45, took it to the range to start breaking it in on Saturday.

I've never shot a 1911 before, but holy hell this thing shoots nice. It also motivates me to shoot more, because I don't do its accuracy any justice. I really want to make it my new carry piece, but I hate the thought of wear on the finish from a holster. I'll probably pick up an Alien Gear Super Tuck for it anyway (which is what I use for my Makarov).

A. Congrats on the purchase...I hope you really enjoy it.

B. Here comes the asshole, so giddyup.

Personally, I'm done with 1911s.

.45 auto is at least 50%, if not 100% more costly than 9mm, the thin grip of a single stack is far harder on the hands than a double stack, it has limited capacity and weighs a ton. To add fuel to the fire, if you want a non mil spec, bare bones 1911, you're going to drop some serious cash.

Now...you could reply with "well, get a double stack 9mm 1911"...and that would be a smart response.

I would then retort with this:

Here was my stock XDm 9mm:

It began it's life as a bone stock, bi-tone XDm 4.5" handgun. $600. I then sent it off to be completely reworked by this man:

http://canyoncreekcustom.com/

A man who is an IPSC Grand Master and superb race gun gunsmith. I had him do a custom color match, remove internal and external slide weight, add a solid mass guide rod, custom install comp bo-mar rear adjustable sight, fiber optic front sight, extend the mag release and do a superb trigger job (1/8" break, 1/8" reset, 3.5lb pull). It now looks like this:

The work set me back some $550. So all in all, I have under $1200 in the gun.

This is one of the nicest shooting pistols I've ever owned. The trigger job is superb, the sights are amazing and the firearm is far more balanced with the slide weight removed. Double tap follow up shots are far easier, even with stock ball ammo.

My point for this pointless rant?

For the same price of a medium tier 1911, I have a fully custom, double stack pistol with a 19+1 cap that I can shoot for nearly half the price per trigger pull of a 1911.

Don't get me wrong...I love a good 1911, I really do. My beef is that they are so damn overpriced for what you get.

This has nothing to do with your purchase, it really doesn't. It does have to do with a small market that I think is over inflated.

 

[Andy Is A Bastard]

All things being said, I can agree with pretty much all of your post. I actually traded in my XD45 (which I loved) towards my DW, simply because I didn't feel the need to own two pistols in .45. I got the 1911 in .45 because I like the way .45 shoots, and because that's how the platform was developed. My current carry guns are in 9x19 and 9x18 respectively, because I trust the loadings and I can afford to practice with them regularly. After the trade in, I ended up paying about as much for my DW as you did for the XDm (with the extra work/smithing), and I can honestly say that I can't think of any work I would want done to this gun. Out of the box, it's pretty much everything I wanted, so to me, the price was entirely justified.

I'm one of those guys who can argue fit/function vs cost all day, but at the end of the day, I feel that you should buy and shoot what you want. There is no perfect gun for every person, nor is there a perfect caliber, price point, etc. I'm glad that you love your XDm (which is gorgeous, btw), I get a lot of people talking shit about XDs yet I've never had a problem with mine or anyone else that I had the pleasure to shoot.

 

[smokehouse]

All things being said, I can agree with pretty much all of your post. I actually traded in my XD45 (which I loved) towards my DW, simply because I didn't feel the need to own two pistols in .45. I got the 1911 in .45 because I like the way .45 shoots, and because that's how the platform was developed. My current carry guns are in 9x19 and 9x18 respectively, because I trust the loadings and I can afford to practice with them regularly. After the trade in, I ended up paying about as much for my DW as you did for the XDm (with the extra work/smithing), and I can honestly say that I can't think of any work I would want done to this gun. Out of the box, it's pretty much everything I wanted, so to me, the price was entirely justified.

I'm one of those guys who can argue fit/function vs cost all day, but at the end of the day, I feel that you should buy and shoot what you want. There is no perfect gun for every person, nor is there a perfect caliber, price point, etc. I'm glad that you love your XDm (which is gorgeous, btw), I get a lot of people talking shit about XDs yet I've never had a problem with mine or anyone else that I had the pleasure to shoot.

As usual, I'm a opinionated douche...I'll gladly admit that.

I'm forever torn between collecting...and mastering. They are such different things in the firearm world.

I look at firearms like golf clubs...most people do not have a ton of sets that they take out randomly and expect to play skillfully with. At one time, I had a 1911, XDm and a FNX. All extremely different firearms. The muscle memory with each was different, handling was different and I found that I was quickly becoming a master of none. Like a golfer having 3 different 1 wood's and expecting to be able to tee off properly when randomly choosing between the three. A local gunsmith has been doing competitive shooting as long as I've been on this planet (and he is good...very good)...he was the one that told me that he had one type of revolver and one type of semi auto and shot both until they wore out.

I sold off the others and put $$ into my XDm. I then purchased a XD sub compact also in 9mm, they are the only two semi auto pistols I now have. I decided to settle on an AR for a "fighting" rifle and have a 7.5" pistol, 16" carbine and an 18" scoped upper (soon to be a 3d complete AR). I bought a S&W .22LR 15-22. All the same give or take and the actions to shoot them are very similar. Common guns, common ammo.

(I do have a small revolver...because, well, I love revolvers.)

At this point, my primary line is .22LR, .223/5.56, 9mm, and 12ga. I do have a 7.62x54r and .38 firearm...but those are more toys than anything. Limited ammo types that are all common (save the current .22 situation...LOL)

Since going to the XD and XDm only...my shooting skills have improved a ton. No spending time with different guns over and over...same guns, over and over.







God...I'm rambling...

 

[HellioN]

Bit of a holster buying spree last week or so.
Just snagged this today for $25, Galco tack slide for the J-frame.



Got this Galco King Tuk on clearance for $15 from Cabela's!


Normally I wouldn't bother with a belt holster for sutch a small gun but I just couldn't resist at this price.
It has sold me on this type of holster & now looking to get one for my Glock. The ability to tuck my shirt over it is awesome. Getting my pocket free again is another bonus.

Tho I do still have this if I'm just running out for a little while.

 

[Vectorman0]

Hey guys, what are some good resources for checking firearm prices? Both for finding out what I could reasonably expect to get from selling to a person or a dealer, and what I would expect to pay for something I want.

 

[HellioN]

Hey guys, what are some good resources for checking firearm prices? Both for finding out what I could reasonably expect to get from selling to a person or a dealer, and what I would expect to pay for something I want.

Gunbroker.com & budsgunshop.com would be decent places to start.

 

[Kiel]

It happened with very little coverage or fan fare but we can now get suppressors in Minnesota

 

[smokehouse]

It happened with very little coverage or fan fare but we can now get suppressors in Minnesota

Congrats!…I cannot wait until Illinois gets their head out of their ass and makes them legal here...

 

[hyper]

I have way more bricks of 22 than I need.. is gunbroker the place to get rid of em?

 

[Kiel]

Are any of the federal 550 packs?

 

[hyper]

yea alot of federal and some hp small game bricks

 

[HellioN]

I have way more bricks of 22 than I need.. is gunbroker the place to get rid of em?

Gunbroker, Craigslist, local buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook.
You could hang out by the empty shelves at Walmart and sell it to folks in the parking lot.

 

[Kiel]

yea alot of federal and some hp small game bricks

and I still can't get any around here

 

[HellioN]

So I found a set of aluminum grips in the bargain cave at Cabelas today for $10.
Always wanted to try some out but always unwilling to to spend $70+ for them.
Oh well, no one cares, so here is a picture of them I took with a potato.

 

[HellioN]

Ha ha ha!
Found a Sten Mk3 parts kit I bought 15 years ago in my dad's basement.
I know I paid about $40 for it back then & they go for over $200 now.
I guess the real question is what to do with it.

 

[smokehouse]

I did a search for a Sten just to see some videos and stumbled onto this guys youtube page:

https://www.youtube.com/user/KauaiBoy1203/videos

This motherfucker must be pretty wealthy...his collection is no joke...

 

[Lagduf]

Ha ha ha!
Found a Sten Mk3 parts kit I bought 15 years ago in my dad's basement.
I know I paid about $40 for it back then & they go for over $200 now.
I guess the real question is what to do with it.

Sell it, but only to fund a firearm purchase.

PS: $200 will pay a tax stamp on that UZI...just sayin.

 

[HellioN]

That's what I am leaning toward.
It would be at least $400 to get all the stuff together to build it into a working gun.
$400 would serve me far better in other ways.
And yea, I do have that damn Uzi to satisfy the want for a 9mm carbine anyway.

 

[Lagduf]

Do you have a detachable fixed stock or the folder?

 

[HellioN]

It has a folder on it.
I would have to permanently attach a fixed one because it would otherwise be too short with it removed... Never mind that it is just as short with the stock folded.
Yeah, SBRing it would negate all that. I think I'm opposed to it because I don't feel that I should have to get permission from the gooberment to exercise an inalienable right.

 

[channelmaniac]

Bump!

Got a couple of awards recently through work. Can't get cash anymore but you can get them in Cabela's Gift Cards.

$400 in gift cards + $35 out of pocket and I walked out last night with a Walther PK380 with 2 boxes of FMJ and 1 box of home defense hollow points.

 

[Kiel]

Nice, I've been kinda eyeing a PPS myself

 

[channelmaniac]

The manager at Cabela's was cool. They had a PK380 in navy blue on sale for $349 but had no stock on it so he sold me the $379 black/black version for $349.

You never know what you get until you ask!