quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x: I agree with this. But at the same token the quality of the Les Baer exterior finish and need to break it in has always rubbed me the wrong way on the les baers. For the price difference I have skipped over them and went straight to an Ed Brown and a Wilson Combat.

You're spot on. Les Baer makes a good gun, at a reasonable price for what you get. I have some issues with proprietary tolerances he uses, though. But, if you are looking for a semi-production gun at a fair price, it is easier to take home a Baer sooner than a Wilson, Nighthawk, Brown, etc. They crank them out and let the owner spread the rest of the cost of that 1,000 rounds/lapping in the barrel over their own timeline.

I just see tons of people that don't know the differences espousing that their DW or Rock Island is every bit the gun a Baer, Wilson, et al, is because it has similar cosmetic features, and that just isn't the case. I can put a spoiler on a Pinto, that doesn't make it a BMW M3...sometimes what's under the hood makes a difference, and a lot of people don't understand that.

A Dan Wesson production pistol is every bit that the Les Baer is, and better than a Nighthawk.

There's no possible reason to compare Dan Wesson with Rock Island, or anything else with Rock Island; Rock Island doesn't measure up to Colt or Kimber or even Ruger.

If you want to talk cosmetic lipstick on a pig, then buy Kimber. Dan Wesson is not a production firearm dressed up with flash or appearance, but they are well made, well fit, and they function very, very well.

A Wilson is a cut above.

And yes, I do know the difference.

You won't see Grayguns cutsom 1911's lining shelves, any more than Ted Yost's pistols lined shelves. I don't think custom makers will ever have any shortage of customers, nor a time when they aren't backlogged with requests.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
A Dan Wesson production pistol is every bit that the Les Baer is, and better than a Nighthawk.

There's no possible reason to compare Dan Wesson with Rock Island, or anything else with Rock Island; Rock Island doesn't measure up to Colt or Kimber or even Ruger.

If you want to talk cosmetic lipstick on a pig, then buy Kimber. Dan Wesson is not a production firearm dressed up with flash or appearance, but they are well made, well fit, and they function very, very well.

A Wilson is a cut above.

And yes, I do know the difference.

You won't see Grayguns cutsom 1911's lining shelves, any more than Ted Yost's pistols lined shelves. I don't think custom makers will ever have any shortage of customers, nor a time when they aren't backlogged with requests.

There is NO WAY a Dan Wesson is better than a Les Baer. A Dan Wesson is a great production 1911. BUT, you will never see a 1.5" accuracy guarantee at 50 yards from them or from one of their pistols. A Dan Wesson is at the top of the stack for a production 1911. But no way is it better in fitting than a Nighthawk, Ed Brown, Wilson Combat......or a lesser Les Baer.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
A Dan Wesson production pistol is every bit that the Les Baer is, and better than a Nighthawk.

There's no possible reason to compare Dan Wesson with Rock Island, or anything else with Rock Island; Rock Island doesn't measure up to Colt or Kimber or even Ruger.

If you want to talk cosmetic lipstick on a pig, then buy Kimber. Dan Wesson is not a production firearm dressed up with flash or appearance, but they are well made, well fit, and they function very, very well.

A Wilson is a cut above.

And yes, I do know the difference.

This is the beauty of opinions, they can differ and don't need to be based on any fact, though I will tell you what I based mine on.

I consider it a pretty big gap in quality level to not go beyond a drop in fit on a barrel, but I build 1911s, and things like that are important to me; they may not be to you, so I will explain why it matter to me. DWs are fine 1911s. They are cosmetically outstanding. I've never fired one that didn't function as it should. Their tolerances, minus barrel fit, are generally excellent. But, the barrel is a pretty important part of the equation, and when it is standing on the link, and all of the tension is on that little link pin, sooner or later it is going to fail; it's going to happen a lot sooner than if it were properly fit and the barrel legs were locked up on the slide stop. Whether it lasts 500 rounds or 15,000 is irrelevant to me because I won't put it on the same level as 1911s from a maker that took the time to hand fit a part (as per the original Ordnance drawing) to reduce the risk of a preventable failure. Maybe we're talking range toys, in which case, they probably are equal since I can't come up with something quantifiable for it; a part breaks and you go home, doesn't matter. But if we're talking about something you are going to depend on, how do you trust one knowing a preventable measure for a common failure was skipped, and it was in your DW?

You have no idea who I am or what I do, or what I own or shoot, but sure make a lot of assumptions, and are pretty fucking condescending, aren't you?

You are. It was rhetorical.

You sound a lot like my ex wife, so many years ago, when I came home with a new tool (something with which I fed her, paid the rent, and made a living professionally).

"Why do men like tools?" She asked. "Is it just because they're shiny?"

Yes. I own each of my firearms because I'm too much of a fucking idiot to know what went into them, how reliable they are, what to do with them, or the order of things, and I have safe after safe filled with them because I keep buying them blindly in the hope that one day I won't pick a lemon. All show and tell pieces, picked because the look good, and I carry them because I have see no value in life and prefer shit over function, pretty over reliability, and chrome over craftsmanship.

It's like you were gazing into a crystal ball when you typed out that post to me. Does it snow where you are, up there in the clouds, mate?

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
You have no idea who I am or what I do

I bet I'd be really impressed if I did. You must be a double naught spy or something, and I'd be justified in forgetting everything I was taught about 1911s if only I could know who you were.

Since I don't, would it change the fact the rear of your DW's barrel isn't fitted?

quote:

Originally posted by US_P225:


I bet I'd be really impressed if I did.

Who gives a shit?

The ignore feature was custom built for folks like you. Bye.

Cease

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Cease

Roger. Thank you.

Not sure who else offers it a la carte, but Clark Custom will weld up an existing barrel for $60 so there is some more meat to re-fit the legs properly on a production barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by US_P225:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Cease

Roger. Thank you.

Not sure who else offers it a la carte, but Clark Custom will weld up an existing barrel for $60 so there is some more meat to re-fit the legs properly on a production barrel.

And if I am not mistaken, Clark started it all didn’t he?