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11th February 2009, 16:00
Well, I dropped by the gun shop at 5 minutes until they closed, and still no dice on the background check. They left it up on the screen for me, and sure enough, RIGHT at 6pm the check came through and I walked out with it.
I now know why I got it so cheap on gunbroker though - while it's techincally "new", it wasn't exactly a current model. The inspection certificate and test fired casing indicate that it was produced some time in early 2002. A little dissappointing, but really no big deal. Anyway, it's time to take a look at the gun! Please bear in mind that this is not my first gun by any stretch, but it is my first 1911. I'm a Sig-Sauer fan to the core, so fit and finish might be a compared in a slightly unfair manner due to my lack of experience with the platform, compared with my fondness of the finest guns that Germany has to offer, IMO. Forgive me if I'm a little too harsh, as I don't have a "1911 baseline" to go off of.
Anyway, I start doing my usual nitpicking over the gun, and only found a two minor gripes. The rear slide serrations on the left side weren't properly finished, so there are some little jagged burrs near the top of each serration. Not that big of a deal, more of a cosmetic thing than anything else and even then, you have to be looking pretty closely to notice. Secondly, the upper right grip screw is stuck in the bushing, so when I go to take the grip off, the whole bushing comes with it. Anyone know of a quick fix for this? Maybe a little locktite in the bushing hole so that I can get the screw out without the bushing coming along for the ride?
Other than those two things, the outside of the gun appears to be pretty well done. Very few machine marks, most of which were located in the slide serrations and as such, not very noticable. The blueing on this gun is downright beautiful - very well done. It is apparent that this is a more inexpensive gun just by the way things fit together, but isn't necessarily a "bad" thing. The gun is tight, and there are no rattles or wiggles to be found.
Anyway, I fieldstripped the gun and went as far as pulling out the firing pin and extractor from the slide, but didn't take apart the frame any further as I didn't have the proper tools or workspace available. Holy jeeze was this thing coated in grease - most of which was on the verge of drying out. I guess thats what happens when a gun sits unfired for 7 years before being purchased. I broke out the trusty Gunzilla BC-10 (awesome stuff, BTW) and applied it liberally to the slide, frame (sans grips), and small parts. The extractor and extractor channel were literally CHALKED full of gunk. I couldn't think of a reason why they would need to have that much goop caked to them, so I soaked both the extractor and channel with BC-10 and cleaned them thoroughly.
There wasn't a whole lot that needed to be addressed during the initial cleaning. Very few metal shavings were removed (much fewer than I expected, actually) and the old grease was removed without incident. I put everything back together and left a very light coating of BC-10 on the internals and slide rails as lubrication, and called it a night.
This morning was our department range qualification. After running all of my guys through our qualification, another instructor ran me through with my Sig, and then it was play time for the three of us. With no other lubrication besides the light coating of BC-10 I applied last night, we ran 5 strings of the "Triple Nickel", which is 5 targets, 5 yards away, in 5 seconds. We have to double-tap each target while throwing in a combat reload somewhere after the first target and before the last. So, 10 rounds, 5 targets, in 5 seconds or less at 5 yards. I've only ever shot it once before, and that was with my P226R. On my best run I managed a 4.72. Not lightning fast, but not bad either I suppose.
Anyway, I managed a 5.35 with the EFS, only because I got hung up on the reloads. I didn't have a mag carrier, so the spare was in my belt, and the single stack is a little more difficult to shove in there quickly. I'll get better eventually, but for the first time running the stage with a 1911, I'm happy with a 5.35.
Long story short, I am VERY impressed with the EFS. It's a great shooter. Fast, accurate, and not ONE malfunction. This made me feel especially good when one of the other instructors brought out his $3000 STI race gun and couldn't get it to run for more than 5 rounds at a time before jamming. ;)
The trigger is a little sloppy, but breaks VERY cleanly, right around 4.5lbs I'd guess. I've got a Cylinder and Slide 3-hole trigger on the way for it so we'll see how much of an improvement it makes. The magazines that came with the gun worked perfectly too, although I intend to order a few Wilsons for it eventually. I'm trying to talk my Chief into letting me carry it, despite the fact that we don't authorize .45s for the time being. Anyway, I'll put a few hundred more rounds through it and report back if anything notable happens with it. Pics to follow soon, but I can't find the cable for my digital camera at the moment. Give me a little time and I'll hopefully get some up later tonight.
I now know why I got it so cheap on gunbroker though - while it's techincally "new", it wasn't exactly a current model. The inspection certificate and test fired casing indicate that it was produced some time in early 2002. A little dissappointing, but really no big deal. Anyway, it's time to take a look at the gun! Please bear in mind that this is not my first gun by any stretch, but it is my first 1911. I'm a Sig-Sauer fan to the core, so fit and finish might be a compared in a slightly unfair manner due to my lack of experience with the platform, compared with my fondness of the finest guns that Germany has to offer, IMO. Forgive me if I'm a little too harsh, as I don't have a "1911 baseline" to go off of.
Anyway, I start doing my usual nitpicking over the gun, and only found a two minor gripes. The rear slide serrations on the left side weren't properly finished, so there are some little jagged burrs near the top of each serration. Not that big of a deal, more of a cosmetic thing than anything else and even then, you have to be looking pretty closely to notice. Secondly, the upper right grip screw is stuck in the bushing, so when I go to take the grip off, the whole bushing comes with it. Anyone know of a quick fix for this? Maybe a little locktite in the bushing hole so that I can get the screw out without the bushing coming along for the ride?
Other than those two things, the outside of the gun appears to be pretty well done. Very few machine marks, most of which were located in the slide serrations and as such, not very noticable. The blueing on this gun is downright beautiful - very well done. It is apparent that this is a more inexpensive gun just by the way things fit together, but isn't necessarily a "bad" thing. The gun is tight, and there are no rattles or wiggles to be found.
Anyway, I fieldstripped the gun and went as far as pulling out the firing pin and extractor from the slide, but didn't take apart the frame any further as I didn't have the proper tools or workspace available. Holy jeeze was this thing coated in grease - most of which was on the verge of drying out. I guess thats what happens when a gun sits unfired for 7 years before being purchased. I broke out the trusty Gunzilla BC-10 (awesome stuff, BTW) and applied it liberally to the slide, frame (sans grips), and small parts. The extractor and extractor channel were literally CHALKED full of gunk. I couldn't think of a reason why they would need to have that much goop caked to them, so I soaked both the extractor and channel with BC-10 and cleaned them thoroughly.
There wasn't a whole lot that needed to be addressed during the initial cleaning. Very few metal shavings were removed (much fewer than I expected, actually) and the old grease was removed without incident. I put everything back together and left a very light coating of BC-10 on the internals and slide rails as lubrication, and called it a night.
This morning was our department range qualification. After running all of my guys through our qualification, another instructor ran me through with my Sig, and then it was play time for the three of us. With no other lubrication besides the light coating of BC-10 I applied last night, we ran 5 strings of the "Triple Nickel", which is 5 targets, 5 yards away, in 5 seconds. We have to double-tap each target while throwing in a combat reload somewhere after the first target and before the last. So, 10 rounds, 5 targets, in 5 seconds or less at 5 yards. I've only ever shot it once before, and that was with my P226R. On my best run I managed a 4.72. Not lightning fast, but not bad either I suppose.
Anyway, I managed a 5.35 with the EFS, only because I got hung up on the reloads. I didn't have a mag carrier, so the spare was in my belt, and the single stack is a little more difficult to shove in there quickly. I'll get better eventually, but for the first time running the stage with a 1911, I'm happy with a 5.35.
Long story short, I am VERY impressed with the EFS. It's a great shooter. Fast, accurate, and not ONE malfunction. This made me feel especially good when one of the other instructors brought out his $3000 STI race gun and couldn't get it to run for more than 5 rounds at a time before jamming. ;)
The trigger is a little sloppy, but breaks VERY cleanly, right around 4.5lbs I'd guess. I've got a Cylinder and Slide 3-hole trigger on the way for it so we'll see how much of an improvement it makes. The magazines that came with the gun worked perfectly too, although I intend to order a few Wilsons for it eventually. I'm trying to talk my Chief into letting me carry it, despite the fact that we don't authorize .45s for the time being. Anyway, I'll put a few hundred more rounds through it and report back if anything notable happens with it. Pics to follow soon, but I can't find the cable for my digital camera at the moment. Give me a little time and I'll hopefully get some up later tonight.