devintownsend
Inactive
I've been in the market for a cheaper (but not cheap) 1911 clone to help my Para Ord 14-45 LDA not feel so lonely. I had more or less settled on one of the Sistemas, however I made the mistake of going to a gunshow with some friends. There I came across the Armscor booth and talked to the gentlemen therein, who convinced me to purchase one of his wonderful guns.
Armscor had an outlet here in town (Las Vegas), and I was speaking to the son of the president of the company. He assured us that he had personally tested the guns and though they had supplied the parts for Charles Daly and RIA, Armscor had much better quality control. There were many differnt models to choose from and finishes, from about $350 for the mil spec, to the upper end Mirage(I think) uber shiny pistol for about $700ish. After much hooing and hawing, I decided upon the FS model and walked out the door for $389. I was given basically a lifetime warranty-and his card, so I could call him personally if I had any trouble (and he was a damn cool guy to boot). It seemed like a steal. It looked beautiful and felt very nice. Functhion at the show was smooth and overall almost identical to the Charles Daly Field EFS model.
http://www.charlesdaly.com/HTML/products/firearms/pistols/1911/1911_field.asp
I had been looking for a plain jane mil-spec, but the 20 dollar difference between the Mil Spec model and the FS was easily worth the improved sights, ambi safety (I'm a southpaw-and my ONLY complaint about my Para), commander hammer and extended slide release, not to mention all the other bits (see URL).
Did I mention that the 3 other people that I was with also purchased Armscors (a Mil Spec, Officers model, and another FS). I then escorted the pistol to an outdoor range the following day and fired about 150 rounds of S&B FMJ.
The results were not encouraging. It fired noticeably low and I had a one instance of the slide failing to go fully into battery (stopped about 1/5-1/3 of an inch short, and went into battery with a slight push, and I had a FTE on the last round I fired on the day. The recoil spring was very noticeably light compared to 'Der Uber-Para' but seemed decent, however I figured I'd give it a few more rounds before worrying or making any real adjustments, since I hadn't done any of the standard things (polish feed ramp/clean the grease out of it from the factory etc.) one should do with a new 1911.
A couple weeks later, plus the addition of some Games Workshop Putrid Green paint to the front sight post (and after a thorough cleaning -internals all very nice as well BTW), I took it to the range and fired another 100 rounds through it, and it felt a lot better, no FTEs, or failures to go into battery (the Hogue Rubber Wraps may have helped as well...it looked SOO Tactical at this point, I was ready to go buy a SWAT vest and a flashlight so I could look like all the other l33t Mall Ninjas
.
Anyway, to make a long story even longer, I decided to go through the qualification course to add it to my CCW since I was there. The Rangemaster who was testing me, commented that the pistol looked/felt a LOT like a Kimber, a comment which I can't help but retell with some unholy glee.
Compared to the TRUE boat anchor Para, this was a feather to carry, and if I could trust it, it would be a welcome alternative during summer. Qualification was a breeze, and after the 100 rounds I had just fired, I knew how high I should aim to make the rounds go on target (must get front sight adjusted). Humorously, I qualified about ten points better with this than my point-of-aim shooting, eats-ANYTHING LDA (of the Gods!!). My excuse is that I was much newer to shooting at that point. On the downside, during the qualification, the slide did not lock back on two empty magazines (factory mekgear btw). But again, I did not despair. On the way out I purchased a slightly used Chip Mccormick SS mag for a very reasonable 10 bucks with the hope that this would cure the problem.
Next in this long-winded tale of woe, I went to city hall to get this pistol added to my CCW (yes this probably was a bit early, since I didnt fully trust the pistol, but I was determined to make this gun work, and since I had a number of other errands that day, one more sidetrip didnt seem too outrageous. While I was at a local gunsmiths, I snagged a new recoil spring, figuring that and the new mag should take care of most of the troubles. I suppose I should have called Armscor for the spring, but laziness and immediate availability won out over practicality.
Loe and behold, when I went to the range this afternoon, it was a whole new gun. Not one hiccup, with either the CMC mag or the one Mecgear I tried. 150 rounds more of S&B, slow and fast fire at a consistent 7 yards, about 80% within the 9 ring, and the rest within the 8 ring...again, not quite as good as the Para (all hail Para Ord in all its divine glory), but definitely acceptable. I found that wrapping my hand as far around the grip as I could, seemed to improve my accuracy a bit and make it fire nearly to POA-sort of recrating how my hand grips the Para (all hail the name).
Regardless, it will take another couple hundred flawless rounds before I really trust it to carry, but all-in-all a VERY satisfactory pistol for the money. I personally dont want to replace much else as it works great as is. Soon, however, I think I will have to learn the mysteries of the full strip, so I can take out the trigger and file that bastard down. The way I shoot, I take chunks of skin out of the bottom of my trigger finger from the bottom flange of the trigger every time I shoot....
Anyway, I must whooly endorse this pistol (after replacement of the recoil spring that is).
Armscor had an outlet here in town (Las Vegas), and I was speaking to the son of the president of the company. He assured us that he had personally tested the guns and though they had supplied the parts for Charles Daly and RIA, Armscor had much better quality control. There were many differnt models to choose from and finishes, from about $350 for the mil spec, to the upper end Mirage(I think) uber shiny pistol for about $700ish. After much hooing and hawing, I decided upon the FS model and walked out the door for $389. I was given basically a lifetime warranty-and his card, so I could call him personally if I had any trouble (and he was a damn cool guy to boot). It seemed like a steal. It looked beautiful and felt very nice. Functhion at the show was smooth and overall almost identical to the Charles Daly Field EFS model.
http://www.charlesdaly.com/HTML/products/firearms/pistols/1911/1911_field.asp
I had been looking for a plain jane mil-spec, but the 20 dollar difference between the Mil Spec model and the FS was easily worth the improved sights, ambi safety (I'm a southpaw-and my ONLY complaint about my Para), commander hammer and extended slide release, not to mention all the other bits (see URL).
Did I mention that the 3 other people that I was with also purchased Armscors (a Mil Spec, Officers model, and another FS). I then escorted the pistol to an outdoor range the following day and fired about 150 rounds of S&B FMJ.
The results were not encouraging. It fired noticeably low and I had a one instance of the slide failing to go fully into battery (stopped about 1/5-1/3 of an inch short, and went into battery with a slight push, and I had a FTE on the last round I fired on the day. The recoil spring was very noticeably light compared to 'Der Uber-Para' but seemed decent, however I figured I'd give it a few more rounds before worrying or making any real adjustments, since I hadn't done any of the standard things (polish feed ramp/clean the grease out of it from the factory etc.) one should do with a new 1911.
A couple weeks later, plus the addition of some Games Workshop Putrid Green paint to the front sight post (and after a thorough cleaning -internals all very nice as well BTW), I took it to the range and fired another 100 rounds through it, and it felt a lot better, no FTEs, or failures to go into battery (the Hogue Rubber Wraps may have helped as well...it looked SOO Tactical at this point, I was ready to go buy a SWAT vest and a flashlight so I could look like all the other l33t Mall Ninjas
. Anyway, to make a long story even longer, I decided to go through the qualification course to add it to my CCW since I was there. The Rangemaster who was testing me, commented that the pistol looked/felt a LOT like a Kimber, a comment which I can't help but retell with some unholy glee.
Compared to the TRUE boat anchor Para, this was a feather to carry, and if I could trust it, it would be a welcome alternative during summer. Qualification was a breeze, and after the 100 rounds I had just fired, I knew how high I should aim to make the rounds go on target (must get front sight adjusted). Humorously, I qualified about ten points better with this than my point-of-aim shooting, eats-ANYTHING LDA (of the Gods!!). My excuse is that I was much newer to shooting at that point. On the downside, during the qualification, the slide did not lock back on two empty magazines (factory mekgear btw). But again, I did not despair. On the way out I purchased a slightly used Chip Mccormick SS mag for a very reasonable 10 bucks with the hope that this would cure the problem.
Next in this long-winded tale of woe, I went to city hall to get this pistol added to my CCW (yes this probably was a bit early, since I didnt fully trust the pistol, but I was determined to make this gun work, and since I had a number of other errands that day, one more sidetrip didnt seem too outrageous. While I was at a local gunsmiths, I snagged a new recoil spring, figuring that and the new mag should take care of most of the troubles. I suppose I should have called Armscor for the spring, but laziness and immediate availability won out over practicality.
Loe and behold, when I went to the range this afternoon, it was a whole new gun. Not one hiccup, with either the CMC mag or the one Mecgear I tried. 150 rounds more of S&B, slow and fast fire at a consistent 7 yards, about 80% within the 9 ring, and the rest within the 8 ring...again, not quite as good as the Para (all hail Para Ord in all its divine glory), but definitely acceptable. I found that wrapping my hand as far around the grip as I could, seemed to improve my accuracy a bit and make it fire nearly to POA-sort of recrating how my hand grips the Para (all hail the name).
Regardless, it will take another couple hundred flawless rounds before I really trust it to carry, but all-in-all a VERY satisfactory pistol for the money. I personally dont want to replace much else as it works great as is. Soon, however, I think I will have to learn the mysteries of the full strip, so I can take out the trigger and file that bastard down. The way I shoot, I take chunks of skin out of the bottom of my trigger finger from the bottom flange of the trigger every time I shoot....
Anyway, I must whooly endorse this pistol (after replacement of the recoil spring that is
).
