Do Dinosaurs still roam the earth?

I figured with the gas port location on these guns, somebody figured it out that was where to put it, and why. Desert Eagles have been in private hands since 84, and its never been an issue I ever heard anyone talk about.

Of course, that might just be because no one shoots them enough for it to be one...in other words, how many tens of thousands of rounds might it take?

And thanks for the double my inventory comment, Bongo. I wish!

(also thanks for re-enforcing the rule of drink, swallow, THEN read new posts! keyboard survived, this time! )
:D

Just got back from a gun show, no dinosaurs there, at least not the kind I'm talking about...almost never is...

Did get to borrow "grandma's candy scale", which reads in ounces to 10bs, so will be posting weights of actual guns (empty/loaded) vs published weights soon.
 
They still roam the earth. I have an LAR Grizzly and all of the available conversion kits. They are .45 Win Mag, .357 Rem Mag, 10mm, .45 acp, .357 Grizzly Win Mag and 9mm Win Mag. It is pictured below.

mk23019.jpg


capreef313_zpsd992653c.jpg


These also came in .44 Mag and .50AE, but I don't have those. The Grizzly pistol is tight and accurate. It came with adjustable sights from LAR. I have corresponded with the designer and only patent holder Perry Arnett. He is interested in restarting production with additional conversion kits. He is trying to assemble assets and the right team. Hope it happens. These pistols are just so nice.
 
I used to have a .44Mag Grizzly blued. traded it for a .45Win mag. Mine looks just like the bottom pic except mine does not have a flared mag well.

Reticle, do you have a positive ID on the finish of that gun? The guy I got mine from told me it was a special super-duper chrome, that made his gun worth more than mine. Now, I have my doubts....

What I mean is, is that a factory or aftermarket finish?

OK, some data on my Grizz...
.45 Win Mag 6"
overall length 10.5"
Height 5.5"
weight empty 3lbs 1 oz
weight loaded 3lbs 9 oz (7rnds)
Grip width 1.32" frame length front to back, measured just below grip safety 2.57"
Trigger reach 3.055"

For comparison, my Colt Govt Model
.45 ACP 5"
overall length 8 3/8"
Height 5.25"
weight empty 2lbs 8 oz
weight loaded 2lbs 13 oz (7rnds)
Grip width 1.275" frame length front to back, measured just below grip safety 2.12"
Trigger reach 2.57"


more gun data to follow, stay tuned! ;)
 
I'm curious about the Grizzlys that came with compensators--if the barrel extends the length of the compensator and is ported, or if the compensator is just a barrel bushing and you get the 5" barrel, etc. I've found one photo, I think, that looked like the comp is actually attached to the barrel and is NOT a barrel bushing. My apologies--I"m just not familiar with how compensators are configured on 1911s.
 
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44 AMP, the finish on mine is a factory hard chrome. It is very durable.

Bongo, The compensator is a barrel bushing. It works best on the shorter 5.4" barrels. I took mine off because the LAR holster will not fit well enough to snap the strap with the compensator on.
 
The hard chrome finish is really quite nice, judging only from the photos. Reticle, was the magwell custom built or was it actually a factory option? That nifty funnel makes me wonder if the gun fits the IDPA box--it would certainly be fun to show up at the local match and shoot CDP division with a Grizzly. Especially if a plate rack was involved. :)
 


Desert Eagle .44 Magnum 1990 vintage
(now called the Mk I)

Weight empty: 4lbs 2oz
Weight loaded: 4lbs 8oz(8rnds)
Length: 10.5"
Height: 5 7/8"
Barrel: 6"
Grip width:
Bottom: 1.425"
mid: 1.393"
top: 1.30"
Grip length (front to rear)
Bottom of grip panel: 2.678"
bottom of triggerguard: 2.385"
Trigger reach: 2.777"

(all measurements approx.)
 
RE: The Grizzly...

I have corresponded with the designer and only patent holder Perry Arnett. He is interested in restarting production with additional conversion kits.
Click to expand...

Having read Mr Arnett's comments elsewhere, the modular convertibility of the Grizzly seemed definitely to be an aspect he considered a key differentiator of the weapon. Not so much any particular caliber, the quality or even the commonality of the design with the 1911, but that modularity specifically.

On other forums I've read comments from many shooters, probably mostly Glock enthusiasts, that indicate a real attraction to being able to swap out a barrel and a magazine, and be able shoot 2 or more calibers with essentially one gun. So, the appeal is there for some, anyway.

I have to say though, that the appeal to me is much more limited to being able to get a handgun of a given design in the caliber I want it in, or, in the case of the Grizzly, finding a gun that is not only chambered for what I want to shoot, but is purposely designed to shoot that round. The appeal extends to the prospect of the gun being potentially more affordable, if the manufacturer can leverage a common platform and many parts to provide variety to the buyer.

Beyond that, I don't have a lot of attraction to the idea of one gun that fires 4 different rounds, say. It's definitely not enough appeal to make me buy the gun for that reason. I guess I also feel the Grizzly, for example, is way overkill for say the 10mm, so buying a conversion kit for 10mm holds no attraction for me at all.

So basically what I'm suggesting is the possibility that the features and benefits that Arnett felt separated his design from the crowd might not be features most shooters really care about all that much. It's hard to know. A slightly different angle: a auto pistol that's ideal for a 44 Mag or 45 Mag class round might not have much appeal at all in anything less than those rounds. I'm willing to pay the 'penalty' to get the bang, but I'm not likely to pay the penalty to shoot 9mm just because I can (to exaggerate).

I see the modularity as a benefit for the manufacturer that can hopefully be passed on to the customer, but maybe not huge for marketing on the appeal of changing out kits. Like Amp44 said already, this is a little niche we're talking about anyway, so all bets are off as to what such a niche market really looks like. For me, it is ONLY a range toy--but I wouldn't underestimate how much of the handgun market buys range toys, regardless of what else they might buy.
 
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Perry did mention he designed a total of nine caliber conversion kits for the Grizzly pistol. Admittedly, he stated that not all of then would be popular or practical but they did work. He also wrote that the .44 mag and 50AE pistols are not his designs. He designed the pistol around the 45 win mag because it developed more energy than the .44 mag. At the time of his original designs, 50AE was not an available caliber. So the .44 and 50 were from some other party. Among the 9 calibers are the ones I mentioned above and 7.62 Russian, 38 special and .30 carbine (I could be wrong on .30 carbine, but I think he mentioned that cartridge) As Bongo writes above, not every caliber conversion would excite every shooter. I like the idea of having the option should a caliber strike my interest.

Anyway, I love the Grizzly pistol and the history behind it.

I know the thread is about Magnum auto pistols, but there is a rare dinosaur in the revolver class with an interesting history too. Pictured below is the first revolver made by North American Arms originally out of Spanish Fork, Utah.

capreef287_zps51af44e4.jpg


The story goes that the original owner of NAA collaborated with Dick Casull on this magnum revolver. It was to be chambered in Dick's hot rod 454 Casull cartridge. However, there was some falling out between them and Mr Casull pulled out and took his cartridge with him eventually partnering up with Freedom Arms. To continue the magnum revolver project and compete with the 454 Casull, NAA created the 450 magnum express and chambered their revolver for it as well as 45 win mag and 45 Colt. Only 530-ish were made before NAA was bought out by a California aerospace company which closed down the firearms part of NAA. Some 30,000 rounds of 450 mag express were destroyed and the revolver project scrapped. I get all of this story from a good friend who was a machinist for NAA and had hand assembled most of the revolvers built. For those curious, the 450 mag express round is a fire breathing mule. It truly does rival the venerable 454 Casull.

Edit to add: This is #39 of 530. All of the serial numbers started with a '5'
 
ya know... on a more serious note... MRS & I don't have kids... can't have them... have a farm, & the couple collectable things & none of the nieces & nephews or cousins seem to want to come around at all... it's hard to maintain a century farm by yourself... might end up having to have a big auction when we get that old, & donate things to different charities...:o if you've got kids, I hope they follow some of your guy's interests... FIL was so happy he had someone to manage his collection, so it didn't have to get broken up, when he died...
 
I'm still trying to get in on 44's family tree somehow...
Click to expand...

Before the post about you and the MRS, I was going to tell you that my daughter is recently divorced.....:D

adoption might be an option....
:rolleyes:
 
There you go BONGO...;)

44... would that work out for you as well as for me if I was a single guy :D or would that be too freaky if your SIL had the exact same interests ???

"Honey, can you ask your dad if I could have my Automag 5 back for the weekend"
Click to expand...
:D
 
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My dad was a machinist and when he retired he built scale cannons--lots of them, and all museum quality (but all shootable). For most of them, he went around the country and measured original pieces that he found, and when his interest shifted to naval guns, he wrote the British War Museum and was able to get drawings from them. Most of the guns he built were on the order of 1/6 to 1/4 scale, and remarkable. While I have a few of the mortars, everything else disappeared--mostly sold or given away because I had no practical way of getting them from Michigan to Colorado. You couldn't just get two guys and pick them up and put 'em in the truck.

A real shame. Not semi-automatics, so off-topic. But losing that collection was totally my fault, really.
 
got a 1/4 mile long driveway, & always wanted a pair of field cannons one on each side of the drive, up by the house... real ones or working replicas are the only thing I'd consider, & they cost way too much for lawn ornaments... & I just couldn't make myself do a pair of the concrete ones...

if I won't keep an antique gun if it's not shootable... I just couldn't live with myself & a pair of concrete cannons :o
 
Understand. Most if not all of the guns he built were turned from solid billets of 4140 'Stressproof'. You couldn't blow them up with black powder no matter what load you put in them--and god knows we tried a few times with the smaller ones. I reckon the walls at the chamber area of the Columbiad he build were probably 2" thick--4140 steel now, not cast iron. I'd like to know who got that gun.

At the home where I grew up and for most of my life there, we had a 3" bore 'Lyle Gun' (I think that's right) mounted in the yard. This was a deck gun intended for firing a line from one ship to another for...well, anytime you needed to do that. We lived directly across the road from a skeet and trap club, and during the big tournaments often folks would stop in and want to know all about this little cannon in the yard. Eventually it was brought inside and restored, as dad figured it would likely go missing what with all those 'big city Detroit people' snooping around. This would be in the late 60s.

Very nice story on NAA, reticle. I know I read your briefer version somewhere else recently, but this added a lot. I truly enjoy these historical stories about the 'pioneer days'. Maybe it's just me but it seems like there was a period in the 50s and 60s when individuals played bigger roles. Maybe not..but it seems the magazines were thicker, the personalities (and egos) bigger and the developments a little more exciting. Could be it's just that the latest polymer 9 just doesn't get my attention. :)
 
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