Fusion Firearms

LanceOregon said:
I think that just the fact that he calls himself "Hail Caesar" gives one some insight into his personality.

I wonder what personality traits can be attributed to someone who calls himself "Lance".:D
 
9x19...

... they are the man's initials, but I think you're being disingenuous; I'm pretty sure you intended the double entendre, so don't protest too much.

Again, my own experiences with Fusion were completely counter to what you and Hail Caesar claim.

1) Dealt directly with Bob Serva via email and phone. I was in Afghanistan at the time, so communications were somewhat limited; luckily, not too many were needed.

2) Bob provided some personal inputs on best configuration for my pistol; I went with his advice.

3) Classic Longslide Hunter took closer to a month than the several some folks are claiming; it arrived at my dealer shortly after I returned to the States.

4) Pistol was in great shape out of the box. Safety was easy to manipulate, but positive to engage/disengage. Trigger is very slick. I chose a matte finish, so the gun isn't flashy looking, but it looks the way I intended. Stainless controls are also matte, but provide a nice color contrast.

5) I haven't shot it too much, yet, but in 200 rds of 200gr target ammo, plus a box each of Hornady and Cor-Bon SD ammo, there have been no feed or ejection problems. The gun is extremely accurate. Felt recoil, even with the Cor-Bons, is minimal.

RandomThoughts

So, based on the experiences of forum members who actually seem to own one of the pistols, as opposed to the complaints of "Hail Caesar," I'd feel pretty safe with a Fusion.

Maybe I'm old school, but I was taught to address my complaints directly to the person who has offended me, first, before bashing that person or company to hither and yon... Of course, if they offend me publicly, I'll respond publicly, but I try to minimize even that. So I really have to wonder about Hail Caesar...
 
Man, buying a nice 1911 is a mess.

Seems there are not many brands, none?, that don't have lots of problems.

I just put in for a quote from Bob on a 10mm, bobtailed commander, in bright chrome.

Depending how the quote comes out and how my search for alternatives goes I might well place an order with BS. We will see. If I do I will report on it here.
 
Bac1023 has written a pretty amazing 1911 guide in several posts at the end of the first page and beginning of the second page of this thread. Since a photo in the thread shows that he owns at least 55 1911s, including all of the ones discussed, his advice and opinions are probably worth a listen.
 
Bac1023 has written a pretty amazing 1911 guide in several posts at the end of the first page and beginning of the second page of this thread. Since a photo in the thread shows that he owns at least 55 1911s, including all of the ones discussed, his advice and opinions are probably worth a listen.
Unfortunately, the posts you mention are all about either custom 1911s costing several times the cost of a Fusion or out of production 1911s.
 
Might want to take another look. His posts start at post #17 (toward the end of the first page in post count, not scrolling position). He starts with guns costing barely more than $400.
 
Might want to take another look. His posts start at post #17 (toward the end of the first page in post count, not scrolling position). He starts with guns costing barely more than $400.
Thanks. I think I was thrown off because your previous post mentioned page 2. I went right by the others.
 
Lance,

I know this thread is old, but after someone called me and said they had seen this thread I found it and felt the need to clear things up a bit.

1. I TRIED to correct the issues with Bob before saying anything on the errrornet. He refused to fix the gun, refused to admit there was a problem, refused to admit the gun was not as ordered, refused to admit the barrel was short-chambered and would not even chamber a single round.

2. Only after I posted about the gun did he offer to rebuild the gun. ( He flat out refused a refund) As the frame was junk and the slide was messed up that was the only thing left to do. He swore up and down it would take 6 weeks TOPS to rebuild the gun. As I had some parts on hand that I wanted to use on the gun I shipped them to him to quicken the build.

3. After 6 weeks went by, then 3 months, then 6 months....I asked were my replacement gun was. He said it was at Ionbond. Then I asked about it the next month...he said it was getting ready to ship to Ionbond.:confused:

4. I contacted my attorney and pressed Serva for a refund....he agreed.;)
But then he short changed me and I did not receive a full refund and he kept my parts.

5. I was questioned my moderators of other sites about the validity of my claims..... I forwarded them emails between Serva and I. All Mod's and owners (except the 1911 forum) said to "post away" after seeing the emails. One said it was the funniest and most damning thing he had seen in a while.

Then I was forwarding the emails, PM's, and build sheets, to people on 1911 forum and GT for them to make their own judgements on what happened.
I have dozens of pics also if you would like to see them.

6. My first ever "forum" was a shotgunning forum dedicated to sporting clays. My wife said to use something anonymous and not use my actual name. I did not even plan on ever posting. So the name I picked was the name of my shotgun "Caesar Guerini" and when the first time I used it my squad of shooting buddies was saying "Hail Caesar" when I shot a clean station and making fun of the guns name. There is ZERO feeling of superiority with me choosing the name. It was the first thing I could think of, and did not think of the context some would take the name to mean.

7. YES, you are right. I was madder than a wet hornet. At one point I was out $2,400 on a junk gun that would not work, a builder that said it "was within Fusion quality standards), and if posted about on one site the postes got deleted.
So yes, I was talking about it. There was several people that had serious issues that was finding the same stonewall that I was with Fusion, and one certain site that deleted anything negative about Fusion.


If you have anymore questions about the ordeal I will be happy to answer them. But truthfully it is all in the past now for me. I hardly ever think about Fusion anymore. They are usually brought up on GT as a friendly poke in the ribs to me. As in "Hey Al, you bought any Fusion's lately" or "Have you been Fusion'ed lately?".

Al
 
Fusion 10mm Scout Fiasco

I just registered and had, HAD to add my experience.
Fusion Scout Custom in 6" $1600. I have never been able to run a magazine of rapid fire through this weapon. $1600 guess gun; I guess it might work, or might not.
FAILURES:
Feeding
Ejecting
Locking in battery
Locking open on last round [tried different mags -these came from Fusion- different spring weights]
Very, VERY hard to reassemble after cleaning. Barrel locking slide pin? must be hammered over catch in order to get it completely fed through lower assembly, thus locking barrel in place.
Serva's answer: use a different lube!!!!

OH AND YEAH: trying for the 5th or 6th time [yes that's all I've cared to fire this thing] and possibly 100 rounds, I now have a bullet lodged in the barrel and it appears, however unlikely that the primer was ignited before completely locked in battery.
I hope this will help you stay clear of Fusion. I can buy a stock Glock 20 and have a much, MUCH more pleasureable experience with a round that is near and dear to my heart.


Positives:
Looks really good
Accurate
 
I bought a 6 inch longslide 10 MM Fusion for about $1500 about 2 years ago for hunting. Bob Serva, the CEO, was a pleasure to work with and quickly responded to my emails and phone calls. The serial number is in the 300 range (Fusion is a small outfit). It took six months to build and the gun runs like a champ. Only problem to date after nearly a thousand rounds was that the a screw securing the magwell felll off from the hard 10 mm recoil, and I had a local gunsmith drill a deeper hole for the replacement screw.

For a custom 1911 in 10 MM, there are not a lot of other choices. I think the old Dan Wesson company made a production 10 MM and Colt has made the Delta Elite with past issues with quality control. A Custom Nighthawk, Wilson Combat, etc is at least twice the price. I think Serva said that a large percentage of his guns are 10MM and he had less than a dozen staff members at the time. That's my experience.

If you want a trouble free experience, buy a glock. Tight, well-fit 1911's are finicky by nature and very ammo sensitive. I missed an oportunity to bag a nice SOW we happened to drive upon because I was not carrying cocked and lock (only had a full magazine on an empty chamger). It took me several tries to feed the hard cast Double Tap bullets into the chamber and the Hog darted into the woods probably laughing at me doing my tap rack malfunction drills. I blame that failure to feed on the ammo not the gun.
 
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Fusion

Bought a Fusion Scout XL pro series online yesterday. Hoping for the best, hate to hear about the bad experiences some folks have had. Makes me kind of nervous but other companies out there have complaints as well. NOT ONE company is going to have a perfect record.
 
I bought a Fusion about 5 years ago, it has functioned flawlessly, is easily more accurate than I am and the process was painless, albeit a bit long...but there was a long wait for any custom type pistol at the time.

Bob was great to deal with, emailed me the day before they sent it out to be coated to see if I was sure I didn't want to change anything. I've always wanted to get another but funds haven't permitted it.
 

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FUSION kits

Has anyone had experience building a ground up custom using a Fusion kit?
They have a $795 commander kit that looks great.

http://www.fusionfirearms.com/shop/1911-pistol-kits/1911-pistol-kit-pro-series-commander/

I just read this old post and i am curious as to whether or not the Q.C. Issues have been rectified as of late.
My misses wants a custom 1911 in an officer or commander size. I was going to do mostly E.B. hardcore parts (if fusion small parts Q.C. Is still bad in 2013) From what ive gathered is the extracter and old non-ramped barrels were really the only major issues on the Fusion.
For $795 plus components/grips, coating/polishing you can have a custom the way you want it for less than $2k! Im seriously considering this option so she can have a semi/full custom on the cheap.

So if anyone has bought a FUSION KIT, i would like to see pics and hear about your build.

Thank you
 
Fusion compared to others

I own a Fusion Samaritan, WC Protector, EB Special Forces, LB Boss, Springfield TRP, Kimber Tac Custom, NH Falcon, blah blah blah... The Fusion 4" Samaritan has functioned flawlessly. With the Briley bushing, it is as accurate as any I own. As with all the above (bought NIB) break in is important, and cleaning/maintenance essential. Been a firearms instructor for 20 years and use my 1911 as training rentals. Nothing but respect for all the Custom makers. If I was stuck picking a favorite, Wilson Supergrade no question. I own 54 1911s and have been shooting all my life. Nothing beats 1911 and nothing beat Wilson Supergrades.
 
I own three Fusion's. Two have been nothing short of solid since I have owned them. My 9mm has been problematic since day one.

Bob is a wonderful person, but poor when it comes to follow through.

When I first received my 9, got tired of the issues after several months. Sent it back to him on my dime, and he had it for over three months. Seemed to run half OK, but recently had some issues again and decided to write to ask for suggestions. As he is about 90 minutes away since his move to Florida, figured it would be an opportune time to get it back to him and see his new shop.

His answer was to try lighter recoil springs or shoot +P. Really???

Took it to a local guy, first thing he did was check the extractor, which is what I suspected the problem would be.

Traded emails with Bob, expecting since it had a lifetime warranty, he would offer to at least send a new one. No dice, but he did say I could purchase one from his site.

So much for purchasing a 4th from him.

One thing I will say for him, his parts are top notch, and if you look at his site, he seems to be going in the direction of packaging and selling his parts.
 
Holy thread resurrection, batman! :D

Fusion have some very good salesmen, but you can find lots of those at used-car lots... good 1911 builders are much harder to find at both places.

Dan Wesson quality improved about 1000% once CZ-USA bought the brand.
 
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