Stainless Steel Auto-Ordinance 1911

I really like that barrel style. Those remind me of Infinity Barrels. None of them have dovetails for front sights though. I bet they are only set up for optics. My preference would be irons.

OK, riddle me this: if I built a 1911 from the ground up by buying a quality frame and parts and sent them to a gunsmith [insert suggestion here] for fitting, what is the highest quality stainless frame for the dollar?

As long as I am dreaming, it'd be a 9mm widebody. If that's prohibitively expensive than I'd reconsider a single-stack.

Is it reasonable or is it just wildly expensive to buy parts and get a gun built? The only experience I have with pricing on a full custom gun is Infinity, and my gun would cost like $6,000 through them... I am not made of that kind of money. For me $2,000 is about as much as I'd want to spend on a ported "race" gun of my dreams... [it's not a race gun, actually, but a range gun and I'd probably end up carrying the sucker, too, so no need to worry about fitting in a box or competition rules]

Basically, I've always wanted the old CZ Champion in 9mm. Wide-body, irons, ported out front. I've been chasing this ideal for a long time. That's why I bought my XD V-10, which I absolutely love, but even though I love my internally ported XD, it's just not my dream gun. I don't care if it's a CZ or a 1911, really. I don't really like the new race guns that CZ has right now, they either have irons without porting or optics and porting. They are usually on the limited sport frame, not the CZ75 or shadow frame. I really like the Dan Wesson race guns, but they are $4k. I really like the DW Havoc's setup, but I'm not a fan of the C-more optic (though it'd be great for competition, I'm sure), and I feel like I can get a gun almost as good if I just build a full custom CZ75 and do internal porting or do a full custom 1911. I just don't know as much about pricing, 1911 variants, and parts to part out a gun. The CZ75 build I have a much better idea of what I want done and what shop to go to (Angus). But I am on TFL to learn, and I want to know more about 1911's in general.
 
I'd suggest you buy a hi-cap 9mm from STI.
If you want something with a little customization beyond that, buy it from Dawson Precision.
A buddy of mine bought a STI Edge from Dawson, with the latter installing one of their front sights, having it hard chromed, etc., so the gun is set up the way you want it when it's delivered.
Almost all ported guns are expected to be equipped with optical sights, as the guns are being built to comply with game rules. You might have to mix and match a bit to get a comp and a slide with irons.
$2000 would be at the bottom of the price range.
 
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I've really liked Dawson Sights on guns, but for some reason, I've never really considered them for a custom shop. I really like some of their guns. I also like their low end, because they are willing to do work on something like a Springfield Range Officer. Perhaps it would be single-stack, but a tricked out 9mm 1911 would be really cool and it looks like I could get what I wanted for around $1,000+, albeit in single-stack.

They look like they do cool stuff on the upper end, too. I like how they are willing to do work on a range of guns. This is a neat gun, too: https://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=80001A54-1403705734

A comped Trojan would be neat, and under the $2k mark. Man, the XDM's are affordable, too... I just am not ready to give up the dream of a steel framed gun just yet.
 
After looking at STI frames, I'm leaning towards single stack. I just don't like the nylon frames of the 2011's. The colors seem obnoxious and I don't like the idea of paying a lot more for the magazines and the frame just to get a plastic frame anyway. It's a nitpicky requirement, but I really want to be able to put VZ G-10 grips on there.

I like how I can choose what frame and slide type. The only thing I am not seeing from STI is internal porting. If they had that, I'd get a Dawson Precision 1911 with STI parts right quick. It is especially cool that STI frames come with checkering automatically, if you want. It seems like in the 1911 world, I can get more of the gun I want in single stack for cheaper. Also, maybe I should just start with a carbon steel frame instead of stainless and get it coated with something robust. A 9mm 1911 in a 6" long slide with a lightened slide, irons, and internal porting would be a hoot and a holler. I'd settle for a 5", if that's cheaper or simply better functioning, though.
 
Darker Loaf said:
As long as I am dreaming, it'd be a 9mm widebody. If that's prohibitively expensive than I'd reconsider a single-stack.

Is it reasonable or is it just wildly expensive to buy parts and get a gun built?
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There just aren't that many double stack 1911 frames out there. As you've discovered, STI's are polymer. Caspian makes one, but it requires proprietary magazines and proprietary grips. Para-Ordnance used to sell a double stack receiver, which they marketed as the "Gunsmith Kit." However, I think that was discontinued when they moved from Canada to North Carolina, and now Para is being absorbed by Remington so I wouldn't get your hopes up. However, Sarco is (or was) selling overstock Para receivers. I'm not sure if they are finished, semi-finished, or raw castings but, if you're looking toward having a gunsmith build it, that shouldn't matter.

And then there's Armscor (Rock Island). They make a double-stack 1911 that (I believe) works with Para magazines and Para grips. But ... it isn't available in stainless.

I don't know of any others. Did I miss any?
 
Honestly, I'd drop the stainless requirement if I can get the custom shop that builds the gun to coat it in something durable. I just had a preference for stainless because it simplifies customization if I were to do something like port the slide and barrel... no need to refinish/coat stainless steel. But, if I can get a one piece barrel external or internal comp, then I could ditch that requirement if a durable coating is affordable.

Proprietary... that makes me sad. It's a +1 for single-stack 1911. I'd be sad to lose the capacity, but it is mostly a gun for fun, not competition, so I could give that up to save money and make customization easier. I really like how for single-stack 1911's that there are so many magazine and grip options. 2011's or double-stack 1911 just seem somewhat problematic unless I am fully willing to put up $4,000+ and get something like a full custom DW/Caspian/Infinity, which I am really not willing or able to do.

It seems like if I am to dip my toe into the 1911 world, that a single-stack would be the best way to do it.

And, eventually, I'll need to build a CZ for a wide-body that will accept more parts that I want (like grips and factory magazines).
 
Darker Loaf said:
But, if I can get a one piece barrel external or internal comp, then I could ditch that requirement if a durable coating is affordable.
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Haven't you posted in several places throughout this thread that you're looking at a bushing compensator? Now suddenly you're looking at a comped barrel. They aren't the same.
 
Haven't you posted in several places throughout this thread that you're looking at a bushing compensator? Now suddenly you're looking at a comped barrel. They aren't the same.
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lol. Now u see why i made him join TFL. He's got so many ideas swirling around in his head. He's just brainstorming so he jumps around alot. Honestly it's exhausting. ;)
 
Yeah, I know... it's embarrassing.

Yes, I know the difference between a bushing compensator, an externally ported barrel, an external compensator, and internal porting through the slide and barrel.

The bottom line is... I like porting. And while I am no competitor and I am certainly not the greatest shooter in the world, I just happen to have this brain-sickness where I like porting and comps. Even my carry piece, my Kahr K9 Elite has a second barrel that's extended and ported. So, the bottom line is that if I am going to build a high-quality, accurate, steel framed gun, it is not going to be a gun without porting.

Heh. It's not ME that has a problem. It's every other firearms user who does not share my likes and dislikes and every manufacturer in the entire world that doesn't immediately cater to my needs! No, I KNOW I have a problem. I'm just on TFL so I can solve it.

That's why you got me interested in STI products. One good solution might be to get a STI one-piece, externally comped barrel.... I just wish somebody knew:

1) How a STI Trubor comped barrel breaks down.
2) And if (I think it is) not a screw-on comp. By Dawson's website, it makes me think it is not a screw-on comp.

Why don't I like screw on comps? Because things seem to rather rapidly unscrew themselves on guns, often during the act of firing. See my posts on my 986... there are many other examples I've had.

And so, I prefer internal porting (also for it's reduced recoil... I don't care much about the reduced velocity) or a comp that's affixed without screwing it on. Screw on comps can be loctited, but then you can't break the gun down easily. That's why the idea of bushing comps are exiting because they don't require Magnaporting ($$$ but probably worth it depending on the build--another reason why stainless guns appeal to me for reducing refinishing costs) or a second barrel (extended ported OR threading is still an additional barrel).

Does that make me seem more or less coherent?
 
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The TruBor is a one-piece barrel. Check out the FAQ section about three-quarters of the way down:

http://www.stiguns.com/resources/faq/

Q: What makes the STI “TruBor” barrel and compensator superior to a “screw on”, or anybody else’s compensator system?

A: While independent tests conducted in Switzerland have proven that the S-2 and S-1 (STI’s discontinued screw on compensators) are the equal or superior of every other compensator on the market, the TruBor has several characteristics that make it yet more superior. This unit, which comes in a .355″ bore diameter only, is fabricated from a single piece of 416R (rifle grade) stainless steel and, therefore, has no need of threads nor the area that the threads would occupy. This allows it to be .400″ shorter and approximately 1½ oz. lighter. Since there are NO threads, it is legal in California, cannot come loose, is a great deal easier for a gunsmith to fit and “clock in”, and is inherently more accurate. To explain further, since the compensator is both bored and rifled at the same time and with the same tooling as the barrel, there can be no misalignment. Because the alignment is perfect, the clearance bore in the compensator can be tighter, and therefore more uniform than is possible in a threaded compensator. With gas pressures equal on all side of the bullet, enhanced accuracy is a given.
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Re AustinTX: Thank you so much! STI Trubor compensators sound great, actually. They are one of the few that I've ever seen that is one-piece construction. That gives 1911's a +1 for me again. This means that when I'd consider a build, I wouldn't have to buy two barrel sets, unless I wanted a threaded barrel for suppressor (which would double as an uncomped/ported barrel for beginning shooters), but any starting gun would be more "complete" in my eyes, because there'd be no additional Magnaporting or the purchase of a second barrel for external porting.

It sounds like a Trubor would be more accurate, which makes sense, though internal porting is great, too. I'd be excited to try an externally compensated pistol. I've heard that compensators can be more effective than external porting because there is more surface area for the escaping gases to push on than just bare holes in a relatively thin barrel.

Now, 1911 experts, I ask you this: how would you disassemble a 1911 with a Trubor barrel? Doesn't the permanently affixed comp prevent normal disassembly?


Now the kicker: Now I know I will seem crazy for asking this but does anybody in the world make a CZ 75 one-piece comped barrel? I've never seen anything like that from my searching.
 
No problem! My head was spinning when I got through this thread a day or two ago. Can't wait to see how this all turns out. :)

Now, 1911 experts, I ask you this: how would you disassemble a 1911 with a Trubor barrel? Doesn't the permanently affixed comp prevent normal disassembly?
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The 1911 barrel actually slides out through the muzzle end of the slide. I could try to describe why in more detail, but it's easier just to watch it. Start at around 0:50 on this video and watch till around 2:50: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GLeP28IdPA. (It's Hickok45, so of course he has to reference how a Glock works as he does it.)

Can't help you on the CZ question, unfortunately.
 
Well, AustinTX, Venom1956 explained to me just before I read your explaination: it makes total sense. It works on a 1911 instead of, let's say a CZ. It comes down to that barrel bushing again. A CZ is closed on the front, and I am so used to thinking in non-1911 ways, so I was concerned about a solid-piece comp/barrel. But 1911 is totally open on the front of the slide so it lets the barrel through once the bushing is out of the way.

I would guess that it could be done on a CZ 75, too, with the accubushing, but the accubushing is a non-standard part from the CZ Customshop, so as far as I know, nobody makes a solid piece compensator for a CZ 75 accubushing. I know CZ has comps for Sport Limited Slides, but I am not sure how they work.

I am psyched! I've never owned a 1911, but a solid piece compensator would fulfill my crazy porting dreams. The only sad part is that the gun wouldn't be a double-stack, but it'd have every other feature I'd want, and I bet it'd be a hoot to shoot. I dig having more standard 1911 mags for sure, standard grips, and magwells.

Dawson Precision Shop seems really promising. They work with all the parts that I'd want to use and claim to be specialists with STI parts. They make really nice fiber optic sights and sights in general. They have a good reputation and good prices in my opinion. I bet they'd shake their head at a full-custom, non-competition, single-stack "race" gun.
 
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