TODAYS COMMENT 9-21-06
I will be setting a cut off date very soon. Please contact me now if you have an interest in this Project Street Gun Number 5 as it is a chance of a lifetime. We only have a few openings left but if you have any questions at all you can email me through my website which is listed below. Mr. Camp has fired close to 5000 rounds out of his SA Mil-Spec and it never missed a beat. You can also call me most any day after 10 am central time at 281 565 6977...
Thankyou,
Teddy
...................................................................................................................
We have been very pleased with the previous project street gun classes we have gotten through. It has given the private gun owner an opportunity to learn a great deal about their pistol. Our main intent was and still is to provide the knowledge for you to be able to do all the work yourself using the parts kit that I make for you. You do the work at your own pace. There is no reason for you to buy a very high dollar production 1911 pistol that is assembled by many people, these high dollar 1911's are "NOT" a custom pistol.
Our project is designed to deal with reality. The very best buy in a 1911 pistol is the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec that sells for about $500.00. The down side to this is that they are in such demand that it is hard to locate one. We want to show you how to disassemble and reassemble your own pistol and it will be easy after you have followed our instructions with practice. This is a chance of a lifetime as we do not know how many more projects we will have.
I can not compete with the beautiful pictures in these magazines that are done with an $8000.00 digital camera and a photo workshop program on their computer. Most people buy looks and are taken every time. I dispise the lies and BS. People who just want a reliable first class street gun for protection of life and property do not need these $2000.00 to $3000.00 production handguns, you will not want to even carry one because of what you paid for it. It will become a "SAFE QUEEN" ...
These SA Mil-Spec pistols that are parkerized or the basic G.I. model is all you will ever need to carry and depend on. I am very careful who I let into these projects and both Mr. Camp and I want sincere people that will follow our guidelines. We know what works and what is wrong. We will not install new barrels or target sights, this will be your favorite carry gun to protect your life and family and property. There will be no full length guide rods used and my kit supplies approx. 20 parts and springs. We buy the very best of everything that we can find.
I can cut a hammer and a sear to perfection without ever seeing your frame. I have been doing this for many years and I check all the engagements on a microscope. I want to finalize the people for this project and I will set up a cut off date very soon. There is still openings for a few more sincere people. The hard part will be to locate a SA Mil-Spec pistol. NO STAINLESS STEEL PISTOLS WILL BE ACCEPTED BECAUSE SOME DIMENSIONS ARE NOT THE SAME.
I personally like stainless steel but when doing this project its a different story when having to deal with different dimensions. For example all the accessories on the SA stainless pistol are chrome plated carbon steel. This alone changes dimensions for me that is different than the parkerized version.
Please contact me via email or by phone and we can talk about the details of this next project that will start very soon. You can find all my contact information on my website. I now supply a DVD with each kit and Mr. Camp has two wonderful books that are top rated by anyones standards with each kit.
Only a straight spur hammer will be used for this project and each hammer will have my logo on it. It is a wide spur hammer that will be easy for anyone to cock. We are using stainless steel springs that the Navy Seals use to retard internal corossion. Our recoil springs will be made of Chrome Silicon wire and conventionally wound and rated at 16 lbs.
Springfield Armory Mil-Spec "Progress Report"
By Stephen Camp
Since I wrote "A Critical Look at the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec" in January 2005, many more rounds have flown downrange and I thought that it might be of interest on how the pistol has held up and any problems. (That article is in this section of the site for those interested.)
The pistol worked fine as it came from the factory, but had a less-than-stellar trigger pull and the hammer spur nipped me regularly. I bobbed the hammer and eliminated that and also used a Pachmayr drop-in grip safety to eliminate the wear and tear caused by the sharp edges of the factory grip safety. Not happy with that set up, I eventually rounded the edges of the factory GI-type grip safety and this pretty well solved the problem.
I find that with the rounded GI grip safety and a slightly shortened spur hammer, I can comfortably shoot the pistol about 200 full-power loads without problems. I much prefer the wide grip safety, but wanted at least one 1911-pattern pistol that somewhat resembled the unmodified 1911 stalwart. (Some seem to think that because they have no problems with the GI type grip safety, no one else should either. Frequently, comments like, "If beavertails were needed, John Browning would have put them on the gun," and other such information-filled eloquent pearls of …crap. Different folks find that different things work for them and if you are one better served with the wide grip safety, go for it. If the standard type works fine for you, great, but I submit that it is up to the individual user to make the decision.)
Not readily visible from the outside, this Mil-Spec's internal parts have been replaced with upgraded ones done by trigger specialist, Teddy Jacobson. This "hidden" work has resulted in a very good 1911 pattern pistol and one that I would absolutely trust in a serious situation.
Even though the pistol was working fine and in stock condition, I did upgrade the internal parts with those supplied by trigger specialist, Teddy Jacobson of Actions by T. The trigger was initially just shy of about 5-lbs, with the break being both crisp and clean. It settled in at about 4 1/2-lbs and has stayed there. The gun was equipped with a steel firing pin as well, but the slide stop and single-side thumb safety have been left alone. The wide EMC spur hammer he provided is finely checkered and has been bobbed and recontoured to eliminate hammer bite.
I kept the factory short trigger, but smoothed it up. I also replaced the mainspring housing for another arched one that I already had. It has no lock and standard size parts work in it. Though not at all necessary, I replaced the checkered plastic stocks that came with the pistol for a set I simply think looks better while still offering a secure grip.
This Mil-Spec .45 auto has proven itself utterly reliable with a wide selection of bullet types and is one I trust for "serious matters."
I have not kept an exact round count, but it is in excess of 4K as this is written. Most of these have been either 200-gr. CSWC handloads at about 870 ft/sec or 230-gr. CFP and CRN at roughly 840 ft/sec. It has also gobbled up several hundred 230-gr. Federal HydraShoks, Golden Sabers, Gold Dots, Ranger JHP's, and ball rounds.
With any full-power load, it has had zero malfunctions, not one. There have been no failures to extract or eject and the slide stop consistently locks back when the last shot's fired and not before.
The sights on this gun are as they came from the factory. They were properly regulated and I've seen no reason to change them.
Slide-to-frame fit both vertical and horizontal has very, very little "slop." The barrel-to-slide fit has remained solid as a rock, with wear marks evenly distributed on the rear edge of the barrel hood. I have no intentions of changing either the factory barrel or bushing as the gun groups very nicely as is.
The pistol's parkerized finish is holding up nicely, though a ding or two is now present.
Wear marks are not excessive and evenly distributed on both sets of slide rails.
It is my understanding that the Mil-Spec is not so easy to find as in the recent past. I do not know if that is because gun dealers sell them as fast as they get them or if SA is focusing on other models, or what, but if you want a relatively inexpensive no frills 1911-pattern .45, I would give these a long and hard look.
I own several 1911 pistols, most being more costly than the Mil-Spec, but I trust none of them more than I do this one.
This Mil-Spec has proven itself to me. It groups adequately and has demonstrated extreme reliability while being essentially a "basic" type 1911 pattern pistol. The 9mm/38 Super firing pin used has presented no problems with either breakage or firing. The gun runs on everything I've tried with the exception of a very light target SWC that was loaded too lightly for the gun's standard power ISMI 16-lb recoil spring. All standard pressure and +P loads have worked flawlessly.
Four thousand full power loads are certainly not that many compared to what more than a few serious shooters crank off in a year's time. I think that they've been enough to prove to me (at least) that the old saw that a 1911 has to cost thousands to be reliable is pretty much false…but many already know that.
Do I believe that all Mil-Specs will run flawlessly out of the box? Nope, but the last 5 or 6 I have seen sure have. With the immense continuing popularity of John Browning's enduring design, factories crank them out as fast as they can and some that shouldn't have got past quality control simply do. It is not right, but such seems to be the case. That said, I believe that the Mil-Spec is a very, very fine choice for folks wanting a quality 1911 without breaking the bank.
A gun does not have to be ultra-expensive to be special. I would not hesitate to use this one in a fight if required. When I carry a 1911 for self-protection, it is almost always this one.
Thanks for reading this project update.
Teddy
http://www.actionsbyt.com
http://www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com/
http://www.tacticalknives.blogspot.com/
http://www.actionsbyt.typepad.com/
http://www.actionsbyt.wordpress.com/
http://www.truthaboutparts.blogspot.com/
http://www.commentsbyt.blogspot.com/
http://www.tjofsugarland.blogspot.com/
