WELCOME TO THE NO BS ZONE OF TEDDY JACOBSON
Disclaimer: This commentary contains my personal opinions and my personal judgements having worked on so many different products, these are my personal views only. I believe everything written here is true.
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MR. CAMP AND I WILL START TAKING NAMES FOR OUR SIXTH PROJECT STREET GUN. WE ARE LOOKING FOR APPROX. 15 PEOPLE MAX. THAT WANT TO LEARN A GREAT DEAL ABOUT WORKING ON THEIR OWN 1911 PISTOL. I PREFER THAT YOU SELECT THE SA MIL-SPEC PARKERIZED VERSION. YOU CAN EMAIL ME RIGHT OFF MY WEBSITE, THE LINK IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS COMMENTARY. OR CLICK ON YEAR END REVIEW AT THE VERY TOP.
THANKYOU,
Teddy
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SAT. Jan. 6, 2007 - I am adding links for all MAKAROV SERIES OF ARTICLES THAT I WROTE. SUGGEST YOU PRINT THEM NOW AS THIS IN DEPTH ARTICLE IS SUPERB. THIS IS PART 1 THROUGH PART 7...
makarov part 1
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-1.html
part 2
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-2.html
part 3
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-3.html
part 4
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-4.html
part 5
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-5.html
part 6
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-6.html
part 7
http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-7.html
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First of all I would like to wish all of you a very happy and safe New Year. I am going to discuss handguns and related topics and I will try not to offend anyone. Its very true I am abrasive and very truthful in my beliefs and I will try and tell you about the various handguns first.
This is a totally different world from when I was a kid in Brooklyn in the 50's... All police carried revolvers chambered for the 38 special and they mainly used lead bullets from what I can remember. There was a rule of authority among the people in those days to basically respect the Police.
I have no doubt there was plenty of inside corruption but I was not exposed to it. The only evidence I could see was that bodies were always turning up in Carnarsie in Brooklyn from professional hits. The gangs were all over New York and stores like Sears sold rifles.
This past year I have been very disappointed to see how many current production handguns are so poorly made internally. It just makes me sick to think about how low they have gone. I remember back in the 60's when SW revolvers were such a hot item and people could not find what they wanted anywhere so they had them on back order.
When I see all these 1911 clones on the market today, I realize that it was only Colts poor management to lose this market. If Colt had their act together they would never have been a reason for the 1911 Kimbers or the 1911 SW pistols or the 1911 Sig pistols or the Springfield Armory 1911 pistols and the 1911 list goes on and on and on to include CZ/DW and Taurus, etc, etc, etc.
Colt was top rated when I was young, but today it would be difficult to find new Colts in your local shops. I do not know what their current status is at this point in time. The 1911 pistol as designed by John Browning was superb in a 5 inch barrel and you need that long slide weight for reliability, using the 16 lb. factory standard recoil spring.
It is my opinion that buying these small 1911 designed pistols with 3 inch barrels is one big mistake most of you will learn to regret. Getting two inches of rifling and using slow burning powder may give you a velocity of 650 feet per second using a 230 grain hard ball cartridge. This is a major mistake. The factories are using dual recoil springs to make up for lack of slide weight. Not a good idea.
The best 1911 pistol that is in current production is the SA mil-spec that sells for about $500.00. I would take this pistol over any high dollar production handgun that is currently made this year. The Brazilians have got this parkerized version down pat, although I can not recommend their stainless steel version because its smoke and mirrors as all the accessories are hard chromed into making you think you are getting an all stainless steel 1911 pistol, when you are being deceived.
My left handed world consists of Glocks and an HK P7 M8 and an older SW revolver or a Ruger SP101. Ruger still makes good revolvers but I have very little love for any SW revolver made today. Do not believe that the security lock on an SW revolver is fool proof because if you drop it on concrete it could activate the safety and you have nothing and no way to protect life and property. If you have this keyed lock version never go anywhere without that security key.
It is my opinion that SW has really deteriorated in their marketing. I do not want a Chinese made SW knife. I do not want SW clothing or SW coffee mugs. What I do want is an SW revolver as made in the 1960 era. Michael Golden the new President of SW is from the Kohler Plumbing Company and probably has superb marketing skills that do nothing for you or me.
Installing fragile fiber optic sights on a carry gun is a big mistake. Not only are they easy to damage but if they have a protective plastic shroud over it they often crack. If you use a cleaning agent that contains metylene chloride it will eat up your plastic sight. That product is paint remover and when the government banned trichlorethane these companies used methylene chloride. Its real bad news, just use LPS MICRO X which is a superb electrical contact cleaner that is safe on plastic.
Now for the good news about revolvers, buying a current production Ruger SP101 or a GP100 is not a mistake as they are still made very well. The downside to these Ruger revolvers is that they are heavy and need to be refined internally. I understand that Ruger has just discontinued about 7 rifles that I know of and one of them is their Police carbine PC-4. They are also offering many workers early retirement.
There are not many current production handguns that I would buy. I am very partial to Glocks. They are as good as they have always been. The line of Sig pistols in my opinion are not what they were years ago. The Sig line of handguns is the only company that I know of that uses the hammer reset design which is a real problem if you are in the "SANDBOX" and you have no replacement and no tools with you. You can see this reset spring by looking at the back of your hammer right above the tang of your frame, its visible as a tiny wire spring. Your very life depends on that reset spring that only Sig uses. Many internal parts in a current production Sig are MIM which means metal injection molded.
THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN COPIED AND PASTED WRITTEN BY SOME ONE ELSE, I AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING.
The Kimberzation of Sig In my opinion started to become apparent with the high volume of issues and frustration of Sig owner both for QC and CS currently being posted !
That in my opinion started occurring when the frames and stainless steel slides started being manufactured and assembled In the U.S.A, which also happens to coincide, 2005 with the arrival of a Mr. Ron J. Cohen, President and Chief Executive Officer, from Kimber appointment and arrival at Sig!
Thus Kimberzation of Sig can be seen in the influxes of 1911 models recently introduced at Sig!
WHY YOU MAY ASK ARE ALL THESE COMPANIES USING MIM PARTS, ANSWER IS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ All they care about is money, it was not always like this...
The old world gunsmiths I used to know are now gone, I miss talking with them, they are mostly in cemetaries, very sad but very true.
This story continues and when company marketing people decide to come out with new calibers its for mainly one purpose and that is to get you interested into buying one of these new guns in a new caliber which means one thing = more sales... When a handgun is being designed and lets say it has 75 parts and 10 springs, well many of these components are sub contracted out and they are out for bids to get the most reasonable cost so the company can increase the profit margin of this new item that you can not live without. MY OPINION THIS IS ALL BS.
Everything is figured in the price including advertising. If you were to want a four color full page ad in a top named magazine you are looking at about $7000. for one ad for one issue. When springs are put out for bid they do not always go with top rated spring material or design, they usually go for cost and the same is true for every component including the finish of the gun. THE RESULT MUST BE WHAT THEY CAN MAKE THE MOST PROFIT ON, WHILE PAYING THEIR FACTORY WORKERS AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.
If you buy a new model handgun because of an article written by a corrupt writer where he got a free gun convinces you that you can not live without this new product, then this marketing job was well done. You have now overlooked the fact that it may not be a proven design and that parts are hard to come by and that there are no accessories available for it yet. No holster company in their right mind is going to start making holsters for a handgun that has not been accepted by the public first for about 2 years.
If you need a handgun for protection of life and property, you must learn safety and practice with good quality ammunition. Having said that you must buy a product with a proven track record for reliability. You must be able to buy parts and springs, without these guide lines you will wind up with a paper weight.
Let me give you some examples. If you buy a SA "XD" pistol and you need a critical part, they will not sell it to you from Springfield Armory in Genesco, Illinois. You must send the gun to them. Try changing the pressed in extractor of an "XD" pistol that is made in Croatia, good luck, you will need it, even most platers can't get it out.
In my Glock I can change an extractor in 30 seconds. Remember when you ship a handgun at this point in time it must be shipped overnight via FED EX or UPS and that will kill a hundred dollar bill upfront.
If you have a SW 1911 pistol and you need an extractor, they will not sell it to you unless you have taken their armorers course and can provide the SW parts dept. with your armorers certificate number.
If you have a Ruger they sell only non critical parts. Same story for Taurus. Unless you have the availability of getting parts to keep your handgun operational, you have nothing. Need an extractor for a Colt Pony, good luck in your search. I could go on and on but by now most of you have got the message.
The only small semi auto pistol that is mouse size that I still like is the Colt Mustang. It has an extractor and an ejector and fires from a locked breech. There are no mouse guns out there in semi auto design that I can say this about. Current production mouse (pocket) pistols are notoriously unreliable and are not accurate. People expect miracles from these tiny mouse pistols and its not possible when companies put limitations on their design and do not buy top quality springs and they can never be super accurate with shallow rifling, it can not be done.
The only tiny handgun that I like and carry is the NAA mini revolver in 22 magnum with a 1 5/8 inch barrel. I do not shoot it for accuracy and a zip gun out of the 1950's era is probably more accurate. I like this mini revolver as a third back up weapon and nothing more, it works very reliably and its a good caliber. You do not need the new 17 caliber pocket guns, its all marketing and worthless in my opinion. I really like my mini revolver for peace of mind as a last ditch effort at survival and nothing more. "IT IS WHAT IT IS"
WHEN SHOOTING ANY SHORT BARREL HANDGUN, YOU MUST USE A FAST BURNING POWDER TO ACHIEVE ANY DECENT VELOCITY.
The smallest mini semi auto that I have total faith in is the Glock 26 or 27 or 33, thats it period. They are in a class by themselves. They are flawless in operation and worth their weight in gold to some one like me. With the new technology advanced bullet design a 9mm will do the job, you do not have to believe the BS that you can only stop an attacker with a 45 acp, 230 grain full metal jacket, that is total BS.
If you must carry the american favorite 1911 pistol you should buy a SA 1911 mil-spec in the five hundred dollar range. This is a superb pistol for the money and you must always stay with the 5 inch barrel.
My friend John Taffin is the very last of the old time great gun writers that is still alive and I am grateful for that. John is a very honest and talented man that has been a wonderful asset to the shooting public for more years than I can remember, hes a class act.
The best current gun writer in evaluating guns and ammunition is my friend Stephen Camp. His articles and books are wonderful. Steve and I have this PROJECT STREET GUN TYPE CLASS where a person does the work from his home at his covenience at out instruction. We will be taking names to start project street gun number 6 very shortly. The results of taking this project course will give you a first class 1911 street gun of government size that will be your best friend and you will learn a great deal. www.hipowerandhandguns.com
I suggest that you be careful what you read in gun magazines and on gun forums as everyone seems to be an expert. Use common sense before you buy anything and you can always email me right off my website and I will point you in the right direction. Sadly this is not the world I come from, I was taught by my father that a handshake was a bond, sort of like a contract on your word. This generation does not understand that but it is still how I live my life.
Continued Sat. Dec. 30, 2006
It is my personal opinion that there is no future in Gunsmithing or being a Pistolsmith because the new generation not only will not be able to make a decent living but most do not have an eye for attention to detail like the old world craftsmen that are long gone. This new generation as a general rule care only about their electronic toys like IPODS and the various players that I know nothing about.
The factory workers that assemble guns do it for the money and do not usually have any skill, their employers watch them like a hawk and these young people just look at it as a pay check. When you allow some marketing moron who thinks hes another JOHN BROWNING designing these handguns and telling everyone how to make a pistol or a revolver because of his marketing strategy, then look for that company to either go bankrupt or put out inferior working guns.
Marketing people must show a sizeable profit in order to justify their large salaries as compared to the poor factory worker that makes ten dollars an hour and lives under extreme pressure to get the handgun ready for either sale and or repair. Young people working under these conditions are rarely given the opportunity to evolve into world class craftsmen. Of course these are all my own personal opinions.
When a gunsmith is forced to work for commission only, how can you expect him to care about your favorite handgun that your life may depend on. I could go on and on and give you more examples of all this. Everyone likes a nice looking handgun but looks will not save your life, ITS WHAT IS IN THE INSIDE OF THAT HANDGUN THAT COUNTS.
go to www.truthaboutparts.blogspot.com
I am not motivated by money. I still have excellent ideas and my work is better than ever, but I do limited work at this time, I am still glad to be able to help nice people, the ones that piss me off go into my black book. At least I am super honest upfront and my integrity and pride of workmanship comes first, along with the respect for your life that my guns go bang and not click. I have never taken any short cuts and buy the best material products money can buy.
I have always known how to accurize a Beretta 92F but I could never find some one to work with me that would play it straight. This is a designed item that the owner could install at his home. I have about given up on my designs because most everyone I talk with is either lazy or greedy and I will not be a party to that mentality.
The following is what I would buy that is either current production or a late model as well as what I would not buy under any circumstances.
I would buy any current production Glock pistol and I now prefer to stay with the 9mm caliber. The advancement in bullet technology has closed the gap.
I would buy a Browning Hi Power of traditional design made by Browning and not by FN. I would never buy that light weight hammer version that has the pre cocked design.
I would buy another HK P7 M8 if I could afford one but they are no longer made and the ones remaining are $1300.00 plus. I only buy new guns. I WOULD NEVER BUY THE LEM VERSION OF THE HK USP.
Continued Sun. Dec. 31, 2006
I will try and wrap up this commentary today and leave it up till all of you have had a chance to read it.
As for HK pistols I do like the USP compact but the downside is the following, they are thick and hard to conceal, the trigger return system is sluggish but can be corrected. The decocking lever is not smooth and gets worse with not being kept clean. They are pricey compared to my favorite Glock pistols.
I still like the Beretta 92F in 9mm only and I would still have no reservations about buying one, they are not accurate because the barrel locks up from the rear and there is no exact repeatable lockup, which no one seems to care about. This is why the 92F can not be accurate, there is a remedy but I have never found anyone that was not greedy to work with me, they would rather drink beer and play their gameboys at night while I always worked.
The Beretta Cougar 8000 (full size) in 9mm caliber is a reliable pistol with the rotating barrel system and I still like them. I do not like the 45 acp Cougar as the chamber wall is very thin.
I would not buy "ANYTHING" made by "CZ" or "DW" - this is out of the question.
I would not buy anything made by "TAURUS" - this is also out of the question.
I would not buy anything made by Charter Arms, this is also out of the question.
I would not buy anything made by Kimber except their Meprolight sights.
I would not buy a Wilson 1911 pistol or a Wilson 1911 magazine, I would not buy a Baer 1911 pistol. I would not by a Briley 1911 pistol.
I would recommend the purchase of "COBRA" 1911 magazines from www.trippresearch.com
I would "NEVER" buy anything made by Para Ordnance aka "PARA"
I would not buy anything made by Charles Daly.
I would not buy anything Made by "FN"
I would not buy any 1911 pistol made by "BROWN"
THE ONLY 1911 PISTOL THAT I WOULD BUY IS THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY BASIC PARKERIZED VERSION OF THE 1911, I LIKE THE BASIC G.I. VERSION THE VERY BEST. Steve Camp and I will be taking names for PROJECT STREET GUN NUMBER 6.
I would not buy any Ruger Semi Auto made in current production when I can buy a Glock. As for the new Ruger Mk III - in my opinion this is a disaster, the Mk II was an excellent 22 long rifle semi auto pistol and they just ruined there handgun in general by going to the new Mk III adding springs and features that are not necessary.
I would not hesitate to buy the Ruger SP101 or the Ruger GP100 current production revolver but my interest with Ruger stops there. MY OPINION ONLY...
Ruger has not been living in the real world of what people really want because if they came out with a light weight SP101 it would be a top rated seller. Maybe its time for change in management at the Ruger company. For years Ruger has had the Mini 14 rifle that is not accurate by other stardards, if they had a match grade barrel on one model that would give 2 inch groups at 100 yards, I have no doubt it would be a top seller. I personally would not own a Mini 14 because of it not being accurate.
I would not buy any handgun made by Walther as I have no faith in them. The PPK and PPK/S are known as the JAM-O-MATIC. The plastic grips are so poor that they often crack and most any cleaning agent will eat them up. This is not a handgun for women or people with a large hand. I would not buy a Walther P99 as the polymer is eaten by methylene cloride.
Again the small semi auto pistols like the Keltecs and the Guardians would have to greatly improve before I would even give them a second look. I liked the concept of the Guardian and even GUN TEST MAGAZINE rated it poorly because the company cut corners to save money, ITS THAT SIMPLE. THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY. I am not here to make friends...Many of these owners think they know it all but time will tell who remains in business. Lets not forget that Larry Seecamp may now be worried about his compitition but he sure was not worried years ago when having 8 employees he still only had an answering machine where you could not leave a message or contact him, his seecamp 32 is poor inside and I am being kind to Larry. This is my personal opinion, I see no reason for me to ever buy a Seecamp product.
Once this government shuts down the sale of guns and ammo and declares Martial law, these big shot people will have no more operational companies and their future in the gun business and related publications is over. Do not think that this could not happen over nite so use common sense and get only what works and what you need now. YOU MUST ONLY BUY PROVEN PRODUCTS THAT HAVE BEEN OPERATIONAL FOR YEARS AND WHERE ACCESSORIES ARE READILY AVAILABLE.
I have worked on many mini semi auto pistols and the only one I ever kept was an old Colt Mustang which is very superior to the Seecamp and the Keltec and the Guardian. Most of these manufacturers lose their shirt when you return a pistol for warranty work because of the cost of paying the factory worker and the return shipping, there goes their profit margin. I can no longer feel sorry for the companies that go bankrupt, but I do feel very bad for the honest hard working personnel that they employ that go down with them.
I do not buy anything made by KAHR. I do not like their design of their trigger bar spring. I think they could be improved but no one would listen to you or me so why bother. If you take your Kahr pistol and make sure it is empty while the slide is in battery hold the gun sideways and while the trigger is fully forward you can still take your finger and push the trigger forward about 1/4 of an inch. This does not apply to their Elite 98 model which is the best model they make. They are all over priced in my opinion and why would I buy one of these Kahrs when I can buy a superior Glock pistol that costs less, that is flawless in operation right out of the box.
Where most of you get sucked in is in reading gun puplications from writers and editors that will never say anything bad about a high dollar advertiser and who knows which writers or editors are getting free guns. THIS AGAIN IS STRICTLY MY OPINION. ALSO TAKING ADVICE FROM UNKNOWN "EXPERTS" ON A GUN FORUM IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
The best buy in America continues to be the "MAKAROV" pistol. It is true they are harder to find these days and ammunition may be harder to find but this design which contains approx. 25 to 30 parts is superb. This is not a handgun to overlook and I recommend the original Russian Caliber of 9x18mm only. The East German model is the gun of choice but they are few of them left and all are in used condition. I wrote a 7 part article on this superior weapon and if you want me to post the link just let me know. MY MAKAROV ARTICLES START HERE http://actionsbytx.blogspot.com/2004/11/makarov-part-1.html
after you read this, there are 6 more articles following this initial artical, which is all about the makarov pistol.
THE NEXT SUBJECT IS A CLEANING AGENT as many people still do not know how to clean their guns and they simply do not care. The very best product I have found is LPS MICRO "X" which is an electrical contact cleaner that is safe for plastic. I have never found anything better. It must be purchased from an industrial supply. www.lpslabs.com
The next subject is LUBRICATION and I still maintain my knowledge that nothing is better than "MILITEC".. That is my lubrication of choice. www.militec-1.com
The next subject is a tactical flashlight. Surefire flashlights are top of the line. There are others that are superb such as my favorite "BLACKHAWK GLADIUS" with a strobe effect. Other top rated lights remaining are Streamlight and Inova and Pentagon light. You can find anything I mention by doing a search for it on Google.
This last subject that I will cover is tactical knives of which the link to my tactical knife blogger is at the very bottom of this commentary. NO ONE MAKES A SHARPER KNIFE THAN COLD STEEL. I like many of their models, but the best for the money is their RECON 1 model.
I like the way they have mastered the heat treating process and the cryogenically freezing process that gives you the sharpest knife I have ever had. www.coldsteel.com
Other good brands are BENCHMADE and SOG and CRKT and MICRO TECH, etc, but I strongly tell you not to trust a liner lock unless its one from COLD STEEL or a CRKT model M16. Spyderco mades a good knife but their handles are too slick in stainless steel for even serious consideration. They just do not seem to care. Again my very first choice is Cold Steel.
FOR HOLSTERS GO TO www.lightningarms.com
buy the Milt Sparks holsters from Craig or Audrey Chadwick. They are a wonderful company to buy from.
Hope this commentary that has taken me many days to type is of benefit to you. You can always reach me most any day after 10 am central time on my land line 281 565 6977.
Hope you all have a happy and safe NEW YEAR. Never carry any ammunition unless you seal your primers.
Teddy
Trigger Specialist / Actions by "T"
Teddy Jacobson - Pistolsmith
281 565 6977
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