Iver Johnson "Thrasher"

[Kodadek]

Originally Posted by Siscowet985

Fit and finish are excellent on both. Yes the Eagle has adjustable Bomar type sights. I just got back into 1911's after 30 years away, and found the Iver Johnson's to be what I think is one of the best values. It is my understanding that they are hand fitted at SAM in the Phillipines. Will give a fuller report later in the week.

Yeah, they're SAM products, had a friend with an SAM Elite and that was nifty gun. Hard to find, had a raised flat on the top of the slide and it was just a murky blue, looked black and hard and handled wonderfully. ATI also imports SAM firearms as well know, I think Century still imports the straight up SAM models but I cannot vouch for that. A place up this way called Fleet Farm sells some Century imports like the Arcus 98 and 98C and some of their AKs so I figure I'll ask them if they still import.

[ANTS1911]

I actually own the Iver Johnson 5 inch barrel. Picked it up for 399 on sale 3 days ago and have taken it to the local range here and I loved it! Nice kick and not too bad handling. A lot of people Just sat and watched. Very impressive.

[Siscowet985]

Just got back from the range. Thrasher is accurate, but not as accurate as the Eagle. Shooting 230 Gr Federal Round Ball. It would hold a 4 inch group at 20 yards. Needs new sights however, they shoot high and to the right, Substantially. Am going to look for adjustable Novak sights. Kick is not all that much more then the Eagle. Shot the Eagle again today. What can I say, that gun is just great to shoot. I am impressed with these pistols. By the way Mills Fleet Farm is great. It's the store Sears Roebuck was 50 years ago. I am not that far away from you Kodadek.

[Kodadek]

Originally Posted by Siscowet985

Just got back from the range. Thrasher is accurate, but not as accurate as the Eagle. Shooting 230 Gr Federal Round Ball. It would hold a 4 inch group at 20 yards. Needs new sights however, they shoot high and to the right, Substantially. Am going to look for adjustable Novak sights. Kick is not all that much more then the Eagle. Shot the Eagle again today. What can I say, that gun is just great to shoot. I am impressed with these pistols. By the way Mills Fleet Farm is great. It's the store Sears Roebuck was 50 years ago. I am not that far away from you Kodadek.

Yeah, Mills is great, the Man's Mall as I call it. Anything from guns to light fixtures, bags of nuts, old fashioned candy, I get my Carhartt's there, feed, my dad buys a lot of filters for his Ford 8N right from that locale. I hate shopping but I can spend a day or two in Fleet. Dad used to buy my Ertel farm stuff there as well. Now that they carry handguns I vist even more and I buy their WPA 7.62x39 steel cased ammo for an SKS my dad owns from time to time. 4.89 per box. Plus all the AR-15 goodies really makes it worth the trip. Still like L&M and a few other Fleet Supplies but I have real fond memories of Fleet Farm...wonder if I ever got hitched if I could have my wedding there?

Where'd you pick up your Iver Johnsons? Online? Or is there actually a dealer I somehow missed?

[rakerr1]

Originally Posted by Siscowet985

Thrasher # 00012 I now have Thrasher #00014. Thanks all of you for your posts I read them before ordering it. Haven't taken it out to the range but I love the look. Bought an Iver Johnson Eagle two months ago, and it shot a 2 inch group at 20 yards with 230 gr generic ball ammo. One reason I looked at the Thrasher when looking for a CC weapon. Will be happy if the 3 inch barrel comes close to that. Will give a full report after I hit the range this week.

I was sweetly surprised at the low SN (#00012), but since the world is supposed to end on 12/21/12 I wonder if my SN is some sort of omen? I too was in love with the looks and the fit and finish is excellent, I'll be attending my CCW class tomorrow so I'll get a chance to put a 100 rounds or so through with three different magazines. I checked them for cycling (load/eject) and all three work flawlessly, but beware; GI 7rd mags don't want to work as they refuse to feed and jam the slide open so you have to pull back on the slide several times before they will go in the chamber. I have an ACT-MAG in both 7 & 8rd versions and a Kimber 7rd and they function perfectly.

I hope you enjoy your #14, I'm looking forward to shooting mine!

Best regards...
Rich

[rakerr1]

Well I just got home from the range and after putting 100 rounds through my Thrasher I am very happy with its performance. Even though it is a compact 1911 with a 3" barrel I found the recoil to be no more than my RIA1911A1 with 230Gr FMJ, very managable. How ever GI magazines do not feed properly while my 2 ACT-MAG's and the Kimber compact mag I bought worked perfectly in the gun so it's kind of picky as to how you feed it. I would have no problems recomending it as a great entry level carry gun that you can rely on. Since this was part of my CCW class I was with about 8 other shooters, I was the only one there with a 1911 .45cal pistol. Every body else was shooting 9mm's, I'm not knocking the 9mm but I firmly believe in "Go big or go home!"

Best regards,

Rich

[surgicaltech]

Just my .02 cents. I have an Iver Johnson Hawk and couldn't be happier with it. It's extremely accurate and with 400 rounds of Winchester FMJ, I've had zero failures. I carry this gun daily with no issues. I traded my Springfield Mil-Spec in on it and honestly haven't regretted it. For me at least, it fits my hand and is a lot more comfortable to shoot than the Springfield......Mike....

[Siscowet985]

Had the sight drifted over today by a gunsmith. At 25 yards off a rest it is right on with 230 gr FMJ. Mine did not have the Novak style sights like in the Iver Johnsons website picture. Also mine was completely brushed stainless, instead of a mix of brushed and polished like their website shows. I like this better. Kodadek, I just had my gun store order it from their wholesaler who had it in stock. Switched to smooth rosewood grips on my Eagle. Just my preference, for full size 1911's I like smooth grips. Looks very classic now, still tack driver accurate. Now I got to get some bargains on 45 ACP ammo, gave up reloading 12 years ago.

[Siscowet985]

By the way CDNN has 7 rd ACT MAGs for 17.44 each. Same as it came with. Also picked up a DeSanti Viper CC paddle holster for it. Ordered the one for the Colt Officer. A tight fit, but it is starting to loosen up.

[Siscowet985]

After reading the ATI Titan thread, it will be interesting to see if any recoil spring rod issues develop as the thrasher and Titan are very similar and both made by SAM. Hope not

[ShootnStr8]

Originally Posted by Siscowet985

After reading the ATI Titan thread, it will be interesting to see if any recoil spring rod issues develop as the thrasher and Titan are very similar and both made by SAM. Hope not

Speak of the devil. I've had a couple of issues with the recoil assembly in my Thrasher. The first was after around 400 rounds. The philips screw that holds it together just broke while I was firing the pistol. Thank God it happened on the last round. The shop I bought the pistol from quickly got the part replaced (the philips screw) and I was back to shooting again. About 250 rounds later that same screw had beat up against the junction where the barrel link meets the barrel so bad that the barrel link was no longer able to swivel. Once again locking up the slide rendering the pistol useless. My gun shop actually replaced the entire pistol after seeing what had happened. Having that screw on the recoil assembly like that was really a horrible design flaw. I replaced it with a Kimber recoil assembly. It ran great with absolutely no damage to the barrel or barrel link but it too broke after a few 100 rounds.

[Carbon Bigfoot]

Glad you guys are having better luck with yours than I did with mine. Had multiple issues with the Thrasher I bought and it spent more time in the shop than in my possession. Lost all faith in the weapon after the last failure on the range and knew I would not ever carry it; so I returned it and got a S&W.

[XinTX]

I have the ATI version. I used the Kimber recoil assembly with the re-worked reverse plug. I had more issues with the reverse plug than the recoil assembly. But the stock recoil spring was quite weak. Several feed failures until it was replaced. Seems like every spring in this thing was a weakling. I've replaced just about everything save the sear spring. But now it runs fine.

[Kodadek]

Originally Posted by Siscowet985

After reading the ATI Titan thread, it will be interesting to see if any recoil spring rod issues develop as the thrasher and Titan are very similar and both made by SAM. Hope not

They're nearly identical in the pictures. Someone should go out and buy both and do a side by side comparison....

Not it!

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I am not a fan of compact 1911s. I keep noticing that no matter the maker it seems like shorty models have the largest number of issues though some people swear by them. If I was going to get a compact auto that was reliable I would go outside the 1911 family (I apologize outright for being a heretic) though once again some folks seem to like/love them and report awesome reliability.

[Siscowet985]

I bought the Thrasher as a specific purpose weapon. Something smaller for CCW carry when my Sig or Eagle are just too big. As such now that I have gotten used to it, I doubt that I will continue to use it for routine shooting. I agree with Kodadek in that I doubt the three inch 1911's have the stamina to last, especially with full power loads. In handling its not that different from the Eagle, so that will be my preferred range gun. Like I said, a couple boxes a year through the Thrasher is probably all I will do from now on. Just enough to stay proficient if I need it.