Introduction:
Welcome to the Severns Custom 2011 “Thunder In The West Shoot-Out! Before I get started, a few notes and house-keeping details. First, as with past shoot-outs, please understand that this article will include a lot of photo and video insertions, and typing. As such, due to photo limitations per post, I’ll have to upload several, consecutive posts. Between posts, I respectfully ask that you refrain from interjecting except at designated intervals, simply so as to keep this going as if it were one, continuous article. Everyone wants to read all the various members’ input, and there will definitely be time for that, as well… OK? Thanks!
A note or two about the guns used, and the evaluation, in general. As with past shoot-outs, this is a “for fun” evaluation of various 1911 pistols, for entertainment purposes only. In every case, it evaluates only one gun of each model, and it is very important to stress that PISTOLS OF THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL OFTEN VARY IN QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE FROM SAMPLE GUN TO SAMPLE GUN. Further, this evaluation is far, far from scientific, and it is admittedly limited in scope. On the other hand, it is a real world test, conducted at the gunsmith’s bench as well as outside, in real world conditions. I do this simply as a way to give back a little to the forum that has done so much for me over the years, to say “thank you”. Now, to potentially save you some time, if you're looking for me to declare a “winner”, please stop reading right now, and go back to reading your favorite gun rag. It ain't gonna happen! I'm not doing this to say so-and-so is “best”. Frankly, in my opinion, there is no such thing. I'm simply going to share with you an evaluation of the features and performance of the guns tested, and (hopefully) provide you some relevant information that will allow you to draw your own conclusions. Your ultimate conclusions matter, not mine.
Please consider that I have tried to do my best to remain unbiased throughout these evaluations. I recognize that, to those who don‘t know me, this may come across as a hollow-promise. However, those who know me well know that, although I moderate an internet forum for a specific brand of 1911, in reality I really don’t care about brand names or “Ford vs. Chevy” type debates. I find blind brand loyalty to be just that; blind (and perhaps a wee bit humorous...). I am an engineer and a gunsmith, and look at these pistols as machines. Some work better than others, and that is just the way it is. In this particular shoot-out, note that my shop sells ALL of the brands being evaluated here. Personally, I like each of the brands represented here, and I respect those who are manufacturing them. As such, were I to write this evaluation with an ulterior motive, I'd really be cutting off my nose to spite my face.
I view my mission here as to show you what features and performance you might expect to purchase with your hard-earned dollar, without regard to hype and sales pitches. I’m going to try to simply report facts and figures as they exhibited themselves during my evaluation, and will try not to associate those findings with colorful adjectives and sales claims like you’re bound to find in some magazine. You’re big boys and girls, so how ‘bout I just show you what I found, and y’all can take it from there. To help keep me on the straight and narrow, all shooting was witnessed by individuals who have no connection to any manufacturer, nor to this forum. I have nothing to gain by doing this, other than sharing some time with friends doing what we all love to do, and to also perhaps help the 1911forum membership make the decisions that are best for them.
Feel free to draw whatever conclusions you desire from this evaluation. It makes no difference whatsoever to me, as long as you enjoy what we have done. Further, understand that no one is giving me anything to do this testing or write-up. The guns are all owned either by myself, other forum members, and/or friends, and all ammo burned was either purchased or reloaded by yours truly. I have asked for neither consent nor compensation in ANY manner from any gun manufacturer for doing this simple evaluation.
Finally, some love and gratitude. To my wife, a big THANKS! for putting up with me through another shoot-out. For those that don’t know, finances dictate that I have to do these evaluations in addition to my normal (abnormal?) shop work. That means later nights and earlier mornings away from home than usual, and what seems like countless hours spent sorting through test targets, photos, and notes. Believe it or not, all this ‘fun’ can make a grouchy old pistolsmith a mite irritable and hard(er) to live with. Why she puts up with me, I’ll never understand. Love ya, sweetie!
And to my friends, clients, and fellow forum-ites who agreed to let me use your pistol for testing, my sincere thanks! I appreciate your willingness to participate and the trust you have put in me. You have my promise that your valued firearm has been treated with the utmost care, and also that it will be returned to you in a condition better than that in which it arrived!
OK, that’s all the ho-hum intro stuff…let’s get to it!
SEVERNS CUSTOM 2011 THUNDER IN THE WEST SHOOT-OUT!
This shoot-out has been in consideration for a long time, and follows a format different from past shoots, both with regard to the evaluations themselves, and also the presentation. Here, the objective is to test a “standard” versus an “enhanced” (or “high end”) model of a full-size (or “Government”) 1911, from each of three different manufacturers, each of whom enjoys a reputation for producing high quality, accurate guns. As such, the goal is not only to see how the different brands contrast, but also note some of the differences brought about by enhancing standard model 1911s. Is there any real difference between an upgraded gun and its standard cousin? Just what does that extra money buy you, anyway? Can you really tell a difference when shooting them? Interesting...? I hope so.
Note that, in past shoot-outs, I have included a few short videos, primarily of the Ransom Rest shooting, to allow folks to see the tests first-hand, as well as to prove that the shooting was actually conducted. These videos have generally been well-received, and I have received several requests to do videos of the bench evaluations of the pistols as well. Consider it done! In summary, you're going to see quite a few more videos this time than in the past. I hope this will meet your needs.
This shoot-out consists of several phases. Phase I consists of an introduction of the various competitors, along with a brief description of each. In Phase II, I will completely detail-strip each pistol down to its bare components. Each part of each gun will be evaluated from a 1911 pistolsmith‘s perspective, noting the “successes” and the “opportunities for improvement” in the build quality of each. In Phase III, we’ll tote each weapon from the shop to the remote, super-spy-secret Severns Custom outdoor range, and put them through their paces with regard to function, reliability, and accuracy in a mechanical “Ransom Rest”, with different ammunition types.
The majority of the guns tested are factory stock, with no modifications what-so-ever. Any modifications to any of the guns will be pointed out from the get-go. Most of the pistols were absolutely brand-new, fresh out of the factory wrapper. I opened ’em, I lubed ’em (without any disassembly), and I shot ’em. I also included a Severns Custom modified gun (at customer request), as I have done in the past, just to keep things interesting. My shoot...my rules!
Sound exciting? Hope so! Let’s get rolling…
Welcome to the Severns Custom 2011 “Thunder In The West Shoot-Out! Before I get started, a few notes and house-keeping details. First, as with past shoot-outs, please understand that this article will include a lot of photo and video insertions, and typing. As such, due to photo limitations per post, I’ll have to upload several, consecutive posts. Between posts, I respectfully ask that you refrain from interjecting except at designated intervals, simply so as to keep this going as if it were one, continuous article. Everyone wants to read all the various members’ input, and there will definitely be time for that, as well… OK? Thanks!
A note or two about the guns used, and the evaluation, in general. As with past shoot-outs, this is a “for fun” evaluation of various 1911 pistols, for entertainment purposes only. In every case, it evaluates only one gun of each model, and it is very important to stress that PISTOLS OF THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL OFTEN VARY IN QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE FROM SAMPLE GUN TO SAMPLE GUN. Further, this evaluation is far, far from scientific, and it is admittedly limited in scope. On the other hand, it is a real world test, conducted at the gunsmith’s bench as well as outside, in real world conditions. I do this simply as a way to give back a little to the forum that has done so much for me over the years, to say “thank you”. Now, to potentially save you some time, if you're looking for me to declare a “winner”, please stop reading right now, and go back to reading your favorite gun rag. It ain't gonna happen! I'm not doing this to say so-and-so is “best”. Frankly, in my opinion, there is no such thing. I'm simply going to share with you an evaluation of the features and performance of the guns tested, and (hopefully) provide you some relevant information that will allow you to draw your own conclusions. Your ultimate conclusions matter, not mine.
Please consider that I have tried to do my best to remain unbiased throughout these evaluations. I recognize that, to those who don‘t know me, this may come across as a hollow-promise. However, those who know me well know that, although I moderate an internet forum for a specific brand of 1911, in reality I really don’t care about brand names or “Ford vs. Chevy” type debates. I find blind brand loyalty to be just that; blind (and perhaps a wee bit humorous...). I am an engineer and a gunsmith, and look at these pistols as machines. Some work better than others, and that is just the way it is. In this particular shoot-out, note that my shop sells ALL of the brands being evaluated here. Personally, I like each of the brands represented here, and I respect those who are manufacturing them. As such, were I to write this evaluation with an ulterior motive, I'd really be cutting off my nose to spite my face.
I view my mission here as to show you what features and performance you might expect to purchase with your hard-earned dollar, without regard to hype and sales pitches. I’m going to try to simply report facts and figures as they exhibited themselves during my evaluation, and will try not to associate those findings with colorful adjectives and sales claims like you’re bound to find in some magazine. You’re big boys and girls, so how ‘bout I just show you what I found, and y’all can take it from there. To help keep me on the straight and narrow, all shooting was witnessed by individuals who have no connection to any manufacturer, nor to this forum. I have nothing to gain by doing this, other than sharing some time with friends doing what we all love to do, and to also perhaps help the 1911forum membership make the decisions that are best for them.
Feel free to draw whatever conclusions you desire from this evaluation. It makes no difference whatsoever to me, as long as you enjoy what we have done. Further, understand that no one is giving me anything to do this testing or write-up. The guns are all owned either by myself, other forum members, and/or friends, and all ammo burned was either purchased or reloaded by yours truly. I have asked for neither consent nor compensation in ANY manner from any gun manufacturer for doing this simple evaluation.
Finally, some love and gratitude. To my wife, a big THANKS! for putting up with me through another shoot-out. For those that don’t know, finances dictate that I have to do these evaluations in addition to my normal (abnormal?) shop work. That means later nights and earlier mornings away from home than usual, and what seems like countless hours spent sorting through test targets, photos, and notes. Believe it or not, all this ‘fun’ can make a grouchy old pistolsmith a mite irritable and hard(er) to live with. Why she puts up with me, I’ll never understand. Love ya, sweetie!
And to my friends, clients, and fellow forum-ites who agreed to let me use your pistol for testing, my sincere thanks! I appreciate your willingness to participate and the trust you have put in me. You have my promise that your valued firearm has been treated with the utmost care, and also that it will be returned to you in a condition better than that in which it arrived!
OK, that’s all the ho-hum intro stuff…let’s get to it!
SEVERNS CUSTOM 2011 THUNDER IN THE WEST SHOOT-OUT!
This shoot-out has been in consideration for a long time, and follows a format different from past shoots, both with regard to the evaluations themselves, and also the presentation. Here, the objective is to test a “standard” versus an “enhanced” (or “high end”) model of a full-size (or “Government”) 1911, from each of three different manufacturers, each of whom enjoys a reputation for producing high quality, accurate guns. As such, the goal is not only to see how the different brands contrast, but also note some of the differences brought about by enhancing standard model 1911s. Is there any real difference between an upgraded gun and its standard cousin? Just what does that extra money buy you, anyway? Can you really tell a difference when shooting them? Interesting...? I hope so.
Note that, in past shoot-outs, I have included a few short videos, primarily of the Ransom Rest shooting, to allow folks to see the tests first-hand, as well as to prove that the shooting was actually conducted. These videos have generally been well-received, and I have received several requests to do videos of the bench evaluations of the pistols as well. Consider it done! In summary, you're going to see quite a few more videos this time than in the past. I hope this will meet your needs.
This shoot-out consists of several phases. Phase I consists of an introduction of the various competitors, along with a brief description of each. In Phase II, I will completely detail-strip each pistol down to its bare components. Each part of each gun will be evaluated from a 1911 pistolsmith‘s perspective, noting the “successes” and the “opportunities for improvement” in the build quality of each. In Phase III, we’ll tote each weapon from the shop to the remote, super-spy-secret Severns Custom outdoor range, and put them through their paces with regard to function, reliability, and accuracy in a mechanical “Ransom Rest”, with different ammunition types.
The majority of the guns tested are factory stock, with no modifications what-so-ever. Any modifications to any of the guns will be pointed out from the get-go. Most of the pistols were absolutely brand-new, fresh out of the factory wrapper. I opened ’em, I lubed ’em (without any disassembly), and I shot ’em. I also included a Severns Custom modified gun (at customer request), as I have done in the past, just to keep things interesting. My shoot...my rules!
Sound exciting? Hope so! Let’s get rolling…