KingPerformance said:
I have no idea what you just said. It might as well be in Russian.
Thanks, I wanted Janq's opinion because he not only explains in simple English what he likes, why he likes it, he also explains other options available.
Is the EAA Witness a 1911 style gun? Or just a 1911 inspired gun? The idea is to become familiar with 1911's through first hand experience. I am constantly coming across them and to be honest I don't even know how to take one down for a simple cleaning. They are 100% foreign to me other than firing a few. I will more than likely be picking up a Fortis Bren Ten when they finally come out, but not the first batch and not until they have been proven to be a solid gun.
Excellent advice on the throated barrel. Something I did not know. I would like to stay with 10mm.
Sorry, I was trying to crank out a really fast reply in between watching the Flyers last night.
Most 1911s that you find in 10mm are going to be the full sized Government variety (5" barrel) and frame cut for a standard sized 7 (or 8) round magazine. I like the checkered front strap, specifically at 20 LPI because it provides a very aggressive, positive grip on the gun whether shooting under ideal conditions, with hands that are cold, gloved or wet.
My trigger preference is just that, a preferance. On a 1911 I like something at the 4-5 lb pull mark, but if it goes as high as 6, I can live with it. Teh skeletonized commander is a lightweight hammer that must be used in conjunction with a beavertail (the doohickey that goes into the thumb/palm web of your), a standard spur hammer as found on the old WWII era Colts will not work with this type of hammer. I like an extended single sided safety for ease of manipulation and for the serrrated surface, again for ease of manipulation. I have nothing against an ambidexterous safety, but being right handed, I have no use for a thumb safety on the right side of the gun, all of my 1911's except for two, however have the extended ambidexterous variety. My preference for checkered rosewood grips is both functional and aesthetic. I prefer wood grips on a 1911 as opposed to rubber or composite, and the checkered surface also aids in positive grip on the gun.
I don't like front cocking serrations (although all but one of my 1911s has them) since they tend to tear up the inside of a leather holster a little faster, and some say they slow draw time due to an additional rough surface having to come out of the leather.
A standard GI recoil system is simply the short recoil guide rod and solid end plug that the gun was originally designed for as opposed to the 'new fangled' one piece guide rods that are supposed to reduce muzzle flip, etc. I have a couple of guns with full length rods and don't see that much of a difference between them and the standard GI assembly.
The Smith and Alexander Magazine well that I like is to facilitate easier reloading without looking at what you're doing. It basically just takes the mag well cut into the frame and creates an extended funnel. It does add length to the gun's grip however, so if you're a small guy like me, you have to be careful when adding these to a gun.
Sights being bar/dot tritium is just a front tritium night dot on the front sight and horizontal tritium night bar on the rear sight. This aids in generating faster sight alignment as compared to say, a three dot sight set up.
When it comes to sizes of 1911's you have the Government (5" barrel) with 7 round standard mags, the Commander, (4.25" barrel) with 7 round mags, and Officer (3.5" barrel) with 6 round mags. The Government and Commander sized pistols use the standard GI or one piece guide rod assemblies, and the Officer sized pistols use the captive recoil assembly and a bull barrel (no barrel bushing).