Guys, I am planning to put some money into my ROC and wondered if you could review my list of planned changes and maybe recommend things I should consider. First off, I should say the gun has been absolutely reliable and I'm not sure I want to spend money to fix something that isn't broken. I suspect any burrs will remove themselves as the gun breaks in. Here are the changes I have in mind: Novak black rear sight Gold bead SACS front sight Trigger job using existing parts and with no reduction in trigger weight Pin ejector Radical melt Checker front strap @ 25 LPI Steel SACS MSH Undercut trigger guard Ceracote frame and slide If you think I have missed something I should consider, or think I'm wasting money on something unnecessary, please tell me. This will be a primary carry gun.
Relying on a primary carry gun to "break in" is a no-no. Here's what happens: You put 1000 rounds through the gun. This raises metal every place that rubbing or battering occurs. The gun is now out of spec even though it feels smoother. The factory hammer and sear (I know you said you would do this, but I'm being complete for the sake of the broader audience), generally not plane and parallel, wear until they are hanging on by a corner of the sear - Man, it feels good, until the corner wears away. You should not undercut the trigger guard because it interferes with the hold. If anything, you should undercut the grip safety and rear tangs to get the gun to sit lower. The melt will round the front strap near the mag release, improving the hold slightly. This undercut trigger thing was as poor an idea as the squared and checkered trigger guard. Jim Hoag even said that the SQ/CHK trigger guard was solely for looks - It gave the smith a chance to show off his welding and filing skills. Break the points on the checkering slightly. You want it to prevent slipping, not to saw lumber. The gold bead should be flush, or it will hang up on everything. Get a short, GI style trigger with a smooth rounded face. The SA trigger can be shaped to a very nice, smooth profile. You want your finger to naturally find the center of the trigger. Tell the gunsmith to set the trigger to exactly 5 pounds, unless you have fat fingers, which should get 7 pounds. A crisp trigger feels much lighter. Warn the person doing the Cerakote that you want the surface prepped perfectly. No point in spending all that money to get an Earl Scheib job. And after all that, you can still cry, because your gun is not going to look like this:
Thanks for your reply Pokute. I was counting on your input. Regarding the Ceracote preparation, are you referring to having the gun's surface polished? Or just reasonably smooth. When performing the melt, I'm not sure they actually smooth all the gun's surfaces, like the slide sides, for example. Recessing the gold dot sure makes sense. I sure wouldn't want to lose it. Regarding the trigger, are you suggesting I have SACS remove the serrations on the stock trigger? Regarding burrs and break-in, I'm not sure what you mean in paragraph one. It seems the issues you point out are unavoidable. My point was that, during use, burrs on contact surfaces will wear away and, therefore, there was no point in paying someone at SACS to smooth them. What am I missing?
Yes, I think the serrations should be removed from the stock trigger. As for the prepping, the better it's done, the better the Cerakote will look. Tell them you want it smooth as a baby's behind. Burrs don't wear away without the energy to wear them away coming from some other contact. Think of prying off a bottlecap - You run the risk of chipping the lip of the bottle. At the same time, battering, which is unavoidable, will raise new burrs. Experienced gunsmiths know where burrs are likely to be found in a new gun, and where to file a teeny bit off to prevent battering. I have seen several Beautiful 70's Gold Cups with burrs in the sear spring channel that caused the grip safety to stick permanently in the firing position. I think you should at least get a quote from Wilson Combat before committing to the SA custom shop - I talked to them recently and they refused to let me talk to the custom shop manager. When I built my own custom gun, I filed all burrs off. Then I put 1000 rounds through it, and filed all battering off. After well over 10k rounds, it has developed no new battering, The bushing is still perfectly tight, etc. This is the gun I built - Took me three years!:
A full melt 1911 looks like a million bucks. I've seen pics of some spectacular melt jobs - Clark's were the best. Wilson's is pretty close, if you tell them to just go crazy.
Well, it's on the way to SACS. Pokute, I did look at the Wilson Combat site but decided on continuing with SA. Amanda at SA has been very helpful, through numerous telephone and email conversations, and I would have felt bad for her had I gone elsewhere.
Can't wait to be able to take the pics. Wait time will be 10-12 weeks. Guy's my age shouldn't buy green bananas. Hope I get to see the gun before my son does.
