Gentlemen, Pictures in this post are reserved for "Gun Gallery Porn"


SGB




Its been a while since I put a thread up to show some of the new 1911's we've gotten in at the GUN GALLERY. I'm really only going to comment on the aesthetics of the guns.

First is a Nighthawk GRP with their Black Diamond finish and OD VZ grips. This one was brought in on trade for the gun below and got sold just briefly after we took the pic!


We also got another Vickers in, this one was with a Heine rear sight and ambi safety. I can't believe the price jump these just took. They were expensive before, now they are tremendously expensive.


We ordered a GRP Recon in Nighthawks Tan finish, this is one of my favorite guns in the case right now. Only because its a little different that anything you might see normally. Sweet!


This Wilson Stainless Classic just also recently sold and is sitting in the safe waiting to be picked up. I like the Diamondwood grips on the stainless!


Recently got a two tone Protector as well. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the stainless slide with black frame look though... I think I like the stainless frame with black slide a little more. I do however like the Cocobolo's on the two tone.


This is another of my favorites in the case right now; Wilson CQB Compact. Officer frame with 4" barrel (commanderish?). I like diamondwood (greyish black) grips on the black too!


Moving on to Ed Brown, I've got two that are a little similar. First is a previously owned, but unfired Executive Elite. This is the kind of two tone I like! Stainless frame, with black slide and wood grips... nice. This slide was sent to Nighthawk to have their Black Diamond finish applied, its one of the toughest finishes I have come across.


Same gun (sort of) only smaller. Executive Carry two tone and wood grips. The Executive comes with the bobtail, a feature I've come to see really turns some people off. But those who like it, seem to really like it. Me? I like it!


Earlier last week we got one of Ed Browns new Jim Wilson Specials in. It's already sold. This really isn't my style, but there's no denying how smooth and clean this gun is. Very clean lines, few markings, Tru-Ivory grips (not real ivory, but a *lot* nicer than the cheap imitations).


Only one new Les Baer, but it is a sweet gun. Custom Carry in Stainless. The grips on this one have a very nice grain to them. The barrel-bushing fit on this one is T-I-G-H-T, just like about every other Baer we've seen come through. The whole gun is stainless, but I'm wondering why they finish the barrel (not the hood) black? Anyone know?


That's it for the semi-custom gee wiz guns... now for a few standard production guns, all of them still pretty sweet!

First I'll put our best selling 1911. I'll always try to switch guns up a little once we sell a few, but this is one someone is always looking to pick up. Colt's XSE series Combat Commander. We sell two or three of these to any other 1911 in the case. I like the 4.25" barrel with bushing and front slide serrations, but there's a few things about the gun I'd personally change, (like the grip safety, serrated MSH and smooth front strap). But for the money, I can see why it sells as much as it does.


Springfield Lightweight commander. Another pretty affordable commanderish size (4" barrel). With the aluminum frame and .25" shorter barrel, this is a pretty easy gun to carry. I personally like the green/black two tone, but am not big on Houge (or Houge like) grips on a 1911. That's easy enough to change. Another gun with a smooth front strap and serrated MSH. I guess this is where these guns come in with price tags less than many other guns with checkered front straps and MSH's.


Springfield's new TRP with adjustable night sights and short rail. There's a gap on the rear of the slide for the adjustable n/s which seems like its a little larger than it needs to be, but other than that, this is a pretty smooth gun.


Recently got in another Springfield Stainless TRP. I think the next 1911 I want to get is an all stainless, I like this one quite a bit! Like the one above, it has the super aggressive 20 lpi checkering on the front strap, feels like a cheese grater!


Kimber Stainless Gold Combat. Probably one of my favorites in our normal .45 case. I'd rather it were a traditional series 70, but I just like the look and feel of this one. Its out of their custom shop, so has a few pretty nice upgrades like checkering on the trigger guard, extended magwell, nicer fit between slide, frame, barrel, bushing etc, as well as a nicer feeling trigger. I just think its pretty smooth and classic looking.


Kimber Target Match. Apparently its a limited edition. It is another Custom Shop gun so has the nice, smooth feel to it as the Stainless Gold Match, but I cant really say I'm a big fan of the giant slide serrations or target sights. But I'm sure someone loves it.


I'm scared of 3" 1911's. I've seen so many of them have reliability issues that I typically don't carry them at all in the shop. We've sold a few of these new RCP II's and so far they have been working. If they continue to be as reliable as the ones we've sold previously, this is a pretty cool gun. It's tiny, its thin, its smooth (except for the bobbed hammer when its in condition 1). Great little carry gun with 7+1 rounds of .45.


That's all the new stuff! Here's a few that have sold in the last little while.

Nighthawk 10-8 gun... probably one of my favorites that they make.


Les Baer Thunder Ranch Comanche, we put a pair of thin VZ Gators on this one. They offered more texture than the original wood grips that come with it.


Here's another one of the Thunder Ranch Comanche's that sold with the regular grips.


Ed Brown Kobra, I like his snakeskin pattern of the Kobra series.


Here's a Kobra Carry, the guy who bought it also bought a pair of VZ grips... nice!


Here's the guy who made it all happen... our very own SGB. More than a year ago, he and another guy were looking all over town for a NICE 1911 to buy. At the time, I think all I had to show him was a decent Colt XSE, Kimber TLE or Warrior or Springfield TRP. Nothing really nice. We probably talked for an hour about how no one in town had anything really nice to show them. He suggested we pick up a few nice ones and sooner or later, people would come in for them. Well, it happened sooner rather than later. As soon as we picked about 3 up, they all sold. Now there's a separate case in the shop for guns (mostly 1911's) that start at about $1700 and go up to over $3k. And to our surprise, they are moving practically as well as anything else. Ironic enough, here he is putting together a plastic Euro-gun for us (HK USP 45). All of us in the shop like those too!

Thats another thread for another forum!

The shop is a lot different than it was a few years back. I dont own the place, I dont even like to call myself the manager. I dont really manage the guys very well. I just make sure to keep resupplying the shelves. We are really very fortunate and Steve couldn't have been more correct about the 1911's. We've had people come in from all over the state and even out of state a couple times to buy the high end 1911's. I dont know how a lot of the people hear we have them, but Im very greatful for everyone who comes in no matter where they are from!

My favorite part of the job is ordering new things to put on the shelf. I wouldnt be able to do it if no one bought anything! It's a weird feeling I havent really been able to describe. I know when I order something the idea is to get things people like so they will buy them. But when you order nice stuff, and it sells right away, you almost hate to see it go. With guns that are easy to come by, its not so bad, but cool guns that you order and sometimes wait a long time for... you miss them when they sell.

Originally Posted By RolandofGilead: Well, I think it's a great idea since many people are reluctant to order a $1500+ pistol sight unseen. Too bad Florida is a bit too long a drive to look at a gun for me

I dont think I've had one of the high end 1911's from Brown, Baer, Wilson or Nighthawk thats been under $1600. the great majority of them hover between $1900 and $2200 with a few of them costing a little more and a very few of them costing a lot more.

I'll try to get a picture of a couple of the others that have sold recently, there's a few more pretty nice Nighthawks, including a couple Talon IV's (offcier size) that I thought were cool. Most of the people who buy them come in pretty regular, I'm sure they wouldnt mind having the pictures taken. I'll see.

Originally Posted By rickcis: Great Pistols!!! The one thing I don't understand is why 1911 makers are not putting on more light rails on their combat weapons.  It seems that if they put on a light rail, they get to charge $500 more for the pistol In my opinion, a light/laser rail is a prerequisite for a home defense pistol!!.

Many of them have rail models. Wilson, Nighthawk, and Les Baer certainly do. I dont think Brown does. Of course Kimber and Springield have models with rails as well.

Dont be jealous, jealousy is your being envious of someone else for something. The majority of the guns pictured arent owned by anyone yet. Well, I guess my boss owns them!

This thread really makes my wallet feel lighter.

Originally Posted By Lumpy196: This thread makes me happy

I dont remember how long ago it was, but it was probably at least a couple years, Lumpy asked me something like "when are you going to get rid of that plastic euro-gun and get a US made gun?"... something like that. For years I carried a HK USP .45, I still own two. While I had shot and even owned a Kimber from about 2000, its only more recently I've come to really, REALLY like 1911's! I have a feeling thats what he was reffering to.

Here's some more pics of guns that have sold in the last several weeks from guys who have come in over the last couple days, and a few that I had taken but not posted.

Springfield TRP, this is the guys everyday carry gun. The new black/grey warthog grips are nice, but these older style ones are pretty classy too;
\

Kimber Warrior with some of the OD Crimson Trace Laser grips. Im glad these are finally available seperate in OD and Tan!


I may have posted this one a while back, because I liked it so much. Another Stainless TRP that the guy bought a pair of gunner grips for. The Gunner Grips and the 20lpi checkering gave this thing a VERY aggressive grip. Some people would hate it, I liked it!


Here's a Springfield MC Operator and a Colt Special Combat. The Colt is still here. I really dont like it nearly as much as their Gunsite Special. Im sad Colt isnt making the Gunsite model anymore, I liked it. The MC Operator is cool, we always sell them soon after they come in.


Here's a Springfield EMP and a Kimber Aegis II. I have yet to shoot one although we sell them as often as they arrive. The black finish on the Kimber is really pretty substandard. Wears off very easy. The EMP finish is stronger and the gun overall is smaller.


Here's a Nighthawk Talon II we sold to one of the local Jaguar players. He loves it, bought the matching holster as well!


Another Vickers... this was one we sold before the price increase! Standard safety and Novak's on this one.


A pretty customized Talon Recon. Black Diamond finish, Bobtail, barrel cut clush with bushing, ambi safety, hand stippling. Pretty nice.


One of the guys who bought a tiny Talon IV came in. I like these, they are small without being too small. This would be an AWESOME carry gun. This one is for you guys who say the carry gun deserves a magwell and not a bobtail!


Thats all the ones I have for now. If more people come in with cool guns that have sold, I'll snap a shot and add it. When more cool guns come in I'll do the same. The only thing new Im expecting now is a Wilson Proffessional. Anyday now....

And Here is one I bought out of the Gun Gallery

Well, not the VERY first one... Over the 4 years I've been here there's been quite a few that have come and gone one at a time. I recall Wilson's, Nowlin's, Les Baer's, Ed Brown's and some others. Im sure there's been quite a bit more from the 10 years the place has been here before me. But like I said, they were always one at a time.

I know what you mean about that Colt Ken... Its a pretty nice looking gun, the nickle and dark blue are nice, the grips also set it off well. I like the wide safety on it, but the sights dont seem to match. Honestly, I guess maybe the sight do match, it has a lot of what I would think are competition parts on it. Maybe its the name thats off? One way or the other, I think "something" is off. But Im new to this.

I've got one of the Pro Rail guns on order, but there's no telling when it might show up!

Another customer came in with one of the cutom Talon II's he bought. Talon II with VZ Grips, Bobtail and hand stippling to the front and backstrap.

Here's a link to of a similar thread, but about the ARs on the wall in the pic of SGB:

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=317522&page=1

Well, it does make it hard to save much money. Im trying though. Many of the better manufacturers make it even harder on employees by offering employee purchase discounts that are even lower than normal dealer cost. There's always something on the list you want.

Nothing awesome, but we sold a pair of VZ Executive's to a guy with a standard GI Springfield. Man, the color matched the parkerizid gun very well! He opted for some stainless VZ screws as well. He might have taken a set of black if I had them!



Sorry for the blurry pic...

Guy who bought the previously pictured Vickers just put some pretty wicked VZ grips on them. When I saw John (of VZ grips) at the shot show, he was displaying a piar I had never seen. They were like Gators, but with a different pattern. I asked him to send me a pair to try. I hadnt had these in the shop for 15 or 20 minutes before they got bought up. They are called ALIENS. I like em! I've ordered some more already.

Guy bought that RCP II pictured on the first page, but didnt like the grips. I agreed. RCP II comes with thin grips, so I showed him what I had. Some basic Mahogony thin grips for an officer, and a couple pair of thin VZ Gators for an officer. He was really thinking he liked Houge grips. I did have some Houge wrap arounds for an officer and showed him those. I didnt tell him I really disliked Houge's on a 1911, but when he said he liked the rubber texture, I showed him a pair of CTC Laser grips. He liked those best.


Got one of the new Kimber Pro Covert guns in the other day as well. Its an aluminum frame with digi-cam CTC laser grips. The only way to get those laser grips is to buy this gun. Kimber makes it in all four of their gun sizes, (govt, comander, officer and officer frame with comander slide). People either seem to love it or hate it. I kinda like it.

Standard VZ grips have standard thickness. to look at these, they have the same dimensions as any other set of Gator Back grips. But the offset texture gives them quite a different feel. I like them a lot. I've ordered some more in OD and Black. John said OD, Black and Tan were all in stock. they might not be listed on the site, but he has them. I think they're great.

VZ GRIPS

Sorry to say we didn't sell this one (he brought it with him), but it belongs to a guy who comes in a few times a week. Wilson Tactical Elite with Dawson rail, Gunner Grips and SF W117 military light with DG switch. Kick ass!

Is this the email you tried?

[email protected]

I use that one all the time to get in touch with John.