I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
I’d been wondering why the order was sitting. My first thought was that they didn’t have the gun in stock. I’ve seen gun stores sit on orders, awaiting for a new shipment of guns. I was going to give them another day before contacting them to cancel the order. I also did research and other folks that bought firearms from them stated they were very prompt with processing orders.
I waited maybe 24 hours to see if the order would progress, because I needed to contact my FFL to inform them of the shipment. Well, I checked today at noon and the order was fully processed and had shipped! It caught me off-guard and I had to complete a web form notifying my FFL that a gun was inbound to them for me.
As well, they no longer have them in stock. I must’ve got the last available B45R.
The gun arrives at my FFL on 2/14 (it is currently 2/11). So, they use quick shipping too, which is unusual during Covid times, as most gun stores are using the cheapest shipping possible and it’s usually USPS, which is slow 90% of the time.
Even when the gun arrives on Monday, I still have to await the FFL to contact me so that I can make an appointment for pickup. When I pick it up, I will try to shoot it before I leave (my FFL is a range/store).
I also bought some things for it, but those will probably arrive later in the week.
I bought 3 sets of full-size 1911 grips (I couldn’t decide on one type and I’ve other 1911s that I can install those grips on). One is a set of dark red wood grips with gold screws that may look nice on the black 1911 – they might be slick, though, so I bought an extra set that I can use for range duty. The site I bought from was Cool Hand Gear.
I also bought a 3-pack of full-sized 45ACP Metalform mags with flat base plates. They are GI mags. I need more mags anyways and I think flat base plated 1911 mags look good in certain guns. I bought these from eBay.
I also thought to buy a new recoil spring, just in case I need it, but I think that can wait a bit.
I’m also thinking I will eventually want a silver barrel bushing (the one on the gun is black)…the silver will match the silver of the trigger blade.
I usually try to buy a gun a year, specifically around this time. Last year, I bought a RIA 10mm 5″ double-stacked 1911 and Canik TP9 Elite SC. The year before that, I bought nothing. The year prior to that, which was the year I started making this an annual experience, I bought the PSA AK-V and AK-P.
I’d planned on getting another AK and had my eye on a 5.56/.223 variant but had a number of problems committing to another AK.
For one, higher end AKs are difficult to find in stock and when they are in stock, they quickly become out-of-stock.
Secondly, I’ve one pistol caliber AK pistol, as well as an AK pistol chambered in 7.62×39. I also have two AK rifles (both in 7.62×39). I’d wanted a 5.56 AK but couldn’t decide on if I wanted yet another long gun or pistol chambered in that caliber – I have both types already. I wouldn’t have cared but when I asked on the AK subreddit, the absolutely stupid replies back soured me to any AK, so I ended up not no longer wanting an AK.
I then decided to focus on a higher end 1911, either a mid-grade Sig or Springfield Armory. In fact, I wasn’t really caring on a particular 1911 maker. I just wanted the product to have a forged frame, slide, and barrel that was 5″ max with a traditional barrel (ie, no bull barrel). Price was $1000 max with a focus on lower price. I couldn’t find much that was in stock. I saw a LOT of Springfield Armory Garrisons but I wasn’t liking the sights on those (I wanted fully adjustable front and rear sights).
I’d been looking for weeks and couldn’t find much. I even looked outside of 1911s (looked at Sig’s P320 AXG Classic and Equinox – they were all expensive as hell). I’d also looked for the Springfield Armory SA-35 but they’re definitely out of stock everywhere.
I then decided to look at any 1911 that had forged slides and frames. I became focused on the IWI Desert Eagle 1911s until I saw that their frames are cast (precision cast but still cast).
Then I remembered that some of the Turkish 1911s had forged frames and slides. I focused on SDS and Tisas (SDS imports Tisas, I believe).
I found one that was discounted to $439 and tried to buy it but changed my mind right before I committed to the purchase because the website seemed fishy (it was http://www.2agunshow.com). The website seemed “sketchAF” and the price was super cheap, undercutting the next lowest 1911 of the same make/model by close to $40. Also when I tried to select an FFL at my location 5-10 miles round me, none of the usual FFLs showed in the results…it was very odd (maybe affiliated with dealers if it wasn’t actually sketch).
This gun was also listed at $432 here but went out of stock maybe 10 min after I saw it..
I ended up going to that next lowest priced gun of the same type and paying a bit extra for it (after researching the website/store first to ensure it was a legit site for regular buyers). I bought it.
A question that someone is going to ask, either at my Youtube channel or here, or even in the back of his mind when reading this: How in the hell did you go from Springfield Armory to a cheap Turkish gun?
That’s an easy question to answer. A true gun enthusiast will be acutely aware of Turkey’s history of gun-making and this particular brand, which is Tisas. Most uneducated folks think “cheaply made with non-quality materials and bad fitment/finish” when anyone mentions guns made outside of the US and 1st World countries in the EU. It’s a generally ignorant mentality. I’m not even sure Turkey can be considered a 3rd Word country. It’s like folks are thinking Afghanistan when thinking of Turkey! Folks familiar with Tisas-made 1911s know that they are quality. There are many models of US-made 1911s that are still using cast frames and many $1000+ 1911s are still using MIM parts. This particular 1911 has a forged slide, barrel (which even extremely cheap and shoddily built 1911s will have), and a forged frame. I don’t think ANY 1911s currently under production and under $500 have all three of those forged parts, with the exception of Tisas 1911s. Not only that, the fitment and finish of this gun equates more to $900-1000 1911s. If someone handled and even fired this firearm (but was withheld the make and country of origin), I bet they’d heap praises on it. And if they were made aware of the material makeup of the firearm, they’d further pile on the praises. When people know it’s from Turkey, they are immediately blinded and will actively refuse to further consider the gun. When I see this, I immediately have a general idea of their thought processes. “Buy only American products.” “Why would you buy something cheaply made when, for a few dollars more, you can have a Springfield or Sig?” And, it sometimes gets uglier: “Why would you support terrorism by buying a Turkish gun?”
Turkey is a NATO partner and the company named Tisas isn’t operated by the Turkish government. Yeah, no one likes Ergodan, but that doesn’t mean all companies in Turkey have Ergodan’s mentality.
While the price of the gun may be budget-minded, the makeup of the gun itself is pretty nice. I’m getting forged parts and the gun has little MIM parts (while all Springfield Armory 1911s are full of MIM). The Tisas 1911 was the better gun.
Also, going cheaper leaves me with some money for more ammo and options to upgrade the sights (I’m pretty sure the gun will come with contrast non-adjustable sights).
I will also probably buy another gun too, since I originally wanted to spend up to $1K. It will more than likely be an AR pistol chambered in 9mm – that’s something I don’t have. I will almost certainly buy a blemished one from PSA. I’ll post more about that later.
UPDATE (12/13/2023): The only MIM part in all Tisas 1911s currently produced is the recoil spring plug, and that can easily be replaced with a non-MIM part, without the need for fitting that part. They started doing that late 2022, I believe. Pricing has crept up, but Tisas are still the only guns under $1000 that have no MIM.
Right now, I think I’m leaning toward the WBP MiniJack, as a primary choice since it’s a beautiful gun. I’d like another milled AK. It’s also currently in stock.
Most of the other guns I listed (what I supplied above is a narrowed-down list of quite a few 1911s) are not currently in stock due to Covid times.
Second choice, for now, is going to be the SA 1911 Vickers Tactical. This 1911 is exceptional and is more than the WBP MiniJack.
The thing that keeps bugging me is that I already have 1911s (lower end non-US makes), so I don’t really need one, but a really nice high end 1911 would be something different.
Another thing that keeps bugging me is that I already have several AKs, even a milled AK and even several AK pistols. I don’t really need another AK, even a beautiful one such as the MiniJack…
Wow, I appears that I just made a very strong case for the Vickers Tactical 1911 as my primary choice. (WATCH ME CHANGE MY MIND AT THE LAST MINUTE).
I can always get the MiniJack Milled next year.
I should find out when the bonus is coming sometime late February or early March. If it’s a lot, I might be able to justify buying two (or getting a lift and wheels/tires for the Jeep).
I tried a new format in this video, using my GoPro hat-clip. What I didnt’ account for was the volume isn’t crisp, as the hat-clip requires usage of the GoPro case, which is apparently covering the camera’s mic. 🙁
There were issues with the Metro Arms 1911. I’ve been suspecting as much the past 1-2 years, but my handgun experience is expanding and I’m confident to say that this handgun has issues with it’s sights. I’ll be looking into obtaining a new set of sights for this handgun (I wouldn’t mind having the sights that are on my RIA Tac Ultra installed on this handgun).
Also, I finally installed the 9mm barrel into my RIA Tac Ultra (I have always shot it with the 22TCM barrel installed). I shot 140 rounds of 9mm from the gun. The gun now has a total of 746 rounds through it. It’s my third most-fired handgun (the Grand Power P11 and Bersa Thunder Plus are 1st and 2nd).
There were some fails to feed when firing the Tac Ultra, but the feed issues only occurred with the OEM mags. I’ve Wilson Combat 9mm ETM mags, which didn’t have any feed issues. I also used the 38 Super mag that came with the Tac Ultra. I also used the 9mm mag that came with my RIA Rock Ultra. The latter two mag are the mags that had inconsistent issues. The feed issues were occurring mid-mag.
Lastly, I need to research who is the new US importer for Metro Arms. Eagle Imports was the importer, but they went out of business earlier this year.
I’ve a 10mm 1911 on the way here. It’ll be my first full-sized 1911 and my first 10mm. I purchased a RIA Rock Ultra FS HC chambered in 10mm. I’d been looking at Glock 20s and 29s but didn’t want the shock of recoil to bug me. While the Glocks weigh around 2 lb empty, the RIA 10mm weighs around 2.5 lb and is all steel. I won’t be carrying this gun but I do want to experience 10mm without regret. As well, I had a difficult time finding a Glock 20 and 29 in stock.
What’s cool about this 10mm is that it is double-stacked (what some folks call the M1911A2; it’s not a true 2011, as the 2011 is modular in nature while the M1911A2 is not). It is a full-featured handgun. What’s not cool is that the handgun only comes with one magazine.
It’ll probably be 2 weeks before it ships to my FFL. The FFL will probably take another week to call me to pick it up. In 3 weeks time, expect a table top review.
I’m about to order another magazine and will begin looking for ammo. I hope to have both the mag and ammo will be here before the gun arrives.
This is what I ordered (from Hinterland Outfitters):
UPDATE (2/15/2021) – I just got notice that the firearm shipped on 2/12…headed to my FFL dealer now…may be a while though, since there’s severe weather in the mid-West right now.
