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Gentlemen,

All these Springfield WWII style 1911s being posted were working on me. I had one that I wanted built up and had it on Dave Sams' list for the last 9 months. The wait was well worth it, and this gun is exactly what I wanted. The conversation with Dave when I spec'd it out went a little something like this: "Dave, I have this Springfield... I want it simple in appearance and totally able to take a beating. I want it to look GI and not be scared to beat it up a little. I'm thinking serrations this time. Oh... and I have this box of parts, too." "Jim, you need a rifle." "Yeah, yeah, that's on the list... but this gun is going to my brother." "Give it here... I'll let you know when I get to it." Dave likes messing with me, and by now he knows what I want before I tell him.

Before you ask, yes, I was planning on giving this to my brother as a present for his house gun, but since he's not a "shooter," he's gonna get a Tupperware gun instead... by his choice.

My bag of parts was an EGW slide stop, Ed Brown thumb safety, Heinie sights, a Kart barrel, NM bushing, Colt Commander hammer, Nowlin pin set, S&A grip safety, Greider solid trigger, Navridex checkered linen micarta grip panels, and the gun. Here's what I got back:


It just ain't quite the same anymore




Barrel crowned and cut flush with NM bushing


20 LPI serrations - my first serrated gun


Heinie's on the front and rear - cut for POA/POI @ 25yds with 230gr Hydra Shoks


A lightly beveled mag chute and perfectly blended MSH


Ed Brown thumb safety reshaped in tear-drop fashion... smooth and adequate, and clicks on and off with a precise "snick"


Smooth cut EGW slide stop - just because


My favorite hammer - a Colt Commander Ring - beveled and relieved


Fred Kart knows how to make a barrel - not a bit of stainless on this one

Changes Made:
The original MSH was turning green and did not match the rest of the gun, so we changed it out. Who knows? Maybe it was just a dud. The new one is fine and matches perfectly. While it was at Dave's shop, I had him add ball cuts and a border... just because it'd look cool. I also had him do a very light bevel on the slide, just enough to break the sharp corners.


Ball Cuts Added with a French Border







I think Witherspoon can attest to the fit of the barrel on this one. I can say in all honesty that every part is fit with absolute precision. The parkerizing makes it look so... utilitarian. I love it. I shot the snot out of it today and Monday before it was finished, and it is right on. I got him to set the sights for 230gr Hydra Shoks, but it favors 185gr loads quite a bit. It shoots like a bullseye gun with the 185s, and especially with Federal Gold Medal, but the 230gr Hydra Shoks and Am Eagle ball still hold their own.

Enjoy!

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Damn, Jim. It's raining guns at your place! Another nice one from Dave!

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Dave Berryhill
Berryhill Custom, LLC

Jim-

Well, all I can say is... I bet this more than compensates for your pain over Tech losing to Auburn That is a nice one! I wanna come and play with it!

All foolishness aside, I saw this pistol about two weeks ago on Dave's bench. It still had the jig on it where he was shaping the frame for the grip safety and, in Dave's words, the barrel was still just "roughly" fit. HAH! It was as snug as a bug in a rug then, locking up with a very pronounced "click". Dave Sams has got to be the best kept secret on the east coast. If Jim keeps posting all of these great pistols, there will soon be a line of cars, UPS and FedEx trucks lined up on the road between Columbia VA and Cartersville waiting to turn into Dave's driveway.

There is at least one more 1911 in line to be built for Jim. I have seen the box of pieces and parts and have seen the drawings and pics of what he wants Dave to do. It will be a full house, and I mean "full house" gun when finished and after having seen in person what Dave can do, I know it will be flawlessly executed. It will also have some "history" about it that will add to the uniqueness of the end product.

And, oh yeah, I almost forgot, CONGRATS Jim

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

No carry bevel? Just curious..

nice looker

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"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

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Anthony,

This gun has no bevel at all. I have a few guns that are, and what I've noticed is that it makes no real difference to me, as long as the heel of the gun isn't super sharp. All my holsters cover the entire left side of the slide, most of the right, and the majority of the working parts, so I really don't get too concermed with the treatment since the leather is what's against me. Plus, since I told him I wanted a "GI" looking gun, a carry bevel may have taken away from that.

Respectfully,
~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Gentlemen,

I had a chance to shoot this gun pretty extensively on Wednesday. I used 5 Wilson 7rd and 5 Metalform 7rd round follower mags, 200rds of Federal 230gr Hydra-Shoks, and 500rds of Independence 230gr ball. Every 100rds I put a few drops of FP-10 on the rails, barrel hood, barrel/bushing friction surfaces, and the front of the hammer to lube the internals. All my shooting was done at 25yds and either from the prone or kneeling, both strong and weak handed. I had zero malfunctions of any kind and the gun ran incredibly smooth. I started off with 100rds of the Hydra Shoks, then shot 500rds of the Independence ball, and finished with the Hydra Shoks. Since I was trying to see how well the gun ran and not too worried about accuracy testing, I didn't shoot from a rest at all, but what I did get after all of these rounds was a gaping 4" hole in the center of my target and stray rounds around the center hole that all stayed within 8". What I did notice, and not about the gun, was that the Independence ammo had very little flash, and almost NO residue. When I collected the pile of brass at the end and compared the Independence brass to the nickle Hydra-Shok cases, the Independence brass looked almost new and the Federal smudged with powder fouling and burn marks.

Just out of curiosity, I went back to the range yesterday and shot the Independence ammo for groups at 25yds and compared it to Federal Am Eag 230gr and the 230gr Hydra Shoks. The Independence easily outshot both, putting 7 rds into a sub 2" group while both the Federal loads shot 7rd groups slightly larger than 3.5". Again, comparing the brass was like night and day. This Independence ammo is the cleanest burning ammo I have EVER used for a .45, and I bought a 1000rd case for less than I can load it for. If you're looking for a great practice load for an even better price, I highly recommend you try this stuff.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Anthony,

There was a problem with one of the parts holding the parkerizing well and we decided to change it out. The MSH turned out to be a dud (pot metal of unknown make) and was turning some funky colors, so Dave and I decided to change it out and reparkerize it. I got a few ideas and wanted to try some other stuff on it, so I went with a light bevel for a change. The other changes are purely cosmetic, but I will post new photos sometime in the next two weeks once I get it back.

After contemplating your bevel question for a while and looking at all my other guns, I figured one without the sharp lines and traditional look wouldn't hurt. Who knows, I may end up falling in love again.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Dang Jim, you've got a stable of beauties....

Everyone,

New pics are added to the original post. The gun is now finished, and I got the leather for it the day after I picked it up. How fortunate.

My post on Josh Bulman's excellent leather work for it can be seen here: http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/vie ... =8284#8284

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Excellent additions, Jim. I missed seeing this when I was last at Dave's shop. He must have been hiding it! Or he could have forgotten he had it, he was busy building a rack for all of those drill bits that showed up at his door.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

Witherspoon,

Glad to hear from ya! You know, it was really hard to pass up those bits when I got the chance to get them, and I figured Dave might be able to use them at some point. I miss out on a bunch of other stuff last week because I hesitated and one of the local machine shops came in and bought EVERYTHING.

This was Dave's first attempt at the ball cuts and borders, and I think he did a fine job. These cuts will be on the wad gun he's building for me... I think you saw the slide for that one when we were both there. Who knows when it'll be done... I'm always on his books so I tell him to put my tickets in a hat and grab one just to surprise me. That being said, I kinda hope he grabs that one soon, because I think it's going to be a very special and unique piece. We'll see.

I haven't had much trigger time lately. Student Teaching in Botetourt County, which is a 46 mile trip each way, has taken its toll. I spend most afternoons rushing through a lift and working on lessons or writing papers, so when I get a chance to shoot it's on weekends, and I've either been gone or dealing with snow and ice for the last five. Arrrgh!

Anyhoo... thanks for the kind words, and I hope to run into you soon.

Take care & GOD bless,
~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Very nice looking 1911. I am really into something simple and totally reliable. The 1911 is the ultimate fighting pistol and especially when super tuned such as yours.

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The only place you will find success without hard work is in the dictionary