[proudpapa]

I've been working on this off and on over the last few months for my wife. As you can see it is almost done, just have to get the beavertail fitted so that the thumb safety will go into place with the beavertail in place. Anyway here's a pic, enjoy.

 

[longtooth]

That is a beauty. Admire all who build them & I love to shootem. Never had the desire to do it. Maybe different if there was as much "Cabin Time" in East Texas as in Alaska. Have a warm winter.

Welcome aboard.

 

[Bud White]

Looking good how about the specs on it

 

[proudpapa]

The frame is Caspian's commander sized one. The slide is from Essex Arms with Novak sight cuts. The front sight is a Novak fiber optic & the rear is a Heinie ultra low mount slant pro with green tritium inserts. The barrel is a Storm Lake drop in barrel that came with bushing and link. All of the internal components are from Ed Brown, as well as the slide stop and the MSH, which has the "Chainlink" treatment. The trigger is the Vickers/Yam trigger from Nighthawk. The thumb safety will Cylinder & Slide's extended tactical thumb safety. And finally the beavertail will be from Smith & Alexander.

I gave the trigger a quick test last night to see what the pull was and it came out to about 4 1/4 pounds. Once the whole thing is done I'll take it to my local gunsmith to have him check everything out and do the finishing work.



edit: Oh, the grips are slimline grips from Chip McCormick.

 

[AutoMag]

Looks great!!!:smile::smile:

 

[proudpapa]

Thanks for all the complements. This is the first build I've come close to completing. As soon I get a few more tools and another frame I have a couple more builds to do.

 

[tsp45acp]

Yup, congrats. I keep thinking I want to build a Damascus steel slide and parts gun. But never have the $$$ and time together at the same time.....Maybe someday.

One question though, Why did you go with a fiber optic in front, but tritiums in the rear? FO is great in day/low light shooting, but doesn't do much in very low or no light situations. I have FO on my longslide, but it doesn't do much after dark. Tracy

 

[proudpapa]

I went with the FO because it was what I had at the moment that fit. The front sight I originally ordered was the wrong size, so I have to order the correct size, but for now it works.

 

[tsp45acp]

Makes sense to me. Tracy

 

[proudpapa]

Matter of fact, I'll do that right now.

 

[NordicRX8]

One question though, Why did you go with a fiber optic in front, but tritiums in the rear? FO is great in day/low light shooting, but doesn't do much in very low or no light situations. I have FO on my longslide, but it doesn't do much after dark. Tracy

Wish TruGlo would make them for more models (dovetail sizes)... I love those Tritium backed fiber optic sights. Works in ALL light conditions.

Nice work proudpapa! I looks very promising. I too would love to build my own one day... maybe after I retire I'll have the time to dedicate to building my own.

 

[SatCong]

Looks like you did real good job. This should make your wife happy.:dancingbananna:

 

[proudpapa]

My wife is happy that something is finally coming out of the money I spent on tools and parts.

 

[Ping Ping]

One question though, Why did you go with a fiber optic in front, but tritiums in the rear? FO is great in day/low light shooting, but doesn't do much in very low or no light situations. I have FO on my longslide, but it doesn't do much after dark. Tracy

Trust me, NOTHING does you any good after dark, except a flashlight. Doubt me? Go shoot your gun with tritium vials IN THE DARK. (The only exception is where you encounter a semi-illuminated target and your position remains dark. RARE, to say the least.)

This will teach everyone that there is no such thing as "nightsights". A gold bead, or a very good FO sight will give you any advantage you could ever use in low light. Past low light, grab a flash light, or your night vision monocular.

Having personally tested all three, a good gold bead is every bit as good as tritium. The only reason I can see to go with tritium is that it's more readily available and usually cheaper than a custom gold bead.

In the case of using night vision, tritium does get the nod. The dots are every bit as visible through night vision as is the gold bead and I have never seen gold bead rear sights.

Very nice pistol, proudpapa. I hope she lets you shoot it occasionally. :tongue:

 

[proudpapa]

I'll shoot it before she does. Need to make sure it works and won't blow up.

 

[proudpapa]

Just to give a little update on the progress. I decided to attempt to "break" the edges on the front and rear of the slide. It is actually turning out better than I would have thought. I'm going more for a rounding of the edges than a beveled appearance, and so far I believe I have obtained it. I'll put up some pics when it is complete, as I intend to do the bottom edges as well. All I'm doing to accomplish this is to use a #2 file, I think, and sort of rotate the slide as I file the edge.


I'll probably end up asking my local gunsmith to fit the beavertail as I have no clue how to do it.

 

[QCATrader]

Looks very nice - you're wife should be very pleased with it!

 

[proudpapa]

I finally got the beavertail fitted to the frame and adjusted to work with the trigger bow. Now all that's left is a different front sight and trying to determine why the slide will not go forward after being pulled to the rear. I'm thinking the recoil spring is too weak, who knows. I'll put up more pics tomorrow.

 

[1999cobra]

nice