No FCS on this one… dunno why. I am not intimate with the SA model lineup and what changes it has gone through over the years but this one is I suppose 6-8 years old and was green originally.
I’m guessing he already has made arrangements with SA to get the slide replaced. The gun is in exceptionally good shape otherwise.
Thanks for showing us pics of that Commander, Ned. I always appreciate a chance to view your craftsmanship with metal.
Have a safe and happy New Year’s.
What a great thread! Thanks for posting and all the update!
Well that is super impressive, considering the minimal amount of parts that have needed to be replaced given the round count.
If we assume a low cost of only $.25/round fired that’s a bit over $25K worth of ammo digested by that pistol at 103,000 rounds.
25k puts things in perspective.
Looked at another way, if you had a car that averaged around 30MPG and gas averaged $3.50/gallon and you burned $25,000 worth of fuel (and never wasted a drop idling etc.) your car would have 214,286 miles on it, having burned 7,143 gallons of fuel. How much would that car have cost you in maintenance compared to that pistol over the same operating period?
That does put it into perspective. 95%-plus of these rounds were 200 SWC handloads, so whatever 95K handloads costs… roughly 67 pounds of powder at 5 grains per shot (now there’s another interesting perspective). $25 a pound? What are 200 grain H&G 68’s now, maybe $90/1.000 delivered? More? Primers, been a while, $25/1,000? That’d be–
67 X $25 = $1675
95 X $90 = $8550
95 X $25 = $2375
Total, $12,600 and on a 1050 machine such as Rob uses, I suppose a good 120 hours, with tumbling, primer tube loading, and all that. Am I in the ballpark on component prices? I only buy this stuff every two years or so.
If you’re buying the powder in 8 pound jugs, I think you could knock around a third off of the price of the powder.
But one should realistically factor in the cost of their time as well.
I reload as well, but stand by my $.25/round estimate once labor is factored. In fact for me, compared to my regular job I’m low balling myself on labor rate on some ammo I make because I enjoy it.
Cracked slide:
My guess is springfield would probably warranty the slide!
Even the greatest war horse will stumble. Let us know what you decide.
Ned- Could you tell us what the spring weights used in this pistol were?
16-17, he does not use 18 or above, and no Shok-Buffs.
So Springfield did replaced the slide, they treated him very well, in synch with their rep for doing so. I’ll have more details and some pics as I will be looking it over today.
Thanks for the reply! I take it he uses a 23 pound mainspring as well?
Whatever came in them… all his 1911’s have the factory springs in them.
Most impressive. Can we assume that SA’s entry level 1911 45 would hold up this well, or does the Operator have special aspects giving it such longevity?
I’ve been told, and I believe, that not all models are made on the same line. Operators, Professionals, and I suppose TRP’s and some others are made on a different line at a different location than the more “standard” offerings. This is not recent info but from what I see of what I understand to be recently-purchased guns, it still seems the case.
Rob’s Op. and Professional are both well put together-- slide and frame rails are cut very square and straight with a lot of bearing area. Not like custom-fitted but just done right and as such not subject to the wear you would get when rails are wavy, rough, and heavily chamfered, reducing contact surfaces. I mean if they’re only contacting here and there, those points are going to wear sooner.
Found a crack in the frame in a place I have not before seen cracked. Fortunately it matters little to not-at-all and I’m just going to mill it out:
Thanks for continually updating this thread. I assume the metallurgy is the same between all SA guns which is why a lot of smiths like you use even the mil specs as base guns if just saving the frame and slide even though the mC OP trp etc are better fit factory guns.
That is an interesting crack. Wonder what SA would say about it. Think they would warranty it too? If they did I wonder if they would replace it with their 3/4 old style rail.
Dunno but we’re not even gonna bother SA with it. Even if they warranteed it it’d be more trouble than it was worth plus we’d lose the frontstrap checkering… I’d rather stick with the known quantity, aged though it be!
We were talking about ammo and he said, “have a look in my range bag”. I went to pick it up and put it on the bench.
Ouch, my back!
I scolded him for having too many mags and randomly tossed in like that. But I guess when a guy shoots this much and is constantly traveling… he promised to do better. It’s not as bad as it looks-- Rob is a very good maintainer of his gear… but most mags had a burr on the top left from the slide stop. This can lead to problems left unaddressed when volumes are high. I took care of this while we chatted but lost count of the mags, there must be a hundred though.