last year i met steve morrison from MARS Armament at the SAR show and was impressed with his no-bling, utlitarian 1911s that he had on display. one of them was darryl bolke’s THUG gun, which was featured this past summer in SureFire’s Combat Tactics magazine. anyways, i had this series 80 stainless Colt govt model that i’ve had for 15 years, but didn’t like too much (it was too good a deal to pass up when i bought it used), which i decided to send to steve for a makeover in jan '07. the pistol would string vertically (bushing/barrel slop)and when it got dirty, around 100 rounds, it’d get sluggish and sometimes fail to go into complete battery. not reliable enough to make it through a match. rather than send it out to get fixed, i just didn’t shoot it much (i had 3 other 1911s), and it eventually became a safe queen.
after 10 months of anticipation (he moved his shop from utah to AZ, which took quite a bit of his time), i just got it back in my grubby hands. took some pics then headed to the range. i’m extremely pleased with the results - i think it looks great, and it shoots better than i do. no more accuracy probs, nor reliability probs.
i did pretty long writeup on my site, so rather than cut and paste it here, please follow the link for many more pics and details. it should answer most of your questions if you have any. steve was a great guy to deal with and really took his time to accomodate my wants.
link to writeup: http://www.militarymorons.com/weapons/pistols.html#mars
Thank God!! I saw the first picture with the extended slide release and adjustable rear sight and didn’t look at who you were and was like oh no…
That pistol turned out very nice.
Do you like the two toned better generally? I may have (personal opinion) kept the slide as it was. It looks very nice in your first pics- perfect SS but somehow darker- probably your background lighting.
I’ve got a Series70 MKIV that’s about 95% condition that I wouldn’t mind having reworked by Dave Berryhill to upgrade the fire control although it’s got a very nice pull now.
I’d like a longer trigger and similar sights- I like my 10-8 on the Loaded I have but to be honest, I actually shot better with the teenie weenie Colt sights last time I fired the two. Probably because I forced myself to aim with them. I’m 100% sure they aren’t better in a self defense situation…
I’ve got a (I believe) MARS MSH like that but without the magwell. I also have a set of green/black gunners that I should put on her.
She’s minty blue though. Would look much nicer on your SS frame…
ETA: Mine really needs a beavertail like that too…
thanks - i’ve always preferred the two-tone look to all-stainless. it’s the background lighting that’s creating any dark areas - the slide had the typical shiny brushed finish. i had the 10-8 rear sight notch widened - i found it too narrow for my liking.
Wow! That is the tits! After reading Darryl’s article in Combat Tactics, I became very interested in the T.H.U.G. pistol. Your pistol looks the way I would love my 1911 (had I never sold it) to look. Congratulations on a fantastic piece of kit!
They are a no-go on 1911. They tend to cause more problems than they are worth. In a high grip your support thumb can rest on it causing it to lock back prematurely. On multiple shot it can also move enough to engage. Most people have to adjust their grip to hit an extended slide stop anyways, so the reasoning behind it is lost on me. I don’t run them and most 1911 shooters don’t recommend them. YMMV
it came on the gun when i got it (back when extended everything was cool), but never needed it since i’m a lefty anyway. besides what was mentioned, it also prevents you from using many holsters that aren’t made to accommodate an extended slide stop.
