Monday, January 16, 2012

WARHAMMER!!!!

Men of evil intent, be on notice and forewarned. At long last, Daddy Hawk has a WARHAMMER! worthy of the name with which to protect and defend the honor and virtue of The Queen and M&M. After much searching, fondling, drooling, coon fingering and general moon gazing at gun shows, gun stores and on the internet, I came to an unlikely decision given my previous ramblings on the subject. Let us start with a teaser....


Now, long time readers will immediately take notice and say, "Shepherd, what gives? You never mentioned SIGs as being on the wish list before." True, true. But, I never said they weren't either. Times change, additional information is gathered and the cream, as they say, rises to the top.

I can also hear some of you thinking loudly saying, "But, wait a minute Shep, I thought you wanted a 1911 so desperately you were channeling the spirit of John Moses Browning with a Ouiji board."

(pardon the view...Blogger won't let me rotate it)
Quite possibly true, but did I mention that SIG makes 1911s?

What you are looking at is the 1911 TACPAC from SIG. I will let SIG give you all the details your heart could desire. Basically, you get a full size, railed 1911 with a laser and standard three dot sights, kydex OWB retention holster with mag pouch, 2 magazines, a mag loader and a nice hard shell case.

Some of you are nodding your heads and saying "Uh huh, but, but...." Let me just say this about that...

(16 rounds at 7 yards 1 flyer)
I looked at everything priced at or below $1000. Really. I checked out Citadels. I looked at Rock Island Armory. A lot of people rave about them. They are solid and well put together, but I would have had to immediately sink money into it to get it to where I wanted it to be. I lusted after the Ruger SR1911 from afar on the internets; however, the fact that I have yet to see one in person anywhere put it out of reach despite it's attractive price and Ruger's reputation. I suspect they are nothing more than a viscious rumor spread by gun rags to increase magazine sales. I looked at Taurus...and kept right on looking. I looked at Colts, Kimbers and Springfield Armory. I had one grizzled old gunsmith tell me in no uncertain terms that Kimbers were crap and that they had never worked. My experience has been different, but there is enough smoke on the net to suggest some truth to his opinions. He also stated that he carried Colts and Springers in his store because they worked and had been making 1911s since 1911. Perhaps. The Colt I wanted was no where to be found, and I didn't like the build quality or feel of the Springer Loadeds I tried. Paras, STIs (keep in mind that there only 1 STI under a grand) and Remington all got brief consideration. Okay. STI got more than brief consideration. I looked longingly at the Smith & Wesson E Series (after all, it has wood grips engraved with my last initial) right up until I fondled one at the fun show today. Something about it was just not right.

Then we have SIGs. I had seen them on the web...and ignored them. Right up until a trip to a local range and gun store last week. When I mentioned my desire for a full size 1911, the gun counter dude pulled the SIG out of the case and said "Listen" as he racked the slide. 

The SIG said, "shhCHING". It made a beautiful ringing sound kinda like a nice crystal wine glass. That got my attention.

I held it lovingly in my hands, and it felt every bit like I dreamed a 1911 should feel. It pointed right where I wanted it. The front and back strap checkering was perfect. The build quality was dead on perfect. You just new it would hit bullseyes right out of the box. The store wanted too much friggin' money for the one that had in stock. To be fair, I think that one was the GSR version which had the magwell extension main spring housing and tritium night sights. It sure wasn't worth almost $400 more than what I paid for the complete package today at the fun show. 

Number One follower, his roomie and her boyfriend went to the gun range after the fun show to give it a whirl. Out of the box, it shot bullseyes just as I thought. It ate 120 rounds of 230 grain full metal jacket ammo from four different manufacturers without a single malfuntion. NOF's roomie (who is a new shooter) ran a couple of mags through and said she liked it better than NOF's Glock 19. That should say something.

So, to recap. One item of the wish list. One dream gun obtained. Daddy Hawk happy...for now.

15 comments:

  1. Awesome. That is really a sweet gun. Now, go shoot the heck out of it.

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  2. Purists sometimes scoff at Sig's offering in 1911. I always feel that if it is a quality weapon and you can shoot it accurately and comfortably, then you have what you need and not what popularity tells you that you need. You could have certainly done worse, but I don't believe you could have done a whole lot better on your choice!

    Just my two pennies.
    Blue Steel

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  3. That is one fine piece. I love my .220, the only misfeeds I've EVER had with it were home grown trucated cones it just didn't like.

    You will be in good hands with that. (or vice versa)

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  4. You have waited and researched, a long time:) glad for you that you finally got a 1911 and it preforms so well for you..

    That is really what it is all about:)

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  5. I got the STI Spartan a while back...the Sig looks just as nice as the Spartan, and comes with a whole lot more than the Spartan did. Good buy...I'll make sure and draw Odysseus's attention to this. He wants one, too, now.

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  6. well aren't you the smug, little, lucky dawg! good choice my friend! more updates on the Queen and M&M soon please...i really enjoyed the last post!

    your friend,
    kymber

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  7. 45er, I didn't have time to write a proper review and range report last night, but you are right. It's a sweet pistol. I fully intend to flog it for all it's worth. Next purchase...reloading equipment.

    Blue Steel, long time no see. You are right, too. I saw a lot of pixels spilled over the subject of the external extractor. Popularity had nothing to do with this purchase. I read every review on 1911s I could get my hands on. MadOgre's review of the SIG kept creeping back up every time I looked at them. I agree that I could have done a lot worse, and I truthfully could not have told the difference in a gun at twice the price. I think it's a solid value when you consider what I paid ($729 plus tax) versus what I got.

    Brigid, I've never shot a gun that did double taps as easily as this one did yesterday.

    Mr. Daddy, thanks. 30 years of dreaming. Continued prayers to you my friend.

    HH, the Spartan was high on my wish list for a long time. What ultimately knocked it off the list was that I really wanted the Novak style sights instead of the target style adjustable sights. Odysseus, when you read this, I give the SIG an unreserved, thumbs up recommendation.

    kymber, smug, yes. Little, no. Lucky, maybe...luck favors the prepared. I'll see what I can do about a Queen/M&M update. I really wish I could share the photo we took of her over the weekend. It's priceless and makes everyone who has seen it smile or giggle.

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    Replies
    1. i am really looking forward to the day that you can share some pics...and i know that day is coming!

      thanks for the update post on The Queen and M&M...i really appreciated it!

      your friend,
      kymber

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  8. Shepherd she's a pretty one - and glad a good shooter too. While I lost faith in some of the newer SIGs following a P220 debacle up here I can say I've heard nothing but good about their 1911s. And my P226 has over 20 years of flawless functioning behind it...

    Look forward to the long term report. And to hearing how the little one likes learning on it!

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  9. Captain, she's going to get dressed up nice and pretty so she can be taken places. I plan on getting the lower frame either Duracoated or Cerakoted in a lighter, satin "stainless" metal color for a two tone effect and add a set of burled wood grip panels. I saw a set of panels in burled buckeye at the gun show that would have been perfect, but I wanted to wait until after the frame is coated before getting them.

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  10. Shepherd -
    I've duracoated my M4gery - easy enough, but FWIW I understand the Cerakote is more durable - I do know it shows more wear than I expected (but it's a social gun not a BBQ piece, so I don't care) - how much of that may be user error I do not know. Still debating which I'm going to use on my next one...

    As for the grips - if you're not set on wood I HIGHLY recommend VZ grips - I have them on my Wilson & absolutely love them.

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  11. Captain, I am leaning towards cerakote. They have a coating called satin mag which looks really sharp with the nitron black slide. Aesthetically, i really want wood grips. I've not looked at the VZ grips though. I may get a set of wood grips for barbecue occasions and another set for regular carry.

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  12. Daddy Hawk, I am seriously jealous. I've only handled a couple of Sigs and *hated* them. Didn't know they made a 1911 - I'm glad you found one that will live a long and happy life with you.

    Were you by any chance talking to my gunsmith? He despises Kimbers, though most Kimber owners I know adore theirs.

    The cerakote is awesome - saw it at SHOT Show (tear, missing it fierce this year) last year.

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  13. GunDiva, I know what you mean about the "normal" SIGs. My feelings about them are somewhere between "mehh" and "ewww". I will have this one for a long time, I am sure.

    I doubt I was speaking with your gunsmith unless he happens to be in a hole in the wall gunshop in rural north central Texas southwest of Fort Worth. I agree about Kimber owners. I found out one of my new female coworkers, a grandmother no less, is a Kimber owner (Aegis II). Her comment was that they make the prettiest 1911 short of a full on custom. That may be the heart of the issue. Shiny will cover a lot of other sins for some people.

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  14. "Shiny will cover a lot of other sins..."

    *snort* You, sir, are exactly right.

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