[Kestrel]

Can these be ordered with fixed Novak sights?

Can they be ordered with all tool steel parts?

How is the finishing INSIDE the gun?

What magazine is that I see pictured with them?

Thanks,
Steve

[lunde]

SteveW13, you wrote:Can these be ordered with fixed Novak sights?I dunno, but the adjustable ones on mine, which are standard, are low profile, which I like a lot. I'd like to know the answer to this question.
Can they be ordered with all tool steel parts?I think so.
How is the finishing INSIDE the gun?Better than the outside of some of my pistols. ;)
What magazine is that I see pictured with them?Mine came with two, with plastic base pads. Here's mine:

http://www.praxagora.com/lunde/photos/valtro-left-full.jpg

There are no markings on them to indicate where they were made, or who made them. I ordered some eight-round CobraMags from Tripp Research to use.

[Sven]

John can do whatever you like, but first step is to get yourself a Valtro. Shoot it, then decide what you want done. Or do whatever you want, but Jardine's custom shop is at:

http://www.JardinesCustom.com

The mags, I believe, are MecGars. One of mine developed a hairline fracture near the right hand feed lip. Jardine is aware of this. My advice is to use them at the range, but use Wilsons for home defense.

People have high marks for the Tripp mags as well, but I haven't tested them in my Valtro. I'm slowly standardizing on Wilson-Rodgers #47D 8-rounders, as they have operated flawlessly to this point.

If it ain't broke...

[Kestrel]

Just talked to them. They don't offer any fixed sights. The adjustable sights are made by them. They do offer a tool steel parts option for $59.

Those pictures by lunde sure make that gun seem appealing...

Steve

[RANash]

The Valtro really IS what it's cracked up to be! I was worried about the adjustable sight being hard on the hands or fragile. It's not either. I used the Valtro for two pistol classes at Front Sight, where you're handling the gun constantly, shooting, doing drills, etc., never bothered me a bit, never broke, never jammed, and always looked good :D !

Sven is right, the mags are MecGars. Just like him, I use Wilsons, but the MecGars seem to be OK.

The finishing inside the gun is smooth, shiny (in the feed ramp), no tool marks, no flaws. Makes my Kimbers look like they were made by cavemen!

[Shmackey]

Can you get it without front serrations?

[Gary H]

What is " tools steel parts option?"

[Sven]

I believe some of the parts standard on the Valtro are MIM, not forged. Details can be found searching on 1911Forum.com where the obsessed 1911 fanatics are known to post (and lurk ;) ). For those paranoid about these sorts of things, the "tool steel" package replaces those parts with forged 'tool steel' equivalents.

I'm not holding my breath waiting for the hammer on my Valtro to break off... if it happens, I'll let you know.

[RANash]

Shmackey, no sorry. You would have to have some custom work done to remove them. I will say this about them, they are not sharp and abrasive. They don't tear up holsters or fingers.

When I attended the classes at Front Sight, they insist you do your press checks using the "hand underneath pinching the front of the slide" method, instead of the "hand over the top, grabbing the rear of the slide" method (which I kind of prefer). Anyway, when you do a press check by pinching the front of the slide, those front serrations sure come in handy!

[Pendragon]

The hammer and sear are MIM.

The mags are Mec-Gar - Jardine said he wanted to use another brand, but nobody would sell him any with his pistol.

I have about 2000 rounds through my Valtro - all with the original mags and no problems at all.

As for the sights and serrations, the reason the Valtro can be sold for what it sells for is there are virtually no major options available.

I had my safety made R side only and had a dot put on the front sight - he charged me $59.

I would like to have it chromed before I move to Texas, but I doubt that will happen...

I got mine almost a year ago - its in the low 400s and it was very hard to find then - I hear the line is much much longer now.

[Sven]

Waiting for the other shoe to drop - namely, prices rising. The Valtro is just too good of a deal compared to other offerings... just not the right gun for the impatient.

[Lt. G]

What's the price of one, and where can I get one/order one?
(Don't mean to hijack the thread)
Thanx, Lt. G

[Sven]

1) Go to the official Valtro website: http://www.ValtroUSA.com

2) Call the number found on this site.

3) Get on the list.

[harrydog]

If only John would do something about that huge rollmark......:(

[Sean Smith]

http://www.praxagora.com/lunde/photos/valtro-left-full.jpg

The pic above is of the new, smaller-rollmarked version. This is the old, really big rollmark version:

http://www.valtrousa.com/photogallery/tisevaltromedium.jpg

The newer rollmark looks OK to me, but the old one is a real dog. Funny how Colt at about the same time changed from the crappy old "M1991A1TM" rollmark to a nicer one, and interest in their guns suddely grew. :D

[Sven]

He's already "done something" about the rollmark. See Ken Lunde's posts here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32218

He has the 'new' rollmark on his. Talking with Jardine yesterday, he could only laugh about how people obsess about rollmarks... his comment? "Why don't people focus on finding a gun that WORKS first, then worry about how it looks?"

Aesthetics on the gun are nice, but the reason I like my Valtro is that it feeds anything, all the time, and the slide feels like it is riding on ball bearings. NO play in the slide, very tight lockup.

[harrydog]

QUOTE:
"Talking with Jardine yesterday, he could only laugh about how people obsess about rollmarks... his comment? "Why don't people focus on finding a gun that WORKS first, then worry about how it looks?"

Well obviously function is the most important thing, but the fact is, most people DO care about looks and in my opinion the old rollmark looked bad. I'm not the only one who felt that way and apparently John had enough inquiries about it that he decided to change it. I applaud him for being responsive to his customers.
It's easy to dismiss cosmetics as being unimportant but when you're buying an expensive gun it's nice if you like how it looks as well as how it shoots.
I might have to put my order in for one now, but I'm afraid I'll need to sell something first, and that's not an easy decision since every gun I currently own, I like.

[Sean Smith]

I'd tend to agree that for $1,400 they ought to get the cosmetics straight, even down to the markings on the slide looking classy. "Forgive them, oh Lord, for they art deficient in the taste buds..." :D

Valtro probably lost a couple of sales because of the old roll marks.

[lunde]

When I ordered my Valtro, I fully expected to get the large lettering, and I had no reason to expect otherwise. All I can say is that it was a pleasant surprise to get the smaller lettering on mine. Still, the large lettering didn't prevent me from ordering (and enjoying) this pistol.

[Sven]

John's point was that - based on his slant on some of the feedback received - folks would have preferred if Valtro shipped a less-functional gun that had smaller rollmarks. Which would be an obvious absurdity.

Better to have designed the ideal roll mark from the start, but I guess it didn't happen based on public opinion.

[taoshooter]

Sorry to butt in on this thread but I'm buying a new gun and I am looking at a Wilson CQB, a Trojan or a Kimber and wondered how the Valtro compared to any of those guns if anyone knows?

Don't really know anything about the Valtro at all but it gets good comments on THR so thought I'd inquire. Thanks

[Sean Smith]

Sven: I like pretty roll marks, but I ain't THAT crazy! :p

On the other hand, smaller rollmarks and function aren't mutually exclusive.

[Sven]

Valtro beat the Wilson as "best buy" in GunTests - do a search here or on Google on Valtro. Also check around TheFiringLine.com , 1911Forum.com , Pistolsmith.com. Getting the Valtro would save you some money to get a few cases of .45 ball and some training. That said, the Wilson is a SWEET gun, no doubt.

On the other hand, smaller rollmarks and function aren't mutually exclusive.

Yeah.

It's just that - if you can allow me to speak for John without authorization - I'm sure John needs to prioritize what he tackles first, and making sure that parts are heat treated correctly and up to spec on guns he ships out would fall ahead of a design rev for the rollmark, I'd imagine.

Based on my experiences talking with John, he could fill a whole textbook chapter with information on heat-treating alone (as much an art as a science)... what continues to sell me on Valtro is John Jardine himself. The man takes pride in his work, is filled with tons of practical information that he is happy to share, and to top it all off he is as humble as the day is long. It's obvious that he is a life-long learner.

He told me yesterday, paraphrasing, in regards to the largely positive buzz he and his product receives: "when you start believing the good things written about you, that's when you face the risk of becoming an ***hole"... his point was that he can never sit on his haunches and think "I've arrived, it's done". The product is NEVER done.

I learn something from this guy everytime we talk - not just about guns. I'm really happy that I've had a chance to hang out a small bit with him and that I own a Valtro.

Oh, by the way, not to distract Jardine from getting more Valtros out on the market or anything, but I decided to have Jardine's Custom (http://www.jardinescustom.com) perform the following on my Valtro:

-serrating the rear of the slide
-install S&A magwell

http://www.jardinescustom.com/april2003photos/resizedthumbnails/bmagwellthumbnails.jpg

Why? Not because the gun needs it... but because I wanted these modifications for my Valtro. The serrated rear of the slide (cut to match the LPI on the rear of the sights) looks SUPER nice in person on John's highend guns... the magwell is for faster speedloads in IDPA and other games.

And, I'm getting jealous looking at Ken's Valtro, all deep blued and stuff. After shooting 4000+ rounds (1500 without cleaning - no failures) and handling the gun almost daily over a long period, my Valtro started to take a small beating. Now, I can see the argument that the scratches and dings I put on there add CHARACTER, but... since John's serrating the rear of the slide for me, he's gonna have to reblue anyhow... so....

... I'm thinking of it as sending the Valtro off to the spa, or something. ;) Am I babbling about the Valtro again?

Oh yeah, if you get a hold of Jardine, PLEASE do me a favor and say that "Seven" sent you. That's how he pronouces my 'alias' (there being too many "Steves" out there), and it's sort of catching on.

[Sean Smith]

It's just that - if you can allow me to speak for John without authorization - I'm sure John needs to prioritize what he tackles first, and making sure that parts are heat treated correctly and up to spec on guns he ships out would fall ahead of a design rev for the rollmark, I'd imagine.

Apples and oranges. Nobody is saying that John doesn't know what he's doing, or he isn't making a good product. What they are saying is that the decision to stick a date on the side of the gun in huge letters was a bad one. The fact that this was recognized and changed speaks well for Valtro, by the way.

[Gary H]

I asked John about the MIM parts and he said that his MIM would hold-up and function. He said that he tested six, or seven different hammers. He pulled out Brownell's catalog and went through them and said that his hammer and sear would perform and last as well as any of them. He also said that compared to many other guns, his only has two MIM parts.

BTW: Many of the top hammers are cast and not forged. John tested the metals and said that some used the same alloy as forged, but were cast.

[harrydog]

I've spoken with John a couple of times and both times I came away very impressed. He is a wealth of knowledge. And he isn't content with what he already knows. He's continuously seeking more knowledge.
The last time I spoke to him, which was probably about a year ago, he said he had been taking metallurgy classes at a local college. He really wants to know all there is to know about pistolsmithing.
It impressed me when I learned that the Valtro has a forged 4340 steel frame rather than the more common 4140 steel. A small touch but nice enhancement.

[Pendragon]

Curious about what the serial numbers are up to...?

I got mine last year (Sept?) and I was in the low mid 400s

Anyone with the new roll - whats your serial# (roughly)?

[lunde]

Mine is from early July (of this year), and is #732. Evidence: :D

http://www.praxagora.com/lunde/photos/valtro-right-full.jpg

[Sven]

Ken,

You hard-chroming that beauty?

-s

[lunde]

Sven, you wrote:You hard-chroming that beauty?Eventually. I discovered that I'd like to have one in hard chrome, and another in original blued finish. So, I plan to order a second Valtro this week.

BTW, how did things go at Larry's place?

[Sven]

Ken,

What about the two-tone? I think that is a really nice look myself - perhaps a third order?

-s