Brand New 1911 horror story!!!

[ET]

Well, I went out this week and spent $800 (with tax) on a new Springfield Range Officer. I took it to the range for the first time to shoot. My wife came along to shoot her Buckmark as well. I loaded up the 2 mags and walked up to the line to shoot. Before I began I asked my wife if she wanted to shoot it first, being the great guy I am. (I didn't really expect her to say yes, since she doesn't like guns that kick) She said "sure I'll shoot it a few times!". Well, after she finished shooting the 2 mags she put down the Springer and said that shooting that gun made her finger hurt. She held up her hand and to my utter shock I saw her ring still on her finger. I immediately grabbed the gun and saw where her ring boogered up the parkerizing on the front strap. The sight of the bare metal shining up at me was as bad as any horror movie I've ever seen. None of my guns, including my carry gun of the last 4 years, have this kind of damage to the finish. My first ever 1911 has been boogerized where it had been parkerized. AND it happened before I had the chance to even shoot it first.

[redacted off topic content]

Any other horror stories out there since it's about to be Holloween? I know that I'm not the only one to have his new gun (or anything else for that matter) screwed up like this.

 

[NOLAEMT]

its a sign of character. Don't let it bother you.

 

[Psa1m144]

its a sign of character. Don't let it bother you.

Agreed.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Guns are tools. Tools get scratched when used.

 

[Armed 24/7]

Everytime you see those marks on the finish, Smile and remember the funny story

 

[sansone]

being a new gun it would bother me too, I just hope you didn't torture yourself and her over it

 

[Sam1911]

Gold is very soft. I seriously doubt it dug into the parkerizing. More than likey it rubbed off a bit into the rough, porous surface of the phosphate treatment. Try a little solvent or oil and a bronze brush -- you can probably scrub most of the mark off.

Heck, any place your cartridge brass smacks the ejection port is going to do the same thing, the same way. Just wipe/scrub it off.

If gold actually did scratch your steel gun ... well, it didn't, but if it did, I'd send it back, 'cause you've got a BIG problem!

Now, to the second comment...yeah, it's a gun (not a Fabergé egg), and a gun in a finish designed for utilitarian ruggedness and simplicity. (A serious hard-use military finish.) It's designed to handle a lot rougher treatment than being rubbed with gold!

How you've got a carry gun that has seen anything like frequent use for more than a few months without showing dings and at least holster wear is completely beyond me.


...

(And I have to ask -- did you actually ask her, or expect her, to remove her jewelry before shooting your gun? Who would bother to do that?)

 

[Charger442]

let go man, it has no collector value and therefore its not a big deal.

 

[rcmodel]

I had a similar experience with a brand new Winchester 101 over & under I bought with the rent money in 1970.

I took the new shotgun, a case of blue-rock, and my wife out to shoot it the first time.

I showed here how to use the hand thrower, and let her take a few practice throws to get the hang of it.
All fine and dandy, so I loaded up the first two shells and called "pull".

A loud & startling WHACK and stinging clay target shrapnel in the face was the result.

The first one she threw hung a hard left out of the thrower, and hit the 101's stock right behind the grip where my hand was.

It put a very deep dent & some nasty looking scratches right in the side of the stock before I got to fire the first shot out of it!!


PS: I agree with the others in that I bet the gold will scrub off with some nitro-solvent.

rc

 

[Corey]

My Colt Commander has been re-parkerized 4 or 5 times in the last 15 years and currently would rate at about 75% finish. No rust, just very shiney from hard use. I say it builds character.

 

[98C5]

 

[Bubbles]

Sure that ring is gold?

 

[1911fan]

What Sam1911 said. It's not like it's a new car--which is also gonna get scratched, dented and maybe even (hopefully not) wrecked and totaled. The price you pay for having toys is living with the effects of their use and abuse.

C'est la vie...

ed

 

[TexasRifleman]

I went to Gunsite a few weeks ago, took a brand new Ed Brown 1911. I was so proud of it all new and pretty. On the second day they work on clearing malfunctions.

So, standing out on the gravel firing line the range master calls "Put your guns on the ground and let the guy behind you set up a malfunction for you to clear". An hour later.....

OK, new is worn off, it's a tool now.

 

[Sky]

Bob and I were doing our normal summer snake eradication on Bear Creek and had decided we would climb into a tree where we could observe the snakes floating down the river and dry our clothes. He had gone first and as I was climbing behind him I heard a furious scraping sound and two splashes in the river. He had slipped with his wet boots on the limb and both he and his newly acquired .22 semi-auto rifle ended up in the river!

We spent the next hour feeling for the rifle with our feet in deep water. Finally he pulled his boots off and felt around with his bare feet. The rifle was found almost 15 yards down stream from where he went in. Luckily the river was not flowing any stronger or we would have never found it; a cease fire and no bite agreement held during the search and after assuring the bore was unobstructed Bob continued to shot the .22 for the rest of the day..The look on his face when the rifle was not immediately found was priceless!

 

[Dr.Rob]

I leave my rings on when shooting, have had to wipe a 'silver streak' off them now and again.

I went to Gunsite a few weeks ago, took a brand new Ed Brown 1911. I was so proud of it all new and pretty. On the second day they work on clearing malfunctions.

So, standing out on the gravel firing line the range master calls "Put your guns on the ground and let the guy behind you set up a malfunction for you to clear".

OK, That made me cringe. Thats probably why I think of a 'perfect carry gun' as a parkerized plain jane rather than a royal blue bbq gun.

 

[trapper1]

If it will make you feel any better, let me share my horror story. Some years ago, I bought a brand new 1187 shotgun. My first shot thru this gun was going to be at waterfowl, on a layout boat off the shores of Lake Erie. While the runner boat was towing me out some 100 yards to where the decoy spread was, the gun was inadvertanly knocked over the side. It was 5am, pitch black, and the water hovered just north of freezing. I can tell you this, I would have loved more than anything to have just "scratched" the gun that morning.

 

[sugarmaker]

Maybe you should buy used guns. Did you buy it to look at or to shoot? It's going to wear out if you shoot it enough, much better than having a safe queen IMO. I LOVE wearing my guns out, as it gives me an excuse to upgrade and buy new stuff.

 

[TexasRifleman]

OK, That made me cringe.

It's funny. The gun has 3000+ rounds through it now, hundreds of trips in and out of a holster, and plenty of wear marks.

I actually think it looks better now than when it was new

 

[357 Terms]

Have her put rings on all her fingers and then shoot a couple hundred rounds-

cheap checkering!

 

[gunsablazin]

All my range/carry/competition guns have some wear on them. How can anyone carry a gun for years and not ding it up some. I wouldn't be too upset with the wife, at least she goes to the range with you.

 

[JohnM]

We all have the same kind of story.
In 66, freshly out of the Army I bought a new Browning Auto 5.
Pretty spendy shotgun at the time compared to some and a lot for me.
A few days later me and a buddy were loading my boat up in the dark of a morning and somehow my brand new shotgun took a header into the boat and got a huge gouge in the stock from a sharp corner of aluminum.
Kinda ruined my day.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I 'get it' Texas, but the idea of laying a royal blue Colt in gravel... gah!

One of these days I need to re-build my Viking/Colt/Seecamp into a 1991A1 stock gun. Way back when I bought a complete parked 1991A1 Upper for $200. Can you imagine?

Shooting tactical rifle matches have made me 'less scratch sensitive' but I still have those moments with my pretty guns.

 

[lobo9er]

i'm hoping this is a little tongue in cheek?

 

[jsnake]

I put an idiot scratch on my new springfield loaded within an hour of filling out the forms and paying for it. I guess its called an idiot scratch for a reason. And "yes" I love telling people about me being an idiot.