Les Baer 1911 Break-in

[mikemyers]

My good friend at the Hollywood Rifle and Pistol Club, Linda Dillon, had exchanged her Gold Cup 1911 for a Les Baer quite some time ago. We were discussing this, and I asked her to let me know, if she found another Les Baer for sale. In her words: "traded in a Gold Cup for my Les Baer. No comparison!"

It's a long story, but she found me one that belonged to a club member who had damaged the barrel, and sent it off to the factory for a rebuild. $500 later he got it back, with an all new match barrel and bushing, and some other parts.

I bought it from him this morning. It's a Baer 1911 Premier II 45 ACP 1 - 16 Left Hand Twist 5" gun.



With all new parts, it is back to like-new condition, and needs to be broken in all over again. My question is, what should I do, if anything, differently in the break-in process? The previous owner said to use normal ammo, not the lighter rounds that I eventually plan to use. I assume if I want to use the lighter rounds later, I need to call the factory and order a lighter spring... Does it really matter what ammo I use during the break-in process?

I've also read that anyone buying a new or used gun, from anyone, should take it apart and clean it before using it the first time. If so, are there any special suggestions for a Les Baer ?

Finally, the previous owner told me that the gun is so "tight" that I'm going to have an extremely difficult time even taking it apart. Any advice about that? He also no longer had the barrel bushing removal tool - I assume I can order one from Midway, or is there a reason to get one direct from the factory?

Thanks in advance for any advice...

 

[mikemyers]

(I should add one more thing - as I almost expected, my not-that-strong-hands couldn't rack the slide. It might as well have been welded in place. While trying to find a solution, I found a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH0lIrLwy0k Worked like a charm! I wish I had known this years ago...)

 

[tark]

Hi Mike. I fitted the slide to frame on that gun. And why did you cover up my checkering? LOL I worked for Les for a couple of decades.

Break in? Shoot standard hardball, keep it lubed. If the gun is set up for wadcutters and lighter loads, you should STILL shoot a box or two of hardball through it. it should function OK with lighter loads after that.

If it functions reliably with lighter loads as is, then it doesn't need a break in!

 

[mikemyers]

Hi Mike. I fitted the slide to frame on that gun. And why did you cover up my checkering? LOL I worked for Les for a couple of decades.

Break in? Shoot standard hardball, keep it lubed. If the gun is set up for wadcutters and lighter loads, you should STILL shoot a box or two of hardball through it. it should function OK with lighter loads after that.

If it functions reliably with lighter loads as is, then it doesn't need a break in!

Wow!! Thanks for the quick reply. Not sure what you mean by covering up the checkering? I bought it this morning, took a photo of it a few hours ago, and then posted my question here. Amazing - it was you who did the work? Very small world.

Seriously, what checkering are you referring to? I am lost.

Regarding break-in, etc., I figured it was better to ask before I did anything, rather than risk being told later I should have done something differently.

Beautiful gun - it was "sold" the second I laid eyes on it. If you were the fellow who did the work on it, you are a very skilled craftsman!

...........big file, only for Tark: http://www.sgrid.com/2015/side-view.jpg
I'll do a better one tomorrow.

 

[mikemyers]

Tark, I think you might consider documenting all your thoughts on these guns, and posting it on the Les Baer website - or is it there someplace already, and I just didn't find it?

You wrote this a few days ago, and it was fresh in my mind when I went to see the gun this morning:

Having worked for Les for 21 years (retired two years ago) ...... Our guns cost far less than a Wilson for the same features. The same can be said for all of the other custom shops. Les keeps the cost down through a combination of efficiency, tight control over his supply (as in, make it yourself) and small size. He could be five times the size that he is now, but managing a small shop is easier........Personally, I don't give a rat's rear end about interior finish on a gun. It's not what you look at when you pick the gun up. How it shoots is another matter.

....and some more very useful information you posted:

.......NEVER ATTEMPT TO TURN THE BUSHING ON A HARD FIT CUSTOM 1911 WITH THE SLIDE IN BATTERY!!!! The barrel on our guns is enlarged , for the last 1/4" near the muzzle. This requires a carefully hand reamed and fitted bushing, first to the slide, and then to the barrel. This takes the barrel man quite a bit of time, but the result is a barrel that goes into battery with exact uniformity, every time, for tens of thousands of cycles. Turning the bushing when it is locked into the barrel while in battery can lead to all sorts of problems. It can score the metal on the barrel ever so slightly, leaving concentric wear marks around the barrel. They may be barely visable, but they will lead to trouble, induce wear, and eventually ruin the hard fit. The gun may continue to run just fine, but accuracy will slowly suffer.

ChuckRs idea <<Try taking it out of battery about .25", I use an old shok buffer between the barrel hood and breach face. Then the bushing turns by hand. As one of the posters pointed out, it's the only paying attention to the important surfaces that helps them keep their prices reasonable. >> is a very good one, but the bushing should STILL require a bushing wrench to turn. Your gun, if you bought it new, came with a blue widget. That little thing is perfect for Chucks method.

However, it is still best to strip the gun as instructed in the directions.

I need to order one of those blue tools tomorrow - didn't get one with the used gun I bought.

Also, why not add those comments to the "Les Baer Custom 1911 Disassembly Manual"? If it's included in "the directions", that's one more thing I don't think I got with my gun.

 

[bullzeye8]

Seriously, what checkering are you referring to? I am lost.

He would be referring to the front strap checkering. Those are probably not grips from the factory and if you took them off and replaced them with normal grips you would see the front strap checkering he is talking about.

 

[Drail]

Those are absolutely NOT the grips installed at the factory. And Baer's handcut checkering works SO much better at keeping the gun securely in your hand than those rubber finger grooves. Try a pair of nice sharply checkered wood grips.

 

[JTQ]

mikemyers wrote,
Seriously, what checkering are you referring to? I am lost.

bullzeye8 wrote,
He would be referring to the front strap checkering. Those are probably not grips from the factory and if you took them off and replaced them with normal grips you would see the front strap checkering he is talking about.

Drail wrote,
Those are absolutely NOT the grips installed at the factory. And Baer's handcut checkering works SO much better at keeping the gun securely in your hand than those rubber finger grooves. Try a pair of nice sharply checkered wood grips.

There are a lot of optional things that appear on 1911's that I don't care for, number one on the list are finger groove grips.

 

[tarosean]

And Baer's handcut checkering works SO much better at keeping the gun securely in your hand than those rubber finger grooves.

Assuming its not rusted out underneath them a perfect spot for moisture to hang out...

 

[drband]

Enjoy your "new" 1911! It's beautiful!

 

[mikemyers]

Wow..... there are so many things available from Les to customize a 1911, I just assumed that those grips came with the gun, maybe in addition to the grips I see in the Les Baer website. Turns out you guys are right - the previous owner said these are "P.M. grips", and will try to find me the original grips. If not, I will order a set of whatever would have come on the gun originally.

Years ago, I was "sold" on lots of accessories, as people said they would make a gun so much better. Little by little, all those accessories (mostly grips) came off, to be replaced by the originals, which I kept "just in case".

Yesterday, I had so many things on my mind, my head was spinning. I was so involved with other concerns, that I didn't really think very much about the grips, even though they were so different from what I had seen on Les' website.

So, unless the previous owner finds the originals, I need to order these, probably the ones at the left:

 

[tark]

Hi Mike. Wow! Lot of replies in the last few hours. Underneath those grips you will find that the front strap is checkered @ 30 lines per inch. If it isn't, the original customer ordered the gun without it, possibly intending to use those grips all along.

Terosean has an excellent point. Pull the grip off and make sure it isn't rusted underneath. If it is, remove as much as you can with oil and a soft bristle wire brush. If it is OK and you want to continue to use the grip here is a little trick to prevent rust. Take a candle and rub it against the checkering. This will leave the checkering coated with wax (slimed up might be a better word) which will protect the metal and ward off moisture,

One last tip, don't forget to change your recoil spring every three or four thousand rounds. This won't help the gun last any longer as much as it will insure proper functioning.

Good shooting!

 

[mikemyers]

Tark, the "P.M. Grips" are now off, and the issue of "why did you cover up my checkering" is now resolved. I agree, it is very nice, and while the TM grips are nicely made, I'd rather the gun be "stock".

Tarosean - thanks! I guess I'm lucky. Had you guys not mentioned this, they wouldn't have been removed so quickly. I guess I'll be making a phone call today to Les Baer, and order four things:

• the proper grips that would have come on the gun originally (shown in the photo above, at the left).
  
• at least one spare spring, whichever one is recommended for 'target' loads.
  
• a complete tear-down manual, if it has more information than the small booklet that I now have.
  
• the tool for removing the barrel bushing

Is there anything else you'd recommend ordering?

Drail - are there other grips you're suggesting I should look at, or were you referring to the stock grips?

 

[Drail]

I was referring to any quality checkered grips on the market and there's bunches to choose from. Start with Midway or Brownells. Those Pachmayr grips shouldn't be allowed in the same building with a Les Baer. Congrats on your new Baer. You are going to love how easy it is to shoot.

 

[mikemyers]

I was referring to any quality checkered grips on the market and there's bunches to choose from......Those Pachmayr grips shouldn't be allowed in the same building with a Les Baer....

Thanks! I've already ordered a set from Herrett Stocks - they make very nice products, and I've bought their grips for other guns. http://www.herrettstocks.com/hb1flarg.htm

Regarding the Pachmayr grips, to me it seems like buying a Ferrari, then going down to the local tire store and buying something that looks fancy. I think it comes down to 'style' vs. 'function', but I prefer the style of the stock grips! https://www.lesbaer.com/images/Premier-II-5'.jpg ......but can understand how some people might have hands that work better when using the Pachmayr grips. Me? I've used Pachmayr before, but after a while, they always come off, and the original wood grips go back on.

 

[mikemyers]

.......Underneath those grips you will find that the front strap is checkered @ 30 lines per inch......

Just for you:



You wrote "I fitted the slide to frame on that gun." How much of that was done by computer control, and how much was manually done by you? I imagine it must have taken you hours, until you got the fit that you wanted. What other things did you work on at Les Baer?

 

[Drail]

Oh yes.

 

[mikemyers]

I will get back to my break-in questions tomorrow; want to do some more reading first.

In the meantime, 'tark', here's your beautiful hand-done checkering, in a full-size image, cropped so it will fit on people's screens. It also shows why people should ONLY use genuine gun screwdrivers, as otherwise the surfaces get damaged. Of course, nobody believes that, as they "know" their screwdriver fits just fine. Oh well....

http://www.sgrid.com/2015/les-baer-close-up.jpg (I'm only posting a link, not the picture, as even cut down the way I did, it's still quite large.)
http://www.sgrid.com/2015/les-baer-1.jpg (everything!).

The photo at this size also shows how I need to clean guns MUCH more thoroughly before taking a photo like this.

It also shows marks on the gun that could only have come from the grips. I wonder if wood grips do the same thing as these grips did.



The question I think I want to ask here, is back to break-in. I constantly read how one should take apart and clean any gun before shooting it the first time. In this case though, the gun is SO tight that maybe the intent is for me to shoot a few hundred rounds before trying to take it apart? Tark, your advice?

 

[moxie]

What you have is essentially a new gun.

Field strip it, clean it, and lube it.

You've already got the info on how to do that.

 

[tark]

Hi Mike. Just sent you a PM. As to the fitting of the slide to frame, is isn't that time consuming as you might think. The CNC machines leave the parts close, but still requiring some hand fitting. It only takes 10-20 minutes, because the CNC leaves the parts so consistently uniform that you know, before you start, where to file and how many strokes to take! Contrary to popular belief, I never used lapping compound. Lapping compound removes metal, and loosens the fit. It will make things butter smooth.......but..... I use as little oil on the parts as possible, because if you use too much oil, you might find that your tight fit isn't so tight with the oil removed. Of course, no one runs the gun bone dry, but I try to strike a balance.

 

[tark]

Almost forgot. Pull it apart and clean it first. That never hurts.

 

[Jim Watson]

And oil it, oil it generously. When a 1911 stops throwing oil in your face, it has barely enough left.

 

[mckey]

I think I shot about 800 rounds in one afternoon without cleaning when I first got my Premier II It did seem to smooth out the slide action and the barrel bushing was a littler easier to get out.

 

[dakota1911]

Depends on which Gold Cup. I would take a lightly shot 1957 Colt Gold Cup National Match with box and papers plus serial number under 100 over any Baer ever made.

Anyway that is a nice toy. I belong to a couple snooty gun clubs, like $1-2K/year to belong and get to shoot those plus Wilsons and custom builds all the time.

Years ago Pachmayr grips were interesting, like in the 80s, but today I lose them on most the pistols they come on and the pistols will thank you.

Have fun shooting that guy.

 

[tuj]

most Les Baer take 1000+ rounds to break in.

Take the gun OUT OF BATTERY before you rotate the bushing! My gun has over 50k rounds and I cannot rotate the bushing my hand. Get a plastic tool.

Great company great gun. I love my PII 1.5"