This week I had the mother-in-law and three nieces and nephews at the house (aged 4, 6, and 8) so needless to say by Friday I needed some trigger time. I took my Thunder Ranch Special out to the range and put my 500th round through it.
What can I say, this gun has been amazing. I have had it about 3 weeks and have carried it every day since. During these first 500 rounds it has not had a single malfunction of any kind.
I shot JHPs from Speer, Federal, Hornady, and Winchester, Federal, Winchester, Remington, and PMC Ball ammo, and my own FMJ and LRN 230gr hand loads some of which were loaded to nuclear level. Not a single problem. I shot 300 rounds the first day that I had it without cleaning it, the other 200 were over 2 sessions and I thoroughly cleaned it after each shooting session.
I was astounded at how tight this gun is built. It took considerably more effort to rack the slide and to deactivate the thumb safety than any other 1911 I have ever had. Reports of Baers hard fit are not overstated. Overall the fit and finish on this gun is first rate, the bluing is beautiful and even. You can tell a considerable amount of time has been put into these 1911s building them by hand and it shows in the final product. The hand checkering is well done, and many of the parts of the gun had the serial number etched into them, it seems they pair the parts together before they even start to file on them. I would not be surprised if they spent a few hours hand fitting the gun lock that came with the gun
The sights are nice and bright and provide a great sight picture. The front post is narrow enough to allow a little daylight on each side as you look down the sight plane. I have found this helps me when shooting multiple targets quickly like in IDPA.
The trigger on my TRS is also great. No creep whatsoever, just a very crisp break. It was a little heavy out of the box for my taste (I’m spoiled by my Texas 9's 2.5 lb comp trigger), but after putting these first 500 rounds through it is has lightened up a little and is just about right for a carry gun at about 4.25 lbs.
The accuracy of the gun is exceptional, and by the time I had gotten a feel for the gun I could keep a fist sized group offhand at 20 yards and all my shots COM at 50 yards on a CHL qualifier target which is about the best I can do at the moment and is plenty fine for my shooting needs since I am not a bullseye shooter.
The only change I have made is to put on standard thickness grips which help me get a better hold on the gun. Also, as a side note, John a Pro Load told me these shipped with 3 7-rounds mags, but all of mine could hold 8 rounds with no feeding problems. In addition to those I used Kimber Kim-Pro and Wilson Combat mags during the "break-in" period all with no problems.
Overall I am very happy with this purchase and my opinion after shooting is that the Les Baer TRS puts you at the point of diminishing returns in the semi-custom (limited production, semi-production or whatever you word police want to call it) market. You may spend more money, but you won’t be getting a "better" gun, just different in terms of build philosophy and aesthetics.
What can I say, this gun has been amazing. I have had it about 3 weeks and have carried it every day since. During these first 500 rounds it has not had a single malfunction of any kind.
I shot JHPs from Speer, Federal, Hornady, and Winchester, Federal, Winchester, Remington, and PMC Ball ammo, and my own FMJ and LRN 230gr hand loads some of which were loaded to nuclear level. Not a single problem. I shot 300 rounds the first day that I had it without cleaning it, the other 200 were over 2 sessions and I thoroughly cleaned it after each shooting session.
I was astounded at how tight this gun is built. It took considerably more effort to rack the slide and to deactivate the thumb safety than any other 1911 I have ever had. Reports of Baers hard fit are not overstated. Overall the fit and finish on this gun is first rate, the bluing is beautiful and even. You can tell a considerable amount of time has been put into these 1911s building them by hand and it shows in the final product. The hand checkering is well done, and many of the parts of the gun had the serial number etched into them, it seems they pair the parts together before they even start to file on them. I would not be surprised if they spent a few hours hand fitting the gun lock that came with the gun
The sights are nice and bright and provide a great sight picture. The front post is narrow enough to allow a little daylight on each side as you look down the sight plane. I have found this helps me when shooting multiple targets quickly like in IDPA.
The trigger on my TRS is also great. No creep whatsoever, just a very crisp break. It was a little heavy out of the box for my taste (I’m spoiled by my Texas 9's 2.5 lb comp trigger), but after putting these first 500 rounds through it is has lightened up a little and is just about right for a carry gun at about 4.25 lbs.
The accuracy of the gun is exceptional, and by the time I had gotten a feel for the gun I could keep a fist sized group offhand at 20 yards and all my shots COM at 50 yards on a CHL qualifier target which is about the best I can do at the moment and is plenty fine for my shooting needs since I am not a bullseye shooter.
The only change I have made is to put on standard thickness grips which help me get a better hold on the gun. Also, as a side note, John a Pro Load told me these shipped with 3 7-rounds mags, but all of mine could hold 8 rounds with no feeding problems. In addition to those I used Kimber Kim-Pro and Wilson Combat mags during the "break-in" period all with no problems.
Overall I am very happy with this purchase and my opinion after shooting is that the Les Baer TRS puts you at the point of diminishing returns in the semi-custom (limited production, semi-production or whatever you word police want to call it) market. You may spend more money, but you won’t be getting a "better" gun, just different in terms of build philosophy and aesthetics.
