Should I expect a Les Baer Custom Carry to run out of the box?

[mes228]

Baers

Yes, your Baer should run out of the box. I've had several Les Baers, some new & some used. All ran perfectly for me. I suggest you lube with RemOil (or equlivant) and "Sentry Hi-Slip Grease" (the real deal. Approved by and used by Seal Teams and Spec. Forces). With the grease used on rails, locking lugs, bushing/barrel and other "wear points". Using this combination I can store a pistol for several months, pick it up and run several hundred flawless rounds. I took five pistols to the range last week, only one had been pretty much lubed since November or cleaned. All had been shot since November but most not cleaned. Four shooters fired several hundred rounds with not one burp of any kind. In my opinion, Sentry Hi-Slip Grease is the best lube product available. We fired Rem. Golden sabers, Fed. Hydra Shock, Win. White Box, PriviPartisan, Fiocchie, inexpensive Rem. HP's in the 100 rd. box, inexpensive Win. HP's in the 100 round box. Not one failure in just about a thousand rounds. Darn near made me cry at the ammo expense and paying for range time. I hate to think of the cost of replacing the ammo. My wife thinks I go to the range and pay $10 an hour for range time she has no idea of what ammo cost. If she knew she might not be so agreeable to my shooting excursions (grin).

 

[Tacbandit]

Quote: from Friendly, Don't Fire...
"In thinking this over for a while, I have come to the following conclusion:
No, I do not think your Les Baer Custom Carry will run out of the box.
You are going to have to use your hands to pick it up out of the box. Maybe, someday, a pistol will act on its own, however we have a way to go before that ever comes to light."

May be the best advice yet, on this topic...
Tac

 

[dcmdon]

1911 Tuner,

All the modern designs you listed do have the mark of a classic JMB design, the Hi-Power.

When JMB designed the HP a few years later he improved the bbl tilt mechanism and removed the link (sorry abot the toggle reference, I was having a bad day)

I understand that the spring steel extractor was a reasonable decision, but it can and has been improved upon. My highest round count center fire gun is a Glock 34. Its got over 30,000 rounds through it and is still on the same extractor.

The same can't be said of any 1911 spring extractor that I know of. In fact many of the top competitors in single stack use a mechanical articulated extractor that fits in place of the spring steel one. The name escapes me now.


Don

 

[1911Tuner]

When JMB designed the HP a few years later he improved the bbl tilt mechanism and removed the link (sorry abot the toggle reference, I was having a bad day)

Browning didn't design the High Power. He never even saw one. He designed the Grande Rendement...and I'm pretty sure that it had a barrel link...and Dieudonne Saive used that as a springboard to design the High Power...and it had an internal extractor.

I understand that the spring steel extractor was a reasonable decision, but it can and has been improved upon. My highest round count center fire gun is a Glock 34. Its got over 30,000 rounds through it and is still on the same extractor.

That depends on what the role of a given pistol is. If I'm far from home, and I need to service the extractor...I don't want to be dinking around with a tiny pin and coil spring.
That's the beauty of the internal spring extractor. No specialty tools required to remove it for service.

I've got a range beater that's got an extractor in it that I cannabalized several years ago from a badly worn 1918 USGI Colt. It's probably seen 50,000 rounds since I installed it, and...aside from removal for cleaning every so often...it hasn't been touched, and it still works.

The same can't be said of any 1911 spring extractor that I know of.

See above. I get the same performance from all my pistols. The last extractor that I replaced had about 75,000 rounds past it...and it still worked. I put it in the range box for a spare that I'll probably never need. I rarely have extractor trouble, and when I do...all I have to do is bend'em a little for tension. Takes about 3 minutes for the whole job.

In fact many of the top competitors in single stack use a mechanical articulated extractor that fits in place of the spring steel one. The name escapes me now.

Yep. I know the one. They work well until one of the two coil springs goes south. I replaced the springs on one for a local guy last year. Never could get it workin' right again...so he gave up and had me fix him up with a Wilson Heavy Duty that cost him less than half what he gave for the AFTEC.

Properly designed, there really isn't a dynamic difference brtween the internal and the external. They both do the same job. In a pistol that's functioning correctly, the extractor just isn't under very much stress. I've seen several 1911s and High Powers run pretty well without an extractor even being there. Ejection was a little erratic...but they ran.

But...properly designed is the operative term. Some are. Some aren't...as a few recent clone makers have discovered.

Me? I like being able to remove my extractors without needing a tiny punch, and I like not havin' to worry about a miniature spring bouncin' off into the 4th dimension. I like being able to completely disassemble a 1911 pistol in about a minute...and reassemble it in about two...without tools. I'll probably never need to...but nice to be able to in case I ever do.

At any rate, it's a debate that will rage on without a clear consensus on which is better.
Everybody's got their 'druthers.

 

[dcmdon]

1911tuner,

Thank you for the information. Its interesting, I know so many people who have had problems with their extractors. (I shoot in a local match every week and probably 60% of us use 1911s)

What you are saying though about it being properly fitted makes a lot of sense. I'm assuming that you mean something that is properly fitted and contoured (If I remember my AGI video properly) as well as properly tensioned.

I'm relatively new at playing with 1911s, but it would seem to me that if the extractor tension isn't set right, the thing will fatigue and fail.

I think we will both agree that this is the main difference between a 1911 and newer (not necessarily better) designs. That the 1911 requires a skilled person with understanding and finesse for service.

Whereas something like a Glock or an M&P can pretty much be maintained by a neanderthal with a punch and basic mechanical skills.

 

[1911Tuner]

I'm relatively new at playing with 1911s, but it would seem to me that if the extractor tension isn't set right, the thing will fatigue and fail.

What causes them to fatigue and fail is improper feeding...loss of control usually on the last round...and the resulting push feed that forces the claw to climb the case rim...or "Snapover" as it's sometimes called. It's a magazine problem, and most prevalent with 8 and 10-round magazines with smooth-topped followers and/or weak springs. My extractors don't lose tension and they don't break.

Many "New/Improved" things are gimmicks, and one of the oldest marketing strategies around is to first convince the prospective buyer that he "needs" what they have...and then sell it to him.

i.e. "If your pistol doesn't have this extractor, you need this pistol."

"Shock buffs save your frame. You need this shock buff."

"Full-length guide rods keep your spring from kinking. You need a full-length guide rod."

See the trend? Marketing.

The question is asked:

"What is it for?"

The answer is...too often:

"Why...to sell, of course!"

 

[R0CKETMAN]

Late to the party, but my Baer CC had a few FTRTB in the first 50 rounds and 100% reliable for the last 3k.

 

[dcmdon]

I agree with you that all of those doodads don't improve on the basic 1911 design.

My two baers, my Nighthawk and my Colt are all standard JMB parts.
No shockbuff, FLGR or special extractor.

But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate modern designs that are clearly easier to manufacture in reliability.

 

[Mad Magyar]

"Shock buffs save your frame. You need this shock buff."

I guess you won't be invited to Bill Wilson's next birthday party... I read where he's made a fortune off those "do-dads".....
Tuner, you gave good advice...

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Back to the original question.

Mine Baer's all ran out of the box. I had a few studders with my 1.5" 10mm HWML but my PII's all worked perfectly.

Just use them and enjoy the tight hard fit of the gun. If you don't want a hard fit gun, but a Wilson or some similar custom gun.

 

[2ndamd]

No, You can not expect your Baer to run out of the box. It needs 500 rounds first and 1000 rounds would even be better.

 

[dcmdon]

No, You can not expect your Baer to run out of the box. It needs 500 rounds first and 1000 rounds would even be better.

Uh, you're kidding right?

Do you even own one?

Have you even read the other responses in this thread?

 

[dcmdon]

I guess you won't be invited to Bill Wilson's next birthday party... I read where he's made a fortune off those "do-dads".....
Tuner, you gave good advice...

Thats funny.

When I first purchased my PII it had a shock buff in it. As a lefty I don't use the slide release, preferring to overhand "slingshot" the slide.

My PII was giving me some trouble with that. I called Baer and got Les on the phone. He told me to remove the shock buff. I hadn't yet disassembled the gun so I didn't even know hit had one.

Les told me he thought they were useless but thought that people wanted the guns to come with them.