Tripp Research hard chromed Steyr M40

[Beav]

I made a boneheaded mistake. I thought I could replace the sights on my Steyr M40 myself. I failed and scratched the finish instead. Well disgusted and educated, I decided to have the gun professionally refinished and have a qualified smith put new sights on it.

I looked around, compared, and finally decided on Tripp Research. Aesthetically, I probably should have done the Cobra Coat black poly finish to keep the gun all black but I really wanted hard chrome regardless of how a two-tone Steyr M40 might look. I called Tripp Research and was surprised to speak to the man himself, Virgil Tripp.

Virgil was a pleasure to talk to and very informative. For the heck of it I asked him if I could send in a new set of sights and have them fitted along with the refinishing, to my delight, he said it could be done for only ten more dollars.

Heck, my local gunsmith wants $40 friggin dollars and he's backed up for 6 to 8 weeks!

Tripp Research refinished the gun and put the new sights on it in about two weeks.

Anyway, I got the gun back today and the finish looks absolutely incredible. I'm really not a big fan of two-tone polymer guns but it has its own appeal and I'm happy with it. I had XS sights put on it. http://www.xssights.com/
I haven't had a chance to shoot the gun yet but so far I highly recommend Tripp Research to anyone thats looking to have their firearm refinished. I would post pictures but my digital camera is a POS and the batteries aren't charged at this time, perhaps later.
My CZ97B is next!

 

[Sisco]

Let's see those pics! As soon as I have some 'extra' cash my Kimbers going to Tripp.

 

[spacemanspiff]

definitely want to see those pics!
if you dont mind my asking, what did the entire job cost? does the refinishing make racking the slide any easier? maybe its just my girly hands/fingers, but after an hour or so of dryfiring, it gets tough to get a firm grasp on the slide serrations, which imho, is the weakest of the M series design features.

 

[Beav]

Cost me around $40 to ship it to Tripp.
$10 for the sights to be fitted
$150 for the refinishing
$35 to ship it back to me

So it came out to $235 total.

It unfortunately doesn't make racking the slide any easier, well at least not to me.

Here are a couple pics...I apologize that my camera and photography skills are lacking.

 

[Beav]

another pic

 

[22x9]

Sweet

 

[Sean Smith]

It unfortunately doesn't make racking the slide any easier, well at least not to me.

Uh... why would you expect it to do that?

 

[Beav]

Maybe he was hoping that a change in the finish would alter the grip enough to make at least some difference? Maybe he was thinking in regards to some surfaces being slicker than others.

 

[arinvolvo]

Excuse my ghetto slang, but that looks SO MONEY!!!

I didnt think I would dig the finish, but lo and behold, that is absolutely awesome looking....man, maybe I will have to send in my M9.

 

[arinvolvo]

Hey beav, if you could, please snap a quick pic of the M40 just laying flat, and dont angle the shot....just so we can see the overall look of the gun.

If not, dont worry about it.

 

[litework]

That's awesome. Lots of folks are hard chroming their XD's using Tripp Research. They do a nice job and have a pretty quick turnaround time.

 

[C. H. Luke]

Beav,

Great post, Nice pics!

Thanks for the info....

 

[B27]

Tripp does great work fast and at reasonable prices. They did my P225 and some mags to go with it...

 

[arinvolvo]

B27, what was the price breakdown for the job you had done?

It looks great!

 

[B27]

arinvolvo-
IIRC, and it has been a couple years, the slide and contols came to $120, installation of my contrasting color Trijicon night sights was another $25 and the 3 mags were $15 each.
Prices may well have changed by now.
The work was actually ordered done by the guy I bought the gun from and he told me how much it had cost him.
www.trippresearch.com

 

[Beav]

Well I took it out yesterday for 150 rounds. I knew there would be a break in period (as stated on the Tripp website) and I did experience about 7 to 8 stovepipes.

Anyone know if I should have it looked at for the stovepipes or will this go away as the gun is broken in?

Also I have already taken the XS sights off the gun. At 7 yards my groups were about 4 to 5 inches below the target. Also the sights hang over the back of the gun a little and they were interrupting my loaded chamber indicator. For the Steyr M series I would advise caution if you looking at getting XS sights. On a positive note, they did aquire fast. On the right gun I'm sure they work great.

O'Dell has the original sights and the 357SIG barrel so I am going to put them on order. Really getting tired of sinking so much money into this gun but I'm determined to make it right. *sneer*

 

[Beav]

Here ya go Arinvolvo, this is the best I could do. I'm no Lunde thats for sure

 

[arinvolvo]

None of us are Beav....thanks, that pciture is perfect...I just wanted to get an overall feel for the new look of ths gun....I like it...too bad I am so broke.

 

[Jiml3]

To B27:

Great photo and great looking finish on your sig. Couldn't help notice the grips. They sure look like KN nill-grips.
I'm contemplating making a purchase of them for my sig P239. The grip on it is thin and a little slick. Do the grips fill it out more? I know they cost $100.00 plus, are they worth it? What are the pros and cons? Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

P.S. If they aren't KN nill-grips, whose are they?

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

I sent my barrel and slide to Tripp and will do the for my other compact M once I get the money. I also went with the Chrome finish. I was tempted to go with Robar but it was a long wait which is something I'm not prepared to do. Virgil's service is super fast and the guns are on their way back to me as we speak....can't wait! I second the recommendation to Tripp Research. If anyone get's the black finish from Tripp, I'd love to hear how you like it. I'm wondering if it's like a satin black...