Update on the .50 GI 1911...

[Sean Smith]

http://www.classichandguns.com/50GIpage.html

http://www.guncrafterindustries.com/

The .50 caliber 1911 is apparently no myth.

Model 1 Specs:
Proprietary Barstock Frame and Slide
Original 1911 Size
Match Grade Heavy Barrel
Heavy Duty Stainless 7rd. Magazine
Heinie Slant Pro Tritium Sights
20lpi Carry Checkering on Frontsrap
20lpi Checkered MSH w/ Integral Lanyard Loop
Tactical Single Side Thumb Safety
Lightweight Trigger, tuned to 4#
Beveled Mag Well
Olive Drab Aluma-Grips
Parkerized Finish
Cordura Carrying Case

 

[Sean Smith]

One FAT cartridge... no ballistics published yet.

Note that it has a rebated rim, so the breechface dimensions would be the same as a .45 ACP. So you should be able to convert the .50 GI to .45 ACP with just a barrel and magazine swap, which is why I'm guessing they designed the cartridge that way (although that is purely speculation on my part).

Note too that the gun is the same size as a standard 1911... not a stretched frame like the LAR Grizzly and AMT Automag V pseudo-1911s in a .50 caliber.

 

[Rupestris]

Well. Looks like I can no longer call my 1911 "Ol' Big Mouth"

 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I wonder when Bar-Sto, et al is going to start cranking out replacement barrels in .50GI?

Sounds very interesting. I suppose the velocity will probably be in the 950fps range. I love bigger holes.

Regards,
Rabbit.

 

[whitebear]

If I recall correctly, this big mouth will be illegal to carry concealed in Oklahoma - we have a restriction against carrying anything over .45 concealed.

Bummer.

 

[Harold Mayo]

Hah! I just posted on this over at the 1911forum! Everyone interested please note the principles involved...Vic Tibbets and Alex Zimmerman. It's hard to find two more capable guys teamed up in regard to 1911's. This should be interesting.

 

[Correia]

Dang. That is actually pretty cool.

 

[Grayrider]

Sean you are an evil man. Just when I thought 10mm was enough. Now I want one of these. Wonder what they will cost? Wonder what the ammo costs? Wonder if that will stop me....



GR

 

[BHPshooter]

WOW.

That is one big mother. I'm guessing at this point that the .50 GI is a handloader-only cartridge, or at least very hard to get in a factory loading?

That looks so cool.

Wes

 

[Sean Smith]

That is one big mother. I'm guessing at this point that the .50 GI is a handloader-only cartridge, or at least very hard to get in a factory loading?

Considering you can't get the GUN yet, I'd say so.

The really smart thing for them to do would be to sell it with a .45 ACP conversion kit (probably just barrel and mags). THAT would be a hell of a package.

 

[Navy joe]

Can you shoot it in CDP for the express purpose of baking Bill W's noodle?

 

[Sean Smith]

Nope, it has a bull barrel. I'm guessing they had to, otherwise the barrel would be all hole.

 

[otomik]

.50 GI ballistics info please

 

[BigG]

I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with a moderate caliber for now - 45 ACP.

 

[1911Tuner]

.50 Ballistics

50 GI ballistics info please

I'd guess that it wouldn't have a problem makin' major.
Talk about knockin' a ballistic pendulum bonkers.

Lemme see...I'll guess that with the liklihood of a 325- grain pill,
and the amount of space in such a short case...800 fps from a
5-inch barrel...no more than 850. Let's see how close I get when
the specs are published.

Guesses anybody?

Just my 2% of a buck...It'll probably be another fad that doesn't go very
far past the first year. Ammo will be hard to find and HIGH dollar, and the
good ol' .45 ACP will still reign.

Cheers!
Tuner

 

[natedog]

If a .45 can knock a man down and blow both his arms off with a shot to the pinky and sink battleships, imagine what this cartridge will do! I mean, the .45 has so much recoil that if you shoot it one handed, it will rip your arm off and impale the person behind you! I can't stand the thought of .05 more inches!

 

[bigjim]

Make fun all you want but its a much better idea than that dumbass .45 GAP.

I would buy one.

 

[Harold Mayo]

Neat concept but I don't think that it will catch on. I could, of course, be wrong.

To start second guessing two experienced 1911 mechanics and their business before it really even starts...

I'd love to see another company, like this one, come out with a line of semi-custom pistols to compete against the overpriced (IMHO) Wilsons and against the Baers (more reasonably priced). Kimber seems to be going down in quality, in my experience, as is Springfield Armory. Customer service isn't an issue, either, with these latter two, as both will fix whatever is wrong...the issue is that you buy a new gun and then have to send it off to the factory for a while to get it to work right.

Anyway, I hope that this company takes off and goes well. I don't, personally, see anything in the .50 GI that would really make it clearly a better choice than any other handgun caliber but, if 0.045" difference between a 9mm and a .40 makes such a difference and .05" between a .40 and .45 ACP makes such a difference as what people would like to believe, then the .05" difference between the .45 ACP and the .50 GI should really thrill people...

Hah! Idea for a new and useless thread....!!!

 

[Brigrat]

competition for the 500S&W. I'll bet it will sell if it's available in enough places.

 

[MaterDei]

I'm hoping 1911Tuner or other experts will weigh in with his opinion of a 1911 style frame handling the increased stress of this cartridge.

 

[agtman]

Thanks for the heads-up ...

... but then I saw:

"...The Model 1 [in 50GI] has been designed to be a Tactically sound defensive pistol with great controllability and power."

- which is what's been claimed for every new pistol/cartridge combination since the Bren Ten. Colt said pretty much the same thing when the first Delta Elite ads ran. (I looked closely for that shop-worn phrase, "... a true magnum autoloader," but thankfully the writer avoided it).

Still, a stubby but 1911-friendly 50cal cartridge does offer up an interesting ballistic concept ...

... but the question is: will it ever be anything other than a weekend hobby cartridge (like the 38 Casull, 450SMC, 45 Super 40 Super, etc.)?

 

[George Hill]

First thoughts:

"That's no moon..." / Ben
"I've got a bad feeling about this." / Han

 

[BigG]

There's an ad for it in the new SGN. Looks pretty nice. As Mao said, "Let 100 flowers blossom."

 

[1911Tuner]

Extra Stresses

T'was asked:

I'm hoping 1911Tuner or other experts will weigh in with his opinion of a 1911 style frame handling the increased stress of this cartridge.

Rule 1. Whenever something is changed, it affects everything else.
No such thing as a free lunch. The added recoil impulse will demand a higher recoil spring rate to prevent destroying the frame and slide.

Higher recoil springs mean extra stresses on the slidestop pin, lower lug,
and slidestop pin hole. The need for a heavier firing pin rebound spring
may be apparent. A heavier firing pin spring may require a heavier mainspring...A heavier mainspring will increase wear on the hammer hooks and sear...a little, and so on and so on.

Any time impact stresses are increased, things get battered faster. Things
wear out sooner. Things break. If the pistol is beefed up in critical areas,
the weight will increase, and the point will be lost due to the 3-pound
pistol on your hip. Forget alloy frames in this weapon.

I have to go with the "Weekend Hobby Gun" concept as mentioned by agtman. It will sell to some who want to be the first kid on the block with
a .50 caliber 1911...but I don't believe that it will ever sell in great numbers or last very long. In that light, there may be some real collector value 20
years down the road, and a viable investment, but not as a practical
sidearm, except for very specialized arenas...and those arenas have
already been filled by the .41 and .44 magnum...the .454 Casull and
.480 Ruger do even better...and the .500 Smith and Wesson better still.
Anybody who remembers the .45 Winchester Magnum can remember
just how quickly it faded into obscurity, as did the pistol that chambered it.

As with anything that is manufactured, it is presumably made for a purpose. Ask yourself: "What's it FOR?" What can it do that can't
already be done by something that has been there for years?

Just my nickel's worth..(Inflation)

Tuner

 

[TarpleyG]

Where do I sign up???

GT