Ok, so it's not "new", but I just got it from SOG. I hate it when people talk about their new gun they haven't shot yet, but I'm going to make some judgements about it anyway based on an extremely limited amount of shooting I did with it last night before dark.
First of all, I was really impressed with the gun when I opened the package, despite the fact that to S.O.G. the NRA grade of "Excellent" means "mildly beat up". The gun was once a fantastically blued firearm, but mine has some ver small flecks of bluing missing here and there; you have to look closely. Fortunately though, there are no chunks of metal missing from this gun as there were on my "Very Good" grade S&W's from S.O.G. I guess Spanish Police don't drop their guns as much as ours do? Anyway, the metallurgy and machining on my gun was excellent, could barely tell it from an American gun inside. It was just used, with some once-sharp edeges having dull spots on them, etc.
The gun is a miniature 1911, complete with cute lil' bushing. Disassembly was a little interesting since it has a full-length guide rod, which I didn't expect.
Sights are small but usable, especially the front one, which is Patridge-style, not a ramp as in the picture. Grip feels wonderful in the hand, mildly curved with no grip safety to screw things up. The gun's short barrel makes it perfectly balanced. I felt like I had an Officer's ACP or maybe a Kimber "Compact" sized gun, only this gun is smaller than a Gov. model pistol. I can't really describe it accept to say it reminds me of a .380 Gov. Mod. Colt scaled up just a little. At any rate, it's smaller and more compact than I realized, just reminds me of a big .380.
Trigger on my gun is outstanding, being light AND crisp. Someone must've worked on this one, but it's the best 1911 trigger I've felt.
Shooting - after a quick swab through the bore and Break-Free spraying of the internals, I was outside in the freezing wind. I was fighting the coming darkness, So I put up 1 target at 15 yards and prayed that the Winchester "White Box" 100 count FMJ's from WallyWorld would function.
My first 3 shot group went inside 1.5" at 15 yards freestanding. I couldn't believe it! And so did the next one. At that point it was getting a little dark and my further groups loosened up a tad simply because I was having trouble seeing my sights. Anyway, 2 clips of 8 still went into about 3" at that distance, even with my ever-worsening shooting.
I was impressed. I plinked at a water bottle, just to see how fast I could crank off some shots, and was impressed.
So what is my conclusion after 24 rounds of FMJ? WOW! I can't believe this gun, accurate and totally reliable in a small, carryable package. Recoil was a little snappier than I expected for such a heavy gun, but it was more quickness than muzzle flip. I like the gun MUCH better than my Kahr of years past.
The Downside - my gun has some quirks. First, the tang was not designed right, having a pseudo-sharp edge right where the web of your hand absorbs recoil. To make things worse, somebody dinged mine, making the metal there even sharper and jagged. It was only a mere annoyance while shooting however, no blood or redness.
Worse though was my gun's thumb safety. Applying it requires more strength than my thumb is capable of in the normal firing postion. It's just kinda hard - but I think it moves up to block the the hammer, since you can see the hammer moving back a little when the safety goes on. Not a big problem for me to shift my grip to do this. However, as hard as the safety is to apply, it snicks off WAY too easily, so smoothly that carry in the cloth shoulder holster I had would produce a gun with the safety 99% off. Anybody know if this can be fixed?
I'm not sure if this gun is ever going to be safe to carry cocked and locked; might be better carried with an empty chamber. Whether this dissuades me from carring it remains to be seen at this time. If nothing else, it will make a dandy range pistol.
I also have no idea whether the gun will feed hollow points - I suspect not, as that's a lot to ask of such a finely-made cheap gun. I have some Cor-Bons lying around, but I'm not sure I want to take the chance of ruining my good shooter with them. I plan on reloading some HP's for it but don't know when I'll get to shoot it agoin soon since it's snowing pretty badly here.
Would I Buy Another? - ABSOLUTELY! I had been considering other guns in this price range - a Taurus .38 snubby, a Ruger P95, a Kel-Tec P11, a Bersa .380, and some others I've now forgotten. I am SO GLAD I got what I got, it is high quality, pretty, and accurate, with a trigger that you'd have a hard time finding on any modern 1911. I'd recommend these guns to anybody as a BEST BUY in that price range. Some day, I'd like to get its big brother, the Star Model B Super.
Hope this helps prospective purchasers!
First of all, I was really impressed with the gun when I opened the package, despite the fact that to S.O.G. the NRA grade of "Excellent" means "mildly beat up". The gun was once a fantastically blued firearm, but mine has some ver small flecks of bluing missing here and there; you have to look closely. Fortunately though, there are no chunks of metal missing from this gun as there were on my "Very Good" grade S&W's from S.O.G. I guess Spanish Police don't drop their guns as much as ours do? Anyway, the metallurgy and machining on my gun was excellent, could barely tell it from an American gun inside. It was just used, with some once-sharp edeges having dull spots on them, etc.
The gun is a miniature 1911, complete with cute lil' bushing. Disassembly was a little interesting since it has a full-length guide rod, which I didn't expect.
Sights are small but usable, especially the front one, which is Patridge-style, not a ramp as in the picture. Grip feels wonderful in the hand, mildly curved with no grip safety to screw things up. The gun's short barrel makes it perfectly balanced. I felt like I had an Officer's ACP or maybe a Kimber "Compact" sized gun, only this gun is smaller than a Gov. model pistol. I can't really describe it accept to say it reminds me of a .380 Gov. Mod. Colt scaled up just a little. At any rate, it's smaller and more compact than I realized, just reminds me of a big .380.
Trigger on my gun is outstanding, being light AND crisp. Someone must've worked on this one, but it's the best 1911 trigger I've felt.
Shooting - after a quick swab through the bore and Break-Free spraying of the internals, I was outside in the freezing wind. I was fighting the coming darkness, So I put up 1 target at 15 yards and prayed that the Winchester "White Box" 100 count FMJ's from WallyWorld would function.
My first 3 shot group went inside 1.5" at 15 yards freestanding. I couldn't believe it! And so did the next one. At that point it was getting a little dark and my further groups loosened up a tad simply because I was having trouble seeing my sights. Anyway, 2 clips of 8 still went into about 3" at that distance, even with my ever-worsening shooting.
I was impressed. I plinked at a water bottle, just to see how fast I could crank off some shots, and was impressed.
So what is my conclusion after 24 rounds of FMJ? WOW! I can't believe this gun, accurate and totally reliable in a small, carryable package. Recoil was a little snappier than I expected for such a heavy gun, but it was more quickness than muzzle flip. I like the gun MUCH better than my Kahr of years past.
The Downside - my gun has some quirks. First, the tang was not designed right, having a pseudo-sharp edge right where the web of your hand absorbs recoil. To make things worse, somebody dinged mine, making the metal there even sharper and jagged. It was only a mere annoyance while shooting however, no blood or redness.
Worse though was my gun's thumb safety. Applying it requires more strength than my thumb is capable of in the normal firing postion. It's just kinda hard - but I think it moves up to block the the hammer, since you can see the hammer moving back a little when the safety goes on. Not a big problem for me to shift my grip to do this. However, as hard as the safety is to apply, it snicks off WAY too easily, so smoothly that carry in the cloth shoulder holster I had would produce a gun with the safety 99% off. Anybody know if this can be fixed?
I'm not sure if this gun is ever going to be safe to carry cocked and locked; might be better carried with an empty chamber. Whether this dissuades me from carring it remains to be seen at this time. If nothing else, it will make a dandy range pistol.
I also have no idea whether the gun will feed hollow points - I suspect not, as that's a lot to ask of such a finely-made cheap gun. I have some Cor-Bons lying around, but I'm not sure I want to take the chance of ruining my good shooter with them. I plan on reloading some HP's for it but don't know when I'll get to shoot it agoin soon since it's snowing pretty badly here.
Would I Buy Another? - ABSOLUTELY! I had been considering other guns in this price range - a Taurus .38 snubby, a Ruger P95, a Kel-Tec P11, a Bersa .380, and some others I've now forgotten. I am SO GLAD I got what I got, it is high quality, pretty, and accurate, with a trigger that you'd have a hard time finding on any modern 1911. I'd recommend these guns to anybody as a BEST BUY in that price range. Some day, I'd like to get its big brother, the Star Model B Super.
Hope this helps prospective purchasers!
From all report's these were very