Clark Longslide - Advantages v.Disadvantages

[TomJ]

I shot my first 2700 match yesterday with my one-and-only gun an S&W Model 41 with an ultradot. I really enjoyed it. Long story short, one of the other competitors let me shoot his RRA .45 for one of the National Match Courses, so that got me thinking about buying a .45.

One of the shooters has a Clark longslide that he talked about selling. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a longslide versus standard 5" barrel? If I purchased it, I would initially shoot iron sights, but long-term would no doubt want to mount an Unltadot on it. What should I be concerned about buying a used bullseye gun? Your comments are appreciated. Thanks
Tom

[Levergun59]

An older Clark Longslide is a classic bullseye gun. Jim Clark really knew how to put a gun together. The accuracy and ergonomics were flawless. The recoil is not as sharp, but it is a tad slower to come back to battery. I shot my best rapid ever at Perry with a Clark Longslide, a 199 11x with a 5 shot aliby string from a dud shell. Hope this helps.
Chris

[tenx9]

I think today there is no advantage or disasdvantage. Since most shooters use dot sights the extra length is great for iron sight use but makes no differnece with a scope. The mimimal increase in velocity is probably moot. I also shoot a Clark longslide that was built by Clark in the '60's. Although the bbl and innards have been changed a few times the gun itself is still rock solid.

[mr alexander]

I have a Clark Long Heavy Slide in .45ACP that was built in 1981. Converted from a Colt Government Model Series '70, it has a 6" slide, a 6" barrel and a 6" full length Bo-Mar Sight Rib. Yes, the recoil is not as sharp as a 5" pistol and it's cycling rate is SLIGHTLY slower as well. But, it does have a 1" longer sight radius (using iron sights) and it definitely has a muzzle-heavy feel to it which I tend to prefer, while others may not. One thing to note; should you decide to switch to a dot sight, Clark does offer a slide-mounted 6" scope base that uses the same hole pattern as the Bo-Mar Rib does. One more thing about the Long Slide- it puts you 1" closer to the target!