CMP-legal Hardball Gun-Whose to get?

[Amanda4461]

I know, lots of choices, but which smith's Hardball .45 can be purchased within 1 year, yet be Competitive? By Competitive, will allow a Master-class score to be shot without issue, if I do my part? I know Les Baer guns from previous experiences, have emailed with Roddy Toyota, who seems to be swamped, but wondered if anyone else was available and whose pistol will do the job, as I do not know anyone personally. If I had my druthers, I would love to send my old Springfield Armory .45 and have it redone, Seems many folks want to use Caspian to start off, or some other make, and not redo my old S/A. Suggestions appreciated for a .22 shooter wishing to come full circle. $$ isn't an issue, proper equipment is.
Thanks!
Amanda4461

[redial]

If $$ really isn't an issue, Chambers Custom or SVI will build you a piece good enough for anyone.

Realistically, having someone knowledgeable build on your existing gun is what most shooters do.

Mark

[GOVTMODEL]

call David Santurri at http://www.santurriltd.com/index.html

Excellent work, quick turnaround.

[landshark]

FWIW, I picked up a decade old hardball pistol KC Crawford built off gunbroker really cheap because a previous owner had drilled it and put a frame mount on it. He said it shot so good he turned it into a wadgun.

I already had a wad gun I liked so I took the mount off and have been shooting it with irons.

I've been really pleased with it.

I don't know what he's using now but on this one KC used a KKM barrel, and fitted a Caspian slide on a springfield stainless frame.

I won't claim anything about shooting master scores with 230gr FMJ, but its still easily a sub 2 inch pistol with 185's. It actually makes a sweet shooting wadgun, it just has a 5 pound trigger.

I've never talked to him but KC has obviously been in business a while, and has a reputation for being both one of the top smiths around and having a fast turn around. I think he's a former marine corp armorer.

[stuann]

Thank you for suggesting David Santurri. Two week turn-around for modifying a hard-ball gun that shoots less than 1.5"

[Amanda4461]

Thanks to those who suggested that I call on David Santurri for a Hardball pistol. I originally bought an old Jim Clark, Sr. Hardball Colt. I have one of his early Heavy Slide Wadcutter Colts and it is easily a sub-2" pistol at 50 yards. Unfortunately, the Clark hardball had seen better days. It looked ok, until the rear sight fell off, and until it would hold 4 and 5 inch groups at 50 yards after I super-glued, then replaced the old Elliason's innards. I sent it to Mr. Santurri, requested a new Kart barrel, new Bomar-style rear and dovetailed front, new long trigger and action job set up for CMP hardball, and a reblue. Took about a month and a half, received it with all the old parts and a test target from a Ransom with a <2" Center to Center group. Shot 400+ rounds of Hardball, Nosler 185JHP, 185LSWC light loads. Perfect function, even with the LSWC and some Flying Ashtrays. Accurate enough to chew the 10-ring at 25 yards, which was as far as I could try today. Looks great, runs great. I will be sending him a Colt Combat Commander next. He does fine work at reasonable cost, in a short amount of time. It was nice of you folks to provide the references.
Amanda4461

[Bullseye58]

KC Crawford!

[Bullseye58]

KC Crawford!

[NDbullseye]

save a little bit of money buy a springfield range officer and replace with spur hammer, gov. grip safety, and trigger job. They are extremely accurate for what you are paying. A local gunsmith has been very impressed by them.

[GunRunner]

Call Gil Hebard guns and get a Les Baer, they keep them on order, the longest wait is about 4 months if not in stock. These are very accurate and guaranteed 3'' or less at 50 yds with 230 fmj.

[Old1Vinny]

I went with Clark Custom guns. They custom built my 45 on a Caspian frame in 10 months. They'll do Springfields a bit quicker. The pistol is a thing of beauty....but most of all it will shoot better than I ever will. It groups off a rest at about 1 inch at 50 yards. No feed or functioning issues at all.

[SMBeyer]

I just sent off my Springfield Range Officer. It's brand new and I am replacing all the necessary parts and we are going to try just replacing the bushing and see how it shoots with the original stock barrel shooting Federal Match 230gr. I shot it just enough the other day to sight it in at 50yds with Winchester Target from Wal-Mart and with the 5.5# trigger that was on it and was very impressed with it. I am very anxious to see what it does with a fitted bushing and match ammo out of a Ransom rest. I will report back with the results and how much I have invested in it.

I sent mine and another friends RO to the smith at the same time and I am glad that I got the gun I did. My slide is much tighter than his. His has a lot of movement at the front of the slide when in battery and you can hear it rattle when you shake it. Mine has none of that. Scott

[trulyapostolic]

Who did you send it to?

[SMBeyer]

Mark Arrow in St. Charles, MO. He did a trigger job on my series 70 Gold Cup that someone had previously cobled before I got it and it came back fabulous. Scott

[SMBeyer]

So I got my Range Officer back last night at our indoor league night. I had the gunsmith replace the hammer, grip safety, thumb safety and bushing. He did the necessary trigger job that once again turned out great and milled the rear sight notch to .140. I like a little more light on both sides of the front sight. I gave him Winchester Target from Wal-Mart and Federal Match 230gr ball ammo to try in the Ransom Rest. The Winchester shot OK but fliers opened up the groups to 3-3.5 inches. The Federal on the other hand shot a best group of 1.6 inches with an average of right at 2" with ball ammo at 50yds with the stock Springfield barrel. I was all smiles leaving the range last night with my new toy. Scott

$820 plus $280 for parts, trigger job, milled rear sight, and fitting new bushing= $1100 for a 2" gun.

[Jar-hed]

I know this is an old thread, and the OP has since resolved their issue, but since I did a lot of similar leg work, I thought I would post my experiences. I needed a .45, cause I had none. After much research, I decided to go with Clarks. One other smith that came highly recommended was Joe Chambers. His work is fabulous, but be prepared for sticker shock, and don't expect to win any matches with a gun you order from him in the near future. For a basic wad gun, he quoted me $4500, and the lead time is three years! I placed my order from Clarks Custom Guns in Feb 2012. Received the gun from them just before Christmas. They said 10-12 months when I ordered it, so I give them high marks for meeting their anticipated delivery date. Haven't quite got 200 rounds through it yet, but I am very happy with it. It came with a 50 yd Ransom Rest target that measures 2.3 inches. From my hand, it definitely shoots to call. After I ordered the Clark, I still needed a .45 to get through last summer, so I bought a (cheaper) used Springfield Armory that was set-up as a wadcutter gun with a rib on it. It needed a little work. Contacted Dave Santurri and he made a real shooter out of that gun. Some slide to frame fitting, replaced the barrel and bushing with a new Kart, and a little trigger tuning. Now that I have the Clark, I plan to turn the Springfield into a ball gun. So, for Clark or Santurri, two thumbs up!