View Full Version : Custom Detonics
Having recently seen some very well done Detonics customs, I was curious and asked my gunsmith buddies if that was something they might consider doing. I haven't owned a Detonics since I sold a Seecamp conversion one (I know, I know...I was young and stupid) years ago.
Well, not only could it be done but they had done about a dozen of them over the course of the past 15 years or so. Since I never asked, I never knew. What really put the cherry on top was that with the recent opening of their new shop, it was early in the gunsmithing queue and this was done in weeks
This is an original Detonics. The work consists of Novak night sights, serrated slide top, 20 lpi frontstrap, 3.5 pound trigger, reliability package and black oxide finish.
The big work was the making of a functional beavertail safety, nicely blended in, a custom barrel (I believe it started its life as a Colt Officer's barrel) and a really well done single port comp, machined out of a block of steel.
This is a very sweet carry gun or I suppose you could also use it as a BUG if you were so inclined.
As always, I want to thank my friends Jody and John at JOJO's Gunworks in Southington, CT for their awesome custom work. Enjoy.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics007.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics006.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics005.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics004.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics003.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics002.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/conndcj/detonics001.jpg
The pistol is certainly of high quality and the aftermarket work looks outstanding. However, Detonics pistols are a giant contradiction.
Do they have an internal contest amongst gunsmiths to see who can reduce the sight radius the most?
There is absolutely NO reason for that. Anyone that says it speeds up the sight alignment is right- it does speed it up but is so imprecise (?) as to negate the reason for having sights.
K.L. Davis
12-31-06, 01:42
Very Nice Work!
Anyone that has even chopped a frame down knows that if you do all the work in house, it is a lot of work... and that is nice work.
A lot of the 1911s that I have built have the rear sight moved forward, it is just something that I started doing after I bought a .451 DetMag back around 82 or so? Since then, I have grown to like the back of the slide dropped and the sight moved up -- but I only went .75 inches.
Again, very nice looking piece.
ETA: SHz -- these guns were built for "distances of normal social intercourse" :D
Do they have an internal contest amongst gunsmiths to see who can reduce the sight radius the most?
There is absolutely NO reason for that. Anyone that says it speeds up the sight alignment is right- it does speed it up but is so imprecise (?) as to negate the reason for having sights.
How did you know about the contest; I didn't see you at the meeting.
As you know, this is not a silhouette gun. This is for close encounters of the shithead kind. Actually thought of a front sight only. Two people ordered them like that and they work fine. Detonics once offered NO sights.
As I'm sure you also know, the rear portion of the slide on a Detonics slopes away very quickly. To place the rear sight back much further and maintain the proper sight plane would entail the build up of the base of the rear sight (or slide) to where it would be ungainly and awkward with no practical application gain. Homey don't do ungainly; not at these prices.
Finally ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is what I wanted because it works for me. I have no problem acquiring my sights and putting rounds on the bad guy (admittedly a paper bad guy) quickly which is the sole purpose of the weapon.
If a margarita maker worked on it as well, I would have had them put one on too. Alas, in that spec, holsters were impossible to find.
So, in sum, there IS a reason for said sight placement. Thank you and good day. ;)
Ben Lenett
12-31-06, 10:37
The Detonics pistols feature that forward set rear sight accompanied by the rearward slope to allow for thumb cocking of the hammer. I was recently in the company of the primary smith for Detonics and he advised that the pistol was first devised to be carried hammer down on a live round by the original owner. Since that forward set look has become "attached" to Detonics they chose to keep it even though they understand that isn't a valid technique anymore.
I have a Detonics Combatmaster that Chuck Rogers just built up for me, and it turned out to be a neat little basegun for the work.
Enjoy your toy.
Ben is 100% correct on this. I have owned numerous Detonics over the years and had several custom builds off the uppers. I also had an OSS (no sights). I much prefered the sighted models. I never carried mine hammer down, but most of the folks I knew who carried them did carry them hammer down, and minus a holster..
Jeez. Why do people get so offended when you don't like their guns?
Seriously, at "intercourse" distances, you don't really need a rear sight, you can pretty much point and shoot I would think. Having 2" of sight radius doesn't really give you much additional to aim with.
I didn't mean to offend you Cohiba. I like asking people with these pistols how they feel about the sights and also giving my 2 cents hoping I will hear something different each time. I don't.
The problem is when you say there is "NO" reason for haivng the rear sight the way it is. Ben gave you the reason, and I don't think anyone cares if you like the gun or not, it was the blanket statement that caused the response.
Jeez. Why do people get so offended when you don't like their guns?
Seriously, at "intercourse" distances, you don't really need a rear sight, you can pretty much point and shoot I would think. Having 2" of sight radius doesn't really give you much additional to aim with.
I didn't mean to offend you Cohiba. I like asking people with these pistols how they feel about the sights and also giving my 2 cents hoping I will hear something different each time. I don't.
Hey SHz,
No worries man. I never let anything on the Internet bother me, ever. As someone pointed out, what you are asking now is different in substance and tone than the "NO reason" you gave before.
That everyone has different tastes and needs in firearms is great. It keeps discussions going. My requirement, spurred on by some unpleasant developments in my line of work, was for a .45 caliber, easily concealable, reliable pistol. This fits the bill perfectly. As always, YMMV.
so these little buggers are meant to be carried hammer down on a round and pulled out quickly while you are cocking them...
Just removing the rear sight from it's original position aids in this?
It HELPS to do this more than it HURTS having a decent sight radius?
I look at these like most freaks of nature. There are a lot of anomalies in humans that modern science and drugs have helped keep alive. Collectors have helped these oddball guns stay alive in a world they should have otherwised perished in...
:p
If you look at the time frame when these guns were really popular, hammer down carry was more prevelant. Back in the 80's most cops were carrying revolvers, there wasn't a plethora of small big bore autos, so the Detonics was a pretty cool thing. Among gun guys, Detonics were cool. I had a Detonics upper done on an aluminum lower that I often carried to court in an ankle holster so I didn't have to wear a jacket. Having an 8 round .45 in an ankle rig instead of a 5 shot Chief's that all my buddy's had was a real positive. These guns competed size wise with Colt Detective specials and the small S&W revolvers..............at this point the Detonics sight situation was much better than the small revolvers. Heck for 80's cool, even Sonny Crocket carried a Detonics on his ankle;) .
If you keep these guns in context, they were at the forefront of concealable big bores. I would definately take a Glock 36 over one today, but that wasn't an option many years ago. For those truely dedicated to the horribly "outdated" (read that with sarcasm.....) 1911, the Detonics and guns of this type work to keep your system of carry consistent.
It never ceases to amaze me the comments by people that don't get what the 'gun world' was like back in the '70s & early '80s. You couldn't buy parts, guns & ammo like we have available today - they just didn't exist & had to be custom made. Some methods of carry & deployment have changed considerably since then - some didn't. I'm just saying...
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