AAR Vickers Tactical 1911 Pistolsmith Class Naples, FL Feb 6-11, 2012

[Norinco]

WOW!
Great post Grant. Thank you for sharing.

[OldState]

.




The thing that LAV brings to the table is all of his experience at Delta, millions of rounds fired and all the bugs/problems witnessed via Delta shooters. No other 1911 pistolsmith can duplicate that (to my knowledge).



C4

Right you are!

Did you have to bring a full set of tools?

[C4IGrant]

It would be worth buying a subscription to Tac TV, just to watch that one episode. The return on investment would be excellent, when you think of the time, money and ammunition saved.

Grant, thanks for the AAR, and please keep us updated on your 1911 build.

I'll also be interested in how this carries over for the M&P pistols you tune and sell.

Yes it would.


I plan on doing a pictorial review as the gun progresses in the 1911 section of this forum.


C4

[SeriousStudent]

Thanks, Grant, I'll look forward to it.

[C4IGrant]

Right you are!

Did you have to bring a full set of tools?

Yes on the tools. You needed everything in order to build a 1911.



C4

[abanks8245]

I have always loved the styling and culture that surrounded the 1911, as an American firearm. I have loved and carried glocks for the last 6-7 years, and never had a chance to get enough trigger time or work on the few 1911s that i own. As a instructor, Larry Vickers is as much of a straight shooter and to the point as i have ever dealt with. You want his opinion, he gives it to you directly no bs or filler, kinda refreshing. In terms of 1911 he is a true wealth of knowledge, i felt like the most of the course as "that guy" but embraced it because of lack of knowledge on the 1911 platform. Lessons learn: The 1911 is not a glock, it is a outstanding firearm, but it is not a platform for "plug and play parts" ie drop in parts. If you want to take this class, which i seriously suggest get comfortable with proper use of file, and not be afraid to use it PROPERLY, some places/parts require dremal, some it takes filing , that is what separates a standard production 1911 from a custom 1911. The 1911 that i build for this class only resembles my MC operator in that they are both 1911s, the way things are fitted together are worlds apart , now don't get me wrong, Springfield still makes outstanding guns, and i will continue to buy from them. Larry's attention to detail to what makes a 1911 run , not just for the first 1000 rds but indefinitely is impeccable. Things i would have never though about to allow a 1911 to shoot reliably as well as shooting softer. If you are truly into 1911s as a hobbyist or gunsmith this is a class you will really appreciate and learn a metric ton from, and Larry gives you real world experience and a to the point, no bs instruction approach, having thick skin always work too lol. Was able Met some really cool guys in the course as well. i was truly blessed to be able to attend this course and still have a little work to do on my pistol as well. But when taught what right looks like, you really can see wrong from a long ways always.Hope im not hijacking the thread C4Igrant, My pistol with work to still be done.

from this
[IMG][/IMG]

to this


with work still to be done! not bad for a true novice for the 1911 , now if i can get in one of larrys classes to learn how to shoot this thing to its full potential we would be in business!!!

[Mark71]

Grant,

Thanks for the AAR and pics. Looking forward to seeing how this gun progresses.

[Larry Vickers]

I want to jump in here and thank Grant and all the students for a great class - we had a good time and Grant is correct I do enjoy teaching that class; it also gives me a chance to get back to the workbench and file some metal - something I am too busy for most of the time these days

The 1911 build class will be on season two of TacTV and should be a cool show - and I'll let you guys in on a little secret; the TacTV website is about to go live ( within a few days- I promise!!) and the 10,000 th annual subscriber will get a custom 1911 built by me - a $10,000 dollar value!!

We have no idea how long it will take to get there , and we have other prizes along the way, but my director and I felt like that was a great way to reward whoever happens to be a lucky 10,000!

Be safe

LAV

[Ryo]

Sounds pretty awesome Larry. Looking forward to watching it.

Also way to go on making people delay registering.

If this class is anything like the carbine class I took with you, I'm sure it would be a great class.

[C4IGrant]

Dude, you the got the "problem gun," but quite honestly probably learned the most in the class as you had to "fix" more issues than anyone (well besides Stony).




C4