[Earl 007]

I sold my P35 or Nazi proof Hi-Power, not a great time to sell old collectables, so I'm ready to buy a custom 1911. I was wondering if anyone had any good or bad dealing with this company before I send them money , the Premier 2 5" is what I'm going to order thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Shark1007]

Earl, I’ve never heard anything bad about them. They make a very high quality 1911.

I would kind of put the hierarchy of 1911s as Colt, Dan Wesson, Les Baer, then Ed Brown, Wilson, Guncrafter with the last three being almost a tie. If money is tight, the new Dan Wesson’s are very impressive.

 

[Earl 007]

I looked at Dan Wesson first but what I wanted was a quality 1911 with the old deep blueing and not many company's offer that it's all stainless and parkerised . I did not see a blued model in the Dan wesson line up. Who makes the best mag's ?

 

[Riverpigusmc]

Baer's bluing will turn plum with age..know that going in. And from all accounts, they are ungodly tight and take a lot of breaking in. You'll need the bushing wrench. I went with Wilson due to customer service, I'd get in a cussfight with Les certain sure. But they have a reputation as shooters. Go to 1911forum.com and browse the Les Baer section

 

[Shark1007]

Agree with Riverpig completely. I believe the best magazines are made by Tripp followed by Wilson and McCormick which is owned by Wilson now I think.

 

[Earl 007]

Thanks to both of you for the information, now on monday I'll bet it will be a year wait with all the current craziness .

 

[Marilyn]

I have a Les Baer Premier II .45 with a 6” barrel. When I first bought it, new in the box, it could not function reliably. It was just impossible to get through a magazine without some kind of failure. I fired a few hundred rounds with no improvement. Eventually, after it wouldn’t break in at all, I contacted Les Baer. Les Baer was reluctant to provide any service, and if I wanted them to look at it, I had to ship it to them at my own expense. To the best of my recollection, I would have had to pay for return shipping. Shipping with insurance was very expensive. I eventually brought it to a gunsmith who specialized in the 1911, and he was able to get it to operate. There were several issues to correct; all indications of poor quality control. However, it has never been as reliable as my other 1911s. I continue to think that this purchase was a mistake. I bought a reputation, and I was sorry that I did. I’ve thought of selling it. I have an old custom 1911 that I bought used, with a 6” barrel in .45 that cost less than half of what the Les Baer cost. It is reliable and accurate.

I will also say that when the Les Baer is disassembled, the machining doesn’t look any better than my Kimbers. When I compare customer service to other brands I‘ve owned, such as S&W, Wilson, Ruger, and Kimber, Les Baer falls short...

So, although the 1911 is my preferred platform, I don’t recommend Les Baer.

 

[Marilyn]

Agree with Riverpig completely. I believe the best magazines are made by Tripp followed by Wilson and McCormick which is owned by Wilson now I think.

The magazines you noted are all very good. I have also had good luck with Checkmate magazines. I have not had good luck with Mec-Gar. Metalforms vary; they make many OEM magazines but I have bought some that are unsatisfactory.

 

[Rick McC.]

Thanks to both of you for the information, now on monday I'll bet it will be a year wait with all the current craziness .

Actually, you can probably get a Baer from CJ (Crazy John) at 1911heaven with no wait, and cheaper than ordering one from Baer.

I bought my Custom Carry Comanche from CJ with no wait, as he always has quite a few Baers in stock, and free second day air delivery to my LGS.

My Baer was very tightly fitted (due to the hard fit barrel), but functioned flawlessly right out of the box. Baer does recommend a “break in” period of 500 rounds, but that’s before you give it a good cleaning, not so it’ll run reliably. You just oil the slide and frame rails every 100 rounds or so. That makes a nice slurry with the powder fouling, and gives the bearing surfaces a little burnishing.

I’ve had it for over 11 years now, and it still takes a bushing wrench to turn the bushing when out of battery (which is the best and proper way to turn the barrel bushing on a tightly fit 1911). I then use the barrel itself to drive the bushing out of the front of the slide.

Mine’s been carried and shot a lot, and while it does show some honest wear, none of the bluing has ”purpled” yet. Purpling actually has more to do with the metallurgy of the steel used than the bluing salts used. I’ve seen purpling on old Colt grip safeties, and even on some old Pythons. If it ever happens on any of my guns; it’ll be of no consequence to me.

Baer does offer a lot of gun for the money. I have some Wilsons that are prettier and cost a good bit more (2 to 3 times as much), but they’re no “better,” or as accurate, as my Baer. It’s the favorite of all my 1911s, too. I don't have a lot, but too many for me to keep track of. I know I have at least 11, but it‘s probably 12, or maybe 13.

 

[Earl 007]

Thank you Rick ,you saved me a few buck's and a long pain full wait . I talked to CJ today and he had exactly what I wanted He said 3 to 4 days. If I'm lucky I can pick it up on the same day I ship the high -Power it turned out to be an even trade so a gun I only shot once for one I'll shoot every time I go to the range. I'm working on a run of 45's to break it in 500 should do it, range report to follow.

 

[Shark1007]

Congratulations, friend, you will love that 1911. I’ve heard that some people like them so much they buy more than one.

 

[Earl 007]

I'll only have 5, I think that is remarkable restraint. I'm hoping the old lady never find's out how much it cost's it was a bargain is my story. Thank's for the heads up on how much it would sell for.

 

[Shark1007]

Always a pleasure to be helpful to a friend.

 

[Rick McC.]

Thank you Rick ,you saved me a few buck's and a long pain full wait . I talked to CJ today and he had exactly what I wanted He said 3 to 4 days. If I'm lucky I can pick it up on the same day I ship the high -Power it turned out to be an even trade so a gun I only shot once for one I'll shoot every time I go to the range. I'm working on a run of 45's to break it in 500 should do it, range report to follow.

You’re welcome Sir.
CJ’s one hell of a guy, and a real hoot to talk to (as I’m sure you now know).
Congrats on your Baer, and what model did you get?

 

[Earl 007]

I ordered the Premier II 5 " blued single safety in 45acp , I wanted the single safety because I don't think I'll wake up left handed anytime soon. Pictures and range report soon as it get's here.

 

[Caleb]

Congratulations ^^^^


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[joecarry]

Nice, good luck with that one sir!

 

[Rick McC.]

I ordered the Premier II 5 " blued single safety in 45acp , I wanted the single safety because I don't think I'll wake up left handed anytime soon. Pictures and range report soon as it get's here.

I got my custom Carry Comanche from CJ, and picked that model because it had all the features I wanted except a standard thumb safety.

I replaced the ambi it came with the first week I had it.

 

[Earl 007]

If I wanted to change the 4lb trigger to 3 1/2 how much work is involved, time wise ?

 

[Rick McC.]

If I wanted to change the 4lb trigger to 3 1/2 how much work is involved, time wise ?

The easiest way to do that (though the pull may wind up lower) would be to replace the stock sear spring with a Cylinder and Slide light-pull sear spring. They’re about six or seven dollars, plus shipping. I usually buy them three or four at a time.

if you’ve ever detail stripped a 1911; it’d probably take 10 minutes or less to change out the sear spring.

You’ll need to remove the grips, thumb safety, the mainspring housing, grip safety, and the sear spring.