[robspmc]

Hey Everyone,

I just put 300 rounds though my new champion. I bought it about 3 months ago but due to Ca laws I can only start paperwork every 30 days per handgun. I'm usually a month or so ahead of picking up vrs paying! I used a variety of mags including 3 8round colt mags, 2 wilson combat (47D I think) 8 rounders, & the stock SA 7 rounders. I brought a kimber mag that came with my series I stainless gold match but it wouldn't work due to the fact that I had a mag well added to the champion. The mag issues were as follow... SA 7 rounders= feed perfectly, no issues beyond that the bases were recessed in the mag well (which I had added), Colt mags had 2 FTF, didn't ever finish with the slide locked open, and one of them didn't want to release (I had to lock back the slide, push the mag release and then pull very hard on the mag to get it free.), Finally the Wilson Combat mags, these were the best/ easiest to load, and to insert (due to extended basepad), and were used the most, the only issue with these were that the were about 50/50 in terms of locking the slide open after the last round. The guns shoots well for the money. The fit and finish are also a good bang for your buck. One complaint is the night sights, they glow alright in the dark but leave a lot to be desired in normal light situations. Another thing i noticed were the grips are pretty rough but I have a pair of custom houge grips coming that will be flush with the mag well and take care of their bite. Over all I'm happy with the performance and the astetics (sp?) of the gun. At $700 it's a great addition to my 1911 collection. Well I thought I'd share.

Take care,
Rob

 

[robspmc]

New Grips on!

Hey Everyone (again),

I just checked the mail and my grips are here. I put them on and they look and feel killer. I would head back to the range if it wasn't 30 minutes each way and I wouldn't have to clean it for the thrid time today (1st when I brought it home new from the shop this morning, 2nd after I got back from the range, the 3rd would be if I wanted to shoot it with these new grips). Now if I can convince myself not to spend any extra funds on guns, ammo, or motorcycle parts (don't have to worry about beer or dip anymore because that was a new years resalution s/p?) I would be able to buy a digital camera and post some pics. Like I said before I just wanted to share.

Rob

 

[MishMash]

Rob - that's a great report. Glad to hear you are pleased with your Champion. I haven't had any troubles with the slide lock/magazine situation. I use the OEM magazines and 8 round Chip McCormick Power Mags. No problems there.

My Champion is my first 45. I wonder why more of them aren't sold? I think they are great all-around.

Mine came with a very attractive set of grips, matched up with that polished stainless, wow, what a great looking gun.

My only negative on the Champion was the sharpness of the serrations. I am used to it now, but sure was interesting when I first got her. That has been my only negative about the gun. Everything else, and I mean everything, has been top flight.

What is your note about the Novak sight? Anything in particular?
I think they are the ticket for concealed carry.

Regards

 

[robspmc]

Hey mishmash,

I've just began to notice the sharpness of the serations tonight as my thumb & index finger is kinda sore.

My coment on the novaks were that they don't have any pop besides at night. For example my Glock 29 has factory night sights that are much brighter and during normal light they show up very well because there's a larger white circle around the inserts. Maybe I'm just picky or spoiled. I agree with you on the novaks for carry.

Over all I'm very happy with my newest addition to my 1911 collection. The Champion size is very cool and suprisingly acurate!

Rob

BTW, how does your champion handle hollow points. My 300 rounds were all FMJ 230grain reloads. I asked because today I tried to cycle some hollow points and they jammed on the feed ramp. Let me know. thanks

 

[MishMash]

Rob -

-------------------------------------------------------
I've just began to notice the sharpness of the serations tonight as my thumb & index finger is kinda sore.
-------------------------------------------------------
Uh-Huh. That would be it.

Good point on the Novak's. The dots are on the small side.

I get hollow points up the ramp and out the pipe in good shape. I have somewhere around 1750 rounds on the odometer. Early on, I did have some of the FTE/FTB things with both FMJ and JHP. Due no doubt in part to my light charge reloads and some grip (read: limp-wristing) items. Now, my carry load is 230gr JHP. I have ran at least 300 JHP reloads with 0 failures.

I did a slight polish on the ramp to clean up what were very minor ripples. I don't know if that had anything to do with getting both FMJ and JHP to run but I "felt better" about it!

I guess the best thing is to shoot, shoot again, and shoot some more.

Regards

Mike

 

[robspmc]

Thanks for the heads up mishmash!

I have a few thousand round to brake the champion in this weekend hopefully. You want to come over and help load mags

Rob

 

[Woodstock]

Rob, I am in process of making a decision to purhcase a Champion or a Commander and would be interested in hearing more about the accuracy of your Champion....does it shoot point of aim? What kind of groups did it print at a given range?

Thanks in advance for your comments...........

 

[Farnsworth]

A fiber optic front sight actually helps alot. I am going to put one on my Kimber and leave the black sights on the rear. I dont know what brand Im going with yet.

 

[MishMash]

Woodstock -
I'll go ahead and ring in here regarding your question.

My Champion shoots nicely at 6 O'Clock at 50 feet. I have not had to touch the rear for drift or the front sight for height (cut/grind).

Of course, I have learned a couple of things (I am fairly new at this 1911 thing). Speeding up or slowing down the bullet moves the bullet up or down, just like they say. Being a newbie, I was curious and made up a few samples of rounds loaded in increments of 1/10 of a grain. Depending on where the bullet speed is located the gun can shoot to POI.

Just as a matter of preference my target loads run slower than my carry loads. I know about where each load will land at 25 or 50 feet. It is interesting and fun to take out the chronometer and a half dozen varieties of loads and blast away.

As far as accuracy goes, I can get approx 3 inch group at 50 feet if I work at it a little, with the lower power loads. With the higher speed loads I am looking for consistency in running the bullets. Consequently, the groups open up. But at 50 feet I think it is no big deal. A 3 inch group at 25 feet (aka 7-yards) is a 3-inch no-brainer. I can live with that for accuracy.

I bought my Champion as my first 1911 with the idea I would carry that gun.

Hope this helps.

Regards

 

[robspmc]

Woodstock~

I'm with mishmash on the accuracy thing. It hits directly at POA (I don't know if I got lucky or if that's the norm). I was printing one and a half inch groups at 7 yards fairly easily. I was running some semi-mild reloads. As far as a carry or home defense the Champion will fill the bill. I would bet it's every bit as accurate out of the box as the commander (& I'm a huge COLT fan.) I hope this helps!

Rob

 

[Woodstock]

MishMash & Rob....

thanks for the replies....good info. But, I am still in a dilemma as I am a SA fan (currently carry a SA Custom that Les Baer built for me in 1990 when he was working in the SA custom shop) but I do not own a Colt. I guess I was subconscientiously hoping for a negative reply to make my decision easier 'Course I could always get both!