I've heard nothing but positive impressions of Virgil's work, both finishing and gunsmithing services. I've had him refinish several guns for me, but have not had any work done yet. However, I'm getting ready to send him a gun that may need some minor work done before getting plated.

 

I would like to see some pictures of his gunsmith work if anybody has some.

 

Virgil's work is top notch, both gunsmithing and refinishing. I've had two pistols upgraded by Virgil and can highly recomend his services.

Terry

 

Tripp Research just finished their 2nd pistol for me. A S80 Commander that I had them serrate the front strap, slide top, trigger job, fit new bushing, dehorn, and hard chrome.

I will use them again without hesitation. The slide serrations came out looking great.

 

How did you guys contact him? I e-mailed him this weekend about some work, but never heard back from him. I've been out of town all week so I couldn't call him.

 

I appreciate the quick responses. Any frontstraps that are checkered?

 

How did you guys contact him? I e-mailed him this weekend about some work, but never heard back from him. I've been out of town all week so I couldn't call him.

They sometime take a few days to reply to emails. Considering this was a holiday weekend, I'd give it another couple of days. I emailed them on Monday myself and have not heard back either.

 

I've had two high end custom gun's slides flattened and serrated, and three guns hard chromed . Virgil diagnosed a faulty gas cylinder on a P7 for me , fixed it with hard chrome and saved me a lot of money . No charge ! I've nothing but good to say about him.

Recently , his shop scorched and ruined a friends barrel . They are replacing it , but they must have a new apprentice gunsmith in the shop . Anyway , they are doing the right thing to make it right . That says a lot in my book !

Did you know that Virgil started STI ? I've not seen any checkering from his shop but he knows 1911s...Tom

 

Virgil and his crew has worked on two 1911s' of mine and did excellent work. I can recommend his shop highly. :rock:

 

Virgil and his crew has worked on two 1911s' of mine and did excellent work. I can recommend his shop highly. :rock:

have not had any work done, but have held a few of his and they were top notch.

 

I had Virgil do the front strap of my Springfield. He did what he refers to as "20 LPI truncated cone" checkering (machine) and also undercut the trigger guard. Turned out fabulous!

 

That work looks top notch fellas.

Quick question, what is the purpose of serrating the top of the slide?

 

That work looks top notch fellas.

Quick question, what is the purpose of serrating the top of the slide?

Slide top serrations are necessary for the same reason it's necessary to have a 200hp outboard motor on your bass boat - because you can.

 

Quick question, what is the purpose of serrating the top of the slide?

It supposedly reduces glare off of the top of slide. It also adds a nice custom touch to a 1911, IMO.

 

Try calling the phone# listed on the website. They usually answer very quickly. I find phones work much faster than email...

 

He has my cherished Les Baer Premier-II right now. This is my favorite gun and I agonized over who to sent it to. Les Baer's shop has at least double the wait-time and his prices are much higher than Tripp's.

I did a bunch of research on Tripp and I couldn't find someone online who would bad-mouth his shop... period! His reputation is absolutely excellent.

I spoke to him twice regarding upgrades and modifications to my P-II and he was a pleasure to speak with on both occasions. I felt very confident sending him my favorite 1911. I will be posting a review of the gun as soon as it returns in a few weeks or so.

 

whenever you talk with Virgil about a gun he's working on for you...you get the feeling that your gun is the ONLY gun he's working on (which is far from reality). Virgil ranks up there on my list of "who's who" when it comes to gunsmiths (Dave Williams at Springfield is the same way)

 

there are several excellent example of VT work done on Dan Wessons CBOB. Im going to have VT do some finishing work in the near future on I longslide project.

 

Yup,

#1. They are FAST, #2. Their work is SUPERB, #3 Prices and customer service are hard to beat...

Colt 1991 Hard Chrome receiver, Cobra Coat slide...

Wilson Combat bushing installed by Virgil....

MaceWindu

 

Yup,

#1. They are FAST, #2. Their work is SUPERB, #3 Prices and customer service are hard to beat...

Colt 1991 Hard Chrome receiver, Cobra Coat slide...

Wilson Combat bushing installed by Virgil....

MaceWindu

Had my Colt XSE guvm't done just like that by Virgil years ago. Been n carring it on duty everyday since. The Cobra coat is just starting to show wear. I liked it so much I had my Officers done exactly the same way.

 

When you guys talk of Virgil Tripp doing work on your firearm, was it actually Virgil himself that did the work, or was it just an apprentice of his that did the work and Virgil just checked it over before it went out the door? Are there maybe only certain jobs that Virgil actually does himself while jobs like machine checkering and other jobs that require lesser skills get done by others? Was the name of the tech that actually worked on your firearms listed somewhere on the invoice?

 

I just got my MSH back from Tripp. Wow! I'd never actually seen hardchroming before. This looks good! I'd be quite happy to consider having an entire pistol done there. (sorry it doesn't photograph well--too small a part) 1 week turnaround too!

 

To the best of my knowledge, all the work done on my Commander was done by the shop and not Virgil himself.

When I had my 1911 worked on by Yost Bonitz, the work was done by Colton who is handling their 1* line.

That being said, whenever I speak with Tripp Research, I talk to either Virgil or Shari Tripp and when I call Yost Bonitz, my concerns are handled by Ted or Lou.

I trust both shops to stand behind the people they hire and train. If not for apprentices, the torch would never be passed.

 

I have a blued Colt XSE and I was wondering how a hard chrome job would turn out on that, is that possible?

 

It will look just like the pistols shown above. I have not been able to tell stainless versus carbon steel once the hard chrome is applied.

My S&W M15 that was hard chromed looks just like my stainless Commander which looks like my Hi-Power.