This is a brag thread....

I picked up my new Wilson Combat Vickers Elite in 45ACP yesterday. My unit has a special finish on the barrel (the standard guns are bare / natural stainless barreled).

Here are the specs from Wilson's site ...

Click here to read it for yourself....

“The Vickers Elite is the natural evolution of the Wilson Combat that I have used as a primary training 1911 for several years. In arriving at the Vickers Elite design, I retained the majority of the features found on that pistol while tweaking a few others. The result is a superb 1911 built for serious use. It combines a classic look with a modern twist, and in case you hadn’t figured it out yet, I am quite pleased with how it turned out." -Larry Vickers

SPECIFICATIONS

Full-Size Carbon Steel Frame
High-Cut Checkered Frontstrap
Bullet Proof® Round Butt Magazine Well
Bobbed High-Ride Bullet Proof® Beavertail Grip Safety
Tactical Bullet Proof® Thumb Safety
3 ½# – 4 ½# Crisp Trigger Pull with Medium-Length Pad
Bullet Proof® Magazine Release
G10 Vickers Elite Logo Grips
Countersunk Slide Stop
5” Carbon Steel Slide
Heavy Machine Chamfer on Bottom of Slide
Battlesight with Gold Bead Front Sight
5” Stainless Match-Grade Barrel and Thick Flange Bushing, Flush-Cut Reverse Crown
Flat Wire Recoil Spring
Fluted Chamber
30 LPI Slide Top Serrations
40 LPI Serrated Rear of Slide
Wide Front and Rear Cocking Serrations
Ball Endmill Cuts



Available Calibers: .45 ACP, 9mm
Magazine Capacity: 8 rounds (.45)
Barrel Length: 5″
Overall Length: 8.7″
Sight Radius: 6.6″
Height: 5.6″
Width: 1.3″
Weight Empty: 41.6 oz.
Weight Loaded: 47 oz.
Accuracy Guarantee: 1″ at 25 yds

You're here to see pics ...













I went straight from the gunshop to the range. The gun shoots better than it looks. I've had other nice 1911s (including 7 Les Baers, 1 Ed Brown, and 5 Wilsons). This is absolutely the finest handgun I've owned.

I'm done trying to post the review and pics. WEBSITE FAIL

OMG...so much disappointment!

Thar she blows! A beauty of a handgun...lovely. Gold bead front sight...retro!

Thanks.

If I had it to do over again, I would have gone with a night sight on the front. This I can change later. The Wilson I EDC has a front night sight and the same rear as the Vickers.

Oh, and sorry about the multiple posts.

This occured back when you had to do the "post, back up, spin in a circle, hold your breath, post again, refresh".

Randy ... can you delete the duplicates O' Great & Wise Skunkoccisor?

Can do Gary. Anything for a Limey! :Grin:

Done! Three Clones deleted Courtesy of your Friendly Mod Squad.

Ask and ye shall receive.

$1,000,000 (in Yankee currency ... we just Brixited woohoo) post-tax please.

We'll get right on that. First we gotta fill out all the Government forms of course. Shouldn't take to long I wouldn't think. I mean they shipped a plane full of cash to a certain keffiyeh or shemagh wearing nation.

I sold the Vickers Elite this morning.

I just didn't feel like I needed two Wilson Combat 1911s and the CQB I carry daily has a front night sight. In the end, I decided to keep the custom CQB over the standard Vickers based upon the night sight alone.

Alas, I used the money to buy a Les Baer SPR. I sold my two Les Baer about a month ago and instantly regretted it. While I think Wilson is a better "combat" 1911 I know Baers are better range guns. Since I was selling a high end model of Wilson I could afford the top of the line Baer.

Picks to follow when it arrives tomorrow. The dealer is overnighting it to my dealer.

Oh, and the SRP has front and rear night sights.

At some point I'm going to have a rear night sight installed on my CQB.

Dang moving some nice guns

Dang diggity dang...

Never a dull moment in Gary's gun buying/selling!

You had a Dan Wesson for a minute a year or so ago no? That come and go too?

I have a short attention span when concerning guns, haha.

Trust told, my CQB and Vickers filled the same niche so I chose to keep the lesser expensive gun that had a front night sight. I thought about keeping the Vickers and just buying the SRP but I don't need two Wilson carry guns. The SRP can serve as a carry gun but will be more fun at the range. My most accurate handguns have been Baers. I seriously regretted selling my last two Baers to buy the Wilsons. Nothing wrong with the Wilsons ... great guns ... I just wish I would have kept one Baer. It worked out as I'm ending up with Baer's top of the line model.

Rich, I had poor reliability out of my Dan Wesson Valors (4.25" 9MM, 5" 45Acp and 5" 10MM) so I sold them.

I really want to retire some day so I have to control my spending.

ETA: I am getting further and further into the burnt out professional worldview and genuinely need to curb my hobby spending. You would not believe what I deal with. For example, today the President of my firm (I've the VP) called a meeting to yell at everyone because someone took a dump and didn't flush the toilet. He screamed for 5 straight minutes and then ended his rant with "when I find out who did it I'm going to drag them out to the parking lot, kick their a$$, fire them, then call every other firm in town so they won't be able to find another job".

...and no I can't just resign. I own part of the company.

That’s a bummer I’ve wanted a DW Specialist for a while now.

Buy a Specialist with confidence as long as its 5” and 45ACP.

Gary, don't know how you feel about them, but I have a set of the old 24/7 Big Dot sights and they are CRAZY fast. Give the site a look see.

https://www.xssights.com/

I’ve tried them and that HUGE front dot was fast but was too big for precision work.

My favorite Night Sights are 10-8 or Heine “Straight 8”.

Just a single dot rear and singe dot front. Stack them and squeeze.

I have thought about their "Regular" or small sight for more precision work, but at the distances I would feel justified in using the big dots work fine.

Wow...sounds like my work in a middle school...combined with arguing with my son! Lol! Crazy...

That sucks with the Dan Wessons. My .45 Valor blem is outstanding. Perfect reliability, stupid accurate and a trigger like glass. Ive run it dirty up to about 700-800 rounds with no additional lube and it ran flawless then too. The 9mm Valor I had for a bit wouldn't lock back on the last round unless the ammo was hot...and it demanded to be cleaned. I'm still tempted to get a Guardian in 9mm...just for joy of ownership. I think it's a great looking weapon.

Gundog you could look up a guys named Dan Severn (I think) and 1911. He's big on a couple 1911 websites and sells a lot of DWs and is a gunsmith and goes over them and supports if an issue arises. I'm on a CZ/DW forum and bad reports are few and far between. They also have a re-worked Valor coming out that looks amazing.

Yes, its like working in a preschool ... where the preschoolers make the decisions.

My 5" 45ACP Valor was mostly reliable but would fail to go into battery about every 3rd magazine.

My 4.25" 9MM Valor and 4.25" 9MM Defender where both completely unreliable. Some very knowledgeable 1911 people told me DW cuts their feed angle to obtuse. I cannot confirm this, but can say my guns had constant failures to feed.

My 5" 10MM Valor would bump the slide stop and lock the gun open with a loaded magazine during firing, and had an occasional FTE.

1911s are hot or cold. I don't really fault Dan Wesson as the VAST majority of owners have FANTASTIC luck with them. I would buy a 5" 45ACP Valor again without hesitation (the original Valor ... not the new version they just released).

In my experience with having owned nearly 70 SEVENTY 1911s the most reliable is going to be ...

5"
Steel Frame
45ACP
GI Recoil Plug

If you steer away from these specs, you're going to may have trouble.

Severns is a great place, and their "Hard Hat" finish is suppose to be more durable than Glock Tennifer. They closed after a fire (IIRC) and I don't know if they're taking work again now.

Oh ... I picked up the SRP today ....

I've now owned nine Les Baers:

1x Custom Carry Stainless
2x Custom Carry
2x Ultimate Tactical Carry
1x Ultimate Tactical Carry
1x Ultimate Tactical Carry NFCS
1x SRP 1.5" Hard Chrome
1x SRP

This gun is BY FAR the tightest. It's even more "bank vault" than the 1.5" SRP Hard Chrome. You can't rack the slide on this gun without "popping it on the nose" first.

I really regretting selling my UTC and UTC-HC recently.

Les Baers are very unique. Les builds these guns like custom shops built them 50 years ago. LOTS of hand filing, hand fitting, and the "hardest fit" barrel to bushing and barrel to slide in the industry.

I'm glad to have this, and don't regret selling the Vickers to pay for it. Based upon how tight this gun is ... I expect it'll be a one-holer.

OK, I am confused. WHY is it so tight that you have to "pop it on the nose". Barrel/hood lock up?

Severens closed? That is a shame!

All this 1911 talk has me oogling the DW Guardian again...

Viva the 1911! (and cool folders too)

Y’all are killing me over here!!!

So what’s the main issue for running a 9mm 1911?

NICE Rich.

Mike, probably because recoil is less thereby allowing for faster and more accurate follow up shots. Also some folks just can't handle a 45. Heck, even a lot of police departments are allowing or switching from 40 to 9 because of some female and smaller statured males just can't handle the recoil of a 40. AND with all the advances in ammo that is going on the difference between 9mm, 40S&W and 45acp are getting less telling all the time.

Oh and Rich, Nice knife even if it is kinda funny looking.

They may be open again?

I had a 9mm Guardian and it wasn't reliable...at all.

The clean lines, quality parts, and good assembly of the Valor made it a bargain. Yours looks great!

Getting them to run, haha.

Some builders have perfected it while others have not. Remember, they have ramped barrels and different lock times ...

EM,

Nice guns in this thread!

Quick question... How'd the minor round-butting of the Wilson feel in hand?

I have XXL hands and that little wedge at the bottom of a full size 1911 gets old after a full day of shooting. Would the little trim be worth it on a full size or just go with a full Bob? I love the feel of my V-bob, but it's on a Commander length Valor, so it looks proportionally correct.

I've owned "Bobtail" Dan Wessons as well as "Rounded Butt" Wilsons.

I did NOT like the hand feel of the "bobtail". It felt like the gun wasn't filling the annular space between my palm and the MSH.

I didn't notice any hand feel difference on the rounded butt guns, but it definitely helps with preventing "printing" while carrying concealed.

I wear a size large glove for reference.

My EDC is a special order Wilson CQB with rounded butt and blended mag well.

Gary, that looks AWESOME!!! Major congrats to you.

Man Gary, that Wilson is REAL pretty. But What about the Bauer?

Thank you. My wife thinks it is a "pretty" gun. When I bought it I had "BBQ Gun" in mind, but after taking it to the range for the break in sessions decided it was going to be my EDC gun. I've carried it every day since then.

Thanks. I haven't even started breaking in the Baer SRP. I bought it for "rough duty" carry (like yard work, hiking etc) where I wouldn't want to carry the Wilson. After I get 500-1000 through the Baer it'll be in the rotation for those times where I'd be afraid of damaging the Wilson.

The Baer and Wilson have very different build philosophies.

The Bauer is nice, but Man that Wilson is SWEET!

Thank You for the info... I'll have to try and track down some samples to handle before I decide to do any whackin' on the frame.



(eta: EM...your post didn't get entered when I quoted you, sorry for any confusion on the timing of this post.)

SB,
No worries - glad to help.

So early in the thread you mentioned build philosophies being different. Could you expand on this?

Baer's build philosophy is very 1960's. Everything is hand filed and hand fit. ONE guy at his shop does nothing but front strap checkering. Most importantly he hard fits his barrels.

Wilson has embraced modern CNC and makes a nearly as accurate gun that is slick but can be disassembled without tools.

If you want something that reminds of you a Clark ... get a Baer.
If you want something that reminds of you a STI that is built right ... get a Wilson.

My friend won a DVC staccato P last year. 600rds in and 2 malfunctions could have been his reloads. I’m kinda shocked as I’ve seen so many STIs have issues and need tuning right from the factory. I’ve wonder if the triarc systems 2011s are any better. While I’d like a 2011 I’m not sold on them as a duty type gun yet. although I’m hearing good stuff about chambers customs.

I’ve never owned a STI, but generally view them as range or race only quality. This is based solely on 36 years of experience with other 1911s and a pretty vested interest in the design. Notably, how other people with proven 1911s view STI has caused me to turn down some pretty attractively priced guns.

1911s are not AR15s. To build a duty or combat grade 1911 requires a very high level of technical sophistication and experience.

I don’t think STI is there.

If I had to use a 1911 in combat it would be a Wilson.

I would trust a Baer for civilian CCW.

I’m trying to develop a trust for Nighthawk but not there yet.

I would not trust a Dan Wesson or Ed Brown.

Colts, Springfields, etc are range only.

I remember a guy on here having all sorts of issues with the EB 1911 he had built and then EB had the nerve to say he needed to buy these parts to fix it.

I’m seeing a lot of interest in the 2011 coming from LE and retired military that are now firearms instructors. STI has changed their name to Staccato I believe and is chasing the LEO market heavily taking on a lot of LE and military trainers as pro staff. To me this is absolutely stupid. STI guns are not and a seriously doubt will ever be a duty level gun. I understand that they are easier to shoot accurately than a Glock or similar weapon and when your doing demos it’s important you can demonstrate skill to the class to back up your instruction but to pass them off as a duty grade gun I think is morally wrong. I’ve seen so many 2011 problems in 6 years of competition shooting that I wouldn’t use one for duty even if it was built by some of the top builders like atlas, chambers, and the likes.

That Ed Brown experience soured me on that company for life. It was an Executive Elite 2 (one of the higher tier models).

Personally, I don't think 1911s are a good choice for Law Enforcement short of very well (and frequently) trained Special Weapons officers with a team armorer to maintain the weapons.

Starting a new thread regarding carry guns ...

I agree with you 100 percent Gary. the 1911 is NOT a novice weapon, even in 9mm. That being said I still think that it is the premier weapon for folks (LE, Military or Civilian) that have trained and are used to that particular platform. Personally I DO like the 1911 as it is my favorite pistol. BUT, recently I have started carrying my Sig more as it is virtually a point and shoot, specially with the Express Sight Systems Big Dog 24/7 sights. Fastest sighting system I have ever used, even more so than a red dot, at least to me.

The 1911 is my personal favorite as well. As with any tool, you probably need more than one type to accomplish more than one task.

My first handgun was a 1911 and my last will be a 1911. However, I do see the design's limitations as viewed through the lens of the modern era plastic framed options.

I've personally experienced A LOT of problems with Glocks, but feel once worked out the guns are like AK47s. That is to say, the reliability is over hyped (in part because the design was developed with conscript level individuals in mind). What do I mean by conscript level individuals? When comparing the engineering of a Glock or AK to the engineering of a Sig Sauer or AR there is very little comparison.

There is a place for quality plastic guns (which to me includes Glock and HK with HK being FAR SUPERIOR to Glock). I will also give a nod to S&W M&P Shields as being an affordable while reliable very compact carry gun.

There is a place for quality all steel and precisely machined firearms (which to me includes 1911s, Browning High Powers and Sig P210s). I will also give a nod to the CZ75.

There is a place for quality aluminum framed / steel slide firearms (which to me includes Beretta 92 series and Sig P220/225/226/228/229).

In my experience if you chose:

1911: Les Baer, Wilson Combat (and likely Nighthawk, Guncrafter, Alchemy)
HK: USP, P30, P2000, HK45, HK45C
Glock: 17, 19
Beretta: 92FS, 92 Compact, M9, M9A1, M9A1 Compact, M9A3, 92 LTT, 92X, 92X Compact
Sig Sauer: P220, P225, P226, P228, P229

...you'll be well armed.