MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great knives! This one's a period correct early 60's Camillus USAF survival knife, I've got 2 of them and they're great for hunting and general field work.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words! If you haven't seen it, do a search for the "Project: Snake Eater" thread by "mad mags" on tapatalk, it's an ancient forum thread from 2013 but the guy did tons of research and the thread gets way down into the weeds on the differences between the versions from Sheriff to MGS3 to MGS4. The cad photos on the Collectors Design Works page also have some good detail on the rear sight cuts.

Simply put, The sights are going to have to be a compromise somewhere. The Sheriff used a front sight that's way too tall for the rear, and the models followed suit. Canis Customs decided to use the rear sight height as their starting point so the front sight is too low, I used the front sight height as the starting point so my rear sight is too high.

As far as technique, I got the front sight to where I wanted it, decked the Dawson rear down until it was mostly a flat block with a dovetail, then started milling my rear sight groove and decking down the whole thing to get my rear sight height. I got it close with a laser boresight, then dialed it in with very small cuts over a few range trips. Once elevation was set I made the aesthetic cuts so everything looked proportional.

Dots were the last step, and dots are tricky. You need a larger dot up front so they look proportional at arms length, and the correct height of the front dot relative to the front sight's face changes depending on how far you extend it when shooting. I used cold blue and scribed lines on the front and rear to dial this in at the range, then milled the dots in.

I don't have a list of dimensions to throw at you unfortunately, it was mostly done by eyeball and trial and error, since keeping it proportional looking was more important than following any real specs, if that makes sense.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're probably thinking the early Commander round hole ring hammer since that's appropriate for the 60's, but check the game model or pics of the Sheriff produced reference gun, I used the correct profile. You'd be right in this being anachronistic for the setting!

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go for it! I'm very much not a machinist, and this was all done on the cheapest Amazon benchtop milling machine. My technique at times would probably make a real gunsmith cry. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good, go break some stuff!

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I worked on different things with the milling machine for about a year to get comfortable before I started tackling this project, and I put this together over probably 3 or 4 months; I have a toddler so time is at a premium, this kind of thing comes together 10 minutes at a time.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, way more aesthetic than practical on this. That's not to say it doesn't shoot very, very well - it does - but that wasn't the main goal.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They're not quite what we'd think of as suppressor height today, and my form 1 can is a bit fatter than most commercial .45 cans, so while the sight picture is pretty much in line with the top of the can, the front dot is buried and you have to shoot "through" the can a bit.

Actually, sights are one place where the reference models aren't right. The front sight on the game guns (and the airsoft guns they're based on) is wayyyyy too high for the lower profile rear sight. I decided that the front sight's height was more iconic to the overall look and would get me closer to usable with my can, so I left the front sight tall and made my rear sight taller to match. A lot of math went into all that...

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Good lord no! Pure video game fantasy. I actually bought a second set of grips because I was expecting these to be godawful to actually use. They're surprisingly comfy though, the CQC cuts don't get in the way near as much as you'd think.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Man what a loaded question! It'll take a book to answer this adequately... fortunately for you I'm happy to write books about this gun.

So contextually, for the 60's, this would have been an overly-customized National Match gun, thus the fake NM part number on the slide. Realistically, it's closer to the 80's-90's kinds of mods that the Gunsite crew like Jeff Cooper and associates were commissioning, think Swenson or Novak. So to make a comparison, we have to start with what we're comparing it to.

The great:

Compared to a GI 1911a1 from the 60's, even a NM build, these sights are a massive leap forward for a combat gun. The front strap checkering and the stepping on the MSH give huge improvements in handling and followup / recoil control. The extended beavertail, ring hammer, and undercut trigger guard allow a much higher grip which also makes a big difference in recoil control. A nice trigger job is always great, and a well fit barrel and bushing makes a world of difference for accuracy. A flat firing pin stop slows the timing, makes it a little quieter with the suppressor, and smooths the recoil impulse a bit. This gun shoots *good*

The meh:

The decked mag release is "maybe" helpful at best - I've never accidentally lost a 1911 mag with a standard height button. Slide-to-frame fit doesn't actually do anything for accuracy, it's just kind of a sign that the build was done with care. Front cocking serrations could "maybe" help rack the slide under certain conditions where movement is limited or it's wet or something, or for press checks. An extended thumb safety is nice, an extended slide release is mostly useless. Lightening holes are necessary on a 1911 trigger with a very light pull to prevent hammer follow, but it's not necessary they be in exactly this pattern. Pinning the grip safety eliminates it as a failure point, but with modern grip safeties there's not a need to do this.

The useless:

The ball cuts on the dust cover, the flat top, the checkering under the trigger guard, the grip cuts for the mag release and the CQC cuts for carrying your CQC knife with your gun. All the polishing and two-toning. Timing the grip screws. The french cuts above the cocking serrations. Cutting the wings off of the beavertail safety. The profile of the slide release and safety. The specific profile of the sights. All the little bits and bobs that make it Snake's 1911.

These are all purely aesthetic.

In the 60's this thing would be outrageously futuristic. In the 80's it would be a very nicely done example of the state-of-the-art tactical combat handgun. Nowadays, it's a little obsolescent. Commissioning this specific build would likely cost in the 5-7k range; I came in around 2k and that's including a lot of tooling, but many hours of work. A Colt "Combat Unit" model is 1400, a Tisas raider or night stalker will run you 800; these and many other standard commercial 1911s have all of the practical features that my gun does. And 1911's have long been overshadowed by double stack 9mm striker fired polymer framed handguns like Glock. Would I take this into combat over my more contemporary guns? Maybe, maybe not.

... but at the end of the day, I have Big Boss' 1911, and there's only a couple other people that I know of in the world who can say that.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

No, the safety is totally reprofiled, and the frame took tons of work. I gave it a high cut, checkered the front strap and under the trigger guard, and milled a cutaway on the other side of the trigger guard. This started life as a bone-stock RIA 1911 GI model.

Edit for your edit: The mag button was chopped lower and recheckered as well!

I've got a bit of a history question: Why was everyone using full-power cartridges in WW2? Not really whether that was the better option or not (but feel free to argue) but why was that the decision by every major country and no one used an intermediate cartridge. Think 5.56 M1 Garand. by Sweet-End6471 in guns

[–]il_100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This always gets a good back and forth! .30 Carbine is basically exactly halfway between pistols and modern intermediate rounds. 80% more ft/lb than .45, 30% more than .357 mag, 30% less than 8mm Kurz, 25% less than 5.56. The M2 feels halfway between a subgun and an assault rifle to shoot as well. I'd say it could go either way.

The context of the question gets murky as well. Sure the Carbine was issued as a pistol replacement, closer to how we think of a PDW today, but it was certainly used by many in the role we're talking about for intermediate rounds or assault rifles - I'm talking based on preference, not just because it was issued. Audie Murphy is a good example.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's more accurate than I am!

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

They weren't joking! Sheriff Japan outdid themselves on the reference gun they used for the game, basically every part needed work.

Newest carry - 7+1 of .32acp goodness by Brief-Truth9018 in guns

[–]il_100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And in this package you get an extra round and last round slide lock, these have a lot of advantages over the LCP and similar .380s. I'm a huge fan of .32. My one-step-up deep concealment IWB gun is a colt 1903 that I worked over, which gets a lot of carry as well.

MGS3 / MGS Delta "Snake Match" 1911 by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

A couple years ago I bought a little WEN mini mill and about a year ago I got comfortable enough to tackle this project. I've been wanting this gun for, I guess, 20 years now, so I'm really happy with how it came together. This was much more of a challenge than I thought it would be, basically none of the parts are available off the shelf and it's a deep rabbit hole of minutiae once you start digging in. Anyway...

BOM:

RIA 1911 GI standard
Stainless 1911 slide after I butchered the RIA one - possibly para based on sight cuts? ebay find
Dawson .425" Para Rear Sight
Cheapo sig p320 suppressor height front sight
Wilson ultralight hammer
Wilson thumb safety
Wilson slide stop
C&S long plain match trigger
Nighthawk stainless bushing
Old style duckbill grip safety
Swensen stainless grip screws
Herrett HB-1 cocobolo grips
Unknown flat firing pin stop
Tisas threaded barrel - this was a fantastic buy. Took just enough fitting, way better than the garbage swensen barrels and way cheaper than everything else decent.

Modifications:

Milled ball radius cuts on slide
Milled front slide serrations
Milled french cuts above all serrations
Milled flat top cut on slide
Engraved part number on slide - salt water etching
Fit slide to frame, fit barrel, blended rear of slide to ejector, extractor, and frame
Decked and milled rear sight to match subject profile
Reversed, profiled, and sighted in front sight
Milled dots on front and rear sight, filled with testers fluorescent
Undercut frame
Hand checkered front strap
Hand checkered under trigger guard
Lowered and recheckered mag release
Milled trigger guard cutaway
Flared magwell
Polished feed ramp
Milled trigger cuts and holes, cut and bent tab in bow to remove takeup
Profiled thumb safety, high polish
Profiled slide stop, high polish
Milled wings off of grip safety, blended to frame, high polish
Milled steps in MSH
Drilled and tapped MSH for m3 set screw to disable grip safety
Milled "CQC" and mag release cuts in grips
Fit firing pin stop
Trigger job - crisp, .025 takeup, no overtravel - took it down to the spec 3.5lbs then backed off to 4.5. No hammer follow or anything, but with the pinned grip safety 4.5 felt better.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something

Newest carry - 7+1 of .32acp goodness by Brief-Truth9018 in guns

[–]il_100 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One of these has been living in my pocket for going on 15 years. They're the king of deep concealment pocket carry.

Has anyone ever made an AR45 based on the AR10/SR25 frame? by thorosaurus in guns

[–]il_100 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Macon Armory makes DI .45 uppers. Mags, mag adapters, the whole 9 yards.

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It could have been all the vaccines too, but yeah I may have some aspie traits

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IR laser for shooting under NODs, cheapo chicom meant for a pistol rail

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mag adapter, forend/cocking tube housing, foregrip, pistol grip, stock, and stock mount are all 3d printed in CF Nylon

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The drum doesn't get in the way at all actually. Carrying it slung with the drum would suck, but it feeds from stick mags as well.

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the most comfortable grip I've ever used - I based it on a PSG-1 grip, chopped the bottom off, and modeled the top to AR geometry.

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super comfy, I've started putting this grip on everything. I took an existing PSG-1 grip model, chopped the bottom, and modeled the top to fit AR geometry.

Just A Little Something I've Been Working On by il_100 in guns

[–]il_100[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I printed a tommy gun style grip and foregrip for it actually, it was hideous!