This in my email yesterday from one of the Usual Suspects:
Am I the only one who goes “WTF?” — and the price is only part of the issue. Let me count the ways:
- Fugly finish
- Aluminum grips
- That stupid extruded grip safety thing
- A gun called “We The People” from a German company.
Other than all that, it’s not bad (apart from the price).
Couldn’t agree more on the aesthetics of the pistol. Who the heck thought up Alumagrips anyway? On-the-other-hand, I bought two SIG Sauer 1911’s after I had renewed my ‘relationship’ with Colt buy getting one of there ‘Rail’ guns when they first came outwith them, I also bought one of their Commander models at about the same time as a carry gun. I’d carried one of Colt’s Officer models for years with nary a hiccup that was not user induced. but felt the need for the full sized grip and magazine capacity. However, both new Colt’s were jammomatics and I quickly traded them in for SIG’s which were just coming on the market at a very attractive price. Functionally they have been almost perfect. The full sized one with a rail has had zero malfunctions and the Commander sized for my EDC had one major malfunction that was induced by a McCormick power mag. So, all-in-all the German’s make good stuff and I can overlook the appearance, after all, I’m mostly looking at the sights anyway and they all look about the same.
I very much dislike the common use of laser engraving on firearms nowadays. It’s not only taken over most checkering, but also resulted in a lot of downright garish designs (see recent Auto Ordnance M1 carbine designs, for instance). I can tell it a mile away, having worked on engraving lasers for nearly a decade.
I would guess this exists because the cynical marketers know that there are people here in ‘Murica who will buy it at that redonkulus price.
Just the thing to go with that Daimler-Chrysler or FCA Jeep. 😉
They’re pretty clearly trying to cash in on the craze of designer pistols with heavy engraving and the like. I kind of like tasteful metal grips, personally, so long as it’s on something that’s more of a showpiece than a working gun, which this certainly seems to be.
Either way, more 1911s in the world isn’t a bad thing.
I guess that just sounds better than “volkspistole americanish 11.43mm kurz” and the price is definitely EU land level.
Should have priced it at $1776 as a 4th of July special, ship it with a picture postcard of an American flag, and it’d fly off the shelves…
A very capable Marine/Cop/Swat with eminent bona fides turned me on to smooth stocks on 1911 pistols many years ago. Checkering or grooves on the front and backstrap, but smooth panels except for very faint finger relieves (in fact the set on my 10mm were customized by him against my hand). I find I prefer smooth sides on most pistols’ grips for now (but you do need some traction front and back). Even worked well with sweaty hands.
So aluminum stocks on a 1911 don’t faze me at all. I have a set of satin black stocks on the 1911 frame for a Mech Tech CCU. Looks nice, matches the CCU.
I have a Sig P320 that had the slide laser etched with flags and NRA that I won at an FNRA dinner. I would rather have a plain slide but since I didn’t pay extra for it (just raffle tickets), I’m not going to not use the gun on that account.
But in general, yeah, not a fan of contemporary ‘engraving’ and ‘battle worn finishes’ and the like. Patina should be earned, not painted on or layered off.