Sending a Gun Off for Finish Work?

[GardoneVT]

Given the lean times we live in economically, it's no secret that gun companies are tightening their belts .Which means certain companies are making changes to guns wed rather not see them make.

After considering a job on my Beretta through Allegheny Gun Works, I'm starting to wonder if the idea of an "out of the box ready" gun is no more.Should a discriminating handgun shopper plan on sending their choice of weapon to a pro for finalizing work like sights, magwells, reliability jobs etc . as was done with 1911s back in the day, or can one still credibly by a gun and use it effectively as is for defensive work today?

[jetfire]

Yes. There are plenty of guns that come from the factory ready to party.

[YVK]

In your particular case with the 92, I don't think you need extraneous expertise. , outside the sights.
Beretta guts are easy to polish, speedbump trigger is a drop in, and levers could also be replaced by the user, although the latter part is a kitten PITA. I am not seeing much difference in reloads between beveled Elite and non beveled 92 magwells. So, unless you just don't want to bother or you need a very specialized stuff [two reasons I used Josh, and he is excellent], no.

On a big scheme, I continue to see Glocks as out of box ready option sans the sights, which are easily user replaceable. At least, this has been my experience. I think HKs are close. No personal experience with Sigs, but on by - proxy level, they should be fine.

[jetfire]

M&P45s are pretty much G2G out of the box. You can even get some models with decent sights.

[Kyle Reese]

If the firearm is accurate & reliable out of the box, I generally add a set of Heinie sights and call it good. My SIG PRO 9mm has surpassed my expectations in this regard, especially considering the price point on them.

If the firearm is problematic in some regard, I allow the manufacturer the chance to fix it before spending my own money on correcting flaws pertaining to finish, reliability or accuracy.

[David B.]

If a gun needed a "reliability job" to function properly out-of-the-box, I wouldn't consider it a gun worth purchasing.

As for other aftermarket enhancements, it really is just personal preference. In order to save production costs Beretta has switched some metal parts with polymer or polymer/metal hybrid parts, e.g., guide rod, safety lever, trigger, etc. some people feel the Beretta is "out-of-the-box ready" with polymer parts and all, while others despise the polymer parts. Beretta actually offers a "metal parts kit" for those who do prefer metal over polymer. The point is that in a capitalist system we have options and options are good.

God bless,
David

[ToddG]

If a gun needed a "reliability job" to function properly out-of-the-box, I wouldn't consider it a gun worth purchasing.

This. So much simply this.

I totally get wanting to customize and personalize and tune. Hey, look at my P229, it's getting tuned before I ever put a shot through it. Because it needed it? No. Because I'm a gun snob and I want certain things and don't need to wait 10k rounds to figure out what I want out of a SIG... I've shot a few before.

But if I didn't expect the gun to run out of the box, I wouldn't have bought the gun.

[GJM]

But if I didn't expect the gun to run out of the box, I wouldn't have bought the gun.

You obviously didn't grow up shooting a 1911 in the days where you bought a new Colt or Springfield for $500, and the first thing you did was send it off for reliability, trigger and sight work. Obviously spoiled by starting with a pair of Warren tweaked pistols!

[ToddG]

You obviously didn't grow up shooting a 1911 in the days where you bought a new Colt or Springfield for $500, and the first thing you did was send it off for reliability, trigger and sight work. Obviously spoiled by starting with a pair of Warren tweaked pistols!

Learning from others is wisdom.

[Al T.]

You obviously didn't grow up shooting a 1911 in the days where you bought a new Colt

Yep. Remember when Springfield was the new kid on the block. Lots better now. I watched a S&W Model 59 change hands for $350 bucks when it proved itself reliable feeding hollow points, specifically Federal 115 JHPs.

Gardone, I've been pretty pleased with most new handguns. There are some I don't care for, but the majority will do fine for the average earth person.

[Rich]

So far I've been pretty lucky.

80S Colt gen1 C.E. 1911
S&W 5906&6906 9mm
P229 40S&W
P30S V3 9mm still waiting for finger to heal. looks like surgery is in near future.


I had some work done to a 80S Officers ACP. that's one size 1911 I wont buy again.

I bought a gen 1 Ruger P85 that wouldn't group at all. pos makes M&P9mm look like a match grade sniper rifle

[Rich]

You obviously didn't grow up shooting a 1911 in the days where you bought a new Colt or Springfield for $500, and the first thing you did was send it off for reliability, trigger and sight work. Obviously spoiled by starting with a pair of Warren tweaked pistols!

I was lucky.
My first carry pistol was a gen 1 80 Colt Combat Elite. First Colt 1911 to come out ready to rock.

[David Armstrong]

Given the lean times we live in economically, it's no secret that gun companies are tightening their belts .Which means certain companies are making changes to guns wed rather not see them make.

After considering a job on my Beretta through Allegheny Gun Works, I'm starting to wonder if the idea of an "out of the box ready" gun is no more.Should a discriminating handgun shopper plan on sending their choice of weapon to a pro for finalizing work like sights, magwells, reliability jobs etc . as was done with 1911s back in the day, or can one still credibly by a gun and use it effectively as is for defensive work today?
My $.02: Even "back in the day" all you really needed with a Colt 1911 was a good set of sights and sometimes a trigger job and it was just fine for defensive work. Today a great number of guns come from the factory with good sights, decent triggers, and reliability that is hard to improve on. So yes, "out of the box ready" is fairly common and easy to find. Lots of the fancy add-ons might be nice for competitive stuff but aren't that much of an improvement for defensive shooting.

[Urban_Redneck]

As long as you realize that your need for de-massification exists solely between your ears and you accept it's cost will not be recouped when you sell or trade, go for it.

YMMV

[KevinB]

I was lucky.
My first carry pistol was a gen 1 80 Colt Combat Elite. First Colt 1911 to come out ready to rock.

3rd round from my Gen1 Combat Elite and the front sight took off...
Other than that, it was a decent gun :rolleyes:

[2Z4]

Colt made some garbage in the 80s (and 90s for that matter) so probably not the best example. Prior to that time, revolvers were king of the law enforcement market and competition shooters were shooting bullseye with wadcutters in 1911s - so modifications were needed. Quality ebbs and flows, same as with car manufacturers. I remember when Kimber first came on the scene, the name meant quality. That lasted all of a couple years.

Some reliable pistols have come down in price. I remember paying 550 for a Glock 21 over a decade ago. That's close to 770 in today's dollars but you wouldn't pay that now for a G21. A nice Sig in the late 90s was 750 or so - that's over 1K in today's money (which you actually might pay for a new Sig) but Sig's reputation has gone downhill the past decade. Other companies have come in and competed aggressively for different niche markets. The biggest one is probably law enforcement, which is why Glock has several very similar competitors now and relative prices are dropping. Makers cut corners where they can, especially when they're going to be selling tens of thousands of gun to a government buyer - as long as they run right maybe little details don't matter as much.

Buyers are more educated now than they might have been 25 years ago. There's more information out there, widely available, and more options to choose from. Maybe people don't always need what they think they need. How ever did people get along before hard chrome, Black T, cerakote, etc? They probably spent more time on maintenance.

You've got a lot to choose from and you just have to know what you're looking for...and what you're willing to pay for or accept.

[1986s4]

When I purchase a pistol I expect it to work as is. I'll probably change the sights but I expect it to work as advertised. I am quickly rid of fussy weapons that don't live up my expectations. Always buy quality.