Yeah, fair, sorry for drifting.Originally Posted by theJanitor
I think going with Alchemy over Baer was a great choice and now I'll hush.
Yeah, fair, sorry for drifting.
I think going with Alchemy over Baer was a great choice and now I'll hush.
State Government Attorney | Beretta, Glock, CZ & S&W Fan
My answer operated under the assumption that the OP's initial query "Anyone have one? Thoughts, good or bad." was a pretty broad-gauged question, and answered accordingly.
Best, Jon
I believe the OP's query was specific to the Les Baer BOSS (thread title).
That will be my "really, really, old man gun,...... or it could just as likely be my 3" DAO K frame in the pocket of by bathrobe while I feed the pigeons at the retirement villiage.
"And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
"Just because a girl sleeps with her brother doesn't mean she's easy..."-Blues
To all, this has certainly been one of the better threads here! Of course there was some drift, but even the drift was very, very good.
That's the great thing about this place, even when we get off topic, it's usually just a helpful divergent track of the OP. No poo flinging, nobody getting called out, demands for "creds", no moderator intervention needed.
There may well be some emotional attachment to the 1911 for me, it was actually the first pistol I shot, first I was issued, carried, and qualified with. Even competed with it at the Division level in the Mil. First one I ever bought with my own funds.
When I went through the reserve academy in the early 90's, I qual'd with a brand new Gen 2 Glock 19. Didn't care for it much, which led to a change to a whole bunch of 3rd Gen S&W. My favorite out of all of them was my 4516. Except, I still had this all blue Combat Commander at home that still had a better trigger. Which led to my second enlistment, when they issued me an M9, which was just a handful for me due to grip size, but I survived.
Second return to citizen status, I went all the way back to the roots of my dad and started rolling with wheelies, which is still a lot of fun and certainly has it's time and place. But, I got back on the Glock train, then the Beretta train, then the Glock train again. I was willing to trade the trigger for reliability and capacity. Always on the hunt for what worked best, I thought the Gen 5 Glock 45 was going to be it, best Glock trigger to date, and a flat tracking slide and front sight.
Then along came the STI Staccato C. That 1911 trigger, a grip size that worked with my hands, and it tracks through the recoil impulse better than the Glock 45. And it carries better than any other pistol I have owned. I could actually just stop right there and be set in the pistol department, but once one has the 1911 itch, one never truly gets rid of it.
Soooo, long post short, I thought I would reward myself for surviving another year, and buy a better than stock 1911. I chose the LB BOSS as it seemed to have all of the features I wanted. Thankfully, PF helped flesh out the whole picture, thus I ended up at Alchemy. I wasn't looking to go retro, just basic and simple. I'm fine with the increased upkeep required of the pistol type. I didn't post the OP looking for validation of my decisions, just seeking some input from those who had considered the same choice, and that is exactly what I got.
No one pays me to carry anymore, I don't have to solve anyone's problems but my own. Adding that to the targeted vs random crime probabilities of my locale, I'm comfortable with losing some capacity vs grip and trigger, having a gun I can get into the fight and put holes when and where I want them, as long as I do my part.
"And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
"Just because a girl sleeps with her brother doesn't mean she's easy..."-Blues
If my choice was a 1911 I owned, inspected, and maintained or a Glock that was the same, I’d pick the 1911, because I shoot it better.
If my choice was between an agency owned and maintained 1911 and Glock that was the same, I’d pick the Glock.
It’s not that I view one as inherently better than the other, it is that I recognize that one of those two can be maintained by a retarded monkey and the other requires an intelligent monkey to maintain. And my general experience with people other than myself is that the tend towards the retarded end of the monkey scale.
Agreed on all. The point I didn't touch on was, if I have a pistol I truly enjoy shooting, than I will certainly shoot it more. The brutal honest truth? Shooting pistol's isn't a way of life for me, hell, it isn't even a hobby. I have a full time job and a half, a small farm, and I raise, train and compete with cutting horses. Leaves me zero time on the weekends to go compete at the local, (1 1/2 hour drive) gun club. Not very impressive, huh? I look at pistol training as a constantly recurring life saving training event, not a hobby. I dry fire 3x weekly, and try to allot time for a minimum 100 rds of drills and standards testing every weekend. My end goal is cold, on demand perfect performance. I have a long, long ways to go.
"And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
"Just because a girl sleeps with her brother doesn't mean she's easy..."-Blues
If I had to rely on an armorer to keep my 1911 running?
Lol I love the 1911 and all but I've only bought one factory 1911 that was immediately reliable and that was a Rock River Polymer gun. And it had obviously seen some hand fitting.
Every other gun (six of them) had failed the 10-8 extractor test. Each one a liability until I tweaked them. Now they're problem free and reliable as any Beretta or M&P in the safe. And what's more, usually once a 1911 is set up right, it stays that way. But you've gotta know what you're doing and the vast majority of the gun owning population is just that...gun owners. Not gun mechanics.
People like the 1911 in the same way someone likes a classic muscle car. They're sexy, American, and despite their age, they still have some serious capabilities. But only if they're tuned right. Times have changed, and you may have a hard time if you expect the same from a Hemi Barracuda and a Porsche 911, so pay someone to tune it, or do it yourself (which we all know is half the fun)
But don't do either of those and it'll be a headache. An expensive one.
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I have had no less than 5 Les Baers. A niced used Baer in blue just looks good, but I have sold them all. I'm stuck on Nighthawk, Guncrafter, and Wilsons.
1911s are worse than potato chips or blue bell ice cream, you can never get enough.
As mentioned earlier prices on used higher-end 1911s are as cheap as I have ever seen.
Customer service and reputation go a long way with me, something many companies seem to be lacking these days.
Make your choice wisely, then buy lots of ammo and train.
Curious what your final choice is going to be.
I picked up a Baer UTC about 7 years ago when the prices were good. I’ve had no issues except for it being super tight fit for the first 1,000 rds, including the thumb safety. More recently I got a Wilson CQB for almost twice the cost, it is a better gun, but I would shop the used market if I wanted one now.
Last year, I had to have an Alchemy. It is a prime, with all the options of the elite, before the elite was available. It is the best of the bunch and then you figure in price it’s even better.
I like that Alchemy has expanded their options, might be another one in my future. I still think about a Wilson with an alloy frame every once and a while though.
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