CT State Police No longer uses 1911

[L-2]

I wondered what happened to Cerberus Tactical.
Back then, I ended up buying the similar Guncrafter Industries "American" (although Zimmerman called it a "No-Name w/Rail).

I don't shoot 1911s as much anymore, but some things broke on the Guncrafter gun, as it probably would with any other 1911: front night sight lamp came out; slide stop lobe broke off; plunger tube rear pin broke. All were covered under Guncrafter warranty. It's just that these things can take weeks to get done and the handgun back.

I've never heard of "Pat Mac" and did not read the thread where Post_144 was referenced; I only now read that Post_144.

Thanks for the info regarding you; your company's troubled history; and connection with Guncrafter Industries.

I'd be interested to know what that Connecticut special tac team is using now.
My prior department's county SWAT was fairly conservative regarding handguns and used the same Glocks as what was issued for general duty: Glock 22gen3, then later G17Gen4.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

[RevolverRob]

Mr. Provost,

I've seen your work in person before. I know that the quality is present. I appreciate that you take great pride in the quality of your work. Recognizing that pride and the respect I have for your work, allow me a moment to talk to you about Pistol-Forum.com (P-F or PF as it is often shortened to).

Our late founder, Todd Louis Green (TLG), established P-F with the goal of generating a place where Teachers and Students of the Pistol could gather and discuss some of the complexities of both firearms execution and use. We are a very data-driven community, and though we are light-hearted with one another, we believe in practice and execution of the fundamentals of pistol shooting to a high level. Among our group we count many highly accomplished individuals from competitive shooters to people who have been involved in real gunfights and shootings. As a group, we understand the seriousness of a pistol needing to be both reliable and accurate, many of us have spent many thousands of dollars on equipment, ammunition, and training as a reflection of that seriousness.

As part of those goals, TLG instilled early on, a need to communicate here on P-F in a cohesive and calm manner. Please do not take offense at the following statement - Thus far your posts have been a bit erratic. We absolutely welcome your contributions here and would appreciate them, if they are presented in a way that is accessible to those of us who do not know your personally. In the end, we each are carrying different experiences in our lives and none of us are setting out to attack you or your work. If your goal is to set the record straight, and I recognize you are frustrated with this, it behooves you to explain this clearly and it helps us to understand where you are coming from in this regard.

Here on P-F no one starts at a negative level - everyone starts the same and then ascends or descends based on their communication and decorum. None-the-less we do have certain expected standards for communication and individuals here are highly motivated to learn. As a result, if they cannot quickly discern what you mean, they will dismiss you. I ask that you bear these things in mind and take heed of the fact that we share a common goal to have the equipment and skills to shoot and work with pistols (and other firearms) to a high degree. We want nothing more than to learn from one another and perhaps share a cold beverage or a good joke once in awhile.

Best,

-Rob

[theJanitor]

Well said, @RevolverRob

I'll add a couple of random thoughts here.

-I doubt anyone got what you did out of post 144, Mr. Provost.
-I hope that you're willing to share some of what makes your pistols superior. This forum has the ability to look at the pistols objectively and with expertise
-Unless pins are being moved from the original spec, I consider most gunsmiths to be "blueprinting" the 1911 and it's pieces
-The Ed Brown variants of your mag were great, until they cracked. I dumped about 20 of them
-I'm not a Hilton Yam fan, but stories like this make him more believable
-Mostly, I'm glad to hear your health is improving.

And if anyone has pictures, background info, or other details about the pistols, I'd love to see them.

Thanks,

Kent

[CerTac]

Thank you for educating me on the decorum of the forum.

My goal in designing and building pistols started when Aldo Zitta met me and we discussed some of my ideas and compared them with his products. This was a very long time ago when he was making items for Spec Ops groups and competing HEAVILY in competition circuit. Al finally told me to get a 07 License and go into designing and producing firearms. Fast Forward to today, I have my own forgings. I found where numbers were wrong/transposed in the blueprints and those little numbers added up to lots of sloppiness or, lots of hand fitting of over sized parts. I attacked the little issues and problems went away. Correctly sized parts now fit perfectly. More specifically, MY correctly sized parts. Everything with the exception of springs and pins is of my design. When I found failures, I addressed those failures. If I can control every aspect of the frame, slide, barrel and all the parts, I know how a firearm will go together. I set out to make a HARDENED gun. My sights are hardened, they're not soft leaded metal. My last design is for a front sight. It takes lessons from an Express Rifle and applied that thought process to the front sight of a 1911. A 470 Nitro Express can't have it's front sight fly off when "The Black Death" is charging you. That's a Cape Buffalo to the non-hunters out there. I just wanted to make MY style of guns where you didn't have to FIX things right out of the box like I did with my first Colt National Match Gold Cup. You simply take the gun to the range, shoot it until it can't shoot anymore, clean it, lube it properly and it'll run perfectly. My original gun, CT000 which is STILL a shop mule has well over 200K rounds of ammo put through it. 125K of those was done by the government in a testing facility. The gun runs so smoothly I still take it out just to feel how smooth it is. Its UGLY, it has black on black sights, but it was the genesis of the Mark V program where my firearms come with all the bells and whistles you'd pay a proper gunsmith to install. I make Real Fighting Guns! Yes, I make competition guns too, but I figure if it's good enough to fight for your life with, it'll be good enough to compete with too. (Depending upon which discipline, No disrespect to gun racing guys, I'm a big fan). I know my style of gun is not for everyone, nor will everyone appreciate the attention to detail nor the price. But I was a cop who had to carry a standard Glock. Our Glock 21SFs broke constantly. I like Glock, but I always pose the question to my clients: will the polymer still be strong in 100 years if you're lucky enough to hand that firearm down to your grandchildren? This may not be everyone's view, but to me, Steel Guns are REAL Guns. Yes, I carry a Glock, I compete with CZ, Glock and others, but if the End of the world scenario comes to fruition, I'm carrying one of my Mark V Directed Operations Group (DOG) pistols.

I hope this answers your questions in the manner you wish. I'll answer any question you ask of me.

To L2, I've only Heard they went with S&W 9mm because they may have gotten them for free.....I cannot prove nor disprove that rumor. But they did that with Sig.

Thank you for asking on my health. I appreciate that.

Revolver Rob, Thank YOU! I didn't know you knew of me or my work, but am curious to know what you've seen.

Respectfully submitted,

[JonInWA]

I've never had the opportunity to handle, shoot or even see in person one of Christopher's 1911s, but I'm very familiar with his CerTac magazines, of which I've had 4 for years, and they've indeed run flawlessly. Check-Mate manufactured them to Christopher's specifications, and they remain one of my "go to" magazines. I run them as a set in my Second Generation SIG GSR (and while I have some deep skepticism about the currently produced SIG 1911s, mine runs exceptionally well-albeit after 2 trips to the SIG Custom Shop).

Best, Jon

[BigD]

This thread has it all.

1911 aficionado/builder getting mad his work has been besmirched.

Oblique references to someone building .45s for the SMU that can't be mentioned (except in oblique references, then it's ok.)

The BLACK DEATH charging at you!

Allegations of contract fraud on the part of a state and dirty doings from Glock (and possibly Sig and S&W.) (Though I don't know if free guns is actually dirty doings.) (And I'm doubting Glock was upset about losing the contract for 40 pistols.)

Yes, I carry a Glock,

Wait, what?

[TOTS]

This thread has it all.
Wait, what?

I know, right!!!

[El Cid]

Thank you for educating me on the decorum of the forum.

My goal in designing and building pistols started when Aldo Zitta met me and we discussed some of my ideas and compared them with his products. This was a very long time ago when he was making items for Spec Ops groups and competing HEAVILY in competition circuit. Al finally told me to get a 07 License and go into designing and producing firearms. Fast Forward to today, I have my own forgings. I found where numbers were wrong/transposed in the blueprints and those little numbers added up to lots of sloppiness or, lots of hand fitting of over sized parts. I attacked the little issues and problems went away. Correctly sized parts now fit perfectly. More specifically, MY correctly sized parts. Everything with the exception of springs and pins is of my design. When I found failures, I addressed those failures. If I can control every aspect of the frame, slide, barrel and all the parts, I know how a firearm will go together. I set out to make a HARDENED gun. My sights are hardened, they're not soft leaded metal. My last design is for a front sight. It takes lessons from an Express Rifle and applied that thought process to the front sight of a 1911. A 470 Nitro Express can't have it's front sight fly off when "The Black Death" is charging you. That's a Cape Buffalo to the non-hunters out there. I just wanted to make MY style of guns where you didn't have to FIX things right out of the box like I did with my first Colt National Match Gold Cup. You simply take the gun to the range, shoot it until it can't shoot anymore, clean it, lube it properly and it'll run perfectly. My original gun, CT000 which is STILL a shop mule has well over 200K rounds of ammo put through it. 125K of those was done by the government in a testing facility. The gun runs so smoothly I still take it out just to feel how smooth it is. Its UGLY, it has black on black sights, but it was the genesis of the Mark V program where my firearms come with all the bells and whistles you'd pay a proper gunsmith to install. I make Real Fighting Guns! Yes, I make competition guns too, but I figure if it's good enough to fight for your life with, it'll be good enough to compete with too. (Depending upon which discipline, No disrespect to gun racing guys, I'm a big fan). I know my style of gun is not for everyone, nor will everyone appreciate the attention to detail nor the price. But I was a cop who had to carry a standard Glock. Our Glock 21SFs broke constantly. I like Glock, but I always pose the question to my clients: will the polymer still be strong in 100 years if you're lucky enough to hand that firearm down to your grandchildren? This may not be everyone's view, but to me, Steel Guns are REAL Guns. Yes, I carry a Glock, I compete with CZ, Glock and others, but if the End of the world scenario comes to fruition, I'm carrying one of my Mark V Directed Operations Group (DOG) pistols.

I hope this answers your questions in the manner you wish. I'll answer any question you ask of me.

To L2, I've only Heard they went with S&W 9mm because they may have gotten them for free.....I cannot prove nor disprove that rumor. But they did that with Sig.

Thank you for asking on my health. I appreciate that.

Revolver Rob, Thank YOU! I didn't know you knew of me or my work, but am curious to know what you've seen.

Respectfully submitted,

Please also know that typing in all caps is the equivalent of shouting and for most of us comes across very negatively. Thank you and welcome to P-F.

[GJM]

When a paragraph goes nearly a whole page, it has exhausted my attention span. If a gun must last 100 years, I am assuming it is not optics ready.

[BehindBlueI's]

Moved to General Discussion, as I don't see much that warrants a technical thread. Please play nice, though.