Filed under: Misc Stuff, National Match 1911 by VGadmin [No Comments »]

The question of barrels has been asked of me a few times, so I figured I’d babble a bit about it. These days barrels sold as ‘match grade’ can get a bit tricky…some are more ‘match grade’ than others, while some aren’t even close. Unfortunately, I wish I could say ‘brand X’ sucks and ‘brand Y’ is the best…but I don’t really ally with manufacturers. I will say this, in the small circle in which I move, I can’t build a gun for any of them without using one of the three Kings; Kart (heck, I can’t even mention the “easy fit” model), KKM or BarSto…but apparently that only applies to certain groups of folks. Others are die hard BarSto or KKM (Marines currently use these religiously) or Kart. In the IPSC/IDPA world I’ve heard those who swear by companies like NightHawk Custom and Storm Lake – which a lot of ‘my folks’ have never heard of unless they pick up a Brownells catalog. My point is, barrels – while they can make or break a great gun – ALL have a few things which are necessary, no matter who makes it. Of course – you have to take into account the shooter. Most are prima donnas who’ll blame a barrel for their bad shooting just because of it’s manufacture mark, hehe. Give’em what they want and take the cash…that’s what I say, LOL.

Back in the day, before the amazing availability of ‘match grade’ barrels, the mil-spec was common. It often required welding of the hood and lugs so it could be re-cut to fit. Often it needed throating – which is NOT the same as re-dimensioning the feed ramp, as other guys may lead you to believe; the ramp and the throat are NOT the same thing. So, word of note – those of you dumping out cash to have your barrel ‘throated’ by ‘reliability guru’s’ (cough) who inevitably end up merely running a dremel over the feed ramp – you’re getting ripped off. That’s all I’ll say about that. Anyway…where was I? Oh yea – so mil-specs usually got their chamber reamed and throated (depending on the ammo) and needed the feed ramp enlarged to facilitate better feeding; especially/specifically for wad-ammo.

These days though, there’s myriad barrel types from which to choose. Drop in fit, Gunsmith fit, Sort-of drop in, Sort-of Gunsmith, and of course, mil-spec…the list goes on. As I’ve always said and written, the barrel you decide on will be based on your wallet, need, ability of installing it and – of course – your opinion. For a true match grade barrel, you MUST have oversized dimensions in areas like the hood and the lugs. It isn’t always necessary, these days, to ream or throat the barrel, or even to re-shape the feed ramp, for that matter – many can be bought good to go. That doesn’t mean that the barrel isn’t any good because you don’t have to ream it or throat it…just for the record. For the average Joe – a ‘drop in’ match barrel could be just the thing he needs; remember, if you have an old gun or shot-out barrel, a new barrel will ALWAYS help – even a drop in. Your need will determine that. If you’re a beer can shooter (empty, of course, we don’t waste here at VG ) you have absolutely no need to spend the money to get a barrel fitted. Conversely, if you’re a 2650 Bullseye shooter – you’d be a choad if you bought a drop in and expected to stay in your class.

Now – back to brands. “Jim” asked me my opinion on Fusion barrels. First I will say – mad props to “Made in USA”…I’d probably give 5 stars just because of that…if I didn’t have a little experience with them, of course Unfortunately, they only get “2″ from me…that’s not to say that I’m instituting a star system or anything; just thought I’d stick with the metaphor, hehe. The pro’s are that they’re sexy as hell (clean machining is always a HUGE plus), their ‘drop in’ is better than some and they have a very good variety for almost any 1911 type. The cons are; too expensive for what they are and what they can do. Questionable QC standards – I had two barrels brought to me whose lower lugs were sheared off; not broken – but completely shredded from the barrel. RC tests (hardness) were all jacked up and not even close to the usual mil-spec of 53-56.5. Yea, the guy’s ammo probably played a role, but surprisingly the chamber was fine…it was really odd. Finally, another barrel’s rifling at the crown was incomplete and horribly burred. It didn’t look like the shooter had messed with it – he might have; all customers lie – but there were clear signs of machining flaws. Now, I am NOT saying they’re trash – 3 barrels is hardly enough for me to form a real opinion; I’m an optimist. It just sucks if you’re the guy who bought the barrel that was made at 4:59 PM on a Friday, hehe. I didn’t have the pleasure of dealing with Fusion, these weren’t my guns and I have no idea if the shooters ever went to Fusion to rectify the situation – so I can’t speak to the customer service. I say – buy one. Yep, despite the former stuff – buy one if it meets your needs. If customer service is good, they should be able to fix any issues if needed – apart from that, I think my little window of experience is probably a tiny hiccup and not indicative of the products as a whole. Although, I’d put a KKM up against them any day of the week and twice on Sunday.