Thought we could start the week off with my Echo-2 build and @rmj_usa Ragnarok. This build languished in my safe for over a decade before I finished it a few years ago. It features every 10-8 1911 part as well as the abbreviated serrations that are now featured on my 10-8 Masterclass pistol from @springfieldarmoryinc @lipseysguns.

The 10-8 Performance Armorer Tool was originally designed for working on 1911's, but has plenty of handy uses on the bench. I've been doing a lot of tinkering on Glocks lately, and the non marring nylon tool is great for working on polymer pistols without leaving dings and scratches all over the parts. Bench videos on my Patreon.

Thumb shield safeties on 2011's are gaining some popularity of late, but they are not a new development. Back in the 80's, famous rubber grip manufacturer Pachmayr offered a "Thumb Slide Guard" that you could bolt onto your gun, and Swenson also offered a very early production thumb shield version of his now legendary ambi safety. Riding high thumb on a 1911/2011 that is lightly sprung and running lower impulse loads, it is easy to interfere with the slide cycling. A thumb shield resolves this.

Been taking a deep dive into USPSA Carry Optics lately and setting up this Gen5 Glock 17 for match use with: @108Performance sights & base pads @forwardcontrols plate, Holosun 507 Pro Max red @ndzperformance guide rod CHPWS brass plug Glock OEM extended slide stop and 8794 extended mag catch Timney trigger shoe What are your must have Glock mods? >Bench instructional video on my Patreon, link in BIO.

Every 1911 needs some 10-8 upgrades! My @springfieldarmoryinc TRP wears a 10-8 spring plug, front and rear sights, slide stop, mag catch, grips, and flat trigger. If you prefer a classic iron sighted 1911, Springfield still offers this "1911 TRP Classic" in 5" and 4.25" bushing barrels.

Another fun @theuspsa match this weekend at @sapsa_fl. Great weather and even better crew of maniacs kept me laughing even when I was under performing. Shooting Carry Optics (Glock 17) from AIWB has been a bit of a learning curve and I have much work yet to do. I did manage a CO stage win, though I was unable to maintain that level of precision in vision for the rest of the match.  @forwardcontrols plate @oakleystandardissue Meta Vanguard @supervel 124gr FMJ @108performance base pads

If you're running one of my @springfieldarmoryinc @lipseysguns 10-8 Master Class pistols, @tenicorusa has you covered with a variety of holsters specifically updated for the 10-8 (pick the 5" 2011 option). If you want to rock the 10-8 old school with irons, it comes with a ledge profile U notch rear and green fiber optic front. Please keep in mind that due to mounting on the AOS plate, the rear sight is a unique dovetail. The front is the standard Springfield dovetail, .350x.078x60deg.

My new @springfieldarmoryinc Echelon runs well with slightly hotter ammo to provide more gas for the porting. The gun returns like a champ with this Winchester 115gr at 1200fps, which works out to a 138 Power Factor in USPSA math. By comparison, Blazer Brass 115gr runs at just barely 1090fps for a 125 PF...if you're having a good day. You don't have to go nuts and run +P, just a bit more gas and sight return will be crisp. For my review of this Echelon, see LINK in BIO.

I recently updated my old Gen4 Glock 19 from a Type 2 @trijicon RMR to an RMR HD with a steel @forwardcontrols plate. I am often asked why I'm using new plates. This pic shows the fit of the optic to the plate without any screws installed. The interface of the optic to the plate and the plate to the slide should be doing all of the work of accepting shearing forces from recoil. The screws are just supposed to hold the optic down onto the plate.

The new @springfieldarmoryinc Echelon Pro 4.5F Comp brings together their ported slide/barrel comp design with a laser textured grip, heavy steel guide rod, and detachable mag well. Video is at LINK in BIO, and you can see an extended cut on my Patreon!

Let's start the week with my @staccato2011 HD C3.6, sporting the new 10-8 machined aluminum base pad for the factory MecGar 15rd mag. The pad has been updated with a thicker design to allow more access when using the factory mag well.

This Gen4 G17 had languished NIB in my safe for some 12 years, and is now happily reconfigured to help me with my need for speed.  Slide: @SLRRifleworks  Optic: The People's Optic 507 Pro Max Trigger: Timney shoe, OEM internals +5 Pad: 10-8 Performance

What better way to celebrate International 10-8 Day than with my @springfieldarmoryinc/@lipseysguns 10-8 Master Class? I'm quite sure it's a real holiday. Pretty sure.

My original @staccato2011 HD P4 is looking refreshed with a tan grip module and the new 10-8 Performance machined aluminum pad for the MecGar 18rd magazine.

After a few weeks of running Glocks, I realized that my old stand by Gen4 G19 was lagging behind with its old Type2 RMR. I'd already upgraded the old plate to a @forwardcontrols when changing the battery on the RMR, so it was quick work to drop on the RMR HD. Since everyone asks: slide was done by the now defunct AMF Defense, trigger is a Timney shoe on OEM components (minus connector and Gen3 trigger bar). Pads and +5 extension are 10-8 Performance.

My old 2020 @staccato2011 P 4.45" came back home to roost after being away a few years. This was my main teaching gun back when I was doing the factory's armorer courses. This year was also the final year that the guns had a 10-8 slide stop as a factory part. I was very proud to have been able to supply those for the early boom era of this model.

This pistol, built for me in 1992-3 by my friend Bruce Gray @brucegrayggi, shows many influences that can be seen in my own 1911 builds and designs. The gun is finished in Black T and sports Ahrends grips, Vic International flat trigger, EGW weld on mag well, and flawless 30lpi hand checkering. I've liked flat triggers on 1911s for quite some time now....

Early 90's build in 9x23, with Tasco PDP3 optic in a George Huening carbon fiber mount, on a Chip McCormick modular frame kit. The 2011 that we now know was introduced in 1992 by the Chip McCormick Corp, and the grip modules had a glued in medallion which often fell out like in this sample. Chip soon left the venture, which originally included Sandy Strayer and Virgil Tripp. The frames were next distributed by Tripp and marked TRI (with a molded grip logo), and then by Strayer under STI.

One of the early contenders in the 1911 double stack race was the Caspian race ready frame, which had a proprietary magazine, integral mag well, and squared trigger guard. It didn't stay in the running for long, as the frame was heavy and large. The Caspian and Para Ordnance frame kits eventually lost out, and we'll take a peek at the winner in tomorrow's post.

This absolute gem from the Springfield Custom Shop, likely build around 1990-91, shows the very rapid change in USPSA guns during that 1-2 year period from '90-92. After Jerry Barnhart won the 1990 USPSA Nationals with a single stack .38 Super with a Tasco PDP2 optic, everything changed. Single stack guns like this one had optic mounts added on top of the irons until their owners got their double stack guns built. 📸@akscott60