Prowling at the range... Prowler III style!

legi0n said:
I'm confused.
Isn't that $3000 handgun guaranteed to do 1.5" at 50 yds?
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It is guaranteed to shoot 10 rounds under 1.5" @ 50 yards from a ransom rest, a ransom rest will measure the full potential of the gun since it removes human "error" of the equasion. As a matter a fact the test target (piece of cardboard) that came with the pistol showed an awesome less than .875" (7/8 of an inch group measured from center to center.

Edit: Took the proper measurement and it's exactly .814" center to center.

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For instance, there's a nice article from G&A September 2010 on an Sig X5-L1 in .40 (witch is also a $3k pistol) shot in a ransom rest. Results were in between 1" and 1.5" center to center @ 25 yards for 5 shots from a bunch of different ammo.

As seen right here: http://www.handgunsmag.com/2010/09/24/featured_handguns_sigxfive_011306/
 
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In regards to the testing done at the Les Baer shop, a source who worked as a gunsmith in the shop till a few years ago said that they (employees) loaded the testing magazines and that Les himself shot at least 8 mags trough each pistol before sending it out to customers. The 1.5" @ 50 guarantee pushed the envelope even further as the gun were tested in a ransom rest and were fitted till they achieve the guarantee and then tested by Les for total reliability. The ammo used in all testings are mixed to ensure proper function & reliability. They use Federal Gold Medal Match 185gr FMJ SWC, American Eagle 230 FMJ, Federal Hydra-Shok 230gr and Remington 230gr Golden Sabers for all testings.

This was done till 2009 or so. The shop made less than 1700 pistols a year back then. They are now making close to 4000 1911's a year so I don't know if Les has time to test each and every pistol himself, if he hired some help or if the testing procedure has now changed.
 
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Excellent range report {nice range too, what's annual membership cost I wonder?}. I'm green with envy over here, not only over your Prowler, but also your skill behind it.

Note to self, practice, practice, practice...and acquire a Baer!

Too all those pooh poohing the Norc .45 acp ammo, you've obviously never shot it. I have (lots) and it goes :shotgun: every time. Why run gold dot for a break in run? (knuckleheads)
 
plinker 777 said:
Excellent range report {nice range too, what's annual membership cost I wonder?}. I'm green with envy over here, not only over your Prowler, but also your skill behind it.

Note to self, practice, practice, practice...and acquire a Baer!

Too all those pooh poohing the Norc .45 acp ammo, you've obviously never shot it. I have (lots) and it goes :shotgun: every time. Why run gold dot for a break in run? (knuckleheads)
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It's an outdoor training compound for LEO's. 20 paces that goes up to 100 yards. I can't discuss annual cost but it barely covers individual insurance fees.

Norc .45 ammo is pretty good overall and provide unbeatable value cost wise. It gives good accuracy while being a bit on the hot side when compared to WWB. It cant touch match ammo, or quality match handloaded ammo in term of accuracy but it gets the job done at a very reasonable price.
 
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Harry Callahan said:
It's an outdoor training compound for LEO's. 20 paces that goes up to 100 yards. I can't discuss annual cost but it barely covers individual insurance fees.

Norc .45 ammo is pretty good overall and provide unbeatable value cost wise. It gives good accuracy while being a bit on the hot side when compared to WWB. It cant touch match ammo, or quality match handloaded ammo in term of accuracy but it gets the job done at a very reasonable price.
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Nice!

HC, did you ever track down an X6, or did this Baer scratch your high end toy itch?

very, very nice gun btw.
 
Shooter1of38 said:
Nice!

HC, did you ever track down an X6, or did this Baer scratch your high end toy itch?

very, very nice gun btw.
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Thanks Shooter.

A dealer gave me a price on one and a 6-12 months window for delivery but finally didn't put a deposit. I decided to hold the deposit at the last minute and made the LB purchase a week or so later. Since I got the Prowler and can attest that the accuracy/reliability is awesome, I think that my future range trips will see a lot of Prowler time! Sorry for the "others" 45's that are in the safe! It's that nice of a pistol!

So the X6 purchase is on hold right now. I'me pretty sure it's a sweet shooting gun but I've always had a sweet spot for 1911's. Guess it's a new chapter to an old love story!
 
BenL said:
Thanks for the range report HC.

I'm glad that I didn't jump ahead and purchased those 8 WC EMTs seeing that you've had some issues with them. I'll let you know how they work out in my TRS.
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Yeah, the ETM's really have a tight fit in the pistol, all the other mags had a little play when loaded in the gun. The larger basepad on the ETM is also flush & tight with the FS bottom mag cut. I suspect those two mags lips & body are slightly out of specs and the Prowler didn't like that at all. I should get in touch with WC and see if I could get some new ones?

One things for sure, I would trade my ETM's for good ol' CMC Power mags!
 
Harry Callahan said:
Thanks Shooter.

A dealer gave me a price on one and a 6-12 months window for delivery but finally didn't put a deposit. I decided to hold the deposit at the last minute and made the LB purchase a week or so later. Since I got the Prowler and can attest that the accuracy/reliability is awesome, I think that my future range trips will see a lot of Prowler time! Sorry for the "others" 45's that are in the safe! It's that nice of a pistol!

So the X6 purchase is on hold right now. I'me pretty sure it's a sweet shooting gun but I've always had a sweet spot for 1911's. Guess it's a new chapter to an old love story!
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Very nice. Enjoy that awesome 1911. Nothing quite like the feel of a semi custom/custom 1911!
 
Just spent an hour stripping her out and giving her a thorough cleaning. She's now ready for our next date...

Completely clean. Ready for assembly!

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She's now ready for action so let's relax and enjoy the evening...

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Thanks bud. By stripping it completely I meant slide, barrel with reverse plug and recoil spring, extractor & firing pin. Didn't feel the need of "completely" stripping her out just yet since only 550 rounds went through her.
 
CdnCombatMedic said:
It's like buying a Lambo and putting Royal Purple in it for an oil change.
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Royal Purple is at least a pretty good full synthetic oil (maybe not for a lambo, but it is good oil), I think it would be like putting regular schmo oil in it as Norinco is about as cheap as it comes. Although I don't know how bad Norinco pistol ammo is, it looks like it performed fairly well for how he was shooting.

Nice gun, and nice shooting. Sounds like you were doing pretty fast shooting, to that claim of 1.5" @50 yards like others said it's in a ransom rest and probably shot fairly slow for maximum accuracy.
 
Matty308 said:
Royal Purple is at least a pretty good full synthetic oil (maybe not for a lambo, but it is good oil), I think it would be like putting regular schmo oil in it as Norinco is about as cheap as it comes. Although I don't know how bad Norinco pistol ammo is, it looks like it performed fairly well for how he was shooting.

Nice gun, and nice shooting. Sounds like you were doing pretty fast shooting, to that claim of 1.5" @50 yards like others said it's in a ransom rest and probably shot fairly slow for maximum accuracy.
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Norc .45 ammo is really not that bad. If some of you didn't do well while shooting it, is not the ammo's fault :)

The accuracy wasn't at its best obviously. I wanted to perform the break in and had less than 4 hours to do so (wife needed me home, you know the drill!). Next trip will be 2-300 rounds tops translating to lots of slow fire & improved accuracy.

I don't know at what pace they shoot the group out of the ransom rest for the 1.5" @ 50y guarantee but my test target shows an exceptional level of accuracy when it hit the ransom rest that day. I would be pretty happy if I could just get a full mag in 3-4 inch @ 50y... No way a human shooting standing w/o rest could achieve that measured .814" group for 10 rounds @ 50y, it's just physically impossible.
 
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