SAM Thunderbolt 1911 Stainless

hercster said:
Don't be intimidated by IPSC. First the shooters are very understanding and generous with their coaching. Often a club has a regular practice night that you can attend. The odds are that the attending members will offer to let you shoot a few rounds and explain their pistol to you. I think I got to try six different guns on my first night. Secondly, except for safety, you have almost total control over the speed at which you operate. My priorities haven't changed: I want to be safe, have fun and enjoy the marvelous fellowship of the sport. I'm in my sixth year and shoot IPSC, IDPA, Steel Challenge,Tactical Shotgun, Tactical Carbine, all sorts of non -sanctioned games and lately 3 Gun. I follow my scores with passing interest as I compete with Me myself and I. Up to recently, I usually finish in the bottom third however, in the past two seasons, I often finish in the top half.

By the way, I'm 71, have very shaky legs and never fired a handgun prior to 2008. I shot a pistol and carbine match this morning and while I'm sore, I had a great time. The shooting sports are very social animals and I just love this aspect of the games. Don't worry about your current abilities as the are likely good enough to get started and your peers will help you progress. You might end up like me watching the calendar and the weather in anticipation of my next adventure. :dancingbanana:
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Awesome Hercster! Keep up the great work.....your an inspiration for us all!
 
I did half the trigger job in my brand new Hi Power before shooting it, and that involved first breaking off the magazine disconnect (through faulty Internet advice on removing it) then having to beat the almighty out of it to get the trigger pin out, worried the whole time that I was turning my investment into scrap lol.

By contrast a 1911 is pure joy to take apart and tinker with.
 
Mark-II said:
By contrast a 1911 is pure joy to take apart and tinker with.
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This is the other appeal of getting a 1911 for me. I love the "Tinker Factor". Not planning on doing anything outlandish to mine when I buy it. But love that several upgrades are pretty simple to do on the 1911. I'll also shoot mine for a while before I decide to "improve" anything besides grips.
 
It took me a little while to figure out what I like as well. For one thing I won't buy another 1911 with fixed sights. It'll be bomar type from now on.

I went through the usual ergonomic variables as well - different grip types and material, different MSH and textures, different trigger lengths. Fun stuff.

The Browning isn't bad, other than those cabinet door grips that they've put on since the 30's. Those need to go.
 
upgraded the front sights.
mmmmmm fiber optic!

3636D524-608D-4F6E-AB48-0C8B3472F348_zpsintsinz0.jpg
 
My Seraphim Archangel will come with a FO FS and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have them on all my pistols and have shot with them for several years in varying conditions. The rod will eventually get broken or affected by heat. I keep a bunch a spares and trim them with a nail clipper to fit and then buzz them with a flame to create the bulb at each end. I prefer green rods as I find them brighter.
 
Should have mine next week I think. I'll be happy to have it in hand, FO FS and Target rears .. nice combo.
hercster said:
My Seraphim Archangel will come with a FO FS and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have them on all my pistols and have shot with them for several years in varying conditions. The rod will eventually get broken or affected by heat. I keep a bunch a spares and trim them with a nail clipper to fit and then buzz them with a flame to create the bulb at each end. I prefer green rods as I find them brighter.
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xdmer said:
Should have mine next week I think. I'll be happy to have it in hand, FO FS and Target rears .. nice combo.
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I've purchased quite a few pistols over the past few years and always get excited about a new gun. For a few reasons, that's especially true of this one because I've learned to do a few 1911 upgrades and look forward to tinkering with this one. Modifying my guns has really added to my enjoyment in shooting them. This one won't stay full stock for long as there's already some slick parts waiting and a whole bunch of small tools to play with.:dancingbanana:
 
I feel the same way, I have some vz grips waiting, and I plan on doing my own trigger job. This will be my first 1911.
hercster said:
I've purchased quite a few pistols over the past few years and always get excited about a new gun. For a few reasons, that's especially true of this one because I've learned to do a few 1911 upgrades and look forward to tinkering with this one. Modifying my guns has really added to my enjoyment in shooting them. This one won't stay full stock for long as there's already some slick parts waiting and a whole bunch of small tools to play with.:dancingbanana:
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xdmer said:
I feel the same way, I have some vz grips waiting, and I plan on doing my own trigger job. This will be my first 1911.
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I'll do a trigger job after doing as much of an action cleanup as necessary. I bought the jig and a selection of stones as well as the proper file for the hammer hooks. I'll take a baseline measurement of the trigger pull before I start. I also bought a fully adjustable light weight trigger so that I can adjust take up and overtravel. Another purchase was a light sear spring made by Cylinder and Slide and premium pins. I also have a selection of quality springs. I'll see how that works out along with the internal polishing I'll do where necessary. If I don't get the results I want then my next step will be a high end matched ignition system either from Cylinder and Slide or EGW or parts of that quality. I think the work I'll do on the stock parts will be good enough for the results I want and that will give me the best bang for the buck. I'll watch for your report and will post one here as well. Good luck!
 
hercster said:
I'll do a trigger job after doing as much of an action cleanup as necessary. I bought the jig and a selection of stones as well as the proper file for the hammer hooks. I'll take a baseline measurement of the trigger pull before I start. I also bought a fully adjustable light weight trigger so that I can adjust take up and overtravel. Another purchase was a light sear spring made by Cylinder and Slide and premium pins. I also have a selection of quality springs. I'll see how that works out along with the internal polishing I'll do where necessary. If I don't get the results I want then my next step will be a high end matched ignition system either from Cylinder and Slide or EGW or parts of that quality. I think the work I'll do on the stock parts will be good enough for the results I want and that will give me the best bang for the buck. I'll watch for your report and will post one here as well. Good luck!
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How did the trigger job work out? I got an Archangel as well. I'm very happy with the overall fitting of the gun but the trigger does need some attention. The Factory trigger pull on mine just over 6#'s. Ideally I would like it to be around 4# with factory hammer spring weight. I'm just looking into buying the tools or just sending it out to get done.
 
I did a DIY trigger job involving polishing internals, the hammer hooks and the sear. I used an Ed Brown sear jig that cost me around $60.00 and several stones in both fine and super fine weights. I did change the "main" spring to a slightly lighter one but that doesn't affect the perceived trigger pull. I also used a lighter weight tri spring (sear, hammer,grip safety) and tuned that by bending in the prescribed way.

I was able to get a smooth and crisp pull of less than four pounds but prefer slightly heavier at around 4-4.25 or so. I love doing this work with the only real PITA being the full length guide rod which takes patience and skill to avoid launching parts into space or into your skull. Be careful and definitely wear eye protection. If your bushing wrench slips while that recoil spring in under tension, the force is scary dangerous.

I've made other changes that may or may not appeal to you. I installed a fully adjustable trigger from STI or Wilson so that I could adjust pretravel. The trigger bow has small tabs that you bend forward to limit trigger shoe travel towards the muzzle. I also adjusted the over travel which you can do with the stock trigger. Do the adjustments in increments ensuring full reset and function as you go.

If you aren't already, you will become VERY accustomed to breaking down and reassembling your pistol as a lot of this is trial and error until you are happy. There's a lot of help available on the net.Try these:

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/trigger_job.htm

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/learndetail.aspx?lid=10297

Have fun!

Gord
 
I also put an STI short trigger in that I used to have in my Omega. I find the plastic bow is snug in the frame, but I'm not sure where to shave it... If the gun is a keeper I might buy a Dlask short trigger instead. I just wanted to see if I could shoot it better since, perversely, despite having huge hands and long fingers, short 1911A1 type triggers seem to work the best for me.

Mine still breaks around 2.5lbs despite some effort to de-tune it lol

I might have to put the original sear spring back in and work with it. I bought something like 5 or 6 sear springs the last time I ordered from Wolfe. Used them everywhere.
 
Mark-II said:
I also put an STI short trigger in that I used to have in my Omega. I find the plastic bow is snug in the frame, but I'm not sure where to shave it... If the gun is a keeper I might buy a Dlask short trigger instead. I just wanted to see if I could shoot it better since, perversely, despite having huge hands and long fingers, short 1911A1 type triggers seem to work the best for me.

Mine still breaks around 2.5lbs despite some effort to de-tune it lol

I might have to put the original sear spring back in and work with it. I bought something like 5 or 6 sear springs the last time I ordered from Wolfe. Used them everywhere.
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I just placed an order and it included another sear spring. It's much neater just to switch them out rather than rebend. While the work is fun, repetitive breakdowns and reassembly gets old in time and you can't totally avoid it as you don't really know the effect of a tweak until you get the gun back together.

I just checked and the trigger I got that I like is from Wilson.

Trigger, Ultralight Match, Short Pad

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Triggers/products/97/

Bending those front tabs works well but a little goes a long way.

Gord
 
Looks like an absolute beauty! And only $600, that's awesome value, I bet. Take care of the stainless steel though, you may need to keep it in clean places like little dust etc, and stainless steel scratches easily too.
 
My first pistol was a stainless SIG X-five which is a beautiful firearm and very competitive in every way. However, stainless is easily marked and blemishes show in a glaring way. I was constantly picking up a new scratch or smudge and because of my personality they drove me nuts. My Seraphims are plain black for that reason. Of course they do scratch but the blemishes aren't nearly as obvious. If you want the look of a "silver" pistol and can justify the expense, hard chrome is a much better finish. A black gun, regardless of the original finish can be refinished at reasonable cost if wear and tear bothers you. Mind you, $300 to refinish a $600 gun won't make sense for many people.

I agree with Mr. Canadian, the Seraphims by any name are a great value.
 
wayupnorth said:
Seraphim GI
1-GI-Small.jpg

Wolverine GL
SAM191145_460.jpg


Seraphim Crusader
5-Crusader-Small-No.jpg

Wolverine SAM Commander
SAMCMDR45E_460.jpg


Seraphim Ghost
7-Ghost-Small.jpg

Wolverine Tactical
SAM1911CMDR45TAC_460.jpg


Seraphim Archangel (blue and SS)
Arch-Blk-Camo-R-300x198.jpg

Arch-SM-Camo-R-300x198.jpg

Wolverine Thunderbolt
SAMTBLT45_460.jpg

wolverine is out of stainless thunderbolts (sad face)
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I got one in SS before they were gone, hogue rubber finger grips and wow is this thing sweet. I going to finally get it to the range next weekend for the first time. I can't wait!!:)
 
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