STI DVC OPEN or CK ARMS THUNDER

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Salmoncan

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Hello,

Let me get straight to the point. I'm wanting to get one of the mentioned in the tittle just to get my hands on a open gun, be able to shoot with RDS, and well to get a bit fancy.

I did some research, and the folks on Brian Enos seemed to be very critical on the STI DVC OPEN, and STI in general. However, CK ARMS is very well perceived there, and often recommended for new shooters willing to spend a little for a better gun with upgraded parts that you will end up replacing on the STI. All those threads/posts are 2-3 years old.

My question is: How has STI been recently? Is their QC picking up a bit or you will still need to be prepared to tinker? I don't know anyone that carries CK ARMS complete handguns and I don't think there is one. So if one wants to get one of their Thunder, how to proceed? Anyone with successful experience doing so?

Thanks a lot!
 
CK arms was the new hotness on Benos a couple years ago. Current hotness is Atlas.

Both options you would have to purchase in the States and use an importer like IRunGuns to bring into Canada.
 
This is a completely biased comment here - but something you should consider.

A CK Arms pistol coming into Canada comes in under a single import permit as they have no distribution network in Canada.
STIs come to Canada under a blanket one since they have an authorized distributor here (Us!)

If your STI breaks; we support it with STI's backing as they will send us parts or replacement guns to fix you up.
(FYI - every DVC Open that has had a cracked barrel in this country - STI has replaced the whole gun with the latest version of their DVC Open)

If your CK Arms (or Atlas) breaks; well...
 
Freedom Ventures said:
This is a completely biased comment here - but something you should consider.

A CK Arms pistol coming into Canada comes in under a single import permit as they have no distribution network in Canada.
STIs come to Canada under a blanket one since they have an authorized distributor here (Us!)

If your STI breaks; we support it with STI's backing as they will send us parts or replacement guns to fix you up.
(FYI - every DVC Open that has had a cracked barrel in this country - STI has replaced the whole gun with the latest version of their DVC Open)

If your CK Arms (or Atlas) breaks; well...
Click to expand...

Is this common for these open guns? I don’t know much about the subject but if every DVC has had a cracked barrel I would think they are pretty fragile for a firearm. Maybe czechmate is the way to go?
 
Salmoncan said:
Is this common for these open guns? I don’t know much about the subject but if every DVC has had a cracked barrel I would think they are pretty fragile for a firearm. Maybe czechmate is the way to go?
Click to expand...
It's no secret the original comp design from STI on the DVC Opens had a defect.
STI stepped up, owned it and replaced every gun (the whole gun, not just the barrel) that cracked and I've not seen a replacement crack yet.
 
I wouldn't say open guns are fragile, it's more like they often try to push the performance envelope really far and the occasional issue comes up. Probably more issues with ammo for open guns than the guns themselves. BTW, I bought my open gun from FV for that same reason, wanted someone to be there if there were any issues.

Open guns are a little like exotic sports cars, they can fly down a race track at massive speed, but if it hits a curb too hard, the suspension can break.
 
I’ll throw my weight into this to atest for the dvc line.

60k rounds since feburary and the ONLY thing that broke (caught the crack on cleaning) on my classic was a barrel link after extreme use whilst training.
By extreme i mean 400ish in 15ish.

They work. They are solid, and hold up well to my abuse.
I’ll be buying another 100% before ipsc worlds.

This gun took my abusive training to win nationals classic.
 
Salmoncan said:
Is this common for these open guns? I don’t know much about the subject but if every DVC has had a cracked barrel I would think they are pretty fragile for a firearm. Maybe czechmate is the way to go?
Click to expand...

You coudl get and DVC that might break a barrel,

You could get a CZ that mill break a barrel

You could get an atlas that goes full auto

You could get a Bul that is a ig question mark for the Canadian market

Or a CK or other custom gun, but only a few of these have any support in Canada so unless youre ready to pay out for sending guns back to the states for warranty it might be good to find a Canada friendly gun and a good gunsmith if needed.
Id be going CZ, BUL or STI in Canada or find a smith to build one who knows what theyre doing.
 
adamg said:
CK arms was the new hotness on Benos a couple years ago. Current hotness is Atlas.

Both options you would have to purchase in the States and use an importer like IRunGuns to bring into Canada.
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up. In a couple years all the Benos guys will have a new hotness.

That said I did drink the Atlas kool-aid after owing a few STI's. I've sold all the STI's and now have a limited Atlas, open Atlas(Chaos) and another Chaos in the mail to me. My Limited Atlas has been 100% for ~35k rounds. I did have a issue with the comp coming loose on my Chaos within the first 2k rounds. Atlas took care of the import/export process and costs to have the gun returned to them for repair and sent back to me. They now install their comps in a semi-permanent manner(duel hidden pinned), after seeing it I can say they wont have any issues with them coming loose.

With the premium we pay for STI here in Canada its worth the extra to go with a custom gun instead(Atlas, Limcat, Akai and McClearen are the only builders I would consider and in that order). STI is hit or miss, the chances of you having to tinker with it is high. With a good builder a custom gun will be "race ready" from day one.

In full disclosure I was sponsored by Atlas in the past so I may be biased.

I've had great experiences with prophet river for import/export of guns to and from the US.
 
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