Sidearms & Scatterguns Meltdown 10mm compact 1911 build

[MTFalconer]

OK guys, this is another in a long line of back burnered projects that was forgotten about. A good while back I had the idea for a ported 10mm compact 1911. Why? don't ask me, I just wanted one. Here is the list of what I want from this gun.

Melted down for fulltime carry. No sharp edges anywhere that could hang or snag.
Lack of conventional sights to concentrate on (personal protection carry only). Gold bead front sight only.
10mm cartridge because 'Murica, that's why.
Ported design to reduce felt recoil and increase second shot recovery time.
Coating needs to be wear proof and durable for close body contact for decades.
Basically the ultimate carry gun...


Here is where it all begins. I started with a Caspian stainless commander length slide with a .40 cal breech face. Added a Schuman ultimatch bull barrel and melted front bushing. Then began by porting the barrel and matching the ports to the slide. Every surface on the slide has been ground down and polished smooth like a bar of soap. Barrel recessed and recrowned deeply to match the bushing.

Frame will get an Ed Brown bobtail mainspring housing, reshaping and a complete meltdown as well. This is where I am currently. Waiting on a few parts to come in and sanding and polishing. I now have a deep respect for the guys that offer this service in gunsmithing. There is only one right way to do this and that is with good ol elbow grease and time. Pics to follow.

 

[Victory]

Just curious, why leave off the sights? If you don't want to use them drive the pistol and squeeze some rounds, but what if you want to use them, and they aren't there? In my mind not concentrating on them for shots with in grabbing distance isn't really that hard. Have I missed something in my pistol training that would have this make sense for me? Maybe less to get snagged in, but I don't see that benefit outweighing having them.

Anyway sounds like mean little shooter.

 

[MTFalconer]

Let me rephrase what I posted. It will not get traditional sights. What I will be doing for now is a gold bead for a front sight only.

 

[Veer_G]

Let me rephrase what I posted. It will not get traditional sights. What I will be doing for now is a gold bead for a front sight only.

I'm not a great fan of gutter sights, but they would seem to be the choice for the kind of build that you're doing. I can'teven begin to imagine the amount of recoil this thing is going to have. Will it only be the one set of ports?

 

[Hogshooter]

Sounds like a nice gun. Personally I would not go with any porting due to being blind for the second shot if there was a confrontation at night.

 

[BLDTYLRY]

Are you going for a heavy "Meltdown" like this

 

[MTFalconer]

Sounds like a nice gun. Personally I would not go with any porting due to being blind for the second shot if there was a confrontation at night.

I gave that a ton of thought and honestly it will be the only way to control the recoil on such a small package. To prevent the gun from beating itself to pieces. The flash from the ports will certainly be a hindrance at night. That will go both ways as whomever or whatever I am shooting at will get the same treatment with the addition of a bullet. This is not a range gun, paper queen, Ooooh look how pretty. It will be a work horse. Carried everyday and subjected to everything that I do in the span of a day.

 

[MTFalconer]

At least that heavily melted, yes. I am trying to not get carried away.

 

[MTFalconer]

I am contemplating adding a light rail to the frame. I usually carry a flashlight with with my leatherman tool but having the ability to carry one on the rail has benefits. It would not make a very easily concealed package I don't think. Does anyone conceal a 1911 with a light on it? Comfort being high on my list.

 

[Thunderin300]

That's gonna be an awesome little blaster!! I have a ported longslide .45 and when I shoot it at night the blast is barely noticeable. It's ported hybrid style. Although I haven't shot it since I went from 3 ports to 5, the gunsmith says it now shoots like a .22. And I do have a light on it from time to time. I can carry it concealed, but it obviously takes some work. And I'm 6'8" LOL. I can't wait to see what ya come up with.

 

[steppenwolf]

I am contemplating adding a light rail to the frame. I usually carry a flashlight with with my leatherman tool but having the ability to carry one on the rail has benefits. It would not make a very easily concealed package I don't think. Does anyone conceal a 1911 with a light on it? Comfort being high on my list.

Congrats on the build. Hope it comes out exactly the way you want it.

That said, in a "Commander"-size 10mm, I'd skip the light rail for several reasons.
First, since you're going with gutter sights, the light isn't going to add more precision to your point-of-aim anyway.
Second, even if it somehow helped your initial aim on the first shot, that blinding flash exiting the ports would (at least temporarily) obstruct further precision in aiming on any follow-up shots. Third & fourth, there's the issue of additional weight as well as bulk for concealment. A Commander-style 1911, which is typically a slim-packing, single stack pistol, has the virtue of being more easily concealable than a 5" 1911, unless its user starts hanging stuff on it.

Just sayin'

 

[MTFalconer]

Just thoughts bouncing around in my head.

 

[MTFalconer]

Pics so far.

 

[MTFalconer]

These are pics of it before I really started in on finishing the slide and bushing. 220grit in the pics. It is now in 600 grit and much smoother. The port is a series of three on each side of my own design. I got to shoot a compact ported this way previously. It was very nice. I reproduced it on my barrel and slide. Working the steel down takes time but the effort is worth it. The results are starting to show now.

 

[Thunderin300]

That's Awesome!!

 

[Chemguy]

I've been wanting a 10mm 1911 carry gun for a while. I had one about 5 years ago and sold it.




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[TheShooter]

That is awesome. I love the 10mm cartridge, nothing better out there.

I would still out on a rear sight. Like the old saying goes, better to have and not need than to need and not have.

 

[17874]

Pics so far.

It's looking good man. I hope you are using a heavy recoil spring for that baby.