![]() The frame went to Rocket City Stippling in Huntsville where RCS owner Jeck Bardos executed a full custom re-shaping that includes an overall reduction of the grip’s rear palm “hump” and narrowing of the backstrap, removal of the finger grooves, and a double undercut, all to allow a higher and more comfortable grip on the gun. Owner and operator (and armed forces vet) Tony Mittelstaedt applied the black Multicam pattern using Cerakote Armor Black, Sniper Gray, and Titanium with a matte finish. The Cerakote scheme on the slide was laid down by Tampa Cerakote Facility, what Guarnieri bills as one of the premiere graphics applicators in the Southeast. According to Guarnieri, Stephen Zaffiri has augmented his background as a humble tool-and-die apprentice with an engineering degree to quickly become a name in the custom slide and barrel world. The slide itself is a Zaffiri Precision ZPS.6 G34 unit crafted from 416 stainless with an RMR optic cut. “I needed to get the slide finished and run some rounds through it,” Guarnieri says, “to make sure it performed as needed with lower-FPS ammo that would be used with lighter competition springs.” When the project began in earnest Guarnieri tore the pistol apart and had work performed on the slide and frame simultaneously to keep the overall build time down. And because the polymer frame is so much easier and more forgiving to work with, customization tends to be a much more straightforward proposition-even for a do-it-yourselfer. ![]() Because of its more modern construction, in terms of cost any Glock is overall less expensive than virtually any 1911. To someone accustomed to this inherent weightiness, it’s tempting to look down your nose at the much lighter Glock as “cheap.”Īny dedicated Glock user knows nothing could be further from the truth. Except for the barrel, slide, and some small internal components, Glock pistols are constructed entirely from polymer.Ī 1911, on the other hand, is fashioned entirely from wood and steel, and its construction makes it feel quite substantial as it sits in the hand-if not downright heavy. To older generations, the word “plastic” can be a something of a loaded term. He goes on to say it was also to “convince my dad that a plastic gun could be as accurate and reliable as the 1911 he’s been shooting for as long as I can remember.” “The purpose of the build was to create a California-compliant pistol that’s comfortable in the hand and that could also be used for competition,” Guarnieri says. In fact, one of the driving forces behind this gun, a customized Gen 3 Glock 17, was convincing his dad that more modern offerings could be every bit as functional and effective as his old military standby. It’s a more modern platform for newer generations of shooters, but one that’s become nearly as ubiquitous as the 1911, both in private hands and riding the hips of law enforcement professionals. Leigh himself has a different taste in sidearms, one that gravitates toward a more contemporary design. Trends and fads come and go, but at an individual level, like pepperoni on pizza in lieu of pineapple, traditional tastes tend to win out in the end.įor Leigh Guarnieri’s father, that traditional taste was for the venerable 1911, the legendary semiautomatic sidearm design that’s been in service for more than a century, starting with the John Browning’s original Colt M1911 in the year nineteen hundred and eleven. Whatever the saying or setting, the meaning is clear. Maybe it was a variation on the adage, something like “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.” Maybe it was your dad who said it, maybe it was Grandpa. That’s a nugget of wisdom you have probably heard before.
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