Breaking-in/cleaning a new Wilson

[Combat Auto 174]

Folks, Anyone break-in a brand new wilson pistol over last few years or so?

 

The rep told be (and it says this in the manual) that the pistol is ready to shoot out of the box...In fact, the manual stipulates not to take it apart for 300-500 rounds (break-in period)...This is so strange to me as all my other pistols needed a good cleaning of the greasy type lube they pack it in and a re-lub before shooting.

 

So for anyone who bought a wilson pistol new:

 

Did you clean it first before shooting?

 

Or, did you shoot first then clean it? (if so after how many rounds)?

 

Thanks,

[Smokin .50 1,907]

DWYAT = DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD!

 

Wilson & most other guns made to "tight tolerance" require a break-in. During this break-in the dirt acts like super-fine Emory paper and cleans-off any "high spots" that are immeasurably SMALL, but in doing so leaves the gun as tight as it should be. This is NORMAL, and is the only way to do this correctly. If you slick it up with lube, the slide-to-frame fit won't break-in correctly, so DWYAT and just shoot yer new investment!

 

Also, you may want to check-out the Dillon catalog for "slide guide". A little does the trick, won't gum-up the action, and comes in a great applicator. AFTER THE BREAK-IN!

 

Good luck with your newest addition!

 

Dave

[raz-0 1,259]

I'll take a different tack than Dave.

 

Wilson sells expensive 1911s that are shoved out the door efficiently rather than actually being the best of the best. High volume and top quality rarely go hand in hand. What you get is a compromise that is better than most, but leans towards the things people perceive as being good than what is actually good. THat means like most higher volume manufacturers, they ship the things out TIGHT. Which means it need to wear down the truly overly tight spots to function reliably, and they want that to happen as fast as possible, so they tell you to shoot it before you clean and lube. If it truly were as good as a custom gun built by a smith who knows what they are doing, it'd either be machined to fit perfect, or it would be hand lapped rather than telling you to do that by firing what is currently about $250 worth of .45 through it before you really complain about anything.

 

Wilson is BAD, you are jsut paying for a name and a lot of overhead and the gun gets the amount of TLC that is optimal for their bottom line vs. their reputation.

[Combat Auto 174]

I'll take a different tack than Dave.

 

Wilson sells expensive 1911s that are shoved out the door efficiently rather than actually being the best of the best. High volume and top quality rarely go hand in hand. What you get is a compromise that is better than most, but leans towards the things people perceive as being good than what is actually good. THat means like most higher volume manufacturers, they ship the things out TIGHT. Which means it need to wear down the truly overly tight spots to function reliably, and they want that to happen as fast as possible, so they tell you to shoot it before you clean and lube. If it truly were as good as a custom gun built by a smith who knows what they are doing, it'd either be machined to fit perfect, or it would be hand lapped rather than telling you to do that by firing what is currently about $250 worth of .45 through it before you really complain about anything.

 

Wilson is BAD, you are jsut paying for a name and a lot of overhead and the gun gets the amount of TLC that is optimal for their bottom line vs. their reputation.

Interesting - so you are essentially saying I through thousands of bucks away ;-)?

Not sure I agree with you, and the evidence I see on line from an endless stream of "happy owners" says you are very likely wrong...Not to mention their enormous parts sourcing business (where 1911 owners go to upgrade)...And you gave it a "Bad" rating without any supporting evedance other than "IMHO".

Well, I'll be shooting it Friday...I have two other 1911s I own to compare it to (one, a really nice Kimber), as well as other pistols...

If it dosn't live up to the reputation - I will be the first to be pissed and complain right here.

 

Out of curiosity, who do you think is the "best of the best" and why? (and is this a gun you own?).

[nott 0]

I've owned and shot more than a few Wilsons. Not a single one needed any sort of break-in. All were flawless with ball ammo. If you pistol is particularly tight, I suppose it's fathomable that you may experience some stoppages during your first few hundred rounds, but I've personally never seen a gun that's gone through a miraculous transformation at an arbitrary round count and somehow became reliable.

 

To your question, you can safely disregard the recommendation and clean it. Or you can just take it to the range and shoot it - it will make no difference.

 

-

[Combat Auto 174]

I've owned and shot more than a few Wilsons. Not a single one needed any sort of break-in. All were flawless with ball ammo. If you pistol is particularly tight, I suppose it's fathomable that you may experience some stoppages during your first few hundred rounds, but I've personally never seen a gun that's gone through a miraculous transformation at an arbitrary round count and somehow became reliable.

 

To your question, you can safely disregard the recommendation and clean it. Or you can just take it to the range and shoot it - it will make no difference.

 

-

Thanks...On the all Wilson 1911 forum they are mostly shooting them to 300-500 rounds before first takedown...Not a jam or complaint in the bunch...From what I can read, these are outstanding pistols...I am guessing my friend Raz was tramitiezed by a wilson once to make such a claim ;-)...Super reliable; super accurate...I can't find any tangable complaints on-line...And can't wait to shoot it!

[raz-0 1,259]

Out of curiosity, who do you think is the "best of the best" and why? (and is this a gun you own?).

 

No you aren't throwing your money away. Heck I even like some of their parts. It's more that they charge you like its a custom gun, and it isn't until you get into their really pricey guns. At that point, you can pay less and wait less and get someone who gives you their best labor every time.

 

A wilson super grade is $6k their cqb elite is $3400. At that $3400 price I can now go talk to a whole mess of very good custom builders.

 

I got a custom gun built, and even with fancy finishes, overnight shipping to multiple places, and had it needed $250 worth of ammo to break in, I would have blown past the price of the $3400 Wilson by about $25. It worked like a top out of the box. 10,000 rounds later, it still shoots like new.

 

Now to put it in perspective, there's a $2600 difference between those two Wilsons. There's not $2600 worth of parts difference. So you are either being charged so you can say that you have the most expensive gun they make and it must be the best, or you are paying less because less care was taken on it.

 

Compared to the gunsmith route, yeah there's a premium for convenience of having some of their guns be a stocked item that you can pay the got to have it now tax. There's also a formal warranty. You also don't have to do research. You can whip out your wallet, get in line, and you have a rough idea of the quality you will get. There's also a bunch of ad dollars spent so your buddies will know your gun is the awesomest by the brand name.

 

But were I taking the lazy, pricey route, rather than the $6000 Wilson super grade, I'd probably get in line with sv. They do single stacks as well as 2011s, and you'll get the top of the line quality for around $4k. You will wait though.

 

As for best of the best, there isn't one. There are smiths that will do a very good job on every gun, no price differences unless it is more parts, more labor, or more machine time.

 

In general, once you pass $2000 mark you really have to consider the cost benefit of going custom.

 

Cross the $1600 mark and you need to consider if getting the base model from a high volume manufacturer like Springfield and paying a smith to make it nicer is a good fit.

 

From my perspective none of the high end stocked inventory guns are quite justifying their price. Wilson, Ed brown, and others got to be big names when someone was doing the work who isn't now. I prefer to spend that kind of money on the guy that built their reputation rather than the guys they hired later (or their hr person did).

 

If you just charged me $2400 and the gun needs 500 rounds to break in, there's a problem. They could have told you it is good to go out of the box. They told you, effectively, don't bother us until you have 500 rounds through it.

 

It'll probably work out of the box. If it doesn't, I expect you'll hear about that breaking in from customer support I'll bet their $6000 gun won't need it. But there are also a bunch of guys building guns whose product won't need it and you'll keep a lot of cash in your pocket.

 

 

[nott 0]

You'll find a great divide on the matter of mechanical break-in and its effects in many hobbies - shooting, audio, auto; and depending on the hobby and whom you talk to, the imagined and real effects will range from significant and measurable to negligible and imperceptible. In this particular instance, I don't think it matters.

 

Enjoy your Wilson, it's a fine gun, and post some good photos while you're at it.

 

-

[O-gre 7]

After 1000 rounds take apart, place in dishwasher (top rack), heat dry in the oven @ 350. When done pour olive oil all over and hang to air dry!

[Clintoon Eastwood 2]

Please don't do what this guy did:

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/50243-how-long-do-i-soak-my-new-kimber/page__fromsearch__1

 

Just follow instructions on the manual

[Combat Auto 174]

Please don't do what this guy did:

 

http://njgunforums.c...__fromsearch__1

 

Just follow instructions on the manual

i couldn't believe the post when it went up...still think he is pulling someones leg ;-).

[Combat Auto 174]

After 1000 rounds take apart, place in dishwasher (top rack), heat dry in the oven @ 350. When done poor olive oil all over and hang to air dry!

I can always count on the NJGF to find the best talent in comedy, and evidently cooking too! ;-)

[Combat Auto 174]

After 1000 rounds take apart, place in dishwasher (top rack), heat dry in the oven @ 350. When done poor olive oil all over and hang to air dry!

 

And always good to have Knuckleheads like this guy on the forum to provide variety and comic relief! :-)

[O-gre 7]

 

 

And always good to have Knuckleheads like this guy on the forum to provide variety and comic relief! :-)

thank you, thank you, I'll be back on Sat night LOL! In all seriousness please just follow the manufacturers instructions. I'm sure there is a break in lube.

[mag1 0]

No you aren't throwing your money away. Heck I even like some of their parts. It's more that they charge you like its a custom gun, and it isn't until you get into their really pricey guns. At that point, you can pay less and wait less and get someone who gives you their best labor every time.

 

A wilson super grade is $6k their cqb elite is $3400. At that $3400 price I can now go talk to a whole mess of very good custom builders.

 

I got a custom gun built, and even with fancy finishes, overnight shipping to multiple places, and had it needed $250 worth of ammo to break in, I would have blown past the price of the $3400 Wilson by about $25. It worked like a top out of the box. 10,000 rounds later, it still shoots like new.

 

Now to put it in perspective, there's a $2600 difference between those two Wilsons. There's not $2600 worth of parts difference. So you are either being charged so you can say that you have the most expensive gun they make and it must be the best, or you are paying less because less care was taken on it.

 

Compared to the gunsmith route, yeah there's a premium for convenience of having some of their guns be a stocked item that you can pay the got to have it now tax. There's also a formal warranty. You also don't have to do research. You can whip out your wallet, get in line, and you have a rough idea of the quality you will get. There's also a bunch of ad dollars spent so your buddies will know your gun is the awesomest by the brand name.

 

But were I taking the lazy, pricey route, rather than the $6000 Wilson super grade, I'd probably get in line with sv. They do single stacks as well as 2011s, and you'll get the top of the line quality for around $4k. You will wait though.

 

As for best of the best, there isn't one. There are smiths that will do a very good job on every gun, no price differences unless it is more parts, more labor, or more machine time.

 

In general, once you pass $2000 mark you really have to consider the cost benefit of going custom.

 

Cross the $1600 mark and you need to consider if getting the base model from a high volume manufacturer like Springfield and paying a smith to make it nicer is a good fit.

 

From my perspective none of the high end stocked inventory guns are quite justifying their price. Wilson, Ed brown, and others got to be big names when someone was doing the work who isn't now. I prefer to spend that kind of money on the guy that built their reputation rather than the guys they hired later (or their hr person did).

 

If you just charged me $2400 and the gun needs 500 rounds to break in, there's a problem. They could have told you it is good to go out of the box. They told you, effectively, don't bother us until you have 500 rounds through it.

 

It'll probably work out of the box. If it doesn't, I expect you'll hear about that breaking in from customer support I'll bet their $6000 gun won't need it. But there are also a bunch of guys building guns whose product won't need it and you'll keep a lot of cash in your pocket.

 

Your numbers are retail. Who pays retail anymore?

Who builds custom 1911's for under $4000 with upgrades you want?

When I was getting quotes, well over $6000. That doesnt include nice blue finish.