Happiness is a new gun 2

[berettabone]

You have to be careful with aftermarket grips. Depending on the date of firearm manufacture, you can have really bad fitment problems. Some are just too far off to fit, no matter how you try to clean them up. Ask me how I know.

[JohnR]

True! My hunch is the SP101 grip tang hasn't changed at all, but I could be wrong.

[BirdsThaWord]

I think he could market them too, but he said in his first post he wouldn't so don't ask him to

As for my 101, I'm getting skittish. The seller has good ratings but UPS has said it's been "label created" for four days now. Either he's waiting till he has several shipments to drop off, or UPS is "experiencing supply chain issues" or something's going south. I've emailed the seller twice with no response yet.

OTOH, I was shopping for aftermarket wood grips and found some cool looking ones, but decided not to buy them (or the springs) until I had the SP101 in hand so I wouldn't jinx it. So I think it'll be ok.

I think that will be my final Gunbroker adventure. It's gotten too expensive and too much hassle. Buying at the LGS seems like the better deal these days. I've used Florida Gun Trader a couple times, and was lucky not to have met up with a psycho killer, but I don't like going that route unless it's something I just gotta have.

I’ve had quite a few purchases lately that say “label created” for even up to 2 weeks, then it arrives. I think the shipping co’s and the usps suck at updating their stuff. As with most any service oriented thing these days, all prices have gone up and all decent customer service has either gone down or completely away. Really have lost a lot of faith in humanity over the last few years!
I know your itch to buy goodies for a pending gun. I’ve been there many times. So far, I’ve never bought anything short of magazines for a future purchase and have not gotten bitten, but hope it stays that way.

[BirdsThaWord]

You have to be careful with aftermarket grips. Depending on the date of firearm manufacture, you can have really bad fitment problems. Some are just too far off to fit, no matter how you try to clean them up. Ask me how I know.

How do you know?
I agree. It has happened to me also, early on in the gun stuff. I try to do good research (thankful for all the info at our finger tips these days) but it can still happen. Just bough Beretta mag extensions that were supposed to fit. They fit alright, after about 2 hours opening the mag catch windows, trimming the base lips and replacing the lanyard loop mainspring caps with flat one’s. Sheez!

[Bawanna]

I've been trying to avoid the online sales like gunbroker these days. I've never had an issue and it's of course a real candy store but you add CC fee's, huge shipping, dealer transfer on my end and of course now tax here in Wa and local is the better deal "IF" you can find what your looking for.
The deal with online is I like old stuff, old Mossberg 22's, Ward, Sears and Take Back. Stuff that you won't find local unless it's a trade in. Tables at gun shows where nobody is looking is normally where you'll find me.
I too have a bad habit of buying carts before I get the mules. I got 5 mags for my someday Springfield SA35 which I still don't have and still now word on possible arrival. Holsters are bad too, I usually get them pretty quick an then find I really don't like to carry the gun anyhow. Oh well it's only money right?

[dao]

It brings us joy. In the hunt and bringing 'em home.

With GB there are deals to be had. I've bought a few with no CC fees and free shipping. With those I just pay the GB fee of 1% and $30 FFL fee when it gets to my LGS. But my LGS doesn't have a lot of what I'm drawn too so in between acquistions there I do GB. If you watch it a lot, like I do, a good deal can offset the CC fees and shipping when present. For instance I bought a Kahr P9 last year that was a total of $374 with shipping, fees, and FFL. Turned out it was exactly as described which was nearly new. A two tone. Got my brand new PM45 two tone for a total of $640 after all fees and FFL. Whereas I paid $570 for my new PM9 back in 2003 from a retail shop. So the deals are out there but it does require luck and a habitual scouring of your saved searches. I enjoy the hunt so I don't mind. The luck comes in when you see a good deal, it's with an honest seller, and you're ready to buy, all at the same time. You're right Colonel, it is a candy store. And I've always liked candy.

[BirdsThaWord]

I've been trying to avoid the online sales like gunbroker these days. I've never had an issue and it's of course a real candy store but you add CC fee's, huge shipping, dealer transfer on my end and of course now tax here in Wa and local is the better deal "IF" you can find what your looking for.
The deal with online is I like old stuff, old Mossberg 22's, Ward, Sears and Take Back. Stuff that you won't find local unless it's a trade in. Tables at gun shows where nobody is looking is normally where you'll find me.
I too have a bad habit of buying carts before I get the mules. I got 5 mags for my someday Springfield SA35 which I still don't have and still now word on possible arrival. Holsters are bad too, I usually get them pretty quick an then find I really don't like to carry the gun anyhow. Oh well it's only money right?

Just got the new American Rifleman mag in the mail. Seems Girsan is also now in the High Power game! (EAA MCP35, https://www.americanrifleman.org/con...n-mcp35-match/) Not sure how it compares in price, fit, function, etc to the Springfield, but bet it can be had for less and probably won’t be such a back order deal like SA’s. Just making folks aware. I have no qualms about the Girsan brand, but also would not feel it to be an equal to the SA stuff. I may be wrong though.
I too have a sour in my mouth about dealing with gunbroker these days. DAO’s words had me take a look a while back and I did score a few deals. I tend to buy when they allow a postal money order to be sent. I don’t mind the few extra days wait and a postal money order has a bit of an insurance feature built in. I try to find the pawn shops and small shops that sell a few at a time. They seem to have the best deals. My sour comes from a few sales I made on there the last time I let a few go. They did not let me know I would be responsible as the seller to collect a “buyers fee”, so I ended up not collecting enough and eating it. That and sales tax on one of them, which they did not show in my statement until after I collected payment. Lost over $200 due to their BS. I will buy on there if the deal is good enough, but I will most likely never try to sell anything on there again. Florida Gun Trader used to be a good place for deals here, but as I think it was JohnR put it, it’s the “Mos Eisley” of the gun world. Takes a lot of bobbing & weaving to avoid the scumbags, data collectors, tire kickers, liberal gun haters, etc that frequent the joint. Yes DAO, the hunt itself can be fun and rewarding!!!

[Bawanna]

FN is making the Hi Power once again also. Word has it the SA is still the best bang for the buck as they addressed the issues with the original. Funny they said the tooling was worn out and to costly to stay in production but as soon as SA came out or about the same time they were back in the game. Competition is good I guess.

[BirdsThaWord]

I bet you are correct. They, and others saw SA selling 'em like hot cakes and want to get a taste!

[JohnR]

The "Shooting Illustrated" NRA email blast this morning was gushing about the new FN "High Power." They say it's an all-new gun, different dimensions and not interchangeable parts.

On the 1911 forum (which has a section for the Hi Power), people are saying the SA-35 still has extractor issues.