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Les Baer's Premier II Super-Tac 1911
‹ .45 ACP Finesse -
Roy Huntington |
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In the beginning, John Browning created the 1911 and he looked at it and said, "It is good." And he was right. Of course, since then, tens of thousands of pistolsmiths have disagreed with John, some with much waving of arms and pointing of fingers. But nonetheless, when old man Browning finished his last file stroke on the design, I wonder if he smiled slyly, perhaps knowing the controversies he would cause over the next century? I like to think so. |
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This famous pistol, this front-line defense against the enemies of America over the years, this guardian of law enforcement, still reigns supreme in the holsters of cops and soldiers the world over. And for many good reasons, most of which are exhibited in this Baer Custom Premier II Super-Tac pistol. Some may argue - but not many - that Les Baer's guns may very well be the finest "semi-production" 1911s in the world. Period. We say semi-production only because of the quantity produced in a year by the Baer shop, not because the gun isn't a genuine custom pistol. Because it is. Each one is hand-fitted, honed and fussed-over until Les is personally satisfied. He shoots every one himself. These are not parts-bins guns assembled like Legos(tm), by semi-skilled workers who knock them together with pneumatic staking tools. Baer guns begin life as carefully matched rankings of meticulously-designed and manufactured bits, eventually joined - by actual pistolsmiths - into that magical single entity called the 1911 pistol. And it's all done, just-so.
If it sounds as if I'm impressed by the Baer line of pistols you're exactly correct, and the Super-Tac is no different. Chances are good if you're reading this, you already own a 1911 or are planning on buying one or are wishing you could. Any or all of which immediately qualifies you for the 1911 fan club and signifies why you should read on. If you're interested, you need to learn about Baer's guns because if you're smart, there should be one in your future. If you're smart, that is.
Around 1976, Les Baer (an actual human being) started his pistolsmithing business and as was the case in those days, did the sorts of things pistolsmiths did to earn a living. Working up reliable 1911s from stock guns, building PPC revolvers (ask someone who's old what PPC is), duty tunes and the like paid the bills. His reputation for high quality work soon spread and people from around the country were trusting Les with their guns. In droves. |
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About that time, Springfield Armory was in need of someone with the talents that Les displayed, so Les pulled-up stakes and moved to Illinois to run the Springfield Custom Shop. That's where Les was able to figure out how to translate his "one at a time" custom work into a semi-production level yet still retain the quality and performance of the one-man shop. He learned you can have your cake - and eat it too.
In the early '90s, a desire for his own shop again found Les buying property and hiring. Initially using Caspian frames and slides, Les one day made the decision to actually manufacture his own major components. He mortgaged everything he owned and bought CNC machines. The rest is 1911 history.
So here we have Les Baer - just "some guy" - taking on the big guys. Can you say Colt? Springfield Armory? Les, in typical Baer fashion, simply said, "I knew that if we built the best, people would pay attention and the word would spread." He was right ... and it did.
Built from steel forgings, all of Baer's guns come with a guarantee of at least 3" accuracy at 50 yards. I'll say that again. That would be 3" groups at 50 yards or the gun doesn't leave the shop. Most factory 1911s can't hold that at 25 yards (and many can't at 15). There are many reasons for the gilt-edged accuracy Les coaxes from his pistols and the main one if simply the quality of fit involved.
The frame and slide fit on an exemplary factory 1911 may run at around .004" or so for each part. Read that as four thousandths of an inch. That's amazingly tight for a factory gun. Les holds his to ± .0003". That would technically be three ten-thousandths of an inch. At the maximum end of the spectrum, if a slide was at one extreme and the frame at the other, the fit between the two would still only be six ten-thousandths of an inch. Which means when a slide is fitted to a frame there is virtually no play. I've felt it. It's true.
Les says, "The way to test the fit is with the barrel out. The barrel's final lock-up can take much of the slop out. Instead, remove the barrel and fit the slide back onto the frame. Grab the front and try to wiggle it up and down, right to left. If it fits right, it doesn't move. At all." Which was the case with our test Super-Tac.
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The Details
Now that I've let you onto some of the reasons the Baer shop has garnered such a fearsome following, let's see just why the Super-Tac may be among the top few 1911s manufactured today.
"Feature-Rich" is an easy thing to say but not always easy to live up to. In the good/bad old days of custom 1911s in the early '70s, a set of S&W sights, a cobbled-together extended safety, throating and polishing and maybe an attempt at tightening things up was considered a "full-house" custom 1911. Maybe I'm simplifying things a bit, but you get the drift. Kind of like Ford's admonition you could get a Model T in any color - as long as it was black.
Today's savvy buyer demands some fairly exotic tid-bits as standard when they shell out the bucks. But then again, if you're paying upwards of two grand for a hunk of steel, you probably have a right to be picking nits. When dealing with Les Baer's shop, you can put your nit-picker away and pull out your calculator. You'll need it to keep track of the number of "options" that come as standard aboard most of the guns offered.
With the Super-Tac, the list is almost embarrassing. But I'll bore you with some of it anyway. How about a Baer national match steel frame, slide and barrel, just to get things rolling? The double serrated slide, low-mount LBC adjustable rear and dovetail front sights with tritium inserts, lowered and flared port, checkered slide stop, Baer speed trigger with 4lb pull continue the inspiring list. Baer's Commander hammer and sear, beavertail grip safety, flat checkered mainspring housing, beveled mag well, polished and throated barrel, tactical ambi-safety, checkered front strap, premium cocobola grips, deburring, BEAR COAT finish and complete tuning, of course, round it all out - and gives us pause to get a breath.
That's a lot, all at once and you don't even have to be nice or ask for it. It comes standard. And it all fits like a pair of size four jeans on a size six blonde. But does it work? |
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And They Run
Yet, the Super-Tac in question ran like the wind. Indeed, every Baer pistol I've ever tested (and owned, after paying my own hard-earned money for it) ran perfectly. I can only recall a single malfunction with a Baer 1911. It was a failure to chamber an aluminum-cased Blazer 200 gr. Speer hollowpoint. First round, first magazine full, brand-new gun. I bumped the slide and the gun ran perfectly thereafter. A gremlin? Who knows, but that round is a particularly frightful one to feed reliably, and brings the cold sweats to many pistolsmiths when you say you shoot them. No excuses though, and the gun ran fine after that one, single burp. I wish I could say the same for myself.
Most 'smiths will tell you there has to be some "play" in order to achieve 100 percent reliability in operation. "Bullshit," says Les. "My guns have virtually no play at all and they all run fine. Saying it has to have slop in it is simply an excuse." So tell us how you really feel, Les.
After examining literally hundreds of custom 1911s over the years, its disquieting to take a pistol like the Super-Tac out of the simple cardboard box and realize that anyone can simply order a cataloged pistol from the Baer shop and get this kind of quality. They end-up with what is essentially the same thing available - for twice or even three times the money - from some custom pistolsmiths. And you don't have to wait two, or three or four years. And it actually works. |
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Just Say Yes
Having untold thousands of rounds through a pair of Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special 5" 1911s, I didn't expect any surprises with the Super-Tac at the range and I was, well, not surprised. At 25 yards, from a sand-bagged rest, the Super-Tac delivered groups that hovered around the one-inch mark (some slightly larger, some a tad less) with about everything we shot in it. Black Hills hardball seemed to particularly enjoy the marriage, along with some Winchester match we'd been hoarding. The drill went like this: Put the sights on the target, take a breath, let some out, squeeze and another hole went into the same group as all the others. I don't particularly shoot this well but I often do when I have a superlative pistol, and this one certainly qualifies.
In American Handgunner Magazine we recently ran a letter from a reader who said his friend was deer hunting and his .308 rifle got buggered-up after taking a shot. As the deer fled, wounded, his bud took two shots at it with his Les Baer Super-Tac and hit it both times, putting it down. Did I mention the range was about a hundred yards?
So, in the spirit of things, we eyeballed the 100 yard, 12" gong on the range and let fly. One or two shots to get the range and then the sound of the gong ringing was distressingly boring. "Bang, clang, bang, clang, bang, clang" - etc. etc. etc. Great fun actually, and it made me wonder why we needed rifles anyway?
We didn't have the guts to try some serious 50-yard groups on this test day but if I was a betting man, I'd be inclined to bet the Super-Tac would deliver those 3" groups if it was fed correctly. All in all, it out-shined everything else we took to the range that day and we all found ourselves going back to shoot it more when there was a break. |
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The Downside?
Can't think of any. Sure, the $1,933 price tag might seem a bit steep when you first see it, but think on it for a minute. Say you spend $800 or so for a quality 1911. You now have a factory-made gun that might work out of the box. Or not. Now, you want better sights, some "tightening" and some other goodies as is always the case. Off it goes to Mr. Pistolsmith and a year later you get back a pretty nice 1911 that is a conglomeration of bits and pieces from a dozen companies that you hope will learn to live together. Plus, you've probably spent another $500 or more and waited a year. Except often it doesn't work anyway so off it goes again. I've seen it too many times and it can be a vicious circle of frustration, disappointment and big bucks. There's a reason why people sell those guns after they get them built.
Why not just start out right? If your needs are met by a simple, mid-level factory gun and you don't have big plans for it, buy any number of the good offerings over the counter and be happy. If you're the kind of fellow whose eye gets diverted by fine old cars, Snap-On tools and anything that says "Best" on it, you might think seriously about saving on pain and misery right off the bat and checking out Les Baer Custom's offerings.
A shameless advertisement for Les and his guns? Not quite, but pretty damn close. If it works, I'm not afraid to say so and to put my name down when I do.
Sincerely,
Roy Huntington |
MORE INFO:
Les Baer Custom
www.lesbaer.com |
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