[Kavall]

I am not sure if this is actually a semi custom or not. Please move it if I am wrong.

I have read decent things about their frames and slides as a base for projects but has anyone out there shot or owned the Xcaliber. It is claimed that simply switching recoil springs will allow you to shoot .45acp, up to .45 SMC (which I have no idea what that is) I thought it would be a nice gun for plinking and some target practice. Are they reliable? Somewhat accurate? I am thinking along the lines of 4" at 25 yards is fine for me at this point. Can barrels be replaced on the gun to make it more accurate? Are there any STI only parts?

 

[stipilot]

The 450 SMC is an equivalent to the 45 Super. One manufacturer of that cartridge is Triton Cartridge Co. http://www.tritonammo.com

One of the biggest differences between the Xcaliber 450 (two models actually, the 450 which is a single stack frame and the 450+ which is built on the STI 2011 double stack frame) is a ported barrel. I'm told the recoil of the 450 SMC is significant (something like 265 power factor!) and the STI Xcaliber series has a ported barrel help manage the recoil.

All STI parts are very high quality as are their barrels. I'm confident that the gun will be sufficently accurate that you shouldn't even consider having to replacing a barrel. I have 3 of their guns and the barrels are very high quality and are well fit in all instances.

 

[Kavall]

Well the gun is intended to be a first 1911 .45 caliber gun. I wanted something that would allow me to shoot .45 acp for target practice. At the same time allowing me to use it for hunting, MAYBE, one day. I know that the .45 ACP is a bit weak for hunting deer, however I have heard good things about the .45 super.

As a whole this gun will be used to get me more comfortable with .45 cal 1911's and punch alot of, .45acp, holes in paper. If all goes well I may look into a full custom 1911 in a year or so.


Are there any reasons against this logic? The only other gun I was looking at was the Springfield Armory longslide in .45 acp, but it will not allow easy interchange between different chamberings.

 

[Sean Smith]

A Springfield Armory V-16 .45 Super is interchangeable between .45 ACP, .45 Super and .450 SMC in the same manner as the Xcaliber, i.e. recoil spring change. Note that all 3 cartridges have the same external dimensions so no other mod is necessary with these pistols.

Unless you are going to handload, getting into .45 Super or .450 SMC would be dicey business. They are limited-availability wildcats in all but name with something like 1 company making each one (Texas Ammunition and Triton respectively). You might be better off getting a plain ol' .45 ACP 1911 now and then, if you are so inclined, have it converted to .460 Rowland if you want more oomph for hunting purposes.

Or you could just get a 10mm 1911 like a Delta Elite and dispense with all the caliber-switching nonsense. :grin: