1911 slab side vs ball or regular cuts

[iambic]

Good morning, I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on an order for a Fusion long slide assembly but torn about the cut options. It's going to be for a hunting rig chambered for 10mm and I'm leaning towards slab side with no cuts or front serrations.

Is there any practical advantage to having it ball or conventional cut vs slab?

Thanks for your thoughts.

My wife also knew I was having a tough time deciding what length to get so she mocked out images of 6" and 7" slab side on a TRP full rail.[emoji16]





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[robert101]

I envy you being able to get a new Fusion pistol. I like having front serrations. It is just a personal thing. My DW PM-7 doesn't have them and it doesn't affect the functionality of the gun at all.

[JTROKS]

Slab would be a no mill cut. Ball milled seems to look nicer IMO.




Slab looks good if the dust cover extends out all the way to the front end of slide. Bevel the bottom edges of the slide to have it blend to the width of the frame will make it look awesome.

[MosinVirus]

I believe there are 3 reasons (though I am not sure if they are officially what drove JMB design choice) for Stirrup Cuts.

1. Weight reduction for better balance - even more cut away at the front on a Hi Power (9mm)
2. Easier holsering - even more cut away on a high power.
3. Aesthetics

Since you are going with 10mm which needs a stronger recoil spring, I would assume the felt recoil will benefit from a heavier slide, in which case you won't need to go up to 20lb recoil spring. 18lb may actually work well especially if you also get the Square bottom Firing Pin Stop and go up in Mainspring power - 25lb from standard 23lb.

to aid in holstering, I would at least chamfer the front bottom corners of the slab slide...

[heidad01]

Which ever you go with, NO front serrations. It only serves as a lint magnet, and no rails unless if you abso-frigging-lutely need a gun that has a light attached. I never saw a use for either feature on a 1911.

[L84CABO]

There's also carry cuts...in case you didn't have enough choices already.

It's all a very personal decision. I'm not a fan of ball cuts. I like slab side but probably wouldn't ever choose them. YMMV

[hunterb]

I LOVE Ball Cuts AND Carry Cuts / Hi-power cuts!

[-hanko]

I'd also make sure they actually pin the ejector.

[AKexpat]

A hunting rig?

You must have small deer in your area. Any possible encounter with black bear?

Do yourself a favor and get a Ruger .44 Mag. I don't care if it is an old 3-screw Ruger SBH or a Redhawk .44.

The 10mm is an adequate cartridge but the jacketed bullet at .40 cal does not impress me as a game stopper.

A .44 cal 240 grain or even heavier makes much more sense.

[iambic]

A hunting rig?

You must have small deer in your area. Any possible encounter with black bear?

Do yourself a favor and get a Ruger .44 Mag. I don't care if it is an old 3-screw Ruger SBH or a Redhawk .44.

The 10mm is an adequate cartridge but the jacketed bullet at .40 cal does not impress me as a game stopper.

A .44 cal 240 grain or even heavier makes much more sense.

It's for jackrabbit, feral pig eradication and backup wilderness gun. It will not have sights only milled and fitted for a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro. I currently use G40 and knocking the crap out of the critters out to 100+ yds.

I ran backcountry trips in MT and WY. A lot of folks preferred Blackhawks. My primary wilderness carry is the S&W 629 that goes in a holster on the chest strap of my pack next to 2 speed loaders. Usually loaded with 320 gr hard cast. We never carried loads with jacketed bullets. We typically chase off black bears. There were things bigger, bolder and more dangerous, namely moose and grizzlies. Fortunately, in the 10+ years that I made those trips, I never even had to draw, let alone shoot any. Came across several moose and a couple of grizzlies but all passed without incident.

Thanks for the tip though. I really appreciate it.

Check out my range report that has a pic of a couple revolvers including that 629:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1411402

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[viet4lifeOC]

Anyone have a reference link for pictures of all these various cuts?

Thank you

[iambic]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I agree that a lot of it is aesthetics and personal preference. I was mostly curious if there was some mechanical advantage like less friction and thus smoother action or something. I am leaning towards the slab side. I really like the utiliitarian plain 'ol sledgehammer look but maybe a small radius ball cut might help break it up a bit.

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[iambic]

Anyone have a reference link for pictures of all these various cuts?

Thank you

Here's one place to start. http://www.dcengraving.com/clevinger-customs

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[cusco19]

[MosinVirus]

Actually, Chuck Rogers does quite a bit of different types of cuts...

http://www.rogersprecision.com/