Les Baer...Worth it?

[samrob77]

My vote is yes. If you can find a TRS, even better. A Springfield is nothing special to me unless it has that custom shop logo.

That being said, I have a lightly used black TRP I should put up for sale. Need to see what they're going for these days.

[Teachu2]

Mine is a SRP in hard chrome, with the accuracy package. Worth every penny.

[drdanno84]

Les Baer .45

I buy my guns with the intention of shooting them. I own 3 Baers, a Premium 2
with the 1.5 inch guarantee, a Custom Carry also with the 1.5" guarantee that I use for my CCW pistol, and a Concept 3 two tone.
These are amazing pistols that are custom made and fitted to be extremely accurate shooters.
You do need to shoot a minimum of 500 rounds to properly break them in. ccnofcs.jpg

[cowtown]

LB and many other high cost 1911 clones are "ego" pistols for most buyers. Looks good at the range and chicks dig it. If that's a reason to buy one then carry on.

OP could take his Rock to a verified competent 1911 mechanic/smith and have magic performed on it for $2k and walk away very satisfied with the result. All custom from grip to snout. Real custom vs oem faux custom. Magical and one of a kind.

LOL. And then he'd have a $500 pistol that he spent $2500 on. That's like dumping $10,000 into your Camry for wheels, exhaust, and tint.

Have you actually shot a Baer? There is an actual difference in fitting. Granted not everyone cares about that.

[FeuerFrei]

LOL. And then he'd have a $500 pistol that he spent $2500 on. That's like dumping $10,000 into your Camry for wheels, exhaust, and tint.

Have you actually shot a Baer? There is an actual difference in fitting. Granted not everyone cares about that.

Clearly you have never shot a real custom 1911 worked over by a competent 1911 smith.

You can keep your over priced oem factory 1911 clone du jour ordered off the same menu everybody else does. Golf clap for participating.

[FeuerFrei]

But if you put lipstick on a pig ...

... you still have a pig

Psst...your ignorance is showing.

[Canadadry]

I completely disagree with your assessment. After my Les Bear I purchased 2 Ed Brown Special Forces. The didn't require any BS breaking and had zero issues. Fit and finish on the Ed Brown was significantly better than the Les Baer. In what world would anyone want a gun that doesn't work right out of the box. Funny that wouldn't be acceptable on a $550 Glock why is it acceptable for a $2000 gun

The Les Baer's are very much a "niche" firearm. They're hand fitted and devoid of the "eye candy" that is typical of many other high-quality 1911's.

If you value the "eye candy" stuff, it's probably better to look elsewhere.

If you want an outstanding value on a high end 1911, it's hard to beat a Baer.

Keep in mind that Baer's are built obnoxiously tight, part of the traditional, hand fitted, manner of construction is that they do need a break-in period. It's part of the trade-off.

The bluing is traditional. It doesn't hold up well. Don't try an aftermarket plating job on a Baer, when you add even the most minimal plating thickness to Les' already obnoxious tight fit, you'll see just how tight that fit is.

Also note that the Les Baer frame design differs slightly from a true 1911. I prefer the Baer design, but don't be surprised by it.



They're very much worth it. You're quite correct that modern machining methods can produce a firearm that doesn't require the lengthy break-in, but such firearms are not gonna have the same "feel" as a hand fitted firearm.

Like I said above, the Baer's are a "niche" firearm. If you're not looking for something in that "niche", then it's better to look elsewhere.

OTOH, once you put a thousand rounds through it to break it in, and then several thousand more rounds to enjoy it, you'll find that the Les Baer will still be shooting accurately long after the CNC machined, "eye candy" gun has started to show signs of wear.

[L84CABO]

I'm of the opinion that everyone should have at least one really nice 1911...be it Baer, Brown, Wilson, Nighthawk, Guncrafter, etc...And/or a really nice full custom job if you can afford it.

But that's me. And I can't say whether or not you will feel the same way and/or find the value in a high end 1911. A Porsche and a Volkswagen will both get you down the road. And a Craftsmen wrench and a SnapOn wrench will both turn the bolt. But not everyone feels the Porsche and SnapOn are worth the money. YMMV.

[Peahi2]

I aspire to wear my down like like olds442guy.

https://www.1911addicts.com/threads/baer-utc-25k-round-write-up.32650/

Amazing pictures! I tried pasting, but the resolution was too high.

[Karch]

I'm of the opinion that everyone should have at least one each of these really nice 1911...be it Baer, Brown, Wilson, Nighthawk, Guncrafter, etc...And/or a really nice full custom job if you can afford it.

But that's me. And I can't say whether or not you will feel the same way and/or find the value in a high end 1911. A Porsche and a Volkswagen will both get you down the road. And a Craftsmen wrench and a SnapOn wrench will both turn the bolt. But not everyone feels the Porsche and SnapOn are worth the money. YMMV.

Fixed.




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[AFTII]

I completely disagree with your assessment. After my Les Bear I purchased 2 Ed Brown Special Forces. The didn't require any BS breaking and had zero issues. Fit and finish on the Ed Brown was significantly better than the Les Baer. In what world would anyone want a gun that doesn't work right out of the box. Funny that wouldn't be acceptable on a $550 Glock why is it acceptable for a $2000 gun

I have about 10,000 rounds through my TRS. Shooting the first 500 round break in was fun. Certainly, it was not a chore as you make it out to be. You not only break in the gun, it breaks you in. Hitting what you are aiming at becomes boring.

I was so in tune with the gun, I stopped shooting the kiddy sized plastic bowling pins what were strung up at 75 yards and started shooting the 1/2" nylon rope that they were tied to. I could consistently hit the line once or twice per mag. 100 yard head shots are not an issue with my TRS. That's what you missed out on by not breaking the gun in.

As for failures, I could count the total number of failures I've had with my TRS on both hands. Less than 1 per 1000 rounds is pretty damn good - and four of those occurred during break-in -when the gun was filthy.

I've never owned a Brown, but have owned WC's and NHCs. My WC's are nice, required no break in and reliable. I've not had the best of luck with NHCs. However, my favorite, I'll never sell, SHTF, most accurate shooting, 1911 is my well worn TRS.

[JTROKS]

Never owned a Les Baer but shot a couple of them CA rostered model. One was still under the 500 round break in period and the gun was tight. It wasn’t a 1.5” accuracy specimen, but shooting reloads through it failed to seat the barrel into battery several times. We knew we’re supposed to used full up ball ammo for break in. I’m not sure if the owner ever completed the break in period since he just wanted a custom 1911 in his collection.

Another was a well worn and shot often, over thousands of rounds. It still locked up tight and the accuracy was very acceptable, no problem hitting 6” round steel plates at 50 yards. The finish was brownish in color after several years of USPSA shooting. The owner did say he’ll get it refinished with melonite.

I think it sucks to spend money for 500 rounds just to break it in, but if you use factory ball ammo or in spec reloads it should be fun. I was told the first hundred rounds jammed often, make sure you oil the rails, barrel lugs, barrel bushing. My friend thought I had special expensive oil we were using on his Les Baer. I gave him a small bottle for the rest of his break in period. It was just Mobil 1 synthetic oil 0-W20. I think the Les Baers are worth the money even if the price spiked up a bit. Buy a blued model and do the break in period or until it’s 100% running, then spend the extra $400 and have it DLC, ion bond, molonite or hard chrome for corrosion protection. Any blued gun will rust if you don’t take care of it.

[1911RONIN]

If you don't want to pay the "hard fit" tax at break in, then go with something else. But the idea that it somehow makes it not a good value is absurd. Spend time in the actual 1911 world and on 1911 forums instead of the glocktarded, and you might get it.


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[1911RONIN]

I completely disagree with your assessment. After my Les Bear I purchased 2 Ed Brown Special Forces. The didn't require any BS breaking and had zero issues. Fit and finish on the Ed Brown was significantly better than the Les Baer. In what world would anyone want a gun that doesn't work right out of the box. Funny that wouldn't be acceptable on a $550 Glock why is it acceptable for a $2000 gun

Your assessment is confused. Les Baers are not like other guns. Stop expecting them to be. I don't buy SUVs and then complain that they don't drive like cars. It would just show that I don't understand what an SUV is vis-a-vis handling.


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[Charlieh313]

The very 2nd gun I've bought was a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special. This was going on about 20 years ago. The break-in period is real. Out of the box the slide fitment and everything was very "tight". I would say it probably didn't take more than 200rds to really get loosened up but it was absolutely butter after that. The gun shoots as it should, lights out. It is a gun I will never sell as I really do love it. I personally really like the classic look and design of the Les Baer Thunder Ranch. It's a keeper in the collection for sure one that I will never sell.