Picking Les Baer

[SweetPotato]

I have been comparing features among the 10 CA compliant Les Baer and they are all seem to be about the same. The 3 models that I've been focusing on are Ultimate Master 5", Premier II 5" and Thunder Ranch. Their MSRP range widely at about 1K. Could anyone help me understand why one cost more than the other when they are really about the same gun.

[ez2b]

I cannot explain price difference.
But I do own the Thunder Ranch and I love it sweet shooter.

[JackRydden224]

I would call up Crazy John at 1911 heaven and talk to him about the details. He is the man when it comes to Les Baer pistol. He is a deal that can get you a good price on one. Just be ready to talk to him for a while, the guy loves to chat and he has a lot of interesting stories.

PS: I have a TRS and it's love - hate relationship.

[SweetPotato]

Yeah, TRS seem to be a better deal as far as price go. A bit more features for less price.

[L84CABO]

probably

[RobertMW]

probably

And from personal experience, you probably won't get your pistol repaired for free, and you probably won't get it back for a few months.

They build great guns there at LB, so good that there usually isn't a problem with them, and if there is, you likely caused it, at least that is their thinking on the matter.

Premier II vs TRS. Kind-of a toss up. They are built just about the same, but the TRS is a bit more blended around the edges to make it more comfortable to carry, and there are a couple things fitted just slightly looser to make the gun better with a little more fouling, at the cost of a smidgen of accuracy. So the TRS is going to be in their 3" guarantee, but the P2 is going to be consistently closer to their 1.5" special without actually having to pay for it. That's why they don't even offer the 1.5" on the TRS, you would have to make things to tight to make it a should-always-shoot kind of gun.

[indytrucks]

Save money and buy a DW.

[SweetPotato]

probably

Yeah, read about some of that. Figure, it is a good gun and I will probably use it occasionally so shouldn't be a problem.

[SweetPotato]

Save money and buy a DW.

I will research DW. If memory served me right, there are only 2 models CA compliant so it shouldn't be too hard to compare.

[indytrucks]

Yeah. The bobtail commander size or the Point man 7. Both 45acp. or you can wait around and find others up for PPT. For instance there is a Valor in the classifieds right now I believe.

[SweetPotato]

And from personal experience, you probably won't get your pistol repaired for free, and you probably won't get it back for a few months.

They build great guns there at LB, so good that there usually isn't a problem with them, and if there is, you likely caused it, at least that is their thinking on the matter.

Premier II vs TRS. Kind-of a toss up. They are built just about the same, but the TRS is a bit more blended around the edges to make it more comfortable to carry, and there are a couple things fitted just slightly looser to make the gun better with a little more fouling, at the cost of a smidgen of accuracy. So the TRS is going to be in their 3" guarantee, but the P2 is going to be consistently closer to their 1.5" special without actually having to pay for it. That's why they don't even offer the 1.5" on the TRS, you would have to make things to tight to make it a should-always-shoot kind of gun.

So their P2 is 1.5", TRS 3" and Ultimate Master is 3", yet UM is the most expensive? Aside from more serated slide and .5 lb lighter trigger, what could have make UM cost more?

[JackRydden224]

You should just get a Ruger SR1911, it's just as good if not better than a Les Baer.

[RobertMW]

So their P2 is 1.5", TRS 3" and Ultimate Master is 3", yet UM is the most expensive? Aside from more serated slide and .5 lb lighter trigger, what could have make UM cost more?

No, P2 is just more likely to be tighter grouping than TRS, by design.

The extra slide milling, the extra checkering, the extra work required to go from 4lb reliable to 3.5lb reliable, those take time, so yeah, they are billing you like a BMW dealership for their time.

Remember that they are building semi-custom pistols. But the P2 is like their bread and butter. When they set up a mill to machine out slides, they can probably run 20-50 slides on the same setup. The Ultimate Master, with its extra checkering, will require another mill setup, and they are probably doing it for a much smaller run of those at a time. So it's dividing setup time between 50 pistols, or 5.

Little things add to cost, and it's multiplied out and passed to the customer. I know it, that's what I do, just not on guns.

[bruce381]

premier II I have the 3 inch and it will shoot 1 1/2 at 50 yards off bag so
paying extra for a garanteed 1 1/2 inch may of may not be worth it

[aklon]

I've been shooting 1911 pistols most of my life and I own four high-end models, but the one I take to the range 90% of the time is my Thunder Ranch Special.

It's your basic, no frills, no BS pistol designed to function reliably 5,000 rounds BTF, and it will make a single ragged hole in the middle of a 3" Shoot-n-Cee at 12.5 yards.

I've owned number 863 for close to fifteen years.