[Laislo]

Hello, Addicts!

I procured my first Cabot -- a Vintage Classic Commander -- from a sterling member of our fine community a couple of months back and find it to be the most beautiful, and dare I say interesting, of my 1911s.

The pistol is superbly made, in my opinion. I cannot find a single flaw, aside from the one I'm about to describe.

I took the Vintage Classic to the range for the first time and was enamored with it. It was perfectly accurate and performed flawlessly.

However, after 200 rounds, I thought, "Damn... my hand is taking a beating. I've been shooting a lot of .45 lately and it's never bothered me. Am I just getting soft in my middle-age?"

I had several other pistols on-hand, so I moved onto those, but the next day, I was fondling the Vintage Classic again, and every time I held it and squeezed the grip firmly, my hand smarted in the same spots.

I picked up another of my commanders and squeezed the same way, and no discomfort. After examining the pistols side-by-side, in an effort to determine what was different about them, I noticed that the rear frame bevel angle on Cabot is much lower than on all my other 1911s. The best way I can describe it is that the side and the back of the frame meet at a very steep angle, which produces a sharp ridge.

After gripping several of my commander frames firmly, and twisting the pistols in my hand by grabbing the muzzle with my off-hand and rotating it back and forth, I determined that the Cabot is far less comfortable on the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. I determined that the greater the bevel angle, the more comfortable the pistol is in my hand.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the Cabot and a pistol that is extremely comfortable in my hand, by contrast:

Ultimately, it's not a huge deal, but I am wondering if it's just me, and I'm being a baby (entirely possible!), or if anybody else has noticed this.

With another Cabot or two in the works, I'm a little itchy that all of the frames will exhibit this shape that appears to disagree with my hand.

Thanks for any insights here!

 

[Laislo]

Thanks @JTQ911 , that's interesting and good to know. I've never owned a Dan Wesson, but your comment makes me think I'll hold off!

This seems like something a qualified smith could "tweak", but the Vintage Classic finish is so unique and, as I understand it, proprietary, so unless Cabot were willing and able to accommodate such a request, I might be out of luck.

 

[Laislo]

Had the same issue on my Cabot s100. It’s not just the frame but the grip safety is also much flatter than other makers. It’s not contoured quite enough in my opinion.

But if you contact Cabot they can reshape it for you, usually free of charge.

Thanks so much for this!

If the frame and grip safety on next two (Rebellion and National Standard) have the same shape, the Robs will probably cancel me if I try to send in all three!

We may have to rope the Sales Guy into this conversation at some point...

 

[Laislo]

Cabot has introduced a redesigned grip safety in the last few months and indicated they changed the frame up a bit. So you might be okay with the new guns.

The Rebellion is older (acquiring from another member here), and the National Standard hasn't been finished yet, and is actually another member's order (he wants to move it when he receives it, since he has other irons in the fire).

So, I suspect I'll have the same issue with at least the Rebellion.

 

[Laislo]

Do you shoot with your thumb on top of the safety?

This is usually the area people complain about the lack of blending. The Cabot looks nicely blended for a thumb on top of safety grip. View attachment 1229392

Thanks for the insight here!

I have and still do ride the thumb safety with some of my 1911s, but I've been bitten by the rear serrations when a slim paddle safety is installed. This particular pistol has a slim.

Maybe this is more a matter of technique and not being a baby than anything else.

 

[Laislo]

Hans Christian Andersen: The Princess and the Pea

hca.gilead.org.il

Hah! Fair enough!