Pawn Shop Circuit: M1911A1 Follies

I went to Dave's shop first today, and I caught a glimpse of the pistol case as I was walking through the television sets that lined the entrance. My pace quickened and my heart began to race. In the case between the tactical plastic was a familiar outline. As I came to a stop, Dave had intercepted me to pull out the pistol. It was a Essex framed 1911 with an unknown, probably Brazilian slide. Everything looked fine on the pistol, it had very little use. I thought to myself that might not be such a good thing. Dave had a $425 price hanging from the trigger guard. That was to high for me, at least for this pistol.

Essex was a maker of 1911 frames that were sold independently and used by people wanting to roll their own 1911 on a budget. Some of the frames are fine. Others are less than adequate, with misaligned holes and out of spec proportions. Such a pistol at the price of a Springfield GI45 is overpriced in my book. I handed the pistol back to Dave telling him it was nice, but not what I was looking for. We talked a bit about the robbery of a pawn shop in town this week. Some Darwin award candidate had driven a stolen Chevy Tahoe through the front of the store. He became trapped in the vehicle, with the vehicle's axle hung up on a steel parking lot pylon. As he smoked the rubber off the tires trying to get away, his two cohorts looted the store. He finally broke the glass out of the Tahoe and ran. All three suspects are still at large.

I drove on over to Neil's place. He was engaged in some heavy haggling with a dreadlocked customer over a bass guitar. Neil had sold the heritage Rough Rider, and still had the Glock and Sig. Neil had his storage room door ajar again, and I cast a long glance down the counter and through the storage room to catch the handguns on pegboard inside. Immediately recognizable was some type of blued Smith & Wesson N frame with a Hogue grip. There was also what appeared to be a S&W 325PD on the hooks. A spanking new addition was a silvery 1911 type pistol, probably a stainless lightly modified Springfield Mil-Spec, judging across the 50-60 foot distance. Neil remained in conversation with his funky customer, so I just waved and moved on. Jammin'