Socom Gear Les Baer 1911 Ultimate Recon 5" (first GBB Pistol)

[m1lk0r]

Hey guys, whats shaking?

I just recently purchased my first GBB Pistol here in Toronto (Cant say where, but I'm sure most of you know). It's the Les Baer 1911 Ultimate Recon, I gotta say this thing is dead sexy. Being a noob to Airsoft, and it's firearms. I had a lovely realization when I walked into the retail store and asked to hold a whole bunch of different Airsoft guns.

I was NOT expecting them to be quite as heavy, I held guns that I wanted to purchase (King Arms M4 Full Metal) and various 19111's. Honestly, I had no idea how ignorant I was before holding these puppies. The weight on them is sweet. I was very surprised, I was expecting them to be light and perhaps not as durable. Again, very ignorant.

After purchasing my Les Baer 1911 Ultimate Recon, I quickly had to play with it. Again, it is my first Airsoft (non-clear) gun. And I love it, originally I was going to go with a 1911 Mark 4 PTP KWC/KWA brand. As I found more reviews on the gun, but sadly the store did'nt have any. And perhaps going with an impulse buy was'nt necessarily a good idea. But I wanted a 1911. And so the Les Baer was it.

Now I do have a few questions, looking up on some reviews on youtube I noticed it's best to oil the slide rail before use? Should I do this? (I'm currently running Green Gas with silicone oil mixed). I noticed you need to have the hammer cocked in order to apply the primary safety. The holster I bought is merely a drop down leg holster.

I have a few questions regarding this gun.

1. Anyone who owns this airsoft gun, I'd love to get a hold of you and hear your thoughts on wear and tear/performance.

1.A) I've heard the magazines have a tendancy to leak? is this true?
1.B) I want to purchase more magazines for the pistol, which are compatable?

Thats pretty much it.

Thanks guys,
Drew

[ShelledPants]

Originally Posted by m1lk0r

1. Anyone who owns this airsoft gun, I'd love to get a hold of you and hear your thoughts on wear and tear/performance.

1.A) I've heard the magazines have a tendancy to leak? is this true?
1.B) I want to purchase more magazines for the pistol, which are compatable?

1. I've gamed it for a month or two now. It's reliable.

1A) I have had the magazine's leak ONCE. Gently tighten the allan screw at the bottom of the magazine and the problem will be resolved... Similar to TM Magazine issues.

B) KJW 1911 and TM 1911 Magazines will fit and function 100%

[m1lk0r]

Thank you sir, much appreciated!

I checked out the allen key, and the skeleton trigger. As of now, it seems rather tight, or I feel I'm squeezing the trigger a tad too hard as I can see markings on the left side of the trigger being etched in from the frame. Do you suggest I loosen it a tad? Or am I just squeezing too hard?

[SuperHog]

Is the tip orange? Everywhere I see this pistol, it is shown with an orange tip.

[DustMagnet]

Originally Posted by SuperHog

Is the tip orange? Everywhere I see this pistol, it is shown with an orange tip.

It would appear so.

It doesn't have to stay that way though:

[coach]

Loctite the heck out of the front sight or it will disappear on you!

[1979svo]

1911 punisher from soco here and i love it. Nice accuracy and no.issues in 5 games

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by 1979svo

1911 punisher from soco here and i love it. Nice accuracy and no.issues in 5 games

That's an entirely different gun. That a WE 1911, this is a KJW 1911.

[redneck12]

Superhog the orange tip is easily rectified with a pipe cutter and a file, just be careful I warped my chamber and lug with the vise. Luckily a non orange tipped MEU barrel can be easily had straight and rather cheaply from KJW. Alittle elbow grease the black paint was off, some rubbing compound and I had a new brushed steel barrel with the added bonus of the .45 ACP markings.

1979svo, the Punisher 1911 is a WE pistol where as the Les Baer is a KJW so really doesn't have any comparision value for this thread.

[1979svo]

My bad. Still learning lol

[JGMarr]

Havent had it that long, so i cant give you long-term reliability, but heres my thoughts.

Good pistol, decent power, great recoil.

Issues:
1) Classic KJW Magazine Leak (yes its true) - As said above, tighten the bottom allen key screw and give the orings a lot of silicone (and a little time to absorb it) and it should stop. - Also search this forum, there are a bunch of posts for leaky mag fixes.
2) Fitment is a little loose with the slide - i expected a little more from a Les Baer (even if it is a replica) - real Les Baers are super tight on tolerances and there is absolutly no wobble, so maybe i had my hopes a little too high
3) The Pistol came with a bunch of gunk on one side of the slide, and it was bone dry on the other (perhaps due to the side it was shipped on). Would recommend cleaning it completely and re-lubing before extended use. - This may also solve the 'markings' on the silver trigger you are experiencing - my similar 'markings' on the trigger were simply oil and dirt (i think).

For the Orange Tip Removal

Orange Tip Removal: (Using Dremel or Rotary Tool)
1) Dissassemble and seperate outer barrel. (put the other pieces far away from your work station)
2) Dremel - Cutwheel bit - Cut the orange tip off at the 'line' where the orange starts (youll see a small indented line around the tip where the paint starts for the orange). I used a protractor and a book to keep the dremel bit perpendicular.
1a) when this step is done, dust everything off and clean it and put it back together (so you know whether u cut off too little or too much and can see the general look of the finished product with the modified barrel)
1b) Dissassemble again for step 2
2) Dremel - Metal filing wheel bit - polish and even until 90 degrees to side of the barrel, go slowly and do small arcs around the outer barrel or you may take off too much.
3) Dremel - Brass Brush bit - polish and remove burrs, also remember to polish the inside of the outer barrel as some silver and orange paint is sprayed in there during manufacturing, cutting off the orange exposes more of it to the light, by removing it with the brass brush it will leave you with a shiny silver interior and not hurt or scratch the outer barrel
4) Dremel - Polishing (Cotton) Wheel bit with polish compound - shine to finish (if desired - i left mine a little more matte)
TOTAL TIME: Less than 15 minutes

No pics of my finished product on this computer, but ill post some when i can. As the post above stated, when its finished, it looks like it was meant to be this way.
Also as said before TM 1911 mags will work with the KJW (and are black instead of silver - if that matters).

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by JGMarr

2) Fitment is a little loose with the slide - i expected a little more from a Les Baer (even if it is a replica) - real Les Baers are super tight on tolerances and there is absolutly no wobble, so maybe i had my hopes a little too high

The only thing "Les Baer" about the pistol is the name. It's a basic KJW 1911.

[redneck12]

A few pieces of electrical tape laid in the front of the dust cover will take away the slide wobble. Same with mag wobble if your anal you can run a strip inside the bottom of your mag well to take up the dead space.

Lol if Les Baer made these pistols do you think you would get it for $250.

[BennyBoy]

No but if your name is known for high quality and tight manufacturing tolerances, you may not want a company selling shit with your logo even if you make a cut from it.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by BennyBoy

No but if your name is known for high quality and tight manufacturing tolerances, you may not want a company selling shit with your logo even if you make a cut from it.

Happens all the time with things like Cybergun pistols/rifles. I'm not saying all Cybergun guns are garbage (they have quite a lot of legitimately good brands and guns that they rebrand with trades etc) but they also rebrand shitty guns like clear springers with "Colt" on them, as just one example of many.