1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in

by Blazin 6/6/2022, 1:59 pm

My high school shooting coach (he taught me NRA Highpower Rifle & Smallbore Rifle) is 83 years old, and in not so great health, and slowly liquidating his gun collection because his only kid, a son, has no interest in guns. My coach shot all types of competition, but his true love was Bullseye pistol, which he was very good at…Distinguished High Master, etc.

After many years of USPSA I am starting Bullseye this fall and am excited to get his first year S&W 41, with extendable front sight (barrel is not the one originally shipped with pistol in 1958) for $900 shipped. My coach has offered to sell me his Clark longslide 45, but no price has been discussed yet, and he can’t send me a picture. He said he has eighteen 1911 45’s to sell, all set up for Bullseye and the worse one shoots 3” 50 yard groups with a Ransom Rest. He was the kind of guy who had every gun perfectly tuned, but used them, so finish wear is to be expected.

He lives 500 miles away, and I drove up to see him last year (we’ve kept in touch over the past 30+ years), but I can’t easily get up there this year. He was a great influence in my life, and I’d love to have a few of his guns to remember him by, but at the same time want to make a wise decision because I am much more of a shooter than a collector. My questions are:

I’m used to finely crafted custom 1911’s and am concerned these older BE pistols will somehow feel unrefined to me, but maybe that doesn’t even matter because his guns shoot very well. Thoughts?
What is a reasonable price for a Clark longslide these days?
Would it be smarter to snag one of his 5” 1911’s? I have owned a number of 5” Gov’t models, but never a longslide. I guess I’m trying to figure out how desirable these longslides are in 2022, and if it's what I want.
Would a Hardball 1911 be better because it seems like it would be able to accommodate a wider range of ammo? I very much dislike the idea of owning a 1911 that has a sight rib that cannot handle stout loads.

Appreciate any advice.

by fc60 6/6/2022, 3:34 pm

Greetings,

The "LongSlide" limits you to NRA CenterFire and 45 matches. Also a good tool to develop your upper body strength and follow through.

The 5" pistols, without ribs or Dots, enable you to shoot the NRA course and the CMP Service Pistol events.

Cheers,

Dave

by spursnguns 6/6/2022, 3:57 pm

Hello Blazin,

A longslide (6") M1911 is not a gun for a novice or some one learning to shoot bullseye. They are unforgiving and require good, i. e. well established, technique. If available, try for one of his standard length models. If you don't like being constrained to milder loads, get the hardball gun and adjust the springs, as needed, for the loads you are using at that time.

Jim

by John Dervis 6/6/2022, 10:51 pm

Blazin,

A 5” model would be a better choice for someone starting out in the sport. 6” guns are harder to shoot well and require strength and good follow through. A gun built for hardball can in fact be used for both conventional bullseye and service pistol so one of those can be a good choice. As your mentor shows you though that there are different tools for different uses so a purpose built wadgun would probably be best if your goal is to just shoot bullseye matches. One of each would be the best but not sure if you can pull that off in this situation so let your end use be your guide.

Good luck.
John

by Blazin 6/7/2022, 8:11 am

Appreciate all the advice!

by Drawman623 6/9/2022, 9:46 pm

There isn’t really a wrong answer here. Clark Sr made some profoundly good performing pistols. The long heavy slide is indeed a challenge to master but the short rib long slide is a really comfortable pistol to wield. He probably has a Shockey or Giles…maybe a Chow or Dinan among his collection. So many superb choices.

A hardball gun will indeed afford the most versatile platform. It’s trigger weight is 4lb. Wadcutter guns that are not built for heavy loads like hardball will enable light loads and will generally have lighter triggers. Thus you may find such an advantage and shoot higher scores.

Speaking for myself, I own both and believe that is the best way to go. If I could only own 1, it would definitely be the hardball gun. In bullseye, multipurpose pistols are rare. Stick with the best shooter for each discipline and have a superlative ready for any match.

1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in 9e68c010

1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in 1a84dd10

by Drawman623 6/9/2022, 9:51 pm

by jglenn21 8/14/2022, 7:25 am

A resonable price for a longslide in nice condition would be 1400 -1600. Like new would be a bit more.

by Jon Eulette 8/14/2022, 7:42 am

That longslide has a 38 Special Kit Gun receiver.
Jon

by Randy_D 8/15/2022, 7:42 pm

To put another spin on it, This is your mentor, coach and friend of many year, let him mentor you one one time on his opinion of what might be best for you and I would ask to for him to let you know which of them is most cherished and why, never under estimate sentimental value.

I don't think you can make a wrong choice here, make it and enjoy the shooting and memories.

Randy

by robert84010 8/15/2022, 10:19 pm

Blazin wrote:Appreciate all the advice!

I bet if you said your first goal was to get Distinguished so you could be on the list with him he would have a big 'ol smile.

The answer is always a hardball pistol.

by Blazin 8/16/2022, 6:34 am

robert84010 wrote:
Blazin wrote:Appreciate all the advice!

I bet if you said your first goal was to get Distinguished so you could be on the list with him he would have a big 'ol smile.

The answer is always a hardball pistol.

I bet you're right. Sadly his mind is starting to go, so sometimes I talk to him and he's fine and other times he just doesn't seem with it.

by Froneck 8/16/2022, 12:03 pm

If it were me I would get the "Hardballer" Though what looks like a Gold Cup unless it had a Gold Cup trigger installed I doubt was shooting Hardball. That weight added is not allowed in Service Pistol matches though maybe now since there has been a lot of changes. I'm thinking the weight was added to equal the long slide weight.

by lyman1903 8/21/2022, 5:36 pm

from the business side, value varies on the longslides, basically based on where Clark was when it was built,

I bought a Buillseye guys estate 4-5 years ago and he had a few longslides, (long heavy, one of which I kept that was well used but very accuate) including a 38 new in the box,
a few Shockey's , and Giles as well,

values then would be pointless to quote, if I could remember what they all sold for, since it has been a few years, but they were not a hard sell, and did bring decent cash,

if he is in bad health or failing mentally, you may want to reach out to his son and make sure he does not get lowballed if he does decide to sell out

not sure if my rambling helped,

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1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in

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Re: 1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in

Re: 1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in

Re: 1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in

Re: 1911 Talk - Clark Longslide or Hardball 1911, please chime in