1/31/08 - Ever since I saw Sonny Crockett and his Dornaus & Dixon Bren Ten on the 80's show 'Miami Vice', I've wanted one, but just never got around to buying one (couldn't afford one back then). For years, the Bren Ten has remained a controversial and mostly enthusiast pistol, but the design has now been resurrected, by Vltor Weapon Systems as the Fortis (Latin for 'strength') Pistol project.

From Vltor's press release on Feb 01, 2008:

"Tucson, AZ - Feb 01, 2008 - Vltor Weapon Systems today announced the launch of the Fortis Pistol Project, a modern version of the famous Bren Ten style pistol. Originally released in 1982, the Bren Ten pistol was designed to advance the state of the art in handgun technology. Designed to fill the need for a full size, full power, double action pistol, the Bren Ten created immense interest as a potent choice for law enforcement and military use. Developed as a pistol and cartridge combination, the Bren Ten was the first production pistol to chamber the powerful 10mm Auto cartridge. In its original loading, the 10mm Auto was capable of launching a 170gr buller at 1,300 fps - generating over 600ft/lb of muzzle energy. Unfortunately, the original Bren Ten and its successor fell victim to business management and financial problems - but the demand for a high quality American made, full size, double action pistol has still not been filled. According to Eric Kincel, the General Manager for Vltor, the Bren Ten may have truly been a design that was ahead of its time; "Now is the time to make this pistol. With today's precision manufacturing techniques and the superior materials available, the Fortis will be a pistol line that is everything people hoped previous attempts would be." Eric pointed out that the Fortis is nearly identical to the original Bren Ten in exterior appearance and ergonomics, but that some changes have been made to improve reliability, safety and strength. "The Fortis, while based on a twwnty-five year old idea, is very unique. It offers a high tech, high quality pistol that more than fills the demands for a full size, magnum power auto loader." The first released Fortis will be a "duty gun", a full size, all steel, high capacity 10mm Auto that will reliably answer the call of professionals and sportsmen that rely on a good pistol. However, Eric is quick to point out that the Fortis Project is a line of pistols based on one common design. "There will be other versions of the Fortis...different calibers, sizes and options specific to certain applications." When asked if they intend on releasing a faithful reproduction of the original Bren Ten, Eric's answer was simply "We sure want to". Fortis Pistol Proposed Specifications (subject to change in final production) Manufacturer - Vltor Weapon Systems Model - Fortis (original release) Type - autoloading pistol Operation - Semi-automatic, Double/single action Caliber - 10mm Auto (others to follow) Barrel length - 5.00" Overall length - 8.75" Height - 5.75" Width - 1.30" Weight - 38 ounces Safety - reversible thumb and firing pin block Sight radius - 6.88" Sights - Adjustable, 3-Dot combat style Rifling - 5 Groove, radiused, RH twist Stocks - Engraved polymer panels Capacity - 12 rounds Finish - Black Steel Slide and Subdued Finish Stainless Frame"

Feb 06 Press release -

I, for one, am excited. Shown below are Vltor's CAD model renderings of the Fortis pistol.

10/27/07 - Last year, I was walking the tables at the December 2006 SAR show, where a table of no-nonsense, no 'bling', utilitarian-looking 1911's caught my eye. I stopped for a better look, and noticed not checkering on some of the front straps, but the golf-ball texture that I had seen in photos. Sitting behind the table was Steve Morrison from MARS Armament out of Utah. I stopped to chat and find out more about these pistols, and learned that we had mutual acquaintances, like Eric from Vltor. Steve had also visited my site before, so we started off on familiar ground. One of the pistols on display in the glass case was a business-like looking Colt 1911 with subdued two-tone black and gray finish. What caught my attention were the unique Gunner Grips with Strider logo. Now, I had gunner grips myself, but had never seen this variant in person. This particular pistol turned out to be the THUG (Twight Hard-Use Gun) gun owned by Darryl Bolke, which was later featured in the Summer 2007 issue of Surefire Combat Tactics magazine. I fondled the THUG and my eyes lit up, as it was exactly the kind of 1911 I liked - it looked good to me and felt great in my hand. Later on, when Darryl came back to the table, he was much amused at my envy.

I went back a few times, each time with more questions. When we said our goodbyes, I told Steve I'd be in touch. At first, I was considering sending him my Kimber Warrior to get the golf-ball treatment on the front strap. The Warrior has a smooth front strap, which I dislike, and I've since stuck grip tape on it. I had previously considered sending it out to get checkering, but just never bothered as checkering isn't cheap. Well, any kind of custom gunsmithing isn't cheap, and wait times are usually pretty long. When I had discussed this with Steve, he also mentioned that he prefers to work on Colt pistols exclusively. I thought long and hard about sending the Warrior in, but since I was shooting it quite frequently and didn't want to be without it for months, I decided against it.

I did, however, have the perfect candidate sitting in my safe. Back in 1992, I had bought a used Colt Stainless Govt model .45 from a pawn shop. It was in almost new condition, and it was too good a deal to pass up (even though I didn't have much money then). Over the years, I changed a few parts on it here and there - adjustable rear sight, trigger, ambi-thumb safety, Pachmayr grips (the were the 'cool' grips back then), and had someone install a beavertail (they didn't do a very good job, though). I shot this pistol from time to time and put a few thousand rounds through it, but never really liked it too much for some reason. One reason was that I didn't like stainless guns (this was too good a deal to pass up, remember? I'd have preferred a blued model). The second was that after about 100 rounds, when it got dirty, it'd start to slow down, get sluggish and eventually fail to go into complete battery. It would also string vertically (loose barrel/bushing fit). I never bothered to fix it to make it a really good shooter, as I had three other 1911's, so over the years, I shot it less and less, and it eventually became a safe queen. I decided that this would be the perfect chance to give this pistol a makeover and turn it into something I wanted to shoot more. I put together a list of what I wanted to get done and sent it to Steve:

1. Golf ball the front strap
2. Undercut trigger guard for high grip
3. Bead blast the stainless frame for a non-glare finish and refinish the slide in black for a "salt & pepper" two-tone look. I've always found this to be an attractive combination for handguns.
4. Install a 10-8 sight that I had and maybe change out the front one
5. Fix the vertical stringing and unreliability problem

Steve got back to me with an estimate, and I sent the pistol to him, the first week of January 2007. Here's what it looked like before I sent it out:

Over the next few months, Steve and I communicated frequently. Steve builds guns exactly the way the customer wants. He'll give his recommendations from experience, but leaves all the decisions to the customer. As time went on, I added and changed some of my requirements. When I first sent it in, I intended only to have the 'bare bones' stuff taken care of. As I mentioned before, custom work adds up quicker than a dragster going through a gallon of gasoline, and it's easy for a project to get out of hand. But, I finally decided to 'screw it', bite the bullet, and not worry about what it was going to cost. I'm glad I did that, because the pistol I got back was well worth it. I also got a custom Strider DB-GG with gunner grips to match the pistol.

Here's the final list of what was done - it's quite a bit more extensive than my original list. I also asked Steve to explain some of the work that he did and share some of his thought process (in italics), .

• Golf ball front strap - Steve offers a few kinds of golf ball textures - some more aggressive than others. The closer the dimples are to each other, the sharper the point between them. When they overlap like mine, they're at their 'pointy-est'. I chose the 'pointy' golf ball texture instead of the smoother one because I like a more aggressive grip. It's very similar to Strider Gunner grips that have not been sanded down. I like the way they feel and aren't too harsh on my hands. I shoot with and without gloves, and find the gold ball texture secure and comfortable (for me). Steve's comments: The front strap was pretty irregular and "wavy" (typical for COLT pistols of that vintage; they are hand buffed at the factory), so I machined it true before doing the Golf ball machining.
• High cut under trigger guard - I like a high grip, and asked Steve to make it as high as physically possible. Steve's comments: The high cut under the front strap was a LOT of work. I was able to machine some of it, but after machining it looked very, well, "as machined". The lines and transition to the trigger guard were not smooth or flowing. This is one aspect of my work which is very much "art"- the frames are not consistent from one frame to another (even within the same brand) and often times individual frames are not symmetrical from one side to another. So, I can't just machine to a certain dimension - it has to be done by hand. It's kind of like making a sculpture in marble and tricky to work in 3D (stainless in this case!) and get the whole thing to look right. A wrong turn and the whole thing is a mess. Lots of hand blending involved and I also spend a lot of time in this area (and with the beavertail) to get the pistol to point and handle naturally - very subjective work.
• Cross dovetail front sight, tritium insert with white outline - I felt that the original Colt white dot front sight was wider than I prefer, so I asked Steve to install a narrower white dot front sight. However, after installing Scott Warren sights (plain rear and tritium front) on my Glock 19, I really like that setup and requested a tritium front with white outline. Steve's Comments: When you look at the machine work and fit of the sights to the slide - there is no light between the slide and the sight; it's a very close tolerance fit. Both the front and rear sights are installed into a taper and hand fit to a "light press fit" and bonded in place. Both sights have a third level of retention - the front with the roll pin and the rear with the set screw.
• Dehorn all sharp edges - The pistol had sharp edges all over it, so I asked Steve to dehorn it. I don't like the look of 'melted' dehorning jobs, and wanted something more subtle. Steve's comments: I think the dehorning is notable because to my eye it's very functional and smooth, but subtle enough that it does not detract from the clean lines of the COLT Government model. I also hand blended the rear of the slide to the frame including the extractor and ejector.
• Strider Gunner grips, flat bottom edges smoothed and blended - This was a no-brainer. I have Gunner grips on my Warrior, and like them better than checkered ones. Plus they're a perfect match for the golf-ball dimpling. I did notice that these new black gunner grips have the elongated honeycomb-shaped dimples instead of the round ones of the original gunners. They also match the gunner grips on the custom STrider DB-GG shown below. Might be a new thing. Steve's Comments: If you feel the grips next to a new set of Gunners, you will notice that I radiused the top of the grip panel. It's hard to see, but you should be able to feel the smoothed and feathered leading/trailing edges of the grip to make for a smoother grab on the pistol. This makes for easier handling when you have to shift or adjust your grip (for example if you get a bad draw or when doing a mag change).
• Stainless barrel bushing, satin look - Changing out the barrel bushing was necessary to improve the accuracy and eliminate the vertical stringing (which it did). Steve's comments: I put a precision crown on the muzzle and polished it, then faced back the barrel so it is flush with the thick barrel bushing (I like the appearance of both). The thick bushing is stronger and shows it; the deep, flush crown makes the muzzle look more intimidating from the business end and being flush helps protect the barrel/crown if you drop the pistol. The bushing has a fine, brushed finish on it and has been dehorned and the barrel polished. I think there is a nice balance between the polished muzzle/bushing and barrel, matte frame and small parts and black top end to provide contrast and variety without having too much going on - to my eye it looks "interesting"- without being ostentatious - and all "comes together nicely".
• STI long black carbon fiber trigger - While functional, I'm not fond of the solid aluminum trigger look, so went with the STI. This is not a target pistol, so I didn't want too light of a trigger pull. Steve set it to just under 4 lbs. Steve's comments: The trigger group internals were all hand stoned and polished for a smooth pull and better reliability (the polish makes for smooth functioning and helps prevent gunk from choking the mechanism.) You were missing a couple of Series 80 firing pin block parts, so I replaced them.
• Cerakote slide in satin black - I have always loved the two-tone look and Steve recommend Cerakote for the slide and small components.
• Refinish stainless frame and small parts in matte - I asked Steve for a non-glare bead blast that wasn't too rough or difficult to clean. I opted for bead blasting the bare metal vs. a coating as I figured it'd be relatively easy to bead blast it again in the future if it needed it.

• MARS Gen2 mag guide hand blended to frame with pointy golf ball - I caved in and figured the pistol would look just plain weird with golf ball dimpling in the front and a checked S&A mainspring housing in the back. The MARS mainspring housing/mag well guide was blended in the inside to the frame with a smooth transition. It also has a recessed lanyard loop. Steve's comments: I could probably write a treatise on the mag well - haha. The housing, like the front strap was trued before machining the golf ball, the inside polished for smoother function. The guide rails that fit into the frame were peened for a snug fit, then the housing was hand blended to the frame and polished - lots of good old fashioned elbow grease and hard work involved.
• 10-8 rear sight with widened rear notch - I had a 10-8 rear sight on hand, so decided to use it. I prefer a wider notch than it had, so asked Steve to widen it to 0.140". It provides a bit more light between the sides of the front sight and the notch, which I find easier to align.
• Re-fit beavertail - I had a Caspian (I think) beavertail installed by a gunsmith years ago that didn't fit it very well. After discussing it with Steve, we decided to keep it and he'd do the best he could. This is one reason why Steve prefers to work on BRAND NEW pistols, that haven't been screwed up by someone else. Frames can be welded up and re-machined, but it's just and added cost I didn't feel was worth it. For what he had to work with, Steve did a great job and it feels just fine. Steve's comments: The one item I'm not completely satisfied with is the beavertail - it had already been cut/installed by someone else and I was unable to get that fit to my standard. In fact I was going to completely replace it, but because of the style and the previous work that was not possible (there was no material to work with on the frame). Considering what I had to work with, I'm happy with how it turned out.
• Re-contour Kings' ambi safety - I opted to keep the King's ambi safety that I had installed years ago, but it had sharp edges that needed dehorning. Steve also made its operation a lot smoother and positive. Steve's comments: The thumb safety was dehorned and polished (front and back sides) as the King's castings are pretty rough. It was a bit of work to get it cleaned up to it's current state; I think the feel is significantly improved after contouring the paddles and softening them up a bit.
• Furnish COLT slide stop, countersink frame on right side - I'm a lefty, and the thumb of my support/right hand ends up exactly where the end of the slide stop protrudes from the right of the frame. We ditched the extended slide stop and replaced it with a standard Colt. I requested that the slide stop pin be shortened so it does not protrude, and the frame slightly countersunk to enable disassembly.
• Reliability - I'm not exactly sure what Steve did, but he fixed the reliability problem. Steve's comments: A couple of other items - I polished your feed ramp and checked your extractor along with your safeties - firing pin block, thumb safety, and grip safety. I don't know if you and I have ever talked about this or not, but one of my driving philosophies is that I want my pistols to look like the factory did it (except the factory never does it that nice!); at the same time I want the pistol to have "my" signature on it.
  
  I think this is evident in the overall look and feel of the pistol, also in some particular details, like the way the slide stop was flattened and the frame countersunk, the slide nose (the stirrup cuts on the slide sides where the recoil spring cap is) is dehorned but still looks crisp, the light dehorn around the slide stop etc. The result ends up being many subtle changes that on their own are no big deal and not particularly noticeable, but all together turn the pistol into something with a homogenous look and feel - the "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" mantra.

I had told Steve than I was in no hurry, and to take his time. I lied - I wanted it back YESTERDAY, but I know that quality custom work is worth waiting for. When the article on Combat Tactics came out during the summer, it drove me nuts in anticipation seeing pics of Darryl's THUG gun as I knew I'd be getting something quite similar. I'm glad that I started the process months before the article came out. Steve was great throughout the process, making sure we discussed every detail, keeping notes on all my requests. He made sure that he had covered everything and that I'd be getting back exactly what I requested. Steve's contact information and pricing is on his web site, so please direct all inquiries there.

I finally got the pistol back after ten months, and it was worth the wait. It turned out exactly (or better) than I had envisioned. The Cerakoted black slide and bead blasted stainless makes for a very functional yet classy look, without being over the top.

The day I received it, I stayed up late to do a photo shoot (went a bit nuts with the photos, which is why there are so many), then took it out to the range the following day. I brought along 18 magazines (mostly McCormick Power Mags, and a few others) and 300 rounds of 230 gr ball, and 185 gr truncated cones. Twice, the truncated cones hung up (nose up) when I put a fresh mag in, and release the slide (by pulling it back, not using the slide stop). This happened only with the first round in the mag - the rest fed and cycled flawlessly until the mag was empty. My other 1911 has had some problems with truncated cones as well. The other 298 rounds fed, fired end ejected without any problems whatsoever. Before, the pistol would start choking around 100 rounds when it got dirty. Now, I went 300 rounds and it felt the same as when it was clean. Good enough to make it through a match without worry. All 18 different mags locked back the slide each time without fail. The vertical stringing was gone and I believe it is now the most accurate 1911 I have. It shoots better than I do, and I have complete confidence that if I do my part, it will do its. The golf ball texture was not too sharp for shooting without gloves, and the high cut front strap felt so much better than before. I was extremely pleased with the way the pistol felt, handled and shot. This was just its first time out since the makeover, and I plan on a lot more. It's my new favourite pistol and I think I've fallen in love with the 1911 all over again.

2nd time out to the range shown below with another 200 (approx) rounds through it without any issues (except my marksmanship).

Pistol in 6305 holster

Gemtech's TRL (Tactical Retention Lanyard) is a dummy cord for pistols or other valuable items that might get dislodged or lost during very active - umm - activities. Obviously, a lanyard loop on the pistol is needed in order to use the TRL. It's engineered with a breaking strength of about 100 lbs so it will break away if snagged or caught and that presents danger to the user. Visit Gemtech's website for more info and specs. It attaches and is secured to the belt via a side-release buckle. The pistol and lanyard can be detached from the belt as well. I was initally skeptical of 'phone cord' lanyards because I thought that the cord would interfere with shooting due to some spring tension, but Gemtech's TRL erased my doubts. The coiled cable does not interfere with shooting at all - when extended I hardly know it's there. A good piece of kit. Thanks Kel :-)

8/12/06 - Now available in Foliage Green to match the Army ACU colours.
Note: The TRL can now be found by NSN8465-01-522-5352 (which applies to the coyote coloured one), but the black or foliage green one can be ordered on the same NSN if the colour is specified.