Scored an SA-35!

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I put my name on the list at my local gun shop and 1 month later picked it up this last week. I’m really happy with it it feels great. Can’t wait to get out to the range and see how it does. I’m a little concerned the stock sights aren’t adjustable for elevation.
Anyway for those keeping track it was 750 and 23k serial.

Supercongrats!

I just hold half a blade high, or whatever's necessary, when shooting service-type pistols at longer range. Different bullet weights always affect impact, as everyone reading this thread already knows (too).

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View attachment 1678032View attachment 1678033View attachment 1678034The SA 35 is in stock all over the place around here. Priced below MSRP in many instances. Only thing I find that gives the Browning Hi Power an advantage in comparing the two is the finish.

That Browning blue shine ... like a Colt of old!

And I still envy those grips. I need to grind down my Altamonts a bit, but the slim rosewood will do ... for now ...


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I'd picked up (cheap) a pair of Altamont grips for SA-35/BHP, silver black walnut. They're on an earlier page.

There was a raised edge that I could feel, though, and while I liked the hand-filling aspect of these non-slim grips, that d@mn edge was a bit sharp. Took a dremel to the edge and was disappointed to see it took the high gloss poly as well - not sure with laminate how deep the stuff goes when wood is "stabilized". Anyways. Like any good knife guy, I have a 1" belt sander, and took that to the grips next. Voila! Contoured the edges smooth. When done, they looked ... better, but. That's when a green scotchbrite pad made things right ... lots of rubbing ... then Ballistol.

Now the grips feel great, show their grain a bit better, and are MATTE black walnut silver. I really like this.

Another 200 rounds through the gun, and I'm getting some finish wear. Good. Means I use it. (Knew a LEO who wore the Tennifer off his 40 Glock. I was impressed!)

"Black Beauty," the grips blend with the pistol's matte finish. Of course no malfs with the last four boxes of ammo...

EDIT: Woodworkers or someone with sharper eyes will tell me to go back and use finer grain sandpaper, which I should ... now that it's an oil-rubbed finish, no problem.

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[OkieStubble]

I'd picked up (cheap) a pair of Altamont grips for SA-35/BHP, silver black walnut. They're on an earlier page.

There was a raised edge that I could feel, though, and while I liked the hand-filling aspect of these non-slim grips, that d@mn edge was a bit sharp. Took a dremel to the edge and was disappointed to see it took the high gloss poly as well - not sure with laminate how deep the stuff goes when wood is "stabilized". Anyways. Like any good knife guy, I have a 1" belt sander, and took that to the grips next. Voila! Contoured the edges smooth. When done, they looked ... better, but. That's when a green scotchbrite pad made things right ... lots of rubbing ... then Ballistol.

Now the grips feel great, show their grain a bit better, and are MATTE black walnut silver. I really like this.

View attachment 1689234

View attachment 1689229

Another 200 rounds through the gun, and I'm getting some finish wear. Good. Means I use it. (Knew a LEO who wore the Tennifer off his 40 Glock. I was impressed!)

"Black Beauty," the grips blend with the pistol's matte finish. Of course no malfs with the last four boxes of ammo...

EDIT: Woodworkers or someone with sharper eyes will tell me to go back and use finer grain sandpaper, which I should ... now that it's an oil-rubbed finish, no problem.

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Yeah, those grips look great on that gun.

 

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Yeah, those grips look great on that gun.

Thanks, it's the flat/flat black thing I like so much. Utterly nonreflective. SA-35 just feels great in-hand anyways, but thicker grips are a fun change.

Still at a loss over the safety question. Mine's crisp as can be, but I seem to recall it was (maybe) only crisp in one direction when I got it. It's perfect now, so I wonder if that's just due to factory lube.

Hooked up with my BIL after a long time and he got to shoot it - he loved the SA-35, and that guy has so many guns ...

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[OkieStubble]

Thanks, it's the flat/flat black thing I like so much. Utterly nonreflective. SA-35 just feels great in-hand anyways, but thicker grips are a fun change.

Still at a loss over the safety question. Mine's crisp as can be, but I seem to recall it was (maybe) only crisp in one direction when I got it. It's perfect now, so I wonder if that's just due to factory lube.

Hooked up with my BIL after a long time and he got to shoot it - he loved the SA-35, and that guy has so many guns ...

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It definitely looked good and felt really good in my hand. I wanted to take the one I was holding home, but that safety was so loosey goosey both ways, it was very disconcerting to me. If one crosses my path with a good feeling safety and I got money in my pocket and the wife's not with me?

 

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"I was just down at the gun store," I told my wife in exasperation. "Do you know what those guys did?! They made me buy a new gun!"

I walked.


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[Rob72]

"I was just down at the gun store," I told my wife in exasperation. "Do you know what those guys did?! They made me buy a new gun!"

I walked.


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"Held me down and forced my fingers round it!"

 

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"Held me down and forced my fingers round it!"

One can get away with this, but only once every five years ...

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[P-51G t]

Don’t mean to trample on your thread, so my apologies in advance.
anyway, I thought this was interesting, my springfield milspec 1911 along with the sa35. Hand hold angle seams closer to Glock with the 1911 v sa35. Maybe I need to look at backstrap angle to really compare but front angle is clear.

 

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Don’t mean to trample on your thread, so my apologies in advance.
anyway, I thought this was interesting, my springfield milspec 1911 along with the sa35. Hand hold angle seams closer to Glock with the 1911 v sa35. Maybe I need to look at backstrap angle to really compare but front angle is clear.
View attachment 1733448

That's interesting, thanks.

I've neglected to update this - after maybe 400 more rounds, finally got a failure to extract in mine.

I keep the world's handiest pistol maintenance tool - a chopstick - in my range bag, so quickly popped out the empty.

Think it was pushing 2K round total. Will take a closer look at extractor. Still an enthusiastic fan. The aftermarket 20 rounders have settled in nicely, too.


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