deal gun for sale. For some people the double-stack guns are great … for me, I simply prefer the single- stack 1911.
Les Baer Custom Les and Karen are two of my fa-
The Noveske ULTRa Rifl e: Ultra Light Tactical Rifl e or Ultra Light Thunder Ranch Rifl e … you get to pick!
The Noveske ULTRa Rifl e: Ultra Light Tactical Rifl e or Ultra Light Thunder Ranch Rifl e … you get to pick!
opportunity to have input and or directly effect the production of some fi rearms for defense has been made available to Thunder Ranch as an institution. This is the history of Guns of Thunder Ranch, which are in some cases one-of-a-kind fi rearms, and in others, a pretty large number of weapons bearing the copyright and trademark Thunder Ranch Inc. logo.
Dave Lauck I met Dave Lauck from D&L
Sports many years ago. In the 1980s and 1990s, he made me a full 5" 1911 that wore the I.T.C. shield on the side- plate. Funny thing is, he didn’t know the new logo added the lighting bolt against the back of the shield. I had the gun for many years, it was a rock solid pistol. At my departure from TR Texas, I gave the gun to one of my leading staff instructors as a gift for his service to the school and students.
Wilson Combat Bill Wilson and his gang built the
fi rst big run of Thunder Ranch 1911s, which numbered from serial num- ber TR1 to TR50. The Wilson guns were the fi rst guns allowed to use the trademarked TR logo on guns built from the ground up specifi cally to be TR guns. They were good guns that ran their course from an industry perspective and got to a point where Bill’s Wilson Combat growing busi-
WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM 43
ness required he use his resources wisely to fulfi ll his many other client’s orders. In 2009, for old times sake, Bill built me one “new age,” state- of-the-art Wilson Combat Thunder Ranch pistol bearing the TR logo on the side panel. I have shot thousands of rounds in it over the last two years; the gun is fl awless and it is the best pistol he ever constructed for me — it is straight as an arrow accurate and a very good pistol.
STI Kustom Ballistics This is an odd duck and proto-
type built by Neil Keller from Indi- ana. The oddity is that it’s the only double-stack, .45-caliber 1911 built for me to test. I shot the gun quite a bit and after some time returned the gun. Not long ago it was posted for sale on Guns America. It was the real
vorite people, we have stuck togeth- er for over a decade and they have produced over 5,000 1911 Thunder Ranch Specials. I have serial num- bers from TR0000, 0001, 0100, 0002, 0200 and others. The prize is the test sample gun that was the fi rst one Les built as the prototype for the TR1911. Many of these guns are engraved and ivory stocked and I have used them heavily over the years. The most used TRS 1911 is serial number 2, which Heidi and I have over the years let students shoot, which were deciding if they wanted a TR gun. So, before they spent the money, we let them shoot #2 … most ended up buying their own. So what is great about the #2 gun is that its been shot hard by lots of people over the years and it still runs as smooth as it did when it was unwrapped from the brown pa- per. Les has redone stuff to it on at least three occasions, due to heavy continuous wear. In the past, LBC has also built Co-
manches, Monoliths with a light rail, AR rifl es and AR/1911 packages; all bearing the TR logo. In 2011, it was decided to build only the 1911 Thun- der Ranch Special 5" 1911, due to the heavy work load the LBC shop has on its many other high-quality products. You have to get in line at that place; they are busy building great guns.
Smith & Wesson The
Smith & Wesson/Thunder
Ranch guns are one of my proudest moments in the gun business. Being a fan of S&W revolvers from the begin- ning of my shooting career, the fact that S&W would build guns bearing the TR logo has been very satisfying. Although lots of forum commandos take credit for the Classic Series re- introduction, it’s mostly done at my
The “original” Les Baer/ Thunder Ranch Special 1911 — the fi rst of over 5,000.
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