[Buckfever4life]

Well, its that time of year again and I am thinking of having another LST Gaboon built in a 10mm. I thought I would drop a few pics of my .45 here for you all to take a gander at again. For all of you who have not heard of Dustin Bonar (formerly of Novaks - 3rd generation master gunsmith) and son of the late Joe Bonar, you should check him out. You will not find a more accurate hand built custom 1911 for this price anywhere.

Here is the build list:

Caspian Frame
STI Slide
Hand matting front strap and under trigger guard - Dustin made this famous while at Novaks and is continued today
Novak tritium nite sights
Carry Bevel
Flatten Top of Slide
Match Greider Trigger
S & A mag well
Ed Brown mag catch
Bar-Sto Bushing or Ed Brown
Ed Brown Thumb Safety
S & A Grip Safety
Match Grade Kart Barrel
Commander Hammer
Wolff Springs
Match Extractor
Slide to frame fit
Slash cut front of slide
L.S.T. Bushing Mod and Spring Plug
Slash cut mag catch
L.S.T. Aluminum Grips (or any grip panels you desire)
L.S.T. Logo
Novaks Adjustable Sight Set
Refinish in Black Parkerizing
Novaks Grip Screws
2 Novaks mags
Crown Barrel
GPJ Safety Conversion

[Buckfever4life]

[CigarandScotch]

VERY nice looking pistol.

[bac1023]

Very cool

[Nine Shooter]

I've never seen a slanted front like that on a 1911 slide!

[denn1911]

That 1911 looks so sweet! Very nice.

[NeverMore1701]

Very interesting, like the slant cut.

[Buckfever4life]

Thanks, this was a custom modification that Dustin came up with in his lineup of pistols. This gun has been featured in several magazine publications. I can recall Combat Handguns and American Handgunner doing a write up about it. This gun was also featured on The Outdoor Channels Wednesday Night at the Range.

Dustin explained his goal with the Gaboon was to radically renovate the looks of the 1911 without sacrificing functionality or altering the mechanics of the original design. To accomplish this, a slash cut is made on the bottom of the slide; the area where the recoil spring plug is inserted. This makes a conventional bushing useless so Dustin devised his own bushing and to contain the recoil spring he created a plug perfectly matching the slash cut and inserts from the rear of the slide.
To disassemble the Gaboon you pull the slide rearward until the takedown notch is lined up with the slide lock, remove the slide lock while holding the slide and then ease the slide forward, being careful to grab the recoil spring and spring guide as tension is released. After the slide is removed you push the recoil spring plug to the rear and out of the slide. This allows access to the Gaboon's barrel bushing which has three small holes permitting the bushing to be rotated with a pointed object in case it is too tight to turn by hand.
It's a comprehensive modification dramatically changing the profile of the pistol and requires the meticulous construction of a new bushing and the time consuming manufacture of a new plug. It also shortens the cycling distance and time. To compensate for this, an 18-pound Commander spring and Commander spring guide are used for 5" 1911s. You may be wondering if this is a totally cosmetic alteration. It's not.
On two occasions I've seen a 1911 barrel bushing rotate away from the recoil spring plug during firing. The result was the recoil spring and plug being ejected from the pistol. In both instances this was likely due to improper assembly, but in any case it happened and it rendered the pistol inoperative. It cannot happen with the Gaboon.
The Gaboon is also easier to cram into a holster. Though this advantage may be slight, it does exist and is noticeable. Sharpening the muzzle profile of any handgun would do the same thing. If you have ever tried to shove a square-nosed Glock into an inside the pants holster, you will appreciate the ease at which a Gaboon goes to leather--or its den.

[ronin.45]

Very interesting aesthetics.

[Hurricanes]

That's pretty amazing.
-Joel

[Buckfever4life]

Thanks, its a wonderful shooting pistol.

[CMG]

Distinctive, but not for me.

Damn, I'm getting old!

[never enough]

wow! nice set up

[cminzey]

Well I had them do work for me it was to convert my colt Officers to a 10mm withe a new slide and slide cut like the gaboon but what I got back today was a 10mm I think no slant cut wrong sites and they haven't answered their phone in months will never use them again

[glock2740]

Very cool.

[BigDeeeeeeee]

Very nice look.

[FLIPPER 348]

well done!


.......no ambi safety, awesome

[grecco]

Very Nice Bro.

[Wil Ufgood]

Nice looking 1911, after seeing this post, I reached out to LST to get a build quote. Never heard back

Oh well, ordered a CQB instead

[cminzey]

Well I have tried to contact them for over a year they stole my Officers upper and screwed up my new upper they cut a lug off the barrel, cut the groove for the barrel bushing on the wrong side.
A guy in Vegas sent them a Damascus slide to have cut they kept it and he can't get that back I am going to find them and sue them along with a few others

[ca survivor]

Very nice.

[faawrenchbndr]

Don't see those very often.......looks great!

[Rinspeed]

[SigFTW]

Originally Posted by Rinspeed

I'm with you on that!

[spcwes]

I would love to hear more about the people in this thread that seemed to have been screwed. I tried calling them a couple weeks ago and never got a call back.