cwo4uscgret

another new Detonics; this time a MK I Combat Master:

From another auction on GunBroker and picked it up yesterday; not pictured are the owner's manual and zippered Detonics pouch that came with it. This is a pretty clean gun:





I guess I should fess up; the Gun Broker Seller is my local gunshop, who was contacted by an estate to liquidate 400+ guns. They've only listed 6 Detonics so far - and I've won 4 of them; but due to a cracked slide in one of them I didn't buy that one.

JohnnyT

Another one of those things that I don't get. What is the purpose of the rear sight mounted so far forward? Decreasing the sight radius would seem to be counterproductive, especially on a pistol that's already got a short sight radius. Why take a pistol that's obviously meant for self-defense...and then make it harder to get good hits with said pistol?

Not to mention that with the sight mounted that far forward, your emergency life-saving tool is more likely to snag on the leather when you reach for it in a hurry.

I mean...really?

What were they thinking?

Were they thinking?

Or were they so wrapped up in doing something unique and different that they lost all sight of the practicality of the weapon?

cwo4uscgret

Johnny - the original concept for the forward rear sight was for a hammer down on a live chamber carry. The shape of the hammers and the flat surface was designed to make cocking the hammer on the draw easier. I used to carry my Combat Commander that way until I realized how unsafe that was...especially when lowering the hammer.

JohnnyT

Still not wrappin' my head around it.

The rear sight in the standard location isn't in the way.

Cocking and lowering the hammer safely on a 1911 is mostly a matter of knowing how.

Cocking on the draw is easy to screw up. Cocking the hammer as the hand finds it...while it's still in the holster...is more positive, and doesn't require a grip shift...and it's not all that much slower after a little practice.

When lowering the hammer, the mistake that gets most people into trouble is pulling the trigger and trying to catch the hammer instead of getting control of the hammer first and then pulling the trigger.

And so it goes with the "dangerous" pinch-check.

The thumb goes on top of the hammer to get control of it. This lets the grip safety kick out and block the trigger, so even if the thumb bumps it, the trigger can't move.

Simple.

cwo4uscgret

Detonics MK II

lefty60

As I recall, when these guns were new they were considered "state of the art" for concealed carry/backup guns.

Of course at the same time a normal carry or duty gun was a 5" 1911, a 6" N frame, or another "full size" pistol/revolver. Large cal. small guns were few and far between.

Alabaster

It would seem to me that it is less likely to snag on the draw also. The sight being further up the slide a bit would make it harder to catch on things by accident.

I think the sight radius on the gun is far less important since the distance these guns were meant for were pretty close. I think you're unlikely to use sights at arms length, and correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this during the start of the "point shoot" craze?

I have a question. Is it me or do the extractors seem to be protruding more than normal?

I really like these guns. I think you have some nice looking pistols there.