Deserttech Europe Posted January 24, 2021 Report Share Posted January 24, 2021 16 hours ago, ds1 said: Ewen, I have tried it but only 20 rounds a while ago. Think of it like a Chiappa Rhino. Very little muzzle rise but the recoil goes back into your wrist - it’s quite a direct recoil. The 2011s that I have shot have less direct recoil and muzzle flip is controlled by the compensator. The grip on the Alien feels nicer than the 2011 in my hands - it is very cz like. The gas system- same principle as HK p7 -/m13 etc and same issue - it gets hot, a German YouTube channel shot 50 rounds through it fast - around the trigger was 90+C I think. Barrel life may be an issue from what I’ve read on Czech forums - around 40k, not surprising considering the heat issues. This is not one season of IPSC shooting practice for some I know. It’s an IPSC game gun but some top shooters have used it and gone back to a Shadow 2. Richard makes the holster and bags for it so I would sooner cut my di*k off with a pair of rusty scissors than buy one but I fully acknowledge that as my personal bias. The Alien comes with much more kit than the STI like separate top rails with iron sights and an included RTS 2 red dot so I think is better value. Whats the issue with Richard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted January 24, 2021 Report Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, ds1 said: Terry, still a connection, Alfa is Czech...... factory is in Brno. They supply the pistol sans cylinder to mr Westlake. Westlake also made the Britarms. Tel, Alan Westlake is very local - prob 25mins from you. Nice chap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryh Posted January 26, 2021 Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 On 1/24/2021 at 4:08 PM, brown dog said: Tel, Alan Westlake is very local - prob 25mins from you. Nice chap. Knew 'of' Mr Westlake - did 'not know' he was local 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 20 hours ago, terryh said: Knew 'of' Mr Westlake - did 'not know' he was local 😎 And if you're wondering how the Westlake conversions shoots, this is a cylinder from my 6" .357 Alfa, shot from a sandbag at 20 yards with open sights (and my 70+ eyes are a long way past their best). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, 1066 said: And if you're wondering how the Westlake conversions shoots, this is a cylinder from my 6" .357 Alfa, shot from a sandbag at 20 yards with open sights (and my 70+ eyes are a long way past their best). You have a great deal more luck than I did with my 4" Westlake Alpha. I just could not get on with it, extremely difficult to load the bullets I purchased off Westlake without distorting the wadcutters, extremely sensitive to charge weight and of course that's a tiny weight of eg Herco. I have a mate with a 6" model, he loves it but has resorted to casting his own bullets to get a decent fit. In a nutshell I hated mine with a passion. Thankfully there are plenty of people after them so it was easy to move on. I have far better results with my Euroarms Roger & Spencer .44 cap & ball. I would agree that Mr Westlake is a charming chap and a pleasure to do business with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Popsbengo said: You have a great deal more luck than I did with my 4" Westlake Alpha. I just could not get on with it, extremely difficult to load the bullets I purchased off Westlake without distorting the wadcutters, extremely sensitive to charge weight and of course that's a tiny weight of eg Herco. I have a mate with a 6" model, he loves it but has resorted to casting his own bullets to get a decent fit. In a nutshell I hated mine with a passion. Thankfully there are plenty of people after them so it was easy to move on. I have far better results with my Euroarms Roger & Spencer .44 cap & ball. I would agree that Mr Westlake is a charming chap and a pleasure to do business with. I agree, there's a bit of a learning curve to get a suitable bullet/charge to be both easy to load and accurate. Many seem to use a 9mm undersize bullet as they're easy to load and seem little concerned with accuracy, just content to make a bang and getting them all on the paper seems near enough. Most commercial cast bullets are too hard for accuracy and the standard press supplied with the pistol is next to useless. I made my own press and cast my own bullets. Home made bullet presses: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, 1066 said: I agree, there's a bit of a learning curve to get a suitable bullet/charge to be both easy to load and accurate. Many seem to use a 9mm undersize bullet as they're easy to load and seem little concerned with accuracy, just content to make a bang and getting them all on the paper seems near enough. Most commercial cast bullets are too hard for accuracy and the standard press supplied with the pistol is next to useless. I made my own press and cast my own bullets. Home made bullet presses: I tried undersizing using a Lee sizing die to resize the wadcutters I purchased from Alan W, as you say, better fit but very poor accuracy. Can't be bothered with casting, I don't shoot enough pistol to warrant the effort. Also I'm not very good.... I wondered about making a press that was sleeved so stopping the bullet distorting under pressure, never got past musing on paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ds1 Posted January 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Wamadet would probably be a good choice. Helston Gunsmiths used to make them for a time. It was made as much for cast bullet resizing / swaging as reloading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Pimp Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Popsbengo said: I tried undersizing using a Lee sizing die to resize the wadcutters I purchased from Alan W, as you say, better fit but very poor accuracy. Can't be bothered with casting, I don't shoot enough pistol to warrant the effort. Also I'm not very good.... I wondered about making a press that was sleeved so stopping the bullet distorting under pressure, never got past musing on paper. Just use jacketed bullets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 33 minutes ago, The Gun Pimp said: Just use jacketed bullets! Alan Westlake warned most strongly about using those - soft lead only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 59 minutes ago, The Gun Pimp said: Just use jacketed bullets! Is that a joke Vince? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Pimp Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Nope - I've never used lead bullets in mine. FMJ are clean and quick to reload - I can reload mine in 90 secs including cleaning chambers and pricking flash-holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 16 minutes ago, The Gun Pimp said: Nope - I've never used lead bullets in mine. FMJ are clean and quick to reload - I can reload mine in 90 secs including cleaning chambers and pricking flash-holes. That's interesting - Any chance of posting a photo of a group at 20 yards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Pimp Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 50 minutes ago, 1066 said: That's interesting - Any chance of posting a photo of a group at 20 yards? To be honest it's just a fun gun - I use it (with others who have 'em) on steel plates. Mine's a 3 inch barrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryh Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Keep looking at the Westlake, (nice groups there Allan to the point of ‘GSP’esque’). I’d not be interested in any pistol that did not shoot well, have looked at the competition grade Reminington cap-n-ball ( Pedersoli, Pietta) as the FWB is no longer with us, but not sure I can be arsed with BP in a revolver - which gets you back to the Westlake. Casting is not an issue, already make pretty good bullets for BPCR’s , not sure if I’m daft, but find it quite therapeutic . Food for thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Also have this one that shoots very well .36 - it has a set trigger down to about 3oz.: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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