Ok, so its not a Smith. But I know we have some 1911 lovers here abouts. And if you'll forgive me, on this one I just gotta brag.

I guess by now y'all have figured out that I have a slight fondness for the 1911 pistol. I'm actually surprising myself this year as 3 of the 4 guns I've bought have been 1911s. For one thing I usually don't buy more than one or two a year and for another, I've spent so many years focusing on Smith & Wesson revolvers.
So I reckon for me 2010 will go down as the year of the 1911.

Having a liking for the gun, I've also wanted a Long Slide version ever since I first saw one many years ago. There are a few problems with that.
First, they're hard to come by.
Second, they're darned expensive.
Third, on the rare occasion that one does pop up for sale, they almost always have features I don't care for. Usually what you find is stainless steel with ambi-this, extended that and all manner of useless bells and whistles. Generally, they're race guns. Well I dropped out of that race some years ago.

I guess the stars finally lined up just right or maybe they're having snowball fights down in Hell. Because this one came up on Auction Arms and I actually won it!

Clark Custom Long Slide .45




It wasn't cheap. It cost me $1000. (YIKES! There goes my toy budget for at least the next year or so.) But I think I got a good deal on it. I believe this gun should have sold in the $1200 to $1500 range. I just got lucky.

Its got some wear on it. The finish is about 80 %. Obviously it was somebodies Bullseye gun and got a pretty good work out in its life. But it also falls in the used but not abused catagory. It locks up tight with no noticable wear mechanically. Slide to frame fit is still alot tighter than you'll find on any current 1911 and smooth as glass. You will not take the barrel bushing out with your fingers. A bushing wrench is required and its still tight. The trigger is amazing.

The gun is based on a Colt Government Model and the serial number dates it to 1964. Just looking at it, I'd say the long slide conversion was done somewhere about the same time. I plan to give Clark Custom Guns a call next week in the hopes that they just might be able to give me an exact date.

Back in those days you didn't just buy a long slide and slap it on a frame. They didn't exist commercially. What the gunsmith had to do was cut the existing slide forward of the frame rails and add a piece into it. On this conversion, you'd never know it happened just by looking. But if you gently rub your finger along the recoil spring tunnel, you just barely can feel a slight difference where the extra piece was welded in.
The 6" barrels were also a purely custom item.

The pistol is a true testament to the Master Craftsmanship of Jim Clark. During the 1950s and 60s, He was "THE MAN" in the handgun world. Its a cryin' shame that today so few people know who he was.

RANGE REPORT
I took it out to the range this morning hoping to wring it out before it got too hot. Didn't work. By 8:30am it was already 90 degrees. I'm not saying this was an excuse for my performance. But what the hell, if you'll buy that, I'll use it.

Since this pistol was built for Bullseye compitition, I limited ammo to a couple of softball target loads I use.
185gr Remington JSWC - 4.5grs WST - 705fps
200gr LSWC - 4.3grs WST - 784fps

The extra length and weight give the pistol a slightly different feel than what I'm more accustomed to in a 1911. Likewise, the trigger takes a bit of getting used to.

Me being a half blind, half crippled old fart, all shooting was done at 25 yards off a rest.
I've got lots of guns that shoot better than I'm capable of, but this thing makes me feel down right unworthy. To say its a sweet shooter would be an understatement.
Overall, out of each full magazine fired, I'd have 4 or 5 rounds clustered together in one neat little hole and the rest of the shots would be flyers going just about everywhere. The thing is that every one of those flyers were entirely my fault. I knew it the very second the shot was fired. So the potential is definitely there, Its just gonna take me some time to get used to the pistol.
Function was pretty good. No failures to fire or feed. But I did have some problems with the extractor. Occasionally it would fail to extract the fired case from the chamber. As time and shooting wore on, the problem got worse. I did pull the extractor out and did a quickie field adjustment. The situation did improve for a while, but it didn't last.
I'm gonna have to replace the extractor. Its an inexpensive part and easy to replace. After all, the gun is 45 years old. So I don't consider this to be any big deal.

Conclusions
If I can learn to shoot his pistol to just half of its real capabilities, I'll consider myself a very fortunate man. Meanwhile, its a unique piece of firearms history. A reminder of a golden age of shooters and gunsmiths the likes of which we'll never see again.
I'm proud to own it.

That is cooler than a fan!

That’s a whole lot of fun and play time for 1K.

Very nice.

Emory

Sir - If you have a Clark pistol, you have the very finest. None better. I had them built me the Clark .22 ruger target about 5 years ago. Unreal! Never fails to fire, and will shoot 1 inch groups at 50yrds. What more can you ask for? Enjoy the long slide, they are rare indeed.

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Martin Co,FLA(finally made it)

That's awesome. Now I want one too lol. I got to swing by the clark shop this Feb. and I had an absolute blast just staring at everything.

Beautiful pistol! You shoot over at MSSA?

I was going to go out and shoot this morning but the heat and a couple of chores stopped me. I would have liked to have seen it up close and personal.

Lowpower
Bartlett

I have a Colt 1911 A1 that Jim Clark rebuilt many years ago, since then it has been back twice for tune-ups.
Just about as good as a 1911 gets.

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

I've never been a 1911 guy, but if you got that for only a grand, I say you did well.

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I miss my 4546 the most.

I used a Clark Long Heavy Slide for Bullseye @1970 or so.

The difference is that the Long Heavy has a full length Bomar Rib.

If you take the slide off the gun, and look on the bottom of it along the firing pin tunnel/hammer cocking part of the slide it should have the date the gun was built by Clark.

If there is more than one date it means he tuned it up at the later date.

Most people back in the day used a Hensley and Gibbs bullet mold Number 130, a cast SWC of @ 185 gr depending on the lead alloy over 3.5gr of Bullseye, at 25 yards. Some upped the powder charge to 3.8 for 50 yards.

Many people used a H&G mold Number 68 that cast a longer nosed SWC of @200 grains, again depending on the alloy over 3.8gr of Bullseye, for 50 yards.

I shot several Bullseye Matches with Jim Clark.

I was at the Cabellas in Ft Worth Tx a couple of weeks ago and they had a Clark Long Slide 45ACP in their fine gun room.

And for $1000.00 you did great.

I have two Clarks, one a "Heavy Slide" and the other is a hardball gun. I met Jim Sr. at Camp Perry several times. He personally took care of a little problem I had once and Jim, my father, and I went to the function range to test fire my gun. Jim Sr. always seemed to find time to talk with his customers, not to them. I really miss him. You did very well with your grand.

The 6" long slide 1911 is my favorite version of the 45. I have been building them since the 70's. The first ones were welded up from two slides which made them expensive. Shortly after Caspian came out with with them which simplified the operation. The first barrels I used came from Clark and are still probably the best. All Clark guns are exceptional, just the best.
Bob Ray

$1000 for a Clark built .45 is a screaming bargain! You would pay more than that for a Colt Gold Cup or some other supposed target gun that isn't even in the same league as what Jim Clark builds. You are right about disassembly. Quality target .45's are better left alone and never taken apart unless they need service IMHO.

Thanks for all the nice comments. I really like this gun.

One small correction. I rechecked the serial number and the original Colt was made in 1964, not 65. Original post edited.

NE450No2, I saw those numbers under the slide, but wasn't sure of the meaning. You are correct Sir. The Clark conversion was done in October, 1964. (1064).
There was another number there that kinda confused me for a second. It was three digits. Then it dawned on me that they were the last three digits of the serial number. DUH!

Lowpower, Yes I shoot at MSSA. If you had been there, not only would I have let you see it, I woulda let you shoot it.

Grayfox

Try those loads with Bullseye Powder.

Your Clark will most likely shoot groups under 3" at 50 yards.