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Anyone here own a Novak's Full House 915?
- Thread starter 18DAI
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James&theGiant1911
Member
you talking about the old Novak's Smiths are this something new?
Novak is mainly a 1911 shop with Wayne not having worked on the Smiths in a long time now.
Novak is mainly a 1911 shop with Wayne not having worked on the Smiths in a long time now.
Zebulon
Member
Please excuse my intrusion, but these are pistols that Novak offered at the height their of S&W involvement. It was a Package they offered. Zebulon
James&theGiant1911
Member
Devel and Novak were the masters of these back in the day, every once in a while a Devel will show up on GA or GB for 2-3+ grand and I always wonder if they are the real gun or someone making something up.
The only packages left on Novak's end is the trigger jobs, barrel work and some small things. I have had Smiths, Hi Powers and 1911s worked on by Novak's and IMO they are the best custom house shop out. It just takes em a while to get anything 1911 back. The Hi Powers and Smiths come back faster.
The only packages left on Novak's end is the trigger jobs, barrel work and some small things. I have had Smiths, Hi Powers and 1911s worked on by Novak's and IMO they are the best custom house shop out. It just takes em a while to get anything 1911 back. The Hi Powers and Smiths come back faster.
GoodMornin
Member
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On the site right now is a 5903 for sale
http://www.novaksights.com/customguns/gunsforsale/novakcustom/ncsw5903.html
http://www.novaksights.com/customguns/gunsforsale/novakcustom/ncsw5903.html
smithscott
Member
I now own a Novak full-house 915. The following work has been performed on it:
1) Fit Bar-Sto stainless barrel.
2) Reliability work
3) Very nice trigger work with forged trigger and hammer. The DA pull on this pistol is very close to the smoothness of the DAO pull of my 5944.
4) Novak sights with tritium inserts fit front and rear
5) A very well done breaking of sharp edges.
6) French borders on slide
7) Stippled rounds of slide and rear of slide.
8) Stippled bottom of trigger guard.
9) Stippled front strap of frame.
10) Slide marked with Novak's logo.
11) Gun and three magazines finished with Birdsong's Black-T.
A few pictures follow.
1) Fit Bar-Sto stainless barrel.
2) Reliability work
3) Very nice trigger work with forged trigger and hammer. The DA pull on this pistol is very close to the smoothness of the DAO pull of my 5944.
4) Novak sights with tritium inserts fit front and rear
5) A very well done breaking of sharp edges.
6) French borders on slide
7) Stippled rounds of slide and rear of slide.
8) Stippled bottom of trigger guard.
9) Stippled front strap of frame.
10) Slide marked with Novak's logo.
11) Gun and three magazines finished with Birdsong's Black-T.
A few pictures follow.
Very nice piece right there. That does give me some ideas
.
Thanks for posting.
Cheers
Bill
.Thanks for posting.
Cheers
Bill
Very nice piece right there. That does give me some ideas
Thanks for posting.
Cheers
Bill
Bill, I like it when you get ideas...something tasty pistol wise is always the result!
smithscott thank you for the pics of that beautiful Novaks Full House 915 !! 
That is truly a finely crafted handgun. The 915 in its original configuration is/was a fine handgun in its own right, but the Novaks rendition is simply......perfect.
Having been unable to locate......or afford a Novaks Full House package, I own the next best thing.
A S&W 915 slicked up by the Performance Center for Mr Bert DuVernay, then head instructor of the Smith & Wesson Academy. Mr DuVernay had S&W's PC select a new 915 and tighten up the barrel to frame fit, install Novak Night Sights, give it a trigger job and refinish the 915 after the work was done. It is one slick pistol. Bet your life reliable and tack driving accuracy. The 915 model never recieved the full attention it deserved IMO. I'd love to find a Bar Sto barrel for mine.
I notice that in the second pic you posted your 915's slide has identical wear marks on the bottom of the guide rod tunnel as mine does. I suppose these guns are so tight that the slide rubs a bit on the frame. I put a little grease on the lip of my frame to mitigate the wear there.
BMCM I can't wait to see what you come up with using a 915 !! Regards 18DAI
That is truly a finely crafted handgun. The 915 in its original configuration is/was a fine handgun in its own right, but the Novaks rendition is simply......perfect.
Having been unable to locate......or afford
a Novaks Full House package, I own the next best thing.A S&W 915 slicked up by the Performance Center for Mr Bert DuVernay, then head instructor of the Smith & Wesson Academy. Mr DuVernay had S&W's PC select a new 915 and tighten up the barrel to frame fit, install Novak Night Sights, give it a trigger job and refinish the 915 after the work was done. It is one slick pistol. Bet your life reliable and tack driving accuracy. The 915 model never recieved the full attention it deserved IMO. I'd love to find a Bar Sto barrel for mine.
I notice that in the second pic you posted your 915's slide has identical wear marks on the bottom of the guide rod tunnel as mine does. I suppose these guns are so tight that the slide rubs a bit on the frame. I put a little grease on the lip of my frame to mitigate the wear there.
BMCM I can't wait to see what you come up with using a 915 !!
Regards 18DAIsmithscott
Member
A couple of comments:
1) This pistol was very reasonably priced as I bought it finished, as opposed to paying Novak for the work. This was not even my most expensive 3rd Generation pistol, with the 945 and 952 both being more. This gun cost me right about $900 as seen.
2) Talking with Bar-Sto, they do not have any stock of S&W barrels and there are no future plans to make them. I wish I had the original barrel that shipped with the gun as I have never seen another S&W Bar-Sto barrel.
3) I am not sure about the origin of the rub mark on the slide dust cover area. I will apply some RIG grease to see if the rub area stops increasing in size.
1) This pistol was very reasonably priced as I bought it finished, as opposed to paying Novak for the work. This was not even my most expensive 3rd Generation pistol, with the 945 and 952 both being more. This gun cost me right about $900 as seen.
2) Talking with Bar-Sto, they do not have any stock of S&W barrels and there are no future plans to make them. I wish I had the original barrel that shipped with the gun as I have never seen another S&W Bar-Sto barrel.
3) I am not sure about the origin of the rub mark on the slide dust cover area. I will apply some RIG grease to see if the rub area stops increasing in size.
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smithscott
Member
Any issues with a limited diet of 124-grain +P in the 915? That is my preferred 9mm loading.
James&theGiant1911
Member
at 900 dollars, I think you more or less stole it. The last Novak custom gun I sold was in the 1500 ish range. I still have one of the 2 or 3 of the custom pieces they worked on for me and do not plan to get rid of. From the looks of that piece it had a lot of custom work done to it, I would say 2-3 grand is what is in it. The Bar Sto barrel is very desirable, heck you could get half or more of what you paid for the gun just off the barrel alone. One of the reasons I still look at Devel pieces but with so many counterfeits out there it is easy to get burned.
vigil617
US Veteran
I always learn so much from you guys. Thanks.
I take it that Devel and Novak preceded the S&W Performance Center, then? Thinking that 2nd Gen. pistols like the 915 Full House Novak would have been the customized versions that S&W later began producing in-house.
Great looking pistol there!
I take it that Devel and Novak preceded the S&W Performance Center, then? Thinking that 2nd Gen. pistols like the 915 Full House Novak would have been the customized versions that S&W later began producing in-house.
Great looking pistol there!
James&theGiant1911
Member
Wayne developed the sights for them (the Novak's which you all know so well), in the early stages. He then went to custom tuning on them. Really now they have taken a back seat to the 1911 and even the Hi Power. They still work on them though and do good work. They smoothed out my 1076 trigger to perfection. I have used several shops for work and IMO Novak is consistently the best out of any of them. Everything I send them is done well and what I am looking for. There is no resending it back when once you get it back.
smithscott
Member
The 915 is a 3rd Generation autoloader, specifically a Value Line pistol. The pictured gun was at Novak for the work in 2004. This date was more than a decade after the Performance Center began working on guns.
flagman1776
Member
I had a very accurate Barstow 9mmP in my 39-2... fitted by them. I had a burning desire to play with 9x21 & swapped that barrel back to them. I have a stock barrel of course but I wish I had the now discontinued 9mmP. I have the 9x21 but have not done much with it.
