I posted on here asking about a gunsmith and someone recommended One Man Machining for the work. Mr. Stevens (the titular one man) did a phenomenal job and helped me finish my project. The goal was to take a standard Beretta M9 and work it over to be a custom combat pistol. I've always liked the Beretta - it shoots accurately and well, and I've never had an issue with one in or out of the Army.
That being said, I had a few goals:
1. Lighten the trigger pull
2. Improve the stock sights
3. Increase the ability to manipulate the pistol
With that in mind, I did the following:
-Purchased a spare slide and asked Mr. Stevens to mill forward cocking serrations and a dovetail
-Added a 1911 front sight and a Novak high rear sight
-Heavily thinned grips, added grip tape and slotted grip screws
-Added OEM skeleton hammer (I like the look and it's a little bit lighter than the factory hammer)
-Added 1911 18# hammer spring
-Polished all action surfaces and smoothed out the trigger pull
-Added Beretta factory threaded barrel
-Added Moonlight Firearm Technologies compensator w/ Wolff reduced power recoil spring
-Added Wilson short trigger and Wolff reduced power TCU
-Added metal lanyard loop, recoil spring guide, and magazine catch (because polymer is not my first choice for those parts)
-Added an Insight M9 rail (designed for their PEQ-14) and a Surefire X300U-A because ALLLLLLL the lumens
-Added a Beretta "G" conversion
At the end of the day I basically cut the trigger pull in half and the gun shoots like a dream. The compensator tames 124gr ammo nicely and this is pretty much exactly what I wanted when I envisioned this. The only change still to make is to remove the "G" conversion and replace it with a Wilson low-profile safety. I don't like the bulk of the conversion and I miss the safety. Later down the line I'll send it off for checkered front and back straps and a beveled mag well but that's not a priority at the moment.
