Fusion Firearms

[Dc9Loser]

Anybody ever see, shoot, buy, or hear about these custom 1911 pistols?

Really having a hard time getting what I want from the big boys and these guys have 10mm bobtail commanders in stainless - only Dan Wesson made those and they stopped in 2009.

Is fusion as good as they claim?

http://www.fusionfirearms.com/

[rsxr22]

negative... Lots of good info on the company and their QC and CS over at GT. Somehow anything negatively mentioned about them vanishes from 1911forum! Wonder why? I was really intrigued by these pistols about a year ago and now im super glad i didnt have the cash at the time. There are a few on the boards that have them and have had goodluck with them, me? Im gunna steer clear and put my money with WC, EB, LB, GC, and NH

[VTRich]

I have a full size Fusion 1911 in 9mm, Ion Bond coated. It has been very unreliable. From the start it had Failures to extract, and Failures to Feed. When it did work, the ejection was very week. The cases would barely land a foot away. The last round either stayed loose in the gun after extraction, or barely dribbled out of the gun. I used the mags that came with the gun (they looked used/surplus) and Tripp Mags with the same results.

The thumb safety is very poorly fit. It is hard and mushy to engage. It snaps off nice and clean, but I have to press very hard to get it into the slide notch completely. I thought it would get better with use, but it hasn't.

I have had it over a year, ended up replacing the extractor with a Wilson Bullet Proof (I could not get their exxtractor to extract reliably), had to loc-tite the ejector down because it was very loose. After that it works so-so. Ejection is still king of week. Fixing the loose ejector helped the week ejection the most. I am running a 9 lb recoil spring now and it is running OK with that. OK for a range gun, but I would never dream of carrying it.

On the positive side, the slide to frame fit is excellent. Feels like it is running on ball bearings.

When I have a chance, I am going to bring it to a good gunsmith to get the thumb safety fit correctly, and have him give it a good check for anything else he can improve.

For the kind of money you would be spending, and the VERY LONG wait time, I would go with one of the well known semi custom guns, or a Dan Wesson.

[ElrodCod]

For the money they want you can get a better quality gun elseware.

[Hoss Fly]

Never heard any good input about Fusion GUNS-
Individual parts are OK -

[Dc9Loser]

Thanks guys, thought I had found what I wanted but I guess not.

The last thing I want to do is toss 1.5K out the window on junk, THANKS again.

[Hoss Fly]

I can honestly say this is the first time i've ever agreed with EVERY reply given to a good basic simple question here

[Dc9Loser]

Im gunna steer clear and put my money with WC, EB, LB, GC, and NH

What does WC, EB, LB, GC, and NH stand for?

Any info on what the good brands are would be helpful. Thanks.

[WC145]

I have had a more positive experience with Fusion than the previous posters.

I purchased an alloy framed Fusion 9mm CCO from the guy that ordered it. He placed his order in Oct of '09, rec'd the gun this April, I bought it in September. Things started poorly and I really questioned buying it over an LSI or Colt New Agent. I put a few hundred rounds of FMJ and JHP through it and had all kinds of extraction and feeding issues, the gun just wouldn't run. This happened over Labor Day weekend and I tried the 1911 forum's Fusion section for help and ended up communicating with Bob Serva, the owner, even though it was a holiday weekend and he treated me like it was a typical work day. He talked me through a number of possible solutions and when they didn't do the job he sent me a return ticket for my gun so they could ix it under their lifetime warranty. Remember, I'm the second owner and they owe me nothing.

Anyway, I sent the gun in, along with a box of my duty ammo for testing. The gun was ordered with an unramped barrel, which was a big part of the problem (they no longer offer that option for this reason). They stripped my gun, milled the frame for a ramped barrel and fitted a new match barrel and bushing and adjusted the extractor. In addition, since the frame would have to be refinished after being milled, Bob offered me my choice of finishes (I went with Yukon T-11 in tungsten grey) at no charge. I asked him to replace the trigger with a carbon fiber unit they offer while the gun was apart, which he did, and because it shot a bit low for me I asked him to check the sights. Lastly, I asked them to go through every part of the gun and check and double check it to assure I wouldn't have any more issues since I bought it for off duty carry (my duty gun is a S&W 1911 9mm Pro Series).

Bob took care of everything - the gun was repaired and refitted, refinished in my choice of colors, new trigger installed, shorter front sight installed, and every part of it inspected for fit, finish, and function. The charge for all of this was $68.00 for the trigger and front sight. Fusion covered everything else under warranty - even though I bought it second hand. Now the gun runs perfectly, it is incredibly accurate and has the best trigger of any of my 1911's. So, in my experience, Fusion is a stand up company that backs their products with a true lifetime warranty and incredible customer service.

My CCO is now my favorite carry gun and I won't hesitate to order a Fusion in the future or to recommend the company to others. And if you've got problems with your's call Bob, he'll get it fixed.

This is my gun when I bought it -


And this is it when I got it back from Fusion -

[KyJim]

I don't own a Fusion. My impression has been that they can make a very good firearm but have experienced some growing pains. Hopefully, they will get that worked out.

[Brian Pfleuger]

My uncle bought a Fusion Long Slide Ion Bonded 10mm earlier this year. It had some trouble ejecting at first, the extractor was bent and would jam the slide. Bob fixed it right off and the gun has been perfect since then. It is accurate beyond belief. It makes me look like I can shoot a handgun.

[spodwo]

What does WC, EB, LB, GC, and NH stand for?

Wilson Combat, Ed Brown, Les Baer, Gold Cup, Night Hawk...

[waltfraz]

i HAVE A FUSION PRO SERIES IN 38 SUPER,BOUGHT IT SECOND HAND,GUN SHOTS GREAT AND HAS NO PROBLEMS.IT WAS BUILT BY BOB SEVA AND CUCTOMER SERVICE ON ALL MY QUESTIONS WAS GREAT.THE ONLY REASON FOR ME SELLING GUN IS IT HAS A 6"BARREL TO LONG FOR MY USE.i WOULD NOT HESITATE TO BUY ANOTHER FUSION PUT TOGETHER BY BOB.

[rsxr22]

GC stands for Guncrafter, im not really a fan of Colt's. Maybe one day, if i decide to get a mil-spec style for display case purpose, but thats about it

[Dc9Loser]

I just read a review in Combat Handguns of the Nighthawk 1911 which experienced three failures during the shooting phase... for $3000.

Every brand I read about seems to have all sorts of problems if you believe what ya hear in forums.

I went over and looked at the Fusion Website on the 1911 forum. They delete negative posts as a policy. That disturbs me.

I do have to say that they have some gorgeous photos of Fusion guns there.

The fit and finish looks pretty darn good, in photos anyway.

If Fusion really will fix the gun if it doesn't work, maybe it is the way to go?

It is a pretty lame gun market where I have to spend $2K to have a chance of getting a gun which may or may not function.

Any thoughts?

[Sevens]

Bob Serva bought the Dan Wesson name at some point after DW was out of the revolver and, well, handgun business. He bought the name, built some 1911s and sold them as Dan Wesson pistols. When you find these, they have a little Christian cross on them. These are the pre-CZ guns.

As I understand, Serva sold the Dan Wesson operation to CZ. I would imagine that he made a heap of money. CZ now builds the Dan Wesson 1911's and those are damn good pistols. The older, pre-CZ pistols... I would assume (?) are decent pistols, but I've not had the pleasure to handle or shoot one.

Fusion is Bob Serva's company now.

Indeed, the 1911.org forum is a crazy-run, crusty bunch of folks. I won't waste bandwidth discussing another forum... and especially that one. If you want REAL experiences and data, avoid it like it's a 1970 issue of Pravda.

Glock Talk has some wild, run-on, highly detailed and descriptive threads covering a few different folks' REALLY bad run-ins with Fusion pistols and customer service experiences. I'm not a big fan of that forum either, but there's a lot more free reign there.

Where's the reality? Somewhere in the middle, most likely. Two years ago, I couldn't stop the drool from my face when thinking, reading, or talking about a Fusion pistol. Some of the things I've read on Glock Talk have ruined that for me.

I got the impression that Serva had some new guys that he was training building some pistols and someone who looks them over before shipment was asleep at the switch. WC145's experience just makes me wanna look at Fusion again. I don't doubt his words for a moment and I'm sure there are other folks out there that would back him up.

Fortunately, I don't find myself in the position of having to spend $1,500 to $2,200 on a custom order pistol -- and I'm not so sure that I will ever find the need for such a beast. I have way too much fun with my factory poppers. I've always been much more a beer kinda guy than wine or champagne.

The 1911 that I own, shoot and love... and have owned since 1989 has certainly put a grin on my face even though most serious 1911 guys would laugh at it hysterically. It's not high budget, that's for sure. But it is quite capable of one-ragged-hole groups.

[WC145]

Like I said in my other post, they took care of my problems no questions asked, no charge, and I'm not the original owner. The gun runs perfect now.

That being said, when I sent it back I just asked that they make it run as well as the S&W 1911 9mm Pro Series that I carry on duty (it's never failed). Based on my experience with my S&W, if S&W made a 9mm CCO I would have bought it but they don't. My Fusion is the next best thing.

[MLeake]

I have had no problems so far with my 10mm Classic Hunter Longslide. No feed or ejection issues. Extremely accurate. Email and phonecons in the order process were easy, too.

[Casimer]

My impression has been that they can make a very good firearm but have experienced some growing pains.

That's what I've gathered as well. It's not so surprising, considering their manufacturing model. He's offering a sort of custom production, where you can specify everything from fully custom, to stock production, to anything in between. This is probably the biggest source of complaints that I've seen, relating to build order discrepancies, and the delays they impose.

[LanceOregon]

I have a full size Fusion 1911 in 9mm, Ion Bond coated.

VTRich:

Since you have bashed the Fusion handguns, you should at least post a photo of your gun.

.

[LanceOregon]

Bob took care of everything - the gun was repaired and refitted, refinished in my choice of colors, new trigger installed, shorter front sight installed, and every part of it inspected for fit, finish, and function. The charge for all of this was $68.00 for the trigger and front sight. Fusion covered everything else under warranty - even though I bought it second hand. Now the gun runs perfectly, it is incredibly accurate and has the best trigger of any of my 1911's.

WC145:

That is the really odd thing that I find with the post from VTRich. Never does he even mention anything at all about contacting Bob Serva regarding his difficulties.

And to instead attempt kludge fixes himself on a custom gun? Doesn't make much sense at all to me.



.

[rsxr22]

Hopefully Serva does get his company straightened around!! I speak negatively about them all the time because they are currently spotty as far as QC goes. That should not be an issue being discussed when pricing pistols like they do. Bob can build a heck of a pistol, he just needs to lay down the law on his employees or get his butt back in the back and show em how it is done. I wish the best for every company! I speak negatively about them, kimber, and Taurus, but for good reason. All these companies need to do to be successful is: Fusion needs WAY BETTER attention to detail to stop QC issues, Kimber needs to lower their prices, $100 on most models and $200-250 on some because their are better options in every price point that their company makes guns for, and Taurus just needs to stop advertising that they have all these custom features on their $600 gun!!! They make a sub standard 1911 which is a decent shooter and decently reliable in most circumstances, but is fit poorly from small sparts to slide to frame fit. If all 3 did this, they would be much better off IMO

[WC145]

WC145:

That is the really odd thing that I find with the post from VTRich. Never does he even mention anything at all about contacting Bob Serva regarding his difficulties.

And to instead attempt kludge fixes himself on a custom gun? Doesn't make much sense at all to me.

I thought the same thing but I can't speak for anyone but myself. My gun was, for all intents and purposes, brand new when I got it so when I had problems it made sense to go to the guys that built it, but that's me. And, that's what warrantees are for, right?

Most remarkable about the service I got was that Bob went waaaayyy out of his way to help me work out the issues before sending the gun back in order to save me the time without it. It was labor day weekend and not only did he communicate with me via email throughout the weekend but sent me his phone number so I could call him on Labor Day Monday to discuss the gun and what to do with it. I can't imagine he'd be any less accomodating to someone that had actually ordered and purchased their gun directly from his company.

My gun is great - it's the right size, weight, caliber - a really nice package. It's put together right with terrific fit and finish. If you know what you're looking at you can appreciate the subtle melt job, the checkering on the front strap and MSH, undercut trigger guard, radiused frame butt, etc. However, when you get past all of that, it's one more 1911 like so many others. So, as a Fusion gun, what sets it apart from the rest of the crowd? Bob Serva and the service I received, not only from his company but from him directly. I try to buy quality stuff but I can't imagine that the CEO of Land Rover is going to tell me to call him this weekend over the frame issues I'm having. If one of his guns isn't right Bob Serva takes it personally and sees that it is fixed. IMO, that personal service is what sets Fusion apart from their competition.

Hopefully Serva does get his company straightened around!! I speak negatively about them all the time because they are currently spotty as far as QC goes. That should not be an issue being discussed when pricing pistols like they do. Bob can build a heck of a pistol, he just needs to lay down the law on his employees or get his butt back in the back and show em how it is done. I wish the best for every company! I speak negatively about them, kimber, and Taurus, but for good reason. All these companies need to do to be successful is: Fusion needs WAY BETTER attention to detail to stop QC issues, Kimber needs to lower their prices, $100 on most models and $200-250 on some because their are better options in every price point that their company makes guns for, and Taurus just needs to stop advertising that they have all these custom features on their $600 gun!!! They make a sub standard 1911 which is a decent shooter and decently reliable in most circumstances, but is fit poorly from small sparts to slide to frame fit. If all 3 did this, they would be much better off IMO

All very good points. That's one of the reasons I brought up my S&W 1911 earlier. It's got good fit and finish, not custom house level but very good. The gun looks great and, more importantly, it runs great. Everything works, it's accurate, 100% reliable, and S&W probably made as many of that one model as Fusion did total guns last year.

It's true that Bob makes sure things are right in the end but if S&W can make sure their guns are right before they leave the factory then a small builder should be able to do it too. If he can work that out then the skies the limit for Fusion.

[LanceOregon]

negative... Lots of good info on the company and their QC and CS over at GT

rsxr22:

Well, the bashing of Fusion that "HAIL CAESAR" has led on Glock Talk is very lame, in my opinion. He went into such great detail about all the obviously visible defects that he claimed that his gun had. Yet, in both of the super long threads that he started, he never once produced a single photo of his Fusion to illustrate these issues. VTRich has made similar complains here as well I see, yet once again, not a single photo produced to back up the claims.

HAIL CAESAR went way out of his way to go on an absolute vendetta against Fusion in a number of online forums, and then wondered why the company balked at dealing with him further. They finally got rid of him by giving him a full refund. He even continued to bash Fusion for a couple of months after he got his refund, but GlockTalk finally closed the thread.

I wish the best for every company! I speak negatively about them

I see, so you wish Fusion the best, yet bash them at every opportunity? So you are doing all of this without any personal, first hand experience in dealing with the company yourself? Just based on what others have said?

Very, very lame of you to do, in my opinion.

.

[LanceOregon]

My gun is great - it's the right size, weight, caliber - a really nice package. It's put together right with terrific fit and finish.

WC145:

My experience in dealing with Fusion was wonderful . Bob Serva gave me all kinds of personal attention. And I have had ZERO issues with my Fusion. I could not be more happy with it.

The serial number on my Fusion is only 000187, though. So I do believe that I have an early production gun.