As a 3 Gun Open Division shooter, we have a lot of flexibility in the gear we can use and the guns we can shoot. The Atlas Erebus has always been a "dream gun" for me, and it is used by several top shooters in our sport. However, I can't justify the cost of one, so I'm going to build one myself.



I'll chronicle the steps of the build here!

I plan to work in chunks, so I'm ordering parts and tools as I go, not all at once. So far I've received the Cheely Custom Gunworks Long Dust Cover Frame, Atlas 4.6" RDS slide, KKM 4.6" threaded 5" OAL bull barrel, and the tools I'll need to fit the slide to the frame, and the barrel to the slide, with a few more tools arriving today.

What optic will you use?

NRH ag 10 said:

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What optic will you use?

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Leaning SRO at the moment, but am liking the new Vortex Defender line. I run the ST as an offset on my 3 gun rifle, so I may look at the XL for the pistol.

Very interesting. Please give us updates on your build from time to time.

Update #1 - Slide to Frame Fit

After roughly 4 and a half hours of measuring, filing, measuring, filing, test fitting, filing, measuring, test fitting, drawing the frame and slide rails in AutoCAD to make sure I wasn't going crazy, I've got it 99% fit. The slide will travel all the way to the rear, but still hangs up there, you have to bump it to send it sliding forward. But then it slides right off.

The fit is as good or better than any STI or Staccato I've owned, so I'm happy with that.





I need to get the last bit fit, so it will travel to the rear freely, then on to barrel to slide fitting.

Started fitting the barrel to the slide this evening. Of all the parts in this build, the barrel is the one I have to be the most careful with. It is a special run barrel length (4.6" + threading to 5" OAL) that KKM only makes in limited runs. I had to wait several months for this one to come in stock on one of the several websites I looked at regularly.

It's going to be so great when you shoot this after all the work!

It's been a little while since I've been able to put in work on the project. Partially because I screwed up the first barrel, the one that takes 10 weeks to get… so I ordered another from another company with a 4 week lead time, and actually prefer the fit and finish on the new one, so it's a win.

While waiting for the barrel, I did get the initial trigger fitting done, but it's hard to make final fittings to the components without having a slide with a firing pin in it to let the hammer fall against. So that will come later.

But I finished fitting the barrel hood last night, and have the lugs at about 95% this morning. The lockup might still be too tight, so I may do some stoning on the surfaces.

Plus a loose mockup with the compensator.

Another update. After a few weeks of not having much time to work on it, I have finally had some time over the holidays to get some hours on the gun.

I decided to get a different compensator after getting the original one fit, I just didn't like the overall look of the gum. So I ordered another that is basically a copy of the Atlas Erebus compensator, and it's exactly what I wanted after all.

I tuned the extractor this morning, and now she's ready to test fire. Hoping to get to the range this weekend.

Well, I was able to get to the range last weekend and put nearly 250 rounds through the gun. I still have some tuning to do, but the thing runs, and shoots FLAT!

So I've spent the last week blending surfaces, cleaning up scratches, etc to get it ready to send off for an all black DLC coating.

There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Today was the day! After going on 2 months since I sent it off for coating, it made it back to me this afternoon!




I got my SRO mounted up, and the barrel and compensator are drying after an application of Loctite 620 which needs about 24 hours to fully cure.



I'm planning to make it to the range this weekend to get it zeroed, mess with spring combinations, and check for any final function issues. My first match with it will be the first weekend of April as a final tune-up before the Magpul Texas 3 Gun Championship the following weekend.

Nicely done!

Looks sick!

I'm not familiar with the original gun you mentioned. Were you able to purchase all the original parts and assembled (fit) them yourself? Ballpark how much you saved?

frorge said:

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Looks sick!

I'm not familiar with the original gun you mentioned. Were you able to purchase all the original parts and assembled (fit) them yourself? Ballpark how much you saved?

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The slide, recoil rod, safety, and slide catch are from Atlas, who builds the Erebus, but the rest of the parts are from other manufacturers.

Parts List -

- Atlas 4.6" slide
- Jarvis custom barrel (4.6" threaded to 5" OAL)
- D2 Customs "Open Style Single Port" Compensator
- Cheely Full Length Railed Frame
- Cheely E2 Aluminum grip, standard texture
- Cheely Stainless Steel IDPA Magwell
- Atlas High Ride Sheilded safety
- Atlas competition slide catch
- EGW Trigger
- EGW Trigger Kit
- Atlas Tooless Guiderod

I probably saved $3000+ at the end of the day.

Got to the range on Sunday to get a zero and run through some ammo and spring combos. I have an ammo sponsor, so I try my best to get my guns to run on their ammo.

My observations so far -

147gr (advertised 950fps - PF=139)
• Runs 100% with both the 7lb and 8lb recoil springs, zero malfunctions
• Noticeably more recoil than the 124s, but still less than I'm used to with the comped Glock 17 I've been running

124gr (advertised 1000fps - PF = 124)
• Runs about 95% with the 7lb recoil spring, but will not run with the 8lb. Had around 7 stovepipes in the 170 rounds I shot
• I feel like I can induce a stovepipe with a non-perfect grip
• Noticeably flatter shooting than the 147s

So armed with that info, I'm probably going to go with an 8lb spring and the 147s for now and hopefully the gun will continue to break in to the point that the 124s can approach that 99% reliable.

But I called up my ammo sponsor and they are sending me some 115s to test, as I've never had a real reason to run 115s - I've always shot 147s through my Glocks and 2011s, and 124s through my PCC. They advertise the 115s at 1150fps - PF=132.25, so maybe they will be the better middle ground between the 124s and the 147s.