Re Purchasing a Custom 1911

[loaded round]

Several days ago I posted a blog asking for opinions on ordering a custom made 1911 and received quite a few suggestions and advice all of which was good and appreciated. I just about made my mind up to go with the Les Baer 1911 ''Hemi 572'' in 45 ACP. Your thoughts please gentlemen? Any commended dealers or get directly from Les Baer? Thanks guys.

 

[Snake45]

That's not my idea of a $4000 1911--or even a $1200 one, for that matter--but if that's what you want, then by all means go for it, and shoot it in good health! :wink:

 

[Cholo]

Let's see--I'd drop the ambi safety, adjustable rear sight, fiber front sight, front cocking serrations, stainless finish, the 3 hole trigger, and the grips. Well, that doesn't leave a whole lot if it were up to me! But, it's not :mrgreen:

 

[Kevin]

I think like someone else said in the other thread, whichever pistol you get, after you have it a while, there will be features you like and some you don’t. Personally, I don’t really care for the grips on the pistol you mention. It does look like a great gun however. Guaranteed at 50 yards...pretty nice.

Earlier this Spring, I finally got a custom revolver from Clements, I love it, but do wonder why I asked for some things and not others. But! There can always be another custom gun..... I’m on Clements list to send in another revolver around December or January. That custom gun will have everything I’ve been wanting in a custom revolver (for now at least...)

 

[TULLYMARS]

I love spending other peoples money so here goes. I own, as of now a Les Baer Thunder Ranch and an Ed Brown Cobra carry. For package sidearms for protection they will do everything that most any 1911 at any price will do. That being said, they are not custom made weapons, only really well made factory package guns. This is an opinion only, but I think you should at the very least go on the American Pistolsmiths Guild web page and check out a few more of the talented smiths plying their trade in the full custom 1911 market.Good luck in your search.

 

[mohavesam]

The only thing I can can contribute is that if you are spending that money for a carry gun... If you use it, you will lose it.

From experience. Even if on get it back from evidence, you may not recognize it!

BUT for range use, I like Ed Brown and their work is second to none.

 

[loaded round]

Snake45: I said I have 4K to spend on a custom 1911. That does not mean I HAVE to spend the whole amount!

quote="Snake45"]That's not my idea of a $4000 1911--or even a $1200 one, for that matter--but if that's what you want, then by all means go for it, and shoot it in good health! :wink:[/quote]

 

[loaded round]

Thank you for the ''heads up'' on the Guild. I will check it out.

I love spending other peoples money so here goes. I own, as of now a Les Baer Thunder Ranch and an Ed Brown Cobra carry. For package sidearms for protection they will do everything that most any 1911 at any price will do. That being said, they are not custom made weapons, only really well made factory package guns. This is an opinion only, but I think you should at the very least go on the American Pistolsmiths Guild web page and check out a few more of the talented smiths plying their trade in the full custom 1911 market.Good luck in your search.

 

[Kevin]

Hello not sure if you are left handed, but I am... I found this for a search of custom 1911's. It starts at 4,000 and change. Guaranteed 1.5 inch accuracy at 25 yards.

Shoot, why did I have to look. My 50th birthday is in 14 months, hmmm.

http://cabotgun.com/left-hand-1911s/the-new-south-paw-1911/#1

 

[cas6969]

Les Baer is pretty much the dividing line. Not quite production, not quite a custom. (but pretty much the top of what I'm willing to spend on a 1911) :lol:

I bought one last spring off Gunbroker. Just found a regular dealer and went that way, no waiting. I had planned to get a more expensive model, but at the last minute changed my mind, knowing that no matter what I bought, I was going to change a few things myself, so there was no point in the higher priced model.

 

[rugerguy]

Opinions are like 'butts' we all have one...and that is a very good gun, one of many , many "newer" custom guns that are out there, should really do your homework ,talk with them find out the any and all warranty provisions.........yep all the bells and whistles and I recall back in our day, the Clarks, Pachmayrs, Behlert, Chow and the local guys like Ray Shockey, these guys all hand built their guns, today ,most ALL these "custom" guns have become "production line" done by folks working in their shops.I've had and shot Air Force Premium grade guns, and others built by service armorers I worked with at Camp Perry back in the mid 70s and all of these guns are capable of ONE hole groups in the right hands..... I saw a guy shoot a 288 out of 300 at Camp Perry with a Ruger standard auto fixed sight 22 lr..........so that being said, you get what YOU want....my neighbor had bought an STI in 38 super nad he sent it back to texas and had them convert it 9mm ( well over a $3000 pistol).......we have a Gold Cup National Match from 1967 and it still shoots a ONE hole group, only ever replaced the main spring ( around $300-400 in it),,,,I retired it and bought a Ruger SR 1911 and it works great, shoots great, cannot ask for more and it cost LESS than $600................
Your gun,YOUR money, so far be it from us to tell YOU what you "gotta have" ( pucker factor)
Good luck and happy hunting, and when you get it SHOOT IT ( practice, practice, practice) 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[loaded round]

Dan:
Thanks for your comments and advice. I have a ''thing'' for 1911's and quite a few including to Colt Gold Cups in 38 and 45. I'm looking for a pistol that I can claim as distinctly mine will the bells and whistles that I want or don't want, and for the pride of ownership. Also a pistol that I can pass on to my son in a few years when I arrive at the big shooting range in the sky. Changed my mind again and am now looking at the Nighthawk 1911's. Since you seem to have some military experience, I would like to mention that I shoot bullseye pistol with the 6th Army Blue Team back in the early 1960's when I was stationed in Ca. I'm familiar with all those old pistol smiths, especially Pachmayr and Ray Shockey. You brought back some old memories.
Mike/Loadedround

Opinions are like 'butts' we all have one...and that is a very good gun, one of many , many "newer" custom guns that are out there, should really do your homework ,talk with them find out the any and all warranty provisions.........yep all the bells and whistles and I recall back in our day, the Clarks, Pachmayrs, Behlert, Chow and the local guys like Ray Shockey, these guys all hand built their guns, today ,most ALL these "custom" guns have become "production line" done by folks working in their shops.I've had and shot Air Force Premium grade guns, and others built by service armorers I worked with at Camp Perry back in the mid 70s and all of these guns are capable of ONE hole groups in the right hands..... I saw a guy shoot a 288 out of 300 at Camp Perry with a Ruger standard auto fixed sight 22 lr..........so that being said, you get what YOU want....my neighbor had bought an STI in 38 super nad he sent it back to texas and had them convert it 9mm ( well over a $3000 pistol).......we have a Gold Cup National Match from 1967 and it still shoots a ONE hole group, only ever replaced the main spring ( around $300-400 in it),,,,I retired it and bought a Ruger SR 1911 and it works great, shoots great, cannot ask for more and it cost LESS than $600................
Your gun,YOUR money, so far be it from us to tell YOU what you "gotta have" ( pucker factor)
Good luck and happy hunting, and when you get it SHOOT IT ( practice, practice, practice) 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[7p's]

Going with the Les Baer 1911 is a sound plan, if you're interested in accuracy and dependable performance. I dislike the optic style front sight that Hemi version carries. I have two of his PII's and highly recommend the Baer pistol.

The Baer pistol may not be a full-on custom job but I would call the Baer pistol a semi-custom 1911 and the best bang for the buck out there among "semi-customs".

I shot the clark heavy long slide and the R.L. Shockey hardball pistol back in the day. If your team travelled to Yuma and eastward, you probably stopped off at Calexico and shot against a few of us stationed there (BP & USC/INS) in the late 60's.

Nighthawks are mighty fine pistols but I would look at the PII's if you aren't committed to the Nighthawk.

 

[Seminole Wind]

Check out the 1911 Heaven website. CJ runs the operation and has many Baers in inventory ready to ship to you. His prices are good. You won't be disappointed in a Les Baer 1911 if you're buying it to shoot.

 

[Snake45]

Loaded Round, I don't think any of us has asked you yet: Exactly what do you want to DO with this gun? Shoot bullseye? Hunt? Shoot "practical" competition of some kind? Carry it for everyday protection? Put it in your nightstand for home defense? Wear it to barbeques? Show it off to impress friends? Some of the above? All of the above? None of the above? :?

What do you plan to DO with it? :?

 

[loaded round]

Snake45:
You present a very interesting question and I had to give it serious thought before I replied. First of all I like and own quite a few 1911's of various makes including 2 Ruger 1911's. I am into these days some informal bullseye shooting and I enter some IDPA and IPSC matches when I can find the time. Since I have some available cash now after selling some safe queens and have always wanted a custom build 1911 with the features I WANT on the pistol, not what the manufacturer thinks I want. So to answer your question I want a custom pistol to shoot, pride of ownership, and a quality firearm I can pass on to my son. Do I need another piston,, especially an expensive one, no, but do I want one, yes. So at my age, why not! Do I make sense to you?


]Loaded Round, I don't think any of us has asked you yet: Exactly what do you want to DO with this gun? Shoot bul lseye? Hunt? Shoot "practical" competition of some kind? Carry it for everyday protection? Put it in your nightstand for home defense? Wear it to barbeques? Show it off to impress friends? Some of the above? All of the above? None of the above? :?

What do you plan to DO with it? :?[/quote]

 

[Snake45]

Snake45:
You present a very interesting question and I had to give it serious thought before I replied. First of all I like and own quite a few 1911's of various makes including 2 Ruger 1911's. I am into these days some informal bullseye shooting and I enter some IDPA and IPSC matches when I can find the time. Since I have some available cash now after selling some safe queens and have always wanted a custom build 1911 with the features I WANT on the pistol, not what the manufacturer thinks I want. So to answer your question I want a custom pistol to shoot, pride of ownership, and a quality firearm I can pass on to my son. Do I need another piston,, especially an expensive one, no, but do I want one, yes. So at my age, why not! Do I make sense to you?

You make perfect sense to me. :wink: You sound very much like what I wanted when I put together my first custom 1911 back in the early '70s. :wink:

Again, let me stress: Within your budget (and not that you have to spend it all), you can afford to get a gun built exactly the way you want it. No need to find the "closest available package," no matter whose prestigious name is on it.

Just for example (and by no means saying or implying that you should do this), were I to put together my "dream 1911" on your budget, Item #1 on my list would be to start with a very clean (though not mint/unfired) genuine Colt of pre-MKIV Series 70 vintage. If the finish weren't at least 98% factory original, I'd line up someone who could replicate the factory finish exactly. Why? I just happen to like the way those guns looked, in both markings and finish, and on your budget, I could afford to have that. And I'd go from there. :wink:

 

[loaded round]

Snake45:
I very much enjoy your thoughts on building custom pistol and I did inherit a heavy rib bullseye pistol built on a commercial Colt pre 70 frame by Pachymyr from the early '60's. What I want is my own custom pistol with what I want on it, not a manufacturer's or another individual's idea of what a custom firearm should be. At present I'm looking at both Ed Brown and Nighthawk Custom pistols and will make up my mind very soon.
Regards,
Mike/Loadedround

You present a very interesting question and I had to give it serious thought before I replied. First of all I like and own quite a few 1911's of various makes including 2 Ruger 1911's. I am into these days some informal bullseye shooting and I enter some IDPA and IPSC matches when I can find the time. Since I have some available cash now after selling some safe queens and have always wanted a custom build 1911 with the features I WANT on the pistol, not what the manufacturer thinks I want. So to answer your question I want a custom pistol to shoot, pride of ownership, and a quality firearm I can pass on to my son. Do I need another pistola custom pistol,, especially an expensive one, no, but do I want one, yes. So at my age, why not! Do I make sense to you?[/quote]
You make perfect sense to me. :wink: You sound very much like what I wanted when I put together my first custom 1911 back in the early '70s. :wink:

Again, let me stress: Within your budget (and not that you have to spend it all), you can afford to get a gun built exactly the way you want it. No need to find the "closest available package," no matter whose prestigious name is on it.

Just for example (and by no means saying or implying that you should do this), were I to put together my "dream 1911" on your budget, Item #1 on my list would be to start with a very clean (though not mint/unfired) genuine Colt of pre-MKIV Series 70 vintage. If the finish weren't at least 98% factory original, I'd line up someone who could replicate the factory finish exactly. Why? I just happen to like the way those guns looked, in both markings and finish, and on your budget, I could afford to have that. And I'd go from there. :wink:[/quote]

 

[Snake45]

LR,

I've got a couple funny "custom 1911" stories. Here's one.

When I took LFI-II in 1989, a guy showed up with a Big Name Custom 1911 he'd just taken delivery of the day before, and hadn't had a chance to test-fire or sight in. I honestly don't remember at this point which Big Name, but if it wasn't Brown, Baer, or Wilson, it was somebody in that exalted league at the time--a name that everybody knew and held in very high esteem.

The Big Name Custom 1911 doubled on him on its first or second magazine, and from that point on, he couldn't get through a whole string of fire without a double. About the third or fourth time it happened, Mas banned the gun from the firing line and he had to proceed with a loaner, somebody's backup gun.

I told the guy I could almost certainly fix it in about five minutes (I'm sure a little more tension on the sear leg of the sear spring would have done the trick), but the guy adamantly refused. "You're not laying your grubby fingers on my $1400 custom gun!" he said, huffily. (That was a LOT of money for a 1911 in those days, and probably exceeded the combined cost of the three handguns and one shotgun I'd brought to the class.)

"Okay," I said. Oh well. I tried, but, ultimately, this went into the Not My Problem file.

Meanwhile, I was shooting a homemade Commander built on an AR Ranger alloy frame, Essex slide, high-profile fixed sights, and generic barrel and no-name guts that all came from, I think, Sarco. I was shooting my own handloads (locally-produced 200 SWCs over 5.3 of WW231 in USGI brass that had been loaded at least five or six times on a Lee Progressive 1000), and stuffing them into no-name "10 for $30" mags from Sarco (I'd weeded one or two marginal ones out of the 10 beforehand, of course). My homebuilt hot mess ran flawlessly through the whole class, except for a single Position Four stoppage (fixed with a quick bump on the rear of the slide) that could have been caused by either worn-out brass or pure dirt. I hadn't cleaned the gun in at least 300-500 rounds fired before the class, and it was a bit dirty internally. I doubt I had $300 in the whole gun and all the ammo I shot through it that week, and the figure might be closer to $200 than $300. (I still have it, too.)

Apparently the guy let somebody lay their "grubby fingers" on the Big Name Custom at some point, because I noticed he was shooting it again on the last day of the class, apparently without problem.

Thus endeth Funny Custom 1911 Story #1. :wink:

 

[loaded round]

Enjoyed your story and the same thing happened to me, but fortunately I was test firing for the first time and not competing or taking a course. A few years back I was informally competing with my CMP group (previously DCM) with government purchased M! Garand rifles. Several of our guys were shooting privately owned M1A rifles and I just had to have one. I purchased a Springfield Nation Match M1A rifle with all the bells and whistles Springfield offered. Bought it. cleaned it thoroughly, and loaded up some recommended NM ammo using once fired NM brass. Well after a half dozen rounds, it started to double and triple fire and I thought it was going to go full auto. Fortunately Springfield Armory had (and still has) a great lifetime warranty. So they sent me a prepaid shipping label to return and off it went. Got it back within 2 weeks and they had replaced about a 1/2 dozen parts including the sear and op rod. Also sent me 3 new mags for my trouble. To this day, my M1A still shoots 1/2 '' groups at 100 yds.