Favorite Custom 1911

[fennecfrank]

to OP: you're missing quite a few good ones:

STI

SVI

Guncrafter Industries

[PRCABR4Christ]

I chose Nighthawk, but in reality, all of those choices are good "semi" customs...true customs are much more, one day if I find myself with a pile of money, I'll be getting a custom from Heirloom Precision (Ted Yost, Steve Bailey, Jason Burton), Chuck Rogers, Bob Rodgers, and Joe Chambers, they build awesome custom guns! FWIW I'll be ordering a Nighthawk next month, after I get it I'll be sending my current carry gun to Joe Chambers for some retro work

[PRCABR4Christ]

None of those are really "custom" 1911s... they are all high-end production 1911s.

that's an afirmative

[Brian1979]

My friends and I own several Les Baers, and every one of them is a tack driver. They're built like every dollar goes to making the gun tighter and more accurate. Simply awesome shooting machines.

I do like the look of the Browns, however. I think they're the purdiest of the semi-customs out there. Never shot one, however.

Just from handling a few Wilsons at Turners, they're a bit looser than I'd expect for the pricetag. Never shot one of those, either, but I doubt I'd lay down the cash for one after seeing how bank vault tight the Baers are.

Just got my STI Trojan in 9mm, and it's no slouch, either. Will bring it to the range this weekend and shoot it before forming a final opinion, but so far it's looking pretty damn good.

I own a Custom Carry and a Super Tack from Les Baer both with the 1.5 guarantee. I thought they were the smoothest cycling 1911 out there with the best trigger until I got my CQB. I have on order a Tactical Super Grade from Wilson but I did get to play with one at the range one day. The Supergrade took the cake all the way and I would hope so for a $4k+ price tag.

Point here is that the bushing on my Wilson falls off the barrel and the one on my Baer is so damn tight I have to pull it off when the gun is disassembled. Both guns shoot same for accuracy and the Wilson undeniably feels better in every aspect. I love my Baer's and I carry one daily but I was shocked when I got my first Wilson.

In the end the looser gun that shoots the same for accuracy is now what I think is the best option for CCW. The tightness in my Baer's is what I held to be the standard in a 1911 but it has become very obvious to me now that this doesnt equate to accuracy vs a "well" fit 1911. I think it is Brown that coined the phrase, "right not tight".

Something to consider beyond just the gun is the customer service. I dont think many are going to beat Wilson on this.

[shipwreck]

Brown out of those choices - but look at the Springfield Custom Shop

[Redlinegts]

Nighthawk Custom hands down