Ed Brown or Guncrafter ?

[southbayrookie]

Ed Brown or Guncrafter which one to get and why?


CA choices are pretty limited


Ed Brown:

CA Kobra Carry
CA Special Forces
CA Executive Target.


or

Guncrafter

NO 1
NO 2


I personally leaning towards Guncrafter 2

[al8550]

I don't know but that No.2 is gorgeous!!!

[fennecfrank]

Long story short (check my previous posts): Bought an Ed Brown Special Forces, still not quite satisfied. Did some more research and decided to go with Guncrafter Industries Model 2.

Soon after I got the Model 2, I sold/traded the Special Forces.

The fit and smoothness of the slide on Special Forces just can't compared to Guncrafter's. My model 2 is tight, yet my smoothest 1911! (However, Ed Brown's are very nice guns, far better than other ones. Just that, Guncrafter's are....nicer!)


Only the .50 GI is CA approved for model 1 and 2. If I were you, I'll go for either one with 2 calibers: .50 GI and .45 ACP. You don't need to pay for fitting when you order both calibers.

It's much cheaper to shoot the .45 ACP. You can shoot more of the .45 ACP in the range.

the .50 GI round, although a little bit more expensive, it's a very fun round to shoot. People who shot my model 2 love it so much.

Another reason for getting both barrels is that, putting in the .45 ACP barrel and the .50 GI spring set (22 lbs.), you can actually shoot .45 Super from it. Got a confrimation from Alex, the owner of Guncrafter and the inventor of .50 GI.

One gun, 3 calibers! Can't go wrong with it.

If you like traditional 1911, go for Model 1. If you like something different/modern and you want to mount a light under it, get a Model 2.


If you're in Los Angeles area, you're welcome to come to the range with me to try my Model 2.

[skyscraper]

Those model 2's are bad guns. I really dont own either so I cant give the best advice. I have looked at both and have decided on the guncrafter for myself.

[fennecfrank]

Pictures:

[bish0p]

fennecfrank,

What was the wait time for your model 2?

[fennecfrank]

Back then, it was about 5 months.


A friend of mine ordered a gun from Guncrafter in September of last year and they just finished it. As a result, I'll say the current wait is about 6 months.

I saw one at the Martin B Retting in Culver City one time. If you don't want to wait, call them up or buy one online. There are a few Model 1 and 2 on Gunbroker right now. If you don't want to go through the trouble of SSE, be sure the one you want on Gunbroker is on the CA roster. As for model 2, it has to be blued and has ambi-safety. I don't know about the model 1.

[teflondog]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Guncrafter is a nicer gun since it's in the same price range as Wilson and Nighthawk. Ed Brown makes nice guns (smoother than Les Baer IMO), but you can find better if you're willing to pay extra $.

[southbayrookie]

i own wilson combat protector ans was thinking of adding ed brown or guncrafter to my collection... looks like there is more love on guncrafter


how would you compare it to wilson combat?

[fanof1911forlife]

Unless EB or WC makes a full-length dust-cover 1911 with a lower cost than a GI, my vote is for the Model2.

[fennecfrank]

Never own a Wilson Combat, my experience with one is handling one at a gunshop. The fit and finish is better on the Guncrafter Industries.

which area are you at? again, if you're in Los Angeles area, you're welcome to try and see the Model 2. BTW, mine has the Melonite finish.

[Gruber51]

I have an Ed Brown Executive target, and I have never shot a better grouping with a handgun.

[fennecfrank]

here is a write-up done by the famous Ned Christiansen regarding the .50 GI round:

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73326

to me, if someone wants to spend some money on a good 1911, why not get something a little bit different? You can also get the .45 ACP barrel too and then shoot 3 calibers from the gun.

and here is another reason for Guncrafter:


Quarter size expansion!






a penetration test by someone online:

http://www.gunforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/10633/

Had some extra time on my hands yesterday so i took a few hrs at the range to do some of my own Balistic comparison testing using 3 sets of wet soapy phone books submerged for 1hr measuring a total of 17inches per stack..And below i have posted some pics of the depth results and expansions...My velocities might not be accurate since my guns are not full length in size so you might wanna average a few hundred fps less than what is listed below..All tests were shot from a distance of 17ft...I will list from best to worst..From my tests the best expansion was the 50GI SCHP which measured 1.05" Shot from Glock21SF .50GI conversion 4.6" Barrel...2nd place 454 Casull Barnes X HP,expanded .65" ,Shot from Ruger Alaskan 2" Snub...3rd place 10mm Federal HydraShock expanded .63" Shot from Glock29 3.7" barrel.... 4th place The Gold Dot and Magtech .45 both expanded at .50" Shot from Glock21sf 4.6" Barrel... 5th place The Winchester SXT expanded at .48" Shot from Glock21SF 4.6" Barrel...and the Aguila had no Expansion when shot from Glock21SF 4.6" Barrel..The Aguila bullet is a fragmenting bullet that is suppose to fragment into 3 pieces when impacting soft tissue...In this case nothing happened so i gave it last place...As for penetration I have it listed below with the pics..The penetration results i tried to take exact measurements since it was hard to do this with a measuring tape using phone books..The Best penetration so far that i have seen from my guns is the .454casull penetrating at a whopping 15"..









guns used

[al8550]

Just wanted to add if you go for the .50 GI you should definitely consider grabbing the dies and brass from Gunctafters to start reloading. It can get expensive especially because you can't go into any GS to pick up the .50 GI ammo.

[General]

Just gotta have a No.2.