Les Baer vs. Ed Brown

[chickenfried]

I love my baer PII. But since you're in the mid $2000 price range, what about a wilson? Shelling out that amount of dough might as well get the famous Wilson Customer service. Baer and brown CS seems more hit or miss.

[Ryan C.]

LOL that video of that guy whining made me want to buy an Ed Brown. I'm glad he punked him

[hiyabrad]

I guess I will need to throw Wilson into the mix and check them out. I just have never really heard them mentioned in the same breath as Brown and Baer.

[drdanno84]

SEMI CUSTOM .45'S

BAER'S, WILSON'S, BROWN'S, NIGHTHAWKS, they're all hand fitted with custom parts, what some have are more bells and whistles on them that really doesn't improve accuracy.

[NorCal1911Fan]

Both are great guns. I sold my Brown after getting a Nighthawk but kept my Baer. If you have a chance to hold and play with them both do so and see which one suits you better. You won't be disappointed with either.

[Cyc Wid It]

Really not a fan of the chain link, but that's a preference thing.

[mleroux21]

1911 Opinion

In my opinion you can not go wrong with either. However, there are subtle differences on guns of this caliber. I personally have pistols from most of each of the higher end manufacturer's. Therefore this is my subjective opinion of each.

Ed Brown Special Forces: Great gun, shoots great and looks great to me with no FCS and the chainlink checkering. The chainlink checkering is just enough and not too much grip. Lockup is tight but not Baer tight seems to lockup just a little bit more just before it hits battery. The Ed Browns finish is not as durable as some other baked on finishes.

Les Baer: Great Shooter, but don't judge it till it has at least 500 rounds through it. Baers are tight, I mean extremely tight. The Baers that I have are great shooters at a great price but I had to shoot at least 4-500 rounds to see what they truly where capable of. Downside on finish is the Blue finish looks nice, but is a thin.

Wilson: Great shooter, great lockup and ready to go out of the box. Cost a bit more than a Baer or Brown but it functions perfect right out of the box. Its a ready to go shooter. Customer Service is great and they are always willing to help with any problems. Problem in CA is that we only have Green Black CQB's on the CA DOJ list. That is unless you want a railed CQB or other higher end model. But you can always SSE.

Nighthawk: Great shooter, great lockup and ready to go out of the box. Yes, it is almost like a Wilson. Maybe because they used to work for them. I have heard that the newer models leaving the shop are not on Par with the work that most are use to. This could be due to the recent changes in smiths. Wilson took a few of their smiths back and NH has replaced them with newer smiths. Look at the new test targets if you dont believe. But decide for yourself.

Gun Crafters: If you are willing to go for a SSE I would highly suggest going with the NO NAME. Great fit and finish and you get a great gun for the price. That is just my opinion. They offer a great gun at a great price just like NH use to a few years back. The No Name is like a CQB Elite but at less than a CQB price. The Melonite finish on these is durable and is quite pretty.

With all this said, you cannot go wrong with any of these guns. They are all great shooters but like anything the differences are in the details. Most people will not notice the differences unless you have them side by side to compare. Personally I like the look of a naked slide and no FCS
, so if you are willing to go the SSE route you can get either and be happy.

[rromeo]

I think that sums it up pretty much right there then, no?

What does that sum up? That Baer parts are good, even Ed Brown starts with them? Or if Les Baer is good, then Ed Brown must be better since it's a Baer+ ?

[tacticalcity]

Wilson Combat

LOL. Was waiting for that.

All the high-end 1911s are great. Few people can afford to have 10 from each brand. They usually pick a brand, get really impressed with that brand, and then stick with it. Or they don't get their socks knocked off and try another one the next time around. Finding somebody who has a great deal of trigger time on a wide varitey of them will difficult given their price point.

What little I know causes me to like both brands mentioned by OP as well as Wilson Combat and Nighthawk. I have yet to pick a brand and pony up for one. Too many other priorities and distractions in life. Sure would like to. It will be a real status "I have arrived" moment. Like your first luxury watch or car.

[fennecfrank]

You should look at Guncrafter Industries. Their "Pistol with No Name" and "American" are really nice. The built is better than most makers (Nighthawk, Wilson, Ed Brown, Les Baer).

Guncrafter American


Pistol with No Name


The shredder grips shown above, along with 15 lpi checkering, are what I considered the most secured 1911 grips I ever hold.

I haven't met any Guncrafter Owner who doesn't stand by their Guncrafter guns.

[sirgiles]

i suggest you go to 1911 forum and use the seach feature. there was an objective review by a well respected gunsmith many years back about the internal parts used on each pistol. to the aficionados, these are 2 very different 1911s.

[jeffrice6]

i suggest you go to 1911 forum and use the seach feature. there was an objective review by a well respected gunsmith many years back about the internal parts used on each pistol. to the aficionados, these are 2 very different 1911s.

Link or findings???

[hyperion.excal]

You should look at Guncrafter Industries. Their "Pistol with No Name" and "American" are really nice. The built is better than most makers (Nighthawk, Wilson, Ed Brown, Les Baer).

Guncrafter American


Pistol with No Name


The shredder grips shown above, along with 15 lpi checkering, are what I considered the most secured 1911 grips I ever hold.

I haven't met any Guncrafter Owner who doesn't stand by their Guncrafter guns.

Nice grips!

[Freq18Hz]

LOL. Was waiting for that.

All the high-end 1911s are great. Few people can afford to have 10 from each brand. They usually pick a brand, get really impressed with that brand, and then stick with it. Or they don't get their socks knocked off and try another one the next time around. Finding somebody who has a great deal of trigger time on a wide varitey of them will difficult given their price point.

What little I know causes me to like both brands mentioned by OP as well as Wilson Combat and Nighthawk. I have yet to pick a brand and pony up for one. Too many other priorities and distractions in life. Sure would like to. It will be a real status "I have arrived" moment. Like your first luxury watch or car.

Sell off your glocks, pretty sure you could manage a Baer or Wilson.

-Freq

[redcliff]

The Springfield Professional is another one to throw into the mix at that level. Extremely accurate and reliable and well fit.