Which one would you choose?

[Press Check]

BTW: all Springfield 1911 are made in Brazil, the main parts anyways.. Slide, frame, barrel and bushing.. all fitted by Master gunsmiths before shipped to the USA, then assemble in the USA with US parts.. since there are more US parts in the gun, it's classified as a USA made gun. The Master SA smiths have been making and hand fitting guns for decades.. Now, there is a SA Custom shop here in the USA and those guys are awesome but most of those guns are custom ordered. The best deal is if you have a SA and had to send it in for repair, there is no repair center at SA.. it goes to their custom shop... the repaired guns coming out of this shop is actually better than new!!!

Huh?!

Custom Shop pistols feature oversized frames from Imbel that are machined at the Custom Shop to National Match specifications, and the slides are hard-fit to the frame. The NM barrels are manufactured in-house, and before that, Custom Shop pistols featured Nowlin barrels, or whatever the customer specified.

In the production pistol realm, the Made in the US declaration refers to the percentage of work completed in the US, and has nothing to do with the origin of the parts, external or internal.

About 85% of the information you posted is incorrect.

[Spawn]

The Nighthawks are the best. The craftsmanship is unreal. I personally like the 1911d that come out of the S&W Performance Center too; but that's just me. Also don't be afraid to contact guys that build 1911s for a living on their own like John Jardine.

[Plunger9]

What about a Dan Wesson?

[BoJackUSMC]

How about Glock 1911? J/k
I have shot Ed Brown 1911 and they are one sweet 1911.

[ptusa]

Huh?!

Custom Shop pistols feature oversized frames from Imbel that are machined at the Custom Shop to National Match specifications, and the slides are hard-fit to the frame. The NM barrels are manufactured in-house, and before that, Custom Shop pistols featured Nowlin barrels, or whatever the customer specified.

In the production pistol realm, the Made in the US declaration refers to the percentage of work completed in the US, and has nothing to do with the origin of the parts, external or internal.

About 85% of the information you posted is incorrect.

Actually he got it about 30% right...cut the guy a break.

[Hank15]

My question is which high end 1911 would you choose? I dont like Springfields so please dont recommend that. Im not paying big bucks for something forged in Brazil. No offense.

My choices are Wilson Combat, Nighthawk, Ed Brown, or Les Baer. Im not too fond of Baers finish but what the heck, I will add it to the list.

Out of the ones you listed, I would recommend Wilson Combat for resale/collector value simply because of its name and prestige. I forgot where I read it, probably 1911 forum or louderthanwords forum, that Wilson Combats typically have the highest resale value out of semi custom/custom gun shops.

Les Baer is the best bang for the buck, and its accuracy and performance will be on par with all the other ones you listed. It will be my next base gun for my backup .45 for CDP/SS.

If you really want an one of a kind pistol based on its name and prestige, check http://forum.ltwguns.com/

If you don't care as much about resale value and can compare and contrast fine workmanship, I recommend you get a decent base gun and send it off to Will O'Hara in Corona. Although I am not sure if he'll take the order since he has a backlog of about 3 years...

[1911Luvr]

If you don't care as much about resale value and can compare and contrast fine workmanship, I recommend you get a decent base gun and send it off to Will O'Hara in Corona. Although I am not sure if he'll take the order since he has a backlog of about 3 years...

He's closer to two years at the moment, but if you want a custom 1911 that's not a bad wait at all. Ask any of the LTW guys their wait time (if they are even taking new work) and see what you get. I'll put Will's work against any of them- he's that good and well worth the wait.

[bish0p]

I have owned everything you mentioned and many more. Hands down, without question, no hesitation . . . Guncrafter Industries wins my vote. Les baer, ed brown and WC combat are excellent pistols but Guncrafter owns them all.

I have a Baer and Brown. I'm happy with both of them. I'm a fan of Guncrafter's Pistol With No Name.

[Intel0116]

Im surprised no one has thrown a custom STI in the mix. at least for a "high end 1911"

[43Gunner]

Ed Brown

I don't care about his personality or the perception. Love his guns and have had no problems with the customer service.

[L84CABO]

I'd go with Wilson. But I might be biased there. Great product, great customer service.

To that end, you should look into the customer service reputation of whomever you are thinking about going with.

For example, if you have a problem with a Baer, Les will "probably" take care of it for you. For that kind of money, there shouldn't be any "probably" about it. But that's just me.

As someone else suggested, Gun Crafter is also worth a look.

[The Right to Bear Arms]

Op: Thanks for the thread. I appreciate it. I hope somebody posts some photos of their " chosen " custom brand 1911's. That would be fun to look at. I'm up to Colt for the moment but I defer to our colleagues that actually own and run Custom brand 1911's.

Finally, if you ever do plan to take your future high end 1911 through a class than I definitely agree with 18DMatic's post.

Seems like you just appreciate the 1911 design. Most of the Gunner's on this thread will go along with that, including me. Personally, I like the design because it is a 1911. I let it be what it is and that's it.

They are Fun to shoot ! I hope you acquire your Custom Brand sooner than you expect and decide to share some pics with us all.

R

[Ray Donovan]

What about a Dan Wesson?

This.......

[LovingTheYear1911]

Thanks for the replies guys. Really taking what youre saying into consideration. So far I am leaning towards a Wilson Combat. But a Gun Crafter seems interesting.

[ptusa]

Thanks for the replies guys. Really taking what youre saying into consideration. So far I am leaning towards a Wilson Combat. But a Gun Crafter seems interesting.

Always read great things about Gun Crafter...