[musky hunter]

okay, i got to re-type my question.

What would you rather have? A few good serviceable pistols worth 2k. Or a Custom Pistol built to your liking and refinished.

[Mike Irwin]

Your three "quantity" selections are all of good quality in and of themselves.

[444]

I personally don't really like the way the question is phrased. I think you get more than adequate quality either way.
If you want something to look at, then the custom 1911 wins hands down. If you want practical performance, either one will do fine. One choice gives you this performance for a lot less money, hassle, and time.

[MoNsTeR]

The latter. I tried the former and have not been happy. I've discovered that FOR ME, it really is better to have one $2000 1911 than 3 or 4 lesser guns.

[musky hunter]

well.......i am sorry in how i wrote my question.

what i am trying to say is...1 really special pistol or 3 regular plain jane pistols. There is nothing wrong with a Glock or CZ, they are just good plain pistols!

[Abominable No-Man]

Same here.

I think it's better to have a gun you are familiar and competant with and a bunch of ammo to go with it. I don't necessarily jump onto the 2000$ 1911 bandwagon myself, but I understand the point.

As someone once said, beware the man with only one gun- he probably knows how to use it.

Not that I'd want ONLY one gun, but you get the idea.......

ANM

[444]

I understand what you are saying, but for me (and me alone) the custom 1911 would not provide anything for me. I am a 1911 shooter. I shot a bone stock out of the box gun for 10 years. I recently added a beavertail grip safety to it. I have shot it extensively in competition, formal training, plinking, and have even hunted with it. If you offered to pay for me to send it to a gunsmith, I wouldn't know what to have done to it to make it perform any better. Maybe night sights. I guess it could be refinished.

[c-bag]

IMHO seems like you're comparing apples and oranges.
-a 1911 guy would probably choose any good 1911 over any other handgun.
-a wondernine guy wouldn't want a "Dinosaur Gun" no matter how good it is.
maybe a better comparison would be three $700 1911s vs. one 2-grand custom job

[musky hunter]

maybe a better comparison would be three $700 1911s vs. one 2-grand custom job

good idea!

[4v50 Gary]

Quantity for me. If you want quality, you can always take those NRA summer school programs. Next year I'm taking engraving.

[10-Ring]

Which is which? The quantity of money spent or the quality & value in the 3 guns mentioned?
At this point, I'd go for the custom 1911. I like staying consistent & simple in my training & having to know several diff't triggers & manual of arms is just too complicated for me :rolleyes:

[Prodigalshooter]

Personally, I'd go for three nicely chosen pistols, all within the total mentioned, but it wouldn't be the same as your list, no surprise eh?
I believe that there are a number of quality selections that would also fit into a quantity category and still slip under the 2K limit.
CZ
SA Mil Spec
Sig (cause the others were so little $);)

[Mike Irwin]

I personally would also take anywhere from 5 to 8 older S&W revolvers, myself. :)

[caz223]

I don't believe that a $2000 custom 1911 is any better for self defense than a good used servicable revolver chambered in .357 magnum made by a big name company like smith and wesson.
When you put quality and quantity in opposite columns, you're implying that quality cannot be had for less than $2000.
I believe that it can.

[musky hunter]

The title is still Quantity vs. Quality......but i rephrased my question! Hope that helps!

[WhoKnowsWho]

$2000 for one custom pistol? I like variety and good quality at the same time. I think a Dan Wesson, Kimber, and Springfield 1911 would provide more fun and entertainment for the same cost as one custom pistol.
That's why I had such a hard time paying $700 for my one Para Ord, I could have picked up both a Nickel CZ75 and .30-.30 Marlin Lever Action instead, but I chose the better deal at the time.
Maybe after you have a main battery of firearms you can enjoy and find that purchasing something else is getting dificult, that's when I would go custom crazy.

[Sean Smith]

Whatever your budget is, go with quality over quantity. Only have a few hundred bucks to spend? Get a CZ-75B instead of several used Hi-Points. Got several thousand? Get a high-end gun or two instead of several mediocrities.

[Spieler]

For any given price I would rather have as many quality factory handguns over a single custom gun. To each his own, but I personally cannot shoot as accurately under real world conditionsl as most modern quality handguns are inherently capable of, so I see little point in plopping down two month's worth of mortgage payments on a single handgun, no matter who it is custom made by or how tight and accurate it is claimed to be. Not my cup of tea.

Of cousre my wife thinks I'm a cheap SOB anyway, so that might factor into my mindset!:D

[Smoke]

I voted for the Custom job.

The way it was originally worded it was an easy choice. Then I read further and someone stated:maybe a better comparison would be three $700 1911s vs. one 2-grand custom job and I hesitated.

But as I thought about it; if you laid out a stack with 3 different, quality 1911's off the shelf, and then laid down an Ed Brown and said pick one.

I'd still grab the quality custom 1911.

[DMK]

I'd go with the three over just one for this reason: Always have a backup.

Everything breaks at sometime. If your $2000 1911 breaks a link pin, gets a squib load or whatever, you now have no usable pistol.

[Smoke]

I'd go with the three over just one for this reason: Always have a backup.

Well he didn't say I had to give up my other guns did he?

:D :neener: :D

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

More is better---a custom 1911 COSTING $2000-----will never be WORTH $2000-------and will never shoot any better or kill any faster than the others listed--------it will just sit there and look pretty.

[hillbilly]

Here's something else to consider.

Many times, I see the following mindset in the owners of custom, expensive firearms.

Hey, my 1911 cost $2000.....I can't take it to the range....it's raining.

Hey, I can't drop my $2000 custom 1911 in the mud and see if it will still shoot, it's too expensive to do that to.

I can't practice shooting while lying in the dirt. I might get my $2000 custom 1911 scratched up.

I have to keep my $2000 custom 1911 in a climate controlled, specially secured, electronically monitored safe. I could never carry it where it might get oily fingerprints or even sweat on the custom finish.......

I think lots of folks on this board might avoid that mindset, but I must say that I've seen that mindset an awful lot amongst gun folks.

It's the same mindset as the guy who keeps the custom show Corvette in the climate controlled garage and never actually drives that car to the show....only carefully trailers it and doesn't run it to preserve its beauty.

hillbilly

P.S. My vote would be $500 for the gun, and $1500 on ammo, range membership, maybe a class or two.

[Sean Smith]

More is better---a custom 1911 COSTING $2000-----will never be WORTH $2000-------and will never shoot any better or kill any faster than the others listed--------it will just sit there and look pretty.

Objectively untrue on several fronts.

- Custom 1911s made by well-known 'smiths retain their value very well. Hence many are worth $2,000 or more... meaning you can sell them for that much money and find buyers easily. I know I did when I had to sell a Burns Delta Elite for about the $2,000 I put into it. If they don't "feel" worth $2,000 in your heart, well la di da, but the market says different.

- If you are too bad a shot to tell the difference between a <1" @ 25 yard custom gun and a 3" @ 25 yard factory gun, that's your problem. For the people who actually put in the practice, the more expensive gun very often DOES shoot better... in measurable, objective terms. Talk about "combat accuracy" all you want, group size at distance is an objective performance measure... either the gun can do it, or it can't.

- Custom guns commonly rack up astounding round counts, since the owners bought superior hardware so they could use it. It may be comforting to stereotype folks who invest money in good hardware as effeminate dilletantes who don't use their hardware... but it is by and large an unfounded stereotype.

Observation: I heard a story about a prissy guy at the range with a Wilson. Conclusion: Most folks with high-falutin' hardware baby their hardware, and can't possibly be a serious he-man shooter like me and my 4 Rugers. :scrutiny:

[MessedUpMike]

Go with the three, then trade the Glunk in for something I can actually shoot.

Why are these the Quanity pistols? All 3 are pretty good guns, I personally can't stand the feel of the Glock.

If I spend 2000 on a single gun it'll be that daggom Dragunov I've be agonizing over for the past few months.

[wardog]

I would say, get them all, starting with the quality plain service guns.

If the question was you could only own the three quality plain service guns or the one, highly customized one, (perish the thought!!!) I'd own the three. My reasoning is that something may break at some point, and in-between fixing it I don't want to be unarmed.

[denfoote]

Since I already have the P99 and have had the G19 (Traded it for a G29 to a friend who needed a home defense weapon his wife could handle) and the ALL CZ's are to big for my hand, I went with the custom 1911.
I have close to that in my Springfield Loaded!!! :D

[jrpeterman]

To me a gun is a tool. I want guns that you can shoot, not a couple of safe queens for show. I want something that is rugged and reliable out of the box without a bunch of customized extras.

[Tamara]

Observation: I heard a story about a prissy guy at the range with a Wilson. Conclusion: Most folks with high-falutin' hardware baby their hardware, and can't possibly be a serious he-man shooter like me and my 4 Rugers.

Heh. Hard as I work to counter that myth, some folks just have it ingrained. "If it cost more than I can pay for it, it must only be owned by foo-foo types."

...and jrpeterman apparently missed your post. ;)

[Tamara]

I want guns that you can shoot, not a couple of safe queens for show.

I think a $2000 1911 is a fantastic shooter. Why would you coddle a tool just because it was expensive?

That'd be like a mechanic saying "Oh, I never use those Snap-Ons, they just sit in that chest for looks. I use these other tools because they're cheaper..." :uhoh:

[sm]

Quality.
I read the original post and the updated one. Regardless, I'm in the Quality crowd. Original posting, I'd chosen used older smith wheels, as opposed to choices originally listed.

Custom, well to ME custom means tailored to me. It'll fit me, be utterly reliable, have the internals and whatever I want. Yep I go with a Custom $2K 1911 style, It might not be as fancy or decked out as some, but I have no problem using it in any and all conditions. Yep I'd CCW it.

I used my Citori 3 bbl set this way, caught flak by some when I'd shoot it 20 K rds a year, ice /snow/briars/ mud /rain/hunting...It was mine, I bought it to use, and I did. I didn't get it for a safe queen, I bought it to compete, and anything else I chose to do.

Not rich, don't have an ego, just quality works and lasts. Be it a custom 1911 style, or old smith wheels.