Colt 1911 factory customizing vs. private gunsmithing?

You are not going to cc a full size 1911 and a light every day. You might do it on occassion; i carry my goverment (no light) concealed but i dont like to becuase of weight and size. Open carry it is no problem.

The colt custom shop is well regarded and you will not find the same wuality work for less, especially the tactical package. However the wait is over 6months which is why my colt has not made a trip there!


Personaly id get a pretty series 70 or 1991 to customize and have as a bbq/range/open carry gun. Do you really want to tuck 2000$+ inside your sweaty waistband?

And buy a j frame for cc. Thats what i did!

I'm with your Colonel on this one.

Colts Rail Gun is very cool and as a 1911 fan I want one, but I question the need for a rail+light on a CCW gun (this of course is only an opinion). Also it'll make finding a holster harder and add to the size+weight of the gun, making you less likely to carry as often and possibly less comfortable when you do carry.

It's doable, but as a dedicated CCW gun a Commander makes much more sense to me. Plenty of people carry full sized 1911s, but in my experience carrying 1911s I've found the 5" barrel a tad too long and I'm much more comfortable with a Commander or Officer length barrel. The weight of a full sized 1911 doesn't bother me, a good belt+holster takes care of that, just the barrel.

As for customizations, I suspect it may be cheaper to have Colt do anything you want to the gun rather than pay a respected gunsmith to do it for you (I wouldn't trust just any old gunsmith to work on a carry 1911). I'd trust Colts custom shop to do a good job.

When I get the money together, a steel framed Colt Commander is #1 on my wish list.

Should I have the bulk of the customization work done by Colt

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FWIW, I sent my Series 70 to their custom shop for a "Tactical Package" last September, with a 4-6 month quoted turnaround time.......... still waiting for it to come back.

YMMV

I can't help you on the custom work, but it sounds like a fun idea.

In regards to carrying a light bearing 1911, on the 1911 forums, guys ask about concealed carrying a 1911 with a light attached on a pretty regular basis. Most will recommend against it.

The issue really isn't Government model vs Commander size, though many prefer the slightly shorter Commander length. The issue is the extra bulk added when you attach a light to your pistol. Many conceal carry a 5" 1911, and many carry a railed 1911. For a full sized weapon, the 1911 is very concealable. However, when you slap a light on the pistol, you are now moving away from concealed carry and heading into the law enforcement/military area.

The biggest reason is there are very few concealed carry holsters for a light bearing pistol. There are lots of "tactical" holsters for light mounted pistols, but not many for the concealed carry user. There are some leather models, but most light capable holsters are kydex and of that group, less are really very concealable. Another thing to consider is the mounted light is used as a retention point in most holsters, so if you remove the light, your pistol will not work right in a holster designed for a mounted light.

Some holster models I know of for a light capable 1911 are the Pure Kustom in leather and Raven Concealment Phantom (and any of the many makers copying this design) in kydex. One advantage to both is they can be worn IWB or OWB, so when you determine you just can't stand sticking that pistol with a mounted light inside your pants, you still have a perfectly good holster to wear OWB.

Pure Kustom http://www.purekustomholsters.com

Raven Concealment http://www.ravenconcealment.com

MarstudIII said:

Thanks conhntr!

Forgive my ignorance, but how do I tell a "J" frame from others? I ask because I don't think they always list that on sites like GunBroker.com, etc.

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Smith and Wessons small frame revolvers are collectively known as "J-frames". If you go to the revolver section of their website you can browse through them. There are a lot of options.

Probably the most popular are the 442 and the 642, both hammerless DAO snubnoses in .38 Special. I've got a 442, it's a nice wheelgun, but far from a 1911 if that's what you want.

The jframe is just a small 5 shot 38 (comes in other cal as well). The advantage is you just put it into a pocket holster, and slide it into your pocket. I can carry mine without even wearing a belt. Whereas the 1911 i need a substantial stiff belt and its just not comfy. Main difference is i actually carry the pocket gun

Btw for my brothers commisioning i got him a nice colt gold cup trophy with These http://www.GunGrips.net/ grips customized with his name/ us navy.

Well worth the money to make it yours!

I personally would not want to carry a 1911 with a mounted lite as my concealed carry. If you want a Colt, buy it as a range gun and I would have Colt do any custom work as I think it will maintain a better value. There are numerous guns that make good carry guns. You have to decide on whether you want a semi or revolver. For me, the S&W model 60 J frame fits the bill but the choice of makes and models is almost unlimited.

I've carried a full-size M1911 since before your Colonel was born -- literally.

It's no trick to carry an M1911 -- the gun is flat and thinner than most automatics. You need a good holster (I design and make my own) and a good stiff belt. For concealment, I like my "tuckable" design.

Carrying any gun with a light attached is impractical in daily life -- just as impractical as wearing body armor and a helmet.

I'd frankly go with a stock M1911 -- I like beavertail grip safeties, a good trigger pull and a Heine rear sight, but that's about all the customization I need.

A concealed weapon needs to be "concealable" from a practical point of view, although I suppose you can conceal most anything if you have to.

But concealed weapons are most often deployed in a situation requiring the fastest possible response. In this context I would be completely disinterested in any accessory attached to the handgun on a rail.

Over a century has passed since the 19ll pistol was adopted, and it has been produced in many lengths with barrels running from 3 to 6 inches, and occasionally longer, but the original 5-inch length has repeatedly proved to be the most reliable, followed by 4 1/4 inches.

Not to put anyone down, but although they produce excellent pistols, some of the more renown gunsmiths specialize in making big-boy-toys for playing games, rather then weapons. Be careful whom you choose.

I can only add:

Thank you for your service to our country! I salute you sir!

I've seen some of the guns that the Colt Custom Shop sends back over on 1911forum.com, and they do some very nice work. The tactical package has a nice mix of features and lots of options that the customer can specify. They do have a long turn-a-round time, but you'll find that's the same for most of the larger custom shops out there.

As far as carrying the Rail Gun, you can try but I doubt you will get very far with it. The rail adds weight to an already heavy gun and a mounted light makes finding a holster nearly impossible. A smaller and/or lighter gun would be a better option.

here is my commander that Colts custom shop did for me. it started as a matte blue 1991 billboard colt and i got a new slide, and some other custom work including gold cup style serrations, steel trigger and steel arched MSH and beveled mag well and flared and lowered port. and reliability and ejection tuning. they sold me the new slide and barrel assembly. price was very reasonable and time wait was less about 8 months. including novak night sights i have a full size there now getting done in royal blue. go to 1911forum.com, the colt sub-forum and find Brent. Hes the manager of the custom shop. hes a super cool guy and will answer all your questions and i bet he would hook you up being active duty USMC. i strongly reccommend the colt custom shop, i have had nothing but positive experience.

Colt carry

The perfect Colt carry gun is theirNEW AGENT in .45 acp

My Gold Cup Trophy was worked over by the colt custom shop. They high polished it, a little engraving, did an action job and trigger job. Great work and the price was very good, but it took about 6 months to get it back.

Anything worth having is worth waiting for. Decide what you want and find the smith you want to make that a reality. It may cost more than you have budgeted but consider it an investment in a pistol uniquely yours. Make some calls, ask questions, choose a base 1911 together then buy it and get on the list.

I'll edit in some good possibilities with links. In no particular order:

http://www.combatprecision.com/

http://www.derrprecision.com/

http://www.berryhillguns.com/

http://www.rodgerspistolsmithing.com/

http://1911doctor.com/Home_Page.html

If you don't find inspiration at those sites, you don't like 1911s. If your heart stopped, bookmark the page for future reference.

As a final caveat to this, I just called Colt and waited on hold for 30 min., only to have the operator politely explain to me that Colt's Custom Shop is not taking orders for another 2 to 3 months.

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Not surprising. Last I heard the custom shop was short handed and was avidly seeking out another qualified professional gunsmith to help with their work load. The entire factory is running at full bore right now with the current demand for guns.

Got a call today from Brent in the custom shop letting me know it will ship tomorrow........ Thursday I will post pics, and hopefully a range report on my Series 70. Funny how the next 72 hours are starting to feel harder than the last 11 months!