Care package from Heirloom Precision...

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MattTheHat

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I just got off the phone with Jason, at Heirloom Precision. Ted's just finished my pistol and with any luck, I should have it back in a couple of days. I wouldn't normally tease like this, but I just can't help it, because this pistol is one of my all time favorites, and I've never seen one that Ted (or anyone else, for that matter) has customized.

For any who aren't familiar with Heirloom Precision, do yourself a favor and put your wallet in a safe place (you've been warned), and then check out the photo gallery on their website here: http:///www.heirloomprecision.com/photos. I can recommend these guys wholeheartedly and without reservation.

I will, of course post pics as soon as it lands.

Anyone want to guess what the gun might be? Hint: I've posted in "Handguns: Autoloaders".


-Matt
 
Ted is the best in the world. I still kick myself twice weekly for selling a Colt that he did for me.
 
What did you use as a base gun? For that price on top of the base gun, what makes these guys better than lets say Nighthawk custom?
 
Can't wait to see pics.... one day I will send them a gun. :)

What did you use as a base gun? For that price on top of the base gun, what makes these guys better than lets say Nighthawk custom?
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I like the quality and finish, just wondering how this stacks up function wise to other custom shops. I do admit i like them and i would really like to get my hands on one with a Damascus slide. I am just not a 1911 guy so to me a Dan Wesson Valor looks just as good.
 
What did you use as a base gun?
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That's what I was *trying* to get you guys to guess. Come on, throw me bone! I was hoping a round of gun-related twenty questions would help me pass the next several days. :)

what makes these guys better than lets say Nighthawk custom?
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Oh, man, where to start...

Like Shmackey wrote, it's apples and oranges.

You really do need to be a "1911 guy" to even start to appreciate just how much work goes into a custom build. Even then, I think many of us don't fully appreciate the extent of effort a guy like Ted, Jason or Steve puts into a build.

This is much like asking what makes a production sports car different from a purpose-built racing car. Pretty much everything. And it depends on what the customer wants to do. A 24-hour endurance race car is going to be built totally differently than one made for off-road racing.

There are literally *hundreds* of different things a custom pistolsmith might need to do to a pistol, depending on its vintage, who made it, it's condition, and for the particular use for which the shooter may have in mind for it. Lengthy books have been written on the subject. Many lengthy books.

In short, there are dozens of different mods a particular pistol might need if the goal is to improve accuracy. Dozens more might be made to a given pistol to correct things that just weren't right to start with. Dozens more mods can be made to improve reliability. Dozens more to improve trigger pull. Dozens more to reduce felt recoil. Dozens of options for improved sights. Dozens of ways to modify those sights for better performance for a given type of shooting. Dozens of mods could be performed to improve weapon retention. Many dozens of mods have been developed to improve the 1911's built-in safety systems.

Heck, there are many dozens of mods that have been developed to fix problems that didn't even exist to start with, like new-fangled guide rod systems and recoil buffers and what not.

Add dozens more mods that might be done to reduce weight, to improve concealment, to make the slide easier to rack, and on and on and on.

Then there are signature mods a smith might do that not only improve performance, but that sets their work apart from the others. Ted's gold-wire front sight comes to mind. It looks cool as heck, and it's surprisingly visible in low light.

So many custom touches, so little time.


-Matt
 
You make an interesting point my friend. Even though i am not a 1911 guy i have always wanted a Colt Delta Elite. After looking at it over and over i love the idea but i always wanted a little more out of it. This could be a good way to get there but i do not think i am ready just yet for a high dollar pistol like this. Still need to make some other high dollar investments first.
 
Funny you should mention the Delta Elite. It brings to mind a thread I saw posted on louderthanwords earlier today. Jason posted lots of pics of a very nice 10mm Commander that Ted had just finished. You're not going to find many Commander-length 1911s unless it's built by a custom smith.

The pistol is simply beautiful.

-Matt
 
I like the quality and finish, just wondering how this stacks up function wise to other custom shops. I do admit i like them and i would really like to get my hands on one with a Damascus slide. I am just not a 1911 guy so to me a Dan Wesson Valor looks just as good.
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Heirloom Precision is a custom shop. Nighthawk, like Baer, Brown, and Wilson are semi-custom. If you want an excellent 1911 -- accurate, reliable, durable and is handfit and built the way JMB designed it you will be well served with a pistol from any of the semi-custom houses. But if you want a special piece, a pistol that transcends function and is also art, then guns from the like of Heirloom Precision have no peer.
 
Is that a defect in the trigger guard near the magazine release? Sure looks like one to me.
 
They don't really charge $4500 for this like on thier website do they? My wallet is floating, sinking?, in a gallon jug of water in my freezer as I type this.

How much did this thing cost? (Please wait 2-4 hours)
 
Zerodefect said:
They don't really charge $4500 for this like on thier website do they?
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They sure do--give or take, depending on exactly what you want done. And that's on top of your own gun that you send them.

Consider, though, that you can call up Wilson Combat right now and get one of their Supergrade pistols for not much less than that. And you can spend more than that at SVI. There are quite a few options in the "car downpayment" range of 1911s. :)
 
@ZeroDefect

That's not my pistol. I'm not sure if they did any welding on that one or not. Ted had to weld my Delta Elite up after I hacked into the frame in an unfortunate Dremel tool episode.

And yep, I'm afraid they do indeed get those prices on a complete full-house custom, and have a year or two waiting list to boot. Fortunately, they will also do much more modest conversions.

@ 1858

Shmackey is correct, looks like a proof mark to me to. Or, what's left of it after straightening the lines on the frame.


-Matt
 
Colt Commanding Officer
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THANK YOU, JTQ!

However, you are wrong. :evil laughter If Ted wants to work on it, the next thing I'll send them will be a Commanding Officer I've got in the safe.

Hints so far: An auto loading pistol that's not a Commanding Officer.

Another hint: It's not even a 1911. But it was designed by Mr. Browning.


-Matt
 
Reddragon1260 said:
To be honest i am a car guy before guns. That kind of money can buy a good amount of parts for my car or even a good 50% of a supercharger
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Yes, but ten, twenty or thirty years later, that firearm will work just as it did on day one and might even have appreciated a little. That won't be the case for a car or truck. That supercharger will be long gone, along with the car it resided in and there will be a significant hole in your wallet. I used to be a car/truck guy for quite a few years but then I realized what a monumental waste of money they are.

To stay on topic though, I can see the appeal of a pistol from HP, but my upper limit for 1911s is around $3,000 so I don't see an HP in my future, but that's ok with me.
 
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