High End 1911's

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jmorris said:
It’s another step. Another advantage is simply the fact that the breechface can be replaced.

Imagine the feeling you would get seeing this in your multi thousand dollar pistol.



If it’s an SV, that’s a replacement part, not a repair.

Than again if it’s a “for looking at” pistol, that won’t matter at all.
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couldn’t you fill that in with weld and face it flush? that would not bother me too much
 
WVsig said:
The next level are the semi-custom shops like Wilson, Nighthawk, GI, ACW, Ed Brown, Les Baer etc.... These guys are building guns with some customization within their universe and their built philosophy. Some places on one gun one smith types of shops. Other like Les Baer are small format production where one individual does one part of the build and some else does the rest. Most of the time you cannot call these guys up and ask for something outside their "normal" builds. You can also buy them off the shelf through dealer networks. Here you are in the $2500-$5,000 range depending on the builder.
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In the 21 years I worked for Les, I did frame to slide fit, checkering and serrating the backs and tops of slides. And not much else. We are talking 1992-2013. During those years Les would deviate some from the standard package, within certain boundaries. The TR Specials had to built exactly to Clint's specs. No Bo-Mar sights or Commander length guns. .45 ACP only. Les would not build an Aluminum frame gun without a Ramped barrel. We built a pair of guns for Steven Segal that were fitted rather loosely because he wanted them that way. Loose by Les' standards meant you could rack the slide with thumb and forefinger.

But like WVsig has stated, We were a semi-custom production line operation, each man doing a set number of things...that he was very good at doing...

My favorite 1911? Off to the left. One hell of a retirement present!
 
Ted Yost....a parts assembler? Right... and Rembrandt, Picasso and Da Vinci were all amateur painters with no talent.

I have never owned or fired one of Mr.Yost's pistols but I have examined one, a 1911. The polishing, bluing and fit and finish was... Well, let's just say my 99+% C-96 Mauser, unfired after proofing, looked rough and cobby by comparison. And a C-96 is a very nicely finished gun.
 
tark said:
In the 21 years I worked for Les, I did frame to slide fit, checkering and serrating the backs and tops of slides. And not much else. We are talking 1992-2013. During those years Les would deviate some from the standard package, within certain boundaries. The TR Specials had to built exactly to Clint's specs. No Bo-Mar sights or Commander length guns. .45 ACP only. Les would not build an Aluminum frame gun without a Ramped barrel. We built a pair of guns for Steven Segal that were fitted rather loosely because he wanted them that way. Loose by Les' standards meant you could rack the slide with thumb and forefinger.

But like WVsig has stated, We were a semi-custom production line operation, each man doing a set number of things...that he was very good at doing...

My favorite 1911? Off to the left. One hell of a retirement present!
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man… those slides are fitted so tight! love it! I’ll get one someday!
 
Well, I did the checkering , which means I fitted the frame and slide. The man that followed me dresses out the top of the checkering differently. The bottom of the slide should have the full serial # of the gun stamped in it along with the letter "W" for Williams ...which is me! :D
 
tark said:
Well, I did the checkering , which means I fitted the frame and slide. The man that followed me dresses out the top of the checkering differently. The bottom of the slide should have the full serial # of the gun stamped in it along with the letter "W" for Williams ...which is me! :D
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when I buy a Les Baer! I’m going to look for a “W” and post it here! will be amazing!

Actually my LGS sells Les Baer… I’ll look for the W!!!
 
Jim Watson said:
Murphy's Law says that a caliber convertible firearm will be found to be assembled in the caliber you did NOT want to shoot today.

I love the Yost auto pistol rear sight. It is a Heinie or copy with the hangy down part removed. So it looks custom and saves an awkward mill cut. Even a pro can appreciate labor savers.
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It is not a Heinie. Show me a Heinie with the same profile. People do not seem to understand that some pistol smiths make their own stuff. All Heine's have a curve to them with notch corners.

300C_Classic_Black_1911Dovetail_BACK-CROP.84a2fcc11929fb1cb8e13f61438b82fa.jpg

3000C_Classic_S8T_1911Dovetail_GROUP-CROP.84a2fcc11929fb1cb8e13f61438b82fa.jpg


Yost's sight do not. They are rounded in the corners. See it is the details that make this type of pistol different. I own a lot of guns with Heine sights. They are good but they are a different sight profile than a Yost sight. Heine are a straight flat plane. Yost's have an angle. The sight is unique to his guns. Look closely you can see how line checkering on the sight perfectly matches the serrations on the back of the slide. It is as if the 2 pieces were made to be together. The devil is in the details. These details where not done by a machine. They were done by hand by a master craftsman. These are not off the shelf parts. #bespoke

9W2UKZN.jpg

Here is another perfect example. Look at these BEC sights... who did he copy? These are 1911 sights on a BHP. Done by Don Williams on a lightweight BHP. #bespoke

hGhfBbL.jpg
 
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tarosean said:
If you shoot enough to wear the breechface out. Is a slide replacement or replaceable breechface of any consequence compared to your Ammo costs?
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If it messes with your mental management of trust in your equipment, it will absolutely be a consequence.

Back when you could get one of the SV’s for ~$3k, CCI blaser (aluminum) was $2.99/50 rounds. I knew a guy that was on his 3rd breechface, we were going through around 70k/year, shooting 3 matches a week and practice. I did it for awhile but the advantage of more expensive reloads to fit PF rules, made me quit. That and a firing pin stop that eroded, that I didn’t catch until the “Bath tub” stage at ‘06 Nationals.

367A6820-F15E-4631-B020-F727E19663B2.jpeg

Time and costs to get to where I was and let something interrupt my mental game became more expensive than the cost of using a superior product.

I am the competitive type though. It takes more rounds down range for me to shoot a pistol in a sanctioned match than for me to trust it to carry, and that’s more than a couple boxes, even if they hold 100 ea.
 
Kevin Rohrer said:
Here is a hi-end 1911 I just picked up, a Dave Lauck Professional in hard-chrome and God's Caliber. It has some unique features not found on any of my other 1911s.

View attachment 1090709
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I've really been drooling over a DL Sports Professional. Can I ask if you got it from Dave or on the secondary market? I am wondering what the ordering experience is like, I have heard a couple of stories that, if interpreted generously, suggest that he is a great smith but not a great person to work with business-wise.

I'd be leery of giving the man the $1,000 he asked as a deposit if he will randomly change the cost of the gun by the time he starts building it.
 
Mark_Mark said:
did Les Baer give you a gun when you left?
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Indeed he did.

It was my retirement present, an engraved, presentation Premier II. At the time it was a $7,500 gun. The grips are real ivory and they, alone, went for nearly a thousand dollars at the time. I keep the gun out of the light so they have yellowed only very slightly. The glass top case was included. The pistol has the 1 1/2" guarantee and a 3 1/2 # trigger. It is charcoal blued, with the safety, slide stop, beavertail, P-tube and screws being nitre blued. The other 1911 in the case is a S/A that I built in 1991 when I first went to work for Les when he was still at Springfield Armory, running the custom shop.

My gun was originally sent to Roy Huntington who asked for a pistol to feature in an article in American Handgunner. It ended up on the cover of the Nov/Dec issue in 2011. Roy had asked for a plain Premier II. Les, being a bit of a prankster, sent him my engraved presentation gun. As soon as he received it, Roy got on the phone...in a panic.

"Les, I can't shoot this! "

"Roy, shoot the ( expletive deleted ) out of it! "

So Roy put 200 rounds through it. After I got it I shot one magazine through it, just to say that I HAVE actually shot it. It is tucked away safely , in honored glory, its location known only to me. lol. When I am gone it goes to my son.

In closing I can only say this: It beats the hell out of a fishing pole or a watch! :D
 

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tark said:
Indeed he did.

It was my retirement present, an engraved, presentation Premier II. At the time it was a $7,500 gun. The grips are real ivory and they, alone, went for nearly a thousand dollars at the time. I keep the gun out of the light so they have yellowed only very slightly. The glass top case was included. The pistol has the 1 1/2" guarantee and a 3 1/2 # trigger. It is charcoal blued, with the safety, slide stop, beavertail, P-tube and screws being nitre blued. The other 1911 in the case is a S/A that I built in 1991 when I first went to work for Les when he was still at Springfield Armory, running the custom shop.

My gun was originally sent to a Roy Huntington who asked for a pistol to feature in an article in American Handgunner. It ended up on the cover of the Nov/Dec issue in 2011. Roy had asked for a plain Premier II. Les, being a bit of a prankster, sent him my engraved presentation gun. As soon as he received it, Roy got on the phone...in a panic.

"Les, I can't shoot this! "

"Roy, shoot the ( expletive deleted ) out of it! "

So Roy put 200 rounds through it. After I got it I shot one magazine through it, just to say that I HAVE actually shot it. It is tucked away safely , in honored glory, its location known only to me. lol. When I am gone it goes to my son.

In closing I can only say this: It beats the hell out of a fishing pole or a watch! :D
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Great Story man!!!! very CooL!

My dad got a rayban $125 sunglasses for his 30th! you got a Les Baer with history!

So can I shoot it????
 
tark said:
You knock on my door and I will let you shoot it. I live in the country. Let me know when you are coming and I will PM you my actual address.

How's that for an offer? :)
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Wow! Your serious too!

Best offer in the world… man, my clumsy hands don’t deserve a gun like that! I would sweat do hard
 
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