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andrews1958

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 16, 2010
367
37
Maine/Africa
Curious as I do notknow

What makes a custom pistol different than a factory one? I notice there are a few custom 45s out there going from 2,3 to 4k each. Do they just shoot paper at 25 possibly 50 yards better than a factory. Seems like alot of money if this is all that you are getting? Just curious what else they have to offer.
 
Re: Custom Pistol

The only custom pistol I own is a Colt Special Combat Government and it's not a true custom but they come out of the Colt custom shop .

Yes it is very accurate it functions never let me down , yeah I could have bought two or even three run of the mill 1911's for the price I paid for my SCG would I swap my SCG for three 1991's not a chance I love my Special Combat Government .

Next on the list of high end custom semi custom whatever you want to call them is a Les Baer P11 .



 
Re: Custom Pistol

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shar</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Curious as I do notknow

What makes a custom pistol different than a factory one? I notice there are a few custom 45s out there going from 2,3 to 4k each. Do they just shoot paper at 25 possibly 50 yards better than a factory. Seems like alot of money if this is all that you are getting? Just curious what else they have to offer. </div></div>

Question<span style="color: #FF0000"> What makes a custom pistol different than a factory one?</span>

Answer: Certain after market parts, or upgraded parts from the factory vs the standard OEM parts.

Question:<span style="color: #FF0000">Do they just shoot paper at 25 possibly 50 yards better than a factory.</span>

Answer: Depends on the shooter. With an average shooter no. With and experienced competition shooter who has tons of practice, the extra inch tighter groups might be possible and worth the money since it is competition. In a practical or defense aspect, a complete custom is not worth the price.


I do like custom sights and maybe some custom trigger work. Nothing extensive on my handguns. There are a lot of nice quality stock pistols out there under 1K. I've seen a guy in IDPA shoot darn good in ESP with a Taurus 1911. In SSP (Stock Service Pistols) Mostly stock S&W M&P Pro's and Glocks 34's are kings, that's what wins Nationals.
 
Re: Custom Pistol

I have a custom 1911. It is a Les Baer and I would not trade it for anything out there. Customs go up in price partly for the name. I will tell you alot of the price increase comes from hand fitting all the parts together. When I first got my baer it was a very very tight fit. It is still tight after all the rounds I have put though it. Do I need another one? No but I am very happy to have the one on my hip.
 
Re: Custom Pistol

I assume you are principally talking about 1911's ??

Most of the production guns today have Metal Injection Molded internal parts, which in my experience dont last and some I have seen lately had serious quality control issues. Some manufacturers are gluing in the ejectors and plunger tubes...

Barrels on most production guns are $75 drop in fit units and sights, grips fit, finish, etc are also inferior to a top quality custom 1911.

Semi-Production guns use higher quality parts with better fit, but are usually "assembled" by "assemblers" vs "built" by master pistolsmiths.

On a full custom 1911, the barrel will be a $200+ hand/match fit barrel, internals are the very best, meticulously hand fit and the features are customized to the shooter/customer and thier intended use.

I think many of the top brand custom 1911's are very overpriced. Most smaller custom shops are more reasonable, but wait times typically longer.

Even on Glocks and M&P's there is a differnece on one that has been properly customized vs. stock as most who own them will attest to.

Accuracy is only one measure of a custom gun. I have always looked at custom guns as individual works of art and there is something to be said for owning somthing that is the pinacle of personalized perfection.
 
Re: Custom Pistol

Most of the "custom" guns out there, are really just high end production guns that are fit by people.

The way the parts fit is noticeably better. Compare a Wilson Combat to a Springfield Armory Loaded or even a TRP, and you should see the difference. If you can't see the difference immediately, you probably don't need the custom gun.