Converting a Colt WWI Replica into a very basic everything you need and nothing you don’t with an emphasis on nothing you don’t. Any recommendations on a reputable smith who will take on a relatively minor project? I’m looking for sight upgrade and replacement of any MIM parts with tool steel (anyone care to list these I’d be interested to know).
Best,
Bill
I found this on M1911.org. It’s from a post that is 4 years old, so I don’t know if any of the information has changed. Definitely a starting point:
How are the current Colt 1911 pistol parts made:
MIM
sear
disconnector
magazine catch
CAST
Thumb safety
grip safety
FORGED
slide
receiver
barrel
slide stop
MACHINED from bar stock
hammer
all pins
bbl link
bbl bushing
trigger finger piece
ejector
firing pin
firing pin stop
extractor
plunger tube
If you hadn’t noticed this tread in the stickies above, you might want to check it out. While a MARS Armament workover is probably more than you’re looking for, I think the finished product is a fine update of the WWI 1911 that still retains its classic lines. Might find some ideas there.
Talk to Lew Bonitz, he worked up a retro Gunsite Pistol-esque 1* package on one of my Springfield GI’s a while back, had a fast turnaround and did excellent, clean work. A set of his retro combat sights and a little misc work on that gun would be the cat’s ass. Instead of a normal beavertail I had a bobbed and beveled GI beavertail worked up and came to prefer it over a regular beavertail. The trigger job he did was the best I’ve ever felt, even better than my Baer Thunder Ranch and a Springfield Professional I got the chance to shoot.
http://www.grizzlycustom.com/custom_1911_pistols_retro.html
Pic of my gun after said work, was a stock GI model before
Nice gun. Enjoy blasting away!
I sent a Colt 1911 repro to Novak for a work over and it has been the best 1911 I have owned…they do wonderful work and the piece is 100% reliable.
I went for a modern twist to the MEU/MARSOC Det 1 pistol:
http://i51.tinypic.com/2co5uh2.jpg
The have recently had Novak complete a 2nd full house custom 1911 and I think its a work of art!
I recommend Grizzly as well. Here is my Colt TALO Armed Forces Limited that Lew and Tim did for me earlier this year…
I don’t know anything about 1911 offerings from different companies, but I’m wondering why I’m seeing A1 frames on pre A1 reproductions…
Hmm? Where?
Looks like the past two pictures. They both have the cuts behind the trigger guard for the finger. I’m not aware that pre-A1 frames had those from the factory at least.
The Talo posted by BBossman is a tribute gun, and isn’t a correct reproduction of either an A1 or a pre-A1, nor is it intended to be. Colt calls it an A1, and the frame cutouts and slide markings agree, but the hammer and grip safety are WWI replicas, while the other small parts are mostly A1. It’s also blued instead of parked.
pelican1’s gun with the Novak work is a WWI repro, and the frame is correct as such.
Ah. I guess I completely misunderstood what this thread was about.
I had John Harrison do mine. John is one of the top master 1911 smiths in the business. He is in the process of building me a hard use build built on a new Series 70 Repro… He is a great guy and an unbelievable craftsman.
The best place to see a lot of the top 1911 smiths work is on LTW. I highly recommend checking the site out as it will probably give you some ideas that you might not have thought of…
I posted up my Grizzly Custom as an example of what the OP stated he wanted “a very basic everything you need and nothing you don’t with an emphasis on nothing you don’t” The “retro guns” follow Coopers desire for a pistol with “sights you can see, a trigger you can manage, and a dehorn job”. No fancy checkering/machining, no white/tritium dots, no beavertails, etc…
As VHinch stated the TALO is a bastard child of the WW1 and WW2’s that Colt put out. I really wanted a WW2 but they weren’t around and the TALO was. And yes, I would have used the WW2 as a base for my custom.
Very nice. I have another one headed to Harrison later this month. He is quite the craftsman, and for me he’s local as well.