Hey Guys,
I am looking into getting a High End 1911, and I am looking at the Ed Brown Products. Particularly the Special Forces or the Executive Target. Can you tell me a little bit about either model? This gun will see a lot of use training wise, and I want something that is very accurate but not Les Baer tight.
Thanks,
Maunder
I have always wanted an Ed Brown. Well made pistol.
Out of those two choices, I would go Special Forces. Bomars tend to chew up my hand when I manipulate the slide hard. YMMV
Never tried the chain link front strap, you may like it on the Special Forces.
Are the edges of the bomar sharp? or just the design of the sight
I bought an SF back in 2008. Love the thing. Craftsmanship is awesome and EB customer service was top notch. Can’t recommend it enough.
If you go SF I’d look at the golf ball they ripped off from Chuck. The chain link feels slippery to me. The exec elite may be a better choice due to the sights as noted above.
I’ve owned an Ed Brown SF for years and it’s a fine pistol. Eats everything I run through it and it’s very easy on the eyes. I’m kinda glad they ripped off the entire design from John Browning but to each his own
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My friend has a Brown and a Valor. The Valor is more accurate and a hell of a lot cheaper.
I have several Colts, one being a Gold Cup National Match, two Kimbers, a Sig, a Wilson Combat SuperGrade, and an Ed Brown Kobra. While all have their virtues, my favorite is the Ed Brown. The fit, finish and function are superb!
Col GB Rhinesmith Jr
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Great guns on average. I shot my Special yesterday and the fit and finish is great. Two issues. :
I have owned two EB’s. Neither would fit into a standard 1911 (raven-Blackhawk etc) holsters. It really pissed me off. When I asked them they said “custom”. Bullshit I have 3 other custom guns yet the mfg all make to spec and fit into regular 1911 holsters. They are the only custom gun maker that makes the customer pay to ship their $2k pistol back. It’s bullshit. I like the gun, but wouldn’t EVER buy another.
Look at Wilson, night hawk , springer Pro or TRP and you will likely be better off.
If the gun is reliable this is a non issue. You shouldn’t have to be working the slide with the exception of chambering the first round.
I recently sold my Kobra Carry, but then bought both the SF II, 4 1/4", with “golfball” treatment, as well as an Executive Elite II, 5", with Brown’s “skipline” checkering. I like Ed Brown’s philosophy of building clean, clutter-free 1911’s. Each of mine is a work of art, that just happen to work all of the time, and needless to say, WAY more accurate than I’m able to shoot them. 
The SF is my favorite of the three, and the golfball suits me to a “T”.
Skip
Malfunction drills?
To answer OP: yes the sight has a lot of pointy corners and snag points. Catches on t-shirts.
At first I didn’t mind Bomars but cotton t-shirts do catch on them here and there. Very annoying.
I didn’t want to recommend other brands since OP asked between the two models, but some good recommendations were made in this thread.
I would consider a Wilson a step above, and a Valor a great gun for the price.
Make sure you order a CARBON STEEL Special Forces with the Chainlink II and naked slide.
NO adjustable sights, period. Less than worthless ‘feature’ on way too many otherwise nice pistols.
Dealing with Ed Brown wasn’t a pleasant experience for me. Also, one of the “Ask The SME” guys told my class that Ed Brown was at the bottom of the semi-custom manufacturers of 1911s, and he is known for his 1911 knowledge.
Spend a few more hundred dollars and get a CQB from Wilson.
I have owned an Ed Brown Special Forces (with the SF deleted off of the slide of course) since 2010. I have had a single failure with it that occurred when I was pushing to see if I could induce one. I was using incredibly thick grease as lubrication and the outside temperatures were in the low 30s/high 20s. It is easily the most accurate pistol I own and I don’t regret the investment whatsoever.
I have used it during a Larry Vickers course (among others) where he commented on its performance positively. It is a sample size of one, but I am very pleased with its performance.
Great pistol. Terrible service. PM me if you want info on their quality… let’s just say security was involved at SHOT. … but a nice pistol some have issues…
I have owned an Ed Brown 1911 that is pretty similar to the Executive Target for…34 years. It was my daily carry gun as well for quite a few years. I have no issues with the Bomars, they are rounded off nicely, mine do appear to be buried a little deeper however. Mine also has a standard non-Commander hammer that has been dehorned and smoothed and I had him leave the arched mainspring on it 'cause I like it. I paid $285 for all the work and $298 for the Series 70. At that time he was more of an unknown, I also still have a .220 Swift Custom 700 that he built as well. For general shooting, I think the E Target is the way to go. I used to shoot a lot of bowling pin matches, won the first one I ever shot in in Kansas City in 1986 with it, then proceeded to win seven weeks straight high overall with it. My EB .220 is now a .220AI on its fourth barrel as well. I’m also pretty certain I can still get my investment back from my somewhat holster worn EB 1911. Ed is like a lot of artists/writers/actors/gunsmiths not the best people person, but I’ve always got along with him and I don’t think you can go wrong with one. I couldn’t even guess how many rounds mine has had down the pipe, but probably 50-60 thousand, it always works, unless you load really light loads of Bullseye and don’t change springs!
Of the two, I’ve only owned the SF (5") and it is as good as it gets for me. Very well made/fitted, accurate beyond my ability, takes any ammo I throw into it (close to 5k rounds). I’m sure that the ET is just as good and other mfg’s products are just fine, but I’ll hang with the SF.
After getting my full size Cobra I sold my Baur’s and my Wilson Supergrade… It just feels right.
My Ed Brown gets carried every day, never misses and never malfunctions.
I have had nothing but the best in Customer Service from Brown.
I would buy them again without hesitation.