I like Ed Browns, I really do, but I have a problem putting them in the same league as Wilson or Nighthawk. Especially when it comes to CS. As for the person that complained about people always bringing up CS, you can use the same rationale for concealed carry, having insurance, or having a security system, it is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I would rather have a $4000 gun I love, than a $2000 paper weight, not that Ed Brown are bad 1911s but what if you do get that lemon? Plus, use a gun long enough and hard enough and they all break.
They are building superb pistols with excellent components and quality control - in fact Wilson 1911’s are better guns than at least 90% of the one man shops in the business
Larry would definitely be the guy in the know. I was hard set on a CQB Elite for the longest time, but had a used Springfield Custom Carry literally fall into my lap. The price was way too good to pass up and although it didn’t have all the fancy serrations that the CQB Elite had, it has been flawless for me.
I’ve heard good and bad from both Baer and Brown, and if I was dropping $2,000+ it would be on a Wilson.
I still have an awesome 1911 that was customized by Ted Yost back in the 90’s. It runs great. Simple Colt, with some trigger work, improve Hi-vis sights, Wilson bushing, de-burred, extended thumb safety and a beavertail. That’s it.
I bought a Nighthawk a few years back. Then I sold it and bought 4 Glocks, bunch of spare mags, bunch of ammo and spare parts. True story. I like both. I however, chose not to put $3,000 into my secondary weapon.
I once owned a very nice car. this car was pretty expensive and known for it’s great quality. the transmission on my new car ate it at about 45,000 miles. i was glad they replaced it without worry or question and offered me a rental while they did so, it was seamless. customer service matters very much. the more you’re spending the more it matters.
Anything is prone to failure. However, look around, Wilson builds the most custom pistols around and I don’t hear many people complaining about the quality or performance of their pistol. That says something.
I bought a used Ed Brown SF a year and a half ago and sent it in to get a different set of sights and 10-8 trigger installed and their customer service was first rate. They detected some wear near the slide stop and repaired/refinished the slide at no charge. No complaints here.
I did my research and handled most of the listed brands in this thread. I had duty carried a Colt 1911 Govt. for over 20 years and was looking for a commander sized pistol.
The Ed Brown Kobra Carry just felt right in my hands. I’ve had it now for about 2 years, love it, it runs great.
That said any of these semi customs are good to go, it’s more to personal taste and wallet size.
Ed Brown took some hits in the past couple of years after an incident at the SHOT show. Some gun blog guy tried to do a on camera interview of him without prior arrangement and Mr. Brown blew the guy off. The blog guy went nuts and was bad rapping EB to no end. Many that know Mr. Brown have said he is a private guy and is OK one on one but not comfortable in front of a camera. My understanding is that whatever prior issues EB Customer Service had is that they have been corrected.
I chose none of the above…I elected to go with spending under $1800 and bought a Dan Wesson Valor.
Although the brands you mentioned are fine 1911s I just can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on a handgun. The $1600 I spent was plenty… and I got a very nice semi-custom 1911 with Heine “Ledge” night sights and an excellent trigger that has filled all of my needs, has run flawlessly and I didn’t break the bank to get the quality I was looking for.
Very well fitted and reliable, best money I’ve ever spent for a 1911…it will likely be the last 1911 I’ll ever need.
You could always go with a Sig 1911 scorpion and have money left over to buy a Glock 36 and a case of ammo. That’ll give you a dedicated stay at home 1911 and a nice conceal carry .45.
Or a Glock 30 like I carry and have 10 rounds of .45 in a subcompact albeit fat conceal carry pistol.
Take some time to read about production vs. semi-custom vs. full-custom 1911s. There is not a production gun out there that is made with same quality and degree of hand fitting as a semi-custom.
Understandable. I’ve hand my hands on many. Out of those 3 that the OP mentioned, I liked the Wilson combat the most.
Trust me, I’m a huge gun snob and I understand the quality of a custom 1911. I’m just at odds with carrying a 1911 concealed. (Size/weight, better options for CC pistols out there)
The Sig is plenty durable and accurate. Unless I’ll be running competition, I’d get it over the others just to have more options to CC with.
To sum it up, if my wallet was bottomless, I’d have all 1911s mentioned in this thread. I’ve worked hard to get the firearms I have now because I didn’t want to cut corners by purchasing a crappy gun that may fail me when I need it most. Keeping the thread on track, I’d choose the WC.
