I have been contemplating this purchase for quite a while. Before pulling the trigger I wanted to be very sure of exactly what I wanted to have built.
About me and the 1911, I don’t have one. I have shot them, but never owned them. I shoot mostly Glock 9mm and I am making the slow switch the Walther PPQ. I feel a 1911 is something I should just own, and I don’t. Ken Hackthorn said about the same thing to me, but also mentioned something about commies, I think he may have been talking about me
Anyways the time has come to put the order in and wait. I have settled on Wilson Combat, and the specs. Seeing Kens WC gave me some of the final idea’s I needed.
Here’s my final dilemma, CQB or Supergrade? Doing the math both guns being identical, other than that difference, the Supergrade is a little over 1600$ more. I understand the difference, the Supergrade is made by one smith. Does that 1600$ difference show? It would be ~5900$ vs. 4300$. Now this is not going to be my go to gun, as much as an heirloom. I absolutely will shoot it, how much idk. Probably not more than 5000 rounds in my ownership. I plan to stick to striker fired 9mm guns for carry and competition; and there for training. I do not want to train to much to a new manual of arms, I would like to be proficient with it though.
I also plan on buying a basic Springfield Armory in the mean time while I wait as a learning tool and beater 1911.
For those interested my specs will be:
Full-Size Carbon Steel Frame
30 LPI High Cut Checkered Frontstrap
Concealment Bullet Proof® Beavertail Grip Safety and Hammer
Heavy Machine Chamfer on Bottom of Slide
Countersunk Slide Stop
Flush Cut and Reverse Crown
Medium solid Trigger
Ball Endmill Cuts
Grips, Full-Size, Coco Bolo, Double Diamond, Flat Bottom
Bullet Proof® Tactical Thumb Safety
3 ¾# - 4# Crisp Trigger Pull
Bullet Proof® Magazine Well Rounded
Bullet Proof® Magazine Release
5" Carbon Steel Slide
Battlesight with gold dot front bead
5" Stainless Match Grade Barrel & Bushing, Hand Fit
30 LPI Slide Top Serrations
40 LPI Serrated Rear of Slide
Hand finished deluxe Blue, Matte with polished sides of frame and slide
Omit slide markings
French boarder on slide
It is worth it because that is what people are paying and Wilson is selling all they can make. However it isn’t the right value point for everyone.
Given the point you are at in your 1911 journey, I’d say no, go buy a clean used CQB and shoot it a lot. Once you have about 10K rounds through it, you’ll know what is working for you and what isn’t. Then you can spec a 1911.
Right now you’re spec’ing the gun based on others’ recommendations and maybe some cosmetic preferences. Wait until you KNOW what you want. Time with the gun will show your prefs for trigger tuning, safeties, sights, etc. When it’s time to make that order you’ll know. It’ll just be right.
The only way to get there is shoot one a lot. You will evolve in your tastes and preferences with time and rounds downrange.
Not trying to preach, but you say you won’t fire this more than 5000 rounds, but would use a striker fired Glock or Walther. So, depending on whether you qualify for “first responder/LE/mil/etc” pricing, you could have 10 to 1.
I divested ALL my safe queens: Python, HK P7M8, 1911 WMK WWI, S&W 27, 629, etc. Money can go for guns you use, ammo, parts, etc. Really simplifies the logistics trail. Your mileage may vary. Sounds like you’re set on the 1911 so might as well get the Supergrade.
I have always been challenged to go over $3k. I feel you can buy a TRP for $1,400 and get one hell of a gun. But step it up to a CQB, NH OR SA Pro and that extra 1,000-$1500 will show up in quality and refinement.
After that the point of diminishing returns come crashing pretty hard IMHO. People buy them every day so there has to be enough for some people.
I would get a CQB and shoot the piss out of it. Good luck. The 1911 is awesome.
Buy what you want, what makes you happy. As much as we all like to think our opinion matters, it really doesn’t.
My personal opinion (which admittedly means nothing. see above), is that people are getting way too serious about guns and training. We all want that 2000 round gun that doesn’t need cleaning, and attend every training class, and smoke these drills and whatnot. Somewhere in this whole mess there should be some fun. Buy some stuff that makes you happy. Buy stuff that makes you laugh when you set it off. Buy stuff because you don’t have to. You’ve already bought stuff you need to.
I’m obviously not currently a 1911 guy and I’m not really trying to become one. One of my college majors was history, I do appreciate the 1911. As a gun enthusiast and a fan of history I would like to own one. I consider it to be an American icon of firearms.
I want one for no reason other than to own one. I want a nice one and I want it built for me. I want to be able to pass it along to my kids and grand kids when those days come.
What I’m not trying to do is have a 1911 as my primary side arm of choice. For now that a 9mm Glock and depending on future aftermarket support I will switch full time to my PPQ and that platform. Every round I fire from a this 1911 would probably be two from a Glock. I would want to shoot the 1911 for fun from time to time, and maybe take a 1911 class with some one like LAV with it. But I would still feel every round was two rounds of training I missed with the Glock and one round of training away from that type of platform. Proficiency in the Glock/PPQ is significantly more important to me. The 1911 is for fun.
I guess what I’m really asking is what percent of that 1600$ is fit and finish and attention to detail and what percent is it having been built all by one smith? I understand the value of that is subjective and really not quantifiable in physical terms. It is also not lost me, I get it. I don’t know if I 1600$ get it? It would seem to me that all of the smiths at Wilson would be excellent and all of their guns are excellent. So really I am mostly paying for an idea. Not I’m unsure of its value to me, but I am afraid of I’ll look back in 40 years wishing I had just gone all the way.
The flip side is if I went with the CQB I would consider armor tuff and no french border bring the price down around 3800$. In this form I’d be more prone to run the gun very hard, but I also wouldn’t feel it was as ‘Nice’ and a blued polished gun wight he french border that was built all buy one master pistol smith.
So as 1911 guys how much value do you put on that ‘idea’ that you gun was built by all one person?
As to shooting the platform and learning I will have the next year or two (however long their back log is now?) to do that on what I pick up in the mean time. I am mechanically inclined and own a performance automotive business. I really enjoy building my AR15s and working on and modifying guns. I enjoy and appreciate guns from a mechanical perspective. The quality of an object like this is not lost on me.
I am going to go by my LGS when I get a chance and get some thing. I’m not to picky some sort of basic 1911A1 type gun that is sub 1000$ and american made, a Colt or Springfield Armory would be nice, but I was also considering a Rock Island Armory 1911A1 for its lack of quality and reliability. I feel this would make it a great learning tool, and the SA and Colt might not really offer me that? Either way I’m not to picky, its a big store I’m sure I’ll find something, after all this one really will just be a ‘tool’. Quite honestly I don’t see myself owning more than these two 1911s ever, so these will be my pair of 1911s to have.
Plus once you start holstering it and shooting it, finish will wear and show so that shiny blue finish will wear. And devalue that $1600 quick. You can get used CQB for almost half of what you are looking at and as you find upgrades you want add them and still come out cheaper either way.
If your asking for my opinion, no I wouldn’t buy a Wilson SG. The level of attention an SG receives is far beyond my ability to notice it, and since the gun will probably get battered up (while in my possession), there goes all the refinements and attention that I paid for. Now if you are asking why it costs $1600 more, probably because the SG gunsmiths have a higher salary/hourly and they are probably logging 100-150 hours on the gun to make it as damn near perfect as they can. FWIW, I have a CQB on order because of this with a lot of the purely aesthetic mods removed. I’m also not a 6 figure salary man so I had to be semi-modest.
If you want something that is really memorable, contact a one man shop that will build you something exactly the way you want, with the parts you want. i.e., Harrison, Heirloom Precision, Rogers, CT Brian, etc. etc. Same if not better backlog, same price (5-7k), with a Burger King motto–have it your way.
Since you want something nice and pretty and also a shooter to shoot frequently, why not just divide this into two projects and get a CQB and a custom?
I would be hard pressed to tell you to order a Supergrade for one of your first 1911s, even if disposable income is not a problem. I think your choice in Wilson Combat is well-founded. I do not have a WC, but have some nice examples of semi-custom and custom 1911s in the safe. A WC is on my wishlist, and it will probably be a CQB.
As stated in other posts, I would recommend a CQB to get your feet wet. You can always order a Supergrade down the road once you figure out what specs you like or don’t like in a 1911.
A slightly customized CQB would be a better choice, in my opinion. But the Supergrade bug bit you hard enough to consider shelling $5k on it seriously.
If you don’t do it, I’m not sure you’ll ever stop wanting to. Think of it this way. You’d be buying a full house custom gun, with only Wilson parts.
In the case of my Larry Vickers guns, the one smith value is over the top. Similar feelings for Christiansen, Garthwaite, and Harrison guns I own.
In the case of Wilson, not so much.
The reason: You can see and experience the personality and preferences of the smith in the one-man gun. Wilson guns are super consistent, which is good. But the personality of the guy who built it does not show from gun to gun in a Supergrade.
You know who built a Liebenberg when you pick it up. Not so with a Supergrade.
Spot on. Grab any of my 1911’s from my safe, and a savvy 1911 guy could tell who built any of them. There are substantial differences in my between my Colts (Hoag, Garthwaite, Vickers, Woods, Yost, Ct Brian, Bonar (Novak), etc).
Personally, I ONLY have gunsmith built 1911’s. They have personality, and are a good value in comparison to a Supergrade.
But I stand by my earlier statement, If you fancy it, and can afford it, GO FOR IT. I will hide my jealousy with praise and applaud.
At this point I have settled on a CQB Elite a the base.
I feel that Wilson Combat seems renowned for great hard use guns. Semi-custom ones, the CQB line. While I understand the quality is there and it was built by one smith, the Supergrade does not seem to have the value and single smith gun would have in the cases noted above, and really the subject of individual smiths it is above my head. I feel the CQB will be an amazing gun, as much as I can appreciate in a 1911. I feel a build by a specific person would be lost on me and I wouldn’t know who to pick.
Right now getting exactly the gun I want and having it Semi Custom built to exacting standards by Wilson, I will consider it more of the hard use duty gun it will be. Because of this I am going to skip on the more fragile Blueing and have it Black ArmorTuffed, with out the french border and with G10 grips. This will also get the gun closet to 3750$ which seems more reasonable to me for a gun. While willing and able to pay for a ‘nicer’ gun I think its a better choice to spend less.
Since this is going to end up being a combat gun build vs. a BBQ gun I am now contemplating a rail on it. Previously I had wanted a Blued and more traditional looking gun as an heirloom piece, since I’m not going that route anymore the light rail may be of use and appropriate for the build.
One thing I can say about 1911s is there sure are choices!
Good choice. WC makes a nice 1911. You will have less invested if you ever decide to sell. Its hard to get your money out of any pistol once it has been used. Best advice is to buy once, cry once, and never sell.
