1911 Customizing or Buy New?

[keys85]

What would you do if you picked up a well built, accurate and reliable Springfield GI 1911 (at a ridiculously cheap price) but wanted a .45 with some of the features you can get stock from a nice, well built Kimber? Would you opt to have this pistol customized, which most likely would go over the price of a new Kimber, or shop around for a used Kimber and keep them both?

(I'm not interested in any other brands other than Kimber)

 

[Shane Tuttle]

Customize the Springer. You get exactly what you want upgraded and have the choice of the exact brand of parts to use to put on an already well made production 1911.

Answer is simple for me. Depends on how bad you want a Kimber that claims to be "custom" when it really isn't...

 

[Andrewh]

depends on how cheap, and what you want done.

A GI isn't going to have a beavertail.
So right off the bat, with drop in only parts and having a smith put it in, it will run around 110 bucks.(just priced this out myself). Wilson beavertail and commander hammer.

Some people are not happy with the gap left by drop in parts.
So now you are into fitting a part which brings you up another 50 to 100 depending on your smith.

This cut into the frame, so now you have to get it refinished.

Say a cheap blue job, up another 100. But a good finish is probably closer to 200.

Now you are into the gun for call it 300 not counting the price of the gun.
That didn't count any internals, or tuning.
If you got the gun for 400 and under, then you are only into it for 700, you would be spending another 200 to 300 for a custom kimber. I'd say you were ahead.

Ofcourse all the prices drop if you do the work yourself.

 

[Hunter Customs]

You could make a Custom Springfield like the one in the picture using your Springfield GI model as a base gun.
This is the Spartan package I offer on the basic Springfield guns and it don't break the bank having it done.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

 

[WESHOOT2]

Hunter-gun

Now THAT'S a 'buy'......

(What I did: I bought used 1911s and upgraded them according to my needs and budget. Except my first 1911 is an all-custom Caspian.)

 

[hunter11]

Custom 1911

I just finished building a custom frame and adding a 22 conversion so I didn't have to change Barrels. I have built several Customs from Colt Government models and several from scratch. I have over $600.00 in my frame I just finished and about 3 months labor this is not working all the time as I have other things I do but there are a lot of hours Stonning and lap fitting. Agood Custom takes a lot of work it is tedious and every one I build I learn more about what to do when. Dan