High end 1911s. Does anyone own a Wilson, Les Baer, or Clark?

[FlintLock]

The new issue of GUN TESTS just arrived with an article comparing the Wilson Combat CQB, the Les Baer Premier II, and the Clark Custom 1911. They rated the Wilson as a better buy saying that it was good to go right out of the box whereas the Baer and Clark both needed some work. Does anyone have any experience with any of these pistols? I am considering a high end 1911, but I would like to get as much input as possible before I spend that much money.

 

[Ricky T]

Flintlock, I have a Wilson Service Grade Protector. Since 1998, it has over 10000 rounds through it. It functioned flawlessly, the fit and finishes are great. I compared it side by side with a newer Les Baer Thunder Ranch pistol and the Wilson appeared to have better overall fit and finish. The dehorning job on the Wilson is more complete than the Les Baer, and better trigger pull but the Les Baer barrel and slide fitting is much tighter. Both are extremely reliable. Another friend owns a CQB from Wilson and except for the color of the frame (Armor Tuff green vs. hard chrome), it's identical to the Protector. The folks at Wilson Combat from Bill Wilson on down are very friendly and helpful people, their customer service is among the best if not the best. I've also handled and fired the Springfield TRP Professional (FBI swat) pistol, and it's a great gun also, although about $800 more than the Wilson Service Grade series. But I don't think that it's that much better than a Wilson. I guess you know how I feel about Wilson Combat pistols now. Good luck in your search, you can't go wrong with any of the above, it's just a personal taste and preference.

 

[TAZ]

Have owned a Wilson CQB Compact for a while now. Never had a failure of any kind. Shoots a lot better than I can. You get what you pay for. I didn't like the price tag, but it will probably last long enough to give to my kids when I die. Wilsons service is great. The Wilsons was recomended to me by a dealer who sells both Baer and Wilson.

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"Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always vanishes."
-R.A. Heinlein

 

[dwt]

I have a THUNDER RANCH and a PREMIER 2,both have been flawless right out of the box.I have about 2000rds thru each.NO COMPLAINTS!

 

[Svt]

I own a Wilson Sentinel and CQB. Both function flawlessly. Neither needed any work done to them. I also own a Les Baer Concept III. It was very tight until 400 rounds went through it. Now it shoots VERY tight groups. As for the Clark, though I don't own one, I sure as hell will try my best to get one in the near future I've heard nothing but good things about the Clark Custom 1911's. Beautiful works of art.

 

[George Hill]

Moving this to HANDGUNS.