1911 Build Has Started, I Guess. Intro.

1911 Build Index

My "Economic Stimulus" check is coming soon, I've got birthday checks to cash, and my bank and investment accounts are doing okay. I figure it's okay to spend some money.

The Ed Brown Maxi-Well with 25lpi checkering was on sale at Midway, and the CMC grip safeties were in stock, so I ordered them along with the Kuhnhausen shop manual, along with 1500 rounds of the MiniMags for my Glock rimfire conversion, and a Lula mag loader for the AK clone.

I guess the 1911 build has officially started.

Backstory
I’ve been on a quest to build a competition 1911 to my liking. I would prefer not to buy a complete pistol, even if it’s cheaper to go that way. I want a gunsmithing project.

I looked into using a Armscor/Charles Daly/RIA pistol as a base gun, but dropped the idea after reading a handful of reports of rattling pistols. I want to build a bullseye accurate pistol, and I’m not sure that a rattletrap frame/slide fit will cut it.

I looked into using a Taurus pistol as a base, but I’d pretty much be stuck with the grip safety that comes with the pistol, and the slide to frame fit may not be as tight as I’d like. Springfield (actually Imbel made) frames are not made to John Brownings specs, and you are very limited in which grip safeties you can use.

Ideally, I would like a frame with a long dustcover. Les Baer quoted me $595.00 for a Monolith frame, which I think is the retail price for a complete Taurus PT1911. The STI RangeMaster frames are cast/cut for ramped barrels, which are generally not recommended for .45ACP pistols. SVI makes frames with long dustcovers, but will not sell the frames separately.

So, maybe I should just use a standard frame, and maybe someday down the line, a longer frame will be available at a reasonable price. I think it will happen.

So, I think I’m going to start with a Caspian frame and STI slide, and piece together the pistol that I want, with a minimum of leftover parts. Caspian casts and machines their frames here in the U.S. of A, while the Tauri, Armscor, and Springfield Armory frames and slides are all made somewhere else. “Made In America” doesn’t seem that important until it’s the job you do getting outsourced.

Edit To Add
Just to be clear, this pistol will not be replacing any Glocks for carry and/or competition. Should I ever get the itch to shoot bullseye, it may get used for that. Otherwise, I may take it out to the range, or shoot action pistol matches with it if I get the itch. Mostly, it's going to be a puzzle for me, except I know where all the pieces go, they just don't fit together properly yet.