SO, YOU WANT TO BUILD A 1911?

I’m something of a new dinosaur in my generation. I don’t own much technology, I hunt and grow much of my own food, and I have a deep-set love of the 1911. I’m an old man at an early age, apparently. In the course of my experiences with this venerable platform, I’ve come to respect it for its reliable performance, both mechanically and in terms of accuracy.

That said, I’ve also come to understand the valley between working on modern guns, such as a Glock or P320, and the 1911. I have hundreds of working hours on the 1911, and I can honestly say that 90 percent of those hours were spent screwing something up.

BUILDING VS. BUYING

Building a 1911 by hand doesn’t mean it’ll turn out functional or accurate. The crux of the argument here is that, in theory, a hand-built 1911 will give you pride in ownership as well as bragging rights in addition to tighter tolerances. Some would consider it to be an apex of personal ability to get one of these guns up and running from their choice parts, and for many this is true. I love the pistols I’ve put