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GE-Minigun · April 30, 2009, 04:30 PM

I built mine last year with a Caspian frame and slide that were paid for by other people (Christmas gift and birthday present), the rest of the parts were either Wilson or Ed Brown that I purchased at gun shows or through the internet. I had Caspian radius the rear and fit their beaver tail safety to the frame and install the plunger tube as I didn’t want to purchase the tooling to do it, the rest I did myself. The only tools I used were files, stones, hammers (ball peen and lead); all in all I think I spent around $300 for all the parts and some of the files. The cost comes in their time building it and that’s where ANY of the high end 1911’s cost comes from, getting a slide to fit is time consuming…same thing for the barrel and various parts. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and only need to pass a file across it a couple times…then other times it will take couple hours for another part. I’m in the process of building 2 other 1911’s; one for a Colt Ace top end my father had and the other just to have a blued one to match the stainless. IMO the best 1911 builder is/was Larry Vickers and if memory serves me he did EVERTYTHING by hand and if it’s good enough for him it’s damn sure good enough for a hack like me. It took me close to a year to finish the gun to where I could fire it, just because I purchased parts as I got the money and didn’t want to get a “kit” as I wanted top end parts that I knew would be good from the start and needed minimal if any fitting…it paid off in the end I think.

April 30, 2009, 04:30 PM	#2
GE-Minigun Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2008 Posts: 240	I built mine last year with a Caspian frame and slide that were paid for by other people (Christmas gift and birthday present), the rest of the parts were either Wilson or Ed Brown that I purchased at gun shows or through the internet. I had Caspian radius the rear and fit their beaver tail safety to the frame and install the plunger tube as I didn’t want to purchase the tooling to do it, the rest I did myself. The only tools I used were files, stones, hammers (ball peen and lead); all in all I think I spent around $300 for all the parts and some of the files. The cost comes in their time building it and that’s where ANY of the high end 1911’s cost comes from, getting a slide to fit is time consuming…same thing for the barrel and various parts. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and only need to pass a file across it a couple times…then other times it will take couple hours for another part. I’m in the process of building 2 other 1911’s; one for a Colt Ace top end my father had and the other just to have a blued one to match the stainless. IMO the best 1911 builder is/was Larry Vickers and if memory serves me he did EVERTYTHING by hand and if it’s good enough for him it’s damn sure good enough for a hack like me. It took me close to a year to finish the gun to where I could fire it, just because I purchased parts as I got the money and didn’t want to get a “kit” as I wanted top end parts that I knew would be good from the start and needed minimal if any fitting…it paid off in the end I think.