Are Nighthawks worth $3.5K?

[kcub]

$3.5K buys you a Sig Scandic X-6 or an original S&W Registered magnum.

[Uncle Malice]

Are they worth it to YOU, is the question. Obviously, they are worth it some people.

Are you as much of a 1911 afficionado/collector/etc that you need or want custom like that?

I feel like I would look to a Wilson SuperGrade at those prices... of course I don't forsee myself ever spending that kind of coin... I like my TRP a lot... but even that was quite pricey.

[RC20]

I was reading an article on one of those fancy 1911 jobs and it was around $2500 as I recall.

Basically the best they got out of it was 2.5 inches and ranged on up to 3.5.

Of course they concluded what an amazing gun it was "and you should consider it for your collection".

*&^% can't hit the broad side of a barn (relatively speaking) at 25 yards and its an amazing gun?

It not only should shoot 1 inch with anything, it should load itself, put up the targets and do the measurements as well for that or those kind of prices.

So, how accurate is it (which you get for $800) and

You may be able to guess my answer to the question!

[Elerius]

I would never spend 3.5k on a gun of any kind unless it was a laser gun.

Maybe I'd be willing to spend 2k, POSSIBLY 2.5k on a gun, 1911 or otherwise, that was built from scratch with everything I ever wanted on it, a perfect finish, and I could sit next to the builder and point and say "do it like THAT exactly" and get my results in realtime.

Frankly for the kind of money Nighthawk or any of the really high end 1911 makers want, I'd much rather buy 6 other normal guns.

[ClydeFrog]

Gunsamerica.com listed a ASP 9x19mm around that price.
It's super cool. Even 007, James Bond packed a high tech ASP pistol in the novels of the mid 1980s, early 1990s.

Clyde F

[shaunpain]

For a completely custom gun, built specifically for you to your specifications, 3.5k might be asking a fair price. It would not be for an off-the-line gun with looser tolerances. I'm not sure of the manufacturing process of those pistols so I can't really say but if I had to guess? I'm sure you'd be well served with a less cost prohibitive gun. I certainly wouldn't be using it as a defensive piece!

[buckhorn_cortez]

You either understand it or you don't with high-end 1911's. Nighthawk has an interesting marketing philosophy where they're having 1911's designed by well known gunsmiths or shooters like the Heinie, Marvel, Costa models.

They're hand-built guns with features specific to the designer's performance and aesthetic criteria. I know that for the Bob Marvel model, Bob went to Nighthawk and taught several of the gunsmiths how to build the gun to his specifications.

For the remainder of the Nighthawk models, they're nice pistols, and built to your specifications within the options offered by Nighthawk - not that much different than many alleged "custom" gunsmiths.

There seems to be this idea that building a 1911 should be cheap based upon costs of other types of pistols. 1911's are expensive to build because of the hand work involved in a custom gun. There's a lot of time spent setting up for some of the machining required - you have to pay for that.

As for accuracy - I have two 1911's that came with 10 shot, 50 yard test targets with groups under 1.4-inches - that's about the best you're going to get out of a 1911. I'm not aware of any other semi-auto pistols that can do that well.

Expensive 1911's are their own category, and unlike any other pistols made. If you don't understand what they're about - then don't buy one and be happy with whatever you think is a good use of your money.

[Old Stony]

So this guy steps out of his Ferrari, wearing his Gucci loafers and Rolex president watch....you think maybe he's be carrying a Norinco 1911?
We all have our different tastes and there is a market for each of us. A hand built 1911 is going to be expensive and should perform on a par with it's price. Shooting a masterpiece of the gunmaker's art is an experience to be remembered....shooting the Norinco is just ...well...shooting.

[Sharpsdressed Man]

A company steps out of nowhere, like Night hawk, and puts together a nice car. All of a sudden, THEIR car is top of the line (or up there with Ferrari, etc), and they charge three times what a standard sporty car goes for. WHERE did they EARN the reputation? It appears to me that they just assigned themselves a high price tag for their item, and hoped that a few customers with expendable cash would fall for it. Sure, nice car, or nice gun, but unless it truly was built from scratch, or to the customer's order, not a $3.5K gun. Just as most high end cars are overpriced, a good many guns are, too, just because of marketing, snobbery, and greed.

[pilpens]

law of diminishing returns?

[Uncle Malice]

uhh... Nighthawk started in 2003 when several custom smiths from Wilson started their own venture.

Not exactly out of nowhere.

[buckhorn_cortez]

A company steps out of nowhere, like Night hawk, and puts together a nice car. All of a sudden, THEIR car is top of the line (or up there with Ferrari, etc), and they charge three times what a standard sporty car goes for. WHERE did they EARN the reputation? It appears to me that they just assigned themselves a high price tag for their item, and hoped that a few customers with expendable cash would fall for it. Sure, nice car, or nice gun, but unless it truly was built from scratch, or to the customer's order, not a $3.5K gun. Just as most high end cars are overpriced, a good many guns are, too, just because of marketing, snobbery, and greed.

The gunsmiths at Nighthawk, for the most part, used to work for Wilson Combat. You can't make a name for yourself or your company without first putting out a product. The guns cost what they cost specifically because Nighthawk, as a company, wants to compete in the Wilson, Les Baer, Ed Brown market. Their guns are of the same quality - therefore, they cost the same amount.

If you don't want to pay the price because you don't see the value - that's simply YOUR personal value judgement.

You know...there's lots of things that I just don't "get" - expensive cigars, rap music, cruise ship vacations, the Toyota Echo... just to name a few.

What I don't do is read into, or assign to them, an absolute value in general. I just figure I'm not interested in them, don't pay money for them, and don't care to make them part of my life. I do recognize that they must have an intrisic value as thousand to millions of people buy the product.

Now, expensive guns I get - whether it's a 1911, a shotgun, or rifle. When you examine the gun carefully and shoot the gun - you do find that there are performance differences, feature differences, and aesthetic differences from less expensive guns.

Now, those differences are either important to you and you pay the money for them or not. If not -you just don't buy the product. If you don't understand the attraction, that's understandable.

Just don't assign a whole lot of personal projections and assumptions to the product based upon your personal value judgement because you don't understand the product and it's market.

For you, a Nighthawk may be your version of the Toyota Echo - don't get upset at the product - just don't buy it, don't think about it, and move on to things that you like.

[bac1023]

$3.5K buys you a Sig Scandic X-6 or an original S&W Registered magnum.

Wow, which original Registered Magnum are you finding for $3500? I've seen examples with replaced barrels sell for more than that.

Sig can keep the Scandic. I think all those color schemes look horrible.

[bac1023]

A company steps out of nowhere, like Night hawk, and puts together a nice car. All of a sudden, THEIR car is top of the line (or up there with Ferrari, etc), and they charge three times what a standard sporty car goes for. WHERE did they EARN the reputation? It appears to me that they just assigned themselves a high price tag for their item, and hoped that a few customers with expendable cash would fall for it. Sure, nice car, or nice gun, but unless it truly was built from scratch, or to the customer's order, not a $3.5K gun. Just as most high end cars are overpriced, a good many guns are, too, just because of marketing, snobbery, and greed.

They didn't step out of "nowhere". Nighthawk was started by former Wilson employees and they build a damn good 1911. Those guys don't work cheap, so if you're comparing the to a $1200 1911, you've got a lot to learn.

By the way, the 1911s built from scratch by the top custom 1911 smiths in the world are going to cost you a heck of a lot more than $3500.

[kcub]

I don't dis guns I have no experience with whether they have a high or a low price tag.

I'm asking the question because I have never seen nor held a Nighthawk and likely won't see one at the lgs.

My reg mag was 3.5k because it has a finish under suspicion though it is flaking nickel and letters out as nickel. The guy dropped the price and I pounced. No regrets. I'd do it again.

[bac1023]

I don't dis guns I have no experience with whether they have a high or a low price tag.

I'm asking the question because I have never seen nor held a Nighthawk and likely won't see one at the lgs.

My reg mag was 3.5k because it has a finish under suspicion though it is flaking nickel and letters out as nickel. The guy dropped the price and I pounced. No regrets. I'd do it again.

Congrats on the RM. I would have pounced on it as well.

Nighthawk makes a great 1911. I have a couple that I bought about five years ago. Prices were high then, but not quite as bad as today. Having said that, both Brown and Wilson have also shot up in price. $3500 is not really out of line.

[OcSpeed]

With what you can get from Les Baer, and an optional 1.5" accuracy guarantee ... I'd say, if you want one then sure but for most practical purposes, not really.

[Ibmikey]

I love to respond to threads such as this knowing these old fingers will never be wrapped around craftsmanship such as the Night Hawk but salivating at the very thought. $3500 is not much for that pistol in comparison to the $5000 hearing aids I just got that hurt the ears and you need to cover up just to fire a pistol.

[Hiker 1]

I've never fired one, so I can't say first-hand, but worth is in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure there are folks out there that have them that swear they are the 1911 version of Oden's spear.

I did see a Wilson custom advertised for sale online a while back for well over $2k. The poster said it has 500 rounds through it so "it was almost broken in", i.e. it's not working right .

For that kind of dough, it best be 100% out of the box.

[Tactical Jackalope]

No handgun is worth that much to me. Sorry..

[George Hill]

A new Nighthawk T3 is less than my Obamacare deductible.
And that's supposed to be all kinds of affordable, right? So if in this new norm of what's affordable, a new T3 is a bargain. Or so MSNBC would have us believe.

[Tactical Jackalope]

^^^^ that is by far the best comment on TFL I've read in a long time!

[IdahoG36]

I personally wouldn't pay $3.5K for a 1911.

My high end 1911 experience was a like new Wilson Combat Protector in stainless. It came with wood grips, a set of G10 grips, 8 47D mags, and WC gun rug. I bought it on GB for $1800 shipped.

At $1800, the Wilson was worth that. It was a very nice pistol, and fit and finish were amazing.

I think that $2K would be the absolute highest I would be willing to pay for a 1911. After $2K, I don't think that you are getting much in return for your money.

[EveryCaliber]

I guess I just don't get it. 1911s are great, but I think the custom/boutique market for them has gotten out of control. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the hand craftsmanship, uniqueness, etc. But personally, I believe the difference between a $300 gun and a $1000 gun is very obvious. But the difference between a $1000 gun and a $3500 gun simply can not be worth an extra $2500 just for "the experience of shooting it". Besides, who is goign to carry - or even want to shoot! - a piece that costs that much??? I just don't see it happening. Now, a $1000 gun and $2500 pile of ammo... THAT is my idea of the ultimate shooting experience!

[Uncle Malice]

...But the difference between a $1000 gun and a $3500 gun simply can not be worth an extra $2500...

I own a $1,400 Springfield TRP and the difference between it and a Nighthawk or Wilson Elite is just as obvious as the difference between a Rock Island and my TRP.

Are they WORTH the money? Yes. Would I spend the money on one? No. Unless my financial situation explodes and I have tons of play money, then maybe I'd consider one. They're damn fine guns... just out of my price range. I, like you, would rather spend that extra money on ammo.