December 11, 2018, 09:35 PM | #1 |
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1991A1 Customize?
I have a SS Colt 1991A1 ORM that I am considering having some work done on by Wilson Combat including:
- beavertail and hammer - trigger job - extended safety - front strap checkering - checkered not nylon main spring housing - sights - dehorn - refinish Just a range / nightstand gun the only purpose for the upgrades is "just because". Also I can't really afford to do it all at once so it would be a little here and a little there obviously the refinish would be last. What are your thoughts would it be worthwhile to put $2k into?
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December 11, 2018, 09:39 PM | #2 | |
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December 12, 2018, 09:55 AM | #3 |
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I have a completely different opinion. I have three custom built ORM 1991A1s, one in each size - Gov't .38 Super/9mm/9x23, Commander .45, and Compact (Officer's) .45 - and, to me, they are well worth the money put into them. They are all outstanding shooting guns, feel great in my hand, and look terrific. The 1991A1 is a terrific platform for a custom build and I am of the opinion that if you want to have one customized you should go right ahead and have it built into the exact gun you want it to be.
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"If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge or jury. Therefore what he must be taught to fear is his victim." - LtCol Jeff Cooper Last edited by WC145; December 12, 2018 at 10:06 AM. |
December 12, 2018, 10:19 AM | #4 | |
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December 12, 2018, 10:25 AM | #5 | |
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From a purely practical standpoint it probably is not worthwhile. You could buy a GLOCK G17 and tons of ammo, but that isn't what you want. I spent more than I should and probably more than it is really worth for a Wilson a few years ago. I went to the range Monday and put a few hundred rounds through the gun and left with a big smile on my face. Bottom line it is your money and as long as your budget allows I say go for it.
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December 12, 2018, 02:21 PM | #6 |
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It'd still be a less than $800 pistol(Approximate used value for a 1991 on Gunbroker) with 2 grand worth of work you'll never get back.
However, if you're going to do anything, do the trigger job first. The sights may be fine as is. Depends on what's on it now.
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December 12, 2018, 02:28 PM | #7 |
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WC145, you have to give us the deets on those three beauties!
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December 12, 2018, 05:40 PM | #8 |
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Thanks for the compliment.
The Gov't was originally a .38 Super, the build was done by Robin Dietrich of Dietrich Gunsmithy here in Maine. Robin did all of the work on that gun, including fitting 9mm and 9x23 barrels to it. The finish is Ionbond DLC. The grips are hand carved giraffe bone by Tommy Two Feathers. Great shooting gun with any of the three barrels, though I run it in 9mm in single stack, it is smokin' fast. The Commander is a Marc Krebs build from the mid-'90s. Marc was best known for his race guns but he also built some carry pistols, though they're hard to find. This one is just a terrific gun, great shooter, incredibly accurate, lots of little details that set it apart. Also, it has one of the best triggers I've ever felt on a 1911 and it still has the Series 80 safety in place and functional. It was finished in hard chrome by Metaloy. The Compact was treated to Clark's Meltdown package back in the late '90s. About 6 years ago I had Robin Dietrich give it a facelift. He checkered it, fit and blended a checkered S&A MSH, recrowned and polished the barrel, then polished the rest of the gun and blued it. Joe Chambers made and fitted a new gold bead front sight earlier this year. The grips are mammoth ivory. The melt makes it a very comfortable gun to carry and it shoots as you expect a Clark built gun should.
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December 12, 2018, 05:43 PM | #9 |
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Parceling out gunsmithing will result in FedUPS getting more of your money than Wilson.
Save up and get it all in one trip. |
December 12, 2018, 08:29 PM | #10 | |
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Find a pistol you like with as many of the features you want as you can find and buy it. Sell what you have if you need the money to make the purchase. Don't feed FedEx and/or UPS along with some distant gunsmith. |
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December 12, 2018, 08:56 PM | #11 | |
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$800 gun. + $2 K work = $800 gun Even though because of my rule #1 I am not that concerned with the dollar va lue, I think I would just spend that $2K on a new gun with all the bells and whistles you want to add to the 1991A1.
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December 13, 2018, 12:13 AM | #12 | |
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My $0.02 on 1911 pistolsmith work. I have 5 1911’s and 4 of them have been worked on by good 1911 pistolsmiths. If you have a good personal working relationship with a good ‘smith you can spend as little as you need to, or as much as you want to. I have been talked out of doing more work to my guns than I will ever spend on them. The best pistolsmith I ever worked with told me flat out that I needed to concentrate on becoming a better shooter with the gun as is and to quit messing around with the mechanics of the gun. If the OP has enough rounds through that Colt 1991A1 ORM to know what it needs to be a better functioning gun, then he should get the work done.
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December 13, 2018, 01:03 AM | #13 | |
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My 1991A1 Compact functions just fine, and is as accurate as I can shoot. I think it has a couple simple mods from the previous owner, but nothing that would cost anything near that. $500 out the door about 12 years ago!
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December 13, 2018, 08:38 AM | #14 | ||
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Not a bad set of features to add. I do wonder if you should have the barrel replaced with a new fitted match barrel and bushing too while the work is being done.+500 Stock Colt barrels are fine, but no great in the accuracy dept. Quote:
What value will an unmolested Colt 1991 ever have? |
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December 13, 2018, 09:04 AM | #15 |
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IMO keep the Colt as is and save your money and spend 2K on a new pistol
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December 13, 2018, 09:39 AM | #16 | ||
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Still, don't see the point of spending two grand on a perfectly good gun when you could keep it prety much as is, and buy a gussied up custom for around the $2K Quote:
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December 13, 2018, 09:56 AM | #17 |
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You never get all your money back on custom guns. Sometimes none of it. With a 1911 you might get some of if it's done by a big-name shop.
Why would anybody pay you $2,000 for $2,000 worth of work when it's probably not exactly what he would do if he sent his own in? They are going to want a big discount, otherwise they'll just get their own done, the way they want it. I see them for sale for big money too, but that's not to say they get it. |
December 13, 2018, 12:03 PM | #18 |
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Thanks for all the feedback.
I have a few hundred rounds through the gun and have not learned to shoot it well enough yet. It all started because it gives me hammer bite so I was looking at beavertail safeties and of course it snowballs from there
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December 13, 2018, 02:43 PM | #19 |
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A Band Aid on your hand before you shoot is a hell of a lot cheaper.
If/when you can shoot the gun to it's maximum accuracy potential, only then will any accuracy modifications make sense. Most of the other stuff is pretty useless. |
December 13, 2018, 09:04 PM | #20 |
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IIRC, Jeff Cooper said all that a stock Colt 1911 needed was a trigger job and better sights. I tend to agree that these are all that are usually needed. However, one of the joys of 1911 ownership is the ability to customize and then enjoy pride in ownership.
Will you get your money back if you sell it? No, but you will get more than the $800 value of the Colt, despite what some have posted here. Wilson is a coveted custom gunsmithing shop whose work will increase the price of a 1911, unlike some very fine work done by gunsmiths without a national reputation. If you are thinking of the upgrades as an investment, you'll be disappointed. If you think of them as something that makes the pistol YOUR pistol, then why not if you can afford it? |
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