Here’s one that I recently finished for a very patient customer in California...
This gentleman has been around 1911s for a long time and over the years we’ve been fortunate to work on a few other projects with him. He knows what he wants and likes in a gun and not too long ago he took delivery of a very special Signature Grade gun done by Ted. When it came time for a new project he wanted something that retained all of the detail and care you find in a Signature Grade but with a different look. There were some key features on his must have list... the gun had to have an ambi-safety, a very sensitive grip safety, a “white ball” front sight, VZ Operator II stocks, and be completely finished in black. After that his instructions were simple saying “build me something you’d be proud to put in your holster”... sounded good to me.
Starting with a new Colt Series 80 Government model the frame rails were welded and refit to the slide. A Kart barrel was matted up with an EGW barrel bushing and as with all of our guns only the best quality internals were used throughout. With an ambi-safety being a must have it gave me a chance to use one of the new Wilson Combat Bulletproof parts. The part is machined from solid bar-stock and uses a slightly different way to retain the right side lever than has been used in the past. Additionally, instead of the conventional “tongue and groove” joint that meets in the center of the pin, each half of the BP safety has what is essentially a pin split lengthwise. Both the left and right side backing plate have a corresponding section of the pin that runs all the way through the frame and mates up with the opposite side lever. When connected the end result is a "solid" pin secured on each side by a tongue and groove joint. It’s very stable and secure and the design indicates that if the right side lever were to break the left side could still function as a safety for at least a short period of time. If I had one complaint about the safety it’s that the paddles are too small right out of the package and don’t allow for much shaping or variation.
Swinging on the BP ambi-safety is an S&A grip safety held in place at the bottom by one of Stan Chen’s excellent main spring housings. The front strap along with the main spring housing were both checkered by hand at 30lpi and the flattened slide top was also serrated at 30lpi in a broader arrow pattern than we normally do. Atop the slide is our Professional Grade rear sight and the “white ball” front sight as requested by the owner and designed by Chuck Rogers.
A word about the Roger’s White Ball front sight... I had seen this on Chuck’s guns in the past and always thought it was an excellent way to have a white “dot” in the front sight. This front sight was one of the customers specific requests and we are much obliged to Chuck for allowing us to make and install these on our guns. Chuck really has a winner with this design and the white ball front sight proves a very smart application. It provides fast acquisition and index of the front sight via the large white ball while still allowing the shooter to see and use the top of the front sight when needed. The sight is as visible as one of the “big dot” sights but because the sight is still flat on the top (not round) it can still be used to achieve a conventional sight picture when the utmost accuracy is needed. This sight may just be the ticket for those who want a highly visible white dot without sacrificing accuracy.
Rounding out the gun was a coat of Black-T over the entire pistol and a set of VZ Operator II G10 stocks in of course black. Enjoy the pics!
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Originally Posted by ColdDeadHands
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