1911 Pistolsmith Index

[GunBugBit]

Dave Severns put up a couple of threads on another forum site a few years back, at least two years in a row, where he included video of Ransom Rest grouping results and detail strip with comments on build/parts quality of quite a few popular 1911 models.

I watched all of his videos and read all of his comments. What I saw/heard led me to buy a Dan Wesson Valor, which I like very much.

[samuse]

I just had a very poor experience with David Sams.

I had a new Springfield Custom Carry that I wanted to change up just for personal preference, and I didn't think the extractor was tuned properly.

I sent it to Mr Sams because I heard great things about his work and had seen some pics of a few MEUSOC clones he built.

I called him and told him what I had and that I wanted the same hammer pictured on the MEUSOC on his site and I wanted an Ed Brown thumb safety. I explained to him that I really liked his MEUSOC builds and that I basically wanted the same thing but with a single side safety. I had a Harrison trigger that I'd send in with the gun.

Promptly he told me Springfield Custom guns are junk, built with junk parts by people who don't know squat about 1911s for $10/hr. Oookay... Maybe he has an ax to grind with Springfield. Shoulda pulled the pin on the transaction right then, but poor judgement prevailed.

When I was trying to explain to him what I wanted, he kept saying "ok, yeah, mm hmm, yeah, yeah, ok, alright" at the same time I was talking, obviously he wasn't listening to me. Ok. The guy is probably busy, he's a one-man outfit and doesn't have time to chat. I'll leave a list of what I want in the box with the gun. Shoulda hung up on him and found a different 'smith, but poor judgement prevailed.

I send the gun in and wait. Called to tell him not to checker the frontstrap, and to please be sure to call me before he shipped it back because I was living/working in three different locations all summer. "Ok, no problem" he says.

Fast forward a couple weeks, I was paying bills, so I called him to pay him, didn't ask about the gun, just payed for it (an obscene amount of money for the work, he wanted a few bucks shy of $1K for basically a hammer, a thumb safety and an extractor, but he came down to $740..) reminded him again to please call me before he shipped it. "Okay, no problem. Call before I ship."

So I get home the other day and my neighbor shows up with a box. "This came for you the other day." WTF is it? A 1911 from Dave Sams. I told him to call but, oh well, I'm glad to get my gun back and I'm glad my neighbor ain't a thief.

Open the box, I have a parkerized 1911 wearing a stainless steel thumb safety and a stainless steel hammer. The thumb safety feels like shit. It's soft and mushy when engaged and very difficult to re-engage, does not 'snick' up into safe, just mushes up with no click. The spare extractor he fit is not fit to the rear of the slide, it's been buffed off with a Dremel and looks like a little dome sticking out the back of the slide.

I call him and told him I didn't like anything he did and that I was more than a little sick about stainless stuff on my parked gun. He told me parts were hard to get and that was all he could find, and that stainless was more durable than carbon because carbon would rust away. Ok. Where's my old parts? I'll cut my loss and return the gun to stock. He threw 'em away...

[Wake27]

My limited experimece with Hatfield's Gunsmithing was positive. Sam Hatfield owns the place, he was apparently an armorer for the AMU. I don't know if he does all of the 1911 work or if there are a few guys who work on them. I just had sights replaced and a Wilson Combat BP Thumb Safety put on my Colt Rail Gun so nothing major, but it turned out awesome. I don't know if it's the part, the work, or both but the difference was huge. Haven't seen much on them here except someone saying Sam was abrasive IIRC, which I've never seen. Turn around time was about a month and his shop is located in Manassass, VA.

[Scrubber3]

This is one of the reasons his forum is well revered. The amount of helpful information found here is one of the largest collective knowledge bases I've ever seen in reference to the firearms community. If not one of, then it's THE largest and most truthful. Big help guys! Thanks a ton

[Chuck]

Uhhhhhhhh......
re-read the title.

This is a master list of pistolsmiths.

Not a list of master pistolsmiths.

[hk_shootr]

I just had a very poor experience with David Sams........

I would have cut my losses after he stated his displeasure with SA.
Would not want anyone working on any of mine that did not want to.

[BigJoe]

Uhhhhhhhh......
re-read the title.

This is a master list of pistolsmiths.

Not a list of master pistolsmiths.

i wish i could make a list this extensive and say i had guns from every one of em. Sadly i can't i just add people that had a reputation online. I alter as needed. that and between steve morrison, chuck, jason, ned, chris james.... i'm broke.

[beschatten]

My limited experimece with Hatfield's Gunsmithing was positive. Sam Hatfield owns the place, he was apparently an armorer for the AMU. I don't know if he does all of the 1911 work or if there are a few guys who work on them. I just had sights replaced and a Wilson Combat BP Thumb Safety put on my Colt Rail Gun so nothing major, but it turned out awesome. I don't know if it's the part, the work, or both but the difference was huge. Haven't seen much on them here except someone saying Sam was abrasive IIRC, which I've never seen. Turn around time was about a month and his shop is located in Manassass, VA.

I've used Sam Hatfields a couple of times as well. He does good work, the problem is he has 'his view' of building a 1911 and is against using certain things on a 1911. Some people are okay with this. I've only used him for sights and smaller jobs.

Every pistol 1911 I've fondled of his, has been good. His trigger work is sweet. He takes a lot of low end 1911's and makes it into something else. I saw a first there, getting a 9mm 1911 to run without a Nowlin style barrel, just a straight up feed ramp. I wish he had other finishes than duracoat. I'm not sure if I would label him as a master pistolsmith but he definitely takes pride in his work.

[STS]

Here are the smiths I have the most experience with:

Bob Miller has been a good friend over the years and has built me probably 8-9 guns. I also had the pleasure of spending a week in his shop while he taught me how to build my own 1911. His guns flat out run. He built a really nice rail gun for Chris Costa that was one of the best running 1911's I have ever seen and Costa ran it hard through many classes. Here in the somewhat near future Bob will most likely start accepting work. Bob is easily the best kept secret in the 1911 world.

Jason Burton and Ted Yost have built me I believe 5 total guns. What can I say about these two that everyone doesn't already know. They literally are two of the BEST 1911 smiths out there. Easily in the top 5 of smiths that are living IMO. When it comes to a traditional style Colt 1911 look no further. I very quickly plan on sending Jason two more Colts, I hold his work in that high regard.

Chris James is the up and coming superstar in the 1911 world. His 1911's have a unique style, very hard use and functional yet beautiful. The gun he built me frankly caught me by surprise. This was about two years ago when his website was just getting going and he wasn't as well known. I sent him a Caspian frame and slide and a ton of Wilson parts that I had laying around not expecting to get back such a beautiful gun. Functional modern art is how I'd describe his work. A lot of serious shooters are carrying 1911's built by him so that is a clue. In 2014 I hope to have Jason Burton build me a 1911 and Chris James.

[rsxr22]

I would include Matt mclearn, he builds nils johanassan's guns and Jeff Abernathy. He does all of jarretts stuff and a lot of others, oh also, Calhoun custom, Tim Calhoun is the owner