Parts Gun Rebirth
[…] routine to buy a new Colt Series 70 (or later on, a Springfield Armory 1911A1) and immediately send it for custom work. A pistolsmith would tighten slide/frame fit, install a match-grade barrel, replace lockwork components and tune the trigger pull, fit a beavertail grip safety, extended/ambi manual safety, extended mag release, high-visibility sights, mag chute, and maybe a rust resistant finish. Paying for a bunch of parts, only to throw them away and replace them with other parts, seems goofy in retrospect but it was just the way we did it. Then Kimber (and some semi-custom gunmakers) made the astute decision to build guns the way shooters wanted to start with, and the modern 1911 was the result. One of the best of those semi-custom makers is Nighthawk Custom. Nighthawk offers several well-designed models using their own frames/slides and other components. Sometimes we need to be reminded Nighthawk is a true custom shop. They can work on a pistol you already own, anything from a basic trigger job to a full-house custom. There are thousands of basically sound, traditional 1911-style pistols which can be made more shootable with some custom work. The Nighthawk website indicates they will build on your Colt, Springfield Armory or Kimber pistol. This isn’t because other makes are deemed unworthy, but because these manufacturers made considerable numbers of pistols known to be made to close tolerances, of quality steel properly heat-treated. >> Click Here Click Here AHJA11col July/August 2011