I have a colt 1911 that I paid a little over 700 for and it is a great pistol. It's a little on the sloppy side compared to some of the nicer 1000 dollar range guns I've seen but it has ran good for me so far.
I've looked into getting what I would consider basic upgrades that pretty much come stock on the 1200 to 1500 dollar range guns like Kimbers, Springfields, S&W's done to my colt at different "custom" shops and individual custom gunsmiths and the prices have run from 1700 to 3500+ for the work and parts and a refinish. These prices have been for a beavertail safety, trigger job, hammer, mag catch, night sights, slide fit, action job, bushing, front strap checkering, a mild carry bevel and re-finish. Notice that's not including a match barrel or guide rod or any other small parts.
So if you can get a springfield, kimber, or S&W for 1000 to 1500 with all the better parts including the match barrel and full length guide rod and a better finish with good parts fit and that will reliably shoot accurately and feed most kinds of ammo then what are you really getting extra when you get into that 3000 to 5000 dollar range and 1 to 2 year wait lists from some of the bigger name smiths and shops?
Does it just come down to " I want this and I can afford it" mentality, kind of like owning an expensive painting or collectible?
I'm just wondering because I'm about to spend about twice what it would cost to get the same "features" in a kimber or SA and probably the cost of a new Wilson Combat or Nighthawk Custom to have my colt upgraded at one of those shops or a custom smith.
Does this make sense?
I've looked into getting what I would consider basic upgrades that pretty much come stock on the 1200 to 1500 dollar range guns like Kimbers, Springfields, S&W's done to my colt at different "custom" shops and individual custom gunsmiths and the prices have run from 1700 to 3500+ for the work and parts and a refinish. These prices have been for a beavertail safety, trigger job, hammer, mag catch, night sights, slide fit, action job, bushing, front strap checkering, a mild carry bevel and re-finish. Notice that's not including a match barrel or guide rod or any other small parts.
So if you can get a springfield, kimber, or S&W for 1000 to 1500 with all the better parts including the match barrel and full length guide rod and a better finish with good parts fit and that will reliably shoot accurately and feed most kinds of ammo then what are you really getting extra when you get into that 3000 to 5000 dollar range and 1 to 2 year wait lists from some of the bigger name smiths and shops?
Does it just come down to " I want this and I can afford it" mentality, kind of like owning an expensive painting or collectible?
I'm just wondering because I'm about to spend about twice what it would cost to get the same "features" in a kimber or SA and probably the cost of a new Wilson Combat or Nighthawk Custom to have my colt upgraded at one of those shops or a custom smith.
Does this make sense?