Worth it to carry a custom 1911?

[LkWinnipesaukee]

I have the opportunity to have a custom 1911 made for carry at a price under $2000. This gun would be my EDC and a frequently used range gun. I feel like I understand the value of a custom 1911 in the fact that it is built to my spec (full sized frame, 4.25" barrel, bobtail, 3.5# trigger, Kobra-Carry serrations, built rather "loose" for reliability, maybe a titanium or stainless frame or the whole thing finished in a durable coating ).

BUT, I'm not sure if it is worth it to CARRY a gun this expensive. Given that it will receive a lot of holster wear, maybe be banged around over the years, and other consequences of EDC (and weekly trips to the range). I'm not sure it is worth it to make this investment for a gun I want to do everything with.

Is there something about a custom 1911 (besides the tailored specs) that make it a better carry gun than a plain production 1911 (e.g., SW, Colt)?

I'd like to hear both "sides" of this. So please chime in--I'm very interested in everyone's opinions.

Thanks!

 

[John Wayne]

If you finish it in something durable like you mentioned, it won't really recieve a lot of noticable wear. Duracoat, NP3, and other finishes will take quite a bit of use before showing wear. Also, if you can afford a $2,000 pistol, you can afford to have it refinished.

Do I think a custom gun has anything to offer over a production model? No, not really. With today's selection you can pretty much get anything you want in a production gun, especially a 1911. Personally, my taste in guns changes frequently enough that I've learned not to spend a whole lot of money on features I may come to decide I don't care for.

But if custom is what you want, buy one, shoot the hell out of it, and carry it all the time. I'd rather pay $2,000 for something I used until it fell apart than pay $2,000 for something I never used at all.

 

[DasFriek]

Im the type of person that if im gonna own a gun im gonna use it to its fullest extent and get my money's worth out of it.
The issue your in comes down to one thing and one thing only, Money.
If you carry it it will be devalued, And the more you shoot it more of the same will happen.
But if its left in a safe it will only go up in value, Even if lightly shot once in while.
The great thing about a custom is if your having it built to your specs and likes then a gun even costing twice as much wont work as well for you since its not what you prefer in a gun to carry.

I don't look down at collectors and people with safe queens, Thats their business and actually a decent monetary investment.

I also feel that if all you can afford is a lower end gun and long as its reliable i don't look at that person any different. But if i saw a guy who owned a custom 1911 That is built for carry and it fits his needs and wants perfectly as it was built just for him, But he carries an XD instead as he don't want his gun scratched i do think thats rather wrong.

 

[docnyt]

There's an easy albeit expensive solution: get 2 of the same gun!

 

[JDGray]

Don't carry anything you dont want to loose to evidence.

 

[Messenger Guard]

It depends on what your life is worth. If you feel the custom is your best bet at winning in an armed confrontation, by all means carry it. Since you said you will be shooting it a lot, I would assume it will be a gun you are going to be most comfortable with. Not trying to be harsh but, dieing in your hospital bed some day do you really want to think," man I'm glad I never carried that custom so that the next generation can do what they want with it".

 

[kyletx1911]

It depends on what your life is worth. If you feel the custom is your best bet at winning in an armed confrontation, by all means carry it. Since you said you will be shooting it a lot, I would assume it will be a gun you are going to be most comfortable with. Not trying to be harsh but, dieing in your hospital bed some day do you really want to think," man I'm glad I never carried that custom so that the next generation can do what they want with it".

+1 one day i will own a custom but for now 2 rocks and a colt80 all are in edc rotation
but when i get a custom i will wear it every day(imho)thats like having a hot rod i will drive it till the wheels fall off. for me to have something that nice should be used

 

[WC145]

I carry a custom alloy framed 9mm Fusion CCO, the original price was a little over $2000. I bought it because I really wanted a 1911 CCO in 9mm for off duty and it was one of the few choices available, and it happened to come along at the right time and the right price. I love the gun and it's a pleasure to carry. However, I carry a S&W 1911 9mm Pro Series on duty and it's a great gun, my favorite. Because of that I have to say, while I'm happy with the Fusion, if S&W offered their ES in 9mm I would have bought it before the Fusion simply because I trust their products and my Pro Series has been such a good gun for me.

Obviously, I don't have an issue with carrying a custom gun, hell my BUG is a custom 9mm scandium snubby. IMO, if it's built for carry and use and that's why you bought it then strap it on and go.

 

[Olympus]

For me, I'd be a little worried about it. If you're dead set on carrying a 1911, there are other, less expensive models that are just as reliable and just as accurate.

I'm pretty clumsy, so it would be my luck that I'd bump into the corner of a door or something solid and round off a corner or something on a $2000 gun. I've even been known to trip and fall occassionally and I'd personally not feel comfortable EDCing a $2000 gun. But I guess it depends on how big of a number $2000 is to you also. It's a pretty big number for me, so I wouldn't treat a $2000 gun like I treat a $200 one.

 

[migkillertwo]

Don't carry anything you dont want to loose to evidence.

This.

 

[ForumSurfer]

I wouldn't worry about the "losing it to evidence" stuff. Hey if it saves my life it was worth $5000 or more to me all day long!

As far as holster wear goes, no custom build is complete without it. Holster wear adds character! It's a tool, use it as such and don't worry about it.

 

[DasFriek]

I think a high grade custom will have a tough finish or you better make it part of the "job" when its built. If you carry that in quality leather holsters which cover the barrel fully which i find best anyhow there isn't much room for it to get scratched anyhow.
And holster wear will be minimal with a good finish and a good fitting leather holster.

Plus a high end gun doesn't loose value once its been used if you also have it refinished in a good high end coating you will have lost nothing as all scratches and dent can be removed by a good gunsmith or refinisher.

I just rebuilt my lower end 1911 completly from the pins and springs up with all high end machined parts and no MIM stuff that i hand fit everything and tuned it to my likes. I only used the bare frame/slide and barrel and everything else is new. Then i put a carry bevel/melt job on it and had a great tough coating put on it. Once it comes home which is soon i hope it will be in a holster as fast as i can find a reason to leave the house.

 

[Zach S]

Buying a carry-worthy custom 1911, and carrying a cheaper one, is like driving a beat to crap $800 Honda while the BMW you're still making payments on sits in the garage.

Sure, it'll stay nice and wont get the typical wear on it, but what good is it doing to have it? Reminds me of an old buddy with a LB. Carries a cheaper 1911 so his 2k+ 1911 doesn't get any wear on it. Makes sense to some people, not to me.

Considering initial purchase, modifications, optic, I could easily have two grand in my AR15, and its still my HD gun. God forbid, if I ever have to use it, I would like it back after my legal troubles. However, if I don't get it back, I could replace it with about about two grand. I cant replace my loved ones.

Besides, depending on how far into the judicial system your case goes, you may end up selling your car, house, and most of your other guns to pay the attorney.

So, in short, if I had two grand I could spend on a handgun, yes, I'd carry it. And my BMW would have cone scars from autocross...

 

[alabaster]

I wont buy anything I wont carry and shoot. If you're putting yur life on it, it only makes sense to me to get/ have the best equipment you can. Well worth it IMO.

 

[waterhouse]

If I built a custom gun to carry it, I'd certainly do just that. Shoot it a ton, carry it a lot, let it build some character, and if you don't like the way it looks with the bumps and bruises have it refinished for a couple hundred dollars.

 

[Olympus]

A there are plenty of good, reliable, and accurate 1911s for about $1000 that a lot of people use as their EDC without worry. That's half as much as the OP is thinking of spending.

Buying a carry-worthy custom 1911, and carrying a cheaper one, is like driving a beat to crap $800 Honda while the BMW you're still making payments on sits in the garage.

Personally, if I could afford to pay cash for a brand new Corvette, I wouldn't be driving it every day on my 110 mile commute to and from work. It would be it the garage until nice weather weather and used for weekend trips and late night lonely stretches of empty road! I'd also have a decent vehicle with a reputation for reliability that I drove to and from work everyday (which I do). But that's must my personal preference. To each their own...

 

[alabaster]

I'd say get you a nice 1911, and then get some of those super-hawt grips from Olympus' avatar!

Those are sick! Inexpensive too. Wow, man. Threadjack over...

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I'll also echo the sentiment of don't carry anything you aren't willing to lose to evidence. If you shoot your carry pistol at another person, you will probably never see it again. And if you do, it will not be in the pristine condition you left it. Plan on a year or two worth of rust and corrosion plus the evidence techs initials and case number scratched right into the gun.

I would not carry a custom 1911. Besides the fact that I would not carry any 1911, I would not carry something that had sentimental value to me for the simple fact that I might lose it. I would carry a Glock or other super-reliable and accurate yet mass produced pistol. Something I know I can trust my life to, but something I won't miss and can always replace if the need arises.

 

[Stringfellow]

This thread is begging for a reality check. Its one thing to justify $2k because it is your hobby (if you are not otherwise short changing other aspects of life). It is another to justify the cost as a necessity.

Do not let anyone tell you that you "need" a $2000 pistol for the sake of your family. The point of diminishing returns kicks in somewhere shortly past $500. There are so many different scenarios where you would get a better return on your investment so to speak--e.g., get a $500 RIA and have a master gunsmith go through it piece by piece to increase reliability.

Yeah, we are on a gun enthusiast's forum, but we are all still subject to reality. If your concern is your family, you would be better served by a $500 Glock and by putting the rest towards more life insurance, savings, braces, college fund, etc.

 

[migkillertwo]

I wouldn't worry about the "losing it to evidence" stuff. Hey if it saves my life it was worth $5000 or more to me all day long!

As far as holster wear goes, no custom build is complete without it. Holster wear adds character! It's a tool, use it as such and don't worry about it.

If you feel that you need $5000 worth of features then go ahead and buy the gun. But I honestly cannot believe you can't master a glock or springfield (or hell even a "sub-par" gun like a Taurus or Bersa).

like others have said, the point of diminishing returns kicks in at 500$.

Oh, and another thing we should point out, you can't get match-grade accuracy and glock-like reliability at the same time. The tolerances are way too tight and just a little bit of dust (or lint, which you would get as you CCW) can cause the gun to not go into battery. IDK about you, but I would much rather sacrifice some accuracy for reliability and still hit the BGs torso.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Hey, if somebody wants to carry a mega $ custom 1911, who am I to stop them? I don't "need" many things in my life. But I do have wants. If I can get something that fulfills a need and a want all at once, well that's just great.

A custom 1911 doesn't mean it isn't reliable. It gets built to whatever specs you want. You can have match grade barrels and reliability. It just depends on how it is built and how close the tolerances are. If you loosen up the tolerances, you have a very accurate and reliable piece. My 1911's are just as reliable as my glock. Lint, dust, salt water, or whatever I happen to get on or in my 1911's has yet to stop them.

But I honestly cannot believe you can't master a glock or springfield

He obviously doesn't want a glock or springfield, so why buy one?

IDK about you, but I would much rather sacrifice some accuracy for reliability and still hit the BGs torso.

My glock seems pretty accurate.

If you want a 2k custom carry piece, go for it. Just make sure it is reliable. If it is reliable, great...you have yourself a dependable carry piece that you like.

We're all different, and we all have our own unique tastes. A high end, custom 1911 can be just as reliable and suitable for daily carry as anything else.

 

[CZ223]

If you can afford it and

you don't mind it getting banged up, why not. I can't see anything wrong with it. The only probem is, I don't see a whole lot right with it either. There are tons of very good 1911s out there with most any option you want on it. You can spend anywhere from $500 on a Rock Island to well over a thousand for a production gun like a Kimber. I would say to figure out what it is you want for options like sights, checkering etc. then find a base gun with those things on it. Machine work can be very costly and it is cheaper to buy a gun with these thing already done. Safeties, hammers etc., can all be added later. If there are MIM parts that you want replaced, replace them. A good gunsmith can through it and make it reliable for not a lot of money depending on what he does to it. Honestly, most people would be very well served with a Rock Island Tactical or comp tac that a competent gunsmith has gone through. I have a Comp Tac that I paid $325 for used and it as reliable as the days are long. i duracoated it myself. Now it is custom.

 

[Shipwreck]

I have a $3k Custom Springfield. I bought it to be a range gun intentionally. Now, I do contemplate carrying it. However, while hard chrome is super durable, it really doesn't make the best protection against rust.

I've had several hard chromed guns over the years, have read about the subject a lot, and have talked to companies who do hard chroming. Despite what some people on forums claim, there are microscopic pores from specimen to specimen. Hard chrome can be effected by sweat sometimes (once again, this seems to vary from specimen to specimen).

Anyway, I sorta wish I had gone with some other finish now that I want to carry it. Had I gone with Black T or Armory Coat - I would get better rust protection, and refinishing could be done very easily. With hard chrome - it's gotta be removed and redone, and this is a pain in the butt and not something ya really want to do.

Anyway - because of this, I've decided not to carry that 1911. Holster wear isn't an issue, but I don't want to take the chance of the hard chrome getting messed up by rust. I've seen it before on the hard chrome guns of others. So, I don't carry that $3k gun.

 

[mcdonl]

I would have issues with a $2000 pistol to begin with, but we are talking about you... not me.

I say you can carry it if you want to. Do you have another gun now? If so, just enjoy the new gun and if you choose NOT to carry it for whatever reason you can carry your other gun.

Buy, enjoy it... and, if you dont like it... sell it and get another. It is just a gun.

 

[surjimmy]

Why have it and not carry it. I as we speak, have a Ted Yost as my CC. I buy and carry the best I can, because my family and I are worth it.