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The customized .45ACP

1K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  carver 
#1 ·
I wanted to pass on some information that I received many years ago. I've been fortunate to work for several gun shops, and apprentice with a couple of the best gun smiths. I also got a lot of information from pistolsmith Jim Clark. He, and I, were not best buddies, as a matter of fact we barely knew each other. But I was at his shop, anytime I could spare the time away form family, and work. I tried my best to ask the right questions, and get some of the best information out there. And then I bought a pistol, and gave to Jim to customize for me

In 1965 Swedish gunsmith Armand Swenson made some modifications to the .45. His remarkable modifications to a Colt Government Model, however, are proving to be a watershed event in the development of the M1911. Swenson created the custom combat .45.
Custom tuning of the M1911 is not new, but, prior to Swenson, gunsmiths such as Bob Chow, Jim Clark and Al Dinan had focused solely on accuracy work for NRA Bullseye pistol competition. Along with lightening triggers and installing adjustable sights, the Government Model had never been customized specifically for combative purposes-a genre that later came to be known as "custom combat" gunsmithing-until a handful of pistolsmiths in Southern California began modifying the big slab-sided pistol for down-and-dirty use. http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/evolution-of-the-custom-combat-45
Today we buy our hand guns in .45 with a lot of these modifications already made to them. 30 years ago, if you wanted a custom .45 you hired men such as Bob Chow, Jim Clark and Al Dinan, to do the work for you. You could not buy a custom .45 off the shelf.
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2008/02/so-you-want-to-buy-1911-basic-primer.html

The gun you buy off the shelf today is a far cry from the pistol that J.M. Browning invented. You don't buy a gun based on recommendations, you buy what you want. If it don't run right, you get it fixed (customized).
 
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