Building a 1911 from a kit as a gift to my brother in the service. Difficulty?

[Zet70]

Ive seen the ads in shotgun news advertising 1911 parts kits and was wondering how much actual fitting these kits require. By brother was recently married and then left for a 9 month deployment. I want to do something special for him to mark both occasions and this seems perfect. My brother left for the military before he was 21 and never had the chance to own a firearm besides the .22s on the farm.

I wanted to go big and build him a nice gov size/ issue 1911 with some skrimshawed grips. Nothing fancy. I wasn't sure as to what all is involved in the build as far as machining and fitting of parts. Not looking for legendary accuracy or 2lb trigger. My goal in RIA quality in something I build for him commemorating the recent momentus occasions.

What kind of a price bracket do you think I am looking at?
Edit: looks like for about $315 I can buy a GI parts kit, ria slide/barrel/ frame that have been fitted and a just assemble it myself. Thoughts?

Thanks guys!

[thundrr1]

Then you'll need the all the pins, trigger, hammer, firing pin, spring kit, sear, safety, mag release, magazine, sights, disconnector, extractor, etc, etc, etc....

Have you ever tuned an extractor? Do your know which part to get to mount the thin grips? Truth be told,,,, there is more to building a 1911 than meets the eye. Drop in parts don't always drop in. How much is your time worth?

Here's a 9 mm 1911 on Gunbroker for less than $440.00.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=280936254

And it's made by someone who makes them for a living......

Just something to think about.

[Cornhusker]

If this is something you want to do then go for it. When building a 1911 you can spend anywhere from maybe 6-800 on the low end to a few thousand on the high end.

It's not like building an AR where you just buy parts and stick them together, there will be a LOT of fitting even on "drop-in" parts and depending on what parts you want you may need specialty tools which add to the overall cost. Get some gunsmithing and assembly/disassembly books BEFORE you start. If you have a 1911 that you can use as an example to see how the parts fit and work together that is a big help, too.

For me the best part is going to a USPSA or IDPA match or just going to the range and having someone ask who made that 1911 and being able to say "I did".

Far too big of a topic to discuss in one post.

Bottom line is...if you want to do it then do it. It's very satisfying.

[tonyfac]

shotgun news ad, most likely Sarco. here is a direct link to the 1911 kits, they also have many parts you may need.

http://e-sarcoinc.com/partskits.aspx

[CHEMICAL]

[cdi]

Unless you are well schooled in 1911 parts and operation, these kits are problematic at best.

If you wish to build your own, the best approach is to cherry pick the best possible parts from known, quality manufacturers and go from there.

The 1911 can be very confusing in terms of parts fitting- You will need a copy of Kuhnhausen's 1911 manual to go with it.

[762xIan]

I posted this before in another "I want to build a 1911" thread....a lot of pages, but very informative (and humorous) on what can go wrong and how difficult a 1911 build can get. He started with a Sarco kit.

Link:http://how-i-did-it.org/1911-project/index.html

[gold cup abuser]

If this is going to be a 'one and done' deal then consider getting one of the RIA GI models instead.

If you are doing this to learn the 1911 platform and will use the experience and tools on other projects then do the build.

The 1911 is not a plug and play project like most AR 15's are, it will take careful time, the proper tools and some patience to make a 1911 build that is is both safe and reliable.

If you want a kit that is pretty much ready to go out of the box, with minimal fitting or tools then consider the options from Fusion Firearms:

http://www.fusionfirearms.com/menu/1911_kits.htm

Good luck

[Zet70]

Thanks for all the responses guys! I'm going to put feelers out at local shops and attempt to piece together an m4 platform for him possibly too.

The sarco kit was only an option due to price and that they are local and I can inspect the parts before hand. They have in their mailer the frame/ slide/ barrel combo for $225 and the remainder of all GI parts including surplus grips for $90. I definitely want to build this gun. He can buy himself a RIA.

Keep the suggestions coming!

[Zet70]

If this is going to be a 'one and done' deal then consider getting one of the RIA GI models instead.

If you are doing this to learn the 1911 platform and will use the experience and tools on other projects then do the build.

The 1911 is not a plug and play project like most AR 15's are, it will take careful time, the proper tools and some patience to make a 1911 build that is is both safe and reliable.

If you want a kit that is pretty much ready to go out of the box, with minimal fitting or tools then consider the options from Fusion Firearms:

http://www.fusionfirearms.com/menu/1911_kits.htm

Good luck

Wow! Those kits are beautiful! But for $700+ I would feel bad learning on one of those platforms. Plus, as you can tell my brother isn't the type to set a gun on the mantle. He's going to get some serious use out of it. Maybe an AR is a better choice.

Here he is the day he qualed on the dual 50's. He screams America. He sweats freedom.