Build your own 1911

[Wildbill990]

I've been wanting a 1911 for a long time. I've always loved the style and classic look they have. I've been considering getting a Ruger since they are American made, Ruger has great CS and the price is hard to beat. I've also been considering building one. I've built AR's and I know 1911's require a little more attention as there may need to be custom fitting to get everything right. I was thinking about going the 80% route but don't want to invest in the equipment to do that. Instead I've considering buying a pre done receiver from brownells and parts kit from sarco.

For anyone whose done a build on a 1911, what can I expect?

[Hodgie]

I've been wanting a 1911 for a long time. I've always loved the style and classic look they have. I've been considering getting a Ruger since they are American made, Ruger has great CS and the price is hard to beat. I've also been considering building one. I've built AR's and I know 1911's require a little more attention as there may need to be custom fitting to get everything right. I was thinking about going the 80% route but don't want to invest in the equipment to do that. Instead I've considering buying a pre done receiver from brownells and parts kit from sarco.

For anyone whose done a build on a 1911, what can I expect?

Assembling an AR15 is absolutely nothing like building and hand fitting an entire 1911. I've seen dozens of people start this venture and a year down the line they are selling off a box of half assembled poorly fitted parts that they spent 2x's more on then if they would have bought a solid entry level 1911.

If you have a strong work knowledge of the mechanical operation of the 1911 and you are confident with spending lots of time hand fitting just about every major part then it's a project that might be for you. If you are expecting to build a working reliable 1911 in a few days time then move on. It's a labor of love that requires a lot of time, patience, and knowledge.

My recommendation is to buy a entry level RIA and upgrade it part by part over the course of owning it. Doing it this way will give you experience with hand fitting each part as well as how each interacts with one another as well. If you screw something up on your replacement part you still have the working factory part to fall back to.

Just my .02

[Kabloosh]

I'd just buy the Ruger. It's a beautiful and well built handgun at a respectable price point.

[ColtShooter]

Buy something complete to start.

Building you own can be done but will cost more as you pick up parts. The good news is that with the invention of CNC's parts are relatively standard and are more drop in if you buy good parts, ie. Wilson and such. The old days of needing to hand fit every little part isn't really the same any more.

[Delkal]

My recommendation is to buy a entry level RIA and upgrade it part by part over the course of owning it. Doing it this way will give you experience with hand fitting each part as well as how each interacts with one another as well. If you screw something up on your replacement part you still have the working factory part to fall back to.

Exactly! Receivers from Brownells are expensive and parts kits from Sarco are unknown crap. Buying a complete working 1911 and upgrading a few parts will probably end up being cheaper (and a lot less stressful).

You can always sell your take of parts on Ebay and come out ahead.

[Wildbill990]

Thanks for the input. I'll prob stick to going with the Ruger or even a RIA for now and maybe delve into a custom build later on.

[smoke-wagon]

Tanners has the Ruger full size and commander size on sale for $625 and it's about an hour drive in Jamison pa.

[Wildbill990]

Tanners has the Ruger full size and commander size on sale for $625 and it's about an hour drive in Jamison pa.

Thanks! That's as good as online prices from what I've seen.

[smoke-wagon]

Thanks! That's as good as online prices from what I've seen.

You're welcome and don't thank me, you're going to be signing your paychecks over to that place soon haha

[Brick]

Unless you have a basic set of armorers tools and a milling machine and few other pieces found in machine shops don't bother! You are much better off buying a finished handgun. Bear in mind there are literally dozens of manufacturers offering guns in a wild array of "styles", calibers and finishes from plain Jane GI to hand finished race-guns with all the bells and whistles. Sure you can buy a frame and bunch of drop in parts from any number of sources, but the cost of the parts will total more than a complete gun and when you're finished it won't be any better than a rack grade GI piece.