Tomorrow, 28 October, would have been Lou’s 67th birthday and in an effort to continue to celebrate our friend we at LTW are proud to showcase the Lou Alessi tribute gun.
This gun has been a long time in the works and it now stands as LTW‘s way of honoring our friend. Shortly after Lou’s death the LTW BOD began to plan this tribute and it was easily decided that a pistol, moreover a Colt pistol, would be built in Lou’s honor. This particular project was to be a bit different than past LTW efforts, instead of only two or three LTW ’smiths working on the gun, for this gun it seemed fitting that each LTW ’smith have the opportunity to help craft this special piece. We all agreed that a true group effort such as this was something reserved for only the most special instances... and it’s easy to see how this project applies.
Details... We started with a new Colt Series 70 Government Model and a parts compliment that was graciously donated by the folks at
Brownells. The gun made its way from shop to shop getting the attention it deserved at every stop. The project began at the Heirloom Precision shop with Ted Yost fitting the frame and slide. From there it went to Stan Chen who flattened and serrated the slide top and installed the custom made front sight. Next up was CT Brian who installed the ignition components, performed the trigger job, and fit a Wilson Combat beavertail. The gun then made its way to Chuck Rogers who fit the barrel, bushing, and installed one of his Tier One rear sights. Once Chuck was done the gun headed to Don Williams who installed the extractor, ejector, firing pin stop, and did the basic reliability mods. Next up was John Harrison who checkered the front strap and main spring housing. After John was finished Ned Christiansen performed his FLH mag-well treatment and installed the slide stop, extended thumb safety, and one of his extra-stout plunger tubes. Once Ned was finished up the gun came back to the Heirloom shop where I lowered and flared the ejection port, straightened the frame lines, and installed the extended mag-catch. The final beveling, detailing, polishing and finish work were then done by Steve Bailey. With all that done (and probably some that I forgot) the gun was blued and fit with a set of layered carbon fiber and G10 stocks made by John VanZyck at VZ grips... the stocks of course are also special and feature the signature of our friend Lou Alessi.
Holsters...It wouldn’t be right not have this gun accompanied by something to tote it in and for that task John Ralston and Josh Bulman each made their own rendition of a Lou Alessi design. John reproduced the Alessi DOJ-S along with a single mag-carrier. The DOJ-S is the holster on which John draws inspiration for his own LFA-1, a rig that is John’s personal tribute to Lou.
For Josh Bulman’s contribution he built his excellent QRH rig and a matching magazine carrier. The Bulman QRH is Josh’s version of the Alessi CQC-S, which is likely the design Lou was best known for.
It’s hard to believe that this coming February will mark three years since Lou’s passing. Lou can easily be described as an icon of the industry and for all of us at LTW it was our distinct pleasure not only to know Lou but to be able to help craft this one-of-a-kind pistol. But what’s even better is that the LTW membership can help too...
A chance to own this gun... Starting at noon on Friday 04 November 2011 we will hold a “silent” auction for this complete package with 100% of the funds raised going to the Alessi family. The auction will take place over the weekend and end on Sunday 06 November 2011 with the package going to the highest bidder. Bids will be accepted by me via PM through the LTW forums. Needless to say, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ll have more information on the silent auction as we get closer... for now enjoy the pictures.
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