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When I was a very young man , the thing to do was to find a really clean Series 70 or post war commercial Colt and send it to a know shop of choice for some work.

Is it still the best way to go about it? If You just want an ULTRA reliable carry pistol.

I also heard that no matter what is done to a 1911 , it will still be the MOST reliable with quality hardball.

The choice of a base gun can come down to several factors. If history is important to you then Colt may be the way to go. Those Colt roll marks are classy. If however price is a driving factor then a Springfield Armory MILSPEC or s Caspian might be a better choice, it certainly provides a blank canvas as far as that goes.

If all you are looking for is a reliable carry gun then several companies offer that right out of the box, of course none of them would be custom. Then there are the "Semi-custom" offering such as the pistols sold by Ed Brown and others. I have an Ed Brown pistol that shoots very well. I like it but not in the way I LOVE my customs.

If you are going to send it off to a pistol smith that specializes in the 1911 platform it will more than likely return to you in a condition which allows for reliable function with most types of ammo. You will figure out which type works best when you break the pistol in. All of my 1911s function very reliably with just about anything I feed them. That is part of what you are paying for when you mail that check to a top smith. The hard part is the waiting...

Good luck, -Matt

Good question. For me if I am to pay to have a smith work on a gun I would ONLY use a good colt as a base. Series 70 or before. You will have more value in your build ie you will be more likely able to get back what you have in it. I have a few and feel this to be true. Colt is, well THE gun. Look at the market and it will back what I say. If you do the math it will be an easy decision. Best of luck.
Kip

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An amateur practices until he gets it right. A professional practices until he never gets it wrong. Anon

Fact is......original Series 70's had some serious shortcomings.
Many of the problems can be addressed in the course of a full-house build.
Several more can not.
I prefer current 'repro' series 70s.

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Thanks for that piece of information. It makes sense that modern tooling and an update can improve a product.

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SWENSON BOBCAT 45, SWENSON COMBAT COMMANDER 45(built for me), TUSSEY JR 45, VOLKMANN LWCC 45
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Chuck, what manufacturer to you prefer for those frames?

I tell my customers that the Colt marquee has a brand equity that will last far into the future. I agree with Chuck that the reissue Series '70 is hands down the choice for base for a full-house custom 5" gun. The Springfield MilSpec and GI pistols make a nice gun too, but are better suited for a matte finish.

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www.HarrisonCustom.com

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

From experience, I cannot think of any drawbacks to using a new Colt as a base. The 70 repo's are available in both blued and stainless. If you are going the full house route the extra cost of a new Colt base over another base such as a Springfield is not material in the grand scheme of the final cost. Another option would be the 80 series Colts, from the many I have seen in both blued and stainless, they all seem to be more symetrical and fit up better than the 70's. It really depends on exactly what you are looking for, some like the FP block for carry whereas other despise it. The new 80's can be had for a few hundred less new than the new 70's.
One final item, the Springfields NM marked frames, which are more readily available today then a few years past are better finished that the Nxxxx frames import marked frames.
Good luck with your project any questions just reply.