From 1911_purview

For years I used to pour through Layne Simpson’s 1911 book, looking at old-school 1911s made by gunsmiths of yesteryear. Don Fraley of Advanced Weapon Technologies out of Russell KY was all over that book. His builds were well executed and interesting, so I became somewhat “focused” on adding one to the pile. Unfortunately, despite weekly queries and countless internet searches, I fell short of finding one in the wild. Then it occurred to me—why not just call the guy and see if he will build me one. So I did, and shockingly, he said yes. I say shockingly, because AWT’s business model is more focused on precision sniper rifles and tactical pistols, as opposed to bespoke 1911s. Six months later, however, this beautiful pony arrived and I’m quite pleased with all of it. It hits all my usual erogenous zones– full house Colt 70 series with welded up slide to frame articulation, French borders, ball cuts, hand checkering, lustrous blueing, hard fit Kart barrel, etc etc. Don is former lead sniper for the prestigious Kentucky State Police SRT team and winner of the coveted Carlos Hathcock sniper school’s “Top Gun” award. His military experience includes training as a combat medic, light and heavy weapons, airborne operations with the 19th Special Forces Group, combat engineer and chemical/nuclear/biological warfare specialist with the 478th Combat Engineer battalion. Don builds his own line of 1911 handguns and precision rifles. He continues to serve numerous police agencies, tactical teams, and drug interdiction teams with his custom work and training expertise. This gun is a work of art made by a patriot who helped shape the very fabric of this great nation. 🇺🇸 Grips are of course by Craig Spegel…because we are not animals.