A couple years ago I asked a friend in the industry who he thought were the top 1911 mechanics. He rattled off the usual suspects and then said Eddie Cameron. I said I didn’t know much about Eddie to which he replied, “because you are not a professional shooter.” He said Cameron, along side Eddie Garcia and George Huening, make some of the most accurate pistols in the world. I don’t “race” so I asked Eddie if he could make me a combat 1911. His answer was a simple “I can and I will.” These guys don’t build bespoke dreams, they build race machines, so you don’t even ask them if you can send an old busted up Colt. Their parts or bounce. A few text & phone conversations later, this impeccable 1911 shows up. The slide literally vacuums in and out of battery like a piston inside a Porsche cylinder liner–in other words, it’s tight! The whole gun feels like one singular piece of steel—crazy feel for a guy used to Colts. I now have 250 rounds through it and it runs like a Swiss sewing machine. It came with two different barrels chambered in .45 ACP. Confused by this, I called Eddie and asked why? He told me the first barrel was crowned at 11 degrees, and it didn’t meet his expectations in terms of accuracy. So he ordered a second barrel, and crowned it at 28 degrees, and that one was perfect in the ransom rest. So, he said, I sent you both. Well then. The stainless on this gun is indistinguishable from chrome. I have no idea what media he used to blast it but it was likely pure glass because it looks and feels like chrome. It had to have been in the cabinet 3-4 times to achieve this level of finish. What’s Eddie like? He’s a complete gentleman. When he finished the gun, I asked him how much do I owe you. He said we can talk about that after you get the gun. He literally sent me the gun without payment. I hadn’t even paid a deposit at that point. Who does that? He told me if you love it, I’ll send you a bill, but only if it meets your expectations. Eddie is a black belt and has been a competitive shooter for over 35 years, but his new joy is his grandson Reed. Hand checkered DD grips by Jonny Aho, this generation’s Craig Spegel.
Scattered Shots 