Long before he had a custom shop pumping out dozens of Kobra bobtails, Missouri native Ed Brown was himself a custom gun maker…and a damn good one. In November 1988 I had just graduated from high school and two sequential serial numbered Colt Maxi Comps adorned the cover of American Handgunner magazine. Thirty years later I would comb the world over trying to find one—a monumental task to say the least. A few years back, I finally found this beautiful example built on a 1969 Colt. It’s almost everything. Seamless blending of the compensator, swaged (read blacksmithed) magwell, exacting slide to frame fit, Safari Arms (pinned) grip safety, Swenson Ambi thumb safety, hard fit Barsto barrel, hand checkering, all culminating into Brown’s benchmark reliability and superb accuracy. I said “almost everything” because I wish Ed would have sourced a Bomar for this build —but it is what it is. At the time this gun was built (and perhaps even now) there were only a half dozen pistols smiths in the world with the skill to build something like this. Grips are old school Guy Hogue and replace the original walnut Colts that I still can’t stand. Mr. Brown passed away last year —so we have lost another industry legend. RIP Eduardo Cafe.
Scattered Shots 