A classic chop job from Mac’s California shop, Mac of course best known for his Competition 1911’s, with the Nash Bridges Don Johnson gun being top of that heap, built very few of these baby carry guns.
Category Archives: Guns
Early Browning Semi Auto Pistols; John Browning’s Path To The 1911 With Nelson Ford The Gunsmith Inc
Watters Custom .38 Super
I am not a professional gunsmith, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once. I built this .38 Super pistol in late 2000 for use in IDPA’s Enhanced Service Pistol division. The frame and slide were from Caspian; each made from 416 stainless barstock. This was during the brief period that they offered barstockContinue reading “Watters Custom .38 Super”
5 Reasons for the AK’s Legendary Reliability
An old weaponsman classic The Avtomat Kalashnikova obrazets 1974g and its successors have an enviable reputation for reliability, especially under adverse conditions. There are a number of reasons for this, and we’ll go into them in some depth here. First, though, let’s say what is not a cause: It’s not because of blind luck. It’s not because the weaponContinue reading “5 Reasons for the AK’s Legendary Reliability”
Nelson Ford Q&A #11, Colt & Smith & Wesson Revolver Cylinder Direction, Does It Affect Timing?
Whether or not to change things on old Smith & Wesson revolvers, the perils of swapping out barrels, and a discussion on timing between Colt and Smith Revolvers, does cylinder direction matter?
Spain’s Star PD 45 Pistol
By Luis Valdes In 1975, a company in my ancestral home of España (Spain) released to the shooting community what was then one of the most desired handguns in the world. A compact, lightweight aluminium framed, .45 ACP pistol styled after the 1911. That company was Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. and the pistol was theContinue reading “Spain’s Star PD 45 Pistol”
Ted Yost Personal Custom Smith & Wesson 681 — The Perfected L Frame Revolver — 357 Magnum
Just a superb model 681, fully and beautifully customized by Ted Yost. Ted built this one for himself and carried it some before a good friend talked him out of it. I am honored to get to handle it now.
Alchemy Custom Weaponry — 1 of 45 — ANOMALY 45 ACP — A Hammerless 1911??
Buying A Used 1911 Pistol; What To Check & Look For With Nelson Ford The Gunsmith Inc.
Jim Boland Custom 1911
From 1911_purview I post a lot of esoteric gunsmiths, but it is time to get back to the masters. This is a “space gun” in .45 ACP by Jim Boland —the most innovative 1911 pistolsmith, maybe ever. Through the 1980’s and early 1990’s Boland was among the early pioneers of 1911 customization. He used his expansiveContinue reading “Jim Boland Custom 1911”