Thinking about having a Series 70 get some mild custom work (reliability pkg, front strap checkering, sights, etc.). I'm a comfortable drive away from both companies and am looking for opinions.

Is it a six of one, half a dozen of another situation? Both companies have great reputations but is there an edge one has vs. the other?

I’ve handled a few custom Colt builds from Nighthawk and I was very impressed. These were not customer supplied guns, but new Colts that Nighthawk ordered in and then sold to their dealers. They do this to offer options a little less than their least expensive ground up builds.

The only original Colt parts that remained were the frame and slide, which were tightened up, checkered, and refinished.

I don’t have Wilson Colt experience, but judging from the Wilson models I own and have owned, their work is top notch.

Nighthawk has been around 20 years and was founded by ex Wilson gunsmiths. While a little different in their approach, they are very comparable from a quality standpoint. I love both.

Last I checked, Wilson was only working on Wilson 1911's for custom work. Give them a call and ask before you get too far in your decision process.

quote:

Originally posted by pace40:
Last I checked, Wilson was only working on Wilson 1911's for custom work. Give them a call and ask before you get too far in your decision process.

Their website states so long as the 1911 has not been worked on by anyone except Wilson and the barrel is not less than 4”.

I thought the same thing so I checked out their website.

Maybe but I would still call them...

Thanks for the replies, guys. It looks like the choice is an easy one with Wilson's current restriction on incoming work. I'll call them on Monday to verify.

That area in AR is a hot bed of custom smiths most who spun off from nighthawk or Wilson, so you likely have some other choices

From what I have seen I would put nighthawk a notch above Wilson at this point anyway.

I am fortunate to also live in an area with a bunch of talented smiths, unfortunately most are so backed up they are not taking new work on, very backlogged

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:

From what I have seen I would put nighthawk a notch above Wilson at this point anyway.

Not so sure about that. They are different. I’ve got several of each and I can’t give Nighthawk any clear advantage or vice versa.

Just talked with a Wilson customer service rep. and the limitation of only Wilson 1911s is in effect for the foreseeable future to deal with the backlog of work. Unfortunately there's no estimate on when they will return to accepting non-Wilson 1911s for custom work.

Gents,

I'm a big fan of the Night Hawk's. Here's my T3 CCO:



Wes