Thanks primarily to Bill Wilson and his company, Wilson Combat, northwest Arkansas has become the “Iron Triangle” of the custom 1911 production. In addition to Wilson Combat, you have Nighthawk Custom and Guncrafter Industries, all tucked away north of the Ozark National Forest and a stone’s throw from the Missouri border.
Founded by Alex Zimmerman in 2004, Guncrafter Industries has put out numerous high end and unique offerings including the .50 GI pistol. The standard .50 GI load launches a 300 grain projectile.
Those who pay close attention to the firearms industry might have seen the news that in April, Wilson Combat acquired Guncrafter Industries and plans to maintain them as a stand-alone brand. Also, according to statements from both companies, Alex Zimmerman will remain on in an advisory capacity.
The Guncrafter Industries ‘American’ 1911
A fantastic example of Guncrafter’s work and craftsmanship of Guncrafter can be seen in the American, a .45 ACP 1911 custom pistol. When you go to the GI website, you’ll find that the American comes in a standard or basic configuration with a range of features and upgrades available. As you’d imagine, being custom guns, these pistols are produced one at a time by master gunsmiths. Every part is hand-fit, polished and tuned to perfection.
A full-sized pistol, the forged, match grade barrel is five inches long with 1 in 16 button rifling. The frame and slide are forged steel. Atop the slide you’ll find meticulously machined serrations and dovetail sight channels. Heinie Ledge SlantPro tritium front and rear sights were installed on my gun.
The buffer, plunger, and recoil spring and guide are original configuration. The hammer is a skeletonized design. The American disassembles for cleaning in the same manner as M1911A1 pistols did in May of 1926 when the original 1911 updated and adopted by the US Army.
The controls are all standard M1911 with the exception of an ambidextrous manual safety. The magazine release, slide lock, and grip safety are all located in the original locations and functioned as they should. There’s a “memory bump” on the beavertail grip safety to help ensure it’s depressed with a firm grip. The hand-fitted magwell uses a flat mainspring housing and two Wilson Combat 8-round magazines are included with each pistol.
As this is a hand-built, custom pistol, you;ll notice all the professional touches are here. The 15 L.P.I. checkering the front strap and mainspring housing provide a rock solid purchase on the gun. There are straight-line serrations running along the top of the slide between the front and rear sights.
On the frame you will notice a very unique set of grip panels. These “Shredder” grips are made from G-10 material and offer an aggressive texture for the shooter. A black Melonite coating protects the metal parts. As you may have already noticed, the frame has a light/accessory rail machined into the dust cover.
Amongst the custom upgrades and features available, you’ll note on their website that you can order your American in 9mm Luger, which would be weird, but you do you. Other options include different finishes, sights, trigger design, frame modifications, a magwell upgrade, serrations, an optic cut and custom engraving, just to name a few.
Shooting It
When you hold a pistol like this in your hands, the quality of the construction is obvious. But what about function, reliability and accuracy? While I rarely shoot handguns from the bench anymore unless I’m zeroing an optic, I decided to make an exception here.
When you’re putting down so much of your hard-earned money for a custom pistol, you expect it to shoot well. I used my range bag as an arm rest and deliberately slow-fired. From a distance of 25 yards, I fired five-shot test groups recording the best four of five hits to minimize human error.
You can read the results for yourself. The Black Hills 230 grain JHP load took the blue ribbon by putting four of five rounds into a 1.92 inch group at that distance.
From a reliability standpoint, the majority of my range work was with the FMJ loads from CCI and Federal, but all of the ammo, including the controlled expansion bullets fed and cycled with absolute reliability. Running through a battery of shooting drills include single-handed shooting, I didn’t have any stoppages.
The American is 40 ounces of forged steel and the frame offers a serious grip texture. It probably won’t surprise you to hear that controlling .45 ACP ammunition wasn’t a problem, even without ports or comps added.
It’s difficult to put into words, but shooting a meticulously hand-built 1911 is simply a different experience if you are used to plastic framed guns. While most assuredly a specialty item — all custom guns are — the American from Guncrafter does not disappoint. If you are in the market for a high end 1911, it deserves a look.
Specifications: Guncrafter Industries American Custom 1911
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 8+1
Barrel Length: 5 inches
Overall Length: 8.75 inches
Weight: 40 ounces
Action: Single
Sights: Tritium
MSRP: Starts at $3,695