Wilson used to be the best thing going years ago. Today they are not the small shop that earned them their reputation. Today, I do not feel you get a good value from Wilson compared to the other shops that compete in the same market space.
When I moved on from Wilson, I went for Les Baer. This shop too has gone from a smaller semi-custom shop to a more main stream company. Of the two I would opt for a Baer pistol personally.
Since the falling out I think Nighthawk and Rock River both offer more value for the same money. YMMV.
If your budget is in the $2k to $3k range, you have a lot of options available to you. If you are a newer shooter or new to 1911's, I think I would stick with a package 1911 from one of the semi-custom/semi-production houses. Personally, I think Ed Brown offers the most in this price range. The drawback is that it comes the way he makes it and options and customizations are limited. That being said though, I have yet to find a real need that wasn't satisfied with an Ed Brown pistol. Ed Brown pistols seem to hold their value very well on the secondary market if you ever have the need to sell it. Will a customized Springfield be easy to sell for a fair value or will it depreciate a great deal?
One of the things that seems to get lost all the time is that each manufacturer has fanatics that swear their manufacturer of choice is the only one that builds the good pistol at the best price. Also, every manufacturer will turn out an occasional problem. Will your manufacturer of choice fix it, help you diagnose it, or will they blame you?
Then their is the instant bling factor too. If you have an Ed Brown Kobra or Special Forces, everyone from both ends of the gun range knows you have a special 1911. And yes, that chain mail and snakeskin is better then the checkering IMHO. Who else puts that sort of expertise into the 1911 at that pricepoint? So many shops just copy the other guy so, if that's what you want you can shop at a lower pricepoint and get the same pistol from a different maker.
When I moved on from Wilson, I went for Les Baer. This shop too has gone from a smaller semi-custom shop to a more main stream company. Of the two I would opt for a Baer pistol personally.
Since the falling out I think Nighthawk and Rock River both offer more value for the same money. YMMV.
If your budget is in the $2k to $3k range, you have a lot of options available to you. If you are a newer shooter or new to 1911's, I think I would stick with a package 1911 from one of the semi-custom/semi-production houses. Personally, I think Ed Brown offers the most in this price range. The drawback is that it comes the way he makes it and options and customizations are limited. That being said though, I have yet to find a real need that wasn't satisfied with an Ed Brown pistol. Ed Brown pistols seem to hold their value very well on the secondary market if you ever have the need to sell it. Will a customized Springfield be easy to sell for a fair value or will it depreciate a great deal?
One of the things that seems to get lost all the time is that each manufacturer has fanatics that swear their manufacturer of choice is the only one that builds the good pistol at the best price. Also, every manufacturer will turn out an occasional problem. Will your manufacturer of choice fix it, help you diagnose it, or will they blame you?
Then their is the instant bling factor too. If you have an Ed Brown Kobra or Special Forces, everyone from both ends of the gun range knows you have a special 1911. And yes, that chain mail and snakeskin is better then the checkering IMHO. Who else puts that sort of expertise into the 1911 at that pricepoint? So many shops just copy the other guy so, if that's what you want you can shop at a lower pricepoint and get the same pistol from a different maker.
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