2008 Seal Of Approval

Just about the entire time I’ve been whacking on guns I’ve been telling customers, “The firearms industry is the only industry I know that can sell you a product that doesn’t work.” When Colt was the only major company producing the 1911, the first stop for the customer, after the shooting range, was the local gunsmith where the pistol was made to feed and extract properly. We altered and opened the barrel throat, polished the heavy tool marks out of the frame ramp, tuned the extractor, changed out the ejector, crimped the lips on the magazine for early release and performed a jillion other little things designed to make the blooming thing do what it was supposed to do. And of course, all of this at extra expense to you. Kimber took note of this situation, stepped up to the plate, and built a “benchmark” production pistol that rarely sees the inside of a gunsmith’s shop. They now dominate the 1911 market.

Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s gunsmiths wished firearms companies would listen to the voices of their customers and raise the quality of their products. Most failed to listen and have constantly come up with bad ideas such as parts that fall off the pistol when the grips are removed, to sights made of pot metal that simply fall apart under recoil. Well boys, a new day is at hand and the American Pistolsmiths Guild is going to bring it to you.

There's more from Alex Hamilton in the March/April issue...

• Certifiable
• Licsensing

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