Following up (now that it's not so late)...
Putting aside the nuances of the reasonable debate over whether what you get from a custom 1911 versus top-end production (versus mid-grade production, versus...etc.) justifies the expenditure, this is why I prefer Wilson when there are so many excellent makers operating on the same level of craftsmanship.
(Brief aside to address the oft-repeated nomenclature squabble over whether Wilson and competitors constitute custom versus semi-custom builders; they are semi-custom inasmuch as you can't spec a 1911 purely to your exact preferences, choose from your favorite parts and makers, ship it all to them and expect they'll massage it into a masterpiece. Most of the top, larger scale 1911 shops make many -- some near to all -- parts in-house, or have preferred and trusted vendors they'll use to build what you're asking for rather than work with what you give them. Generally, there are somewhat more limited parameters in which they'll work for a build, too, opting instead to offer their own packages with some room for personal requests. This is all that constitutes the difference between a "semi-custom" and "custom" shop; the build-quality is equally superb.)
Now, at the semi-custom level, the most recognized names are Wilson, Ed Brown, Nighthawk, Les Baer and Guncrafter Industries. You cannot go wrong with any of these builders; spin a wheel, throw a dart, wherever you land you can expect a top-shelf 1911 that is the equal of the others. There are variations in approaches from each house, subtleties and touches making each distinct, but at the end of the day, each shoots on even terms against the other.
(Yes, of course, there are variations from gun to gun, and certainly even the best builders -- like any -- can produce a subpar example sometimes; that's a different, specific discussion rather than the broader one we're having here.)
So, you can't really go wrong with whomever you choose, and decisions come down largely to which builder is outfitting their 1911s most to your liking.
I prefer Wilson for a few reasons, but the primary one is the control they have over their own product. The 1911 design is open to manufacturers the world over, builders of varying capability, attention to detail and purity of intention in producing their version. Yes, the original blueprints are there for all and should be easy to replicate. Real world experience says otherwise.
Different shops using different vendors for various parts going into the same gun, with some changes made here and there to the original design over the decades to accommodate everything from changing aesthetics to individual performance needs and expectations has resulted in a diminishment of uniformity in the 1911. This has allowed for advances, but also introduced a diminishment in the modular-type parts interchangeability the 1911 enjoyed during its first several decades as a combat sidearm.
Better sights; beavertail grip safeties, improved ejection ports and extended ejectors; modified ignition components to increase safety or specialize trigger feel; dimensional changes to improve reliability in feeding modern ammunition; on and on it goes.
The march of progress means the 1911 today isn't quite what John Moses Browning put to blueprint over a century ago. Vendor A's parts will be very much like though not identical to vendor B's. Ditto manufacturer A versus B, and so on.
Can an excellent shop overcome this with top-tier gunsmiths who know the 1911 inside and out, what works and what doesn't, take some parts they make in their shop, combine them with other makers' components they've gravitated to through trial and error and build an excellent machine?
You bet.
Wilson has gone a different route, and decided on the subtle changes in geometry and build they've come to believe is best in producing a top-tier 1911, and build virtually all parts in-house to their specs using the best machines, hands and material. I prefer the uniformity of vision and execution this affords, and the hard use accuracy, reliability and longevity it demonstrably results in.
There are other ways of doing it that work just as well, but I happen to prefer the singularity, of-a-pieceness that a Wilson Combat 1911 is.
That they'll pretty much build it however I ask them to with their parts only adds to my preference. That they are well-known industry wide for excellent customer service, standing by their products and making right anything that isn't also adds to my preference. Not all the best shops are known for this level of practice.
Finally, I'll quote a gentleman whose handle was Army Chief; some of you might've known him through other forums on which he moderated and participated. He was deeply knowledgeable of firearms in general and a champion of, among other things, the 1911. I think he summed up the Wilson value well:
Army Chief said:
Hyperbole and hype aside, the whole point of Wilson Combat's approach to 1911 building is to achieve hard-use reliability in a gun that is still accurate and well-appointed. Wilsons are not Bullseye/IPSC/fancypants guns -- they are service guns built to a very high standard. In harm's way and/or adverse environments, I would prefer to the CQB to any of the models you referenced by a very wide margin. The fact that Bill Wilson chose to feature the word "combat" so prominently in his branding ought to provide some insight into his build philosophy, and although we often seem to go off on tangents about upgrades, options and appearances, the bones of every Wilson 1911 are rock solid, and they are built to perform.
No excuses. No BS. No question.
AC
I'd been meaning to collect some of these thoughts for a while; thanks for reading.
) revolvers that fire .38 Special? I don't. But I want to, and can.
