Should You Get a 1911 Build Kit?

Although the answer to most questions in life is, it depends, and that answer is applicable here, we would like to announce a spoiler alert. The short answer to the question of whether or not you should buy a 1911 build kit is: yes, you should.

This is mostly true if you already own a 1911 pistol, but the truth is that even if you want one, there are a few reasons of their own to get yourself a build kit for one as well. Here are a couple of those reasons.

First off, getting a 1911 build kit is the way to go if you want a 1911. While there is absolutely no shortage of options out there in sellers and model variants, if you make one yourself from a build kit and some other parts you work into the design, you will have what is in effect a custom gun. Nothing fits like a custom gun, nothing shoots like a custom gun, and most importantly, nothing is yours like a custom gun.

The bond between man and equipment is strong, even when man simply transacts for the objects of his desires. But as any craftsman can attest, when you work on something personally there is a connection there that cannot be bought. You can buy a rifle and hunt or compete with it, and you will find an attachment to your gun; the same can be said for a pistol, but if you put it together, start to finish, the pride of ownership is real and incomparable. It’s similar to painting or building. You just can’t substitute the experience with a purchase.

Besides the fact that the experience of creating your own 1911 with a 1911 build kit is an irreplaceable one, there is the value of keeping a build kit around just for the use of the parts. If you already own some variant of a 1911, you’re no stranger to the fact that it is one of the most popular pistol platforms in the world. Because of that, there is no shortage of parts and sometimes some of the parts of different models are even interchangeable.

With that in mind, if you are a competitive shooter or just enjoy going to the range and your 1911 gets a lot of use, you’re going to need to replace parts, sometimes on the fly. Rather than waiting the long lead times for online shipments to arrive to you or having to make an impromptu trip to the shop, you can pull out your built kit and swap out the parts you need to restore the necessary function of your 1911.

Little pieces like extractors, ejectors and firing pins are all but forgotten until they stop working. If your ejector breaks or fails, what good will that pistol be to you? It won’t be much more than a juiced up single action that requires you to manually extract the brass after you squeeze the trigger, every time. Don’t let something like this happen to you, and it can happen a million different ways. Keep a build kit on hand and make the repairs you need as necessary, because you never know when you’ll need them.

As you can see, there are a number of good reasons for you to get yourself a 1911 build kit, even if for most of the time it sits on or under your workbench waiting for you to need it. This article doesn’t even touch on any of the many reasons that various versions of the original M1911 are so immensely popular. Suffice it to say, the 1911 is an iconic gun the likes of which have rarely, if ever, been rivalled in popularity and efficacy. The fact that it has been so widely used around the globe testifies to that without any additional help.

Made of iron, (mostly figuratively, but occasionally literally) an M1911 with a steel frame is one seriously tough gun built on a frame that will last hundreds of years (seriously) with the proper care. Users will love the fact that it feels stable in the handle, is slim and easy to conceal, has an extremely reliable and fluid action and cycling, and has a trigger that only moves along one dimension. To keep things concise, these are some of the reasons that shooters love the M1911. There are more, but you read the big ones here.

Therefore, if you own an M1911, are thinking about getting or building one, or just enjoy historical collectibles, you should consider getting yourself a 1911 build kit, which you can find right here at Sarco Inc. In addition to our build kits and historic firearms, we also offer many hard to find parts and parts kits for historic, collectible and modern firearms and military equipment. Check out our online store for more information, and give us a call if you don’t see something listed because we’d enjoy the challenge of helping you find it. You can reach us at 610-250-3960. We’re looking forward to your call.