They’re still authorized. The Gonzales 415 is the only one approved. After Robert Gonzales stopped making them they were very prized for a while. Then around 2008 a guy in Idaho started making them and our emporium carried them (that’s the one I have). Then that guy stopped making them and I guess now there’s a new company making them.Originally Posted by FNFAN
I received this SA Custom Shop gun from my Mother for graduation from Gonzaga University. It is my first and currently, only 1911 (although I have a Platypus on order). It had the carry bevel package done and it feels even thinner than it actually is. It was so tight that it had some difficulty cycling reliably, and it was then worked over by Chris Barrett (of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing) and after that, it was slick as good crap. I don’t carry it, but I could.
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Clark Custom Guns was the first time I saw the "Meltdown" carry bevel package. It looks like the same style as your pistol.
Yep! There were a few custom shops doing that back then. Now, I think the guns are just made with the critical areas dehorned, but not everything. This has everything dehorned, so much so that in kydex holsters, it rattles around!
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@SoCalDep told me pictures are more interesting with a story. I posted a pic of this gun earlier, so here is the story.
My first custom 1911. Being young and single I saved my money to go to Gunsite to attend API 250 and to buy a Gunsite Service Pistol. At that time the GSP was a milspec gun that was dehorned, reliability work, trigger job and high viz sights. A very basic gun. Because I asked for different sights the gun was not marked with GSP. Using this gun, I fired one shot in that class that I still remember. On the third or fourth day, first drill of the morning, was a one-shot draw. I remember going through all the steps in my head that were drilled into us. Address the target, check your stance, eyes on target, grip, clear, meet, click, target, front sight, press. I focused on the center A marking on the target, and on the command, I fired the shot. I hit the A. Aim small, hit small. First shot of the day. Then I heard a voice behind me, “Remember exactly what you did on that shot. That is what you want to do every time.” I turned my head to see who was speaking to me. It was Jeff Cooper. I was shocked because I had not seen him on the range when we started. Memorable moment.
As I started to shoot more, I found the GI grip safety was uncomfortable. I was shooting 200-300 rounds at each range session at the time. So I found my local gunsmith, Northern Virginia Gun Works, and asked them to install a beavertail safety and commander hammer and Novak carry sights in plain black. Sandy and Robert Garrett are members of the American Pistolsmith Guild which is now part of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild. After a few months, I called to check the status. Not ready yet. Can you add a match barrel and fit the slide and frame? Sure. After a few months, I call to check on status and I am told, still working on it. Ok, thanks. So now I wait. Many months later, I get a call. Gun is complete, what kind of finish do you want? What do you recommend? Hard chrome. Ok, thats fine. A couple months later, I get a call from Robert. Gun is ready. So about a year after dropping off the gun, I go to pick it up. I found the receipt and the gun was completed in 1992. They tell me the Barsto barrel they installed is from the same batch that the USMC Weapons Training Battalion Quantico, bought. The gun looked great except it had the plastic GI grips from the GSP base gun. I went to my local gun shop/range that had 1911 parts and accessories and found a set of Kim Ahrends Macassar ebony grips and installed them. I didn’t know who Kim Ahrends was but I liked the grips. They also tell me this is one of the first guns they put their logo on. Here is a pic of the logo.
I had to fix some things and learned some things from this gun. The grip safety did not always activate so I took it back to be timed. If you look, its an early Ed Brown without the memory bump. I never had a problem after it was timed. I also had him dehorn the hammer after carrying it a little. I also had the chamber reamed to SAMMI spec so it could work better with my reloads. I took this gun to a John Farnham class, among others, and made another memorable moment. One exercise was to turn and draw and shoot the mover until it fell. The cardboard target had a string tied to an inflated balloon and the target hung below a motorized cable that moved back and forth. The balloon fit into the A zone or the head. If you hit the balloon, the target fell. On the command, I turned and bang, it dropped on my first body shot. They say I can have another turn. On the command, I fire two to the body and one to the head and it drops. We look at the target. Two to the body and one to the head, confirmed.
Fast forward 30 years and I have always wanted a gold bead on a front sight. Never had one. I take this to Sandy and ask to install a gold bead. He remembers the gun and says, it has a Barsto barrel from a batch the Weapons Training Battalion bought. He goes in the back and brings out a revolver with a gold line front sight and tells me he could install a brass bead but he really liked and recommended getting the gold line. I tell him I had my heart set on a bead. Here is a pic of what he did.
Really nice that its installed at the top of the sight. Most people install the bead in the middle. This is the first bead sight I had and now I don’t worry about a dim or dead tritium sight. Now I want to buy a gun so he can install a gold line. If you look at the features of the gun, it is just like a Springfield Loaded model, but nicer. I need to charge them for the idea.It does pre-date the Loaded model by a few years. If you invite me to a BBQ, this is the gun I would wear. I don’t own an engraved gun, yet.
Awesome gun and excellent story! I love the matte chrome and the evolution of the pistol.
Armaloy did the hard chrome. One thing I really appreciated on this gun was that they took into account the thickness of hard chrome when they fitted the slide and frame and it was fitted just right.
Pretty darn close! What a great gift to get from Mom!
-All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-
I’ve always liked melted 1911s. Is anyone still doing this? Clark Custom doesn’t anymore.Pretty darn close! What a great gift to get from Mom!
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
Nobody I know of. Wilson will do a heavy dehorn. Some of Chuck Rogers guns sort of approach a melt down -but in an understated way. His dehorning is amazingly functional and evenly done. The way he contours his high undercuts is just an art form. This gun is 'supposedly' one of the last done by Clark Sr. and I like the way the mag release and safety have aged into plum coloring.
-All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-
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