Ed Brown Special Forces Calling Me….

[FrankB]

The LGS owner has offered to sell an Ed Brown SF to me for $2,300. He said it’s new, but he bought it from someone who strolled into the shop. It looks 100% New to me, and I did pull the slide off. What’s your opinion? I told him I’d swing back tomorrow.

[SecondsCount]

It's hard to say if that is a good deal as there are several versions of that pistol.

Here is a similar version on gunbroker with Crimson Trace grips
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1012307281

No reserve, starting bid is 1,899

[fatdog]

I am not familiar with the various details of the Ed Brown models to know if that is high or low. I like that configuration so I would certainly be tempted to give it a whirl.

One thing I will observe about gunbroker and any 1911 however, is that unless the gun is NIB most people assume a used 1911 being sold there has issues, which depresses prices generally. I have sold a pair of 1911's on gunbroker in the last few years and even though mine ran fine, the prices I got were depressingly low, even when being sold by a high profile consignment seller who attracted a lot of eyeballs and took great pictures.

Messed up or defective 1911's that won't run can often look great externally, so I am afraid my assumption when I see a used one for sale is it probably has issues.

I know two people locally who own(ed) an Ed Brown special forces model, one version has been great, thousands of rounds, I have shot it a few times, the other was an absolute lemon out of the box and a trip back to the factory did not resolve it for him. I get the sense it is one of those "if you get a good one" things with even NIB Ed Brown guns.

[41magfan]

For a new unfired pistol, that's a decent price .... especially if you can get it OTD at $2300. Having said that, you can do better if you're patient and willing to hawk the various brokerage sites, 1911 forums, etc.

[JTQ]

The Special Forces models have a solid feature set, and that seems like a reasonable price. All Ed Brown guns are basically the same guns, so there is no advantage/disadvantage picking one over an other as long as you like the feature set.

It's hard to say if that is a good deal as there are several versions of that pistol.

I casually follow the Ed Brown line-up, but I was surprised to see there was a Commander length Special Forces model available, and available with a Bobtail. I thought the Special Forces models were all Government length, but apparently not.

https://www.edbrown.com/1911-handguns/

[TC215]

I had one like that 7 or 8 years ago. I can’t remember how much I paid for it, but I do remember it shot great and was a very nice gun.

[FrankB]

Thanks for all of the responses! I had several .45 1911 pistols, but sold all of them in favor of 9mm. I gave away my stash of .45 ammo as well, so I’ll be starting from square one with this pistol.

[JonInWA]

It is probably an excellent gun, but the prices for semi-custom 1911s has certainly jetted into the stratosphere. Even at a discounted price, only you can assess if what you're getting for your money is truly, meaningfully, quantifiably superior than a comparably equipped Colt, Ruger, Dan Wesson or Springfield Armory "standard" 1911.

From personal experience (in my case, with a Nighthawk Custom), I'm pretty skeptical. It certainly looks nice, though.

My 1911 thoughts these days are to either go with a decent factory offering from a reputable, vetted manufacturer, or go the full custom route with an experienced, vetted and reputable gunsmith.

Best, Jon

[1911Nut]

I have one I purchased about twelve years ago. Mine is NOT the bobtail configuration, however.

It was VERY lightly used and the original owner had it built with some specific features. Turns out those features were precisely what I would have specified if I were having the pistol built.

.45 ACP Caliber. Custom VG grips, flush barrel crown, Ed Brown one-piece magwell, recessed slide stop/countersunk hole, “clean” slide (no markings) ambidextrous safety, stainless steel with black “Gen III” finish, and 10-8 Performance rear sight and gold bead front sight.

I have shot it extensively in IDPA matches and in a couple of Gunstie GAS matches.

It's my favorite pistol, and I have a bunch of pistols.

I remember experiencing one failure to feed during a match that was remedied with a light tap on the slide to push it into battery. Other than that . . . . . zero (nada-none) malfunctions.

I like Ed Brown products and would have no problem recommending a Special Forces model.

I think I paid $2100 for mine in 2011, IIRC.

As for the bobtail configuration: I have had a couple of folks tell me that dislike that configuration and allege that it makes them shoot a bobtail 1911 to a different point of aim than one without that feature. I have shot Ed Brown 1911's with bobtail configured grip frames and own and carry a Dan Wesson Guardian (bobtail). The DW gets carried quite a bit and I have shot it a lot. I have never noticed that grip configuration creating any problems for me, but it is something to be aware of, I suppose.

[Crusader]

Very nice looking SF, sounds like a pretty fair deal to me for a new SF. I own two a 2009 5” with a magwell and a 2014 4.25” with the bob. Got a bunch of rounds fired with both, great guns.