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@custom_handguns

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Follow me on a journey to curate a unique, exotic and significant custom-built handgun collection. Click the link for our collector guides and FB page

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I had always wondered what King Arthur felt like when he pulled Excalibur from the stone. After shooting this Colt’s Super .38 out at Ken Hackathorn’s spread the past two years, I think I have a pretty good idea of what emotions were felt by the King of fables old- especially now that this gun resides in North Carolina.
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With these old custom guns, were often lucky to know one ‘smith that tinkered on them. In the case of this Super, we know both. In the early 1980s, as Super .38 was regaining it’s foothold through the competition world, Ken Hackathorn had this gun built piecemeal, with Mike Plaxco working over the top half and Richard Heinie the bottom half. In all of my trips and drooling over this gun, I hadn’t ever asked Hack just how that arrangement happened, but it happened nonetheless.

It’s a classic “combat” package, beveled adjustable real-live BoMar sights (@scarce_and_desirable is tap dancing right now), a three hole Videki “speed” trigger, blended grip safety, a fabulously fit @barstoprecision barrel, front strap checkering (that was unfortunately buffed by the chrome-plater, dammit!), and a beautifully opened magazine well, achieved by cutting back into the mainspring housing.

The stocks are from John Harrison, but this gun has seen a variety of stocks.. some of which are no longer functional. You see, in the early 1980s, the trend amongst gun-guys was chasing Major Power Factor with the revitalized Super .38 cartridge. Because the barrels were traditional GI and not supported, this could result in a classic case of “Super face” wherein the case ruptures. The escaping energy would eject the gun’s magazine, blow out the top of the ejection port, and blow out the stocks. This gun went through two sets of destroyed stocks before Hack retired from the Major/Super game.

Regardless of this, the gun continues to run like a scalded dawg even to this day.. although I have since deep cleaned and resprung the whole gun.

Like the Matrix of Leadership from the Transformers Saga, when I holster this gun it seems to unlock a performance standard within me previously unknown.
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#1911 #super38 #america #custom1911 #colt

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Old school vs New School but something’s never change. And not that they should either. The old ways still get the job done and done well. Many try to discredit the 5” Government model and its derivatives but I would guarantee well over half have never genuinely trained with one, let alone shot one. Spewing what you hear from your favorite Internet personality has a way of keeping the spark in that para-social relationship alive, it’s bizarre. Best way to know if something is for you is to get out there and try it, you never know what you’re missing out on.

The Jim Hoag Custom Colt and SACS/MOA 1911’s are fast favorites in my collection, and they share a good amount of aesthetic features, this is no coincidence. I know what I like, and I know what works best for me. Both of these pieces do exactly what I need them to, and look good while doing it.

Happy #45friday folks 💎

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“Pride of Ownership” in the guns you carry: it’s a lost art in today’s world of mass-produced polymer.
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No matter what it happens to be, carry a gun that makes you say, “damn, this is cool” when you put it on.

For me, my favorite gun to carry is my @alchemy1911 Prime that was hand-engraved by FEGA Master Chris Rossiter. So much so, I actually ended up shooting my last IDPA match with it!

Now it’s all cleaned up, waiting for a little cooler weather before getting back into the normal carry rotation (I typically carry a hard chrome gun in the humid North Carolina summers).
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#1911 #handengraved #prideofownership

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#38superthursday with the Springfield Custom Shop Distinguished Comp. Checkered from here to there and everywhere, this beautiful and sharp (literally) .38 spits fireballs and tracks insanely well. Of all the comp guns I own, this is by far my favorite, nothing shoots quite like it, I really need to get a non-comp’d .38 gun. Preferably with a Bomar, 20 LPI where it needs it, and a checkered guard, perhaps two-tone. Well just have to see what the future has in store I suppose. But for now, enjoy! 💎

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.45 Friday

Well, boys we made it to Friday, the best day for those of us that celebrate. Boy, do I have quite the interesting piece for you here today. Let’s dive into it.

The Clark Custom Combat. I reached out to Clark Custom a while back when I picked this up from @morphy_auctions (for a steal) and looks like it was built sometime during the mid 1980’s but they said the last time they saw it (I’m assuming for refinishing and tuning) was in 1989, but that’s all they could source. Having a company that’s 76 years old will do that to you.

So, let’s take a peak at some of the features here, going slide by slide:

Left side view, note the enlarged mag release button as well as slide release.

Classic Clark Custom roll-mark featured at the end of the slide, as well as a view of the detents on the frame that can be “tightened” to accurize the firearm to the shooter’s specifications. I have not personally tested this yet but I’ve heard from a few now that all it does really is stop the slide from reciprocating.

The frame and slide are a matted bluing which feels very slick but also gives a very subdued tone to it, almost just looks like parkerizing. The ejection port has been lowered and flared as well.
Kinda hard to see but the front sight has been silver-soldered in place with a white front face. Looks great through the Bomar.

Another look at the left side extent and some other prominent features.

Rear of the slide has been checkered to 30 LPI(I think), featuring a Swenson Ambi Safety, spur hammer and a wonderfully checkered mainspring housing and frame. Perfectly blended so you can’t even see where the frame meets the mainspring housing. Probably one of my favorite features of this particular .45. And my oh my is that checkering SHARP and aggressive.

Closer view at the front strap checkering which is in 20LPI. Most of Clark’s gun’s featured his signature “Tiger Tooth” texturing which is incredibly aggressive, so seeing checkering on a Combat Custom of his is fairly unique.

Another view of the checkering on the mainspring and frame.

Good view of the enlarged slide release. It may not look like much but the texture of the paddle is incredibly aggre

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With the return of the NM Hardball from @mastersofaccuracy , we have all the SACS back together as a family. I’m missing a fee models but thats okay, I like what I have. However, if a Distinguished Classic were to find its way to me, I wouldn’t say no. I’ve enjoyed collecting and shooting these Custom Shop Guns, they’re probably my favorites next to my Hoag’s. Let’s run down the list, from oldest to newest.

-Distinguished Comp in .38 Super from the Early 90’s (likely 1990 or 1991) this model was made when Les Baer ran the custom shop and was previously owned by Chris Chang(?) a Team Shooter for Springfield in the 1990’s and then later owned by our very own @custom_handguns till he sold it to @kgb_customs where it landed in my lap.

- Springfield Armory National Match Hardball from October 1991, tuned and customized @mastersofaccuracy. Probably my new favorite, and will stay in the holster as my carry gun once we get some rounds through it after my foot heals. It just is a perfect .45 imo. Beautifully blued and shoots fantastic. Found on @lsbauctions and got for a decent price.

- Springfield National Match Hardball from May of 1999, purchased from good friend @mypointofpew after nagging him constantly about it, I keep tossing up if I wanna change anything about it or not, time will tell. But this .45 shoots as good as it looks. Much better than I can!

- Expert Limited or TGO1-Like from 2004, matte hard-chrome over Black T makes this a fantastic piece. This has the most rounds of any gun in my collection, well over 10K at this point. This one also comes from the collection of @custom_handguns and was purchased via @kgb_customs .

-Expert Limited from 2006 layer refinished by the gents at Glenrock Blue. I’m not sure this .45 was shot before me, but it definitely is now. Not much else can be said other than it’s probably one of the most beautifully blued .45’s I’ve ever seen.

- Lastly, my Single Stack Classic. A model that would earn @rob.leatham his 17th Single Stack title and probably one of the coolest custom shop models I’ve ever come across. Black T and a heavy dust cover makes this a slick, soft-shooting .45 for sure. And that magwell? GIGANTIC. 💎

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Every man in his life, hits a point where the new school stuff just doesn’t hit anymore. And only cold hard steel and wood will do the trick. My Winchester 1897 and Ruger Mini 14 have quickly risen to my favorite shotgun and rifle pairing. Sometimes only old school will do the trick.

Paired these up with my favorite .45 I currently own, my custom Hoag .45 that I got from my good friend @custom_handguns , I can’t say I have another .45 that shoots as tight or as good as this one.

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What happened to the main character gun?

In the immortal words of Tony Soprano “Whatever happened to Gary Cooper? the strong, silent type.” You don’t see many films or television shows with a strong attachment to their sidearm or main firearm. But, in every film that you do see it, it almost always stands out, especially to those of us who are heavily invested in firearms. Thief, Miami Vice, John Wick, etc. There are some pieces of media that exist to showcase that the protagonist is more than just a person put on screen, they’re a real person, with real tastes, they enjoy certain things and their firearm is an extension of their personality.

John Wick chooses his TTI kit because he’s a “professional” and has a desire for what could be considered in this day and age as the finer things in life (although that’s up to debate for some), Crockett is the new age of Police in the 80’s and wants the newest and best he can get, so he gets his Bren 10 and later 4506. He wants big bullets and a flashy look, because that’s Miami baby. James Caan as Frank in Thief carries 3 distinct (from what I could tell) custom Hoag 1911’s in the film. A Longslide .45 when he confronts Attaglia, a chrome commander with a Bomar during a small confrontation at a Bar, and for the final confrontation a 5” custom Hoag, most likely another Gold Cup.

Now imagine if John Wick would have had a stock Glock 19 instead of a P30L or TTI 34. I don’t think it would have had the same effect. Or if Crockett just had a plain Jane 92f to go with his flashy car and suits. It just doesn’t fit the character. Imagine, Caan pulling out anything other than his 6” 1911 and telling Attaglia that he’s the last person you wanna fuck with, say he’s holding a J-Frame Smith in that scene. It’s completely different and feels wrong doesn’t it?

My point is, don’t get lost in the commonality that is normalcy in the gun community. Carry that 1911, carry that 4506, carry and train with what you think is cool. Be the main character in your life.

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“Look, I steal ice. No furs, no coin collections, no stock certificates, no cartage, no Treasury bonds, no nothin’. Just diamonds or cash.” - ‘Frank’ played by James Caan in “Thief” (1981) 💎

Any day is a Thief related day if you try hard enough, so naturally I grab the closest Hoag .45 and stuff it in a holder and go about my business. Carry a .45 with a square guard, like Frank.

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More fantastic leather from the man himself, Andrew at @horseoakleather. I decided this fall and winter, I would be going away from norm of always carrying IWB and start using more OWB in my EDC. Granted, I will still be wearing clothes over this kit (this is Northwest Indiana, not the Wild West) to retain some level of concealment.

A few weeks ago, I asked Andrew if he could make me this holster with this exact color and marbling with two matching mag pouches to match my needs for my EDC. He graciously accepted and went to work building this professional holster. And as you can tell it came out perfectly. So, we’re gonna start putting miles on this beautiful marbled horsehide as soon as possible and what better to pair it with than this SACS .45 that was re-blued by Glenrock blue. The plum on the small parts and slide matches perfectly with the deep plum marbled red mag pouches and holster.

I don’t openly endorse a product unless I try it and I know it’s good. I’ve worked with Andrew on multiple holsters now and has always built beyond exemplary products within a reasonable time frame. There is no one I trust more with my leather Gunworks needs than @horseoakleather.

Get out there and train with what you carry 💎

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Classic .45, Classic leather, classic watch. A good blued .45 will change you, this I kid you not. For a while, I’ve stayed away from blued guns, afraid of rust, pitting, excessive wear. But by god, I can’t keep away anymore. Get yourself a blued, preferably a 1911 with a Bomar, and carry that sucker every day. Love that gun, shoot it every weekend, and pass it down to your kids. I hate to be a hater, but a real heirloom piece will never be a block of polymer, it’s gotta be a gun with some soul, some love and care behind it. This .45 fits that bill well. Reject modernity, and embrace tradition. 💎

And no I’m not sorry for posting this gun again, it’s my page and I’ll post the same 5 guns if I want to😖

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