TriggerMeister Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 (edited) ...so I asked myself the question "What is the cheapest 2011 I can build?". I generally buy top end parts for all my competition 2011's and the cost is generally around $1400 - $1600 in parts. After reading about kguns11' frames (Freedom Gunworks), I decided to order one for a open build. Long story short, I ordered two and therefore I will have one ready for an additional build. So back to the original question... What is the cheapest way one could build a 2011? Can a reliable 2011 be built for less than $900 in readily availabe parts? -TriggerMeister P.S. This post has nothing to do with buying an 2011 vs. building one. Currently, this is a brainstorm session on building a low cost 2011 and what parts to use. P.P.S This post presumes that you have knowledge of how to build a reliable 1911. If you have never built a 1911 your best option may be to buy one, research building a 1911 and/or consulting a gunsmith. Parts Price List: (UPDATED IN POST BELOW) Edited October 20, 2013 by TriggerMeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGus Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Good idea to post a "build sheet" cost list. I'd like to see how this comes out too in regards to cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Send an email to shooters connection and ask them. Based on the pricing they give it's actually pretty cheap to build a gun from scratch. Without a doubt you can build a 2011 limited gun for less than $1500. Of course, it will be home made, and probably run like it's home made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Send an email to shooters connection and ask them. Based on the pricing they give it's actually pretty cheap to build a gun from scratch. Without a doubt you can build a 2011 limited gun for less than $1500. Of course, it will be home made, and probably run like it's home made. I just noticed you said "used grip" Hell if you should be able to build a used gun real cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superfan Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Could use a remsport slide, Ebay barrel, take off fcg,, take off sights. A limited gun can be done for less than $1500 easily. If you're Mil or le you can get discounts from vendors as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockandRoll Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Yeah, and then add in several hundred and six months for gunsmith parts/labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 Yeah, and then add in several hundred and six months for gunsmith parts/labor. Good point. One needs the ability to build it. Otherwise this topic is a mute point because the budget would be blown on labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 I'm not trying to build another gun like this: Maybe something like this for the price of a regular Colt or Kimber 1911: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v1911 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Theoretically if you could find the parts you needed, used, you might be able to get in under 1k. But unless you can manage all of the labor yourself, it's still goin to cost you 1k in labor for a quality smith to assemble it. And that may not include a finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowsSon683 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Unless you could find some used parts you're going to spend 5-600 just on the slide and frame. Another 1-200 on the barrel plus other parts. So I don't think it could be done for under 1200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 Ok. Curiosity of how good or bad the e-sarco.com kit is got the best of me I ordered it. Wanted the one without the barrel but that was not available. It's not like me to not use titanium internals in my STI, but most stock 1911's don't have those either. Finish I'm goint to have to add to the list. Gun blueing costs me 35 bucks at a local shop. Of course I have to do the prep work...so I better add sandpaper to the list. Kerosene I have plenty and since one could use water for finishing, I'm not going to add that to the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) Here is the updated parts list. In order to make a fair comparison, I only compared prices of readily available items (READ: non-used items). This busted the $900 price point (currently at $940 for parts). If you have any suggestions to bring the cost below $900 bucks again please let me know. A couple of 'used' items that are readily available would do the trick (e.g. picking up a take-off STI grip. I see them sometimes listed for $80). Edited October 20, 2013 by TriggerMeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeislarge Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I'm all about saving money, but it seems to me that its not worth spending over a grand just to build a gun that could potentially be a paper weight. I'd rather spend the money on a quality used gun that is proven to run properly. Heck, I can get a Hi Point for $125 to shoot Production with but I'd probably end up throwing it over a berm before the match was over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Could use a remsport slide, Ebay barrel, take off fcg,, take off sights. A limited gun can be done for less than $1500 easily. If you're Mil or le you can get discounts from vendors as well. Thanks 38superfan. I just saw a price list to from remsport and it looks promising for both slide and barrel. Also checking on the Remsport barrel to see if it is ramped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I would think you could figure a way to save some getting dealer cost with brownells. Check out fusion firearms also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I think the key is buying used parts. Be patient and only buy a good deal. I have seen complete top ends at great prices for sale on this forum. I may have missed this - what caliber are you building? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Here is the updated parts list. In order to make a fair comparison, I only compared prices of readily available items (READ: non-used items). This busted the $900 price point (currently at $940 for parts). If you have any suggestions to bring the cost below $900 bucks again please let me know. A couple of 'used' items that are readily available would do the trick (e.g. picking up a take-off STI grip. I see them sometimes listed for $80). Shooters Comnection can beat most of brownells prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunfighteruk Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Why not start with a Rock Island TCM 2011 ( use the 9mm barrel) add a magwell & buy a buch of new cheap P18 para mag. Iv seen them on gunbroker under $600 new. cdnn had the P18 mags at $25 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) I think the key is buying used parts. Be patient and only buy a good deal. I have seen complete top ends at great prices for sale on this forum. I may have missed this - what caliber are you building? Thanks, Ranger. I agree and I may end up with some used parts. One thing I probably will not compromise on is the barrel fit, so GS fit is the only way to go and that rules out most used barrels. As for caliber, I'm not sure. Originally I thought 45, but 9mm would be good too (e.g. 3-gun, IDPA ESP, Steel Challenge, etc. ). Edited October 20, 2013 by TriggerMeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtaylor996 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Any updates? I've wanted to do the same thing. I've got a 9 slide just waiting for just such a build. That price on the frame from freedom is awesome. I'm ordering one ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirpy Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 (edited) Lifeislarge, I shot a USPSA match with an individual using a HiPoint and it worked very well! He was a newer shooter and that was what he had. FWIW Richard PS: Sorry for the slight thread drift. Edited November 9, 2013 by chirpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 I don't have a Hi-point, but I had the privilege of showing a guy how to shoot one. He showed up with his brand new piece and several boxes of ammo. The thing actually had adjustable sights and he would shoot (offhand, cup and saucer) then adjust the sight, chasing the bullet impact. I asked if I could help and let's just say it grouped very well and shot dead nutz before I handed it back. Ah, memories... no I didn't run out and buy one. As far as this build, I'm still waiting on my frames. According to my FFL, FGW made some test runs and is now running production. He is not sure where he is on the list but he orderd 5 of them several months ago. I have my unique slide open shorty gun parts and the sarco kit for the "dirt cheap" build. I also picked up two STI grips from a couple fellow USPSA shooters that upgraded their grips for $75 a piece and the both had the stock trigger and mag release. The sarco kit looks ok. In lieu of being able to build my 2011's, I may just take that sarco kit and put it in another 1911 for testing purposes...I'll post results later. The build will happen...eventually. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Today, I put all the sarco parts that i will use for this build on my Colt Gold Cup frame (plus some that I won't use). Some needed fitting and others dropped right in. Tomorrow I'll throw some sights on the A1 slide I used and go test fire the gun. The only reason i want sights is to check the accuracy of the sarco barrel (won't be on the final build), otherwise all I would need to test is function and splits. More to come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feederic Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 When approaching the $1k mark, I would much rather have one of the new paras over a sarco 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerMeister Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) So, yesterday I shot my Sarco/Gold Cup/ A1 slide combo. I have to say, I was impressed by this $135 kit. Not so impressed by the finish of the parts although they all looked decent. Since my 2011 build will be a 9mm, I will have several parts, including the barrel, that will not be used. However, I wanted to test as many parts as possible. I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the barrel and slide combo that I used. The barrel needed minor fitting and had good lockup. I didn't have the extractor tuned properly and did have a couple jams. YES, I prefer my titanium internals and a low mass hammer, but I think all the sarco kits are usable and can be tuned, it's just a function of time and know-how. Some things that need to be done is the hammer needs to be bobbed to reduce weight, edges need to be smoothed on several part and it needs a good trigger job. So here is my video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4Lvkfh0KkQ&feature=youtube_gdata . Edited November 12, 2013 by TriggerMeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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