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Ed Brown 1911

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JEBar
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Ed Brown 1911

Post by JEBar » Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:56 pm

I've have mentioned several times that while I've owned 1911's, I'm not a fan .... consequently, my knowledge of them is limited .... I'd appreciate hearing comments from our folks who have knowledge of Ed Brown 1911 handguns ===> https://www.edbrown.com/about/ ....
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ESquared
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by ESquared » Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:18 pm

I owned an Ed Brown Special Forces Carry (45ACP) during my "1911 Phase," and also had a Sig Sauer in 357Sig and picked up a Dan Wesson V-Bob in 9mm.
The Brown and DW are clearly a level (or two or three) above the Sig in terms of workmanship, fit, finish and parts selection. What was interesting was to compare the Brown and DW with one another, as there is a pretty significant cost difference.

Bottom line was I couldn't justify keeping both, and the Brown was more expendable and easy to sell, so I did. Just could never tell that much of a difference. I know it's been written on this forum by owners of the Dan Wesson's and I echo the sentiment that it's just the best value for the money in the upper end of the semi-custom 1911 spectrum.

Of course, there's a whole other stratosphere above these two in terms of cost and lead time and customization, but that's another thread...
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by BigAl52 » Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:54 pm

Im sure NCG will chime in on this one. But Ive shot Ed Browns, Dan Wessons, Sigs, Kimbers, Colts, Springfields, and Rugers. Close friend has a Dan Wesson and it is one heck of a nice shooting 1911. 4 inch barrel. Browns and Dan Wessons are like Evan says a step above the others. But I do have a Sig Spartan 4 inch that is an exceptional 1911 as it shoots as good as my close friends Dan Wesson. It is very accurate.
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by dddrees » Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:21 am

I currently own a Dan Wesson V-Bob and two Wilson Combat 1911's. I'm far from the expert but will parrot a few things most will say. Dan Wesson is the best mass production 1911 you can buy with regards to parts used fit and finish. Also keep in mind that a Dan Wesson has a 5 year warranty only. They have had some galling issues with their Stainless Steel 1911s but I got a Duty Finish 1911. I'm not even sure if this is still an issue or not. They have also recently discontinued their Top of their Line or Valor line. From what most say it's because they were simply unable to make the profit on this line that they should have been making. Either way they were very nice for what you were paying.

Ed Brown being a semi custom 1911 is considered a step above a Dan Wesson and in most peoples eye's on the same level as a Wilson Combat. Frankly I find Wilson Combat tends to make a better looking 1911 for the most part and is renowned for their customer support, however some have told me Ed Browns Customer service has recently gotten better.

I recommend you check out the following forum:

https://forums.1911forum.com

I actually started a thread recently that you may or may not find helpful were users speak about various strengths and weaknesses of some of the 1911 manufactures. Mostly about Semi Custom and above however.

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=995688

I think the following group of three illustrates some of the differences between a Dan Wesson and two Wilson Combats fairly well.
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by JEBar » Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:32 am

info appreciated .... as noted, my interest isn't personal .... when we get back home in mid August a fellow I shoot with will have an Ed Brown and I thought it might be good for me to know a little bit about them .... he's one who does his research and I mean serious research prior to buying .... so, I have no doubt that he is convinced they are worth what seems to me to be high price
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by dddrees » Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:50 am

JEBar wrote:
Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:32 am
info appreciated .... as noted, my interest isn't personal .... when we get back home in mid August a fellow I shoot with will have an Ed Brown and I thought it might be good for me to know a little bit about them .... he's one who does his research and I mean serious research prior to buying .... so, I have no doubt that he is convinced they are worth what seems to me to be high price
No problem, and instead of rambling on like I said the thread I referred you to above might be a good start.
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by JEBar » Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:55 am

10-4
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by North Country Gal » Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:15 am

My understanding is that the difference between a DW and a custom or a semi-custom 1911 is their approach to production. The traditional way to fit a custom 1911 is with a lot of hand fitting and polishing of parts. Grab two parts and make them fit by polishing and filing as needed. DW takes a different approach and selectively mates parts for a good fit from a bin of parts, taking the time and effort to find two parts that match up best without a lot of hand fitting. Still takes time and effort, compared to just grabbing two parts at random and sending the gun down the line, the way standard production guns are now produced. The quality of parts is the same, all tool grade parts - DW uses no MIM parts - just different in the way the parts are fitted. The DW approach is feasible, now that we have the precision of CNC cut parts. Prior to CNC and back in the day when parts had a lot of variation in tolerances, it would probably not have been cost effective.

Which is better? I seriously doubt you could range test any of these top shelf 1911s and see a difference. A 1911 with quality parts, properly fitted is a 1911 with quality parts, properly fitted, no matter how you got it done. This has been tested, by the way, with no statistical difference between the DW approach and the custom jobs.

It then boils down to how much value you place on doing it the old way with a lot of hand-fitted parts. Some folks place a lot of value on that. I get it. I understand that. Then, too, there is the snob appeal of the custom labels. I'm not putting this name thing, down, not at all. Pride of ownership is always a valid factor in buying a gun. All of us tend to be label conscious.

Lastly, keep in mind that the 1911 platform is almost bomb proof as far as making an accurate gun. You just need a few parts to fit, properly, and you can get that on even a budget 1911 if you take the time to weed out the poor ones. I know, because I have such a 1911 and a lot of other folks have one, too.
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by ESquared » Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:39 pm

Just to be clear, both my DW and my EB were "off the shelf," with virtually no customization involved. Heck, I got my DW from Bud's.

The EB came out of a specialty shop here in KC that was getting out of the upper end 1911 business, but it was a "gun case" sample that had upgraded night sights, but that was about it.

The cost differential, as I recall, was on the order of several hundred more for the EB, or about 40%+ more than the DW. Couldn't tell by looking at them and sure couldn't tell by shooting them side-by-side.
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Re: Ed Brown 1911

Post by dddrees » Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:25 am

ESquared wrote:
Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:39 pm
Just to be clear, both my DW and my EB were "off the shelf," with virtually no customization involved. Heck, I got my DW from Bud's.

The EB came out of a specialty shop here in KC that was getting out of the upper end 1911 business, but it was a "gun case" sample that had upgraded night sights, but that was about it.

The cost differential, as I recall, was on the order of several hundred more for the EB, or about 40%+ more than the DW. Couldn't tell by looking at them and sure couldn't tell by shooting them side-by-side.
This is not the first I've heard something like this. In fact I've read were a number of people after getting something like an Ed Brown or another Semi Custom and then a Dan Wesson have decided the Dan Wesson and that price range is more in line with what they are looking for, more comfortable with, or can not see any justification for spending more when they don't 't believe the extra cost is justified. I think the thing I hear the most often is that a Dan Wesson really is a big bang for your buck.

Frankly this is why when looking for my first 1911 I went with a Dan Wesson. But I have to be honest even when getting the Dan Wesson I fully expected getting a Wilson Combat one day.

In the long run just with anything else it's all about what your expectations are and what you are willing to pay. Some are perfectly happy with an RIA and they will perform just fine and some will do with nothing less than a fully custom 1911. Do your research, know yourself, and check out all of your options. D***n but it's great that we have all of these options.


By the way after getting my Wilson Combat 1911s I'm very happy that I did. Personally I hate having buyers remorse and try my best not too.
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