Generally speaking I’m not a 1911 guy. This may be blasphemous to some, but there’re a few things in a defensive handgun I just don’t feel I get out of most 1911s. At the top of the list is reliability. Color me picky, but I want the damn thing to go off every time I pull the trigger. And I mean every time. I’m pretty good at the tap-rack-assess-bang thing when I have to be, but I’d rather just plan on a loud bang each time I squeeze the trigger.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve shot some fine 1911s, and I do love the way they feel and shoot. The almost magical feel and pointability are the reasons the 1911 hasn’t only lasted 100 years, but thrived and undergone countless rebirths and still reigns supreme in the competitive practical pistol world. It’s clear they can be made to run smoothly and reliably or so many of the world’s best shooters wouldn’t be using them to win major competitions.

1911s that really work have one thing in common, the good fortune to have been built by a real craftsman. And, as 1911 craftsman go, few, if any, have a better reputation than Les Baer, Sr. One of the reasons for this is Les has been doing it for a long time and has a huge amount of experience with the 1911. Last year he celebrated 25 years of building precision custom firearms, and he only builds two types of guns. He builds 1911 pistols and AR-15 rifles. Les’ ?ARs are phenomenal too, but that’s a whole other story.

The Baer 1911 Custom Carry

Les Baer Custom, Inc. will build you a truly custom 1911 exactly to your specifications completely from scratch if that’s what you want. However, they’ve designed numerous 1911 models to meet the wide range of different applications and individual preferences. Models range from the Compensated Ultimate Master Combat Pistol for competitive shooting, to the compact Baer 1911 Stinger for concealed carry. There are about a dozen different models offered with different options such as caliber, finish, barrel length, and so on. All together about 65 different configurations are on the price list and it’s still possible to order your gun with additional modification beyond “standard” for that particular model.

One of my favorite models is the Custom Carry. The Custom Carry is essentially the quintessential 1911 GI Model, enhanced in every aspect. It has the look and feel of my dad’s old classic GI Model, but unlike my dad’s old gun, the Les Baer Custom Carry is a precision firearm — both reliable and accurate. It has subtle practical improvements across the board, but the overall look and feel remains classic 1911. This gun is well suited for home defense, recreational shooting, and even duty use for those whose life may depend on their pistol.

The Custom Carry model consists of Baer’s National Match (NM) frame, double serrated NM slide and NM barrel with a stainless steel barrel bushing. It has Baer’s deluxe fixed combat sights with tritium inserts. These sights are low profile and are somewhat akin to Novak sights —again a favorite. It has a crisp 4 – 4.5 lb. speed trigger, a deluxe Baer hammer and sear, Baer tactical extended ambidextrous safety, Baer beavertail grip safety, beveled mag well, polished feed ramp, throated barrel, tuned extractor, Baer extended ejector, lowered and flared ejection port, checkered front strap (30 lines per inch), and a flat serrated main spring housing. Additionally, all corners are rounded for snag-free tactical carry, it has premium checkered Cocobolo grips, and it comes with two Baer premium eight-round magazines.

As you can see in this list of custom parts, nearly all are “Baer” parts. They machine all the components using their own CNC machines, to their own specifications, from their own prints. Then trained gunsmiths assemble every pistol by hand to ensure precise fit. They control every aspect of the manufacturing process and the result is a precision pistol that runs all the time and is virtually flawless. They are indeed a rugged, dependable work of art.

How Does It Shoot?

The day after I received the Custom Carry model, my local gun club was having a pistol “Fun Shoot.” The Fun Shoot is a competition pistol course similar to IPSIC type competition but more relaxed, and intended to recruit shooters into another level of having fun with shooting sports. It incorporates several stages of paper and steel targets where shooters engage numerous “adversaries” from different shooting positions and distances. It also requires numerous reloads and any jams must be handled on the fly. Each stage is timed and the overall scores are a component of speed and accuracy. I figured this was a great way to try out a brand new Les Baer Custom Carry pistol so I invited a Navy SEAL friend of mine and we headed for the range.

It was a great opportunity to really try out the gun in a practical application. When we started the gun was pretty dry and normally I would have given it a little squirt of Tetra or something, but figured I’d see how it worked the way it was. Between the two of us we probably fired 400 rounds during the morning and our only hiccup occurred when I didn’t fully seat a magazine and it didn’t feed a round. An immediate tap-rack-assess-bang and that was the end of any problems for the day. Other than this one user induced malfunction the gun was flawless and smooth despite being dryer than it should have been.

I later took it to the range for some more shooting with a wide range of different loads and some accuracy evaluation. As far as accuracy goes, this gun shoots more accurately than I can, and like the rest of Les’ 1911 models, it’s guaranteed to shoot 3" groups at 50 yards. For a little additional money, Les will do some other accuracy enhancing work to his 5" or 6" models and guarantee them to shoot 1.5" groups at 50 yards. This gun shot a nice 1.25" group for me at 25 yards from a hand held position on the bench. I shot several different loads and this particular group was shot using Winchester’s 230 grain SXT load. All the groups were within the size of a fist, but I think the biggest limiting factor on group size was my eyes rather than the loads.

After shooting from the bench, I moved out to the square range and shot from the three, five and seven yard lines at multiple targets doing a variety of drills. Mostly it was fast paced shooting and reloading with just enough time in between to load the five magazines I had with me. I mixed up the ammo quite a bit and it shot everything I had without so much as a burp. It just purred along, steadily firing a range of Black Hills loads including 230 gr. FMJ, 230 gr. JHP, 185 gr. JHP, as well as Cor-Bon 230 gr. FMJ, American Eagle 230 gr. FMJ, Federal 230 gr. +P HST, Winchester 230 gr. SXT, and some old Taurus 185 gr. Solid copper “Hex” bullets. This shooting session was very relaxing and therapeutic for me. It gave me an opportunity to remember why the 1911 is one of the most popular handguns in history and why everyone should have at least one in their arsenal. Hell, it’s practically un-American not to.

Patrol Ready

For those who work nights and have come to expect a light mounted on their gun when they pull it out in the dark, Les now offers the Baer 1911 Ultimate Recon Pistol. It’s very similar to the Custom Carry except it is built on a NM Caspian frame with an integral M1913 rail system that’s actually part of the frame. The Recon Pistol comes standard with a SureFire X-200 light but other lights can be substituted.

When you buy a gun from Les Baer Custom you’re not just buying a precision custom firearm, you’re buying 25+ years of experience and customer satisfaction. These guns are precision made and totally reliable. This is a 1911 I’d take to the field. This is a gun I would trust with my life.

For More Info: www.lesbaer.com