Jack Basham Custom Colt 1911
Had a chance to pick this up from an old, retired, competitive shooter. I did so for two reasons. Firstly, the “kids” today won’t recognize it for what it is and are likely to break it up for parts. Secondly, I am old enough to remember that when you wanted a custom handgun made, typically you found the “most local” guy you could and engaged him.
Back then, names like Brown, Wilson, Hoag, Swenson, Heinie, Vedecki et all weren’t brands you found at gun stores. They were your local or “town” gunsmith with a shingle on the door; making guns one at a time. Doing they best they could with what they had.
And while most of you haven’t heard this name on a national level, in Cincinnati ours was Jack Basham. He was a cop. A trainer. Competitive shooter. And the region’s go-to, performance focused, pistol and revolver gunsmith.
Jack is still around, but is notoriously difficult to get a hold of these days. That’s how most “local” smiths “retire” btw. They don’t hang it up. They tend to backoff the workload, do less and less and less until finally…they fade away.
No way I was letting a full-on Jack Basham gun slip through my fingers. So here we are.
Sincerely,
Marky
www.John1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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