The Beginning

I am a 25 year old engineer and hobby machinist/gunsmith. Ive been shooting since the age of six, and
have been collecting firearms from the time I was 17. As time wore on, I found myself less interested in
individual variants of a certain type of firearm (how many AR15s can one guy buy or build for himself,
really?), and more interested in the different mechanical designs and operating principles of specific gun
models. Through all of this time though, I never have owned a 1911 or a variant thereof, much less fired
one. Hard to believe, as it is probably the most imitated handgun design in the world (as far as I know,
only the CZ75 comes close), but I preferred the CZ75 from a practical standpoint, and being a student for
much of the time Ive been collecting, didnt have the discretionary income to purchase the sort of 1911
that I wanted. Times have changed though, and I am now in a place where I can acquire the pistol I
want, or in this case, the parts to do build it.
It is with that background that I am excited to introduce my project the build out of a double stack
1911 based on STIs modular receiver. This idea first came to me when I decided to build an AK variant
from a parts kit and a receiver flat. I still havent done that yet, but my research into what firearms can
be built from commercially available 80% receivers led me to a company called Limited-10, in San Diego,
CA. When I first learned of them in late 2013, they were running a crowdfunding campaign to
manufacture stainless steel 2011 receivers, and I knew that this would be the basis of my first 1911 type
pistol. Unfortunately, the campaign failed. I got my money back, but I wanted the receiver more.
Eventually, I asked if they were going to offer a carbon steel or stainless steel receiver in addition to the
billet 7075 ones they had at the time. They wanted to have steel models available by spring 2014, but
that didnt happen, and I didnt want an aluminum receiver at their regular prices, because if I decided
to use the pistol in USPSA/IPSC Limited, I wanted something that could survive such high round counts.
During summer and fall of 2014 though, Limited-10 ran a couple of promotions that convinced me to
buy a pair of their aluminum receivers and one of their machining fixtures. I justified the expense by
telling myself that they were practice for when the steel receivers become available.
At this time, I have received all the parts to complete one of the builds except for the sights, firing pin,
and slide. Due to certain components being unavailable, I have had to find substitutes, but if I do my
part, the result should be a match grade pistol that is truly one of a kind. Some specialty tools are on
order, and I may need more as this project progresses, but I think I can get started after doing some light
reading. Being a 1911 newbie, I have been browsing various forums to learn as much as I can. I also
realized that I may be in over my head if I dont get some other resources, so Ive acquired the
Kuhnhausen manuals and the Ed Brown 1911 Bench Reference.
One of the receivers will be used to build a fairly simple 2011 in 9x19mm Parabellum with a bushing
barrel. The grip will use a drilled and tapped, IDPA length Dawson Precision Posi-Lock magazine catch to
prevent magazine over-insertion and ejector damage. Those are the only specifications I have for it
currently.
The other one is the first topic of this series, and it will be a test run of what I think I want in a pistol for
USPSA Limited Major. The parts list will follow eventually, but its basically a Government length unique
slide, full dustcover gun with a KKM bull barrel in .40 S&W. I suppose its most comparable to an STI
Edge, but I imagine it will be more satisfying to shoot than an off the shelf pistol, and I see the additional
cost as an investment in myself.