The Kimber pistols exhibited classic styling. The guns incorporated every modification and upgrade that distinguished an archetypical hand-built custom combat M1911. Now, however, a Swensoneque .45 was available over-the-counter in gun shops nationwide.

As the M1911 market expanded, Kimber was joined by none other than Bill Wilson, who began offering the same level of quality as his custom-order .45s but on a production basis. Several of Wilson’s top gunsmiths subsequently left to open NightHawk Custom, also offering custom combat M1911s on a production basis.

Ed Brown Products, headed by one of the more talented Second Generation pistolsmiths, also began producing ready-to-go custom combat .45s. Les Baer, another Second Generation pistolsmith, opened a shop in Illinois after leaving the Springfield Armory Custom Shop.

Springfield then hired Dave Williams to head its Custom Shop and began incorporating a lot of the hand-touches characteristic of a custom-built M1911 on a line of production pistols. Today the Illinois-based company offers an upgraded array of pistols based on its Custom Shop’s input.

This is the Third Generation—custom-quality M1911s in the Swensonian mold, now available out-of-the-box. There are still talented pistolsmiths such as Hilton Yam who are making hand-built custom combat .45s, but it’s no longer necessary to go through the expense or wait for a handmade M1911.

This story can’t end without noting that two of the First Generation pistolsmiths are still plying their trade. Jim Hoag of Canoga Park, Calif., is still building Hoag Master Grades and the occasional Hoag Longslide. Now in his 70s, the grandmaster still handcheckers every frame and fits every barrel just as he did back in the day.

Also of note is Paul Liebenberg, who took over building Pachmayr Combat Specials after Dornhaus and Wetstein left the company. Liebenberg operates Pistol Dynamics in Florida where he offers a Liebenberg Combat Special patterned after the originals he built while at Pachmayr. As a matter of fact, I’m commemorating the 100th anniversary of the M1911 in my own way—I sent a Commander and a Government Model to Liebenberg to be made into a matched set of Combat Specials.

The custom combat M1911 was, is and shall be the pinnacle of John Browning’s immortal fighting pistol.