1911 Gunsmith in Eastern MA?

Heres the one greg did for my boss
If I could afford it I would buy it from him.
Absolutely great pistol
That was one very pretty gun. Is he selling it?
 
Yep. I think one of the difference is Lou's gun are built from scratch, while a lot of greg's work is guns that are getting upgraded and the owner might not be paying for all the perfection details that Lou's guns have.
This is absolutely true. Most Colts are “crooked”, and need to be straightened out. The standard amongst top 1911 smiths is so high that many don’t/won’t deal with them.
I own or have handled Colt's from many of the top makers and can say with confidence Lou is in the club.
 
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Heres the one greg did for my boss
If I could afford it I would buy it from him.
Absolutely great pistol
Awesome! Thank you
 
Lou must be too busy with fancy stuff.
He never called me back or answered my email or web inquiries about cutting a 1911 slide for a novak rear sight.
I gave up trying to reach the guy.
Still need the work done.
 
Lou must be too busy with fancy stuff.
He never called me back or answered my email or web inquiries about cutting a 1911 slide for a novak rear sight.
I gave up trying to reach the guy.
Still need the work done.

Call Greg then, I sent him an email and he replied the same day and told me to call him up.

I also tried Lou for some work on my Les Baer and never even got a reply. :|
 
This is a huge recognition of talents and artistic abilities. It is a good read.
When appropriate I will always consult with him in the future as long I'm in the states. I do also follow BEC and it is worth my time.
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Pistolsmith of the Year, 2019

Do Not discount Lou.
 

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Yep. I think one of the difference is Lou's gun are built from scratch, while a lot of greg's work is guns that are getting upgraded and the owner might not be paying for all the perfection details that Lou's guns have.
I think Derr builds on your wallet LOL. Im sure could mill up a complete gun if it was a viable option . Cost prohibitive for these small guys to cut frames from solid stock.
Any how im sure if you showed up to Derr with out a frame and slide and said from the ground up build he would meet the demand.
 
I think Derr builds on your wallet LOL. Im sure could mill up a complete gun if it was a viable option . Cost prohibitive for these small guys to cut frames from solid stock.
Any how im sure if you showed up to Derr with out a frame and slide and said from the ground up build he would meet the demand.

When I said from scratch, I didn't mean build the actual frame. I doubt Lou is building his frame. I would bet they are outsources with his serial #s. There are very few companies doing the forging or castings of frames.

But my point was this. Both are very capable smiths. But I have yet to see a gun posted by Lou that need any work to it to make it perfect.
I have seen gun posted by Greg that still need a lot of time spent on detail work and I have seen some that don't. I believe the difference is that Lou build a gun to his level of perfection, this is the gun at this price. Greg build to what the owner wants and is willing to pay for. That final detail work is time consuming and expensive and most don't either notice or don't want to pay for that additional expense. I'm sure the gun's Greg submitted to the guild were perfection as that is the only way to get in.

When I look at a picture of a 1911 and the slide and frame don't match up. I don't know if that is because the barrel isn't fitted correctly or the owner/gunsmith didn't want the work done. Is it a sign of a bigger problem or not...no way to know without stripping the gun....so it gives me pause when I see it
 
When I said from scratch, I didn't mean build the actual frame. I doubt Lou is building his frame. I would bet they are outsources with his serial #s. There are very few companies doing the forging or castings of frames.

But my point was this. Both are very capable smiths. But I have yet to see a gun posted by Lou that need any work to it to make it perfect.
I have seen gun posted by Greg that still need a lot of time spent on detail work and I have seen some that don't. I believe the difference is that Lou build a gun to his level of perfection, this is the gun at this price. Greg build to what the owner wants and is willing to pay for. That final detail work is time consuming and expensive and most don't either notice or don't want to pay for that additional expense. I'm sure the gun's Greg submitted to the guild were perfection as that is the only way to get in.

When I look at a picture of a 1911 and the slide and frame don't match up. I don't know if that is because the barrel isn't fitted correctly or the owner/gunsmith didn't want the work done. Is it a sign of a bigger problem or not...no way to know without stripping the gun....so it gives me pause when I see it
This.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
 
I'm sure Greg Derr is the go to guy. Never had him work on my guns but been to Dave Santurri many times and he does top notch work.


Oh didn't see you're all the way up in Chelmsford, nvm

greg yes. Very nice guy.

no no no no to Santurri. He cuts corners and was not pleased at all with the 2011 work he did. Shame on him. Never will send a penny his way.
 
When I said from scratch, I didn't mean build the actual frame. I doubt Lou is building his frame. I would bet they are outsources with his serial #s. There are very few companies doing the forging or castings of frames.

But my point was this. Both are very capable smiths. But I have yet to see a gun posted by Lou that need any work to it to make it perfect.
I have seen gun posted by Greg that still need a lot of time spent on detail work and I have seen some that don't. I believe the difference is that Lou build a gun to his level of perfection, this is the gun at this price. Greg build to what the owner wants and is willing to pay for. That final detail work is time consuming and expensive and most don't either notice or don't want to pay for that additional expense. I'm sure the gun's Greg submitted to the guild were perfection as that is the only way to get in.

When I look at a picture of a 1911 and the slide and frame don't match up. I don't know if that is because the barrel isn't fitted correctly or the owner/gunsmith didn't want the work done. Is it a sign of a bigger problem or not...no way to know without stripping the gun....so it gives me pause when I see it
Maybe lou only posts his “perfect” specimens.
Im sure both build to the customers wallet and desires, maybe lou just decides not to do the lesser work.?
Its all good. I cant afford any of them so a nice trigger is heaven for me !
 
greg yes. Very nice guy.

no no no no to Santurri. He cuts corners and was not pleased at all with the 2011 work he did. Shame on him. Never will send a penny his way.

I've had a negative experience with Santurri also. Dishonest attempt to cover up a gun-ruining F up by him or whoever he had did the work for him.
 
It seems like every top smith in the area has both good and bad interactions
 
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