Action works ??

[tommag]

Is anyone here familiar with a company called action works out of Arizona?
I have negotiated a deal on a Springfield 1911 worked over by a Don Williams of Action works. It is a pistol for my wife. While it is not quite what I had in mind, it is very close.
I will close the deal in the morning. What I wonder is... If it does not suit her, is it something that has enough value that I can re-coup the cost if we need to re-sell it? The price is in the $700-$800 range.
I do not know enough about custom pistol work, as my focus is primarily rifles. I was considering a Kimber for my wife, as she misses the series 70 commander we had to sell a couple of years ago.
Thanks in advance. Tom

[John F.]

Howdy,
I had Don Williams of the Action Works build a custom, match grade Browning HP for me. He is a true gentleman, very talented and conscientious, and does excellent work. Unlike many custom smiths I have encountered, he is very good at returning correspondence and communication, and my BHP was delivered within the estimated time frame -- no long delays as are often seen in this field. He is a wizard with BHP's -- on my older Belgian BHP, he installed a Bar-Sto Match barrel, Bomar low-mount match sights with Trijicon inserts, converted the original safety to an extended type with a ball-detent to make it click on and off like a 1911, and did a trigger job that is a work of art.

The BHP's trigger mechanism is different from 1911's in that they have a long takeup and reset, and people who train a lot on 1911's may find themselves not releasing the BHP trigger far enough to reset when shooting quickly. Don set the trigger to a creep-free, crisp 4 lbs, and eliminated all excess takeup/reset travel, so the trigger is very, very close to a (good!) 1911 trigger. He had the frame hard chromed and slide beautifully reblued, and the pistol is very accurate and totally reliable. I would trust him with any auto-pistol project and be entirely confident of good results.

While he is especially famous for his BHP work (there are fewer smiths who do really top notch work on these), his 1911's are well regarded also. I think you will likely be very happy with any gun he has built, if it hasn't been monkeyed with since it left his shop. In short, he is well regarded among those who know custom pistol-smiths, and I believe his work should hold its value well.
Enjoy!!:drinks:

Hope this helps,
John

[tommag]

I called the guy back and told him I'd take it. I think she'll be happy with it.

[John F.]

Glad to help!

John