SUMMER 2016 SHOW & AUCTION SPECIAL! AL! P. 47 P · ﬂ uorescent penetrant inspect (FPI) the metal for defects and use a coor-dinate-measuring machine (CMM) to ensure every part falls

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REVIEWS // HANDGUNS

22 | GunDigest the magazine SUMMER 2016 g u n d i g e s t . c o m

22-JGC Justice 1911-DW-EC.indd 22 5/3/16 1:49 PM

Jacob Grey Custom pairs aerospace industry CNC

machining with Browning’s classic design to create a precise

and unique custom 1911.

DREW WARDEN

PHOTOS BY JEFF JONES

GRADEAEROSPACE-

g u n d i g e s t . c o m SUMMER 2016 GunDigest the magazine | 23



As anyone familiar with the shooting sports well knows, there is a multitude of gun makers producing custom 1911s in varied styles, price ranges and with a wide array of features. If a

person is so inclined, they can type the words “custom 1911” into their preferred search en-gine and scroll through pages upon pages of manufacturers—both large and small—all dedicat-ed to crafting the perfect 1911.

The sheer number of different man-ufacturers is itself kind of inspiring. Ever since its development in the ear-ly 20th century, the 1911 has captured and held the interest of the shoot-ing world, occupying an especially reverential place among American shooters. That so many gun makers throughout the country, and of vari-ous sizes and means, choose to focus on this classic design is perhaps the ultimate proof of its iconic status.

But, as can be seen in the market for AR-style rifl es, this abundance of manufacturers inevitably results in oversaturation. With so many differ-ent choices, buyers may have diffi -culty navigating the crowded market. Similarly, some manufacturers with excellent products may be lost in the sea of competitors. Custom 1911 manufacturers need to have a product that stands out among the rest, and this is especially true for the smaller-scale operations.

One such manufacturer, Jacob Grey Custom, located in West Columbia, South Carolina, is doing just that by producing quality, custom 1911s in a unique way.

The Perfect FitA relative newcomer to the gun mak-ing industry, Jacob Grey Custom was offi cially formed in 2011, with 1911 development and production fi rst beginning in 2012. Founder Jake Brackett (the company’s name comes from his fi rst and middle name, Jacob Grey), like his father before him, had worked in the machine shop industry for most of his life, and he had already been running an aerospace machin-

ing business for several years before the start of Jacob Grey Custom.

As Brackett tells it, his father had suggested he use the sophisticated CNC machines to try and make a pre-cise 1911. Brackett, who was occupied with the aerospace business, put the suggestion off, but as an avid shooter it remained etched in the back of his mind. After some time, his father is-sued a bet, and that—not to mention a little bit of open machine time in the shop and an available engineer to help write up some programs—was all it took to get the ball rolling.

Several years and a fair amount of work later, this precise, aerospace-grade CNC machining process is at the heart of every 1911 Jacob Grey Custom produces. The advantage of using these exacting 5- and 7-axis

CNC machines, Brackett says, is that they can meet

stricter tolerances and get a very precise fi t without the use

of tools. “In the aerospace industry, the

only way to make something is to make it perfect,” Brackett said. “When I build the 1911, I don’t have to hit my guns with a hammer. You can watch videos of some of the other manufacturers, and they’ll make them where the slide and the frame don’t fi t, and they will knock it on there us-ing Ajax or some type of agent until they get what they call a “perfect fi t.” You can get a perfect fi t with a CNC machine because I can hold two-tenths tolerances, and two-tenths is

The gun has

an adjustable

rear sight.

The slide-to-frame fi t on

the Justice is tight and

incredibly smooth.



your hair split four times.” Because of this precision, Jacob Grey

Custom is able to get exceptionally tight slide-to-frame fi ts on its 1911s, as well as excellent lock-up between the slide and the barrel. According to Brackett, side-to-side movement on the slide-to-frame fi t is less than a thousandth of an inch, and he places lock-up on the barrel and slide some-where between 60 to 80 thousandths of an inch.

In addition to having a precision fi t, these guns are also built for lon-gevity. This starts with using quality materials: U.S. sourced 4140 steel or 416 stainless billet, depending on the model. No forgings or cast materials are ever used, as Brackett states that, over time, the integrity of those can falter and cracks can form. After that, it comes down to how the parts are machined.

“In the machining process, we take precautions to ensure the future of the gun,” said Dusty Brackett, Jake’s brother and vice president of market-ing and sales. “In all of our machin-ing, all of our cutting is done in the same way so the stress and grain of the metal is not violated, and that carries on into the future because it helps us alleviate the possibility of stress fractures and fi ssures and cracks as the gun is used over time.”

Keeping in line with their aero-space machining approach, once the parts have been machined, they also fl uorescent penetrant inspect (FPI) the metal for defects and use a coor-dinate-measuring machine (CMM) to ensure every part falls completely within their specifi cations.

The result of this process is a dura-

ble, incredibly tight-fi tting and precise 1911, and apart from the stunning ap-pearance of the gun itself, this is the fi rst thing you notice when you bring a Jacob Grey Custom 1911 to hand.

Functional EleganceJacob Grey Custom produces three different full-size 1911 models: the Liberty ($3,900), the Justice ($4,900) and the Revolution ($5,900)—a 3.5-inch barrel carry version is also in the

works. The Liberty and the Justice are both machined from 4140 billet steel, while the Revolution is made from 416 stainless steel and has a chrome-plated fi nish. The Liberty model fea-tures a Cerakote fi nish, while the Justice typically comes with a master blued fi nish. All of the fi nishing, aside from the in-house Cerakoting, is done by Ford’s Guns, a custom fi nishing shop out of Florida.

For this review, I was sent the Justice

Light checkering on the

front and rear strap pro-

vide improved control.



model. However, unlike previous Justice 1911s, this was the company’s fi rst to feature a nickel-plated fi nish instead of the classic blued.

The nickel-plated Justice makes a great fi rst impression, and I’ve been told there have been several orders for the nickel fi nish since this one was produced. The gun’s frame sports classy, double-diamond wooden checkered grips and stylish yet functional front and rear strap checkering. The checkering on the rear of the frame is slightly more ag-gressive for secure purchase, while checkering on the front strap and the beavertail grip safety is less intense at 30 lines per inch (LPI).

The slide incorporates minimal cocking serrations at the rear and, apart from the company’s logo, the model name and caliber marking, it has no other engravings. This is a nice change from some custom 1911s that feature exten-sive engraving and scrollwork and provides a clean, elegant look.

The handgun features a thumb safety that is easy to lo-cate and engage/disengage, as well as a lightly textured magazine release in the standard position just behind the trigger guard. Up top, the gun wears genuine Novak Tri-

JACOB GREY CUSTOM JUSTICE 1911

CALIBER: .45 ACP

TYPE: Semi-auto, single-action

BARREL: 5-in., match-grade, stainless

OVERALL LENGTH: 8.5 in.

SLIDE: 4140 Billet Steel

FRAME: 4140 Billet Steel

WEIGHT: 40 oz.

TRIGGER: 4.5 lbs., tuned aluminum three-hole

SIGHTS: Novak Tritium front, adjustable rear

FINISH: Nickel-plated (Blued comes standard)

MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 7

MSRP: $4,900

MANUFACTURER: Jacob Grey Custom; JacobGrey1911.com

The Justice 1911 features a

5-inch, match-grade barrel and

matched bushing and comes

with a short guide rod.



tium sights with an adjustable rear. Internally, the Justice 1911 utilizes a 5-inch match-grade barrel and match-ing bushing manufactured by Wilson Combat. This is one of the few ar-

eas, along with fi nishing, that Jacob Grey doesn’t produce in house. It also features a tuned, alumi-num three-hole trigger, which breaks cleanly at 4.5 pounds, and a hand-polished feed ramp.

The gun ships with two magazines, one of which includes an inscription of the Second Amendment, inside of a rugged, foam-lined Pelican hard case. As a further reminder of this gun’s elegance, the Justice also comes with a display case made from gorgeous African Padauk wood.

At the range, I had the chance to put all the Jus-

tice’s ample features to the test with fi ve loads from four different manufactur-ers: Hornady’s Critical Duty 220-grain FlexLock and American Gunner 185-grain XTP, SIG Sauer’s 185-grain

V-Crown JHP, Aguila Ammunition’s 230-grain FMJ, and Winchester’s 230-grain FMJ. Accuracy testing took place at 15 yards from a rest using the pistol’s iron sights. Best and average groupings were taken from three, fi ve-shot groups. Velocity measurements were taken using a Competition Elec-tronics ProChrono chronograph from Brownells, placed approximately 10 feet from the muzzle.

According to its website, Jacob Grey Custom lists mechanical accuracy for its pistols with groupings of 1.5 inches at 50 yards, an impressive feat for any handgun. This is in an optimal, stable environment and with the use of a Ransom Rest, which I did not have for testing. My groupings, therefore, are not fully representative of the Justice 1911’s true capabilities but rather are more indicative of what a relatively average shooter can expect to achieve.

Of the loads tested for this review,

winchester.com/safetyfi rst

©2016 Olin Corporation

The Justice’s nickel

fi nish really pops.

Continued on page 82



the 185-grain Hornady American Gunner XTP produced the best result for me, with a best group of about 2.5 inches. Meanwhile, I was able to achieve the best average group with the Winchester 230-grain FMJ loads at a little more than 3 inches. A friend of mine, who’s a bit more accom-plished handgun shooter, was able to get a 2-inch group with the SIG Sauer V-Crown and a 1.81-inch group with

one of his handloads. Average ve-locities for the different loads varied from 791 feet per second (fps) with the Aguila Ammo 230-grain FMJ at the low end to 1,025 fps with the SIG 185-grain V-Crown JHP at the high end.

In addition to standard accuracy testing from a rest position, I also en-gaged a host of steel targets, ranging from plates at 15-20 yards to a larger

gong at 50 yards. The Justice 1911 ran smoothly and was a joy to shoot, making short work of the targets.

Parting ShotAt $4,900, the Jacob Grey Custom Jus-tice 1911 certainly isn’t for everyone. It’s a high-end 1911 built for high-end buyers. But with anywhere between 100 to 150 machining and hand as-sembly hours going into each gun, that price is hard earned. And those many hours of production result in a precise, sophisticated 1911 that shoots well and feels completely natural in the hand. Racking the slide is ball-bearing smooth, and there’s essentially no side-to-side movement at all—truly something that has to be experienced to be fully understood.

The folks at Jacob Grey Custom know the prices on their guns place them out of reach for many shoot-ers, but they also know they produce a great custom gun that performs at a high level and is one that shooters can use and still pass along to their chil-dren when the time comes.

“I just want somebody who wants a damn good gun that’s been built on an aerospace machine,” Jake Brackett said. “It’s accurate, it’s not going to fail, and it’s going to last a lifetime be-cause of the way it’s made.” GDTM

PERFORMANCEMANUFACTURER AVG. VELOCITY

(fps)STD. DEVIATION (fps)

EXTREME SPREAD (fps)

AVG. GROUP (in.)

BEST GROUP (in.)

SIG Sauer Elite Performance 185-gr. V-Crown JHP

1,025 17.95 46 4.43 3.85

Hornady American Gunner 185-gr. XTP 984 16.64 38 4.22 2.55

Hornady Critical Duty 220-gr. FlexLock 973 7.52 18 4.62 3.59

Aguila Ammunition 230-gr. FMJ 791 14.93 32 4.16 3.42

Winchester 230-gr. FMJ 818 10.26 27 3.4 2.84

Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second 10 feet from the muzzle, and accuracy in inches for three fi ve-shot groups at 15 yards.

The Justice 1911 ran

well with a wide assort-

ment of factory ammo.

“Aerospace-Grade 1911” continued from page 27


Documents

SUMMER 2016 SHOW & AUCTION SPECIAL! AL! P. 47 P · ﬂ uorescent penetrant inspect (FPI) the metal for defects and use a coor-dinate-measuring machine (CMM) to ensure every part falls