17 Custom Pistols: Pure GunPorn

Winners at a Glance

We’ve gone for the Staccato XL as the best custom pistol on the market. But we have a number of options.

Image	Product	Detail	Price
	Staccato XL	Overall Winner	Price
	Wilson Combat CQB	Best 45 Custom 1911	Price
	Magnum BFR 20th Anniversary	Best Custom Revolver	Price
	Kimber 1911 Super Match II	Best Competition Spec 1911	Price
	TTI Pit Viper	John Wick’s New Gun	Price
	CZ Czechmate Parrott	Best target shooter	Price
	B&T Universal Service Weapon	Best Tactical Pistol	Price

Intro

We all know it’s basically insane to spend the price of a used car on a handgun. Yet here we are, drooling over custom pistols for sale and trying to justify buying a gun online right now….

It’s a guilty pleasure to hit the gunbroker sites and sort the best guns in descending price order.

So we’re not talking crazy auction prices for Hitler’s golden gun here, or one off guns in the millions of dollars that you see from the likes of luxury gunmaker Cabot. We will give the Big Bang Pistol set a special mention at the end, but that’s not what this is about.

We’re talking expensive, custom guns you can order right now.

There are some spectacular feats of engineering out there. None of them can truly be worth it, objectively speaking, but expensive luxuries are never objective.

Here are some of the best guns that you can order right now, and the mind-blowing price tag that goes with them.

1. Staccato XL

• Price: $3,799.99
• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel Length: 5.4 inch
• Total Length: 9 inches
• Weight: 2.38lb
• Capacity: 20+1

The competitive shooting crowd already know how good the Staccato XL is, as many of them carry one of these custom 1911 pistols into battle each and every weekend at USPSA and 3 Gun events.

A ported slide and flared ejection port ensure that the gun cycles faster than anything you’re used to, and every action is butter smooth. There is a compact version, but the XL comes with the longer sight radius and more gun for your money.

The whole gun is so far beyond a simple defensive handgun, but it also works pretty damned well in the home. The fiber optic front sight gives rapid target acquisition.

If you have the money required to buy the Staccato XL, then ain’t nobody telling you what to do with it.

2. Wilson Combat CQB

• Price: $3,515.99
• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8 inches
• Weight: 2.4lb
• Capacity: 8+1

The Wilson Combat CQB is the standard bearer and carries the company on its shoulders, despite allthe clever 9mm models. This is the biggest seller, the most popular model and it remains a butt ton of money for a 1911.

Is it worth it? Arguably yes.

The end result of this is a great competition gun, but also one of those custom shop specials that we all want by our side. Just because it’s sexy really…

A carbon steel frame, high cut checkered front strap and a High Ride Bulletproof thumb safety and beavertail grip safety all fit perfectly with the signature Starburst grips.

For more Wilson Combat handguns, check out this post.

3. Magnum BFR 20th Anniversary

• Price: $8,159.99
• Caliber: 45-70 Government
• Barrel Length: 7.5 inch
• Weight: 5.3lb
• Capacity: 5

The world’s most powerful revolver was already special, but this is one of just 20 hand produced and hand engraved pistols. Tyler Gun Works applied the engraving work, while the gun is hand finished by the best engineers at Magnum Research.

Now this revolver is still hugely expensive, but then the price becomes irrelevant at some point, and it’s all about the experience and owning a limited edition piece of history.

Maybe…

4. Sig Sauer P320 Spectre Works

• Price: $1,399.99
• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel: 4.6 inches
• Capacity: 21 rounds

The Sig Sauer Spectre Works is a modern striker fired pistol that evolved from the Sig Sauer P320.

In-house gunsmiths did the tuning work to create the new breed of Sig Sauer handguns with a compensator, a laser etched grip module and lightening cuts in the slide.

You can get a factory custom Sig P320 or a Sig Sauer P365x Spectre Works. They’re double the price of the standard guns, and a little more. But they’re like fully built custom Sig Sauer handguns, off the peg.

Obviously the Sig Sauer P365x is better for concealed carry, and comes with a new grip module and other features from the bigger gun. By the time you’ve bought a third party grip module for your Sig Sauer P365x, bought a decent slide and done just a few of the other mods, you’ll have spent the same money.

There are custom Glocks you should look at as well.

5. Kimber Super Match II

• Price: $2,397.99
• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8.5 inch
• Weight: 2.3lb
• Capacity: 8+1

Even Kimber says this might be the finest all-round 45 ACP pistol it has ever produced in the Kimber Custom Shop.

It is designed for competition and comes with a 5 shot 1 inch group guarantee at 25 yards. That’s nice, but it’s the all round obsessive attention to detail that turn this 45 into a world beater.

A match grade barrel bushing and trigger set join forces with fancy walnut grips and the much revered KimPro II coating on the slide. 30 LPI checkering on the front strap and trigger guard is just another show of intent, too. Everything on this gun is the finest custom work from the custom shop engineers.

You can spend a lot more on custom works engraved special editions. But if you just want the very best 1911 in the line-up, this is it right here.

For more of the best Kimber 1911 pistols, go here.

6. TTI Pit Viper/Sand Viper

• Price: $13,495.00
• Caliber: 9mm Luger
• Barrel: 5 inch
• Capacity: 22+1

John Wick wcarries the TTI Pit Viper in the fourth instalment of the movie franchise and it will go on sale at the same time. Until then, the TTI Sand Viper is available to a select few customers and it is already changing hands for more than $10,000 unofficially.

TTI used to modify existing 2011 handguns. Now it has built its own and sent it to win the 2021 USPSA 2-Gun Competition under an assumed name as part of the research & development. It’s a 22-round 2011 9mm double stack with a single port compensator and a arsenal of performance features.

This ejection port is so lowered and flared that it borders on an open slide and you can see the DLC coated match barrel at all times. That joins forces with an Aftec extractor and the Extreme Engineering Fire Control Unit. Highlights of that include a Lite Speed Hammer, ultra low mass sear, titanium hammer strut and match disconnector.

The attention to detail is obsessive and the end result is a gun that John Wick would be happy to take into battle.

Taran Butler has milked that franchise to perfection to create his own series of custom builds that bear the name of the world’s most loved super assassin.

It’s marketing genius, and Butler has seized the day with a series of brilliant custom handguns that a long line of people will happily pay 6K and more to own.

7. Nighthawk Custom Boardroom President

• Price: $5,047.99
• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8.59 inch
• Weight: 2.5lb
• Capacity: 10+1

Nighthawk makes some of the world’s best 1911 pistols. That much is pretty much an agreed fact. Well this Boardroom President model takes things to the next level, as long as you like 9mm in your custom handguns.

The best luxury gunmakers in the world think the best 1911 for sale right now is a custom works 9mm and that is good enough for me.

The mainspring housing and magwell are all one piece, the 9mm, semi-crowned bushing barrel is so far beyond match grade it isn’t funny and the whole gun has been modeled to be basically perfect.

The 10+1 capacity seems a little lightweight and there is a double stack upgrade IOS Interchangeable Optic System available. But this gun is functional art and the single stack works too and is California compliant. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee.

See more Nighthawk Custom here.

8. Standard Manufacturing Damascus 1911

• Price: $1,60.99-$5000
• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8.59 inch
• Weight: 2.5lb
• Capacity: 8+1

Standard Manufacturing makes some other worldly shotguns, and now it has come up with a unique 1911 produced from Damascus steel.

This Medieval technique for combining iron and steel gives the metal its unique fluid patterns and legendary edge retention and strength. Damascus Steel was the Valyrian steel of its day, the mystical alloy that could hack off limbs with a single swing and shatter inferior iron weapons on contact.

But obviously that only works if you’re making a sword or a knife. This is a custom handgun and it is, well, different.

The frame and slide gets a chain link Damascus pattern and then the guns are assembled fitted, polished and finished by master gunsmiths.

It is a great gun, without the fluid metal patterns dancing in the light… With them, it’s definitely different, special and all the things that might make someone pay this kind of money.

9. CZ 75 Czechmate Parrot

• Price: $3,093.99
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8 inch
• Weight: 3lb
• Capacity: 20+1

Strip the extra parts off the top and the CZ Parrot is still an almighty handgun that could well be the best 9mm pistol you ever owned. These are hardcore custom handguns and you’ll struggle to go back to anything slower, which is almost everything.

There’s a double stack 20 round mag, a 4 port compensator to squash recoil and muzzle rise and a super fast cycling slide. User reviews are all in awe of this 9mm and it is an awesome custom handgun.

Of course you can order a CZ Tactical Sport, or CZ Shadow 2, and save money. But this is the ultimate expression of the CZ handgun.

10. Kimber Rapide Dawn

• Price: $1,611.99
• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8.5 inch
• Weight: 2.3lb
• Capacity: 8+1

The Kimber Rapide is the definition of a factory custom firearm and it has already spawned a line of special editions that includes the Black Ice, Scorpius and now the Dawn.

They’re largely just color variations, but that was always the plan for this race gun that captured our hearts last year.

A ported slide, flared magwell and match barrel are just the start of the performance features and the end result is a super fast cycling 1911 that is proper fun to shoot.

11. B&T USA Universal Service Weapon USW-A1

• Price: $2,313.99
• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel Length: 4.3 inch
• Total Length: 10.1 inch
• Weight: 2.16lb
• Capacity: 17+1

Bro, do you even tactical pistol? This modern striker fired pistol is about as tactical, or tacti-cool, as handguns get.

The Universal Service Weapon is aimed purely at law enforcement and military, so don’t expect art. This is functional engineering at its best and yet it’s so custom it hurts.

It comes with a folding stock, for increased accuracy at longer ranges. The Aimpoint NANO reflex sight up top will help there too. The end result is a 9mm that could hit a squirrel in the eye at 100 yards.

Retention Holster is Thrown In

Obviously it needs its own holster and you get a Level 3 retention holster in with the package.

It comes with a 200 lumen pistol light under the barrel, a custom Aimpoint NANO red dot sight and a thread for a suppressor.

You can also get mags up to 30 rounds and a striker fire action, although it’s supplied with a 17-round magazine.

The guts of the pistol apparently owe a great deal to the Sig P320 and you can buy a separate chassis for $400 to turn your Sig Sauer P320 into something approaching a B&T Universal Service Weapon.

You’ve got to be a specific kind of person to need a gun like this. But it’s different, it’s special and you know you kind of want it. Sometimes that’s enough to hit the buy button…

12. Nighthawk Custom Shadow Hawk

• Price: $4,099.99
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8 inch
• Weight: 2.5lb
• Capacity: 8+1

Magpul’s Steve ‘Yeti’ Fisher joined forces with Nighthawk to create a full size battle pistol that would never let you down and also justify the price tag.

A one piece machined magwell/mainspring housing is the show stopper here, as that sets the tone of these custom 1911 pistols. It was designed with reliability in mind and the night sights are all about target acquisition in a hurry.

The flat faced trigger is a competition handgun touch and aggressive slide serrations are designed to work under duress. A flared ejection port also helps reliability and fast cycling.

A crowned barrel flush fit, match barrel, polished feed ramp and other touches all combine to create a supremely reliable 1911 that just feels better, everywhere.

There is a double stack upgrade/IOS Interchangeable Optic System to consider, but they are more expensive.

We also love the GRP Recon pistol in Government size with a threaded barrel. The GRP Recon is exceptional, and we recommend it heartily.

13. Wilson Combat EDC X9

• Price: $3,342.99
• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel Length: 4 inch
• Total Length: 7.6
• Weight: 2.38lb
• Capacity: 15+1

It is billed as the ultimate defensive handgun, which we’re not sure about. But the Wilson Combat EDCX9 is a special  gun when it comes to the aesthetics and the engineering.

This is the compact handgun built on a commander frame that you could easily use as your EDC. At 2.38lb it’s no featherweight, but if you concealed carry a 1911 of any flavor then this will probably be an improvement.

The 4 inch barrel and 7.6 inch overall length make this gun super easy to conceal and it’s a near perfect EDC handgun if you have this kind of money to spend.

All Wilson Combat’s offerings are expensive guns, but owner reviews rave about them. So if you have a Commander, Officer frame or Government frame, you’re gonna have a good time.

14. Nighthawk Custom Korth NXR Revolver

• Price: $4,028.99
• Caliber: 44 Magnum
• Barrel Length: 4 inch
• Total Length: 8 inch
• Weight: 2.6lb
• Capacity: 6 rounds

The Korth NXR is built for competition, but just look at this thing. It’s a competitive shooter and the ultimate nightstand pistol.

If you want it to be, this is a defensive juggernaut and the kind of gun that takes Mike Tyson levels of intimidation into a gunfight. In truth, though, this 44 Magnum six shot revolver could just turn into your favorite handgun thanks to the roller trigger that has become legend.

Handgun hunting revolvers are getting increasingly popular, especially with regulations favoring guns like this with a longer season. Some people just like to have a rock solid sidearm if they’re in bear country too.

Hunt and Shoot Paper

A 44 Magnum is solid for bear defense, but this gun can hunt deer, punch paper and do just about everything.

It’s crazy expensive, but it’s also crazy versatile and I can see this being a shooting gun rather than a safe queen. Of course you could mount it under lights and just leave it there. I mean it’s yours…

A Lothar Walther Polygon barrel is about as accurate as accurate gets and that is matched to a frame milled from billet steel. The barrel housing is ventilated the whole way down to prevent heat build up and the distortion that brings with it.

This is a lightweight gun, but you can mount parts and accessories on those rails if you like and it’s an optic ready custom gun. A red dot, weapons light, what you like really. You can also take those big side plates off the front sight of these competition pistols.

15. Springfield Armory 1911-A1 Custom Professional

• Price: $3,571.99
• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8.5 inch
• Weight: 2.5lb
• Capacity: 7+1

Back in 1996, the FBI was looking for a new 1911, that has been with us for basically 105 years. It devised a test so tough, based on accuracy and durability, that they all failed, except the Springfield Armory.

This is the flagship, the smoking gun, the advert for Springfield Armory’s gunsmithing services. So yeah, it kind of has to be perfect. That FBI test, though, turned a great gun into an icon.

Read the user reviews of this seriously expensive handgun and you’ll see the owners talk about a love affair rather than simply owning a gun. This is perfect engineering at work and shooting this gun is like dropping the gas in a high-end Ferrari.

Match Grade Battle Pistol

They are built on a full national match frame and slide and you get a bead-blasted matte finish.

You get a 7 + 1 round, .45 ACP, single action pistol that weighs in at 2.3lb and is machined from billet steel. It comes with a super accurate 5” barrel that is match-grade and then some.

The Sptringfield Armory comes with a front night sight, a drilled trigger and hammer and it’s perfectly balanced.

This is engineering over style and purists will love that with these fully custom handguns.

• 8 Top Springfield Armory handguns for sale in 2024.

16. Les Baer Custom Premier II

• Price: $2,369.99
• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 6 inch
• Total Length: 8 inch
• Weight: 2.3lb
• Capacity: 8+1

Les Baer is one of the great names in 1911 handgun design and has a range of high-end semi-automatic pistols. This is the flagship firearm in a prestigious luxury line-up.

What’s different? That 6 inch barrel is a big part of the equation as it gives a 45 ACP round even more velocity and consistency.

This Les Baer is a hand-built and hand-finished designer 1911 with real substance at its core. You get a National Match grade barrel and double serrated slide, which together with the longer barrel is enough to attract competition handgun shooters.

Those substantial adjustable rear sights are also aimed at the competition crowd. You won’t have time to set them up in a home defense situation.

You will know you have a supremely reliable and accurate home defense handgun though. And in this company, this Les Baer is almost a bargain.

17. Cabot Big Bang Pistol Set

• Price: $4.5 million
• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel Length: 5 inch
• Total Length: 8.5 inch
• Capacity: 7+1

OK, $4.5 million sounds like a lot. But the important thing to remember is that you get two pistols for that money…

Well, someone else did. A hedge fund billionaire or someone else bid the $4.5 million required to buy the Big Bang Pistol Set when it sold at auction. That made The Big Bang Pistol Set the most expensive guns ever sold.

They was described as the Holy Grail of guns at the time. Nothing like a bit of drama to jack up the price.

To be fair the details on these custom firearms are absolutely insane, though. This pair of guns has been machined almost entirely from a $4.5 billion year old meteorite.

They are really functional art and they’re not really meant to be fired. I mean you could, but that would be a hell of a way to find a flaw in that age-old iron rich stone.

Check your State Laws

High capacity magazines can give you issues when it comes to California compliant guns. And New York compliant handguns for that matter, but California compliant is usually the biggest hurdle.

In some cases you can forego the double stack magazine upgrade/IOS and it will be easier.

Custom Parts & Accessories

You can order a few carefully chosen parts & accessories for your pistols, revolvers, shotguns, handgun parts, 199 magazines and more. We also have all kinds of pistols, revolvers, shotguns for sale too.

And ammo, 45 ACP, 9mm, 44 Magnum, everything really.