pretty sure they do also.... One of my best friends works there running a CNC machine... Ill ask him if they fab thier own.. Thier guns are Top Of The Line
Slides & Frames: Wilson's are made by Kimber and Smith & Wesson...thats why S&W finally made their own 1911..they make so many parts for the industry...and the S&W is good ! The Only in house mfg. of slides, frames, AR uppers & lowers is Les Baer.
Ruger : Ruger does the investment castings for lots of people...and most titanium golf clubs......but they dont do the machining. Wilson doesnt own machines to run slides and frames. It really doesnt matter who machines them, much more how they are fitted and assembled, and the quality of the parts . MIM parts used by Kimber...and others are sub-standard to forged and heat treated parts, fitted to a firearm. MIM parts are drop in. MIM = metal injection molded = metal dust & glue injected into a mold, heated and allowed to cool. Very dimensionally unpredictable in dynamic shring rates. Plastic mainspring housings are another ready to fail part...used by too many 1911 builders to save $$$.
Wearing out the Kimber is not a problem. I've gone through 2 of them. Check your warrenty. They're only covered for one year. Doc
You won't find ant MIM parts in a Wilson. And they do make many of their own frames -- for the higher end models.
Hello, First post here. I was browsing the internet for MIM gun parts, just a little research. What I found is that nearly everyone but Nighthawk and maybe Brown use MIM. Wilson does indeed use MIM contrary to popular thought. Remington uses it in their shotguns and rifles, and they own their own MIM plant. Heck, Caspian uses cast frames - and cast is not as good as MIM. It's all in the process. Josh <><
and alot of people bad mouth MIM parts. no they are not as good as forged parts, or investment cast parts, but for the most part if the process is done correctly, the parts are quite good and cheaper to make.
All things being equal, I would prefer steel parts, however, a crappy steel part is still crappy. I have heard that STI makes very good quality MIM parts and I wouldn't hesitate to try one of their guns. My one problem is this.......if a company claims their MIM is 98% as good as a forged part, that is still, by definition, inferior.........however, you are right in saying it does produce a positive effect on cost!
my thoughts are this. run them until they break, then replace them with a better quality part. if they never break, then nothing lost. i have some MIM parts in some of my 1911's and they seem to be holding up decently so far.
Your philosophy is a good one. I am perhaps a bit too anal about my 1911s, I am dead set on steel parts, but again, they have to be good steel parts. However, I'm sure some of my other guns have MIM parts and I have not had a problem yet.
oh i agree, that steel parts are probably better, but many pistols are coming with MIM from the factory now. i too prefer steel parts, but as long as it's doing the job, no reason to replace it until it breaks, if it does break.
