Cabot Guns Mirror Image Pistols: beyond custom 1911 pistols
The Cabot Guns 1911 pistols are universally recognized as the best in the world... GUNSweek.com had the opportunity to sneak an exclusive peek at the first Cabot Guns Mirror Image Pistols sets to ever reach Europe!
Every genuine 1911 enthusiast and collectors know what the Cabot Guns name stands for. This Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of 1911-type pistols is not just another kid in the block, it's the big kid. It is safe to state that the Cabot Gun Company currently manufactures the world's best 1911 pistol variants.
The Cabot Guns production today represents the industry's highest standard in terms of tolerance, precision, accuracy, and manufacturing quality. The use of the proprietary Clone Technology and other state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies and equipment allow the Company to manufacture frames and slides that will fit at a tightness level that's a fraction of a human hair.
But technology is only part of it; the best choice of materials and the expertise of master gunsmiths plays a fundamental part in the Cabot Guns production. And as a matter of fact, regardless of the astounding level of technology at its disposal, the Cabot Gun Company still relies on many a skilled gunsmith and craftsman for all those works where a "master's touch" is required.
In terms of materials, not only does Cabot Guns work only with the best steel, wood, and alloys available – to the point that the Company describes its pistols as the world's only aerospace-grade 1911s – but is also the first, and so far the only, gunmaker to have used meteorite (yes, you read well!) to manufacture gun parts and even a set of perfectly working pistols.
At this point it should be clear to anybody that the Cabot Guns 1911s are by no means your grandpa's Colt. Quoting S.P. Fjestad, editor and publisher of the Blue Book of Gun Values: « The Cabot 1911 is the only pistol with the quality of a Rolls Royce and the accuracy of an atomic clock.»
Indeed, despite being true collector's items – and unlike many other similar or even just vaguely comparable pistols – the Cabot Guns ar far from being mere pieces of conversations to be kept in a safe and never be touched.
They can also be pretty solid performers at the range, as shown in 2012 and 2013 by Brian "Gunny" Zins and in 2017 by Jon Shue, both of whom went on to win the NRA National Pistol Championship in Camp Perry with Cabot Guns pistols.
This must be clear in the mind of the very few lucky ones who have the chance – and can afford – to purchase a Cabot Guns 1911, or even better, one of the Mirror Image Sets like the one we've had the honor and the privilege to see and photograph for this article.
Yeah, you got it right: the Cabot Guns company – headed by Rob Bianchin, a proud American citizen of Italian heritage – offers its customers the possibility to order sets of two pistols which would be simplicistic to call symmetrical versions of one another.
That would be quite an understatement, because the Cabot Gun Company is one of the world's very few to manufacture genuinely left-handed 1911 pistols – as a matter of fact, unlike other manufacturers, Cabot Guns won’t stop simply with mirrored control surfaces and a reversed ejection port.
The Cabot Guns Mirror Image Sets of pistols are manufactured on order, using ultra-high quality American 4140 billet or stainless steel from the Company's own special reserve.
The Mirror Image Set pistols by Cabot Guns are engineered to be perfectly inverted true-copies of one other, going so far as to reverse the rifling in the left-handed model to guarantee smooth, true felt recoil and follow through directed towards the shooter’s palm.
But what does a Mirror Image Set of pistols by Cabot Guns look like, exactly? That's not easy to say, because... there's not really a standard.
Sky is the limit – or, like Cabot Guns likes to put it, "possibilities are limited only by what you may dream".
The Company can, and will, make any customer request come true in terms of finish, engravings, even Damascus of precious metals, down to custom components.
The Cabot Guns Mirror Image Set pistols are fully customizable, not only with any of the 100% interchangeable parts from the entire Cabot Guns 1911 line, but also with any client-specific engraving or etching.
Of course, this universe of possibilities has a cost – which may vary depending from the customer's requests. Cabot Guns creations are not for everybody, and it's not a case if the Company itself defines its guns as "Beyond custom".
On a plus side, after years of remarkable success in the United States, Cabot Guns 1911s are now finally available to European collectors and connoisseurs as well: interested buyers should inquire with the Italian-based Erredi Trading, the official Cabot Guns distributor for Europe.