Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know about a charity auction for a custom 1911 that was a collaboration between gunsmiths, including Fred Zeglin from 4D Reamer Rentals.
Please visit the link here for the GunBroker Auction.
More information:
If this gun interests you, I bet you know Bob from the many lessons he created for AGI or even took classes from him at Lassen College in Susanville CA. Ken Brooks and I (Fred Zeglin) knew Bob as a friend and mentor. At different times Ken and I attended Lassen College and learned gunsmithing from Bob and others. I graduated in 1984, Ken in 1991. This gun was on display in the AGI booth at the 2023 SHOT Show. It was the subject of a fearture article by Lenee’ Landis in the 2023, 77th Edition of Gun Digest. Grab a copy of that book to learn a lot more about this gun and Bob Dunlap.
Ken worked for Bob and eventually bought Bob’s company PISCO from him. Over the years I stayed in touch with Bob, in the final decade or so of Bob’s life we met every year at SHOT Show. Ken and Bob were hanging out at the AGI booth so that became a habit for me as well. Through Bob, Ken and I became good friends. Over the years I watched numerous past students stop in at the booth to pay respects to the mentor that gave us all a career.
When Bob passed away in 2019 it was the loss of an old friend, but more than that. Without Bob we might have learned to work on guns, but I doubt we would have learned critical thinking skills. Bob always encouraged students to think. If you came to him with a question, you better have a possible solution in your back pocket. Bob was not in the business of handing out answers, but rather driving the students to think and try to work out problems on their own.
He knew better than anyone that when you go out into the big gunsmithing world there would be nobody handy to answer your questions. Learning to think problems through and recognize the system you were working on is the greatest gift any teacher could offer. Bob understood that!
After Bob died, Ken and I were talking about doing something as a tribute. When a list of guns for sale from Bob’s personal collection came out Ken and I decided to build a custom 1911 in Bob’s honor. The idea was to say goodbye and raise money for a charity at the same time. Bob’s favorite gun designer was John Browning and the venerable old 1911 was his favorite design. Ken selected a 1911 from Bob’s personal guns that added history. Ken and I donated all the work to make this a one of a kind custom carry 1911. Bob and Ken traveled to Turkey to help Tisas improve the quality of the 1911 pistols they were importing to the U.S. The gun used for this tribute is one the came to Bob as a result of that service work. It was a basic Government Model, marketed by Tisas as the Regent in 45 ACP. Tisas calls them the “Regent M1911”.
Ken tightened the gun up removing the loose breach and performing reliability work along with a trigger job. Fred added custom sights and a whole lot of hand finishing work. Bob was never a fan of unnecessary bells and whistles on a 1911. As I recall he said, “There have been a whole lot of improvements offered for the 1911, mostly in the wrong direction.” Our goal was to build a carry gun that Bob would be happy to own and carry. Primary features are a bobtail mainspring housing, ghost sights with tritium dots, all sharp lines on the gun were ‘melted’, custom cocobolo grips with the PISCO logo laser etched, and finally a battle worn Cerakote finish. There are many small details that will keep you looking at this beauty over and over.
All proceeds from this sale will raise money for The Matt Haverkamp Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3), established November 2005 in remembrance of a beloved son, dear friend, and K9 police officer. The mission of The Foundation is to continue Matt Haverkamp’s legacy and keep his memory alive by supporting the law enforcement agencies in communities in the greater Cincinnati area. Matt made his dream of starting a K9 Unit for the Golf Manor Police Department a reality by working hard, obtaining grants, and raising funds from local businesses. The Foundation in his name has continued making his dream a reality for many greater Cincinnati area law enforcement agencies. Ninety-three K9s have been funded with the nearly $929,000 that has been spent on them and protective equipment. It takes approximately $2,500 to purchase a protective vest for a K9, $8,000 for an untrained K9, and $14,000 to purchase a trained K9 for law enforcement agencies.
Special Thanks to GunBroker.com for helping with this fund raiser!
What is for sale?
-
-
- One Tisas Regent M1911 as pictured
- One Factory Magazine
-
Let’s buy a K9 or two in Bob’s memory!
