Outdoor Specialty Media staff recently visited Oriskany Arms Inc in Oriskany NY. They manufacture the venerable Colt 1911 design, which is over 100 years old, doing it the old fashion way, by machining all the pieces and building one gun at a time, while custom fitting all the pieces together for a near perfect fit.
We were met for our tour by Nick Giotto, Owner and General Manager of Oriskany Arms, who is also a subcontracting partner of parts for other gun manufacturers using their state of the art machine shop capabilities. Nick and his father have been in business for many years together, and Nick decided he wanted to make the classic Colt 1911 design for sale directly to consumers at first. His prices direct to consumer is $800-$1500 per gun, depending on the options desired. They are now looking for dealers to carry their products.
Nick says they decided to start with 45ACP, 9mm and 10mm, but plan to offer other calibers as they grow. One thing that makes them unique is the ability to make a purely custom gun for each and every customer, from a custom serial number for commemorating a birthday or other occasion, a company logo, or unique color combinations of their cerakote capability.
Each gun is constructed from custom machined parts, and every one is assembled by a machinist who constructs the gun from beginning to end. It was easy to see the quality just by looking at the assembly shop. Once you hold one in your hands and work the action and the trigger, you immediately understand the precision with which these are assembled. The fit and finish is nearly perfect on every gun. Each gun is proof tested in house at a factory range facility to approximately twice the rated SAAMI pressure for each caliber, and 2 full magazines are fired through every gun before it leaves the factory. Triggers are factory set to break at 3-4 lbs, and are adjustable.
Oriskany Arms can create a custom sight platform, including the ability to mount an adaptor plate for a red dot sight, a picatinny rail for mounting of accessories, or supply a traditional front blade and rear notch sight. Slides can be cerakote colored, or polished stainless steel.
Oriskany Arms Inc will be exhibiting at the upcoming SHOT Show in Las Vegas, in booth #41320.
Contact them directly for dealer inquiries, or to have a custom gun made for your special occasion: 315-737-2196, www.oriskanyarms.com
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