American Handgunner May/June 1978

One of Armand's personal favorites; anold Model 1911 with the works. Note thefull length rib and the inset rear sight.and none will leave the place until it willproduce those one hole 25 yard groups.Armand Swenson is now located nearFallbrook, California where he lives withhis wife, Irene. Brochures and price list ofall services offered are available upon request.A little hint: self addressed andstamped return envelopes are answeredfirst. This is not a retail store. They do notsell guns. You furnish the basic materialand Armand does his work. Don't be in ahurry-the backlog is 2'/2 years for themost extensive work. But it's worth thewait, and you will be in the most elitegroup of gun owners, the possessor of acustom Swenson .45 automatic.Address all mail to: Armand Swenson,Swenson's .45 Shop, P.O. Box 606, Fallbrook,California92028.-45's are given his famous accuracy treatment.This includes finely fitting all partsproperly to take up the slack and looseness,guaranteeing precise return into batteryeach time a round is fired.Along with the standard work done onthe Government Model and the Commander,Armand also pioneered theshortened versions of the pistol. The firststeel frame shortened pistols were called"Bob Cat." Not too many are made todayat the Swenson shop since the introductionof the steel frame Commander, butsome customers still want a shortenedslide to fit the standard G.I. To accomplishthis, the slide can not be cut in halfand welded together. This is not safe andArmand will not use this procedure, orany that is not safe, in his shop. One problemthat comes with this shortening is thatthe barrel sets up at a sharper angle, thuschanging the point of impact of the bullet.I Another is the lightened slide which haslessweight for it tofunction properly. All thishas to be rebalanced and timed to shootB- properly and safely.I have seen many of these shortened; versions of the .45 and those who own aSwenson job claim that his are the only. ones that function properly and accurately.Accuracy is of the utmost importancein the Swenson shop; he tests each pistolpersonally with match and combat loads-='Although Swenson and pretty muchstandardized the work he does ona .45, this group shows variations'hat gives each gun a unique touch.ii AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE 1978