Revealed: Cabot’s $4.5 Million Meteorite Iron 1911s
OutdoorHub Reporters 06.01.16
As promised, Cabot Guns revealed its highly anticipated and unique matched set of meteorite 1911 pistols at the 2016 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Louisville, Kentucky. The one-of-a-kind matched set was announced first late last year and is believed to be the only pair of 1911s ever constructed from meteorite iron. To be specific, the pistols are forged from a piece of the famous Gibeon Meteor that fell in Sub-Saharan Africa in prehistoric times. Cabot specified that the meteor is about 80 percent iron and a mix of cobalt, phosphorus, and other materials.
“Destined to be different, Cabot’s innovative design and manufacturing team tackled a project that is without peer in feats of modern human engineering,” Cabot stated on its website. “From a space-rock, we crafted a complex and precise mechanism. We unlocked the ancient secrets of a lifeless hunk of iron-nickel alloy, formed it and gave it breath with which to speak, showcasing an other-worldly creation to the world. Billions of years through time and space are perfected now into an ultimate achievement of American design, willpower, and can-do spirit.”
As seen in the photos, nearly every component of the “Big Bang” pistol set is made from a 77-pound chunk of the Gibeon Meteor obtained by Cabot. Several of the components have been acid-etched and the meteor’s distinctive Widmanstatten pattern is clearly visible. Meteorite iron is hardly the most uniform of materials to craft a firearm with, but Cabot Founder and President Rob Bianchin says the pistols were forged with a mixture of modern technologies. Cabot engineers utilized a combination of X-ray photography, 3-D modeling, CAD-CAM design, aerospace construction techniques, electron-beam technology, and old-fashioned craftsmanship to build the out-of-this-world pistols.
Of course, the pistols are also completely functional.
“We test-fired both guns at our Indiana facility,” Bianchin said in a press release. “It was even more nerve-racking than the first time we cut through the meteor. But they shot. Everything worked exactly as it should.”
Cabot initially estimated that the pistols will bring in about a million dollars at auction, but after building the pistols and further evaluating their worth, the gun maker is now offering this set for $4.5 million as a list price. According to Bianchin, if sold, it would make the meteorite pistols the most expensive set of pistols ever purchased.
“In the last 5 years, Cabot Guns has made a meteoric rise to the top of the luxury firearms industry. It’s only appropriate that we now make pistols made from a world famous meteor,” he concluded.
You can watch a video teaser for the pistols below:
