Description
Item Description
Bryant Ridge Auction Company is pleased to present this CUSTOM semi-auto pistol today for a penny start auction, this is the Mario Ruffino/MP Express Custom 1911!
Click here to view our other Live Auctions!
If you have missed out on this auction or are looking for a particular firearm, contact us. We have 100s of Collector Grade firearms (not on auction) in our inventory and available for immediate purchase.
Click here to let us know what firearms you are searching for!
SPECIFICATIONS:
Manufacturer: Mario Ruffino/MP Express
Model: Custom 1911
Serial: PAC0303
Date of Manufacture: 1982-1990
Caliber: .45 Auto
Finish: Blue/Stainless
Barrel Length: 5"
Optics/Sights: Fixed 3-Dot
Stock/Grips: Checkered Wood
Action: Semi-Auto
Markings: Standard, "Ruffino Custom" on right side of frame.
Bryant Ridge's Analysis:
Mario Ruffino was born on February, 15th, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY, just as the great depression was about to begin. At around ten years old he and his family of two brothers and a sister moved to several cities in northern NJ finally settling in East Rutherford where he stayed until 1964 when he moved to Milford Maine. While in NJ he learned the trade of machinist and toolmaker eventually putting those skills to use as a gunsmith where he opened his first gun shop in the 50’s. He became well known and accomplished at his trade at an early age. Through his career he became internationally known as a custom gunsmith with clients across the US, Europe, and Africa. His work has been featured in Many US and African Magazines.
MP Express was started in a small machine shop in Pomona at 343 Clark ave., named Express Tool and Die. The owner of this business was Bob Kloss and His partner was Ted. Bob and Ted were approached by a German fellow named Frank who had an interest in a quality Colt 1911 copy. Bob and Ted agreed and Meister Products was started and the MP Express was born. This all began in about 1982. Bob and Ted were outstanding machinists and soon purchased a cnc milling machine and began manufacturing stainless steel slides for the weapons and selling the parts only. These slides fit so well on the original colt frames, they became very popular. As the orders grew, so did the desire to manufacture their own weapon.
All of the parts manufactured for the MP Express were bought as raw forgings and machined to their own specs. Soon the first Commander version of the MP Express was completed. The serial number of this weapon is #1000. Bob and Ted hired a yound man named John Vega, about 19yrs old, and trained him how to assemble these guns. John was no newby to the .45, since he had grown up in Ontario and taught everything from gunsmithing to reloading by his dad. John and Frank personally hand assembled every gun and test fired them with 3 rounds each. About a year after the commander version was made the govt model was produced. John got so good, the gun sales began to grow.
It was a rumored that police agencies were using the guns and that isn't true. Even though the quailty of the guns were impressive, many administrators with the police agencies were concerned with liability surrounding an unknown named weapon, that it never made it that far. In about 1985 the company was devistated with the untimely death of Ted who died in his sleep unexpectedly. The company continued with the sales of parts far exceeding the complete weapons. Since they were so busy trying to fill the orders of parts, ie; magazines, slides, beaver tail safetys and adjustable trigger assemblys that the sales of the complete weapons stalled. Their only point of advertising was through the Shotgun News where contact was made with gun shops who became distributors of the parts.
In about 1988, Bob Kloss on his was home from work got a flat tire on the freeway. As he was trying to change the tire, he was struck by another vehicle and killed. Frank (the third partner) who was a master gunsmith had no knowledge of the manufacturing process and John who was up and coming in the company was unable to continue the manufacturing. All of the parts they had in stock were sold and only about 400 completed weapons (Govt and commander models) were produced and sold.
Contents:
This example will ship with a hard case, two magazines, and two original test targets!
Return Policy:
We gladly offer a 3 day unfired inspection policy from the time that the firearm is delivered to your FFL. Refunds are available for all qualifying orders.
Model: Custom 1911
Serial: PAC0303
Date of Manufacture: 1982-1990
Caliber: .45 Auto
Finish: Blue/Stainless
Barrel Length: 5"
Optics/Sights: Fixed 3-Dot
Stock/Grips: Checkered Wood
Action: Semi-Auto
Markings: Standard, "Ruffino Custom" on right side of frame.
Bryant Ridge's Analysis:
Mario Ruffino was born on February, 15th, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY, just as the great depression was about to begin. At around ten years old he and his family of two brothers and a sister moved to several cities in northern NJ finally settling in East Rutherford where he stayed until 1964 when he moved to Milford Maine. While in NJ he learned the trade of machinist and toolmaker eventually putting those skills to use as a gunsmith where he opened his first gun shop in the 50’s. He became well known and accomplished at his trade at an early age. Through his career he became internationally known as a custom gunsmith with clients across the US, Europe, and Africa. His work has been featured in Many US and African Magazines.
MP Express was started in a small machine shop in Pomona at 343 Clark ave., named Express Tool and Die. The owner of this business was Bob Kloss and His partner was Ted. Bob and Ted were approached by a German fellow named Frank who had an interest in a quality Colt 1911 copy. Bob and Ted agreed and Meister Products was started and the MP Express was born. This all began in about 1982. Bob and Ted were outstanding machinists and soon purchased a cnc milling machine and began manufacturing stainless steel slides for the weapons and selling the parts only. These slides fit so well on the original colt frames, they became very popular. As the orders grew, so did the desire to manufacture their own weapon.
All of the parts manufactured for the MP Express were bought as raw forgings and machined to their own specs. Soon the first Commander version of the MP Express was completed. The serial number of this weapon is #1000. Bob and Ted hired a yound man named John Vega, about 19yrs old, and trained him how to assemble these guns. John was no newby to the .45, since he had grown up in Ontario and taught everything from gunsmithing to reloading by his dad. John and Frank personally hand assembled every gun and test fired them with 3 rounds each. About a year after the commander version was made the govt model was produced. John got so good, the gun sales began to grow.
It was a rumored that police agencies were using the guns and that isn't true. Even though the quailty of the guns were impressive, many administrators with the police agencies were concerned with liability surrounding an unknown named weapon, that it never made it that far. In about 1985 the company was devistated with the untimely death of Ted who died in his sleep unexpectedly. The company continued with the sales of parts far exceeding the complete weapons. Since they were so busy trying to fill the orders of parts, ie; magazines, slides, beaver tail safetys and adjustable trigger assemblys that the sales of the complete weapons stalled. Their only point of advertising was through the Shotgun News where contact was made with gun shops who became distributors of the parts.
In about 1988, Bob Kloss on his was home from work got a flat tire on the freeway. As he was trying to change the tire, he was struck by another vehicle and killed. Frank (the third partner) who was a master gunsmith had no knowledge of the manufacturing process and John who was up and coming in the company was unable to continue the manufacturing. All of the parts they had in stock were sold and only about 400 completed weapons (Govt and commander models) were produced and sold.
Contents:
This example will ship with a hard case, two magazines, and two original test targets!
Return Policy:
We gladly offer a 3 day unfired inspection policy from the time that the firearm is delivered to your FFL. Refunds are available for all qualifying orders.
Shipping Details
Handgun Standard Shipping $50.00
Long Gun Standard Shipping $70.00
Any orders placed with magazines that are not compliant with your state, county, or city regulations will not ship with your order.
We strive to ship orders within the close of the following business day after payment and documentation is received.
Payment Details
We accept all forms of Payment including Personal Check, Business Check, PO Money Orders, Certified Check, Etc.
Please note we place a 7 business day hold on shipment, for all non-certified payments.
Return Policy
We gladly offer a 3 day unfired inspection policy from the time that the firearm is delivered to your FFL. Refunds are available for all qualifying orders.
Additional Details
Our #1 priority is customer satisfaction. We want to build a lasting trust in the relationship with our customers, so that you will always look to us for all your firearms needs. If you have any issues with your transactions please contact us, and we will work with you to resolve any issues you may have. We greatly appreciate your trust in us and we look forward to fulfilling all your future firearm needs.
Bryant Ridge also reserves the right to cancel any sales that may occur while gunbroker.com is experiencing technical issues that affects the entire site or a complete site outage, within an hour of the auction ending.
We have an amazing inventory of classic and collector firearms that we are adding to Gunbroker daily. Stay up to date on all of our latest auction by adding us to your favorite sellers list.
About Us
From a small town hobby, to a leader in the investment and collector grade firearms industry. Bryant Ridge Firearms is here to offer the best in quality and customer service when you are looking to unload your collector grade firearm collection.
