Three years after its launch, it's pretty clear Texas-based Republic Forge was onto something.

Though there were ripples on the horizon that customized 1911s might surge in the market, it was still a gamble to put together a company that claimed shooters could build a 1911 up to their specifications and get it in their hands in less than a year.

But today, Republic Forge offers a variety of options to build a 1911 that meets the dreams of just about any pistol customer, costs less than $3,000 in most configurations and can be put together by a single, specific gun builder at the Republic Forge factory and delivered within 6 months.

And it's 100 percent American made to boot (unless you order the Damascus steel slide, which comes from Sweden). Heck, even the tools that make the guns are American made.

The coolest thing is that Republic Forge has an online gun building tool that's modeled off of popular car brands that allow online shoppers to put together the the exact car they want. It's as simple as building the pistol online, finding a Republic Forge dealer near you (or becoming a Republic Forge dealer) and you're done.

"A lot of dealer's hands are tied because they get the gun the custom shop builds and don't have any choice," says Republic Forge salesman Larry Pancake. "They're slaves to what the custom builder can produce not what the customer wants."

The Republic Forge site has helped propel the company to build a 300-plus dealer network and crank out 30 guns per month. And with interest in cool, "barbecue" guns like custom 1911s, Republic Forge could be a great option for dealers looking to provide new designs for their customers.