Howdy
It has been my experience that the Colt guns are a fair out of the box shooter and make a very good platform for custom work. I think some of the other companies may have the upper hand when it comes to box custom guns ie. Kimber Les bear and Wilson. Allot of the lower priced guns (Chuck Daly) can have some problems. To a certain extent you get what you pay for. Also allot of the time you pay for a name. I've had good luck building guns with Essex, Foster and Caspian frames.
L8r
Conley