Ed Brown ?

[Johneracer]

Ed Brown makes a great 1911 and I feel the added cost is more than worth it over the TRP. You will enjoy the EB for years and years to come. While if you settle for the TRP, you will always wonder until you end up finally purchasing an EB anyways. My experience has been overwhelmingly positive when it comes to the current "semi custom" 1911's out there and IMO you really can't go wrong with any of the WC, EB, LB, GC, NHC, etc. Any of those manufacturers will provide a very high performance and durable 1911. The TRP is a nice gun but nowhere in the same playing field as the semi customs.

Biased a bit? "While you settle for a trp you will enjoy eb for years to come" we are in Cali alright. I don't know if they "settle" for a $1800 trp in Arkansas.

[krb]

When I first started getting into this...

Biased a bit? "While you settle for a trp you will enjoy eb for years to come" we are in Cali alright. I don't know if they "settle" for a $1800 trp in Arkansas.

When I first started getting into this...
I said I'm just getting the one gun. Everyone laughed. They said it's like crack. They said this is how it's going to work...
You're going to look into the best gun for you that you can afford. You're going to get it. You're going to enjoy it. Until you see the gun the guy next to you shoots. Then you're going to covet that gun. Then you're going to sell your gun at a loss to afford that new gun. Which you will love. Until you see the other guy's gun on the lane next to you. At which point you will lather, rinse, and repeat.

My thought was ... I planned to get whatever the best gun was I could afford and I would love, and not look back with regret. I thought it would be cheaper to hold off on a purchase and get a gun I will love and keep forever and one day hand down to my children rather than go through the selling and buying. That's why I would lean toward one of the fancy-schmancy companies. You will never wonder about how great it would be to have an EB or LB or whatever.

On the other hand, it's not like a high end 1911 actually shoots better than virtually any other gun out there. For goodness sakes I bet my LB shoots no better than a $400 glock. Could it shoot the tiniest better in an expert's hands? Maybe. But let's face it ... at the end of the day this is a projectile in a barrel and whether you spend a lot or a little, any decent barrel gets you where you need to be.

[teflondog]

Biased a bit? "While you settle for a trp you will enjoy eb for years to come" we are in Cali alright. I don't know if they "settle" for a $1800 trp in Arkansas.

I think he meant you would be settling if you bought a TRP but you really wanted an Ed Brown.

[BigPimping]

My God if you're going to spend that kind of dough, why don't you just get a Colt. Everything else is really just a copy after all. Just my opinion.

[blasterp7]

I have two Ed Browns. One is called (I believe) a Class A. Old gun which I purchased 3rd hand in 2002. It is getting pretty finish worn (it wasn't really pretty to begin with). The other is called a Sheriff Jim Wilson commemorative model. Both are great guns!

I also have two Wilsons, several Colts and foresee a Night hawk in my future.

Even with all that being stated, The Ed Brown (old one) seems to end up in the range bag EVERY time I go to the range. Flawless for the last 15 years - or so. Changed a bunch of recoil springs and firing pin springs, other than the night sights dying out several years ago and were replaced with Novak horse shoe rear and new front (much easier on my old eyes) it has had no other replacement parts.

The others just seem to take up safe room....

[ACfixer]

I'm in the market for another 1911...

Wait a sec, I just caught the "another" part. What do you have now?

...I have a kimber...

Shhhhh! This is CalGuns, we aren't allowed to like Kimbers here.

[hunterb]

Do it!

I miss the Ed Brown I sold you
Lt me know if you ever want to sell it!

[Lead Waster]

I have a TRP and a Rock Island Armory "Tactical".
The TRP puts the hole where I want it, it is amazing. The RIA shoots low, but that's my fault for changing the sights.

However, every once in a while, my TRP stovepipes. The RIA is highly reliable. I've come to realize that what I value most in a firearm is simple ... reliability. Now, MOST handguns are pretty close to 100% reliable, and I won't say that any mechanical device is 100%. But that's my baseline. From there I'll evaluate what I THINK has value to ME.

Different people value different things. Once I realized that reliabilty was the top priority for me, followed by mechanical accuracy, then other stuff (ergos, shininess, etc) that let me enjoy the guns more because most satisfy that requirement. Unfortunately, the TRP, though it's my easiest-to-be-accurate with gun (seriously, it's the one gun I can consistently shoot well with) has is in the corner at my house UNTIL I can get it to be more reliable, which I think will require a call to SPringfield.

If the LB and the EB are equally reliable, then FOR ME, I'd get the cheaper of the two.

[madoka]

I miss the Ed Brown I sold you
Lt me know if you ever want to sell it!

You know, I originally thought that paying for the carry cut on the slide was a ridiculous waste of money for a simple line (shipping it, cutting it, then refinishing cost as much as a Glock!). But the more I look at it, the more elegant it seems with it and 1911s without it look kinda plain to me now.

[trigger945]

If I had the funds, EB over TRP any day. But see below FWIW:

I had an Ed Brown - Kobra Carry. I liked it a lot. I sold it when I needed money. I don't really miss it... I retained my Nighthawk instead and still enjoy it. I added another Nighthawk but have not thought about getting another Ed Brown to replace what I sold before.

Good luck!

[Napalm Bulldog]

Wait a sec, I just caught the "another" part. What do you have now?

I have a SA Loaded and an MC Operator. Both I like a lot, but have been wanting a TRP. I recently saw a hickok45 video of an Ed Brown and he seemed to really like it. Not seeing much about Ed Browns on here I thought I would ask for members opinions. If I decided to get the TRP, I would need to decide between full rail vs no rail. I like the bull barrel of a full rail , but what advantage do you get?

[ACfixer]

I have a SA Loaded and an MC Operator. Both I like a lot, but have been wanting a TRP...

I have a TRP half rail, it's a really nice pistol but it's not all that much better than what you have. Go for the Ed Brown.

[D.A.V.I.D.]

I have a SA Loaded and an MC Operator. Both I like a lot, but have been wanting a TRP. I recently saw a hickok45 video of an Ed Brown and he seemed to really like it. Not seeing much about Ed Browns on here I thought I would ask for members opinions. If I decided to get the TRP, I would need to decide between full rail vs no rail. I like the bull barrel of a full rail , but what advantage do you get?

No rail, but that's just because I think the full rail is hideous.

[Hank15]

I'll share a bit of my experience dealing with each brand. As a point of reference, I've had about 11 different 1911s come to my possession, and I now own 5.

The TRP is a glorified loaded with slightly better barrel/bushing fit, 20 LPI checkering, and 2 piece magwell. When you factor in the parts/labor, its price tag makes some sense. 2" - 2.5" at 25 yards is considered "within spec". If this sounds bad, know that Springfield considers a Loaded shooting 4" at 25 yards to be within spec as well.

The Ed Brown is machine fit during most of its production process and has minor variances between guns. Of all the Ed Browns I've handled or shot, they all had: slightly loose slide/frame fit (but better than Springfield), crisp trigger with short reset, and generally "build quality" you can experience.
I am having a Springfield MC Operator built by Ed Brown early next year, and I can write about my full experience once I get it back.

2 dark horses in this race:

1) Dan Wesson PM7 - better trigger, slide/frame fit, bushing/barrel fit, and build quality than TRP. One of the most underrated 1911s under $1500. Also has an aggressively fit grip safety for a higher grip. Ugly, but works well.

2) Les Baer - boy oh boy do I love Les Baers... they're just so...rough. Les Baer's build philosophy is best summed up as "hand made". Almost everything is done by hand tools. You'll see that on the filing marks on the slide. You'll see the checkering is not 100% straight. And why is the gun so tight? Why do YOU have to break it in with 500 rounds?

The two biggest things the LB has going for it are the tight fit and accuracy. Trigger has a bit of creep, but they are indeed tool steel firing components, so you can always get a trigger job. Otherwise a great pistol that feels like one piece of steel rather than a slide on a frame. Frame is slightly wider too.

Hard to explain why, but I gravitate towards it everytime I go to the range. It may just be my main competition gun once I fit a magwell and a new thumb safety.

Hope that helps.

[Johneracer]

I have a SA Loaded and an MC Operator. Both I like a lot, but have been wanting a TRP. I recently saw a hickok45 video of an Ed Brown and he seemed to really like it. Not seeing much about Ed Browns on here I thought I would ask for members opinions. If I decided to get the TRP, I would need to decide between full rail vs no rail. I like the bull barrel of a full rail , but what advantage do you get?

Word of caution about Hickok45, he likes EVERY gun! Even the stuff he does not like he finds a way to say he likes less than some other gun. Honestly guy is great and I enjoy all of his video but he rarely criticizes anything.