Best 1911

[halon101]

i like my para p14 the double stack fits my hands.
its not fancy, but reliable yes

[vta]

I have two SA Loadeds and love them. If you were local I'd let you shoot them so you understand how nice they really are. After owning them a little bit I put a some money into them with my gunsmith (one is still being worked up now) and I'll put them up against any out of the box Dan Wesson, etc. as mine still cost less and performs better.

As for ILS, why don't you want it? It qualifies for CA gun lock so the store can't force you to buy one- if they do, make them look it up on the DOJ site like I did, and you'll win as I did! In any case, the ILS can and likely will be removed if you do a trigger job on the gun.

yeah. what he said. for under 1k, SA loaded is hard to beat.

[DaveFJ80]

Spend 1100 and get a MC Operator

Only that they are hard to find right now, and most stores are back ordered for 6-8 months. Unless you find one in the classifieds or fine one on GB and have it shipped to your FFL, then you may want to look to a different route.

I wanted the MC Operator, but instead got a brand new Kimber Custom TLE/RL II for quite a bit less. No regrets and I love the pistol.

[corvetteguy]

You should check out 1911forums.com. Don't discount Rock Island Armory, they are a great value for a 1911! You can buy one and have it customized for your $1000!

Just my 2cents

David

[gschoelles]

Just as a thought... You can't customize a carry gun on most permits, they want them factory stock. So I'd say get the best you "want" off the shelf.

Just sayin

[Capita159]

Remington R1 is not on the roster.

It needs to be....

I recently read a review of the Remington 1911R1 written by Joe Chambers, a well respected 1911smith. He did not have many flattering things to say about the R1 he had a chance to look over. Take it for what it's worth.

http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/...p=58244#p58244

I own a R1 now, Joe Chamber is right about not be flattering.....what do you expect from a gun that has an MSRP of 699 and sells for 600-650 delivered/online? Besides the firing pin safety, "which doesn't bother most 1911 shooters", it knocks SA GI out of the ball park. Also, the R1 is made in the USA It's just not on the stupid CA Roster

As far as getting custom work from SA done on their GI model, do you get it done before or after you order the gun, or both? If I could do it afterwards, I would like to so I can gradually customize it.

Any thoughts?

If you don't mind paying more money on the long run.....maybe more money than you think, you can customize a SA GI or anything in that matter. But if you have 1K to spare, it's best to start with a SA Loaded. At least the front sight dovetail is cut out, and you won't have to pay a decent smith to cut it for you.

There are Sig Sauer 1911s that goes under 1K. That will be another good buy

[DaveFJ80]

Don't discount Rock Island Armory, they are a great value for a 1911! You can buy one and have it customized for your $1000!

I'm not saying that you shouldn't get a RIA 1911, but here's the dilema I recently went through.


I picked up a RIA 1911 Tactical for just under $500 OTD. Afterwards, I would've spent $200 to cerakote the gun for a nicer looking finish, $50 on some good grips, another $50-$100 on a new trigger (I like the 3 hole aluminum look), new recoil spring plug, different color hammer, and non-ambi safety. Then spend about another $100-$150 for some Trijicon or Meprosight night sights installed. Right there is almost $1000, most of which are mainly cosmetic things. But to me, I'd want a gun that I'm happy with and enjoy shooting and looking at (similar to getting a car - you want a car that drives well and is reliable, but also one that you're happy with and you like the looks of it).

So for me, I sold the RIA and picked up a brand new Kimber TLE/RL II for about the same price. It had everything that I wanted on it, including the nice satin black finish. Plus, it had a match-grade trigger and barrel, it felt like it had a little bit tighter tolerances over the RIA when I was pulling back on the slide, and it just felt a little bit better in my hands. Not to mention it had a rail, which IMO was a big plus. I have no plans on doing any upgrades or custom work to it at this time. I'm happy with it as is. Whether all of that is good or bad, or not worth it to others.... it doesn't matter because I'm happy with the choice I made.


Again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't get a RIA 1911. But consider what you plan on doing to it and think about what you could get instead for the same amount of money.

[cineski]

Buy a Dan Wesson or used Wilson/Ed Brown. Springfields just aren't very refined feeling (at least the Loaded isn't) but the higher end ones are nicer but of course pricier. I know two experienced gunners who recently got Kimber 1911's and they're both jam-o-matics. Never buy a SIG until Ron Cohen is fired. My father in law has a SW1911 and it's built quite nicely and feels nice. However, not a very good trigger out of the box which I read a lot about and the thumb safety is hard to use.

[sholling]

For under $1000 NIB you have two choices - S&W SW1911 or Springfield Armory Loaded. Both are reliable but the S&W has the better trigger. Both have lifetime warranties. It takes about 5 minutes to remove the springer's ILS.

I'm not a Kimber fan. If a manufacturer doesn't have enough faith in their products to include a decent written warranty then I don't either. I also dislike their delicate Swartz safety deign.

[sti2011]

Dan Wesson! It has all the things you need out of the box, no modification needed.

[Dhena81]

Under 1000 without a doubt the Sig GSR there is no MIM parts like a kimber or SA and accurate with a good trigger. I really don't know why people on here don't mention it more probably because they are fanboys to one particular brand when it comes to a 1911.

[Shenaniguns]

Under 1000 without a doubt the Sig GSR there is no MIM parts like a kimber or SA and accurate with a good trigger. I really don't know why people on here don't mention it more probably because they are fanboys to one particular brand when it comes to a 1911.

I'd never touch a Sig GSR after another calgunners experience of 3 returns to the factory and it still had to be flat out refunded after speaking to the higher ups. Man that was a nightmare and the one time I went with him to test it, it never fired one shot.

[sholling]

Under 1000 without a doubt the Sig GSR there is no MIM parts like a kimber or SA and accurate with a good trigger. I really don't know why people on here don't mention it more probably because they are fanboys to one particular brand when it comes to a 1911.

It has nothing to do with being fanboys. I think some are put off by the teething problems that they had the first year or two and the job that they did with customer service. I've heard the teething problems are long gone but I'm not enamored with the non-standard slide.

Now if I were looking for an off-list CCO format the C3 would be on my short list of candidates.

[Dhena81]

Ok maybe a couple of teething problems like a gen 4 glock like I said though with regards to the slide John Browning himself abandoned the internal extractor himself in his later designed pistols.

I think its an improvement in design unless you have 2000-3000 bucks to spend on a custom designed 1911 but sure it doesn't look as sexy. Is there a reason barely anyone uses an internal extractor now days I think there maybe a couple. I'm not knocking the 1911 by any means I'm just pointing out the fact that for under 1000 dollars the GSR is the best 1911 you can buy period.

[bayboydray408]

kimbers make the best 1911s ever, nothing else is even close to the quality of a kimber lol