1911's yes another thread

[StefanJanowski]

With all this 1911 talk all over the forums, its really make me rethink which one i should purchase.

Every brand i keep wanting to check out feels good in my hands but then i do some research for a week or two and most of them just dont perform well for some people. Slides breaking, exploding in faces, and QC just being **** for some companies.

Should i just hold off and get a $2400+ custom 1911? Will that save me the headache of the troubles that everyone else seems to run into?

[t0kie]

Go to the range & doing rentals, try some then pick one that fits you. 1911 has been around for long time & it is a great handgun.

[POLICESTATE]

You are always going to find that personal opinion varies. Some folks are Colt purists, but even Colts can have a problem once in a while.

You had the fiasco with the Kimbers with the FTE that ended up being their external extractors (which I wouldn't buy a 1911 with an external extractor anyway, it's too different from the original design) but that was corrected, and most of their 1911's are internal extractors that don't have that problem.

You have people that complain about the Sig 1911's, the S&W 1911's, even the Springfields, and there are many who feel the RIA ones are just "knock offs"

However all of these are good 1911's. All of these manufacturers have lots (and mostly) of satisfied customers.

I settled on a Kimber myself, with an internal extractor, I ditched the FLGR and put in a GI plug instead. I love it, I have never had a problem with FTE although I've had a couple of FTF issues using reloads I bought, and some of those weren't very good. Never had an issue with factory ammo and it's had almost 1000 of factory through it, and over 1000 of reloads.

YMMV and remember that you can always do some work aftermarket on your 1911 if you want.

Try some out, buy what you like best.

[StefanJanowski]

Tokie - Think you misread my post.....

Policestate - Awesome answer thank you.

[DArBad]

There are no guarantees in life, even with over $2000.00 1911s. They are all man-made, and nothing made by man is ever perfect. Even the space shuttle that cost billions of dollars can have glitch here and there.

I had been very satisfied and happy with my Kimbers even during the so-called " break in " period, they were reliable shooting cheap ammos.

[DVSmith]

My go to for class 1911 is a Springfield Mil Spec butt ugly out of the box plain jane that runs just perfectly with 1000's of rounds through it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Colts, Kimbers and especially my SA TRP and SA Pro Op. I just use the Mil Spec for most utility shooting.

[jsipe007]

lots of great 1911s out there... What do you want out of the gun? Do you want match performance? Reliability? full size?

The only real way to tell is to try em

If youre looking for nice 1911s without breaking the bank, I would start with these brands (in no particular oder):

Kimber
Sig
Colt
Springfield
Smith and Wesson
Ruger
Wilson Combat

Those are a few great 1911 makers. A few others (Taurus, RIA) make a great cost effective 1911 as well.

Personally, I love the look of the Sig's and Smith and Wessons. Those are two brands you really cannot go wrong with. Good luck!

Finally, i know there have been some real 1911 horror stories, but many of those stories occur due to negligence or special circumstances. The 1911 platform is very safe when you buy quality. A lot of guys replace the mainspring and other parts, not realizing the effect on the firearm. So, when you do buy a 1911, do a little research. For example, the Colt Gold Cup Trophy 1911's come with a 12lb recoil spring from factory. Usually they also have a 16lb spring too, but some shooters did not know the second 16lb spring is for standard ball ammo, the 12lb spring is for lighter specialty loads. using too light of a spring can cause excessive frame battering, and a too heavy spring can do the same. A proper recoil spring result in the spent casings landing 4-6ft away from the shooter. a 16-18lb spring is typical (and safe) in most 5in barrel 1911s shooting standard 230grain ammo.

[General]

Go ahead and break the bank.

http://www.guncrafterindustries.com/order_pricing.shtml

[Bee22]

Dan Wesson.

[ChaneRZ]

Can't go wrong with RIA tactical 1911. Cheap and lots of ammo if I have to use your 2400 bucks.

[bombadillo]

Get a full railed Rock Island and call it a day. Use your savings on ammo till you're proficient with it. When you feel like you want/need a new one, sell it and get 85% of what you paid back out of it, and put it toward a really nice gun. Its really hard to beat a Baer pistol for the price.

Wilson Combat
Les Baer
Nighthawk Custom
Dan Wesson (sse's with one of these for a Valor or other version)
or you can get a full blown custom from a lot of guys.
Springfield Professional is another really nice pistol although it won't get the wow factor at the range compared to others, still built every bit as well as a Wesson or Wilson IMO.

[C.W.M.V.]

RIA for $400, closest you'll get to an original, as it was desinged 1911.
Then, after that you can decide what you want and buy another.

[BoJackUSMC]

You can always buy Springfield TRP or Operator and they cost under $2000. In addition, it will come with life time warranty.

[jsipe007]

@jesseg- I was thinking a used wilson combat not new. Here in reno, I have seen a couple very nice Wilson Combat 1911s go for about 1400-1500 private party. I did not know the retail of a wilson combat 1911, thanks for the info. Obviously the OP could not purchase a Wilson Combat 1911 for 1400 since out of state private party sales is nearly impossible in CA.

Doublestar also makes a pretty sweet looking 1911... nearly all parts are Wilson Combat and they are in the $1200 range.

[teflondog]

What are you planning to use the gun for? Target shooting? Competition? Classes?

From my experience, 1911s that don't malfunction during a class can be considered reliable in my book. I took a class and everyone was surprised that their 1911, which shot flawlessly for thousands of rounds at the range, experienced malfunctions during the course. The probability of having a malfunction is higher when you shoot several hundred rounds in a day without cleaning or lubing your gun.

If you're only using it at the range, that probability goes down, especially since you're not dropping your gun on the ground or rolling around with it.