All out or not?

[jkonquer]

Im in the market for a 1911. Been shooting 1911s for while but never owned one. I dont know much a out the gun and i really dont know the difference between low end 1911s to high end. I know the specs of it but not so much in reliability, longevity, and real life functions.

So what would be a good 1911 to start with? Im one of those guys if i get into things, i go all out. So most likely i will end up getting les baer or dan wesson. But should i get them now or start with something lower end and modify the gun?

Thanks

[redcliff]

Im in the market for a 1911. Been shooting 1911s for while but never owned one. I dont know much a out the gun and i really dont know the difference between low end 1911s to high end. I know the specs of it but not so much in reliability, longevity, and real life functions.

So what would be a good 1911 to start with? Im one of those guys if i get into things, i go all out. So most likely i will end up getting les baer or dan wesson. But should i get them now or start with something lower end and modify the gun?

Thanks

I think the Rock Island Tactical is a great first 1911. Low price, good list of features, lifetime warranty and you won't sweat it so bad if you idiot scratch it. Also easy to resell at a reasonable price down the road if you want to upgrade.

[jdben92883]

+1.

BTW, Baer or Wesson makes good 1911's, but they are not even close to "all out".

I think the Rock Island Tactical is a great first 1911. Low price, good list of features, lifetime warranty and you won't sweat it so bad if you idiot scratch it. Also easy to resell at a reasonable price down the road if you want to upgrade.

[jkonquer]

Yeah i think ill never be able drop +3k for a pistol just yet.
Whats your thoughts on upgradebility of ria or lowend kimber or speingfield milspec?

[Bug Splat]

Naw, stay away from the milspec Springfield if you want to upgrade it. To much frame modding is needed to use nicer parts. A Springfield Loaded would be a nice starter pistol that you can build up on later.

[Freq18Hz]

Lots of folks will disagree with me, and that's fine, but here's my take on 1911's:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showpost.php?p=10591720&postcount=43

To recap, I recommend you start with a Dan Wesson. You'll get a fantastic gun, at a reasonable price. If you spend more, you will get better fit and finish, but you will not feel like your Dan Wesson is sub par. It is hands down, the best bang for the buck.

If you want to go "all out" on a production 1911, get a Wilson and don't look back.

You can get lucky and get a good budget 1911 (RIA, Kimber, Sig, Springfield) but chances are you won't.

Here's the order of of production 1911's I would own from worst to best:

Springfield < Dan Wesson < Ed Brown < Wilson Combat.

Good luck,

-Freq

[CK_32]

$400 to $500 range RIA

$500 to $600 range SA GI/Sr1911

$700 to $1200 SA Loaded/RO Or Sig 1911 (only down side of the sig is square slide doesn't fit all holsters and I just don't like the look of the external extractor)

$1200 to $1700 Ed Brown/TRP/MC Operator

$1800 to $2700 Ed brown/Dan Wesson/ Les bear

$2700 to $3500 Night Hawk/Les Bear

As far as I know after the $2700 range you can't lose being all are garanteed.

Only reason I prefer SA in the $500 to $1300 range is their warranty. For a first I'd think the $500 to $1300 is a good spot to start at.

[DT556]

I'd recommend a Springfield NM Loaded. ~$800

[GunsNGirls]

Just do what my GF did and get a Nightawk Custom. It was her first pistol and it makes me sad that I started off with a Kimber Custom II :_(

[jkonquer]

I'm not looking to spend over 2000$ at the most. so all the top-end 1911's out of question.
im more comparing from base model kimber custom 2, SA milspec, and RIA vs. SA loaded, TRP, Les Baer premier, and etc. So pretty much 700 gun vs 1600 gun

[SCAR Face]

Based on what you said about your tendency of going all out, I would agree with Freq and Bug Splat above and recommend you go either SA Loaded (or TRP) or Dan Wesson if they are within your budget. You won't be disappointed and they hold their resale value should you change your mind.

[Cool Custard]

Get a colt!!! Fantastic guns for a decent price!!!

[4literranger485]

All out? nighthawk, wilson combat. If you truly desire a high end gun, you will not be satisfied with a GI model (imo)

[WWDHD?]

I tend to collect things. So I started out with the RIA Tactical to see if I liked the 1911 platform. Soon after that was established I bought a Springfield Loaded. So now I have a good low-end 1911, a solid mid-level pistol and maybe someday soon I'll get a Baer Custom Carry to complete my collection with a nice higher end semi-custom gun.
If you just want to buy one very good quality 1911 them I'd say the Springfield TRP would be the way to go. It's on "The List", very well made for a production-line gun and has a great warranty backing it up. If you don't like the rough 20lpi checkering (I don't) then maybe the MC Operator is for you. It's kind of in between the Loaded and the TRP in terms of fit & finnish.
Good luck.

[jkonquer]

I feel the same as you WWDHD, I like to collect things as well and 1911's are collectable item.

I just want to know if there is a huge difference in lower and mid 1911's. or the better question would be, can you make/mod low-end to perform like TRP?