To start, I have ZERO experience with 1911's and my level of knowledge concerning them is abou the same.

Question: Who would be the top three producers of full size modern 1911's when it comes to quality, relaibility, accuracy?

Advice sought: In your opinion, what's the best modern full size 1911 currently available?

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That is a big question with I am sure a lot of opinions.
1911's run from $500 to 5 or 6 thousand dollars. In my
opinion you can buy a pretty good one for $800 to $1000
or so. Some makers that come to mind are S&W, Springfield,
STI and many many others. Don

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You might want to spend some time here. 1911Forum - Powered by vBulletin

Oh boy, that's opening a can of worms. There's as many opinions on 1911s as there are owners.

Ok, here's my take.
The best 1911 is a box stock Colt. Pretty much the way JMB originally designed it. Reliable and plenty accurate enough for defense.
The biggest problem with the 1911 is too many people keep trying to "improve" it. The more you tinker with it, the less reliable it gets. You just don't need all them bells and whistles. Any modifications should be limited to only what makes the gun work better for you.
Oh yeah, I went through a period where I wanted fancy this or tactical that, but I got over it when I realized that this stuff wasn't necessary. The last few I've bought the only changes have been grips to suit my taste and a long trigger because it makes the gun fit my hand better. For me, nothing else is needed.
You don't need to spend $2500 to get a good 1911. Do yourself a favor. Get a plain stock 1911 and see how it works out for you. You can always make changes later if you feel the need.

Top three producers:
Colt
Colt
Springfield Armory

Best modern full size 1911 currently available:
Series 70 Colt Government Model

I'm sure you're gonna get a lot of answers different than mine. But this is my opinion and worth every penny you paid for it.

We own a S&W 1911 and it's real hard to beat. Springer builds some super 1911's and we own several. Taurus builds a great 1911 for the money and it shoots like a dream. R.I also puts a good 1911 on the market and we have shot the High Standard with good results. Kimber, Brown, Clark, etc build top of the line weapons but we would rather put the over the top prices for those 1911's into S&W wheel guns. Just our opinion and exactly worth what you paid for it.

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"DEO VINDICE"

A top quality gun would come from Wilson Combat, Les Baer, or Ed Brown. It all depends what you want to spend, what your needs are, and what feature you want on the gun. All that said, you could start with a S&W 1911 they are as good as any mid priced 1911 out there.

Sir, IMHO, it's hard to go wrong with a Colt. I've had several, and every one has been extremely reliable. Accuracy has varied from adequate to very good.

FWIW, I've also had 1911s by Les Baer, Springfield Inc., and Kimber.

Baers are great guns, very accurate and reliable, but also somewhat expensive. They don't have any basic GI-type guns, but then that's not the market segment they're after.

Springfield Inc. makes a good gun. Sometimes they need a couple hundred rounds through them before they settle down. They also have models to fit pretty much every budget and fancy.

Kimber also has a wide range of models, but frankly the guns don't impress me. They're not consistent. The good ones are very good, and the bad ones are little more than expensive paperweights. Kind of a crapshoot.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

I agree with max!

I also agree that you'll get a lot of different answers here. With all due respect to Grayfox, a newly manufactured Colt would be far down on my list for a new out of the box 1911. I'm certainly not slamming a Colt, but these days Colt's are not any better than many of the other out of the box 1911's and they're not worth the extra premium dollars just to have the little horse stamped on the side of the frame. Kimber's and Springfields, just to name a couple, are just as good as a new out of the box Colt and at least a couple of hundred dollars less expensive.

What I shoot is a Springfield "Fully Loaded" full size 1911 because I think it has beneficial features not present on a standard Colt. Features like front and rear angled slide serrations, lowered and flared ejection port, more effective high-hand beavertail grip safety, beveled magazine well, commander style hammer, and better visibility rear sights.

To answer the original question, which one is the best? In my opinion as an experianced shooter of many brands of 1911's, I would easily suggest a Wilson as the best. You actually have to handle and shoot a Wilson to experiance the difference.

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Here is a good web page on the history and the operation of the 1911 - you will find alot of good information here.

The M1911 Pistols Organization Home Page

I have a full size parkerized RIA M1911A1 in .45 ACP (Government Model, with the 5 inch barrel), and I have been more than pleased with it. I think you can get them from probably $400 to $450, depending on where you live and how good the gunstores are near you. They're great guns for the money (though you have to shoot FMJs through 'em, and they're not cheap currently). At least, that's my opinion. Though I have shot a S&W 1911 model that had the beveled magazine well, some checkering on the grip metal and wood, as well as a flat feed ramp... Now that was a fine piece of work (probably from the 70s or 80s). I'd say it was the nicest semi-auto handgun I have ever shot.

+1

There is a wealth of good information in the forums listed above.

I too will say Colt is on top of the game for the dollars.
Also a 5" gun will be more tolerant to neglect, Dirt, Grime ect.
I have several 1911s and one of my favorites is an old rusty one from 1914 with a 50s slide since the original rusted through.
I cant shoot it all that well but my buddy makes one ragged hole at 50'
They are as accurate as the barrel/slide lock up is!!! The whole gun can rattle, But as long as the lock up is good, The gun will be quite accurate!

Peter

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Thanks folks. From the limited research I've done I've come up with three full size models that I'd like to look deeper into. Anyone have experience with any of these three?

S&W SW1911




Sig 1911 Nitron




Dan Wesson Valor

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~ S&WCA No.2159 ~

I've seen $250 ones that could run at the Kentucky Derby. And $2K examples that were only good for door stops till going back through a shop two or three times? Tough call. A lot of it has to do with good luck. I've owned great Colt's, Kimbers and built fabulous Frankenstein's. I've also witnessed more than one trail of tears back and forth to the UPS facility? Good quality names, with good quality warranty/guarantee's are the way to go once you get near that 4 figure threshold. At least it would be for me.
(EDIT)
And yes as was mentioned, stay with a Government length (5"), or at the very least a (4"- 4 1/4") Commander length. The compacts (4" and under) can be a PITA for a novice. And quite often are a PITA even for a journeyman?

You might get one of these, if you like old school.

Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC

This with a new set of bigger sights may well be the best way to go!
Plus with a colt, If you need to sell you can usually get your $ back out of it,,,, Not a chance on one of those racy guns..
But most important.
Get what you will be happy with!
I had a Charle Daly 1911, It was ugly, Fit and finish were lousy, But you could hit a paperplate at 50 yards all day with the thing,
I sold it since it was so dang offensive looking,,,, I miss that gun!
Peter

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In regard to customer service, Springfield Armory has some of the best. My IDPA gun is a fully loaded Springer 1911A1. After eight years and an estimated 12,000 rounds of hardball ammo the barrel lug cracked. Hey, the gun has been run hard and nothing lasts forever. So I can't fault the gun.
Springfield repaired it under warranty at no cost and I had it back in eight days. Hard to beat that kind of service.

The best 3 IMO...Ed Brown, Wilson, Les Baer. My favorite...Ed Brown, I own 3.
The Dan Wesson Valor is very close to a Wilson or Ed Brown IMO.DW is putting in a lot of hand fitting and using some parts from EB. Almost as pricey as my 3 favorites, so I would go with one of those 3. But of the 3 you asked about, I would buy the DW.

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Nothing to see here,move along

Morning,

I don't know if something like this is still available, nor what it would cost you, if you could find one. But, I've very much enjoyed my Colt 1991-A1 Government Model. Reliable, accurate, easy to maintain, and aside from the grips, which I found, used, in a gun store "bargain box", and installed on my 1991, it's box stock, too! The price, when I bought it, NIB, was very good, too, for what I received. No complaints, at all, and from how things look, it should keep right no perking away for as many years as I care to keep it. I'll post a few photos, just for grins. Best of luck, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

P.S. I added some fine Wilson magazines, too, with which I'm extremely happy.

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I know you're not looking into RIAs at this point, but I thought I'd share a picture of mine anyway. It looks really close to what Doc Mark has (though I love those grips, sir), aside from the obvious brand difference.

The Colt XSE Government model is hard to beat. Since this was my first Colt 1911 I wanted to see how reliable the gun would be. I ran 900 rounds through it w/o cleaning it. It ate everything, FMJ JHP LSWC LRN, I fed it. No bobbles at all.

The Dan Wesson isn't on the CA DOJ Approved List unfortunately. Guess that means it's down to the Sig and the S&W. I've decided to go with the S&W.

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~ S&WCA No.2159 ~

I have had Colts, Kimbers, S&W's, ParaOrdinance, Springfield and now have a Sig Revolution Compact C3. They have ranged from 3" models to all steel 5".They have all been good pistols. Currently, I have the Sig, a Blued Colt Series 80 Government Model and a Kimber 5" Raptor. The Colt rattles like a box of rocks when shaken but shoots fine. The Raptor has been flawless and is very accurate. The Sig has also been 100% and is Commnder sized and lighter. It's my main 1911 carry pistol. You should borrow and/or rent differentg models and try them if you can before deciding. I think S&W makes a very nice 1911...

When I was a young fellow in the 1960's and 70's, you could have a Colt and a Colt. I had a Series 70 Combat Commander that would only feed ball. But ball was pretty much all I could get anyway...Looking and trying is at least half the fun...Good luck

I have had 2 Kimbers I sold them both, bought a Springfield Mil-Spec and love it. $575 out the door. I changed the mainspring housing,to get rid of the ILS,and I would like to get different sights,someday.Good luck

I have a series 70 Governmemt Combat by Colt. It was a custom shop pistol from Colt.

It has less than 50 rounds thru it. I would sell for $975 if interested.

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Regards,
Windjammer

Appreciate the offer but I'm in CA and Series 70's aren't on the CA DOJ Approved Handgun List.

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~ S&WCA No.2159 ~

Now that you've chosen a brand you need to decide whether you want combat, or target sights. Magwell or no magwell, alloy frame etc.