I was thinking that I ought get a 1911 in .45 ACP again. It looks like I can get a Colt XSE for about a grand or their Wiley Clapp special edition for around $1100 and change. The latter has a checkered front strap and night sights.

Is there anything wrong with either of these choices?

Is there a competing non Colt offering that offers a better value at price point?

I have had a Colt series 80 enhanced Gold Cup,an old Series 70,a Kimber CDP Pro, Kimber Raptor, Springfield Stainless loaded GM, and a couple of Filipino guns.

What I want is a full size, all steel gun that will be durable, reliable, and accurate. I have shot the Ruger and thought it was eh okay, and yes I could just get a Glock, but I want a 1911 again. I know how to use one, have used them for 20 years. I was thinking I would just get a Colt and be done with it.

The gun will be carried/worn daily, most likely in a vertical leather shoulder holster.

You can't go wrong with either choice. I'd add the Dan Wesson RZ-45 Heritage, too, which I think is the best built 1911 at your chosen price point.

I own about 30 pistols of the 1911 pattern ranging from a pre-WW1 commercial model to some of recent production. Always carried a Colt product for many years. About 15 years ago I was introduced to Kimber pistols and was favorably impressed. Have purchased 4 so far and been well satisfied with every one. Had one warranty service issue, and was well pleased with Kimber's responsiveness.

The Kimber line-up is extensive and offers just about any combination of features that anyone might conceive. All are produced to very high standards in the United States by US workers. Features that were only available from custom shops are now regularly available in production pistols at reasonable prices from Kimber.

Past 10 years have been with a Kimber Custom CDP pistol on my hip every day. Completely reliable and extremely accurate piece.

I still have my old Colts, but they are investments now rather than carry guns.

Best regards.

There are so many nice 1911s in that price range you can just pick based on what appeals to you. SIG and S&W should be considered too, IMO. I would base my choice on features you like (I consider a checkered front strap a necessity) and the trigger of the individual gun you are looking at. If you are budget conscious you don't want to spend your limit and then need a $75-$200 trigger job. I always ask to dry fire a 1911 before buying and as long as done safely no one has ever denied/cared.

I looked at several SIGs this weekend I considered very nice as far as features and fit-finish, but unfortunately the one that interested me most had a particularly lousy trigger. No sale ...

I would go with a Colt. They maintain a good resale value if not abused, have a good name, etc. Just my opinion. I have several varieties and the Colts are among my favorites in that price range. Simply put, they are reliable, relatively well made, and they carry the name Colt on the slide. Pick up a nice used one. $1K should get you a nice specimen that will last your lifetime.

This is your best out of the box option. I like Colts. Have more Colts than any other 1911 but I think the DW is better.

You can't really go wrong with the Wiley Clapp Colt it will hold its value better than most 1911 even the DW. Colt is making great guns these days.

I bought a new production Series 70 Colt for $805 delivered. Runs like a top!

My two favorites in that price range would be my Springfield Armory TRP and my Dan Wesson Pointman Major.

Randy

I'd get a new series 70,but a checkered front strap is a nice feature.I swapped some parts in this one so I could have the series 70 internals with the feel I prefer.Its the top one.

A new Series 70 Gold Cup NM .

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Sure you did

I really enjoy shooting my new Colt O1991 .45. I've had it a couple years and it has never malfunctioned. I thought about some modifications but a flat checked main spring housing is all I've done. It just runs fine the way it is. Don't need to change a thing. Easy to shoot. The only gun I shoot better is my 65-4 4" but I shoot it a lot more and carry it more than any gun I have.
Get a Colt, you won't be disappointed. I think. I sure ain't.
Peace,
Gordon

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better have that checked

I have only one, a Colt. Thank God I have never caught the M1911 collecting virus, and the one I have is enough for me, and has been for over 50 years.

Kimber Eclipse Custom II. This one is in 10mm, but most are .45.

Loved my Colt Commander. I gave it an arched MSH made out of steel, a Wilson Combat Beavertail safety and carbon fiber grips.



Never had any issues and it's less than your budget, so you have some $ left for ammo

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Jorge

I'm not a 1911 aficionado like many here, but I've owned a couple of Colt 1911s and enjoyed shooting them.

If I were in your shoes with your budget, my first choice for a carry 1911 would be the Sig Traditional Compact, which isn't really a "compact," but more of a CCO style pistol (Commander slide on Officer's Model frame). Not that I've given this any thought before.

Another vote for Dan Wesson. They are completed one at a time each by an individual gunsmith. No assembly line where someone installs one part and then hands off to the next assembler.

They are the best mass produced 1911.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

My buddy bought a used but in excellent condition Les Baer for $1,200. Be patient and shop around.

I have had Colt Kimber Best yet imho Dan Wesson point man 7 I liked it so much. I picked up the cco to carry. Top shelf.
Regards

Islander

In my experience, 1911s are not like SIG P series, Glocks, or M&Ps that you should expect to run 100 percent out of the box.

I had a SIG scorpion that had FRTB issues. I had a SIG Tac Pac that was good, but didn't like certain magazines. I had a Colt XSE 5 inch that was flawless. My current 1911 is a Springfield TRP that runs great.

For your price range, I'd go with a Colt. For just a little more you can get the Springfield TRP for 1,400, and get one of the nicest production 1911s available.

I think you'll like the Colt though.

I have a Kimber, a Colt and a Custom Made Caspian.

The Kimber I bought new, and had some mild customizations done on in it here and there. The Colt had a lot of the modifications I wanted already done, so when I got it used I got it for a song, I don't need to make any changes to it. The Caspian doesn't need a thing, as it is as top notch a build as there is.

I shoot all of those 1911s, and they are all excellent guns.

However, my first recommendation to you would be for a Dan Wesson.
They all are hand fit.
They have everything you need on a 1911 and nothing you do not. Specifically dovetail cuts for Novak Style Sights, extended thumb safeties, and match grade barrels with a hand fit bushing.

That is where I would go for option 1. I think it would be a little more than $1200 for some models, but would be choice 1.

Choice 2, Springfield Armory TRP

Choice 3, a COLT - the quality is supposed to be back on these in a big way. The Series 70 that I have that has been customized is a damn good shooter,can't it's a Colt, so hey it has the 1911 Mystique x2.

Choice 4, Kimber, they have many excellent offerings, a Raptor is a real neat way to go.

Choice 5, Smith and Wesson, their 1911s are really, really good. They made frames and maybe even slides for Kimber for years before making their own 1911s.

There are tons and tons of other ones too. I am sure I am forgetting some excellent options.

Some pics to motivate you:

Here is my Kimber Stainless II that I had dehorned, had ball serrations milled to the front and back straps, and some custom grips made, oh and night sights. This gun is excellent.









And here is my Custom Caspian.







And this is an earlier pic of it with different grips, and a flat MSH



Whichever way yo do go, a good 1911 is a must for any serious shooter, and is one of my personal favorite guns to shoot.

I like the Thompson TC Custom 1911. There's a good write up on the browning 1911 forum in there tests. To me my price range is between $500 to $1,000 for a decent 1911. Anything over $1,000 is a new s&w N frame.

I've got a Sig 1911 traditional reversed two tone that has given me zero issues, no matter what I've fed it. Great gun out of the box, with all the features I wanted and Sig quality. Would buy another one without hesitation if I was in the market for another 1911.

Sig2.jpg

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1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

I have a Phillipines made 1911 in 9mm now. I only paid $299 for it, new in box. It has most of the features of some more expensive guns. But it was need of tinkering and I finally sent it off to a gunsmith. The CMC mags it came with were problematic in it, though a MecGar was flawless. More annoying was that it tossed brass in my face. Needed some adjustments basically. It did remind me how much I liked 1911s though.

The suggestion of Dan Wesson is interesting and one I had not thought of. My favorite auto is a 9mm CZ and CZ/Dan Wesson are intertwined.

Looking into it, I could get a CZ marked GI 1911 for a bit less than a stock Series 70 Colt. Which is interesting. I just don't know if I want a GI gun again.

I don't really want another Kimber. I was satisfied at the time with my CDP. But for reasons of arcane individual preference I find them no longer what I want.

I am going to see if anyone locally has a Dan Wesson in stock and or the GI CZ.

I am old enough that a Smith & Wesson 1911 just seems...still to be unnatural. Oh, I know they have been out for a while. A used Scandium Commander is available locally, but...

With Sigs I just don't know enough about their 1911s.

I would have to order the Colt sight unseen from Buds or wherever. I have no seen any locally. I don't know that I want to wait long to get whatever I get. I worry prices will go up towards later in the year, and I wanted to have the gun, holster, mags etc in hand and squared away by the time it warms up out.

.

I have a Colt .45, a Colt custom shop Commander .45, and a S&W 1911 Pro .45.
The Smith Pro came set up with FO sights, beavertail, fine trigger,etc, all ready to load up and shoot IDPA/CDP or USPSA/ Single Stack.
I have my gunsmith look it over every couple of years because I don't shoot CDP much compared to revolver. Aside from an ISMI recoil spring and an adjustment to the sear spring once, it just gets cleaned and shot, and shot....... Several in the club have bought FO sights like the ones the Pro came with.

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Science plus Art

STI Trojan or Dan Wesson Heritage

Another vote for STI Trojan.

Dan Wesson is a great choice, if you go that route. Springfield Armory TRP is also a top notch gun.

If you get the CZ, you can make changes to it over time. They are supposed to be high quality. You can always get it cut for Novak Style sights, and get an extended beaver tail and changed to a skeletonized hammer later, if you so decide.

You have a ton of options.

Maybe a Springfield Rangemaster as I'm kinda partial to my old SA that was customized. Think they go for a little less than 1K. Then practice,practice and build up the muscle memory. Shooting a 1911 is like shaking hands with a old friend,once you get used to it it's like an old friend. Frank

In considering the new CZ 1911, bear in mind that it isn't a Dan Wesson product; near as anyone can tell (CZ's kept it close to the vest), while it's a fine budget 1911 in the GI-style, it can't reasonably be compared to the kind of materials and attention the Dan Wesson 1911s get.

CZ owns Dan Wesson, but they're run separately and differently.

Thanks, I did not know that the CZ was made seperately.

IF...I were to get one of the Smith and Wesson 1911s, would the quality and performance be noticeably different from the Colt and Dan Wesson guns?

That is not my understanding but I could be wrong. It is made in the USA. CZ does not have another facility in the USA besides Dan Wesson. Where else could it have been made? Why would you outsource it if you have a facility like DW if you are CZ?

It is sort of a moot point anyway because they are already out of production. Prices are climbing from their $700 OTD price you could get one for late last year. With all the $700 Colts on the shelf I am not sure there is much allure to the pistol. I think you can still get one from many of the internet retailers for $725 to $$750.

From all accounts it is a good base GI type 1911. It has no MIM and the only complaints I have heard about them is that the thumb safety was less than smooth but that is an easy fix.

With a budget of $1200 I would pass unless you want to send it off to a smith for some custom work but if I was going to do that I would still get a Colt.

It will be a high quality gun but it will have an external safety. The S&W version runs well but it is not a user serviceable part.

Scanning this thread suggests to me that the OP's request for assistance will now be more difficult. Too many choices.

For my taste and preferences it's been the one with the little horsies on the slide. Yeah, and a couple of Kimbers, too. Wilson 47D magazines in all of them. Everything else seems to stay in the safe.

I have the exact gun, and I think it is the best one on the market for the money. It's tight as a drum and shoots like a champ.

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Even older, even crankier....

S&W 1911s are excellent. Are they as good as Dan Wessons? I'd say no, but it is kind of relative. Dan Wesson is top notch.

S&Ws are at least the equal of Colt 1911s.

There are many good options out there.

I'd go with the regular ol' Colt, either a new production or older production Series 70.

There's really nothing special about any gun with Wiley Clapp's name on it. You'd be paying for doodads.

Another vote for Colt. The new 70 series are very nice.
Pic of my old Commander that has been packed
near 30 years.
Glad this one can't.