Nicest (CHEAP) NEW 1911A1 Clone on the Market Currently

Thank you all for having me here today I appreciate you reading my reviews! I wanted to share some honest opinion on what I think is the nicest NEW 1911A1 clone on the market today. SDS Imports is bringing in these Turkish made 1911s that are quite nice! They have minimal markings and all the parts are easily interchangeable with major manufacture brand 1911 parts. I upgraded this example in the picture with a Wilson Combat spring kit and forged Wilson Combat firing pin and stop.

The Pros: Many! This pistol is very minimal in what I would call tasteful markings on the gun unlike many other 1911 clones that have billboard writing all of the gun which I do not like. Has an excellent finish on the service model that would hold up well and the frame and slide or both forged parts. EXCELLENT frame to slide fit. "Series 70" all parts interchangeable and easily upgradable. The slide also fit on my Colt 1911 frame perfect with no problems! They also make several different models including a US Army clone with correct features like arched mainspring housing and lanyard loop. This pistol is nicer than some 1911s Ive seen for 3 to 4 times the price!

Cons: Some! There is some MIM parts (look it up if you dont know) that are not an issue and keep the cost low on the pistol. Hammer is MIM but it is a NON ISSUE however I would change out the firing pin stop with a forged steel part. Cost me $6 bucks.

All in all an excellent pistol and a faithful reproduction of a classic thats extremely reliable and feeds ALL AMMO! If your looking for a shootable and multi role pistol with nostalgia factor and dont want to sacrifice an original military GI model than this is the ticket. Cheap and affordable but its also more than that too! Thanks for reading my review have a nice day!

I have three ARMSCORs. Two are STI Spartan branded and one a double stack 9mm is a Rock Island. All run well and are solid guns. I've had no issues replacing parts in them.

Nice looking pistol. I've got a thing for GI-style 1911s, and will hopefully add one in the not-too-distant future. Colt Classic is at the top of my list, but that looks like a good lower-cost option.

FWIW, so far I've seen nothing but good reviews on the TISAS Regent BR9 Hi-Power clone, another Turkish import pistol.

I like GI style as I have some first hand experience back in the 60's. I just think they all should have better sights. IMHO, that was the only problem on the originals.

Ya this is a Tisas 1911 and I agree on there Hi Powers those were really nice! Unfortunately they stopped importing the Hi Power clones and I didnt get a chance to get one. With that said I wouldnt delay in getting one of the Tisas 1911s NOW because when there gone very likely may be gone for good.

max said:

I like GI style as I have some first hand experience back in the 60's. I just think they all should have better sights. IMHO, that was the only problem on the originals.

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Tisas also makes 1911s in what I would call "enhanced features" in Government and Commander size. Like enhanced dovetailed and changeable sights front serrations beaver tails and ambi safeties ect ect ect. I dont want anything like that because theres tons of 1911 options like that already on the market. I enjoy the "classics" and faithful reproductions mostly so this review is covering the basic 1911A1 clones and this Service Model is a very good faithful clone of the original 1911A1. I forgot to mention the barrel throat is worked on these guns so they feed HP rounds reliably too. The ejection port is also bigger to aid in reliable ejection. All things I would want to have on this gun.

I had to assemble a Remington 1911 a few years ago. A Korean War vet bought it new from Cabelas. He couldn’t get it back together. He brought it to me and I had to take it home. As usual except bushing. My fingers were bleeding and I had to polish up inside of slide to get it together. The inside of slide looked like it was machined with a axe. Turkish I believe.

Drm50 said:

I had to assemble a Remington 1911 a few years ago. A Korean War vet bought it new from Cabelas. He couldn’t get it back together. He brought it to me and I had to take it home. As usual except bushing. My fingers were bleeding and I had to polish up inside of slide to get it together. The inside of slide looked like it was machined with a axe. Turkish I believe.

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Was it a R1? I have never heard of a Remington 1911 made in Turkey. Im to understand that all Remington 1911s are made by Remington Arms factory in the USA. All my Remington pistols were from the Alabama or New York factory if I recall. There extremely reliable and pretty decent 1911s.

Nice and then cheap, hmmm sounds like you want to be on two sides of the fence at the same time. Do you have a budget?

The next best thing for a decent true to look 1911A1 clone would be one of the many Philippine 1911 imports. Rock Island is decent and ATI is not bad either. I did have trouble replacing parts on some of the Philippine 1911s. Seemed like some of the specs were off needing lots of work to get parts fitted. So far Ive had NO problems replacing parts on the Turkish 1911s. Another EXCELLENT import 1911 is the Magnum Research Israeli made Desert Eagles but good luck finding one! They have all gone bye bye! I suggest to everyone get your firearms while you can because new in stock pistols are dwindling faster than the do do bird.

I've handled and examined three of the OP's example pistol now. I
have to agree. All were tagged from 429 to 459 in my NoTW. They remind me
of my time in the arms room 30yrs ago. However, I also noted the throated barrel, and ejection port. It's been quite awhile, but I think these are even nicer than the deal from Norinco many years back.

dandyrandy said:

... Has an excellent finish on the service model that would hold up well and the frame and slide or both forged parts. ...

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What kind of finish do your examples have? Some are advertised online as parkerized, and others as Cerakote.

I keep hankering after another 1911 (I gave my last one to my oldest son) but I never seem to be able to justify spending the money for one, not with the S&W 745 sitting in the safe.

Same caliber, same single action, I'm not going to carry it but I'm not going to carry a 1911 either (but I do carry a 4513TSW and just acquired a Chiefs Special in .45) so justifying the expense is tough.

I'll be taking a look at the SDA/Tisas to see if I can find a bargain off their already lower price. But until I do, I think I'll get my .45 shooting done with the 745 or the Sig 220 that's also gathering a bit of dust since COVID has kept me from the range as often as I'd like.

But still, what kind of a safe is it without a 1911 in it?

PeteC said:

What kind of finish do your examples have? Some are advertised online as parkerized, and others as Cerakote.

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Of the 5 inch barrel "GI" style pistols theres 2 models. One that says US Army with arched MSH and lanyard loop and its parkerized. The other is the "Service Model" and when I talked to SDS about what the finish was exactly they told me the frame and slide are parkerized with a black cerkote coating over it. Theres is also a "Commander" size called the "Tanker Model."

These Norincos were on the market only a few years until firearms from Norinco were banned by Clinton. Very well made Colt clone ( so close that parts are interchangeable ). I was able to find a pristine early import example some years ago. If you like Mil-Spec, ya can't beat these, although unaltered ( very popular with custom guys) examples in this condition are hard to find; however there have been a couple nice ones on GunBroker in the last couple months..

OLDSTER said:

These Norincos were on the market only a few years until firearms from Norinco were banned by Clinton. Very well made Colt clone ( so close that parts are interchangeable ). I was able to find a pristine early import example some years ago. If you like Mil-Spec, ya can't beat these, although unaltered ( very popular with custom guys) examples in this condition are hard to find; however there have been a couple nice ones on GunBroker in the last couple months..

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The lost in the sauce Chinese to English translations markings on the Norinco 1911 imports always made me giggle.

Bought a nice nickel Rock Island 1911 clone [no scallops behind the trigger] a few years ago. Sold through Cimarron. Has a horse on it just not the Rampant Colt. Couldn’t swing a real nickel Colt 1911. Here it is in my ukulele case with it’s BIG brother. A very nice good looking pistol, I did change the safety, slide lock and hammer out for real GI parts. Couldn’t stand the skinny hammer that was on it. Also added the black horn grip scales.

Baltimoreed11754 said:

Bought a nice nickel Rock Island 1911 clone [no scallops behind the trigger] a few years ago. Sold through Cimarron. Has a horse on it just not the Rampant Colt. Couldn’t swing a real nickel Colt 1911. Here it is in my ukulele case with it’s BIG brother. A very nice good looking pistol, I did change the safety, slide lock and hammer out for real GI parts. Couldn’t stand the skinny hammer that was on it. Also added the black horn grip scales.

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This is a good looking well done option for a 1911 clone however the Cimarron production to my knowledge only makes the 1911 in this model not the A1. For that reason I didnt get one. I prefer my 1911s to have at least a throat job on the barrel and a bigger ejection port because I do feel those options actually aid in the performance of the gun.

Mine are RIA, and I love them. A buddy has a couple of the Turkish guns, and they seem first-rate as well. I won't say that the more-expensive guns aren't better in some ways, but I will say they are no better as just plain, functional, reliable shooters. We're blessed with good low-cost alternatives right now.

Pisgah said:

Mine are RIA, and I love them. A buddy has a couple of the Turkish guns, and they seem first-rate as well. I won't say that the more-expensive guns aren't better in some ways, but I will say they are no better as just plain, functional, reliable shooters. We're blessed with good low-cost alternatives right now.

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The first gun I ever bought with my own hard earned money was a nickel plated RIA back when nobody ever heard of them. Everyone was like "ew gross its made where????" I used to carry the thing magnum PI style tucked in my pants. One day everyone was making fun of my cheap "Pinay" gun. So I moseyed over to the firing line and pulled out my 45 Wild Bill Hickok style and shot a bullseye! Put the gun back in my pants and walked away laughing... Pure luck but I didn't say anything and just laughed as I mossied away like Mr Cool style.