1911 recommendation

There have never been so many different 1911s to choose from and I doubt that anyone can honestly attest to experience with more than 4 or 5 brands. I've never known of ANY brand that was consistently bad, and price alone doesn't always guarantee absolute excellence. I currently have two; an inexpensive RIA 3.5" compact and a Springfield Mil-Spec that's been tuned by the Springfield Custom Shop. They are both reliable guns. The little RIA actually has more features, but I enjoy shooting the full-size Mil-Spec more. I've got about $450 in the RIA and maybe $750 in the Springfield, including the custom work. Check out the 1911 Forum if you want detailed information on just about any model you can think of.
 
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Start by talking to other shooters at your local gun stores, and indoor or outdoor ranges. Get the word out and the perfect 1911 will show up, if your ready.

Chuck
 
Collectors Firearms in Houston always has a nice selection of old military 1911s. I came very close to buying one that was issued to a man who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in France in WWI. However, I cound not justify spending $5,000++ for it.
 
Try Collectors Firearms in Houston. They have old military 1911s in stock and I almost bought one that had belonged to a Medal of Honor Recipient who earned his MoH in France in WWI. However, I could not justify paying $5,000+++ for it so I passed.

Sorry for the dupe post. My computer hiccuped when I posted the first time.
 
Kanewpadle said:
What movie was that? "Build it and they will come." :p
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It was "If you build it, he will come" from "Field of Dreams."

If anyone wants to give me a 1911, I will definitely show up for it. :)
 
I would go with the Ruger SR1911. Decent fit and finish, everything you need and nothing you don't need. Mine came straight from the box with a crisp 4.5 lb trigger, and it holds 3" at 25 yards with Winchester WB 230 gr. You can usually find them for around $650-$700. It's a Ruger so it is a solid pistol.
 
ColumbusJBR said:
Sorry if this has been beaten to death, but here goes...

I'm looking for a range toy 1911. Won't ever carry, not home defense. Just a range toy. .45 auto of course. I really like the look and features of the GI/WWII standard 1911's, like the remington R1 for example. No crazy extra frills, just standard 1911. I don't plan on using this gun as a platform for upgrades and mods, I'd just like to take it out of the box and enjoy target shooting with it. I'd like to spend less than $700 if possible.

Recommendations would be greatly appreciated, if you could suggest a model and what I might expect to pay for it.

Thanks guys!
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RIA is excellent. So is Springfield Armory. RIA will be about $450 give or take. Not sure about the SA. I bought a used SA GI 1911-A1 for $400 in February. HTH. Sincerely. bruce
 
A10 said:
Look at the RIA, which is an import and by all reports a nice gun. I've seen them go for around 5 bills in our area. You might consider the Ruger 1911 also, or the Remington you mentioned.
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Funny after reading your post I went to my local, usually well stocked GS..I saw and looked at one in commnder size. with Novak (styled) sights...NOT Novack the paint was not perfect on front sight. however fit and finish were pretty darn good and just the right amount of movement in slide for serious work. Was ready to bite, then realixed it was a 9mm..Darn! Not that I have anything against the 9mm but their are much more practical 9mm out there....The SW 3915 seris is certainally one of the best......Still for a PI 1911 style pistol it was no piece of junk by any comparison.. Good safety action no hang ups but positive, and real nice crisp trigger...Not bad for our friends in the PI/s
 
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Taurus makes the PT 1911 and it is just at capable as any 1911 .45ACP pistol on the market. They are usually around the same price point as the Rock Island Armory, and have about $1600.00 of custome features for the price of a sub $750 gun. I have a Para Ordinance Warthawg in 3" and a Taurus PT 1911 in the DUOTONE finish and both are great pieces.
 

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I've been using 1911-style pistols since 1968, including two tours in Vietnam and 24 years in law enforcement. I have also been collecting 1911's since the 1970's and have over two dozen dating from 1914 to modern production.

About 10 years ago I was introduced to Kimber pistols which, in my opinion, are very well made and incorporate just about all of the upgrades that so many of us demanded on our Colt pistols for range or defensive use. Many different variations to choose from and a wide range of prices, depending on just what features you decide are needed. Excellent customer service and warranty service, should those ever be needed.

A Kimber pistol may be a bit over your prefered price point but I don't think you would ever regret having spent a few dollars more for the Kimber.

Best regards.
 
LoboGunLeather said:
A Kimber pistol may be a bit over your prefered price point but I don't think you would ever regret having spent a few dollars more for the Kimber.
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To each his own, I suppose...I have had three Kimber 1911s, and I regret having bought each one of them. I don't own them now, and I won't own another. My experience with the pistols themselves was bad, and their CS was terrible. I would much rather spend a lot less money on a pistol that may not be as pretty, but it shoots and is backed by a lifetime warranty from a company that has great CS.
 
I do not want to get into the debate about Colt 70 vs. 80 series, but if it's going to be a range toy, a 80 series will be less than a 70 (based on the prior mentioned debate). I picked up a used 80 series Gold Cup a year or so ago for $700.00, and have fond it to be a good solid pistol. Note it will never replace my Kimber, but that's good deal more gun for a good deal more money.

That said if you want to push your budget just a bit I see the Kimber Stainless II on several websites in the $850 range with the non stainless version at about $100 less.
 
I have 3 1911's, for 3 different purposes. A Colt Gold Cup Series 70 for Bullseye (has a Kart barrel fitted), a Springfield Armory plain jane I converted into a competition gun for USPSA action shooting, and a Rock Island Armory 3 1/2" compact for carry. All of them work without question. The best "bang for the buck" is the RIA. They are very well built, and reliable and as accurate as all the others, for about 40% less than you spend on any of the others.
 
GKC said:
To each his own, I suppose...I have had three Kimber 1911s, and I regret having bought each one of them. I don't own them now, and I won't own another. My experience with the pistols themselves was bad, and their CS was terrible. I would much rather spend a lot less money on a pistol that may not be as pretty, but it shoots and is backed by a lifetime warranty from a company that has great CS.
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Me either unless it was a good used series one Kimber. Spend that much on an entry level Kimber and you might as well buy a Springfield Loaded.;)
 
Kanewpadle said:
Me either unless it was a good used series one Kimber. Spend that much on an entry level Kimber and you might as well buy a Springfield Loaded.;)
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None of mine were entry level...I had an Ultra CDP II, a Compact CDP II, and a Custom CDP II. I paid over $1K for each one. I think you would be very much better off to buy any Springfield than a Kimber...or any other 1911, rather than a Kimber (assuming you want a gun that works...if you want a piece of art to simply admire, then Kimber is the one to buy.)

A mini-rant: why is it that when you spend well over $1K on a Kimber, they only give you one magazine, and it's a crappy one at that? Kimber even makes a decent magazine: the Kim Pro Tac Mag, but that's not the one you get in the box. :mad:

Even so...whenever I see a Raptor, I start drooling and shaking...those guns are just so darn...sexy! But then I remind myself that no matter how good they look, they are still a Kimber product. :(
 
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I dropped less than 1K on my Sig. Not cheap by any means, but about mid range for a 1911. I loved the Kimbers when they first came out, as they were really the first to put all the "bells and whistles" on a factory gun. Others climbed on the bandwagon and the rest is 1911 history. I just think that for around a grand, you can do better than Kimber (ergo my Sig). If I were to spend more than that I'd probably go with an E series Smith, or better yet, a Dan Wesson. 15-1600 is a hard sell for me to spend on a handgun unless it would be a nice early engraved Smith Nframe. And the Baer, Wilson, Brown, Nighthawk range is post-lottery territory for me.....
 
I own a recently purchased Auto-Ordnance/Kahr "GI" .45 Auto. Have not shot it yet. It's finish is flawless, it's construction is tight and well-fitted. It is finished in a dark Parkerizing. I paid $569.37 for it. It's only drawback so far are the sights. standard "GI" which are too small for old eyes.

I also have two Remington 1911 R1's, one in Black Oxide, and one in stainless. They were fired yesterday for the first time and fed perfect. I bought the 1911 R1 (Black Oxide) at Sportsman's Warehouse for $600.00 and taxes.

The Norinco is a very often overlooked 1911. They are made supposedly of stronger steel than most any other brand. They are supposedly completely interchangeable with Colt parts (older models). Were used by many to make custom 1911's. And have a reputation for feeding anything. They can be found cheap. They have good, three-dot sights.
 
Save your money for a couple of more months, then buy a Colt. You will not be dissapointed!

GI sights: small, hard to see (then again, I'm 46...then again, I stll have 20/20 vision!).

Right now I'm jonesing for either a Gold Cup or the new Marine Corps model.
 
A10 said:
And the Baer, Wilson, Brown, Nighthawk range is post-lottery territory for me.....
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You and me both, brother...

I've owned a lot of 1911s, and I could easily have paid for one semi-custom 1911 (several times over, as a matter of fact) with all the buying/selling/trading I've done in 1911s...but then, I wouldn't have had the fun of owning a bunch of them.

For a while, I really thought I had to have an Ed Brown...I even went so far as to put together an order for one, made just the way I wanted it to be. When it totaled just shy of $4K, I decided no way. That may not be a lot to some, but it is to me, especially now that I am retired. My sons aren't into guns, so it wouldn't be a valued heirloom piece...plus I'd be scared to shoot it for fear of messing it up.

I think I'll just stick with Ruger and RIA when it comes to 1911s...they suit me better in lots of ways.
 
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Mr Sola said:
What about a S&W 1911, I didn't read any comments on them.
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I had a S&W e-series 1911, and it was an excellent gun. A lot of 1911 purists don't like them because they have an external extractor, and that wasn't the way JMB designed them. (He also didn't design beaver tail grip safeties, ring hammers, lowered/flared ejection ports, better/night sights, etc.) S&W's external extractor works well...as does SIG's version...it isn't as easy to remove as the internal extractor on most 1911s, but then it doesn't need to be tuned as often (if at all.)

The e-series guns don't have a FPS, which I prefer (the non-e guns do) and they are an excellent pistol. They are more expensive than the OP's indicated price range, so that's why most didn't mention them, I'm sure.
 
I thought about getting a Gunsite edition model at one time, they look very nice but not cheap.
 
Mr Sola said:
I thought about getting a Gunsite edition model at one time, they look very nice but not cheap.
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My gunsite, they can be had for under a grand. I find it somewhat snappy. I prefer a steel lower.

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Lots of good 1911's these days, and many good recommendations.

The only thing I have to add is that for your use I would seriously consider getting one with some sort of beavertail safety. For the vast majority of people, myself included, they are much more comfortable to shoot than the original GI type.

Have fun.
 
Spend the extra 250.00 and get your self a real gun. Colt 1911 Gov Model O1991. Then when you go to range you will really enjoy your day.
 
Buy a used Smith & Wesson 1911 - I have one of the earliest produced in stainless and a Gunsight model and they are great. I also have an extensively worked over Auto Ordinance 1911 that shoots better than my friend's Colt Gold Cup and a Taurus 1911 R that I got for a song. Not so sure about that Taurus but it hasn't broken yet - however it wouldn't be my choice for a carry gun anyway.
 
I am also going to throw the Taurus PT1911 into the mix. I own both the .45 and 9mm offerings and love them both. I even shoot competition with the 9mm. They are good, solid pistols that can be had for around $500. I also have a Dan Wesson Valor .45 and while the Taurus is no comparison, it is not far behind for a production 1911. JMO
 
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