ATI 1911 pistols, how are they? (Now with pics)

[muddocktor]

I'm looking to pick up a rather inexpensive 1911 pistol in 45 ACP and I see pretty darn low pricing on these pistols. The 5" barrel FX45 military style gun is priced at $339 at GAG and they have pretty good reviews on it too, especially for a gun at that price point.

So I was wondering what kind of experiences any of our members here have with ATI's 1911's or their dealings with ATI as a company? Are their products worth looking at or should I look to another manufacturer that imports a higher quality (priced?) gun? My budget for this is less than $500, as this is just to be a play around gun and something I can carry without having to worry about hurting the finish on a more expensive pistol. I also own a Coonan Classic, which is a modified 1911 style pistol in 357 Mag so I know how a 1911 style pistol feels in hand and I love the way they feel.

So how about it people, is it worth it or not to give the ATI 1911 a trial?

 

[jeffrefrig]

I bought the same pistol a year or so ago. I'm no professional marksman, but 1st time on the range at 25 yards I got pretty good center of the paper. Feels so-so in hand but my small hands don't quite keep a good grip on it. I bought a pair of cheap plastic ivory colored grips and reduced the width of it by about 1/4" and it feels better and kinda looks a little less blah. I had a problem with chambering hollow points but cleaning & oil fixed that. I would recomend it. I've heard Rock Island Armory's 1911 is also a very good budget gun and very reliable. I have no problem trusting my ATI for home protection. 8+1 .45s will deter any bad guys. Pick up a spare mag for another $20. Good luck.

 

[GerSan69]

Hi mudd, it's a decent budget .45. You don't get top of the line parts, but you wouldn't expect to in a gun this inexpensive. The internals aren't finished perfectly, with a few machining marks and so on, but it shoots just fine. It makes a good house gun, truck gun, extra for the range, or even EDC if you'd like. I have 5 in the 3 barrel lengths including 3 of the 3 1/8" model, and they're all nice guns for the money.

 

[muddocktor]

Thanks for feedback on them guys. I'm not expecting top line finishing on the parts at that price point. I'm just looking for guns that shoot well and make for a gun I can carry around in the car or around the house without worrying about messing it up.

@jeffrefrig, thanks for suggesting I get an extra mag or 2 with it. What brand mags work well with these guns? While I'm ordering the gun I might as well look into getting a few extra mags with it.

 

[Andyd]

Hikok45 tested the full size and Commander version.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVw8SHVRBjc[/ame]

 

[jeffrefrig]

Mr. muddocktor, I have 1 ACT-MAG and 1 MEC-GAR mags. They both work the same, I don't remember which came with the gun. I bought it through Bud's Guns and when I did the check-out, there was one of those "people who purchased this also bought..." and the mag was there, about $20-25. Gun plus mag was about $400, then $26 for the FFL cost. Like you said, if you scratch it or something, it's no biggie. One thing: you may want to buy one of those special tools for field stripping and cleaning, etc. That spring in there will get you if you slip! I guess all the 1911s take down the same. It's amazing how far across the basement parts can fly (I heard!)

 

[muddocktor]

Thanks for helping me make up my mind guys. I just went ahead and placed an order with GAG for the 5" barrel military FX45 model and 4 extra mags. The total with shipping for all that came to just under $422. Hopefully it will be delivered to my FFL guy and be waiting for me to pick it up when I get back from the rig on the 15th.

And I will have to order me a die set so I can load up some ammo for it too. I have several hundred cases I have picked up at the range that are clean, but will need to size them and load them. Before I left for the rig a week ago I had ordered me 1000 230 grain fmj bullets from Zero bullets while placing an order for some 44 and 9MM bullets.

 

[Electraclyde]

I had one in the Commander length, (4.25") The only thing I did was to a
Adjust the extractor tension. It was very tight and was damaging the brass and most brass was hitting me in the face. It functioned perfect after that. I have since sold it to a good friend and he has not had any issues with it.

 

[daddio202]

I own an ATI GSG 1911 in 22 long rifle. Now approaching 10 thousand rounds through it! I know its not the same gun as the op is purchasing but it does say something about ATI as far as reliability. No problems so far just an occasional replacement of a recoil spring and its still going strong. I have 8 magazines and always bring it to the range for at least a few hundred rounds. As I see it - as cheap practice on a 1911 platform. Paid under $300 for gun 2 years ago and 22 lr is much cheaper than 45 acp even with my reloads. I am sure you will enjoy your 45 when it comes!

 

[GKC]

I've never owned one, but looked one over pretty extensively at my LGS a couple of years ago...it was a commander model with all the commonly desired features, and it was $379. I went back to buy it the next day, and it was sold...my LGS never got any more. I didn't really search online for another one...it was just going to be a "fun" gun anyway.

One comment about magazines...one magazine may work well in an individual pistol, and not so well in another of the very same make/model. Wilson mags are well regarded, and generally very reliable, but even they can hickup in certain guns. The best thing to do if/when you want to try a different brand of mags is to buy one and see how it works, and then buy more.

Gook luck with your new pistol...I hope you enjoy it.

 

[muddocktor]

GKC, the mags I ordered are from ATI and I think are the ones that come with this pistol. So hopefully they will run OK. But I appreciate you telling me about how the 1911 platform can be picky about certain mags. In the video clip that Andyd linked above, that Commander sized ATI that Hickock45 tested seemed to not be very picky at all and he ran several hundred rounds through it in the video clip through several different types of mags.

 

[GKC]

GKC, the mags I ordered are from ATI and I think are the ones that come with this pistol. So hopefully they will run OK. But I appreciate you telling me about how the 1911 platform can be picky about certain mags. In the video clip that Andyd linked above, that Commander sized ATI that Hickock45 tested seemed to not be very picky at all and he ran several hundred rounds through it in the video clip through several different types of mags.

It's not always, but sometimes an individual 1911 (no matter what brand) will choke on certain mags while others of the same brand run those same mags just fine. The thing about factory supplied mags is that you might not get very good ones...Kimber, for example, provides a single crappy mag with their pistols, and yet they make an excellent mag (the KimPro TacMag.)

When you get your pistol and mags, you should clean the pistol and the mags, and then load the mags to capacity and let them sit for about a week. Leave the pistol locked open for this time as well. (Takes real willpower, and I don't always follow my own advice...I usually want to go shoot it right away.)

I've also had several mags of the same brand where one of the bunch was a problem and the rest worked just fine. This is the fun and frustration of the 1911...but when you get it dialed in just right, it's a beauty to shoot.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

It will not win many beauty contests, but it will go bang and put the road to point of aim within handgun range. I bought one for the same reason, as a shooter to slow down the use of my more expensive 1911's. Now I want another one or a Rock Island. Factory Mags are easy to get. I found six for $20 each at the Pasadena, Texas gun show.

 

[ArmyRover]

I own an ATI GSG 1911 in 22 long rifle. Now approaching 10 thousand rounds through it! I know its not the same gun as the op is purchasing but it does say something about ATI as far as reliability. No problems so far just an occasional replacement of a recoil spring and its still going strong. I have 8 magazines and always bring it to the range for at least a few hundred rounds. As I see it - as cheap practice on a 1911 platform. Paid under $300 for gun 2 years ago and 22 lr is much cheaper than 45 acp even with my reloads. I am sure you will enjoy your 45 when it comes!

I have one of these as well, loved shooting it. Never went to the range without it. It has gone through a few recoil springs, a failure of the safety and it's on it's 3rd slide. Once the 3rd slide was replaced FTF/FTE became the norm and now it just sits in the safe. It became so unreliable in the end that it killed the fun of shooting it.

I should add that ATI is just the importer of this firearm. GSG or German Sporting Guns is the MFG.

 

[billwill]

The Armscor guns (Rock Island, Citadel) are really good deals. Shoot great and you have lots of $$ for ammo. I think all the Philippine guns like ATI are good values.

 

[muddocktor]

It's not always, but sometimes an individual 1911 (no matter what brand) will choke on certain mags while others of the same brand run those same mags just fine. The thing about factory supplied mags is that you might not get very good ones...Kimber, for example, provides a single crappy mag with their pistols, and yet they make an excellent mag (the KimPro TacMag.)

When you get your pistol and mags, you should clean the pistol and the mags, and then load the mags to capacity and let them sit for about a week. Leave the pistol locked open for this time as well. (Takes real willpower, and I don't always follow my own advice...I usually want to go shoot it right away.)

I've also had several mags of the same brand where one of the bunch was a problem and the rest worked just fine. This is the fun and frustration of the 1911...but when you get it dialed in just right, it's a beauty to shoot.

I've already noticed with my Coonan about it not liking one mag as much as the others of the 6 I have for it. I just have to watch that mag when I am loading it and make sure the rounds sit in it just so. It's not a truue 1911 clone since it was designed to handle 357 Mag and uses an external extractor and a Browning HP trigger design, but it feels much like a true 1911 except for a little extra length on the grip to swallow the cartridges.

When I get my new gun from my FFL, I was planning to clean it anyways. I have to load up some rounds first before I go shooting since this will be my first firearm in 45 ACP, unless I go buy ammo.

 

[Bakebfr480]

I have a few and they have all performed flawlessly!

 

[muddocktor]

I picked up my pistol from my FFL guy tonight and just finished cleaning it and the mags up and loading up the 5 mags with 8 rounds each to compress and break in the mag springs. First impression on the gun is pretty darn good, I must say. The slide is fit nice and solidly with no slop and the trigger is pretty darn solid too, with a short takeup and good crisp letoff. Trigger pull is right on 5 lbs, which I think is also pretty good for a brand new pistol with no rounds down the spout. And no obvious machining irregularities either. Now to see how it performs at the range.

 

[muddocktor]

Just got back from the range a little while ago where I ran 200 rounds through my new gun. And to say the least, I am impressed, especially for the price I gave for it. It had only one failure to go into battery with 1 reload round and all I had to do is to pull the slide back about 1/8" and let go and it went right into battery. And that happened within the first 100 rounds. After that, no problems. It also shot POA and grouped as good as I could shoot today. The ammo I was shooting were loaded on the stiffer side, 6.6 grains of CFE-Pistol with Zero 230 grain FMJ bullets. I figured that I would run some stuff on the hotter side to help it break in. The 4 extra mags I bought along with the pistol turned out to not be ATI branded mags, but rather some MEC-GAR 8 round mags and they gave no problems.

I got a couple of dirty, sweaty pics of my new 1911 to share with you all. These are taken after I got back after running the 200 rounds through it.