"Best" 45 ACP maker?

[Retired LTC USAR]

Just wanted to know who you think makes the "best" 45 ACP?

I have a couple of NIB Smith's (10MM's) that I am thinking of trading, and would like a high end 45, and just wandering what to look for.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[Rpg]

Colt is the priemier 45 acp.

Everyone else makes copies of the Colt.

 

[ditrina]

FORD..... OR........ CHEVY???
LES BAER... OR.......WILSON??
NIGHTHAWK.....OR ????

AND THE LIST GOES ON..

 

[Marine Corps Air]

I really enjoy both of my Colt 1911 Gold Cup National Match pistols. They are very accurate and are well worth the $$.

I also have a Les Baer Premier II that I need to break in at the range. In this price range all of the components are custom fit to the pistol.

However, I have not made it in to the Nighthawk Custom price range yet.

 

[kozmic]

One of the guys at our range sold a very nice STI 1911. He got a Commander from Turnbull Manufacturing. My goodness, what a nice gun. I believe he paid in the neighborhood of $3K. I would have never thought of Doug for a 1911, but he's putting out some pretty special stuff.

Might be worth a bit of research.

 

[b_san]

Brown, Wilson or Nighthawk are the top custom 1911 manufacturers. Guncrafter is also highly regarded. Les Baer is ok if you're fine with dumping a 1000 rounds through your gun before it's reliable and don't care if the bluing turns purple and Wesson's are probably the best value production non-custom 1911 around. Colt's really near the bottom of the list for both quality and value.

The 1st question to ask yourself is how much gun are you going to buy/trade for? Then go from there.

 

[amazingflapjack]

*****Amazingflapjack*****

 

[JH1951]

Straight personal preference opinion here: I thoroughly enjoy my Colt 1911 MKIV /70 along with a Colt .22 conversion kit. I also appreciate as much my Sig Ultra Compact 1911. Actually I have been shooting the Sig more of late and can hit the target perhaps even better with it.
There are a lot of good suggestions in this thread.

 

[GerSan69]

The "best" .45 is the one that you can afford. Heck, if you get a 1911, there are so many aftermarket parts available that you can make the cheapest into a thing of beauty and amazing accuracy.

 

[Jessie]

If you're going to get just one.....COLT

 

[JJEH]

...and would like a high end 45...

Brown, Baer, (sounds funny, right ), Wilson, Colt, Dan Wesson, Guncrafter, Nighthawk, ITTS Kimber, etc.

Or you ship your existing 1911 to T. Tussey, D. Turnbull, K. Reeder, D. Lauck, J. Chambers, B. Laughridge of Cylinder & Slide, W. Novak and so many others.

And that's just for 1911. Do you want something else? Sig Sauer makes good stuff and perhaps H&K is on your scope. Or an old 3rd gen and get it tricked out?

That's just so many to choose from. You need to be more specific...

 

[James&theGiant1911]

I have shot a lot of custom guns, and owned a Colt Special Combat 1911 which is their version of a custom house 1911. If you want to make customizations to a 1911 and get the proper fit and finish for yourself then a Colt Gold Cup sent to a custom gun shop for some work over would be best. However, Nighthawk and Wilson both make very nice 1911s.

It depends upon how much you want to spend.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I got a Remington R1 stainless and I love it! I have since added some Wilson Combat aftermarket parts (trigger, hammer) but the R1 is a solid starting point and a good price. I have yet to touch the sights or the barrel....they shoot as well as I do!

 

[REM 3200]

I kinda' like my 1943 Remington-Rand 1911A1, arsenal rebuilt in to a National Match gun. I bought it from the Army at Camp Perry in the late 60s.

 

[S&W Fan]

At one time I would've said Colt, especially an old Gold Cup. When I got into IPSC competition in the late 70s and early 80s I would've said a custom built by Bill Wilson. When I got away from competition and wanted a self defense pistol I would've said a custom Colt or Springfield by Wayne Novak. When I wanted a full factory semi-custom in the 90s I moved to Les Baer, I also have a custom 1911 built by a local master on a Caspian slide/frame with a Kart barrel/bushing, Koenig and Brown ignition parts/safeties. I still thoroughly enjoy my Thunder Ranch Special and for the money can't think of a better 1911 for MY purposes.

My Baer fyi was built in 2000, still hasn't turned purple ahahahaa, has about 600 rds through it (I'm the second owner) and is 100% reliable. Les builds his guns to be "hard fit", it's the 3rd one I've owned, bought my older son one when he was home on R&R during his first deployment in '06.

Who knows what I'll say tomorrow? There are more great builders of 1911s today than at any other time. Find the one with the features you like, get a bunch of ammo, enjoy, don't look back.

Also you can find many new Baers for $1800 or so.

 

[Anton Chigurh]

Brown, Baer, and Wilson all start at 2 G's so they are indeed top of the line. If you want to stay in the production gun arena, buy a Colt.

 

[Raider]

I would have to choose a Colt. Not a new one but one made in the 1950's or 1960's or maybe the early 1970's. Thats where the quality is. I would spend a little and have good high visibility sights installed along witha trigger job if it needs it.. Anything else fancy, you can install yourself. I bought all my Colts used amd waited for ones at good prices. YMMV but thats my thought/

Charlie

 

[MOONDAWG]

Beauty is in the eye of the Beer Holder...

 

[ErnieDeBord]

Colt, for pride of ownership & a nice 45 , I like stainless government, Something to shoot & shoot a lot on a budget, a Rock Island anit bad for 400 NIB! Regards Ernie

 

[federali]

No Easy Answer

I thread like this could easily run to a thousand responses as most everybody knows most everything regarding the 1911. Just try us!

Anyway, do you plan to be a competition shooter or an informal target shooter? Will this be your self-defense gun in the nightstand?

As with the old standby US Army issue 1911, they sounded like an infants' rattle if you shook one but they were reliable. They provided reasonable combat accuracy but "accurizing" 1911s began on the GI issue guns.

If you're an informal shooter and the gun will reside in the nightstand, perhaps something in the $1000.00 range would be perfectly fine. No point in spending $3000.00 or so on a plinker.

I have an S&W 1911 and I'm extremely happy with it. It has a good trigger right out of the box and has never suffered a stoppage, including with semi-wadcutters. Purists don't like the external extractor on the S&Ws but that does not bother me one bit. Best of all, the gun cost me about $650.00 as I recall.

As I get older, I can no longer benefit from a gun capable of putting rounds in the same hole. But I do like that on a good day when I concentrate, I can shoot ragged hole groups to about 15 yards.

So, lots of really good 1911s to choose from but do your homework. Even the premium companies such as Kimber, will occasionally produce a handgun that must go back to the factory for whatever reason.

Also, do not ever evaluate the reliability or quality of any gun while using hand loads, even if loaded on the alter of the Vatican under the watchful eye of you-know-who.