Sharp as a Marble - 1911 Help

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1911 Help

Guns. Lots of Guns.

From a friend on Facebook

Hi, I just got a few hundred dollars of credit at my favorite local gun store!
I'm wanting to put the credit towards a new 1911. I want to keep the purchase price no higher than $1,000.... Do you have any recommendations or warnings?
btw - don't bother warning me about the Citadel 1911... I already learned that lesson.
Thanks.

I’m too much of a plastic-fantastic guy to be much of a help with 1911’s. For pete’s sake, my only 1911 has an LDA so in some people’s eyes, I don’t even have one.

posted @ 5/4/2011 6:57:19 PM

Comments

Sean D Sorrentino says:

on 5/4/2011 7:08:50 PM

He should get a Glock and $500 worth of ammo.

RobertM says:

on 5/4/2011 7:09:57 PM

I would look at the Springfield offerings. The new Ruger would fall in that range. STI Spartan.

Timmeehh says:

on 5/4/2011 7:10:43 PM

Ruger SR1911 MSRP $799

1911Man says:

on 5/4/2011 7:30:19 PM

My next gun purchase WILL be a Springfield Armory 1911 - either a Range Officer or a Mil-Spec, but full-size either way. I was gonna do it on my 50th birthday last month, but wussed out on the money angle when Penultimate Child needed braces.

Rob Reed says:

on 5/4/2011 8:56:49 PM

The STI Spartan is a pretty nice gun for about $600 to $700. I have one and I'm happy with it. They also make one in 9mm.

The SA Range Officer, the new Ruger, and the Remington R1 all look pretty good for about that same price point.

I wouldn't go any less expensive. If he goes up from there, there are more choice.

LibertyNews says:

on 5/4/2011 10:42:53 PM

Taurus PT1911, I love mine, and he'll have more than enough of his $1000 left to put some crimson trace grips on it.

I had a Springfield GI and it ran like crap so I sold it and bought the Taurus which has run perfectly.

Laughingdog says:

on 5/4/2011 11:37:50 PM

My Taurus PT1911 has a FTF about every other magazine, and has sort of a halfway stovepipe that completely locks the gun about once a box of ammo. the brass gets about 40 degrees up from horizontal before the slide moves back forward. The slide locks and you can't clear it without a cleaning rod.

If you read some of the posts on 1911s on Tam's and Caleb's blogs, you'll see one really good guideline to go with. If you want something that is reliable and accurate in a 1911, you'll need to start around the $900 mark. My experience fits with that. Taurus 1911 is a nightmare, and my Springfield Operator has worked almost flawlessly over the 5000 rounds I've fired through it. Only issue I've had is that it doesn't always lock back on an empty once I've got 400-500 rounds through it without cleaning (learned this during a weekend long pistol class).

I've loved my Springfield Operator. Caleb seems to have had very good luck with the Colt XSE.

A good site to read would be Hilton Yam's. His experience goes WAY beyond the anecdotal stuff that we can put out there.

http://www.10-8performance.com/1911_Duty_Use.html
http://www.10-8performance.com/Articles.html
http://10-8performance.blogspot.com/

emdfl says:

on 5/5/2011 12:29:48 AM

I'd take a look at the new ATI line. The ones I've handled were nice for the price, especially the compact models.

Jay G. says:

on 5/5/2011 9:35:59 AM

Robb,

I handled the Ruger SR1911 pretty extensively at the NRA convention, and chatted with the Ruger folks about it.

It's tight and appears to be very well made (and I put a plug in for a T&E sample once they're at that stage...)

That said, your friend can pick up a nicely appointed Smith & Wesson SW1911 with target sights and ambidextrous safety for under $1,000 even. I bought mine used, and it's been a real trooper - I've put close to a thousand rounds through it already, and it has yet to malfunction. This is shooting hundreds of rounds of fairly dirty ammo (Tulammo mostly) without cleaning or lubing, mind you...

Or he could get a Glock 21 and a case or two of ammo... ;)

Bob S. says:

on 5/5/2011 10:36:40 AM

I've been looking around at the 1911s also.

I would suggest the Remington R1. Good solid piece of hardware with many features found on higher priced guns.

falnfenix says:

on 5/5/2011 2:06:02 PM

i guess i'll buck the trend.

tell him to look at Rock Island. their Match pistol is worth the money spent. well, well worth it.

here are two reviews of mine. i also had MikeW check out the Match at the meeting, and he was equally impressed. oh, and it's cheaper than Springfield's offerings.

McThag says:

on 5/5/2011 2:56:04 PM

Those links that Tam found and Laughingdog has reposted are full of good info.

10-8's recommendation for a first 1911 to see if you liked them is the Springfield GI. Most times I can find those for just over $500.

Flounder says:

on 5/5/2011 4:33:01 PM

Check out the Ruger SR1911. It seems to fit the bill, and Hickok45 gives it high marks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAZ5EYxpl2o

ExtremeTolerance says:

on 5/5/2011 7:33:25 PM

I have a Kimber Stainless Custom II think they are around $800.

Some people on the interwebz complain about Kimber. Mine has been flawless. Eats everything except my grandfather-in-laws crazy ass, bullets hand casted from tire weights, hand loads.

Also, my wife loves this gun.

Weer'd Beard says:

on 5/6/2011 8:46:14 AM

The Ruger looks very nice, and I'm partial to how it comes out of the box exactly how I'd run it.

The Remmington R1 looks nice too.

Also Dennis from Dragon Leatherworks has a Desert Eagle 1911. It is amazingly tight and well built. Haven't seen any of these guns get extensive testing as far as high round-counts, but out-of-the-box they're awesome for not a ton of money.

On the known entity I have a pair of S&W1911, one with over 10,000 rounds through it, and one with about 3,000, both bought used for well under $1,000. I couldn't recommend a 1911 platform more! Also I'll add that S&W's customer service is hard to beat.

mike w. says:

on 5/6/2011 9:15:46 AM

Tell him to spend $1100 and buy a Dan Wesson Heritage.

Tam says:

on 5/6/2011 10:18:53 AM

Under a grand?

S&W or Colt. Failing that, Springfield.

I can't believe all the people recommending the Ruger. Is this based on its extensive track record of durability?

Some people on the interwebz complain about Kimber. Mine has been flawless.

That's a big statistical sample you got there. ;)

Weer'd Beard says:

on 5/6/2011 1:09:10 PM

Tam my only hesitation on the Ruger is the lack of high round-count testing.

That being said, while its a gamble, if I was looking to get a 1911 at a competitive price point, its a gamble I'd be willing to take.

Hopefully Jay will be getting a T&E Ruger soon, and I'm totally going to bribe him with an evening at my club to beat the hell out of it and see if we can break it.

I will again say the S&Ws I own, and the others I see in the field here are rock solid and I 100% trust mine.

ZK says:

on 5/6/2011 7:35:06 PM

All of the Ruger recommendations are **insane.** The basic problems with 1911s is that some manufactures don't know what they're doing, and this shows up long-term. A manufacture that's just released a new version should not be expected to be correct whatsoever.

So far, Ruger hasn't seemed to want to give a 1911 to someone who knows them and runs them hard, like Yam or a independent gunsmith like Barryhill. They've given them to gunbloggers who are either sponsored by Ruger or don't know a feed ramp from a barrel throat.
I'm sure these people are great people, but it makes me wonder what they're hiding.

Rant over.

highland says:

on 5/6/2011 10:23:04 PM

Springfield Armory

Jim says:

on 5/9/2011 7:42:03 AM

My Springfield Mil-Spec has run flawlessly (aside from a couple of magazine issues) for over 1500 rounds so far. Other than Springfiels, I'd agree with Tam. Colt or S$W.

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