Thread: which 1911 would you buy

Hi all. I will soon have 1300 to buy a new carry piece. I want an alloy frame with a 4" barrel. This will be my summer time carry gun.

What would you buy. I'm not new to the 1911s. I carry a P-13 now but would like something a little more easy to concile in hot weather.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Originally Posted by biker bo

Hi all. I will soon have 1300 to buy a new carry piece. I want an alloy frame with a 4" barrel. This will be my summer time carry gun.

What would you buy. I'm not new to the 1911s. I carry a P-13 now but would like something a little more easy to concile in hot weather.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

i bought the 4"kimber tactical pro ll for $1100 from fishermans in tigard,im sure you could find it for $1050 but it has the aluminum frame,very light,match barrel and match trigger,its a very nice carry piece and i was suprised how accurate it is at over 30ft,it is just as accurate or more than my 5"springfield 1911.
and it is very nice and light to carry and easy to conceal.

Springfield LW Champion or LW Champion operator. Or an EMP. I would not go Kimber, especially on a lightweight unless they've wisened up and gone to a ramped barrel set up. I've seen a kimber of a good friend that had a f'd feedramp from wear and unfortunately kimbers waraanty and CS are some of the worst from most reviews.

In that price range also look into STI (don't know if they do a LW version), if you like the P13 look at the STI VIP 2011 (pretty sure that's the commander version).

Dan wesson CCO jumps to mind... Right at your price point and a hell of a nice carry piece

If you so are set on an aluminum frame, I would also suggest a Springfield LW Champion. Personally, I would steer clear of the aluminum frame and get a steel one. I've had aluminum frames before, but in the end I didn't think the weight savings were a good trade off. Aluminum wears faster and there is a good bit of extra muzzle flip/recoil. If I were you, I would only put about $1,000 of that budget into the gun. The other $300 I would put into a good holster and belt.

Originally Posted by AndyH

Dan wesson CCO jumps to mind... Right at your price point and a hell of a nice carry piece

+1 Good stuff!

Dan Wesson is nice...the Nighthawk 'Lady Hawk' is also very nice but I don't know if it fits within your price range (the one I've seen didn't have "Lady" printed anywhere on it)...and Kimber makes a very nice feeling small framed 1911 in .45 in that range, but I have never fired one so I don't know if its worth the money or not...

have fun choosing...

Kimber Ultra Carry in stainless.

I want an alloy frame..
Ok here get this stainless gun.

Originally Posted by MarkAd

Kimber Ultra Carry in stainless.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. After spending a lot of hours on the net I will be ordering a STI Guardian. I could little if anything negitive about it. It comes in at 32 ozs has a 3.9 inch barrel and a officer's grip. At 999.00 they seem to be a good deal for the money. I had never checked into the STI's before. The ones I had seen looked like a Star Wars movie prop and would nevn given them a thought if not for the advice on this thread.

I just bought the Colt New Agent with Crimson Grips. Haven't even held it yet. Its still in the mail. The Guardian is a sweet piece too!

im not a 1911 guy but if i had one to carry it would be this one KIMBER ULTRA CDP II shes real pretty

If it's a carry gun, with that much money, I'd buy a Colt. But that's because I've never owned a Colt 1911, and I want one. No Series 80s, though. They confuse me.

For a responsible choice, carry-weapon-wise, I'd buy a Springfield GI, and then change the sights, add a beavertail (No bump. Absolutely not. Bumps on beavertails are abominations. If you practice enough, they hurt your hand.) and a flat mainspring housing. You might not want the mainspring housing, if you have bigger hands than I do. For the sights, larger is all, wouldn't do Novaks, or any other sight you can't rack with one hand. I think they're bad choices. Sights that glow in the dark are fishing lures. Fishing lures are meant to catch fishermen, not fish. Don't need them. Your milage may vary.

You could just go with the standard milspec, but I have two of those, and I need one with vertical cocking serrations. Like Back In The Day. Besides, the standard milspec would still need a beavertail (No bump. Absolutely not. We've been through this.) and a flat mainspring housing.

A guy's got to have parkerized, because carry weapons shouldn't reflect light. Shiny is for barbecue guns. So are bells, so are whistles. Anything that hangs off a rail on a handgun belongs on a rifle. Won't have them, wouldn't point a gun at a cop just to illuminate him. It's a bad practice.

With all that money, I'd probably just pay Springfield to do the work. And as long as they're working on it, let them set the trigger to four or four and a half pounds. Less is for posers. Say hi to Debby.

I wouldn't change anything else, and with the extra money, I'd buy a Sparks VM II and a mag carrier, or maybe another Surefire. If I did that on a day when I had attitude, I'd buy a dual mag carrier, but that's because I already have a single. Or you could just buy magazines, because magazines are love.

This way, you don't have to spend 1,300. And I can always use extra change to buy Hornady boolits to load.

Then I'd run five thousand rounds through it. Have fun!

PICT0285.jpg

This...

I like my Colt LW Commander and my Colt LW CCO. But that's just me.

Originally Posted by biker bo

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. After spending a lot of hours on the net I will be ordering a STI Guardian. I could little if anything negitive about it. It comes in at 32 ozs has a 3.9 inch barrel and a officer's grip. At 999.00 they seem to be a good deal for the money. I had never checked into the STI's before. The ones I had seen looked like a Star Wars movie prop and would nevn given them a thought if not for the advice on this thread.

Post up after your first shooting trip with it.

I will post pics of the pistol and hopefully some tight grooups on targets.

I'm a fan of the commander size guns for carry. I have a Dan Wesson Guardian and it is a great gun, also right in your price range. I'd take a Dan Wesson hands down to an STI, but that's just me. I'm sure the STI will stand you in good stead too. Good luck!

I've saved up a little more money and have almost enough for a Dan Wesson CCO. I'm now looking on line for one and hope to have one in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

Originally Posted by biker bo

I've saved up a little more money and have almost enough for a Dan Wesson CCO. I'm now looking on line for one and hope to have one in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

You will be very happy with the DW CCO. I have one and it's much better than I expected.