I want a 1911 but I want your opinions

[orygun]

From my experience a Dan Wesson with no MIM parts is as close as you can get to a Wilson combat product for close to half the price.I wouldn't buy a Kimber.

Not trying to turn this into a bashing Kimber thread, but while I believe the Kimber 1911s are pretty, I have a few personal reasons why I wouldn't trade my "cheapo" Ruger for one. After dealing with Kimber's customer (dis)service on one of their rifles, I'd never again buy any of their products. Long story. No need to post it here.

On the other hand, my Dan Wesson is the last hand gun I'd part with.

 

[deen_ad]

I have two Kimbers, would buy another one if I could find the right model.

 

[asiparks]

Differences between high end, big name 1911's and sub $1000 1911's are, to all intents and purposes, not nearly as great as the price would suggest.

Any Kimber, Remington, Sig or Springfield Armory weapon will serve you well. Put together a list of what you think you need and try and find a gun already with those features as it can get very expensive adding them afterwards. For me, frontstrap checkering, beavertail GS and night sights are the only essentials, you might well differ.

Scour the classifieds, most people never put anything like enough rounds downrange to wear anything out other than the finish. But double check the prices, some sellers are very optimistic in their pricing. And don't buy anything that the owner has self upgraded, they may have done great work or they may have arsed it up completely and you may not find out how badly for a few hundred rounds.

As others have said, it's the grip that prints more than the barrel, I carry a 5" which is fine for standing, walking, but I'm aware of it when I sit down and the muzzle hits the seat.
Look at bobtails, Sig, Smith and Wesson and Kimber offer them. That way you can use full size mags without printing more than a commander frame would. But try one first to see how it feels.

 

[orygun]

If you want to really know what you might be buying, contact Wichaka. He's a moderator on here and probably knows the guts of these 1911's better than most of us ever will.

 

[solv3nt]

I think that you need this fella!
http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ha...1911-series-70-government-nickel-unfired.html

 

[cookie]

I have driven Toyota Supra turbos and they are nice really to drive. I have driven a friends Ferrari enough to know that even though the Toyota is really nice it is just not a Ferrari.

 

[wichaka]

Took awhile for the signal to get to my ears, but they finally felt that burnin' feelin'!

For most shooters, and I mean no disrespect to anyone...for the most part are low round count folks. The average person will put less than 1K thru the gun in a year. With that said, most anything will do ya.

BUT, if you're the above average shooter, putting over 1K+ down range a year, look at something a cut above. You can thank me later.

Yes I know, ya got X brand and have zillions of rounds thru it without a hitch. Am happy for ya. But the odds aint with ya.

I would look at Dan Wesson, STI, and Colt

I always go back to that famous Snap-On Tools motto;

I'd rather explain the price of quality, than apologize for something less.

Have seen too many 1911's that run, but in the long run will implode. They will let ya know what's wrong if ya know what to look for. The platform is very forgiving, but will only be pushed so far.

Last word...just because they are running, doesn't mean they are running right.

I don't get on here too much, so if anyone wants to jack some jaws about them, contact Joey, or SwedishK and leave your number with them, and they'll get it to me, and I'll ring ya up..

Be well...

 

[Johnny Corona]

generally speaking in almost everything, "you get what you pay for!" I have a liking for 1911's, always have, trained with them since the early 70's, my preferred handgun, hands down. My first exposure was with military 1911's, they were always loose, they rattled, the fit was anything but tight compared to today's standards, but they had to be that way to function, and function they did. Were they the tack drivers of hand guns, maybe not, but I never felt the need to print coffee cup size groups at 50 yards with it, its design was for upclose and personal confrontations. After your first 1000 rounds down range with a 1911, the sights are just a formality, I havent used a sight on my 1911's in decades, it becomes a muscle memory, you know you have arrived when you can draw the gun and point at your target and see that the sights are aligned with said target. I own a Chip McCormick Racer that has over 100,000 rounds down range, trust me, the sights are totally unnecessary for me at this stage of the game, and it will be for you also once you put in your practice. Triggers are easily smoothed out if necessary, cleaning up the feed ramp to handle various types of fodder, ejection port expansion to eliminate or minimize FTE's, is also very easy to do. Most manufactures today have done most of these basic upgrades in the manufacturing process, and come right out of the box ready for action. I said all that to say this, I have a preference for Colts, its a personal thing, but I own Kimber, Springfield, Para Ordinance, and others, I even ran a $500 High Point thru its paces, it function flawlessly with the right magazines in it, how long will it continue to function flawlessly? who knows, and there in lies the question. I would buy the best 1911 I could afford, made by a reputable manufacturer who will stand behind his product, I have never dealt with Kimber on a service problem before, so I cannot attest to their service practices, I have dealt with Colt in the past on service issues that were upgrades generally, and they were what a person dreams of when it come to service. I am sure the same can be said for many manufactures out there. I have heard some good feed back on the Remington R1, and they are priced right, $700 give or take, and if Remington services their 1911's like they do the rest of their lineup, I be thinkin its a winner. IMHO

 

[Jammer Six]

RIA or Springfield milspec.

I don't like any of the brands on your list, I sold my Springfield Loaded because of all the problems with it, I don't like those idiotic bumps on grip safeties, there is no need for glowing night sights outside of a combat zone and full length guide rods are fishing lures.

An RIA milspec fits your budget and has everything you need.

 

[asiparks]

RIA or Springfield milspec.

I don't like any of the brands on your list, I sold my Springfield Loaded because of all the problems with it, I don't like those idiotic bumps on grip safeties, there is no need for glowing night sights outside of a combat zone and full length guide rods are fishing lures.

An RIA milspec fits your budget and has everything you need.

Well, an RIA milspec has everything you need.
A raised bump helps me positively disengage the grip safety when shooting thumbs over the thumb safety, (that is of course one of those idiotic extended thumb safeties). Your hands may well be bigger, smaller, meatier or bonier than mine.
I also have nightsights on most of my pistols. And before anyone replies "well if it's dark, how can you see what you're shooting at ?", I don't dwell 300 ft underground in a cavern.
If i wake up at 3 am there is enough ambient light in pretty much every room in my house to be able to discern someone to whom I'm not married, but not the ideal amount to quickly get a good sight picture from three small, unmarked, black rectangles. Your situation and that of the OP may, of course, differ.
Horses for courses and all that.....

 

[Jammer Six]

Your hands may well be bigger, smaller, meatier or bonier than mine.

That's just sad, right there-- according to your list, you must have the only hand size in the world that genuinely needs that bump.

I suspect there is a far more pedestrian reason at work here, though.

A night sight takes away options without giving anything of value in return. It's an attempt at a hardware solution to a training problem, which is almost never a good idea. Except in this case, the "problem" never existed outside of a combat zone. The answer is sufficient training.

A raised bump will cause pain long before a smooth grip safety. If yours hasn't caused you pain yet, shoot more. Get rid of the bump, you'll be able to stay at the range longer. Longer is better.

You forgot to defend your full length guide rod.

 

[asiparks]

That's just sad, right there-- according to your list, you must have the only hand size in the world that genuinely needs that bump.

I suspect there is a far more pedestrian reason at work here, though.

A night sight takes away options without giving anything of value in return. It's an attempt at a hardware solution to a training problem, which is almost never a good idea. Except in this case, the "problem" never existed outside of a combat zone. The answer is sufficient training.

A raised bump will cause pain long before a smooth grip safety. If yours hasn't caused you pain yet, shoot more. Get rid of the bump, you'll be able to stay at the range longer. Longer is better.

You forgot to defend your full length guide rod.

Thankyou for your sympathies
I would imagine, for like you I do not have empirical data to hand, that if I were the only person who found the bump functional, that would not be much of a business model for the makers and sellers of such things. I put around 18k rounds through my CBOB over just under 4 years, ( wrote about it at tedious length over on 1911forums at the time), without any ungentlemanly callousing, but perhaps my skin is not as thin as yours ?

I'd like to know of any option that is taken away by the addition of tritium vials to sights...it's not as though the sights are rendered unusable in broad daylight...unless you're being uber tactical and seeing them give my position away to someone who's already gotten behind me......

I personally don't like full length guide rods.

You'd probably not love my BHPs to much either....anyway, you're welcome to pick what 1911 I should use if you'll allow me to pick the one you should.....

 

[asiparks]

The best bang in a 1911 is a Dan Wesson 1911 of your choice. The best under$1000 1911 is a Dan Wesson. I would rather carry a plastic gun over a 1911 as the plastic guns do the job at a low price.

That would be 2006 money... I picked up a couple of used Valors for about $1k each in 2011...lucky to find a new or used DW for under $1500..

 

[jbett98]

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works, I have always had a hankering for a Coonan .357.
Looks like a 1911, works like a 1911, shoots .38 special too.
Don't ask me why, I just do.

 

[asiparks]

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works, I have always had a hankering for a Coonan .357.
Looks like a 1911, works like a 1911, shoots .38 special too.
Don't ask me why, I just do.

HEATHEN !!!!!!


But yes, I'd like one too.....

 

[RVTECH]

Looks like a 1911, works like a 1911, shoots .38 special too.
Don't ask me why, I just do.

I wonder why the major 1911 mfgs did not pick up on this and make their own? I would like one also.

 

[jbett98]

I have been collecting Colt semi auto pistols for a couple of years. Some of them I have never fired.
After leaving the above post about the Coonan, I did a little soul searching and thought, why have them if you don't shoot them.
I am thinking real hard about selling a couple to loosen up some cash and order a new Coonan Classic.
I really like shooting .357 Magnums. I owned a .44 Magnum Ruger, but it seemed a little too much gun for plinking, so down the road it went.

 

[Johnny Corona]

well what ya got in 1911's that you are not using?

 

[asiparks]

I wonder why the major 1911 mfgs did not pick up on this and make their own? I would like one also.

LAR did the Grizzly series in .45 win Magnum, 45 ACP and 357mag. Probably a few others too



as you can see, several parts needed scaling up to handle both the physical size of the cartridges and the energy they produced.

The 10mm and the 38 super are both available in a standard 1911 format and are probably as powerful a round as you'd want to launch from the platform.

 

[wichaka]

Night sights for the most part are a bit over rated. If yer busy linin' up them vials, yer either dead and don't know it yet, or there's some lead headin' yer way, it just ain't met the mark yet.

The human eye has a terrible problem with aligning three dots. One would be better with something along the line of Heinie's Straight Eight sights, or the like...where one is putting dot on dot, and tending to the problem at hand, which is out in front of the muzzle, not behind the ejection port.

I prefer a night sight on the front sight only, leaving the rear solid black. I also paint around my front sight tube with a color that shows the sight during those times where the there's too much light to see the glowing tube, but not enough to see solid black front sight.