Your favorite 1911 around $1,500. Give or take.

[Argonaut]

I think that Brown and Wilson probably are a good bet for quality. I am sure there are others but for 1500 I think if you shop, you could find a great used hand fit quality gun.

 

[Seared Saba]

I have a "Supergrade" 1911 from Wilson Combat that I even engraved my name on it. lol... Build quality is very good, but I am quite negative on their quality of their customer service based on my experience in dealing with them. For the price they charge, I doubt their capability of fulfilling sophisticated demands and expectations from customers, again, solely based on my experience.

Yes; on the other hand; I agree with you, $1500 can get you a decent 1911 in hand fitted quality if you're patient. Maybe you can even buy quality parts and have a skillful gunsmith put them together for you all within the budget if you shop smart.

 

[Captain O]

Strange, my Dan Wesson Razorback (one of the original of the first 150 when Bob Serva was at the helm) is a fine piece. Bob is running Fusion Firearms and his quality is beyond reproach.

Look into what he has to offer. You may spend a bit more, but you won't be disappointed.

 

[Seared Saba]

Strange, my Dan Wesson Razorback (one of the original of the first 150 when Bob Serva was at the helm) is a fine piece.

Wow! That would have a good collectible value in the future I guess!

 

[Argonaut]

Strange, my Dan Wesson Razorback (one of the original of the first 150 when Bob Serva was at the helm) is a fine piece. Bob is running Fusion Firearms and his quality is beyond reproach.

Look into what he has to offer. You may spend a bit more, but you won't be disappointed.

In those days we were comparing them to a Python....they weren't even in the same universe and Pythons were not that expensive.

 

[asiparks]

Dan Wesson was never able to build a consistently quality product when they were building revolvers. In a different life, I sold guns. We would get 2 or 3 in at a time.....they were all different in fit and finish. The interchangeable barrels frequently had to be fit by a gunsmith. I haven't been around them for years but if you didn't mind sharp edges, poor fit and finish I suppose they were fine. I likewise have not looked closely at the Springfield 1911's but they fit so poorly when they first came out that they would rattle when shaken. Many old these off brand manufacturers take advantage of the fact few firearms get a lot of use. So they concentrate on looks and superficial stuff to make you open your wallet. A loose fitting gun always shoots, where the bullet goes is anyone's guess but it will always go bang. That is enough for many people. When you pay good money for a firearm....particularly a 1911, a large percentage of that money goes into hand fitting quality control and basic manufacturing methods. Caspian for instance builds there parts, frames and slides over (or under) sized so a craftsman has to hand fit each part. Nothing can be simply assembled.

Incredibly ill informed. It seems you have not seen, handled, shot, etc; a gun from either manufacturer in the past 12 years. Fortunately, there are enough well informed, objective reviews of Dan Wesson's and Springfield's 1911s, post 1990 or whenever it is that you're talking about....

 

[Argonaut]

Incredibly ill informed. It seems you have not seen, handled, shot, etc; a gun from either manufacturer in the past 12 years. Fortunately, there are enough well informed, objective reviews of Dan Wesson's and Springfield's 1911s, post 1990 or whenever it is that you're talking about....

Everyone likes to defend our choices in life. I came to the point a long time ago that I don't need to comprise for cost. None of those brands have ever passed any real test by a serious agency. They are written up in the magazines they advertise in and the gun writers give them a pass because there wages are paid by them. Many people drink the coolaid. I have been in trades where lives depend on quality reliable equipment for the last 4 decades. Those brands are NEVER represented.

 

[41mag]

trades where lives depend on quality reliable equipment for the last 4 decades. Those brands are NEVER represented.

.....try as I might, this phrase remains a bit of mystery to me; can you please clarify.

 

[taroman]

If I had 1500 to burn on a 1911, I'd be looking for a used Les Baer.
They're out there.

 

[Argonaut]

.....try as I might, this phrase remains a bit of mystery to me; can you please clarify.

There are two parts highlited there......the trade I spent many years at is described on my Avatar. When small arms are evaluated by the government, whether for the military or one of the alphabet agencies, they take a few randomly off the assembly line. They are tortured, disassembled , each part is checked for hardness and wear, reassembled and tortured again every way possible. If you want a truly well designed, quality firearm that is reliable and long lived look at the equipment selected by the government for there people to rely on. They are not always perfect.......but never far off. the brands and designs that don't make the cut never make it to the field. You occasionally see some maker talk about there products being tested.......seldom do they say they passed the test.

 

[41mag]

thanks for the post Argonaut.

 

[asiparks]

Everyone likes to defend our choices in life. I came to the point a long time ago that I don't need to comprise for cost. None of those brands have ever passed any real test by a serious agency. They are written up in the magazines they advertise in and the gun writers give them a pass because there wages are paid by them. Many people drink the coolaid. I have been in trades where lives depend on quality reliable equipment for the last 4 decades. Those brands are NEVER represented.

Using that as an argument, we shouldn't look past S&W mod 28's, Beretta 92's, Glocks, S&W 5XX autos and a few others. Procurement is driven by many factors and after sales support being the amongst greatest. When cost wasn't a driver and a 1911 was to be picked, the FBI picked the Springfield Pro....

With all respect to your service, your earlier post was subjective ramblings based on non-current experience of either DW or Springfield, and probably not many other contemporary 1911 manufacturers.

 

[41mag]

After a long and expensive personal search including a dump load of FAIL from nearly every mfg of the 1911, a few passed my meager tests, and served me well over the decades, where others were fleeting fancy or FAILED in short order.


Among those favorites I treasured were Colt Gold Cup, Kimber Classic Target, CBOB Dan Wesson, and Sig. YMMV.

 

[Argonaut]

Using that as an argument, we shouldn't look past S&W mod 28's, Beretta 92's, Glocks, S&W 5XX autos and a few others. Procurement is driven by many factors and after sales support being the amongst greatest. When cost wasn't a driver and a 1911 was to be picked, the FBI picked the Springfield Pro....

With all respect to your service, your earlier post was subjective ramblings based on non-current experience of either DW or Springfield, and probably not many other contemporary 1911 manufacturers.

You are incorrect, one of my sons has a Springfield 1911......he is an ex 101st airborne ranger. When we shoot at the range....he refuses to shoot against either my Gold Cup or tuned Commander. The barrel bushing and lug fit are poor at best. It is built to very loose tolerance, but always goes bang. The FBI last I knew is still using a Sig 226 40 like my ex USCG daughters gun and the one my USCG son still uses in service. I think your example of the Springfield's use by the FBI is another example of a service testing a firearm.

 

[asiparks]

You are incorrect, one of my sons has a Springfield 1911......he is an ex 101st airborne ranger. When we shoot at the range....he refuses to shoot against either my Gold Cup or tuned Commander. The barrel bushing and lug fit are poor at best. It is built to very loose tolerance, but always goes bang. The FBI last I knew is still using a Sig 226 40 like my ex USCG daughters gun and the one my USCG son still uses in service. I think your example of the Springfield's use by the FBI is another example of a service testing a firearm.

official "PROFESSIONAL" specification thread. - 1911Forum

The FBI M1911 Contracts

 

[Argonaut]

official "PROFESSIONAL" specification thread. - 1911Forum

The FBI M1911 Contracts

That says Springfield was unable to build a production gun to satisfy the FBI requirement and farmed it out to a custom builder......and this is only for there small rapid response teams.

 

[asiparks]

You are incorrect on the first point, feel free to read further. Regardless, the FBIs elite team, through exhaustive testing, selected the entirely built-in-house Springfield Pro.

There is no shortage of info out there.

 

[Argonaut]

You are incorrect on the first point, feel free to read further. Regardless, the FBIs elite team, through exhaustive testing, selected the entirely built-in-house Springfield Pro.

There is no shortage of info out there.

The last paragraph of the second reference specifically says they were unable to produce the pistols beyond a few they built for the test and hired a custom smith to build them