Hi there I'm going to buy a SINGLE STACK M1911 style pistol. What do you think is the most RELIABLE production M1911 design out there? Remember I'm looking for a reliable gun rather than an accurate one. It should be able to shoot all kinds of ammo reliably and with hardly any failures, if any. This includes Russian and hollow point ammo. Thanks for your opinions!

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It depends how much you want to spend as always.
Wilsons QCB is probably at the top of many shooters lists, however they retail at $1700.

Now lets get to the ones many of us can afford, the entire line of Kimbers have worked well for me I prefer the custom stainless target for a full size gun and the custom CDP Pro as a carry gun, the latest offerings from Springfield look promising.The Kimbers and Springfields will run $600 to $1100.

I do have a buddy that picked up a Charles Daily for $425 polished the feedramp and it works great.

The key for many 1911s is the mag. I have had great luck with Wilson 8rd.

I still carry my Glock more though!!!!

There are tons of threads based on this question ("Best 1911", etc.).  Search back over the last 9 months and you'll find a plethora.

A polished feedramp is usually needed for reliability.  I personally suggest Springfield Armory as a good all-around 1911.  Whatever you buy, a "reliability and action job" from a qualified 1911 gunsmith is always recommended.  This $150 is money well spent.

Jarhead_22 put 22-25K rounds through his Kimber Pro Carry ( or Ultra Carry, not sure) before the magazine latch screw broke.  That's pretty damn impressive, especially for a gun that's only 2 years old.

Anything from Wilson, Les Baer, or Springfield should be good.  Newer Kimber's have a new intergral safety, and the jury is still out on how that one affects the gun.

Me, I'm planning on buying one of those Rock Island full-size 1911's in the $300 range and building up on it.  I think it would be a nice way to introduce me to the 1911 and what I really want in one.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

If you're not limited by price I would recommend first and foremost a Les Baer TR Special, followed by an Ed Brown Kobra, or lastly a Wilson CQB. All are tremendously well made and a solid value for your money... the TR Special having a slight advantage in this area.

My colt 1911A1 repro fires everything without a hiccup, Its plaine jain and throated and it cost the same as those high dollar jobs.
GG

Buy the S.A. loaded operator.  This is mine and I really like it:

Are you implying that there actually is a reliable 1911?

Actually the Colts I have owned and used with Wilson mags have been about as reliable as you can get with the 1911 platorm without having to spend twice as much as you would for a glock or SIG 220 which will be absolutely reliable right out of the box with factory mags.

Probably a Wilson or other premium model, but be prepared to spend some $$$. Otherwise, Tailgate basically summed it up. You can get a Springfield, Colt, Kimber, whatever, but after you break it in, you may need to have a good 1911 guy give it a reliability tune-up.

At the very least, you will want to polish the feed ramp, get a high quality extractor and slide stop, and then maybe replace the guide rod and spring if it's a two-piece and tends to come loose.

The Russian is hell on the extractor, so perhaps that's the first thing you might want to replace (maybe get a Wilson Bulletproof).

Quoted: Buy the S.A. loaded operator.  This is mine and I really like it:

What's the model number of that thing?

mattja, see here:

www.springfieldarmory.com/prod-pstl-1911-op.shtml

I picked up a Norinco 1911 in the box for 380.00$. picked up a Chip McCormick powermag feeds everything I can find so far and no malfunctions.

My vote goes to Kimber or Wilson Combat.

www.kimberamerica.com/opening.htm

...about $700.00 & higher.  I'd recommend a Kimber if this is your first 1911.  I like the looks, reliability & accuracy of the new Eclipse II.  If you can find an Eclipse Custom Shop...buy it...you won't be disappointed...though the finish is not as durable as I would like...never is.
www.kimberamerica.com/eclipse.htm

wilsoncombat.com/

...twice the price & higher.

Completely off topic, there is the SIG220, single stack, which is utterly reliable in any environment with just about any type of ammunition.  Yeah...its not a 1911 but if you're thinking a purchasing a firearm for reliability, my first suggestion would be a SIG220 in .45acp.  The new SIG220 ST (all steel) is swweeeetttt & extremely accurate...just a thought.

sigarms.com/products/classicfullsize-models.asp?product_id=40&product_name=P220

Gun Tests magazine recently rated Valtro 1998A1 over Wilson Combat.  Price listed on the pic is in Canadian dollar.  

The only 1911 type pistol tha has NEVER jammed on me was a Norinco 1911 I bought 10yrs ago, best $275.00 I ever spent!

The only issues I have had with new 1911s are:

(1) once had a Springfield that did not want to go all the way into battery. That turned out to be a rough breech face, easily visible if you inspect the slide. Polishing the breechface fixed that (base of rounds must slide along breech face as  pistol goes into battery).

(2) I'd say more of my pistols than not DO NOT Like Federal Hydra Shocks. They have a very truncated cone shape. I don't care though because there is plenty of other good ammo out there, I have been using Remington Golden Saber, which are rounded on front.

Quoted: The only issues I have had with new 1911s are: (2) I'd say more of my pistols than not DO NOT Like Federal Hydra Shocks. They have a very truncated cone shape. I don't care though because there is plenty of other good ammo out there, I have been using Remington Golden Saber, which are rounded on front.

I dunno about you, but I see nothing wrong with plain old .45 FMJ.  I know I wouldn't want to be shot with it.

I can't say that there is only one reliable 1911 out there.  There are many gunsmiths that make the 1911 very reliable.

I would suggest shopping around for a 1911 made by Les Baer, Ed Brown, Springfield's Custom Shop, Wilson Combat, and there are many others out there.

A couple of forums to get educated about reliable defensive 1911s is www.pistolsmith.com and www.1911forum.com

On thing to consider about 1911s is that many of your hardcore 1911 guys treat the 1911 and the pistolsmiths that build them much like a religion.  You will hear a lot of bickering back and forth of which is better and why.  There is a lot of information to sift through, but hang in there and you'll find something that suits your needs.

I have a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special, one of the reasons that I chose this pistol is because I wanted a no nonsence defensive 1911.  On man that knows 1911s is Thunder Ranch's Clint Smith.  Les Baer made the Thunder Ranch Specail to Clint's specifications.  If you know much about Clint, he rarely endorses anything, and only contracted one other person (Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat) to make a pistol for Clint's students.  Wilson Combat made a limited number of Thunder Ranch 1911 pistol, then Clint went to Les Baer to and asked him to start making his Thunder Ranch Special.  Clint stated that he had seen a number of Les Baer's pistol come through Thunder Ranch and he was impressed by the work done by Les.  Everyone that I've talked to that owns a TRS is very please with the pistol.  I would compare the reliability of my TRS to my Glocks.  Here's a pic:



I also have a Springfield Tactical Response Pistol, which comes from the factory tuned at the custom shop.  This pistol has been 100% reliable.  I purchased this one in early 1999 when they first came out and paid $800 for it.  A good deal considering that it's been tuned by the Springfield Custom Shop.  Springfield has since updated this pistol and added a few things to it, and it now goes for $1100 - $1200, but is still a good value for the $$$.  A friend that I work with has the new updated TRP and it's been 100% reliable.  The only thing that I didn't care for is the 20 lines per inch checkering on the front strap, it's a little sharp.  I ended up sending it back to the factory to have the checkering "defanged" and I also had them remove some material where the trigger guard meets the frame, I like to have the trigger guard go straight back and then the front strap to go straight down (instead of being rounded in this area)



Good Luck

If you have to have a 1911 , get the Kimber. Most bang for the buck. But personally , I HAVE the Sig P-220. 25k rounds thru it and it ALWAYS works .

For government sized, I have a Colt 1991. It's excellent, looks great, has a stainless barrel and is easily customized. The sights are military blade style, but they have dots, which is very nice for me.

I got it and intend to have some stuff done to it, otherwise I would have bought the Colt XSE, which is a more "enhanced" model.

The Colt's also have a newer feedramp design which supports the bullet more from teh side and is very reliable for hollowpoints.