First off, I know this has probably been discussed before, but I just figured I'd share my thoughts ...
Since I introduced my wife to the shooting sports, she has hi-jacked my Beretta 92FS. She loves shooting it, and won't share it with me...
This was a good reason to add another gun to the collection...
SO...Tuesday evening I picked up a Charles Daly 1911 .45 auto...
Gun was brand new and in a box, with two 8-round mags.
I got home and wanted to cycle the action with both types of ammo I'd bought, to be sure they'd feed ok.
The CCI Blazer 230gr ball ammo fed just fine, cycling by hand....
The 185 gr hollow points were another story...Brand was Magsafe or something like that (I forget)
If I only put 4-5 rounds in the mag, they would feed ok, but with a full mag (6,7,or 8) the first round would nosedive into the feed ramp and jam...
The following morning, I took the gun back to my dealer and showed him the problem...
He just figured it was a mag problem and gave me a few extra mags to try and said the gun probably just needed to be broken in.
I took the gun over to his indoor shooting range and filled 3 mags with the CCI Blazer ammo.
I sent a target out about 25 feet and fired all 21 rounds (3 mags w/7 rounds)
I was impressed with the accuracy, but was VERY disappointed when I saw the parts that fell off the gun afterwards.
Both halves of the ambi-safety lever and the detent/spring were laying on the shooting bench and floor.
I took the gun back to the counter and said I'd like a different gun...
My dealer said he's never had a problem with this brand of 1911 but wanted to keep me happy and said no problem, what else would you like instead ?
I told him how happy I was with my Beretta 92FS 9mm and I might be interested in the .40 cal version if he had any...
He went into the "back room" and came out with a brand new looking Beretta 96FS, in a Beretta carry box, with 2 mags and the owners manual.
I asked how much difference in price if I swapped the .45 ???
He said $100,and I'll take the rest of the unused .45 ammo (1.5 boxes) and I'll give you a box of Federal .40 cal JHP's...
I said SOLD!!!
I also bought 2 boxes of cheap target ammo to try at his indoor range...
The Beretta shoots 100%...
NO jams and... NO parts falling off!!!
I thought MOST gun mfg's test fired their guns BEFORE they left the factory...
This gun could not have been test fired...It fell apart almost immediately...My old Llamma .45 was a piece of crap, but at least it didn't fall apart on me...
The machine work and quality actually reminded me a bit of that old Llamma.
My dealer couldn't believe it just fell apart, 'cause he had a hell of a time getting it put back together...
I still like the looks and feel of the 1911 style .45's, and I will probably try another one...
Just NOT a Charles Daly, and not very soon...Unless the wife takes my .40 from me too...[:)]
Any recommendations for a QUALITY 1911 thats under $500 bucks ???