Ok, here is the deal.  For some reason, my grandfather has decided he wants a pistol for general use and personal defense.  This is not like him, but I'm not about to argue about it.  He looked at one of the AIM flyers I had laying around and decided he wanted a P-38.  Hasn't ordered it yet though.

Tonight I was looking through a local paper and found 2 1911's which are in his price range.  I know nothing about this type of pistol, and in fact never even shot one, only held a compact charles daly and a para P14 that my friend's father had set up for competition shooting.  Here are the 2 ads I found-

1- "45 caliber: exc. condition, model of the 1911F.  Norinco brand, w/case $275"

2- "Rock Island 45 handgun: M1911 A1, brand new cond., GI series, shot twice, $300"

They both sound like decent deals but I know nothing about either.  Hopefully I can talk him into getting one instead of that P38.  Accuracy is not so important, mainly that it functions 100% with FMJ and is reliable.  Thanks.

The Norinco is the better of the two.

grab the Norinco, you can get RIA's all day long. The Norinco is a rare find around here. Fmr Prez Klintoon stopped the importation of those years ago.


ETA spelling.....

You know nothing about 1911's , and you're considering advising another person who is unfamiliar
with 1911's to buy a used one from a newspaper ad.? WTF?

Do either of you have a friend or acquaintance who has a 1911?
Do you belong to a Gun Club , or have a Gunstore nearby.?

You need to do some serious research and haveyour  Grandfather try shooting some pistols
before he makes a decision.

Get the Rink before the RIA. They were surprisingly well made guns for the money and head and shoulders above a RIA. That said, have him shoot a decent 1911 first and see if he likes it, and will PRACTICE with it. If he will not practice with it get a .38 special/.357  S&W or Colt used.

PRACTICE WITH IT? That gun will live forever in a top drawer.impulse buys in general end up as stored items especially guns.dont buy a 1000 doller 1911 get the norinco or the ria both reasonably inexpensive and more than enough gun for him.[

Quoted: PRACTICE WITH IT? That gun will live forever in a top drawer.impulse buys in general end up as stored items especially guns.dont buy a 1000 doller 1911 get the norinco or the ria both reasonably inexpensive and more than enough gun for him.[

Yeah, yeah, I know, "practice", however I would NEVER recommend a 1911 if one won't bother practicing with it. In fact I would not recommend a pistol at all. A revolver is a much better choice for that type of person.

There are no gun clubs nearby other than the 2 I worked at which are basically 99.9% trap and skeet clubs, and the other .1% is guys sighting in their slug guns.  There are a couple "good ol' boy" gunshops nearby, but they really don't have much in the way of pistols and you couldn't shoot them anyway.

This area is all hunters.  Hardly anybody even target shoots with a .22, much less a centerfire, and that's just to sight in their squirrel rifle.  So you can pretty much forget about anybody having a decent pistol.

Also, he said he doesn't want a revolver.  Why, I don't know.  I'd like to have a nice .357 myself.

I was hoping he'd get the 1911 because I have a USP .45, and therefore we could buy ammo in bulk and split it, and I'm sure he'd shoot about 500% more if I told him I wanted him to come out back and shoot with me.