Posted: 3/29/2011 3:12:11 PM EDT
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Hey everyone,
I’m interested in purchasing my first 1911 pistol. I come here hoping to get some opinions on what pistol is best for me. This will not be a carry gun. This will simply be used for target shooting and plinking around. I will not be shooting competitively or putting this gun through hell in any way. I do not plan on modifying the gun besides the grips. I want a smooth and accurate shooter out of the box. I want a tight, precise, and well put together firearm. Sloppiness in the fitting of parts that make up the gun will not cut it. Does “my” 1911 exist within my budget of $750? I’m not opposed to buying a used 1911 if it is a good gun for the money, but prefer to buy new. What 1911 pistol will provide me with what I am looking for? Thanks for the help! |
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I just bought my Springfield Armory Loaded from Dunns Sporting Goods in Pevely, Missouri for $730. Great shooter, great price. Some may advise you to buy a "cheapo" made in the Philippines if all you want it for is plinking and range shooting. I considered that option but then read more about 1911s and settled on a SA Loaded for the reasons you seem to want to buy a 1911. |
| CA resident and bought a Rock Island Armory Tactical 1911 a few months ago. Put about 500 - 600 rounds downrange and I'm quite satisfied with the pistol. Infact, it has become my CCW pistol, now that I'm used to the 36 oz or so weight. I paid $492.00 base. I had a hard time deciding between the R.I.A. and a SA 1911 A-1 Mil Spec. The SA was only $70.00 more but after handling (fondling) both guns for a half hour, I decided that the R.I.A. fit my hands much better, the trigger was much smoother and crisp than the SA and I liked the Beavertail and skeletonized trigger and hammer better than the SA. Don't let others scare you off with the "made in the Phillipines thing". |
If you only plan on owning one 1911 and want one that looks "sexy" as well as shoots good, then a midrange springfield or similar class would be good. I bought a used S&W for $650 as my first 1911 and love it! Of course, no one warned me how addictive these guns were. I recently bought a compact Rock Island and it too is awesome. Best advice is to fondle a few. No matter what you decide you will be happy, just be warned...the force of the dark side is strong 
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Quoted:
Hey everyone, I’m interested in purchasing my first 1911 pistol. I come here hoping to get some opinions on what pistol is best for me. This will not be a carry gun. This will simply be used for target shooting and plinking around. I will not be shooting competitively or putting this gun through hell in any way. I do not plan on modifying the gun besides the grips. I want a smooth and accurate shooter out of the box. I want a tight, precise, and well put together firearm. Sloppiness in the fitting of parts that make up the gun will not cut it. Does “my” 1911 exist within my budget of $750? I’m not opposed to buying a used 1911 if it is a good gun for the money, but prefer to buy new. What 1911 pistol will provide me with what I am looking for? Thanks for the help! $750? No. But $1200 gets you a Dan Wesson Heritage. $1600 for a high end Valor. |
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You should look very closely at the Remington R1. It is selling in Md for about $650. I saw one at the last York, PA gun show for $599.
It is a true heavy frame 1911 that will take any grips or accessories for the standard, full size 1911. The reviews I've studied are very good. I have one on order and can't wait to get it next week. Here's the Remington Link |
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I just found this one at a GS this past Saturday, not bad for $389.00...
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk209/elecbzerk/DSC_1148.jpg |
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If you want something that's put together really well at the $750 pricepoint, I'd either find an NM serial number prefix Springfield Loaded or a Springfield Range Officer.
If it's going to be a carry pistol, I'd search for the Loaded. If it's just going to be a plinker, I'd go with the Range Officer. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Hey everyone, I’m interested in purchasing my first 1911 pistol. I come here hoping to get some opinions on what pistol is best for me. This will not be a carry gun. This will simply be used for target shooting and plinking around. I will not be shooting competitively or putting this gun through hell in any way. I do not plan on modifying the gun besides the grips. I want a smooth and accurate shooter out of the box. I want a tight, precise, and well put together firearm. Sloppiness in the fitting of parts that make up the gun will not cut it. Does “my” 1911 exist within my budget of $750? I’m not opposed to buying a used 1911 if it is a good gun for the money, but prefer to buy new. What 1911 pistol will provide me with what I am looking for? Thanks for the help! $750? No. But $1200 gets you a Dan Wesson Heritage. $1600 for a high end Valor. Incorrect, Find a Springfield Range Officer and report back. My only grip that I can make is the extractor is not flush with the slide it overhangs. Far as I care about that, I've wasted to much time on it already. |
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A lot of them probably exist unless you get a lemon and every company has lemons. I bought a Kimber Custom II for my first 1911 and I have been happy with my choice. You could probably find one in your price range if you looked around. The only thing that I didn't like was that it had black sights so I put meprolight night sights on it. For range use this may not be an issue for you. I also put some VZ grips on it for fun. The STI Spartan is well within your price range and I haven't heard anyone on here (or anywhere else for that matter) complain about it having problems. STI puts out a solid product and if I was doing it over I might go that route for the money.
I think some of the lower budget manufacturers use more MIM in more key areas which is how they keep the price down. There was a thread on here somewhere about a guy who bought a $400 1911 and the firing pin stop was MIM and broke after he carried it around one day. Spend most of your budget on the gun itself so you aren't on here telling us about how it went great for 2,000 rounds and then all hell broke loose! |
| Thanks for the input so far. After much reading and research, I believe the best thing is for me to physically handle a number of 1911s at different price ranges to see the difference in quality. Is spending the extra couple hundred worth it? That's what I need to decide. |
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Quoted: Thanks for the input so far. After much reading and research, I believe the best thing is for me to physically handle a number of 1911s at different price ranges to see the difference in quality. Is spending the extra couple hundred worth it? That's what I need to decide. I don't know how much experience that you have on internet gun forums, but I think that you should keep in mind that there is a lot of gun snobbery presented as "fact" on every gun forum. Just be aware that anytime some one makes post stating that only some excessively expensive "whatever" will perform to your expectation, that it is usually just gun snobbery on display. Also be aware that, on the other end of that spectrum, there are folks that will tell you that their bargain basement "whatever" does just as good as the high dollar "whatever." Be equally suspicious of both extremes. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks for the input so far. After much reading and research, I believe the best thing is for me to physically handle a number of 1911s at different price ranges to see the difference in quality. Is spending the extra couple hundred worth it? That's what I need to decide. I don't know how much experience that you have on internet gun forums, but I think that you should keep in mind that there is a lot of gun snobbery presented as "fact" on every gun forum. Just be aware that anytime some one makes post stating that only some excessively expensive "whatever" will perform to your expectation, that it is usually just gun snobbery on display. Also be aware that, on the other end of that spectrum, there are folks that will tell you that their bargain basement "whatever" does just as good as the high dollar "whatever." Be equally suspicious of both extremes. You have to take the source into account. Many folks will just reflexively recommend whatever they own, in conscious or unconscious displays of fanboydom. Others have experience with many different manufacturers and models and are recommending from a broader base of experience. Still others just recommend whatever they happen to like that week. I'm the first to admit that it's certainly possible to get an accurate and reliable gun in just about any price range. Discussion of what the possibilities actually are –– in my experience –– can be misinterpreted as snobbery. I would advise potential buyers to avoid some makers entirely, be aware of commonly encountered issues with others, or step up to a level of product that reduces the chance of getting a badly-performing gun down to zero. For instance, I would say that Colts can often come out of the box with some appalling cosmetic issues, but their basic functional geometry and parts quality tends to be excellent. I could say that Kimbers occasionally break parts that shouldn't break, can suffer from barrel issues that should warrant replacement in the opinion of some folks, rely on cosmetic flair to boost their profit margin, and display no real difference in quality of build despite claims of a "Custom Shop." Some would say that Springfields sometimes exhibit an embarrassing lack of attention in areas that are very important to building a reliable and accurate 1911, and that their excellent customer service department would be creating a lot less work for themselves if they could kick a choice ass or two on the assembly lines. Instead of going through the whole litany in every thread, I make the recommendations I feel that would be most likely to provide full satisfaction to the person asking the question. This is from years of owning somewhere between dozens and hundreds of 1911s, regularly carrying and competing with them, following Internet discussions, and doing work on my own guns and doing work for others. |
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Excellent post above (or previous page in this case).
I am actually a fan of Kimber pistols, but I also am keenly aware of issues they have and their lack of a lifetime warranty, thus I have trouble recommending them to a first time 1911 buyer. Colt does have the occasional aesthetic issues, but on the whole I think they are trying harder to get out a product that not only functions well, but looks good. They are an obvious choice. Springfield Armory has a couple assembly issues (see: extractor tension) but if you understand a 1911 well enough to know how to disassemble it, replace the factory recoil spring, and adjust the (or just replace) the extractor, generally everything else is functional. I dislike the lack of quality I find in the N prefix Brazilian guns, but they are all functional and on occasion they produce a good pistol. On the other hand the NM pistols made in Brazil and assembled in the USA tend to both function well and have excellent assembly and fit/finish. In the case of what the OP is asking for, the Range Officer seems to be the most obvious choice. RIA makes a fine pistol, and for what the OP is looking for the RIA Target might be a good choice, but I prefer the forged frame/slide combination of the other pistols, and I am a little bit of a 1911 snob to boot. Good luck OP, let us know what you get. |
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If you don't have to have American Made then I would suggest the Taurus PT1911. I have two of these pistols and I can say with confidence that they perform as well as any Kimber or Springfield Armory that I have owned. At one time or another I have owned a Kimber CDP, Raptor and SIS as well as a SA TRP and Loaded. All good quality production guns but none "out" performed the Taurus. For the money it's hard to go wrong with a Taurus PT1911, I have not paid over $600 for one.
Be careful when you say that this will be your only 1911... they are addictive. I never thought I would own more than 2 or 3 and now I own at least 12. Don't even get me started on custom 1911s.. Good luck with your search. Matt |