Posted: 8/21/2013 8:54:20 PM EDT
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Hello gentlemen,
I have been looking at picking up a 1911 for a little while and wanted to get a cheaper entry level 1911 because money is plentiful. I wanted to get the most bang for my buck and was turned onto the PT1911. My buddy let me take it to the range and I shot it very well. Help my groups much closer with the PT1911 than I did with my fathers Colt. Then I found the Ruger for a little bit more and also American made. Played with both of them and like the feel of both just not able to shoot the Ruger. Basically just asking which would you all choose between the two. I can get the PT1911 for around $450 OTD I can also get the SR1911 for around $630 OTD |
| I liked my SR1911 very much, especially for the money. The only reason I gave it up was to buy a Colt I had been after for awhile. I have no experience with the Taurus 1911's, but an instructor in a local class I just took said he picked one up and was happy with it so far. Said he couldn't pass up the low cost, and that he really didn't expect much, but it surprised him. 20+ year vet from a local PD, SWAT member, might not mean much, just his opinion. I'd say the Rugers a sure thing, Taurus might be a toss up. Get your hands on one if you can and compare. |
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I've got a Taurus PT1911 Stainless. I bought it shortly after they came out. It's an accurate pistol. That's the good about it.
It's been to the factory twice... about halfway through a magazine the gun wouldn't fire. The slide cycled. The next round was loaded in the chamber. The hammer was sitting at half cock. It had followed the slide from the fired position to full cock and then to half cock. Had the half cock detent not been in the fire control group, the pistol would have gone full auto. The first time, the factory gunsmith said he adjusted the hammer. It wasn't fixed and the gun still suffered the same condition. Hammer following the slide to half cock intermittently. The second time the pistol was returned to me by the factory and the sear was adjusted... and the pistol still suffered hammer follow. I let my buddy work on it... I received it back after a few months with an idiot scratch. He buggered up the back of the slide and "replaced the sear" and also broke the ambi-safety and installed a Wilson Combat beavertail grip safety with memory bump. I let a qualified gunsmith look at it and he said my buddy screwed up the internals badly... he could fix it for $600 but I declined as the pistol isn't worth it. It's supposed to be fixed now. I wouldn't know. I haven't fired it since I got it back. I look at it every now and again but then grab a different gun to shoot. If I had it to do over again, I'd buy a S&W 1911 because I was agonizing over which to get... the Taurus which gives you $1,100 in upgrades and such for $600 or S&W... which was new at the time... but S&W sold out to the Clinton administration and caved with the Hilary lock... Taurus won... and I regret it. Lifetime warranty doesn't mean anything if the factory cannot fix the problem. Buy the Ruger. They're supposed to be better made. The issue with the Taurus was MIM (metal injection molding) parts... essentially they're case hardened powdered metal... some people love it and have no issues with it. Other have bad experiences like I did. I went and bought a VBOB and don't regret THAT move at all. Dan Wesson doesn't use MIM parts. |
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When I worked in a gun shop, the number 1 pistol I saw returned to the factory was Taurus. Revolvers, PT11 series, PT140s, you name it.
I don't doubt that Taurus makes a decent 1911, but like it was stated before, they're release too many lemons for my taste. Ruger hands down. |
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I would like to get my hands on a SR1911 to be able to test fire it but no one around here offers test fires nor do I know anybody that owns one. I have shot the Pt1911 that was a buddy of mine and it shot flawlessly. Trigger was nice IMO (not much experience with 1911's) but I don't like how it's not made completely stateside.
Appreciate everybody's thoughts and opinions. Seems I may just have to get a Ruger since I want American made first. |
| I currently own both. The Taurus needed to be detail stripped and most parts deburred and/or polished. Frame rails had major burrs that needed a file to remove. Has been reliable since, but only about 1000 rounds total through it. The Ruger got detail stripped, cleaned, inspected, and reassembled. Only a couple hundred rounds through it, but absolutely no problems. Much smoother from the factory. Between the two choices, I would recommend the Ruger. |
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I have the Ruger, had a PT1911 given to me by someone who's husband had died and didn't want it in the house. In full disclosure, I hate Taurus. I wanted to get that out in the open and I've posted as much before. I have a Taurus revolver who's timing was off right out of the box. Sent it in for repairs. 6 months later I get it back still fubar'd and now it looks like it was monkey raped on a gravel lot. Great customer service. That said and all out in the clear, the PT's frame was so out of spec it was actually visible. The spring guide portion of the lower frame wasn't uniform in its clearance. The ambi safety actually fell out during the 3rd mag through it (by me). I swore I'd never buy one and didn't but took this one as a "gimme". I ended up trading it against the overall cost on my Colt Rail. There isn't enough money in the world to get me to buy a Taurus anything. I mean nothing against those who have them here and have had good luck, but it doesn't take much research to find out the overwhelming opinion goes another way. My Ruger is a well fitted/tight weapon that I carry often. The Taurus customer dis-service alone would keep me from buying one. As stated; the Ruger is a good choice and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the RIA either as I have one of those as well and it works better than the money I spent on it in comparison to some other market offerings. My .02
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Any particular reason the Taurus's are junk? Have heard good things about their line of 1911's. I had more issues with mine than I care to go into at this time. Plus their CS sucks. Buy the Ruger, or if you're on a tight budget, get a Rock Island Armory. |
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The Taurus is a decent enough $400 1911. Unfortunately they seem to be priced way too high.
The Rock Island / Armscor guns are great for a cheap 1911. They do look like they were carved out of modeling clay and baked in an oven, though. The Ruger is a good deal at the $650-700 range. Much above that and you can afford a Kimber Custom, which aside from the Swartz firing pin safety, has a lot more going for it. |
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For $630 OTD the Ruger for sure. Took mine out last wknd and was pleasantly surprised at how well it grouped out-of-the box.
I've owned 3 Taurus PT1911's (still have 2 of them) and all 3 are/were good guns. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up either one today and take it to the range. However the Ruger SR1911 is a beautiful piece that is going to hold it's value much better. BK |
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It's all up to you, I have a PT1911 AR and have never had an issue from it and there are about 2500 rounds through it. You can't go wrong with either, I agree that the SR1911 is a good looking gun buy mine is lighter because of the aluminum frame so function comes over looks to me.
Good luck |
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Any particular reason the Taurus's are junk? Have heard good things about their line of 1911's. Quoted:
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Ruger, trust me. Taurus is junk. Any particular reason the Taurus's are junk? Have heard good things about their line of 1911's. not from anyone who knows anything. taurus is taurus, junk The SR1911 however is an excellent weapon from what I have read, I have not shot one though |
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The Taurus is a decent enough $400 1911. Unfortunately they seem to be priced way too high. The Rock Island / Armscor guns are great for a cheap 1911. They do look like they were carved out of modeling clay and baked in an oven, though. The Ruger is a good deal at the $650-700 range. Much above that and you can afford a Kimber Custom, which aside from the Swartz firing pin safety, has a lot more going for it. excellent point. I love my kimber, 100% reliable for 11k rds 
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not from anyone who knows anything. taurus is taurus, junk The SR1911 however is an excellent weapon from what I have read, I have not shot one though Quoted:
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Ruger, trust me. Taurus is junk. Any particular reason the Taurus's are junk? Have heard good things about their line of 1911's. not from anyone who knows anything. taurus is taurus, junk The SR1911 however is an excellent weapon from what I have read, I have not shot one though The reason I said I had heard good things is I wasn't as familiar with their ambi safety issue. I borrowed a buddies PT1911 and ran great and groups were extremely tight compared to my father's Colt. |
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excellent point. I love my kimber, 100% reliable for 11k rds http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s616/garretts1836/photo-69_zps91d4a5de.jpg Quoted:
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The Taurus is a decent enough $400 1911. Unfortunately they seem to be priced way too high. The Rock Island / Armscor guns are great for a cheap 1911. They do look like they were carved out of modeling clay and baked in an oven, though. The Ruger is a good deal at the $650-700 range. Much above that and you can afford a Kimber Custom, which aside from the Swartz firing pin safety, has a lot more going for it. excellent point. I love my kimber, 100% reliable for 11k rds http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s616/garretts1836/photo-69_zps91d4a5de.jpg I have always wanted a Kimber all blued with just a stainless trigger and stainless hammer like this one but money doesn't come plentiful enough for me personally to spend that much on one yet. Only reason I have steered clear of Kimber is there are so many different models that they have I wouldn't know which one to get. |
| I have a steel frame railed PT1911. For the $350 I paid for it after rebate it has been an excellent gun and completely reliable with Wilson Combat and other high quality mags. I know there are a lot of lemons out there, and some really great ones as well. Try to find somebody selling one local used that you can examine and maybe test fire. Under $400 they are a steal, above that there are many better options for similar money. |