Posted: 10/2/2006 1:50:33 PM EDT
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Well, here it is, plain and simple. Hi Standard as far as 1911s go is garbage. 1911s are Veal scallopini, not Lasagna. Unlike the latter which an idiot can bake, a bad cook who cuts corners can fuck the meal up easily. Most 1911s are Mc 1911s (assembly line pistols that don't have the attention to detail and hand fitting like the REAL DEAL had) and amidst these Mc1911s yours is lukewarmTaco Bell. It's hardly my intention to make you feel badly about your purchase. Some people buy these cheap knockoffs and get the bargain of the year: a reliable workhorse in the $300 range in a sea of pistols that has $900 lemons. Instead I write this to inform you that your purchase may come with bugs that are not typical of a "true" (in spec) 1911 and these anomalies should be pinned on the pistol itself, not 1911s in general. If yours treats you well, be happy, You're one of the lucky ones. Now for the practical advice. #1 that guy at the range is full of shit. 1911s need no breaking in for FUNCTION when they are built in spec. Sometimes a slightly imperfect one has a hiccup or two in the first 500 rounds that vanishes as the parts blend together throughout the first 500 rounds, BUT THIS IS NOT THE EXPECTATION... this myth has become the standard "wisdom" that really nees corrected. #2 Wilson mags are among (if not the) best magazines out there and the biggest issues of the 1911 are the mag and extractor. If you have good mags and a reliable, tuned extractor then 85% of your potential feeding/extracting problems are addressed. So keep the Hi Standard mag for failure drills and don't bother sending it in (the replacement will be a POS too). Keep us posted on how it treats you. |
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Don't load a round directly into the chamber. Good easy way to break an extractor. Use a magazine it's there for a purpose. Also how were you chambering your 1st round? 1911's and most semi-auto pistols for that matter need you to pull the slide all the way to the rear and let it fly forward under it's own force to chamber the 1st round. Did you clean it before shooting it? That can help. |
BTW do you own a High Standard? 
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Untrue... the Semi customs are NOW the real deal for 1911s... hand fitting, 100% tool steel, etc. Problem is of course most choose not to pay the premium anymore. You are Dead on about Colt however. It is sad to see the founder turn into the NY Yankees of the minor leagues now. 
For the love of God, NO!!!! The cheapest 1911 I ever bought was a Para. Well, the cheapest I ever bought was a Remington Rand for $300.  No sir. I am a bonafied, stuck-up 1911 snob and proud of it. |
Er...not to nitpick..but that's how all military 1911's were made; straight from an assembly line. No fitting; they just forged/hammered the parts into the ordnance specification. Anything in spec, would work, as designed. I have a Colt made in 1944 here, no replaced parts. With the exception of my new S70 reproduction here, and my Springer mil-spec in .38 super (which doesn't particularly count as it has a ramped barrel and all that), it's the most reliable 1911 I own. Admittidly I only have maybe 150-200 rounds through the S70 repro, but...it's more than 60 years old. It functions as designed, and as intended. If an assembly-line 1911 is done to spec, there's no reason why it wouldn't function as designed and intended. Having said that..given casting tolerances and all that these days, getting an assembly-line 1911 with out-of-spec parts isn't as rare as it should be
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zero hand fitting whatsoever on any piece in the old days? There is nothing wrong with assembly line parts. EVERY vendor of 1911s has these, just as a chef has groceries he did not raise/grow. My point that is lost on today's pistols is that not only are the groceries done assembly line style, but so is the cooking, and not only the cooking, but the inspection as well, which ties into your point about too many lemons. Sadly, the wisdom of the bottom line bean counters dictate that it is better to put out 80 satisfactory pistols and 20 POS than it is to have 50 great ones
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Pulpsmack..... thanks for the advice on the chamber loading... now that i think of it.. it was kinda stupid... given the function of the gun.. again, thanks for the info. and if anyone wants to give me advice on my AR purchase.. please by all means.... fire away. Scott |
I break them down to individual parts and polish everything that rubs on something else. Why do I have to shoot 500 rounds again? |
cuz it's fun |
Well yea, there's that. 
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For the record, just 'cause nobody mentioned it. Hi Standard 1911=Charles Daly=Armscor=Rock Island Arms - All made in the Phillipines at the same factory. I wouldn't go as far as to call your Hi Standard a POS. I own several 1911's including a Wilson, a Couple Colts, a Kimber and a Rock Island. The fit and finish on the RIA is not up to the standard of the others, but it shoots good and has caused me no problems. I think it's worth the $269 I paid for it. According to the factory rep the RIA and the hi standard are the same pistol with different roll marks. It's o.k. for a first 1911. |
I haven't seen any anecdotal evidence anywhere that suggests hand-fitting more extreme than putitng slides on frames, staking front sights on, and the like...no grinding of thumb safties, no grinding of grip safeties, etc. On a "semi-custom" to "custom" 1911, hammers, triggers, sears, disconnectors, thumb safties, etc are all hand-fitted and dressed. I haven't seen any evidence that they even CONSIDERED doing that on factory-made Colt and Springfield (the original Springfield, not the new one) 1911's and on 1911A1's. After all, they were made to ordnance spec..what was to fit? It all already worked.. |
Colt's are probably closer to mechanical spec then anything else out there in the general price range. If you are talking about the Series 80 and 90 I somewhat agree, but truth is, it's mandated that you have safeties unlike what you had to have for some states. SA, Kimber and the other non custom makers ALL do it if they want to sell to all the states. In the 1911 world you just can't win. Half the people bitch because you keep it close to original, the other half bitch because you don't hang every piece of shit off it you can. FWIW, all the new Colts I have bought ran fine out of the box after a good teardown, cleaning, and lube, which should be done on EVERY new gun bought anyways. |
I don't know anything about "High Standard"(*) but that should be qualified with "internal extractor". Dropping a round right into the tube is fine if you have an external extractor. (*)Now I know at least one thing: they're crap. Hell, the $400 pricetag should have been a huuuuge warning. I haven't seen a good quality 1911 for sale for less than $650, used. |
Don't forget Ithaca and Singer. 
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Do these count? Price does not always = quality. For the lazy - Colt 1991A1 Government .45acp Stainless Steel ***REAL CLEAN IN CASE*** 539.00 Colt 1911 Government 80 Series .45acp ***REAL CLEAN*** 579.00 Colt M1991A1 .45acp Stainless Steel w/2 mags & case 599.00 Colt 1911 Government Series 80 .45acp Blue 499.00 Colt 1911 Government .45acp Blue w/1 mag & case 539.00 Colt MKIV Officers .45acp Matte ***CLEAN*** 499.00 I am not a fan of the series 80 colts but I wouldn't say they aren't good quality. |
Good point!! |
Oh the 500 rounds thing is just because for 1, I like to get the feel for the weapon while its given a live fire test to see how it will opperate, 2 to make sure there arnt going to be any other malfunctioning(bad springs that polishing wont help). and to figgure out if you like the trigger because they usually break in(like my glock whose trigger feels better that ever after about 1500 rounds) and last but not least like said before because ITS FUN!!!! 
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THE weak link of the 1911 platform is the magazine. They should be considered disposable. If you have issues with one either return it to the manufacturer or toss it out. Trying to fiddle with them, if they have proven unreliable, is a recipie for disaster. It's not like good magazines are hard to find. I have almost exclusively used Wilson Combat and Metalform mags for ten years and over 100K rounds and have had few mag-related problems. The ones I had were immediately addressed by the respective companies and new ones were sent out as replacements. I had a horrible problem once with a Wilson 10-rounder I bought used online and WC replaced it, no questions asked. They are a top-tier company. My 1911's range from stock Colts, to a total custom built Caspians, to a series I Kimber, to Les Baers so maybe I'm a 1911 snob. That being said, I'm intrigued by the High Standard/Rock Island Armory GI model(s). I have considered getting one just for shits and giggles and to practice wrenching. No, you didn't buy a high-end custom 1911 (nor did you pay for one), but if it is reliable with good magazines and quality hardball ammunition, then you're as good off as most GI's from decades past. Enjoy it and if you decide you want a carry piece then consider upgrading to a higher-end maker later on. Keep in mind the original mil-spec gun was designed to feed hardball rounds from a 7-round magazine. It was never intended to be a match-accurate target gun capable of feeding hollowpoints and SWC's from extended-capacity mags. Over the years, manufacturers have changed their specs to accomplish those objectives, but those weren't the parameters of the original design. I don't know how true to mil-spec the HS/RIA guns are. However, there is a High Standard corporate rep (Ivan) over on the 1911forums who goes by blackdragon. You might want to contact him with that question if it interests you. Check out the "other 1911's" at the bottom of the page and do a search for High Standard. Ivan did reveal that they are the same gun as the RIA, with the exception of the roll marks and grips. www.1911forum.com/forums/ I'd say get some quality mags (the Metalform 7-rounders are hard to beat for the money), a few cases of Winchester hardball ammo, and head out to the range. With it properly cleaned, lubed, held, and fed, I'd like to see how it fares at the range. Please keep us informed. |
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Again this is my first 1911. more will follow in the future.. but for now this one is it, and she is gonna get a work out at the range. So far i have shot over 500 rounds thru it. the first ten to twenty shots were with the stock mag that came with the pistol. i still have it. although i dont use it. I currently have four wilson combat 8 rd. mags. i have only had a few mishaps with them. and i think that the mishaps are with some reloads that i have been using. I found these reloads at a gunshop that purchased them from some outfit in alabama. A fifty count box of reloads 45.acp costs only nine dollars. Ten dollars for hollow point. But ive only shot the hardball. will keep you posted if there are any more reoccuring misshaps. And yes. i clean the gun after i shoot it everytime. Question. given the gun is a basic 1911. stock. Will changing any parts on it make it operate better? Just curious. |
The nice thing about the 1911, much like the ar15, is that you can tinker with it until you get it set up the way you like it. Depends on what you mean by operate better. I have been shooting 1911's for more than 20 years, I know what I like and all most all of my 1911's end up with the same bacic setup. My eyesight is not what it once was so on a GI model I always end up upgrading the sights. Unless I luck out with a great trigger from the factory, I get a trigger job done, fit a oversized firing pin stop, either reshape the grip safety and bob the hammer or install a beaver tail and I'm good to go. Shoot as many different setups as you can before you start making changes. you may find that you don't want to change a thing. |
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I would make sure it's operationally reliable before making any type of modifications. Once it's up and running then shoot the piss out of it. After several thousand rounds you will start to get a MUCH better idea of what you would like to change instead of basing decisions on other people's experience (whihc may or may not be applicable to you). Only then would I start changing parts or otherwise modifying the gun. If you have no expereince with the 1911 platform then making changes before a thorough familiarization would be futile. Most of the complaints I've heard about the GI-design would be hammer bite, heavy/gritty trigger, and poor sights. All three are relatively easy fixes if and when the time comes. A spring kit upgrade is a good idea. It in no way modifys the gun and will only enhance its operation. Wolff makes excellent stock replacement kits which are available through Brownells. The beauty of the the 1911 is both in it's unquestionable time-proven design and the unbelievable aftermarket support. There is no end to the custom touches you can impart on your new gun. However, I'd strongly suggest you get it up and running and then shoot...shoot....shoot it first before making changes. |