Posted: 1/28/2008 7:04:25 PM EDT
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Hey guys, I was looking to get a good, duty ready 1911. Several years ago I bought a Colt XSE and liked it, but sold it for another gun. So now I am back to looking for a 1911. However, after doing some research I am a little disappointed at what I am hearing. I am a cop with a family so I don't have a lot of cash to spend, and from what I am hearing you can't even touch a "good" 1911 for $1500. I have always wanted a 1911 because I always heard that they were a great, tough, reliable semi-auto pistol. But all I hear recently is that if you don't spend $1900-$2500 you don't really get all that great of a pistol and in some cases you still need to send it off and have a smith look at it. I guess my gripe is, whats the point in having a 1911 if you have to give a left testicle to get it when you can get a Glock, M&P etc, etc, that performs better out of the box for a fraction of the cost. I own Glocks and other brands of .45's, but I wanted a good 1911 (that works) to go with them. But I guess unless I win the lottery I won't be able to get a life staking 1911, so I will pass. Am I wrong on this? Have I been reading the articles on light fighter and other sights wrong? On light fighter they say that a $1500 1911 is a good "platform to start with." I just feel that if I have to spend $2500 on a 1911 that works "right" is just crazy. Crap, if you put just a few hundered dollars more with that you can get a sub-machine gun that will increase in value time and time again. And are the Colts crap now? Are the old Series 70 Colts still considered a good 1911? Thanks for any information or insight. |
I appreciate the kind words, but I would not be carrying the 1911 on duty. However I would carry it off duty sometimes and still would stake my life on it. My duty gun is a Glock, which I like. I guess I just thought that if the military used the 1911 and they still shot after all of the crap they went through (I know they were gone through on occasion) they would be a little more reliable, I guess not. |
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i got my XSE combat commander for about $800, NIB. (august, i think) it belched a few times during the first 500 rounds, but has been 100% since. it had some SLIGHT cosmetic issues, but i can see past them. i have dropped a few extra bucks into it, but purely for my own personal tastes and not for reliability's sake. you shouldnt have to spend $1000 on a good, reliable 1911. if you are patient, you can get a used 70's series off GB or GOA for in the neighborhood of $500. heck, a new combat commander costs under $800 from Bud's Gun Shop. also saw a nice delta elite at the funshow on saturday for $900. if i hadnt just spent $900 on car repairs, i would have walked with it. |
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You can get a reasonable 1911 for $700-800. OK, not an LB but a Colt or Kimber or something worth buying NIB. You can spend some cash a little at a time to make it the way you want or keep it box stock. You really don't NEED a bunch of crap. Just buy a 1911 the way God intended. Example: I have these two 1911's. One is a custom all the way and one was my Dad's WWII service pistol (no mods). They both work and I shoot them equally well. |
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Back in the mid-70s I bought a pair of WWII surplus 1911s. I also got a good book about working on them*. After disassembling them I got the necessary parts and re-assembled them; polished feed ramps, etc. and ended up with two very reliable 1911s. One I later sold and the other I keep in my vehicle, or use for CCW occasionally. They CAN be made to function flawlessly. And (IMO) you don't necessarily need a gunsmith to do so; if you can tune up your own car, you can tune up a 1911. I'd trust my life to either of my 1911s (if I had the other one back!). *Halleck's guide to the 1911. It isn't in print any longer but copies can be found online. It is an excellent source of knowledge about the 1911, and I highly recommend it. |
| Two letters for you-----DW. As in Dan Wesson, I got my first one for under a grand, If I remember correctly it was around $900. It functions flawlessly and the trigger is as smooth as glass and gets better after every range trip. Even when new it never failed me once and I even used steel cased Wolf 45 ammo to try to make it, even that Wolf it ate like candy without issue. Keep in mind however, mine are not the "old DW's" some here frown on. My DW's are the ones made by CZ and backed with a lifetime warranty(like they need it). The gun comes with a custom trigger and hammer, night sights, and a hole list of other mods I can't remember at the moment. I also own a Wilson combat 45 and 2 Springfield TRP's and for some reason the Dan Wesson out shoots and preforms all of my other "high priced" 45's. I love the DW and it is the one I carry every day. Give them a look and if you can get a hold of one before buying you'll love it. |
| If I were looking for a 1911 I'd be looking at something from Springfield Armory. You can get a basic USGI pistol for @$500-$550, and a loaded model for @$750. Springfield has a good warranty so if the pistol dosen't run right they will fix it so it does. Don't worry about the MIM parts because you can replace them as your budget allows. Springfields are good guns. All of the bullseye and action pistolsmiths I know of will build on a Springfield gun with no worries. |
Used Les Baer's can be found in the $1000 to $1400 range. BobCole picked on up not to long ago for under $1000 and Rocksarge just ran across a used Les Baer TRS in south Florida for $1100. My Step son picked up his used Like New TRS for $1300. Hell I even lucked into a Like New Springfield Professional for $1049  Good Quality used 1911's can be had under $1500 if you look for them. |
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Just do some thread carousing and then search out a nice Colt Series 70 repro. If you know what to look for to make sure you are getting a good 1911, then any slight issue you MAY have will be easily fixed. Even when you get a "good" 1911 you may end up with a loose plunger tube ( this is ungodly common with ALL makers ) and/or an extractor that needs a bit of tweaking. Neither of these fixes is difficult and is analogous to tweaking the carburetor on your favorite old car.....only easier. Admittedly, you need someone with a plnger tube staking setup to fix a loose tube. Many gunsmiths have these handy. |
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my 560 dollar kimber ran just fine upto the 2x charge. New slide installed back to runing just fine. You do not need to spend 1.6k+ on 1911 that will run. Personally I would cruse the used market, 95% of the shooting population never shoot a pistol to where it is just plane wore out. |
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Yeah, somebody has been snowing you. Trying to get you to buy a high end 1911. Now if you want one, go for it. You work hard and you should figure out a way to get one. BUT, you do not need to spend 1500 + to get a good functional 1911. If you are on a budget a parked SA loaded, a Colt 1991, a little more gets a Kimber. Look in the used rack. |
| You don't need to spend $1500 for a good 1911, but if you did, there are a few good choices out there. Fusion firearms can build you a custom gun for a little over $1000, and they have great reviews (search fusion in any 1911 forum). You can get a les baer pII for a little over 1350. The Springfield trp is another good choice. If you decide to get used, there's a lot of quality guns out there (ie. wilson cqb used ~1500 sometimes). So don't be too discouraged, you can get a lot of gun for under 1500. |
Depends on your definition of "good". I can find $700-$800 candidates all day long but none of these are new, nor do they have things like checkering and appropriate sights. There are plenty of packages that try to combine "new", "<$1,000", and "Bells & Whistles" and the rule with few exceptions is these suck (by your terms).
Production 1911s haven't been made in ages. We have "Mc1911s" slapped together with a certain margin of error. They are very labor intensive which either requires $ to do it right (semi custom), 3rd world labor, and/or corner cutting.
Clearly that assessment is BS or everybody would be a tupperware convert in short order. The right 1911 blows everything else away for many people.
Your decision, but the lottery business is way mellodramatic. You didn't need to win the lottery to buy a Glock, M&P, and a 3rd gun, did you? That's the cost of a very impressive 1911 there... or 1.5 ARs. If you don't feel it's worth it to you then pass, but they aren't that impossible to get if you are determined and to most, they are more than worth it.
Where did you go from $2500 as a starter after reading $1,500 is a good starter? And do you really think you are merely "getting something that works"? Go handle one. Try the trigger. Note the workmanship. Note the service that comes with the package. And please direct me to these $2,500 SMGs you seem to find falling from the sky. From where I stand you need at least $1,000-$2000 more than a semi custom for an entry one, an amount which you denote "requires lottery winnings".
The OLD S70s didn't collectively get better or worse over time. they are what they are, which ranges from great to turds, which pretty much sums up new Colt production as well. Most of them work fine, but many have sloppy workmanship as well. You have to personally inspect before buying if you want a good one inside out. Bottom line, 1911s aren't for everyone and if you have this many doubts, you need more handling and to reassess your priorities. If after handling/shooting a few doesn't do it for you, you've saved $ finding out you aren't a 1911 guy. If you become convinced the right one is worth it, then you won't be disappointed buying wisely. Good luck. |
I would add: the S70 guns are more desirable simply because the great majority of what Colt has produced in the last 20-odd years features the Series 80 firing pin safety, something that's disliked among a vocal subset of 1911 aficionados. |
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A lot of the people saying you have to spend $1500-$3000 on a 1911 are in the business of making 1911's, or have already paid that sum and want to believe that it's the ONLY way to get a 1911 to work correctly. It just isn't true. I don't have a $3000 Nighthawk, but I do have a RRA, and two worked over Kimber Warriors. Probably $5000 spent on three pistols. It simply isn't true that you have to spend $1500+ to get a 1911 that works 99.9999% of the time. One caveat: If you buy a stock 1911, at any price point, and it doesn't run properly after breaking it in -- ditch it and start over. I know quite a few people who have had success, on their first try, with Springfield Milspec, Colt M70's, Kimber Classics, Kimber Warriors, Colt Series 80's, etc... Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see....right?  |
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I've been shooting 1911's for a long time, and when I was a kid my Dad was shooting 1911's as a LEO and then a judge. The 70 series (the real ones) were not cheep in their day though. And some had problems and a lot of people bashed them then just as Glocks got bashed when they came out, like the AR got bashed when it came out. I remember frames cracking, extractors snapping from improper heat treating (older Hi Powers would do that too), sights were small, hammer bite. A lot of things you really don't hear about any more. The funny thing was... there was no MIM back then and stuff still broke. You know why, stuff breaks. With new materials, manufacturing, etc the 1911 is a better weapon than it ever was. For years (before I knew what I was packing) I carried a 1917-1918 Colt 1911 that was issued to a family member, small sights and all. I can point shoot it at 10 yards with no problem. It will feed 230 gr Gold Dots and Golden Sabers. My point is you could get away with a stock Colt 1991, or a Mil-Spec SA, or base Kimber. Slap night sights on a Colt 1991 and you really don't NEED any more. Total cost, around $800 to $900. |
| Keeping you eyes open for a good used 1911 is another way to go. Another way is to find out if there are any good 1911 pistolsmiths in your area. They don't have to be big name guys to be good. I've got a local guy that gunsmiths out of his storefront and is not only skilled, but cheap as well. He shoots action pistol with a 1911 and builds all his own guns. I bought a used Kimber TLE from him with the intent of using it as a carry piece. The gun had been used by a plate shooter who had replaced a lot of the MIM with go fast parts. I decided to use the pistol for bullseye and had my local guy fit a barrel and change the rear sight. Total cost to me was right around 1k, and I have a 100% reliable 1911 that holds 2" at 50 yards with the right ammo. |
Just like with Glocks, with 1911s you can get one that works or one that doesn't. Some people are having good luck with the PT-1911, and I've had good luck with my SA and Kimber. Frankly, however, I'd suggest going with Glock or 1911, not using both for serious applications. They point differently and the trigger is different, and I'd rather go with one or the other. |
+1 on this. I seriously tried to find a Glock that I could grip comfortably and could not. The difference in grip between the Glock and my SA and Kimber is night and day for me. |
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my most recent 1911 purchase was a barely used Kimber Stainless Custom II. It was around $450 out the door. I put about $200 into it for novak night sights, gunner grips, a SS MSH, and some wilson 47D magazines. there are good deals to be found, you just have to keep your eyes out. |
Bull. I have two Kimbers, both cost way less than $1500, and both run as reliably as my Glocks and Sigs. I love my TLE II. It makes a tinkly little sound every time I fire it. It is like I am sending magical fairy bullets into the target. Bang!tingggg, Bang!tinnggg, The compact works every bit as well as the TLE, but no ting. |
