Posted: 7/4/2009 8:39:29 AM EDT
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After a 6 and 1/2 month wait it is finally time for me to purchase my first pistol. I am truly stuck on what I should do.. Here is what im considering.
Option 1: A Colt combat Elite off gunbroker for about 950 out the door with ffl cost and everything. Now I absolutely LOVE the looks of the combat elite and the features it has seems to be a great deal. The bad is that I am hearing a lot of horror stories about slide rub and broken sights. I also happen to notice a recall on them as well. It doesn't seem like just a bad batch it seems like more people than not are having problems with their ce's. I just waited 6 months for the damn permit I don't want to wait any longer to shoot my gun. Pro's -Great looks -decent features Con's -Lots of problems -definite recall -No front/rear grip checkering. Option 2: A S&W 1911 which I feel has good looks but for some reason the caution on the receiver turns me off in a big way. However I have heard great things about the S&W especially about reliability and great customer service. I feel like that is important if something actually does go wrong. Some models have the rear checkering but no front checkering so I would put it ahead of the colt in that respect. This I would also be getting off gunbroker. Pro's -Great company/customer service -reliability -Rear checkering -slightly cheaper than the CE Con's -Not as good looking(to me) -no front grip checkering Option 3: A double star 1911 that was diamond coated by my dealer in a black slide olive drab receiver scheme. My dealer is offering it to me for $1250 which is a little bit more than I wanted to spend but I feel like if it's a deal It is the better pistol. Im not crazy about the color scheme but it's starting to grow on me. It has front and rear grip checkering that I liked and it is the only one that I was able to hold. He had another model used, that had target sights that didn't have the checkering and I preferred the feel of the checkering. I am starting to lean more and more towards this one because it is the only one I got to see in person first. I called around to dealers in the area and nobody seems to have anything in stock. My dealer also tried to source me a combat elite or an S&W but he couldn't find any either. Pro's -Dealer has it in stock (no wait just trigger time ) -Diamond coated (the color scheme is growing on me) -Railed model -The grips felt very good -full grip checkering -Wilson NM barrel -ed brown safety Con's -PRICE 1250 is basically stretching it a bit for me -not as good looking as the combat elite -Not a huge fan of the double star logo but i guess that's also growing on me -slightly concerned about finding a good holster with the railed model As of right now I feel like im leaning towards option 3 but im just afraid I can't trust my feeling because I am pretty impatient right now. Based on my options what would you guys advise? |
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new combat elite, i have one and had no probelms. im gonna checker the front strap here soon. im not sure if would shell out $950 for it. lets say i paid about a 1/3 less for this one.
have you taken a look at fusion firearms or a dan wesson. dan wesson doesnt use MIM parts. too. fusion uses a little bit since their supplier is STI. both of them are real nice and you can get one for around 1100-1200 or more depending on model 
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Quoted:
new combat elite, i have one and had no probelms. im gonna checker the front strap here soon. im not sure if would shell out $950 for it. lets say i paid about a 1/3 less for this one. have you taken a look at fusion firearms or a dan wesson. dan wesson doesnt use MIM parts. too. fusion uses a little bit since their supplier is STI. both of them are real nice and you can get one for around 1100-1200 or more depending on model http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm275/TORQ1234/IMG00375.jpg Is yours effected by the recall? If I could get one significantly cheaper I might start to consider it again, the only problem is I can't seem to find any dealers that have anything I want in stock. Its harder to do a deal on gunbroker because even if I get a good price, after shipping and transfer fee it ends up being the same anyway. I looked briefly at the dan wessons but it seems the only models that come close to my price range have target sights which I don't like and they still don't have as many options as the double star. I know there is a lot of brand loyalty when it comes to 1911's but nobody has really criticized the double star for its features only because its not such and such brand name. I guess the only thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger on the double star is the price, because I think it does have the best features. I'm just not sure if the features are worth the extra money. |
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mine wasnt affect by the recall for the slide rubbing more than it should on the frame. it doesnt matter what 1911 you get, your gonna have wear on lower slide area, its just colt used new machinery on the new xse CE, and they having a few probelms with some of them.
it just depends, to be honest for the money dan wesson is the way to go. unless you do your own work it will cost more to upgrade afterwards from a smith. now if you do your own work like i did, and found a gun at a sweet deal, then u cant go wrong. if i were going to buy a 1911 out of the box, with an entry gun then i would go with a colt xse, u can get thos at about 800 or so. semi custom gun around 1200-1500 then either dan wesson, fusion, or baer. you get what you pay for in the 1911 world. |
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mine wasnt affect by the recall for the slide rubbing more than it should on the frame. it doesnt matter what 1911 you get, your gonna have wear on lower slide area, its just colt used new machinery on the new xse CE, and they having a few probelms with some of them. Haven't heard of that being an issue to the point of recall... the only recent Colt recall I am aware of is for the safeties and guide rods on certain pistols, which were improperly treated and thus are too soft. Some CE's are subject to this for their safeties. Of course, if I had a CE, I wouldn't be worried, since I swap out the safeties with EB ones anyway due to personal preferences. After all, it's only a ~$20 part that can be easily fitted by hand. My opinion: Go for a Colt XSE, or pony up the extra bit of cash for a DW. You can find several different models of DW for $1000-$1500 NIB. |
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Quoted:
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mine wasnt affect by the recall for the slide rubbing more than it should on the frame. it doesnt matter what 1911 you get, your gonna have wear on lower slide area, its just colt used new machinery on the new xse CE, and they having a few probelms with some of them. Haven't heard of that being an issue to the point of recall... the only recent Colt recall I am aware of is for the safeties and guide rods on certain pistols, which were improperly treated and thus are too soft. Some CE's are subject to this for their safeties. Of course, if I had a CE, I wouldn't be worried, since I swap out the safeties with EB ones anyway due to personal preferences. After all, it's only a ~$20 part that can be easily fitted by hand. My opinion: Go for a Colt XSE, or pony up the extra bit of cash for a DW. You can find several different models of DW for $1000-$1500 NIB. The reason I'm deciding against the colt is aside from the slide rub, I have heard of the novaks coming loose or paint wearing off of them, as well as the mandatory recall for the safeties and guide rods. As of right now I am going with the double star. Nobody on multiple forums has said the double star is of low quality, simply that I should go with (insert brand here) mostly dan wesson. I am not knocking those higher brands but I feel like a lot of it is just reputation and I think the double star will meet their standards for less money. Im going to head to the shop tomorrow and if i feel it and don't absolutely love it ill prob walk away and look for a smith. Thanks for the input guys, hopefully tomorrow ill have a new 1911 pic to add to the board. |
