Posted: 3/19/2010 11:38:22 AM EDT
| Any body ever herd of one or shot one. A guy from a local pawn shop that knows me and knows that I am a 1911 nut stopped me at the gas station this morning telling me about it and wanted me to come look at it. Looks like a forged frame and a pretty nice gun for $429. |
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I have one. Very nice pistol made in the Philippines. The price is right. I had mine out this past Monday and was putting rounds in a 3" circle out to 25 yards. The factory grips are OK but not spectacular. I put on some VZ operators and it made it look and handle much nicer for me.
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Well I just ordered one this week. From alll that I have read and from my personal experience holding one at a local gun shop...
They seem to have a better fit and finish then the Rock Island Arsonal (RIA)1911's. The frame is cast but the fish work on them is very good. Realize that you are not getting a full blown custom 1911 full of Ed Brown or other high end parts but you aren't paying over $2000 for it either. From all that I have been able to read on the net they seem to a very capable shooting gun out of the box. Metro Arms seems to have a good network setup to handle any warrenty issues if they come up. In all the reviews and comments left by owners of the gun have been very positive reviews. They come with 1 8 round Novak mag and are now shipping in plastic carrying cases instead of the paper boxes of old. If you can get one for $429 from your friend that is the best price I have seen on one in months. The RIA Tactical is selling for about $450 and is parkerized not blued. I guess the proof will be in the pudding so to speak when I get my hands on mine. I think that I am going to like it ALOT. |
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They're made by Metro Arms in the Philippines, same guns sold under the "Firestorm" name not to long ago - but should not be confused with the Spanish made Firestorms. The ones I've seen have shown better fit/finish than the Armscor or Shooters Arms pistols.
With the American Classic (Metro Arms), Citadel (Armscor), and Iver Johnson (Shooters Arms) hitting the market recently there seems to be a lot of activity in the entry-level 1911 market, notably all from the Philippines. How they'll all play will be seen. I'm curious to how support will be on the Metro and Shooters guns, Citadel is being supported by the same guys that reportedly do a great job of support on the RIA pistols. |
I like my American Classic, it's been out to the range a few times and so far no problems but I've only used 230gr FMJ ammo. This was my first 1911 and I got it because of the price, the overall finish and the reviews were very positive. The only thing I did was change out the grips and pick up some spare mags. I paid $435 back in November 09.
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I have to say it was a very nice looking handgun. excellent fit and finish right down to the checkered wood grips. Buds have these for $439 which is a much more realist price.