Which should i chose, a Charlse Daley or a Rock Island.  I am wanting a fairly cheap 1911!!!

Ditto what Gene said.  The WWII repro is real inexpensive, with the Mil-spec haveing a few upgrades for only a few dollars more.

Quoted: The money spent getting a CD to work and last could be used toward a low end Springfield, which IMO is a better deal.

Excellent suggestion.

What would a SringFeild cost me... a low end but still nice

I have the WWII model, its really nice.

Charles Daly's are made in the Philippines. There has not been any quality come out of there in guns. I saw two at the range once & both lost parts while being shot. POS, IMO.

Quoted: What would a SringFeild cost me... a low end but still nice

A NIB SA Mil-Spec can be found for around $400.

G.I. is a nice place to start. +1 +2 and +3

MT

I simply can't understand why people buy CD stuff (unless you're adding your 20th 1911 to the collection or something) when there are nice used springfields out there.

I have a Springfield and love it, but I was tempted by a used Norinco at the gun sale for $300...

Quoted: I have a Springfield and love it, but I was tempted by a used Norinco at the gun sale for $300...

You shoulda gave in. I'd love to have a norinco 1911.

Cheap and 1911 are available in the same sentence, however, cheap, 1911, and reliable are not.

Quoted: Cheap and 1911 are available in the same sentence, however, cheap, 1911, and reliable are not.

you have  never have tried out a Colt M1991A1

1991A1, the one with the plastic trigger and mainspring housing, right?

Springfield Mil-Spec.

I'm a confirmed Colt and Kimber man but for the price you're talking about--I have to second the Springfield mil-spec suggestion for a new gun.  This would be an inexpensive starter gun that you could put as much or as little as you wanted to into it--and never be ashamed even if turning it into a several thousand dollar custom.

Plus, I'm also a forged/barstock snob--can't stand the idea of a cast 1911 frame or slide.

If you look in the used market again SA milspecs, older Colt 1991's can be found in the $400 range, and you might want to look around for a Norinco which might be had for closer to the price of the CD (again Norinco has forged slide/frame while the phillippine pistols do not)

As a newbie--you might find the different features of modern "custom" style gun appealling, if you can save up more--a carbon steel series I Kimber or a Loaded Springfield might show up used in the $500-600 range and be a great way to learn old slabsides.

Good luck,
Chad

Of the two listed options, Rock Island Armory pistols have been more consistent in their reliable performance in my experience.

Be well!

By my experience, Rock Islands are fairly solid pistols, but are bested in reliability by Springfield Milspecs.  I believe the non-polished feedramp on the RIA has something to do with this.

My only concern about the GI Model Springfields is that the ejection port is not lowered and flared, though I have heard no comments about FTE's with these guns.  From the sound of it, they perform just as well as the Milspecs.  

For my money, Springfield Armory Milspec 1911A1 is the way to go.  A recurring problem I hear about this gun (and one I have experienced firsthand) is that the front sight tends to develop some wiggle after a few hundred shots.  I simply soldered mine on and it has since held, but perhaps SA has fixed this error.  Other than that, the gun drives tacks, forget what those guys at Guns and Ammo say.  As a joke, I took aim at a golf ball I had suspended at 50 yds for my AR, and obliterated it on the first try!  YMMV, but for the price I paid, it is MORE than worth every penny.  

ETA: Don't make the all-too-common mistake of skimping on magazines.  Get Wilson-Rogers, CMC PowerMag, or if you really want to stretch your dollars, MetalForm magazines.  I think the Springfield pistols come with a coupon for magazines, which I believe are MetalForm mags, someone correct me if I'm wrong.  

I got an excellent condition  Auto Ordnance 1911A1 last week for $325 out the door, wanted a boat/camping .45 that I wouldn't go into mourning over if something happened to it, have run about 250 rounds through it, is flawless in operation and accuracy is also good, used six different magazines and three types of ammo (Wolf, 230g lrn reloads, milsurp hardball) including Winchester silvertips, was mostly shooting five round fast fire drill at 10m on 12" target. Its a parkerized finish and is close to but not an exact copy of my Remington 1911A1. It is however all steel US made.

rk