Last night I got to fire a 1911 for the first time.  Well, as you all know, it's a damn nice pistol to shoot.  That basically equates to me being in the market for one.

I've seen several posts about some good 1911's for the money & I'll keep reading through those while looking.

I haven't seen to much on doing an assembly from parts.  I realize there is more fitting invlolved with the 1911 than other pistols and I was just wondering how much.  The reason I ask is:
Parts Kit
Receiver

I have done a little gunsmithing in the past.  If this is a really bad idea I'll keep looing elsewhere.

Thanks for any input
CD

ETA:
Didn't want to bump this again since I got what I was looking for.

Thanks for all the input everyone, that was helpful.  I'll keep reading what you've got over here and hopefully be back before too long with my own 1911.

I'm the last person to discourage someone from home gunsmithing, as it can be a lot of fun.  However, the parts you linked to are low quality.  They can be built into a shooter, but without someone who has experience to guide you through it, you will find that parts that should be drop in are not, and you might find it impossible to figure out why.  Also, by the time you have toold and the parts that you linked to, you could have bought a good used Springfield, and even an ORM Colt 1991 if you look around.

You would be much better served to find an already assembled pistol, pick up some books/vids, and do a modification here and there.  That's just my opinion, though.  I've put together a few 1911s, and I started by doing small projects like a trigger here, a safety there, etc.  

For a basic beginner's book, I would recommend Hallock's 45s.  From there, there is a well regarded book by Jerry Kuhnhausen, called The Colt .45 Automatic  A Shop Manual.  It is kind of the bible to .45 guys.  There is also a more advanced volume two to that book.  

Anyway, good luck.

hobbs,

Thanks for the input.  That's kind of what I thought, but I was just looking for some confirmation.  I was also hoping I had read into all the fitting information too much.  Guess not.

Stumbling on those parts today just got me thinking.  I'll leave that for down the road a bit.  As for the quality on the parts; the parts kit being low quality doesn't surprise me, I've dealt with SG enough.(I usually don't use them for parts)  Is that receiver also on the low end of the scale?

Thanks for the info on the books as well, I'll check them out.

CD

Thanks to both of you for the advice.  I'll be keeping my eyes open for a good shooter.  I will definitely be looking into those books as well.

CD

Quoted: Thanks to both of you for the advice.  I'll be keeping my eyes open for a good shooter.  I will definitely be looking into those books as well. CD

How much can you afford to spend?

Quoted: How much can you afford to spend?

At this point I'm probably in the $600 range, so I'll be looking at SA and some used pistols locally.  I just picked up a few other things recently that have cut into the budget for this.  As I said I just got to try one for the first time last night, so this wasn't really in the plans for this year.

Before I do anything I really should sell one of my kayaks.

CD

Quoted: Quoted: How much can you afford to spend? At this point I'm probably in the $600 range, so I'll be looking at SA and some used pistols locally.  I just picked up a few other things recently that have cut into the budget for this.  As I said I just got to try one for the first time last night, so this wasn't really in the plans for this year. Before I do anything I really should sell one of my kayaks. CD

If you can go a little higher, look for a Kimber 25th Anniversary Custom on Gunbroker.com and Auctionarms.com.

Look for a Colt 1991, used in good condition. Can be found in the 400s with a bit of looking.

A new in the box Springfield G.I. can be had for about $400 dollars. The sights leave a lot to be desired, the trigger will be in the 8 to 9 pound pull range and if the extractor is not properly adjusted you may need some machine work on the ejection port (or just retune the extractor) but it is a very accectable gun to begin with. If you decide to go this route you will still have some gunsmithing to do and you will have a new firearm. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me.

Good luck with your decision and welcome to the world of 1911's.

Burl1