I need help deciding whether or not to buy a certain 1911. I can either buy a fully loaded 1911 online auction or for the same price i can buy from my local gunstore a brand new 1911 mil-spec(as in NOT fully loaded). my dillema is that i want a fully loaded ss 1911, yet i dont know if i can trust all of the auctions on the internet. i have a certain price range and i DO like the milspec my local gunstore has. basically its a question of either purchasing a gun im not so sure about( only pictures and such)  that is ss fully loaded or a gun which im totally sure is great but is only ss milspec (nice too, though). any suggestions are welcome.
best regards,
              andrew

I would suggest buying the basic gun and fixing it up yourself.  You'll be sure of what you're getting and you'll still have the option of modifying it to fit your needs.  You eliminate the possibility of getting hosed on an online auction, and you'll get the satisfaction of having a completely customized firearm.  You might pay more in the long run, but at least you'll have a good foundation to work off of.  My $.02  

good advice.  some custom guns on the net are butchered attempts and home smiting.  everyone thinks they can smith a 1911

best to start from a reputable source.  

Many production 1911's nowadays are putting out semi to full blown custom Guns. Kimber has some real nice slabsiders as does Springfield and even S&W/SIG have gotten into it.Personally I have an awesome Gunsmith(Former  Gunny,MEUSOC USMC ARMORER) who does excellent work(I have 8 of his guns, one of them has even been on the cover of several Gun Mags...a Tactical Les Baer CQB/CQC 1911...finished in Black titanium carbon Nitride.Builds all but prefers to do LES BAER Custom stuff as all mine are.Has done alot of work on Marine Recons and SEALS/SpecForces.If you can get him to work a gun for you you are lucky. He is currently in the ME..will let you know when he returns if interested.

if your new to 1911s, and/or new to used guns then it might be best to buy New.
besides a plain jane 1911 is good to personally customize it YOUR WAY, not the factory way.
personally some of the factory upgraded models 1911s have parts that i HATE and would have to change out anyway ....memory bar grip safety, flat MSH etc. so a plain jane works for ME.

Quoted: I would suggest buying the basic gun and fixing it up yourself.  You'll be sure of what you're getting and you'll still have the option of modifying it to fit your needs.  You eliminate the possibility of getting hosed on an online auction, and you'll get the satisfaction of having a completely customized firearm.  You might pay more in the long run, but at least you'll have a good foundation to work off of.  My $.02

+1

I bought (13 days ago) a SA "Mil spec" (Nothing really mil spec about it in ANYONE's armed forces) .45 with the FULL intention of building a race gun. I think about it this way, it will be built so EXACTLY the way I want it, nothing "out of the box" in a "loaded" 1911 will be completely suitable for my preferences. I really think this is the way to go, and, who doesn't love a good project?

Splitfire75 hits the nail on the head, although if you do actually pay MORE, I doubt seriously it will be all that much more. You may even pay LESS! Check out the Do-it-yourself subforums of some 1911 forums mush like arfcom, such as 1911forum.com and pistolsmith.com. HOWEVER, HK940 brings up another very good point, unless you KNOW what you are doing, a good PISTOLSMITH will make the difference between joy-v- grief. But, don't be afraid to learn how to do these things either. If you don't mind sending your pistol out to be worked on, Winsol combat does great pistol smithing, whilst pricey, their work is SUPURB.

Below is the barebones SA mil spec 1911 I picked up a few days ago. Sometime in the furture, I will post pix of the finished project.



Serial number blurred in the image for my security.

Edited to add a lil more info.

Build your own

Leelaw,

I remember you talking about your 1911, but after seeing THAT pic, all I can say is that's one damn fine 1911! Well done!

Quoted: www.apt401.com/1911d.jpg Build your own

In Kalifornia?  You can't even buy a bare frame anymore.

Quoted: Quoted: www.apt401.com/1911d.jpg Build your own In Kalifornia?  You can't even buy a bare frame anymore.

There's no law against FFLs selling bare frames, no law against building your own bare frame from an 80% finished frame, and no law against building your own pistol for personal use from a bare frame that you bought or built.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: www.apt401.com/1911d.jpg Build your own In Kalifornia?  You can't even buy a bare frame anymore. There's no law against FFLs selling bare frames, no law against building your own bare frame from an 80% finished frame, and no law against building your own pistol for personal use from a bare frame that you bought or built.

um.... I think you might be mistaken... 100% completed handgun frames are technically handguns, and thus must go through the DOJ safety tests. However, since the frame-only doesn't have any internals it is impossible to do the safety tests, thus they are not (AFAIK) allowed to be purchased..


80% complete frames (like the one I have) are not technically firearms, therefore you can import and sell and whatnot all the 80% frames you want.


ETA: I don't know if the bare-frame thing applies to stripped-down, used handguns. new ones are not allowed.

leelaw, on re-examining the code I think you are right.  There's a section in the low 12000s in the PC that defines the frame or receiver of a firearm as the firearm.

I hate that code.  It's way more convoluted than it needs to be.

Quoted: leelaw, on re-examining the code I think you are right.  There's a section in the low 12000s in the PC that defines the frame or receiver of a firearm as the firearm. I hate that code.  It's way more convoluted than it needs to be.

I think federal laws define the frame (on handguns) and the like (FAL receiver,AR lower receiver) as the firearm, and the rest are just parts.

Quoted: ... I think federal laws define the frame (on handguns) and the like (FAL receiver,AR lower receiver) as the firearm, and the rest are just parts.

It's both state and federal.  See PC 12001 (c)

12001.  (a) (1) As used in this title, the terms "pistol,"
"revolver," and "firearm capable of being concealed upon the person"
shall apply to and include any device designed to be used as a
weapon, from which is expelled a projectile by the force of any
explosion, or other form of combustion, and that has a barrel less
than 16 inches in length.  These terms also include any device that
has a barrel 16 inches or more in length which is designed to be
interchanged with a barrel less than 16 inches in length.
  (2) As used in this title, the term "handgun" means any "pistol,"
"revolver," or "firearm capable of being concealed upon the person."
  (b) As used in this title, "firearm" means any device, designed to
be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel a
projectile by the force of any explosion or other form of combustion.

  (c) As used in Sections 12021, 12021.1, 12070, 12071, 12072,
12073, 12078, 12101, and 12801 of this code, and Sections 8100, 8101,
and 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the term "firearm"
includes the frame or receiver of the weapon.

The only real "loophole" left is building your own from scratch for personal use.