mikejonestkd
New member
You may want to attend a few competitions and see what participants are using.
Help me choose a 1911
- Thread starter baddarryl
- Start date
You may want to attend a few competitions and see what participants are using.
I have, since around 2010.
That's a good thought. I have a RRA National Match AR. It's fantastic. I may look into that.
I’m not stranger to 1911s but in last year or two decided I needed one. In my case I was only interested in original series 70 Colt or older. I was buying strictly for SD gun. As usual I got carried away and got butt deep in them. Along the way I bought 2 Springfields like new in box. Just Mil Spec models, one was stainless. I think I would rather have one than a new Colt. I paid $500 for them used. Also had a Ruger a few months ago $700 NIB. For the money either one of these is dependable. You can drop big bucks on 1911s but what’s the point if it’s anti personnel weapon? Unless you are in formal matches of some type or a Seal a stock 1911 will do you fine from one of better manf.
SA
I have three 1911's.
But the one that really impresses me is my "bottom-of-the-line" Springfield Armory "mil-spec."
Out of the box, it shot straight (fixed sights) and with no break-in period. And the trigger is crisp and pretty light.
It's a Springfield. Really hard to go wrong there.
I have three 1911's.
But the one that really impresses me is my "bottom-of-the-line" Springfield Armory "mil-spec."
Out of the box, it shot straight (fixed sights) and with no break-in period. And the trigger is crisp and pretty light.
It's a Springfield. Really hard to go wrong there.
stagpanther
New member
Colt
A nice used Baer or maybe a Colt Competition.
Shot mine today. Best shooter of my 1911 collection!
Shane Tuttle
Staff
Used? Les Baer, Ed Brown, Wilson Combat in that order.
Dan Wesson is on my radar. Finely made. But I personally don't see the build quality on the same level as the others I mentioned.
New? Now, I would look at a Dan Wesson. Last I checked, Baers/Browns/Wilsons aren't going to be at the $2000 price point for what you might want.
IDPA isn't as precise in the accuracy department for shooting. The bottom line is reliability and well above average precision grouping will generally keep you in competition. You can find 1911 variants that are sub $1k that would fit the bill, as well, if you ask me.
Dan Wesson is on my radar. Finely made. But I personally don't see the build quality on the same level as the others I mentioned.
New? Now, I would look at a Dan Wesson. Last I checked, Baers/Browns/Wilsons aren't going to be at the $2000 price point for what you might want.
IDPA isn't as precise in the accuracy department for shooting. The bottom line is reliability and well above average precision grouping will generally keep you in competition. You can find 1911 variants that are sub $1k that would fit the bill, as well, if you ask me.
I love my Colt 1903s and find them to be close to the perfect pistol for me but I'd never been able to warm up to the 1911 platform. About 40 years ago I bought a Series 80 and really wanted to like it but it simply never felt right, never shot right and never was totally reliable so it went to a Forever Home.
Time passed and I still felt slight guilty that I didn't have a 1911 so I bought a somewhat custom pre-CZ Dan Wesson Pointman/Patriot hybrid. It was beautiful and accurate but again it was picky about ammo and just never felt right so after a few years it too went to a Forever Home.
I loved the 45acp as a caliber/cartridge and have lots of 45acp wheelies from both Colt and Smith and when I lived in Phoenix back in the 1960s it was one of them that went with me when wandering in the desert or Superstitions.
I always felt somewhat dirty not having a 1911 or liking a 1911. Back when I was in likely the second or third grade I had taken a pieces parts 1911 that had followed my dad home from his four year all expenses paid vacation in the Mediterranean, North African, Italian and Persian Gulf as well as one 45acp cartridge to school for show and tell and to talk about the safety rules my dad had taught me and so I really really felt like I should love a 1911 of my own.
More time passed and a bunch of relative lower cost 1911s from a Turkish firm started arriving and they all looked pretty much like that 1911 from long long ago in a time far far away. They were really pretty inexpensive and so I was tempted to try yet another 1911.
I kept putting one in a shopping cart but then getting cold feet and putting it back. This went on for several years until recently when I decided to try yet again.
And I'm glad I did.
This 1911A1 felt much like that rattle trap from those long ago days but without the rattle. It arrived and after a clean and lube I took it with a couple Mec-Gar mags that were left over from the Dan Wesson and somehow didn't go to the Forever Home. I had a bunch of 230gr ball 45acp ammo in moon clips as well a a box and some extra that had to be at least 20 years old. I also found some RP headstamp hollow points and a box of Triton 185gr Hi-Vel +p JHP.
This Tisas 1911A1 came in a plastic clam shell carry case and with two CheckMate magazines and so I loaded the mags up and took it to the range for a function check.
It ran flawlessly and ate every type ammo I tried, ball or hollow point. I ran about 50+ rounds of ball plus a couple mags of each of the old hollow point ammo and had zero failure to feed, zero failure to fire and zero failure to eject using both the CheckMate dimple magazines and the smooth Meg-Gar magazines.
Maybe a 1911 is not as useless as I had found in the past.
AbE: Forgot to add that the out of the box no buff or polish trigger pull doing two sets of five pulls each averaged right at 4 pounds.
Time passed and I still felt slight guilty that I didn't have a 1911 so I bought a somewhat custom pre-CZ Dan Wesson Pointman/Patriot hybrid. It was beautiful and accurate but again it was picky about ammo and just never felt right so after a few years it too went to a Forever Home.
I loved the 45acp as a caliber/cartridge and have lots of 45acp wheelies from both Colt and Smith and when I lived in Phoenix back in the 1960s it was one of them that went with me when wandering in the desert or Superstitions.
I always felt somewhat dirty not having a 1911 or liking a 1911. Back when I was in likely the second or third grade I had taken a pieces parts 1911 that had followed my dad home from his four year all expenses paid vacation in the Mediterranean, North African, Italian and Persian Gulf as well as one 45acp cartridge to school for show and tell and to talk about the safety rules my dad had taught me and so I really really felt like I should love a 1911 of my own.
More time passed and a bunch of relative lower cost 1911s from a Turkish firm started arriving and they all looked pretty much like that 1911 from long long ago in a time far far away. They were really pretty inexpensive and so I was tempted to try yet another 1911.
I kept putting one in a shopping cart but then getting cold feet and putting it back. This went on for several years until recently when I decided to try yet again.
And I'm glad I did.
This 1911A1 felt much like that rattle trap from those long ago days but without the rattle. It arrived and after a clean and lube I took it with a couple Mec-Gar mags that were left over from the Dan Wesson and somehow didn't go to the Forever Home. I had a bunch of 230gr ball 45acp ammo in moon clips as well a a box and some extra that had to be at least 20 years old. I also found some RP headstamp hollow points and a box of Triton 185gr Hi-Vel +p JHP.
This Tisas 1911A1 came in a plastic clam shell carry case and with two CheckMate magazines and so I loaded the mags up and took it to the range for a function check.
It ran flawlessly and ate every type ammo I tried, ball or hollow point. I ran about 50+ rounds of ball plus a couple mags of each of the old hollow point ammo and had zero failure to feed, zero failure to fire and zero failure to eject using both the CheckMate dimple magazines and the smooth Meg-Gar magazines.
Maybe a 1911 is not as useless as I had found in the past.
AbE: Forgot to add that the out of the box no buff or polish trigger pull doing two sets of five pulls each averaged right at 4 pounds.
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bigboredad
New member
I hope you decided on the specialist. It is a great gun that you won't have to spend money to make it better. I have 3 Dan Wesson 1911's but have never found the specialist
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lll Otto lll
New member
+1
I ordered one in 9mm from Brownells 3 weeks ago and it has yet to ship. No hurry because it was an impulse buy for $667.
Springfield customer service is second to none. Last year they replaced the frame on my Mil Spec that a local gunsmith managed to destroy (long story). The cost for a new frame and refitting to the original slide was exactly zero.
I guess not.
Always poor form to start one of these threads asking for advice and then ghost the thread without ever providing an update to the people trying to help, IMO.