1911 Guy's Help. Torn Between Two Guns.

Fwiw, I like the emissary from S/A.
That was my vote.
I know sig makes great guns. I shot a scorpion 1911 once. It was a great shooter.
You probably won't be disappointed with either of those two.
My next 1911 will likely be a Springfield Armory .

You've already got the 1911 bug covered, practically. And I'd beware SS finishes today. I prefer a hardened finish.

I'd save up longer and get a Dan Wesson Valor, Specialist, or DWX (vaporware). Or Guncrafter No name.

After the Gentle Giant of Ferguson took 6 9mm rounds to calm down, I decided to carry a 1911. I considered Kimber and Springfield, but decided I really wanted one with a pony on it.

I know nothing about either gun except they are from reputable companies. My choice, strickly going by looks, would be the Sig. The Springfield looks blocky and uncomfortable.

We all make good 45 ACP hand loads. It’s a forgiving cartridge.

Lots of manufacturers make a great 1911. It’s a forgiving design. Both choices are great!

Pick one and shoot the heck out of it. Because the toughest part to owning a 1911 45 ACP and shooting it well is the 6 inches between your ears. (Well, my ears, anyway)

Have you considered a Kimber 45 ACP as an alternate? You can pick up a new one or a very nice used one for around 1000 bucks. Check out GunBroker and the Kimber Eclipse II. I own one of these myself and it's an excellent made and accurate firearm. JMHO!

Tough choice. After looking at them both quite a bit, I would say the Sig. Have no experience with either of them, just basing my decision on looks as I'm sure both are excellent products. I did own an older, many times owned Springfield 1911, government style, and it functioned flawlessly and was quite accurate.

Keep the 2 you already have. Both are excellent 1911's.

Dang, I went and looked at the Emmisary. Now I want one!

It wouldn't be a "Which one should I buy?" thread without the obligatory,

Get Both!

When it comes to 1911s I'm pretty much a Colt fan. Nothing against any of the other 1911 manufacturers; just that I was "raised" on Colts and have been very happy with the ones I have. I have one non-Colt and that's a very early production Springfield Armory M1911A1 and I'm quite pleased with it as well.

Between the two you have listed I would probably go with the SIG. I own a couple of SIGs (though none of them are 1911s), and again have been more than satisfied with the design, build quality, and overall fit and finish with all of them.

Of those two, I would pick the SIG.
Springfields are in general decent guns but the Emissary has just gone weird with too many departures from 1911.

Guncrafter is in another league, "semi-custom" and expensive; but if you can swing it, they have a lot of choices.

Springfield has not been my favorite brand. Maybe it’s because I have had the 9MM 1911’s. I have had four and all have been poor quality and unreliable, even with trips to the gunsmiths and expensive new parts. On the other hand I have never had a bad Sig of any kind.

I have an Emissary and a Sig, but not the Sig you are looking at.

Both are great guns and it’s a tough choice indeed.

I have 1911’s from 13 different manufacturers, I’m not going to suggest looking at others because that would not be answering your question.

I like Sig 1911’s a lot; I think they offer a lot of gun for the money. If I come across an STX for a fair price I will buy it.

I will try to keep this short on the Emissary, it is a fantastic value for what you get. If it did not have markings stamped on it, I would think that it came from a semi-custom maker like Wilson, Baer, etc. The give away that it is not a semi custom is the trigger. Not that the trigger is bad, it is good, but if you have ever tripped the trigger on Wilson, Stacatto, etc, you know what I mean.

A lot of guys dislike the square trigger guard on guns, sooo, don’t use it then. Rob Leatham talks on his video about the benefit for him. Agreed, that he is paid to sell and shoot their guns, but I’ve never seen him put sales over his reputation.

The tri-cut slide not only looks great, it functions well for shooting.

The 360 grenade grip system works well, and locks you in.

Though some may argue the importance of this, the slide runs like ice on ice with a bit of water in between. I don’t know if I ever felt any this smooth on a production gun. But I have to admit, I’ve never handled a Dan Wesson, which I expect it would be similar. I’m constantly on the lookout for a DW to buy.

To add to the smooth slide travel; if they put this much attention here, there’s a good chance that extra attention is taken on the internals.

The barrel lockup is like a bank vault, no wiggle room at all; the moneymaker for accuracy.

I got what I paid for and a lot of extra for the Emissary.

Some day I’ll compare it to my Wilson’s and Baer’s at the range. I expect a tough competition.



The slide cuts really work well and look great.

Interesting, when you buy on style, you get into personal preference.
The things you like are exactly what I don't like about the Emissary.

The one I handled and shot at a SA range demo day did not seem any smoother or tighter than the Garrison next to it.
The funky sights - big colored ring up front, big shallow U notch rear - made it hard to shoot accurately.

Jim Watson said:

Interesting, when you buy on style, you get into personal preference.
The things you like are exactly what I don't like about the Emissary.

The one I handled and shot at a SA range demo day did not seem any smoother or tighter than the Garrison next to it.
The funky sights - big colored ring up front, big shallow U notch rear - made it hard to shoot accurately.

Click to expand...

Maybe I got lucky and got a “Wednesday “ gun.

As far as the sights, they aren’t as easy for precision shooting. Strange how they recently came in vogue, I’ve been using them since 2008, so I have no problems with them.

I've got similar sights on my 2021 Valor. Definitely not bowling pin match sights. But I was startled, I don't hate them, and I shot them very well to 25yards. But they hit low. Center of lamp/dot is impact point, not tip of steel. Combat picture, instead of USPSA picture. Makes sense I guess. They are the easiest to spot sights at dusk or dawn. No doubt there. The yellow or orange ring really only works if the sun is at your back though.

Ameriglo easily has the brightest lamp. It's larger than normal. It shows up in dusk conditions that most nightsights don't even start to glow in. I wonder if you get rid of the yellow ring, would that lamp fit in a sight as skinny as .125"? Might have to call Ameriglo and try something custom built., Skinny plain black front, giant lamp.

I voted Emissary but can highly recommend the 5" or 4.25" Ronin .45.

I went with the Sig Sauer.

I own a Springfield and two Sig Sauer 1911's.
My EDC is a Sig Sauer C3 1912

I'm sure both are fine pistols. For myself, it would come down to personal taste. I don't like the looks of the Emissary. Don't like the square trigger guard, and have never liked rails on a 1911. I have an STX, and have been pleased with it. Never an issue, but round count is not very high. I do think it's a fine looking pistol. In that price range, there are others I'd at least consider, but the OP was specific about those two options.

Of the two I picked the SIG 1911.

I like SA 1911 guns, I have three of their models and they shoot very well. But the squared/angled looks of the Emissary juuuuust doesn’t trip my switch.

Stay safe.

The STX is well established akd the one I had ran like a swiss watch but the Emissary is new and the reviews have been pretty mixed.

Sigs non-standard slide is a huge negative due to holster selection