thinking of a 1911 ...

[keeperofthehills]

Well gentleman, its tax refund time. Which means I have some extra cash that I need to spend to justify my long hours at work, and I was thinking of a 1911 "clone"

like a Sprinfield GI .45 (that thing looks so cool!)
AMT hardballer
stuff like that ...
up to about 6 or 7 hundred dollars but I dont want to spend that much if I dont have too. but i guess price and quality most generally go hand in hand. Quality and value for the money. Any help would be awesome.

~Justin

 

[Rich357]

For $600 or $700 I suggest you find a 1911 with adjustable sights. I have yet to find a 1911 in that price range that shoots to point of aim. And, you may find a government model will give you "hammer bite".

IMHO, one of the best pistols in the $600 to $700 price range is the SIG P239. The grip is slim but I find it a real pleasure to shoot and I have big hands.

Also in that price range, or less,... Glock. A G30 is not a bad way to go. If you want a thin grip the G36 is very nice. Add some night sights. They eat anything. They don't show scratches (not nearly as easily as most other pistols). They are simple. Parts are easy to find...

Rich

 

[FPrice]

If you want a 1911, spend the time (and the money if necessary) to find a real 1911.

All the rest are just imitations.

 

[Rich357]

What do you consider a "real" 1911? Any Colt prior to the Series 80s? That would work for me.

Rich

 

[Brian Williams]

Do a search for Mil spec in the Autoloaders forum and look for info on the new rollmark colts, the SA mil spec and some of the WWII clones.

 

[Rich357]

Perfessr, how often do they shoot to point of aim? I guess you have never had hammer bite. Apparently a lot of us have been bitten by the 1911 hammer given how many models of new 1911s have a duck tail.

I hate to see someone spent $600 and find out their new handgun bites their hand. Heck, it may even shoot a couple of inches low at 10 yards.

Rich

 

[McNutt]

I bought a Dan Wesson Patriot Expert with adjustable sights for under $700 from Sportingarms.com. If you want to spend that much money it might be the best bang for your buck. If you don't want to spend it all you could get the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec. Everybody seems to have a lot of praise for that "no-frills" gun. Good luck.

 

[dakotasin]

when my brother saw my colt 1991a1, he immediately fell in love w/ 1911's. however, they were always too cost prohibitive for him until springfield came out w/ their ww2 mil-spec gun... for under $400 out the door he had his 1911. we checked out a couple samples, and they seemed to be pretty consistent. tight slides, good barrel lock-up, bushings were fairly tight... it is a basic, no frills 1911 that works. if i were in the market for a budget 1911, i would get this one.

for a pretty good write-up on it, check out http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=70847
lots of info there, including a review written by (i think) dsk (it is a 'sticky'), based on a tear-down and inspection...

 

[Sean Smith]

I'd suggest a Colt 01991.

http://www.pistolsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=13743

 

[mattk]

I argee with Sean, the new roll marked Colts are great. I have a Combat Commander and its a peach.

 

[Rich357]

Shoot before you buy. Even better, shoot the pistol you intend to buy.

I bought two Springfield "Fully Loaded" 1911s. Both locked up nice and tight but both shot low. What a waste of money. I don't trust "cheap" 1911s.

I never had a problem with fixed sight SIGs and Glocks shooting to point of aim. They work just fine out of the box.

Keeperofthehills, if you haven't already, make sure your hand won't be bitten by a standard govrenment model 1911.

I'm not anti 1911. I'm anti bad 1911s.

Rich

 

[Sean Smith]

Keeperofthehills, if you haven't already, make sure your hand won't be bitten by a standard govrenment model 1911.

Although it is cheap to fix that (by just shortening the hammer a fraction of an inch), I'd agree. Note that 01991-series Colt Commanders, all XSE and Gold Cup guns won't bite, only the Government Models that have spur hammers. And many folks are never bitten anyway.

 

[R.H. Lee]

I have a new SA Stainless Milspec. It hits exactly where aimed. I can hit golfballs @ 7yds, and the 12" metal gong @ 25yds. I just installed a Wilson Combat long trigger, and will change the MSH if I can find a flat serrated. That will be the extent of the mods.

The pistol functions flawlessy with both hardball and jhp. "Hammer bite" is not an issue for me, even though I hold the pistol high, but I don't have huge ham hands and big sausage fingers, either.

 

[rauchman]

I would not mind getting a Colt at some point. For now, I have a Springfield Loaded and I have absolutely zero complaints. I have not used JHP ammo in it, so I don't know how it would do with these rounds from a reliability standpoint. I primarily use the gun as a range gun. It's POA and POI are spot on though.

 

[Renegade]

Bought a Springfield "Fully Loaded" couple years ago. Only problem I had was with the factory mags, replaced them with Wilson Combat mags, haven't had any problems since. Haven't suffered any hammer bite with my 1911.

Later,

Dave