Best and worst 1911 between $500 - $1000

Bought Taurus several years ago. Had to have extractor fixed after a couple hundred rounds and sent back to Brazil to have the lock fixed after several thousand rounds. Accuracy is fantastic, trigger pull great, good range gun, but there is a trust issue. Gun did not have enough rounds thru it for the breakdowns.
 
Bought my SA GI new several years ago - $510 OTD.

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Best: Colt

Worst: I dunno. I've never shot a 1911 that was troublesome. And that includes some real cheapos.
 
Well, my buddy and I just took our 1911's to the range. My SA mil-spec worked flawlessly with both factory mags and an 8-round Chip McCormick. I got about a 1.25" group @ 7 yards slow-firing from a Weaver stance.

His PT1911 rail gun malfunctioned after 6 rounds. The slide release popped out of the side. He put it back in, but then the slide wouldn't rack. He stripped it down, but ultimately left the range without being able to fix it, so he fired a total of 6 rounds to my 100+. So I guess there are two parts to this post, the first being:

Take that experience for what you will. He hasn't had time to contact Taurus or really sit down with it at home to see if it's a simple fix.

And the second being:

Does anybody know what might cause that?? I don't mean to hijack the thread but I couldn't find anything wrong with the gun.
 
Does he rest his index finger on the side of the frame? I've seen this break a slide stop that got partially pushed out. Otherwise there is a part broken, most likely the slide stop. Does the slide still lock back on an empty magazine?
 
He doesn't rest his finger on the side of the frame. The slide won't even move to try and lock it back. The hammer will cock and it will dry fire but the slide will not move past about a quarter of an inch.
 
So did he manipulate the slide to put the slide stop back in there or did he just push it back in? If he did the latter then the slide stop is broken and his slide may well be jammed on the broken piece. If thats the case the slide stop should come right out with the slide in the forward position. Odds are real good he was putting some pressure on where the stop pokes out the other side when the gun fired. That can certainly break a slide stop. OTOH if the slide was freely moving to put the stop back in the correct way then I am completely drawing a blank on why it was able to move back without the slide stop then forward with it in but now is locked shut.

With the slide locked forward there isn't much you can do beyond look up the magwell with a flashlight. Hopefully the slide isn't dented because that would require a trip back to customer service. I'm doubting it is because if it were that bad the recoil spring wouldn't be enough to overcome it and move the slide back into battery.

Hopefully whatever is wrong gets sorted out without too much hassle.
 
I really don't think he was putting pressure on the other side of the stop. The way he holds the gun is with his left hand under the magazine, and his right hand obviously doesn't hit that area when his finger is on the trigger.

Anyway I guess he got it working - he said after about twenty minutes working the slide back and forth it finally broke free and functions properly now. The only thing I can think is something got caught in the slide rail, or there was a burr somewhere or...?

I am really having a hard time figuring this one out, i kind of wish it had been my gun just so I could have messed with it to find the problem. Anyway thanks for the help... We will be shooting more this weekend and we'll see if there are any more anomalies with the Taurus.
 
i own and occasionally carry a citadel, pretty much a RIA with different slide serrations. they are great guns for the price you pay for them however if i had had a price range going up to $1000 when i was looking for my 1911 i would have gotten a loaded SA. the citadel has plain back sights where id prefer three dots
 
I sure like it just fine

I've carried a 1911 of one sort or another since 1961. I've taught police academy classes with 1911s just about as long. If I were going to do serious competitive shooting I'd look at one of the high end gun like Ed Browns, Wilsons, etc, etc. But since I use mine for personal defense and fun shooting only, I don't need one of those guns. Recently I bought one of the new Remington R1 pistols. The gun looks great and, important to me, has great sights that my old eyes work very well with. It shoots great out of the box, has a nice trigger and hasn't hiccuped in over a couple of thousand rounds of assorted ammo. I paid $675 and am still awaiting my $75 rebate from Remington. They're not too swift at getting that out. There is a great selection out there. When I started, Colt was the only game in town. I think the Remington R1 is one of the good guns to consider. ;)
 
I would get a Springfield Armory Range officer, if the gun will see mostly target shooting and hunting, or the Loaded model if it will will see carry duty. I have a loaded model manufactured in 2014, great gun, zero problems in 1300rds. Have had a few recently but only when using a junky new colt brand magazine i shouldnt have bought.
 
I will add that your question depends on if the 1911 is for carry or target/range use. If target I would go for any Colt Government size. As in XSE, 1991s. Also the Springfield is quit good.

In carry there are so many also. I just bought a Colt Lightweight Commander. But I will never carry or fire it. To many choices and only one you. You make the call, I do vote for upper end of spectrum though. Ya get what you get when you spend it.

Began in 2013 this is probably moot. Who replied to a post from 2013, lol. Ok the Lightweight Commander didn't exist(most recent 2016) , and much more ammo selections now, and much more reasonably priced. Oh well was good run practice on running off at mouth.
 
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