First 1911: any thoughts?

Andabeer

Sir,

Thank you for standing in during my period of neglect. I would agree that a fourth category is aptly described by your phrase a "true custom gun". I did not mention it since that option is generally not considered by most shooters for obvious reasons ($$$). Still, they do exist. Some are beauties, a few are abominations, but in any case, they are the fruit of their creator(s).

Since I don't have a dog in this fight, save my desire to see a fellow shooter get what he pays for, I will pray for his selection to be right for him. Outside of that, I can only relate my personal experience and opinion. I consider Kimbers like mine 'entry guns' into the world of the 1911. You content yourself that you got a decent piece of machinery and then you move up as you gain knowledge and experience. The Kimbers give you enough of the 'decent 1911 feeling' that you can tell a crap 1911 from a truly worked one after a while. In the meantime, you find yourself hard pressed to shoot as well as the pistol does. That accomplished, you begin to contemplate what you could do with an even finer piece of equipment. That's when you know you have the 'fever'. A disease that has been around longer than I have been alive.

Go upwards of $1000 and you avail yourself to an entirely new realm in 1911's. Under $1,000 and you can hardly go wrong with a Kimber or Springfield for a 'beater'. My next 1911 will likely run around $1700.

Until such a time, I acknowledge that better 1911's exist than those I own and carry. And I will content myself with my factory customs until then.

Thanks again, sir. It is nice to know that we can admonish, add to, or correct each other without incense.
 
Hey RikWriter,

No I haven't taken any of this personally. I think it's good that you stand by what you think and the flip would be the same. I'm cool with you. Anyway, bigfoot4
touched on something that I found interesting. bigfoot4 said something to the effect of the anti's want us to fight amongst ourselves. I'm sure that they do...but the sad thing is that I think that would happen even without their help. It would be great if all gunowners could get along but I just don't think that's going to be the case. I don't think it's ever going to just be quite so cut and dry and progun vs. antigun. The guns are of course are the only thing that us progunners definately have in common. From there if sides were chosen, it would be religious, social and moral issues that broke us into seperate groups. Hopefully though, that one common trait of the love of freedom and firearms would allow us to still work together. I think the perfect example is if everyone thought that the NRA was doing such a good job, would the GOA then need to exist? Anyway, that's my thought on the matter. What do you guys think?
 
Greg Bell
i am by no means a gun expert or even close however for someone looking to buy there first 1911 I wouldn't mind puting my two cnets worth in. I personally favor the para-ordnance variation for my carry and target guns. i have found the carry gun p-12 to be flawless in the four hundred+ rounds i have put through it so far. the p-14 has been a truly great target gun however it did use a little modifacation to be just right. many of my family members and friends shoot any and every kind of 1911 from completly custom to new-in-box. All function to what they were designed for. some modifacations helped while others hurt. the idea is to try a gun before you buy. try the modifacation before you make it. don't believe that the most expensive modifacation is going to make the gun the best. allways understand that there is going to be something that you can do to the gun to improve it(theoreticaly). with all this said the idea is to be happy and proficient with the gun you end up with as i'm sure you know. Of course my next purchase, not to distract you from your purchase, will hopefully be a wilson custom.
 
All settled down now?

Ron, no lock was required IMO. I see nothing wrong with a little debate even if it gets a little heated at times. But no one left with a bloody keyboard. It seemed to me that the main disagreement was actually one of semantics.
 
My first and only 1911 is a Les Bear lower and slide, Kart barrel and STI sights. All that put together by Marc McCord. After about 3000 rounds, it is still tight and extremely accurate. The only problems would be operator malfuction!
My wife, who wasn't interested in a 1911, found a Caspian/Damascus slide at a gun show & decided to have a 1911 made because of the slide. She's got a Les Baer lower & Kart barrel with Wilson sights, also assembled by Marc McCord, & this one shoots awesome also!
We're happy with our 1911s.
 
Its amazing how 1911 advice is so different from any other gun advice.

If someone was to come to this board and ask advice on a sig,glock,hk,kel-tec,s&w (or any other gun for that matter) they would recieve sound advice and direction from the members of this board.

When one asks advice on a 1911 style pistol, the SHTF.

Something is different. I dont get it. But im going to sit here an analyze it for a few days and get back to you with my conclusion. Maybe some of you can offer me some insight as to why this occurs. (so i can get some sleep)


Tim :D
 
It's pretty easy to figure out Tim, if you thought about it.
Who makes SIGs? SIGArms.
Who makes Glocks? Glock
Who makes Berettas? Beretta
Who makes HKs? Heckler and Koch

Now, who makes 1911s?

Colt
Springfield
Kimber
Charles Daly
Llama
Dan Wesson
Wilson Combat
Les Baer
Various specialty smiths
Firestorm
Para Ordnance
Auto Ordnance

And I am probably forgetting a couple.
AND, through the years, many many more companies have made 1911s. AND you can buy all the parts from various suppliers and make the gun yourself.

So, if the same were true of any other gun, there would be more complex questions about it too.
It does say something about the popularity and enduring quality of the design that so many manufacturers continue to make it.
 
I own a Wilson and a Kimber ProCarry. The Wilson is a great gun. The ProCarry is a great gun. It is not a high-end 1,000 dollar plus piece. I have put about 500 rounds through this gun so far and really like it (yes, even more than the Wilson). Compared to the Wilson pricetag, it's a bargain and is just as accurate and reliable. I recently sent it to Dane Burns to make it even better.

The facts: Wilson and Kimber slides/frames are made by Jericho, the same company. Wilson parts are better.

My opinion: You can pay $1700 for a high end PRODUCTION 1911, or get a low-end Kimber or SA, shoot it a while, figure out what YOU want on YOUR custom gun, and send it to a master craftsman like Dane. Difference? You make the choices versus someone else making the choices for you. Plus the quality is much better than ANY Les Baer or Wilson assembly line gun, and your gun is built by a true artist and accomplished shooter. I can't wait to get my pistol back. I'll post a pic when it arrives. Knowing Dane, it will be a work of art that works every time :D
 
No, they are not. Kimber buys raw forgings from Smith and Wesson and other producers and makes the frames and slides from them.
 
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