M1911 beginner question

A

Artdent.22

Inactive
Hello everyone,

Ive been thinking of getting a M1911 .45 one of these days and noticed alot of people saying they have to make improvements on their original M1911 to make it reliable and accurate. My question is do you have to spend $1000 to get a reliable and combat accurate M1911? Can you buy a $600 M1911 and fire thousands of rounds through it and hit a 12" x 12" target at 25 yards and have few malfunctions? The M1911 is such a classic firearm Id like to ad it to me small but growing collection, however I dont want something that will just sit in a case at home and never be fired. Thanks for any input.
 
You can get the Springfield's Loaded model 1911-A1 for under 600 bucks. You should not have to do anything else to it - nor should it give you any problems. For a First 1911 - not a bad option.
There are others out there - Shop around.
Dont pass up on getting a used gun either. You can find killer deals on fantastic guns if you can stand the "shopping".

------------------
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
Hey - have you seen the new Ultimate Super Tactical Match Gun?
 
Artdent.22, Many people do things with their 1911's not because they have to, but because they can. :D Shop around.

------------------
Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
I agree. Get a good gun and you can always modify it later. Don't even send it out. Instead, take one of those NRA Gunsmithing classes and they'll teach you how to do your own. It's much more fun that way.

------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
A 1911 is kinda like a Hawg. You don't have to do things to it, but it just begs you to personalize it. Add a little chrome...put on a ambi. saftey, get some drag pipes..put on some new sites, etc... It ain't so much they need it, as it is you just want to do it. Like Jim said, just because you can. There's just all kinds of goodies out there. :D

------------------
RKBA
www.southernparty.org
 
For some of the best deals around, go surfin' at http://www.gunsamerica.com and http://www.bachmangun.com/
Bachman has stopped puuting their prices on the Net but they were LOW !
Another place to check out is http://www.kyimports.com/
Colt 1991A1 is listed there at $369.99
A Kimber Classic goes for $559.99
Here's an open invite to come "on down" & ask the guys at my Board on their opinions of what 1911 variant works best.

------------------
"The Gun from Down Under !"
http://www.para1911fanclub.w3.to/
E-mail hotshot_2000@hotmail.com
Alternate E-mail
HS2000@ausi.com



[This message has been edited by HS (edited December 02, 1999).]
 
If you want to get something to shoot, a Colt Government Model or Gold Cup will do way better than 12 X 12 at 25 yards and cost (used, but perfect condition) $500 - $700. Use the remainder of the $1000 to buy ammunition and shoot that puppy! It takes some learning to shoot it properly, but once you can shoot the 1911A1 to its potential, any other quality handgun is a piece of cake.

Forget the clones unless you want to spend over $1000, then buy a Wilson, Baer, or one of the other quality pistols. I understand Brian Bilby builds a quality 1911. He posts here.

HTH

------------------
Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
 
Artdent,

There are lots of good "out of the box" full-sized 1911A1s available. Springfield's "fully loaded" has already been mentioned in this thread. I prefer the Kimber and recently bought a stainless custom/classic for ~$615. I now have 1000+ rounds through it and it is accurate, reliable and superbly made. Given Kimber, Springfield, Para-Ordnance, and other first-class full-sized 1911A1s in your price range, I'd still select Kimber.
 
The Sprinfield loaded was mentioned in two responses. I was all lathered up on buying one too until I looked at a new one locally. I cut my thumb on the slide's serrations. They are squared off and razor sharp. Really, really boneheaded of SA to do that. I called them the next day and the gal I spoke to confirmed all the loaded designs are like that. What ARE they thinking?

Their MilSpec model looks better all the time! There is also a basic 1911 that was put out by Norinco a few years back and while Commie, they look great and are reported to be great guns.

I recently found a tricked out 1911 on an Essex stainless frame, used with three quality mags for $400! Shoots well. The advice to shop around for a used 1911 is wise!!
 
well. we are 11 years short of celebrating the 1911's c-day, coincedence that it happens to be still given 'em a run fer ther money. Truth needs no explanation.
 
I found a Norinco (year, yeah, I know all Norincos are junk. Thanks for the opinion.) for 275 second hand that has worked great for years. The former owner had given it a throating and a set of finger groove rubber stocks. It is one of my faves. A friend spent 700 on a stainless Traitor, sorry :), Colt 45 that I didn't like nearly as much. The only change I would make to the Chicom 45 would be the sights, but I doubt I ever will. If you go for a lower clone just make sure you have it checked out. There are some real dogs out there. Just stay clear of the Llamas, they're not clones just look-a-likes.

As for add-on goodies, play with the grips if you like, but I don't think the basic design need much tinkering. And I'm by no means a true believer. I like those gosh-awful plastic guns from Austria :0 ! But for a SA large caliber auto the 1911 AI is tops.

Look at the used gun market, you can always find a deal
 
Art I kinda know how you feel. I too was bitten by the 1911 bug, I too thought it was pointless to pay $600 or more for a gun and then dump another $1000 into it.
Well after a little research and reading, recieving much of the same information you'll get from this thread, I determined that no where in the near future would my shooting skills be wourthy of the extra $1000, however I could justify the initial $600.
So about two week ago I traded in my Glock 23 and purchased a 70 series commander.
At the moment I have no regrets about my decision. The one thing I have determined is that owning a 1911 is similar IMO to owning a Jeep CJ. Lots of people own them, lots of people know how to work on them, and there are many companies that make parts for them. I don't thik you could go wrong bying either one.
Now I need to by the Jeep.

------------------
As to marksmanship, it is not what you once did, rather it is what you can do on demand.
 
I would go with a Kimber. A Springfield may be a good option too.
Forget about the Colts, unless you get an older one and have a little work done to it. Today's Colts really suck. They may be the most well known of 1911's, but they're quality control is terrible. Besides, they have caved into the anti-gunners...would you really wanna support a company like that?
 
Spyderdo knives - you know them - they have the holes in the blade to make them open fast one handed...
If you dont have a Spyderco - get one. Kinda like a right to carry badge. Anyways.
Spyderco used to put a bevel on the inside edges of those holes. That little bevel made the hole feel comfortable when opening.
Well - some of those knives were released with out the bevel. It had a "sharp" edge around the hole. Many people didnt like it.
Many people thought the knife was "unfinished."
What people soon realized was that the sharper hole was faster to open. The thumb griped the hole easier and less force was need to let the thumb ride the hole around the apex of the opening arch. Your clumbsy thumb could even open it quite easy. Your could wear gloves and open it just as fast as without.
Quickly people prefered the holes to be unbeveled.

Springfield's serations are not sharp enough to actually cut you. But the feel like it maybe... They are sharp enough that they are grabby - your grip on them is SOLID. Your not going to slip the grip 1/2 way through a slide manipulation and cause a double feed.
You will easily be able to work the slide while wearing big winter gloves.
Here in Utah - as of tonight - Gloves are most needed. We got several thick inches of the white stuff in a very short afternoon... And looking out the window - its still coming down just as hard or harder. Yeah - Gloves are important. It would be nice to keep them on while your shooting. A Springfield is just as easy to work with gloves on as your softer Kimbers are bare handed.

I have yet to see edges on a gun cut anything.
Well - besides a Walther's slide across the webbing of my thumb the first time I fired one. But thats a whole different story.

------------------
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
Hey - have you seen the new Ultimate Super Tactical Match Gun?
 
George,

While those edges might not been on the FBI special you've got from Springfield, they sure as hell were on the loaded 1911A1 I handled earlier this week. My blood is on the hangtag and three of us agreed (two store guys and myself) that the serrations were indeed razor sharp. I hope to examine another Springfield soon to see if this was a unique situation.

Please don't, however, negate my words on the subject because *you* haven't seen it. I have!
 
Artdent.22,
I am a relative newcomer to the 1911, having purchased my first about a year ago. I had only shot one once about 20 years ago. I didn't have a lot to spend, and purchased a new Auto-Ordinance for about $300. I guess I either got lucky, or I (and this gun) didn't know that inexpensive guns are not reliable or accurate.
The first time a buddy and I shot it, we were shooting at 25 yds (his target backstop for his Buckmark at his farm) and proceeded to put a bunch of holes in about a 6" circle. Then we started bouncing plastic 20 oz pop bottles all over the place. I can now, (abot a thousand rounds later) keep most of my shots inside 3" at 25yds. We shoot blue rocks propped against a log as fun targets, after the first hit, we keep shooting for the larger pieces. A couple of weeks ago, I took it with me up to deer camp and let a couple of guys who had never shot a .45 before have a go, they both were able to empty it into about a 8" circle, their first shots being the widest until they figured out the sights. The only malfunctions I've had with this pistol were several failures to feed the first round out of the mag when it was brand new, and the spring was so tight I could hardly fill it. Since then, none.
You won't find much good said about AO 1911's on this board, but I think it's because most of these guys won't admit that a $300 gun is as accurate and reliable as on that costs 2-3 X as much ;)
Good luck
Bergie
 
Go for the Springfield Loaded or the Kimber Custom Classic... they're right at around $600 NIB and they're both fine pistols out of the box, and both come with a lot of the features that people get on "stock" 1911s.

The only thing you'll probably need to do is polish the feed ramp and throat the barrel, and then only if you wanna use hollow points. If you prefer hardball (like me), you don't even have to pay for that. The only other thing I've done with my Kimber Custom Classic is throw on a set of Hogue grips. That cost me $16.00.

Spend the rest of your money on ammo, range fees, targets, and a cleaning kit (if you don't have one that will do for a .45).
 
Get a Norinco, its cheap and metallurgy is excellent. Buy lots of practice ammo from the money saved. Then understand how the gun work visit (www.m1911.org). You'll be transformed into a "dinner table gunsmith". Then you can decide what to do with your Norinco, from improving trigger pull, tightening slide to frame fit,,etc...Its more fun and exciting.

------------------
jj0287
 
Ardent.22

My first slab side was a kit gun from Numrich Arms in 82. They sold you a complete gov model kit "in-the -white" for (I think) about $170. I built on this until it was all custom. Took 2 years and God knows how much cash. Best fun you'll ever have. It will never win the extreme accuracy competition, but it works and the pride of building it yourself is indescribable.

If building it from scratch is not your thing, my advice would be to look hard at the Para Ordnance P14-45 Limited. Very nice custom gun right out of the box, and the price is right ... and this one WILL drive tacks.

All of the replies to your initial question are coming down to the same thing ... follow your instincts and choose what you feel is best for you and what you want in the pistol. You'll know when you see it, and pick it up. It will fust feel right.

Good luck, and post back later to let us know what your decision was.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top