Regarding Auto Ordinance

Generally speaking,if your co-worker wants to know what he's getting into then
he should put a couple of ball ammo boxes thru it,that'll tell him.
Internet opinions are grain of salt material.
 
So far my recommendation has been to shoot it. My small amount of research so far has various reviews, some better some worse. I hope so current and/or former owners will comment.
 
So far my recommendation has been to shoot it.
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That's it.I do own one,I bought it new,Worcester,Mass.It was to be a project
pistol and it turned out to be just that,a basket case out the box.Many hours
later one by one all the issues were resolved and it runs pretty good now.
There's folks out there will tell you best pistol in the world,it did meet my expectations which couldn't have been much lower.
 
Auto ORDNANCE stuff is over priced, but it depends on what he's trading for it. Collector kit they are not. They're purely for shooting.
 
AO's can be readily found for under $500 new, so I'm not sure how that would be overpriced.

At any rate, I have one of the newer production pistols thats run like a champ for me. My opinion would be if its a post Kahr takeover it will likely be a decent made in USA alternative to a RIA. If its an older one, I'd pass as they have a pretty poor reputation.
 
The old "West Hurley" guns, made when A-O was owned by Numrich/Gun Parts, were not of very good quality. I bought one of their "frame kits", and while the frame itself was OK, some of the small parts were unusable.
Since Kahr bought the operation the quality has improved significantly, and continues to improve, based on the grain-of-salt information on 1911forum.
I don't think I'd buy a(nother) West Hurley at any price, but a new-production gun (Worcester, MA rollmark on the frame), could be a good deal with a good price.
 
Some good stuff, it appears as though one thing that needs to be taken in to account is when and where the gun was made.
 
I provided two links to reviews of A-O 1911s. I will add that I know personally the guy who tested the GI version (he posts on this forum occasionally), and I know that he is a died-in-the-wool Colt guy. He was sufficiently impressed with the pistol he tested that he bought it after the conclusion of the test.
 
The G.I.-style pistol in the linked review is still an older model from Kahr/A-O.
The frame contours are square and flat on the front strap and dust cover, and newer guns have contours that are almost identical to G.I.
There's something of a consensus on 1911forum that A-O makes the current production pistol that most closely resembles a G.I. M1911A1.
There are always reenactors and those who served who want one just like they had in 'Nam, and the current A-O is closer - in appearance - than anything else on the market.
 
The frame contours are square and flat on the front strap and dust cover, and newer guns have contours that are almost identical to G.I
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Keen eye,do you have the real thing to compare to? I do.
But I think that appearances aside the relevant question is: do they worK?
That said I place no value on manufacturer supplied gun reviews it would stand
to scrutiny that anything they give you to crow about on the internet has not
been picked out of the shipping dock.Cart in front of the horse sort of,they should buy it first and review it later.I own one would not return it,will not part
with it but if asked to give an opinion I would not encourage anyone to buy it.
 
Yes, I do. One of the things that irritated me about the West Hurleys, and the earlier Kahr guns, was that the slide stop overhangs the edge of the frame flat, just above the trigger guard. That's been fixed, along with the other detail "issues".
If you want some more eagle-eyed observations, check out the shape of the trigger guard on Armscor, Rock Island, et al. single stacks; the contour isn't quite right at the front. ;)
 
If you want some more eagle-eyed observations,
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Don't have any foreign made,got this thing about American pistols.But here's one:look right under the lanyard loop and you should see a relief cut in the mainspring housing.AO doesn't have it.
 
Those dogs! I'll have to look, but I think my 20yo A-O mainspring housing does have the little dished-out lanyard relief, but doesn't have a loop. :)
 
Many years back, I picked up west hurley AOC 10***...after cleaning it and switching to GI mags, I have had no issues in 2500+ rds. I've been satisfied with it!
Jmo
Dan
;)
 
Many years back, I picked up west hurley AOC 10***...after cleaning it and switching to GI mags, I have had no issues in 2500+ rds. I've been satisfied with it!
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Excellent,tell those folks that are so down on Numrich and quiet down the chatter.
 
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