What is a good 1911 really worth?

Jim Watson has a good point.

I don't remember how many years I have been attending the SHOT Show. I know I was at the last one that was held in Florida - however long ago that was -- so it's been at least that long. I didn't go this year, obviously, because there wasn't one, but when I go I have a special interest in 1911 manufacturers and vendors. And as much as I try to stay current on who's making 1911s, I can't remember a SHOT Show where I haven't stumbled across at least one or two makers I had never heard of.

Considering that the 1911 was supposedly written off as obsolete several decades ago, it's astonishing even to me that there are still new companies who want to get started making -- 1911s. Maybe it's because the design is no longer protected by patent and because parts are so readily available, but take a look at the market. There are DOZENS -- literally -- of companies making and selling 1911s. Prices range from $300 (or so) for something like a Tisas from Turkey to $8,000 or $10,000 for one of Cabot's top-of-the-line pistols, with pretty much every price point in between represented by anywhere from three or four to a dozen or more makers.

I'm not a business genius but it leaves me wondering -- why in the world would any new company set out to try to crack that market?
 
Instead of paying $1,500+ plus for a new Kimber or $1300 for a bottom-line DoubleStar, my soul would feel much warmer holding a minty older Colt Govt. Model instead. That's me though. I won't buy any new Colt product these days. I had a bad experience with that new-model Colt King Cobra I bought last year and ended up dumping it for a $175 loss three months later. I don't even want to talk about that. Colt has forever lost me for new products. It's either old Pony or no Pony for me.
 
AlongCameJones said:
Instead of paying $1,500+ plus for a new Kimber or $1300 for a bottom-line DoubleStar, my soul would feel much warmer holding a minty older Colt Govt. Model instead. That's me though. I won't buy any new Colt product these days. I had a bad experience with that new-model Colt King Cobra I bought last year and ended up dumping it for a $175 loss three months later. I don't even want to talk about that. Colt has forever lost me for new products. It's either old Pony or no Pony for me.
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Why wasn't it returned to Colt's shop?
 
It was my fault for buying a revolver with a chrome-bumper finish. My barrel got scratched because I was carelessly handling the gun. I dropped the gun on my bed on top of a set of keys as I was practicing quick-draw from a fanny pack. The gun slipped out onto the bed and got keyed. I tried to call Colt up on the telephone for a week and could not get through. I wrote a letter to Colt and got a response a month later lasted saying Colt could longer fix the scratches. I polished the scratch damage the best I could with a Dremel but never got it perfect. So, I sold the stupid gun to get out of it while I could. I also did not like the trigger on this gun. If fired in double-action mode too fast, the action could and did lock up during dry fire. I do like the trigger on the new Smith & Wesson revolvers much better anyway. I did like the trigger on my 1971 Colt Lawman Mark III in blue finish, however.
 
JustJake, I'm 57 and did actually buy a second-hand Series 70 in 1990. Mine did malfunction a couple of times at the range, the firing pin fell out once while firing and it tended to shoot left on a silhouette target. The rear sight probably need to be drifted right. The spring collet barrel bushing probably needed professional gunsmithing adjustment as the occasional stoppages were always failure of the slide to move into battery to lock the breech up. A feed ramp job would have been a nice addition too. These pistols may need a little tweaking to get decent accuracy, shot placement and reliability. I did like the arched mainspring housing of my former Series 70 .45 ACP. I felt comfy in my hand. The gun would not generally experience stoppages until 25+ rounds were fired at the range. As the gun got fouled with soot during a shooting session, it would then balk at going into battery. The firing pin fell out because the retaining plate where the hammer rested had a loose fit. My Series 70 had nice outer cosmetics but wasn't in the most perfect state of tune.
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Sounds like 1911s just don't like you.

Try one of the Glocks. They run 100% out of the box, and make the perfect "starter" pistol for noobs, novices, and tyros.
 
AlongCameJones said:
It was my fault for buying a revolver with a chrome-bumper finish.
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The new King Cobra does not have a "bumper" (or any other kind of) chrome finish. It's brushed stainless steel.

I'm puzzled as to how the gun came to be "stupid" when the scratches were caused by the operator rather than the firearm.
 
Better yet, a Colt Lawman Mark III .357 revolver in 4" barrel and blue. I had a 1971 vintage one lost in a 1999 home burglary. Pretty decent shape. I paid all of $257 for that Colt in 1996 at a LGS. The Colt Lawman is like a Smith K-frame in weight and size. carries nicely in a fanny pack. The Trooper has big target sights that can get caught whiled drawing from a pack with webbing. I like simple low-profile iron sights on a service pistol.

Glocks are not elegant and are rather dangerous because they lack a safety. Please see time mark 49:00.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rRmJtdg7qo&t=3663s
 
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from what i remember, 1979-81 was the waterloo for colt. its was the imfamous colt employee strike for wages.
in order to keep production going, scabs and new hires crossed the line and quality wasnt the same after that.
even after the strike was settled, employees never gave colt the extra touch they were famous for doing.
it was about that time colt shot themselves in the foot with the series 80.
anyone is more than welcome to correct me on pin point dates, but thats what i remember.
 
Glocks are not elegant and are rather dangerous because they lack a safety.
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:rolleyes:

Glocks have three safeties.

There's a fourth safety as well and it's the primary one that prevents negligent discharge by the Glock user. It's located between the user's ears. It's there to control the location and movement of one's trigger finger until the sights are on the target. ;)
 
"Grammaphobia is the fear of letters of the alphabet. ... Some may get scared of just looking at letters or even believe that they are symbols of evilness. Sufferers would avoid looking at letters, and therefore words."

OP I notice your obsession with roll marks . You may want to be checked for this.
 
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AlongCameJones said:
The new Colt M1911's and many others that I've seen from the 1990's up to about 2005 under $1K have rough-looking markings on barrel, slide and frame. I have not seen a new 1911 in person since.
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You haven't seen a new 1911 since 2005? Do you visit stores that sell guns? I visit 5 shops on a semi-regular basis. All of them have new Colt 1911's frequently.
 
I just recently went on hunt of 1970s era Commander. I’m really not into 1911s and only bought 2 new back in early 70s. A Commander 9mm and a GC. Offed them years ago. I also had a sack of GIs. Anyway I my quest for Commander I ended up with a few others. All series 70-MK 4s from 70s manf. I can tell one from this era or earlier from 10 feet away. The fit and finish is easily visible as the blue. I paid around $1200 for these because they were hi condition guns, like new. I just sold the satin nickel for break even because I don’t like anything but blue and only purchased for trade bait for commander. Had to buy commander so I had no need for a flashy Colt 1911. While hunting for commander I ran into series 80s NIB for $850 and many used ones for the same. I would just as soon have a Springfield 1911 than series 80 Colt. Want no part of foreign 1911 clones. I’ve owned literally hundreds of handguns. I have yet to get a Heritage that outshoots a Ruger, a Charter Arms that outshoots a S&W or a low end 1911 that outshoots a pre series 80 Colt. There is always a chance of a one off. If it wasn’t the big name outfits would be out of business. The other point is that the Colt is always easier to sell if you want to cash out. I just herd Colt has come up with another losing business plan of not selling to small dealers. Seeing as how CZ just bought Colt , I see Colt collectors going for pre CZ Colts in near future.
 
Drm50, gun makers in general, have tanked these days. There was a time during history when common guns by common makers (as Colt, Mossberg, Remington, Browning, etc.) at blue collar prices had excellent cosmetics. The gun biz these days wants max profits and nothing else. The splendid Browning guns were those once made in Belgium at FN. I think there is little interest for the younger generations to take up old-school trades as fine handcrafted gunsmithing. Younger people no longer appreciate the finer things of this world. The world is now totally plastic, tupperware.

I'd say the Golden Age of Guns in America (GAGA) was 1945-1979.
 
AlongCameJones said:
Younger people no longer appreciate the finer things of this world. The world is now totally plastic, tupperware.
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And yet as you are both aware yourself and as has been pointed out to you, there is no shortage of boutique makers of 1911s. Now the age of people buying those boutique 1911s is somewhat skewed, but that’s in no small part due to the costs of those pistols. Regardless, there seem to be plenty of people willing to pay for firearms that are not in fact plastic.

As for polymer firearms in general, yes relatively inexpensive firearms that are generally quite reliable have become very popular. I don’t see that as a bad thing. Firearms should be accessible to all and polymer has helped with that in some cases. In today’s industry manual labor is more expensive than machine time and machines are capable of holding tolerances tighter than frankly was possible in the past. Rather than bemoan this evolution you should see it as an advantage. Cheap firearms are plentiful and expensive firearms to fit many different tastes remain available.

I’ll be honest and say that it’s a bit hard to figure out what your point is in this thread. You’ve been given a price estimate for a used Colt in the vein of your liking. People have pointed you to manufacturers that might interest you and provided you with some feedback on the manufacturer you were interested in. You’ve dismissed these options as being inferior despite admitting you haven’t looked at 1911s since 2005. You’ve expressed dissatisfaction in newer firearms. However, in at least one of the firearms that you found unacceptable as best as I can tell your major complaint was you dropped the firearm through your own admission, the firearm was cosmetically marred from your mishandling, and you were upset that Colt wouldn’t take in your firearm to take care of the scratches. Now we have that young people don’t appreciate the finer things and the world is totally plastic. That’s quite the leap in my mind. Sometimes it feels good to shout at the world, and if this thread has accomplished that for you then that’s something I suppose.


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I don't get it. Guy asks for help, and trashes every piece of help he gets. ACJ, you seem to have your mind made up. Act upon what you believe.

Don
 
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