Thread: Which 1911? |
I'm considering buying a 1911 for carrying, range, and to tinker with. I'm looking for a quality out of the box side arm that won't break the bank.
I've been doing some research and I've come up with two candidates, Tarus and Ruger. Both have similar price tags ($700-$750) and similar reviews(3 1/2 stars avg.). I'd like some feedback on personal experience with these.
Also, are there any others in this range that I should consider?
What sort of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.
I believe in freedom, Mr. Lipwig. Not many people do, although they will, of course, protest otherwise. And no practical definition of freedom would be complete without the freedom to take the consequences. Indeed, it is the freedom upon which all the others are based.
The freedom to succeed goes hand in hand with the freedom to fail. - Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
It seems that Rock Island Armory is highly recommended. It is supposed to be a very good firearm to start yourself into the 1911 family. It was suggested to me that, since I know little about 1911's, that I could buy a RIA and upgrade it to my preferences.
No man alive can beat me in a fair fight: It's not fair to chase a man down and beat him.
RIAs are great!! I have two and have never had a problem with either one. I also have a Taurus PT1911, I don't have any complaints about it either. I would recommend either one to first-time 1911 buyers.
"When seconds count between living or dying, the police are only minutes away."
I've heard hit-or-miss reports on the Taurus. I've heard nothing but good reports from real people that own the Ruger. My next 1911 will be a Ruger. I currently own a Series 80 Colt, Combat Elite a Kimber Custom Covert II (EDC), and a 17 year-old Brazilian Springfield Armory Mil-Spec.
Blue & Gold Firearms Training; Clark County, NV
NV, UT, and NRA Certified Concierge Instruction
RIA's are a good bang for the buck. Also look into ATI. ATI's might not be high dollar but they are reliable and well built for how much you pay for them.
I have owned Colt Gold Cups ...last year I wanted a new 1911 and found the 5" American Classic II Government Model in .45acp (by Metroarms - Phillipine made like the RIA) at a local gun show for $469...I kept walking around looking at RIA and a Taurus but kept coming back to this particular one. The slide to frame fit was exceptional and there was no rattle or shake yet the slide did not gall traveling on the rails. I finally decided to buy it. On my lunch hour I went to the local indoor range and ran everything from Federal ball, Winchester ball, remington JHP and TulAmmo Rissian cheap stuff...accuracy out of the box was far greater than i could imagine. Seriously. What a great find!
It came with Novak style combat sights, extended safety and slide stop, beaver tail grip safety, round combat hammer and trigger. The only additions I made were a Wilson add-on magazine well and a solid recoil spring guide (personal choice but not needed)...trigger pull was approx 5lbs but not bad at all right out of the box.
It came with a magazine that I do not care for so I bought some Chip McCormick mags and have had absolute reliability with them in this pistol. the magazine it came with (ACT) will hold 8 rounds but if you load 8 the second round will always seem to miss-feed. So I use it as a "barney mag" to load from if I compete in IDPA/USPSA etc.
For the money, I am very impressed and feel I have more than received my money's worth. I carry ithis pistol daily. Will it hold up after 50,000 rounds later on down the road? I dont know...but for now, I found a beer-budget 1911 thats reliable and accurate and I am confident enough to carry it daily.
GONZO!!!
RIA or Taurus are both under $500 with lots of bells and whistles. I don't know about RIA, but Taurus come with a lifetime warranty. And while some people have great stories to share about the Taurus warranty and some people have horror stories to share, looks like they have a new President now who plans on really picking up the pace there, so hopefully he will.
People can argue about Taurus guns, but there's two that tend not to get much argument. Their 1911 and their Beretta 92.
Remington came out with one. I think it's 700.00. I don't know anything about them, but Remington's other guns are of good quality and they have a good reputation. You might want to research them.
Last edited by hjmoosejaw; 04-20-2012 at 11:19 PM.
watch your top knot !
Hard to go wrong with any of these mentioned, thus far.
But- the Rugers can be damned-near impossible to locate, locally, in most shops. And when you do find one, a lot of time retailers are jacking up the $$$ for these. The one-and only- one I've managed to find in any of 8 local gun shops was marked with a price of $970. grrr.
The RIA's and some of the sub-brands are quiet good.
Mixed-reviews on the Taurus', but the ones I've seen and tried have been nice,but- like with the Rugers, local shops keep creeping up the prices on these to $700-900 ranges as well. Keep a grain of salt handy for the Taurus-bashers though. A lot of the so-called "experiences" end up being 3rd/4th-hand nonsense, or simple operator-headspace issues. (trying to cram .45 Super rounds into it, without modding it, and the crying when it "breaks" etc.)
I thank you all for your feedback. I haven't made my choice yet but soon.
What sort of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.
I believe in freedom, Mr. Lipwig. Not many people do, although they will, of course, protest otherwise. And no practical definition of freedom would be complete without the freedom to take the consequences. Indeed, it is the freedom upon which all the others are based.
The freedom to succeed goes hand in hand with the freedom to fail. - Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
I've had excellent luck with Colt 1911's. I really like their XSE guns, though mine needed a better beavertail grip safety.
Originally Posted by hjmoosejaw
I have one that I picked up last week for $600. Today I put the first 200 rounds though it. I'm not a particularly accomplished shooter, so take my thoughts for what their worth. It seems to be very sensitive to differences in ammunition. I shot some cheap steel cased crap that might have gone down range, but you would never know it by looking at the target. Good quality ammunition produced far better results. With a bit over 200 rounds, there were no jams or stove pipes. This is my first 1911, so I cannot say how it compares to other makes. One thing to consider is that quality control is not perfect at the Remington plant. There's a youtube video showing a brand new, never fired Remington R1. The slide is scratched because of grinding slag in the frame. To Remington's credit, it was fixed under warranty. Mine had no QC problems. Overall, I am pleased with it and look forward to putting more rounds through it.
i carry a taurus pt1911 on a daily basis and i have not have any problems with it it shoots accurate even with cheap tulammo and the trigger is awsome and its a carry gun i got it used for 450 so if i scratch it or it gets holster wear like its starting to it doesnt bother me as much but yes look at taurus they are good and as far as warranty i had to send my revolver back because it was jamming - i know how can a revolver jam - well the cylnder was hitting the barrel face and they fixed it and sent back with no questions asked etc some people may bash taurus but from what i have seen i dont see any problems with them
and as far as the remington -they made 1911s for the gov in WWII so they know how to make a 1911
The modern Remington has nothing to do with the 1911s made for the US military. They are being made on different machines by different people in a different factory under a different corporation, with parts made in different countries.
But they were smart enough to call it a Remington for the people who would think that is all that matters.
I am NOT saying it isn't a good gun or a good value. I'm just saying it is most definitely not a Remington Rand.
Blue & Gold Firearms Training; Clark County, NV
NV, UT, and NRA Certified Concierge Instruction
I been considering picking up the Remington R1 1911, but with the mixed feelings I am reading here I might not. I was thinking the R1 would be a good purchase for a open carry quality 1911. Anyone else on here who has messed with the R1 and thought it was a good purchase or might be a good purchase?
Nothing better than a Glock.........except maybe another Glock!
I owned colt series 80 1911 government model 20 years ago till then and using 20 lbs recoil spring for my daily carry just dont use cheap ammo for protection...
All of the above are good. I carry daily a Taurus PT1911 stainless. I have had no problems and it is real accurate. I recommend this one.
Jim
Would the Remington 1911 R1 be a good purchase or could I do another better for slightly higher price? This model is a basic 1911 with just the basics, no fancy anything on it. Been reading up on it and people are claiming good things, and then some are saying its a CHEAP pistol.
Nothing better than a Glock.........except maybe another Glock!
I recently have gone through the same decision making process. After looking around I ended up with my heart set on the ruger, and after visiting cabelas and kittery trading post who both did not have one... The guy at KTP started laughing when I asked if they had any and said they were still trying to fill backorders from last year... Anyway a smaller local gunshop had one for $650 sitting in the case so i went over and picked it up, Just put 150 rounds through it yesterday, Its the first handgun I have owned and I had a great time shooting it. Had I wanted to spend more money I probabbly would have went with something like a kimber or springfield armory but I just cant justify spending that much on my first handgun when the ruger had everything I wanted. I really love the look and construction of it. Also not one single malfunction with 3 different types of 230 grain FMJ ball ammo. My only complaint is that all 4 of the screws that hold the grips on had loosed from just 150 rounds. To me that seemed a little cheap but a quick google search seems like its not uncommon for any gun. I ended up putting some nail polish on the screws. So far Im happy with my purchase. I wont comment on accuracy as i havent got the experience to say one way or another. But i could hit my targets pretty easily not that, that means anything.
If you are patient, and you want quality, you can sometimes find a used Kimber for $750.
I bought mine new from Kentuckygunco., for $830 total, I think, with tax and all that jazz. It's multipurpose in that I trust my life to it enough to carry it every day for self defense, and I can take it to the range for some fun plinking.
It's my first 1911 (though I've shot my husband's many different 1911's) and it is by far the sweetest shooting gun I've ever handled. Love it and would definitely recommend it! It does have a bit of a break in period (if you buy it new), but that's just part of the fun!
You can check out everything you ever wanted to know about Taurus 1911's on the link below. The good, the bad, and, well, Taurus 1911's are mighty fine lookin' so we won't say ugly!
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/taurus-1911s/
This website is ran by a group of fans of Taurus firearms that are not affiliated with Taurus. That is why the information is good. They post the good and the bad. Of course, if you are just going to Bash Taurus firearms, it is not for you.
Taurus 1911's come with many custom features right from the start and this makes them a real good buy.
The price range you give it would be the Ruger SR hands down.
Just curious, I happened to come across the "Nighthawk GRP .45 1911" in the June edition of "Combat Arms." Looking at the website, it's about $2,600 ish..has anyone tried any of the Nighthawks?? I imagine probably over priced, but pretty slick looking, must say...
http://www.nighthawktactical.com/GRP.html
What's everyone's thoughts on this???
I know that $2700 is a lot more than I am willing or able to pay for a tricked out pistol.
What if you had tons of money just laying around that you didn't know what to do with, or won the lotto?
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