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Selecting a 1911

Nevada carrier

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My girlfriend and I are planning to purchase a 1911. I know that these can vary in price and quality and am prepared to spend up to $1000 as is she. My question is this, which brands should be avoided and which brands are manufacturing quality 1911's that can still be purchased for a lower price than my maximum?

I see that Taurus is selling some 1911 models in the $650 price range. I also know that they can sell them cheaper because they are made in Brazil. Are there issues with the quality of a Taurus 1911?

If I buy one, I want it to last a lifetime but I don't want to spend a fortune.
 

Bravo_Sierra

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Para-Ordnance P12 is garbage
Llama .45 -1911 sucks
AMT Hardballer sucks
Sig GSR sucks

There are tones that are total crap. I'd suggest Springfield Armory, Colt, STI International, or Kimber.
 

OC-Glock19

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Nevada carrier wrote:
I see that Taurus is selling some 1911 models in the $650 price range. I also know that they can sell them cheaper because they are made in Brazil. Are there issues with the quality of a Taurus 1911?


I carry a Taurus PT1911 and I use it to shoot IDPA and IPSC matches. I've had no issues or problems at all, but I understand that it can be hit or miss with Taurus. Some folks can have great luck like I did, and others can get a defective pistol that has to go back to the factory multiple times to make things right.

Even though I love my Taurus, I would recommend that you get a different brand of firearm.
 

Yard Sale

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I've been shooting STI-based custom 2011s for years and built a couple guns using a lot of their parts. High quality stuff.

I was shooting with someone I hadn't seen in a while and noticed his newSTI Trojan 1911. He said he had to replace his Springfield Armory after it finally wore out after 250,000 rounds. You can't complain about that.
 

DVC

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Auto Ordinance metallurgy is like butter. One pistol that I bought my then-wife was a model which had only been in production 18 months, and it was worn to the point that it wouldn't fire.

Ironically, a year later she proved to be about as trustworthy as the pistol.
 

Nevada carrier

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I have it on good authority that Kimber 1911's have a break in period of about 3000 rounds before they stop begging to be cleaned after 50-100 rounds. can anyone corroborate this?
 

DavidS

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A couple years ago I went through the same thing. I bought a SpringField Armory Operator. Best $1200 I have ever spent.
 

MPlannette

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I can only comment on the Springfield Armory 1911's and Rock Island Armory 1911's. My carry gun is a Springfield Armory GI Champion that has a handful of modifications done to it. Its been reliable and is a cheap, no frills 1911. I also own a Rock Island Armory Tactical 1911 which is their upper model gun. It comes stock with novak cut sights and a beavertail grip safety as well as a ambidextrous safety. I paid just over $500 for it and it is the best value I have seen in a 1911, period.

The Springfields are all made in Brazil by Imbel until you get to the Operator, this includes the GI, Mil-Spec and Loaded models. They are however forged and the fit and finish is very good. The Rock Island Guns are made in the Philippines and are cast, the tolerances are a little looser than the Springfield, but the guns are still very accurate. I love both guns, but if I was looking for the best value in a 1911 a would definitely go with the Rock Island.

By the way, I have also shot the Taurus, and while it is a nice gun (forged frame and slide) it is a series 80 and thus has the firing pin block. Because of this I looked past the Taurus and Kimber 1911's.
 

Dangerfish

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Kimber... A decade ago they made some of the best 1911s you could buy, and at very reasonable prices. Now, they're more concerned about producing quantity rather than quality. Their newer guns have left a lot of long-time Kimber fans pretty disappointed. Reliability issues, metallurgy issues, QC issues, etc. And quite a few people I know have had extractors break within 500 rounds... SA is the way to go.
 

sakeneko

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I wouldn't know which 1911s to avoid, but Springfield Armory's 1911 "Loaded" is an excellent 1911 that retails for around $700. My husband got one for Christmas last year. We have both shot it; it's a joy to handle and to shoot -- well balanced, solid, a bit on the heavy side, and absorbs the recoil and blast from full-power .45 ACP ammunition well.
 

Sabotage70

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DavidS wrote:
A couple years ago I went through the same thing. I bought a SpringField Armory Operator. Best $1200 I have ever spent.
house-do-want_thumbnail.jpg
 

petrophase

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I went through the same thing a few months ago. I saw a good deal on a Taurus PT1911 and went for it. I kept it for a few months and shot about 300 rounds through it.
Pros: Lots of "custom" features for the price, nice sights, good quality grips and checkering, nice balance, good accuracy.
Cons: Taurus billboard on the slide, stupid infernal lock is PART OF THE HAMMER, poor quality internal finishing, anecdotal evidence for the particular softness of Taurus MIM parts, FTF about 10% of the time with non-fmj ammo, would not feed with 8-rd mags.

The soft MIM parts, billboard, and infernal lock eventually disgusted me so much that I could barely look at the thing. I started looking at the other usual suspects, Colt, Kimber, SA. I really wanted to like the Colts, but their quality of workmanship and materials is just so out of whack with their price. It came down to either a Kimber Custom I, Custom II, or SA GI. I went with the Custom II. So far (~500 rds) it has been great.

Pros: Feeds everything reliably, works well with 8-rd mags, great accuracy, great fit and finish, NO INTERNAL LOCK, much classier billboard, great stock grips, made in the USA.
Cons: Night sights are extra, still has MIM parts, still has forward serrations, plastic MSH, bbl will rust readily even in an arid environment unless kept well oiled with high quality product (much more readily than any steel bbl I've had, including the bbl on the PT1911).

The only mod I've made has been to switch out the full-length guide rod for a standard length. In the future I plan to switch out the white trigger and hammer for blued, forged parts, de-MIMify the internals, and replace the plastic MSH with a steel MSH. I don't think any of those actions are necessary for reliable functioning, I just like to tinker.

I will eventually get a Colt Series 70 and SA GI to add to my collection, but the Custom II is hard to beat for out of the box functionality, aesthetics, and economy.
 

MPlannette

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There is a lock on the hammer as well as a firing pin safety. There is nothing wrong with the hammer lock or the firing pin safety. . . . if they work, the problem is that more safeties the more chance of a failure that would render the firearm useless. This doesn't seem common, but this has happened with a handful of PT1911s. Armscor 1911s should not have the firing pin block.

And I really do like the SA Operator, just a little out of my price range. ;)
 

petrophase

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I can accept that views on internal locks vary. I detest them and will never again own a defensive weapon that has one. In the Kimber vs. SA argument the lack of an IL weighs heavily in favor of Kimber in my opinion. However, SA's IL is much less offensive to me than Taurus'.
 

ixtow

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Nevada carrier wrote:
My girlfriend and I are planning to purchase a 1911. I know that these can vary in price and quality and am prepared to spend up to $1000 as is she. My question is this, which brands should be avoided and which brands are manufacturing quality 1911's that can still be purchased for a lower price than my maximum?

I see that Taurus is selling some 1911 models in the $650 price range. I also know that they can sell them cheaper because they are made in Brazil. Are there issues with the quality of a Taurus 1911?

If I buy one, I want it to last a lifetime but I don't want to spend a fortune.
I consider my Taurus PT1911AR to be a Kimber at half-price. Never a hitch, and I don't take care of it very well, either. I treat it like an AK.
 
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