Best 1911 for the buck within $200.00 ?

[Changeling]

I guess the title says it all ! I have always wanted a "Class Act .45" for home defense and just having some great fun with! It should also, be in a class that will increase in value over time since I will be leaving it to my son one day, hopefully a long time from now, LOL!

I know absolutely nothing about them, actually never even held one!

So about all I can say is what do the experts recommend ?
There is getting to be so many companies out there making them that it is impossible for someone to make a choice without being extremely knowledgeable on 1911's and whats "Out There"!

[44MAG#1]

This a joke right. A 1911 of a decent brand? I want to know here I can get one too. Maybe 5 or 6.

[Shooter6br]

Bought used $599.00 Happy with it

[Shooter6br]

Nothing at $200.00 Not even a beat one

[TornMonkey]

The cheapest 1911 that I have seen that isn't a paperweight is the Rock Island Armory (Armscor) Tactical.

I don't have one, but a buddy does, it's a shooter.

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

Best for the money that I have found is the Taurus PT1911. Full size 1911 type with all the "bells and whistles" and priced half to 2/3rds what you would pay for a Kimber, Ed Brown or other high dollar 1911.

I own one in SS and it does exactly what it is supposed to do. Put a lot of boolits, yes, I load it with cast boolits, into a small area of the target aabout 15 yards downrange.

I have a South Carolina CCP and it goes where I go.

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[klcarroll]

I too wish that there was a good re-make of a Model 1911 available for $200!! (...or even $300!)

But Oh Well..............., If wishes were fishes....................


......But let's consider a line from the Original Post: "I have always wanted a "Class Act .45" for home defense and just having some great fun with!"

First of all I think it is worth pointing out that "A Class Act", like "Beauty", is in the eye of the beholder: ....And I found this out for myself.

There's a U.S. company that I have pretty much ignored for the past decade because I used to be one of those snobs that equated "Low Cost" with "*********". (I really should have known better, just based on my experiences with LEE products!)

This company produces a line of handguns and long guns, and in addition to very reasonable prices, they provide a "NO BS Lifetime Warranty": .....That caught my attention! I figured that there had to be a catch; .....as the weapons they produced were simply too cheap to support that kind of warranty: .......Unless they simply didn't break! (....And what planet would you have to be from to believe THAT???)

Then, about a year ago, the company announced that they were now extending their "No BS Warranty" to all subsequent purchasers of their USED weapons!

These goofs were actually DARING me to break one of their used guns!!!! That was too much for me! ..........So I bought a used (but like new) Hi Point JHP on Gunbroker for $105! (...You can buy new ones all day long for $169; ....But I'm CHEAP!)

In the time I have had that weapon, I have run over 2500 rounds through it: .....ALL of them Lee truncated cone, tumble lubed boolits that I cast myself.

It hasn't skipped a beat.

It shoots the same, boring, 4"-5" group at 25 yards time after time after time.

It shows no visible sign of wear.

.......Sure, ...it's big, heavy, and ugly: ......But so am I.

Is it "great fun"?? ..........Yup!!!!

Would I trust it for Home Defense??? .......Absolutely!!


I will still snap up any bargain 1911s that I run across, because I love 1911s! .....But if you're just looking for .45 ACP fun, there ARE ways of getting there for under $200!


Kent

[bobthenailer]

you might find a used Llama 1911 style pistol for $ 250 to $ 300 ! a local gun shop has 3 of them 2 with 5 inch barrels and another with possibley a 3.5 inch barrel in that price range and his prices are usually very good , I alomost forgot that price is out the door including all fees & taxes.

[wildcatter]

you might find a used Llama 1911 style pistol for $ 250 to $ 300 ! a local gun shop has 3 of them 2 with 5 inch barrels and another with possibley a 3.5 inch barrel in that price range and his prices are usually very good , I alomost forgot that price is out the door including all fees & taxes.

And any 1911 lama is about as close to a paper weight as you can get! not nesasserily a good one either! Sorry but don't trust your family's life to a $200.00 or $300.00 1911, they are really not reliable. If you can find such a thing!

[bobthenailer]

I would personaly not buy a Llama but i would also expect to pay alot more than $200 for the ones i would buy ! heack ive spent almost that much or more for just 1 barrel for my 1911s not counting fitting .

[azcruiser]

I think for the money right now it's hard to beat the Taurus 1911 for what you get .checkered front strap-front slide serrations-ambidextrous thumb safety plus a nice trigger. Have seen them in 38 super from CDNN for $399 blue stainless $449. Think most of the others in that price range are made with imported Philippines frames and slides and just assembled here .Nothing wrong with that
but think the finish on the Taurus is nicer. Don't think they would maybe go up in values like a COLT or Springfield over the long haul .Just my 2cents view

[Blammer]

RIA compact version $400 about as cheap and dependable as you can get.

[Matthew 25]

I think for $200 I would buy a sword.

[NickSS]

I have a Llama 1911 in 9mm that I have shot plenty of rounds through and it is a fine shooting reliable gun. Years ago I had a full size one in 45ACP and aside from it not taking standard 1911 mags it was a fine pistol that shot well and never jammed on me. I can not say that for several other 1911s I have had including several made by Colt until the received a lot of rework. So as for my two cents worth as to your question. Today there is no such thing as a $200 1911 pistol the last time I saw one in that price range it was in the 70s ad it was a very hard used Gun made of parts on an essexs frame. It cost me $175 in 1976. It still works fine but looks kike a paper weight that has seen better days. If I were looking today I would look at a RIA 1911 at around $500 as being a good buy.

[Poygan]

I bought a Llama Max-1 for $225 used about ten years ago. I would characterize it as shooting about as well as a standard GI .45. Not great for accuracy but it was reliable with everything I fed it including the Lee TC boolits. I think I sold it for about what I paid for it, including the box and papers.

[nascarkent]

I think he is talking about $200 of the final price $700 to $900.
If you want a 1911 to go up in value just buy a Colt. Nuff said

[mtgrs737]

I bought a used Taurus PT 1911 from a member here and was surprized at what a well made gun it was. I paid a little over $300 for it if memory serves me right (and sometimes it doesn't) but I am very happy with it as it has a LOT of custom features that other brands don't give you at twice that price. It also has a forged frame, slide, and barrel which IMHO is the best way to manufacture a firearm. It does have some MIM parts but I have not had any problems with that type of part on any gun I have owned and if I did Taurus has a great warranty program. For someone looking for a 1911 45 auto at the most reasonable price you can't go wrong with a lightly used PT1911 in blue or stainless steel. Good luck!

[x101airborne]

I think he is talking about $200 of the final price $700 to $900.
If you want a 1911 to go up in value just buy a Colt. Nuff said

But for God's sake, dont shoot it!! The disappointment will tear you up. I have owned two Gold Cup's, one combat commander, and three government models. These were mixed series some 70's and some 80's. They all needed some heavy fitting to make function reliably, the commander would F-up no matter what I did. My 400 dollar used kimber will outshoot my gold cup 80 stainless and my Rock Island will feed every kind of cheap ammo you can feed it including straight wadcutters and primed empty cases with straight mouths. Sure, as an investment the Colt is the way to go. Short of that, I would get the Taurus or the Rock.

[white eagle]

I bought a Dan Wesson Razorback and made 200.00 installments
but after seeing the err of my way I sold it for one installment of 750.00

[saz]

My wife bought me a Rock A1 style 1911 for our anniversary a few months ago for the grand total of $385 on gunbroker (PM me if you want the seller), and I have to say it has been a shooter. I have been out of the loop for about 6 weeks, but when I first got it I tried a lot of different boolits in it and it feeds well and is surprisingly accurate. My goto boolit is the lee copy H&G 68- it runs awesome with this or anything else with a round nose profile. I still can't believe it works this good. I have about 2000 rounds or so through it, so it is barely broke in- time will tell, but so far so good.