What kind or make of 1911 do you reccomend

[randyrat]

I had a friend ask me advice on a new 1911, What kind?
I told him I have no clue, not even a hint of which kind anymore and said I'll look into it..He said he was willing to spend about $800

This could get into personnel preferences, that is fine with me, hopefully your preference comes more from experience.

I think he wants to get into some fun competition.

He shoots and reloads a lot of lead

[smokeywolf]

I think Love Life acquired a new Colt recently. He probably had some pretty solid reasons why Colt should make his 1911.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Ruger SR 1911 http://www.ruger.com/products/sr1911DE/models.html love the one i have night watchmen

[dragon813gt]

I own a Remington, Ruger, RIA and Sig 1911. All of them work like they're supposed to. And they vary greatly in price. IMO the RIA is the best bargain w/ the Remington right after it. 1911s are like ARs in the respect that the features are a personal decision.

The only brand I will not buy is Kimber. Had to many repeated issues w/ a few of them. My Uncle went through the same thing. I'm not a fan of sending a firearm back repeatedly to make it work properly. I know plenty of people love them. I just won't purchase one again.

I'm trying to make some funds available to pick up a CZ. I love their products and a 1911 from the CZ Custom is right up my alley.

[Houlton]

Bought a RIA 1911a few months ago. My son took it to the range and liked it so much the only time I get to shoot it is when we go to the range at the same time. I'm looking for another one cause I don't think I'm getting this one back. Very accurate, good trigger.

[wv109323]

I don't know what kind of competition he will get into. The RIA gets a lot of praise with excellent CS. Two things,IMO, that need modified on the bottom end guns are sights and trigger work. I would consider these two things and get a gun that had these improvements. The rest is personal preference. Colt would hold value but the GM needs sights and trigger work. There are many good brands on the market.

[JWFilips]

I like My Remington Stainless...Super accurate out of the box! I have no complaints. Very dependable

[Love Life]

Hehehe!

I prefer Colts, but there are many manufacturers out there making 1911's.

[Yodogsandman]

I'm a 1911 NooB and bought a RIA Tactical. Fun to shoot. Has a great trigger and sights. Can't argue with the price and it's a much better entry level pistol than most.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_I...ry_1911_series

[cattleskinner]

Springfield Range Officer, it is what I went with and is pretty highly recommended in the CMP forums for EIC matches. Fits his price range too.

[Love Life]

I'd recommend Colt or Ruger. Spend your money on American goods that support American jobs!!

[jcren]

I won't say they are the best, but I have modified a RIA that will amaze most average shooters and a friend has a stock RIA that isn't that far behind.

[DougGuy]

Ruger!

[crowbuster]

Nuther ruger and RIA fan. in that order

[OptimusPanda]

I have a SW1911. After a trip back to the factory (it ended up 3 point jamming about every 10-20 rounds) it's doing fine. Six or seven years now and maybe 10,000 rounds. Gives me trouble maybe every 500ish. Since they're my cast handloads it's hard to blame the gun. All that said, and as happy as I am with it...if I could do it all over with the same money, I'd get the ruger or the remington.

[TXGunNut]

I like my new Ruger but I like what I see in the Remington as well. I like what I hear about the RIA but personally can't warm up to them. Springfield has had their ups and downs, would have to take a long hard look at one before filling out a 4473. Colt and Sig are making very good 1911's these days but a bit out of your friend's budget. Wilson, Kimber and the other semi-custom guns are also outside of his budget and IMHO generally not worth the extra money.

[dubber123]

I have a Springfield that has been an excellent gun for 30,000+ rounds, most of it in competition. That said I was very favorably impressed with the last Ruger that I handled. (Brothers new gun). It had an abrupt chamber leade that DougGuy cured, but he also did my Springfield barrel at the same time. It is a common problem. Common enough I sent him 6 barrels to work on at the same time. I would plan $20 into your friends gun budget to send the barrel to him.

An added note, I would suggest going with a full sized model, both for shootability and reliability. The shorter they get, they harder they are to shoot, and the more prone to failure in my experience.

[blackpowder man]

I agree on the ruger, RIA, and springfield Range officer are all great choices. The range officer is especially accurate, but I really love the Sig 1911s. I've owned 4 of them and my stx is my favorite. For those that don't like their slide shape they do offer the traditional model. Great trigger, ultra reliable, very accurate and good customer service if it is ever needed. They're made in the US, but I realize it isn't a US based company.

[Petrol & Powder]

It's been a while since I've played with 1911's but I was very impressed with a Kimber that I owned. I had some great Colts and some Colts that I couldn't wait to get rid of. I have to say that I think the Colt name adds more cost than value sometimes. In today's market there are a lot of good options that were not available 10-15 years ago.

Char-Gar recently posted a good review of the new lightweight Ruger Commander sized 1911 and I handled one at a gun store a few days ago. If I had the spare cash right now the Ruger would be my #1 choice.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

All my 1911's are Colt's. Carried only Colt 1911's on duty as a peace officer and retired recently after 33 years. Colt's always work.