What kind or make of 1911 do you reccomend

[daniel lawecki]

I have shot Kimber, Smith& Wesson, Ruger, Springfield, Colts the last three I own and the Ruger SR1911 shoots just as good shot for shot as all the others. Of coarse that was with a steady diet of cast boolits 200 grain SWC. On your pistol league which is timed rapid fire 72 rounds 11 mag changes all under the clock all of the above guns were up to the task. It took 2 years for someone to beat my score and time and that was done with a bone stock Ruger SR 1911.

[Love Life]

I have the same line of thought as Dougguy. I like my 1911's plain vanilla. No extended this, full length that, ambi this, blah, blah, blah. I like my 1911's to be simplified elegance. They are shooters, and bring the ruckus, no more no less.

I'm actually like that with all my handguns. Rarely will I modify them unless it is for a specific purpose.

[gray wolf]

I have the same line of thought as Dougguy. I like my 1911's plain vanilla. No extended this, full length that, ambi this, blah, blah, blah. I like my 1911's to be simplified elegance. They are shooters, and bring the ruckus, no more no less.

I'm actually like that with all my handguns. Rarely will I modify them unless it is for a specific purpose.

Ditto--------

When I got my 1911 Springfield loaded the first thing I did from experience, was to dump the ambi extended safeties.
I replaced them with a single sided GI safety.
Why? cause they just get in the way. To darn big for a carry gun.
Holsters knock them off, brushing against something can swipe them off, a close encounter can get them knocked off,
and for me I do not need a thumb rest.

Drawing a 1911 and swiping the safety off is a rapidly accomplished task. People watching can rarely even see it done.
On, off, off on, I don't think I have ever missed it.

If my right hand gets hurt before I draw it's going to be tricky to get the gun out with my left hand to begin with.
If my gun is in the fight it will have the safety off to begin with, so transferring the pistol to the left hand will not require the safety to be messed with. If I win, there are many options to making the pistol safe again.

I see two reasons to have two extra long bulky appendages hanging off my 1911.

1, I may need it for competition shooting.
2, Everyone else has them and they are way tacti-cool.

+ how many people truly practice using them, fact is how many people actually practice at all.

Learning pistol skills comes from doing,-- and doing,-- and doing,-- till you don't get it wrong.
Now that's a true statement.
But, one must first see and experience what correct looks like and feels like in order to replicate it.

[Blackwater]

Actually, it seems to be rather hard to find a 1911 that doesn't work nowadays. I have 2 Colts and Kimber, and friends have (I think?) all those you named, and all are reliable with a good range of ammo and all shoot well. Don't know anyone with one of the Philippine ones, or at least don't remember any, so can't speak to those. Really, there's no excuse nowadays for anyone producing one that DOESN'T work and shoot well. Praise be to THAT! It wasn't always this way, for SURE!

[22cf45]

I shoot 1911's in bullseye competition and have for 40 years. I only say that so you will know I have shot many, many 10's of thousands of 45 acp thru a 1911. If I were going to buy a different 1911, it would definitely be a Springfield. And as others have suggested, I think the Springfield Range Officer would be the one. As I understand it, it is ready to go right out of the box until you reach a high level. The gunsmith who does my bullseye pistols recommends Springfield's as one of the pistols he prefers to accurize. He doesn't want to work on any of those that originated in the Philippines.
Only my opinion
Phil

[randyrat]

Nice! I really appreciate all the feedback

[Pumpkinheaver]

I have owned 2 Kimbers, still have one, both were flawless. The only malfunctions were caused by shoddy/damaged mags. The one I still own has probably 15,000 rounds through it. I quit counting at 8,000 and that was in 2005 or so.

[Plate plinker]

My Kimber runs great. Springfield not as good still tuning on that one. For the money I hear the Remingtons seems to work.

[Djei5]

Ruger Sr 1911, I've bought three for the price of one custom Kimber. Comparing to my cousins Kimber and Kimber Ultra Carry, the Rugers feel like they have a custom trigger. The bushing is cut from the barrel its mated with on the Ruger, so lock up is perfect.

[oger]

I own a bunch of 1911s and Ruger is the best deal by far.

[mtncharlie1968]

The closest thing I have is a Star PD that I bought back in 1982. A light compact, like a Colt "Officer" model. It has great sights, but at 25 ounces unloaded it can be rough on those who are recoil sensitive. Also, the muzzle blast is deafening without ear protection.
I have been looking at the Ruger SR1911, and the Remington...decisions, decisions.

[NavyVet1959]

Para P16.40 and then get the leade extended a bit so that you can run loads with .40SW brass at 10mm OAL. I have a 10mm load that I just started reloading that runs at 747 ft-lbs with a 216 gr cast bullet.


http://images.spambob.net/navy-vet-1...0mm-loaded.jpg

[kc2gvs]

I've owned a Rock Island Armory GI 1911 Full Size, and it was extremely accurate with various ammunition, and no hiccups, no FTF, FTE, or mechanical issues.

[Lloyd Smale]

am I a fan? Yup. do they turn out an occasional bad one? yup. Seems kind of odd though that in three guns all were lemons. That seems to point more toward a basher then a true evaluation. I have owned more then one Colt, Kimber, springfield, sti, para and a few others including one les baer and one wilson. Ive put thousands of rounds through all of them. Ive got buddys who also own many and pay attention to there experiences. What have I gleamed from this.

Theres good guns for under a grand. You don't have to pay 2k for a baer or Wilson to get a good gun (although they are good guns) Ive had my best luck with OUT OF THE BOX guns from colt, Kimber and sti. Para is close to being included springfield not so much. Seems I either allways got a reliable gun or an accurate one but never both with a springfield. Now im talking 10-20 years ago as I haven't bought a springfield in the last 10 years because of my past problems. They may be just find now.

Ive got 1911s with over 50k round count that I shot in competition that have had nothing but springs replaced. The two im referring to are a colt and a Kimber. I chuckle at guns that buy one and shoot 10 boxes of shells out of it and claim they have found the holy grail. Like you said its your money spend it on whatever floats your boat. If your happy with a rattle trap GI that shoots 3 inch groups that's fine. If its a 100percent reliable it will defend your family but its a bit boring the range and sure isn't going to win you any trophys. A good 1911 to me has to feed ANY cast or jacketed bullet a 100 percent, clean or dirty and put 7 of them into less then 2 inches at 25 yards. No exception. If they fail on any one of those criteria's they get a trip to the gun shop.

And the people that defend them seem to think they never turn out a bad product. I had three of them while my Uncle had two. None of them were reliable. Constant failures to feed. This was all w/ factory ammo. Send it back, they would fix it, shoot it some more and the same problem would occur again. IMO, the guns are to tight. A GI version may be a rattle trap but it will eat any ammo up.

At the end of the day it's your money so buy whatever brand you want. There is an upside and downside to every product. I know where my money won't be going at this point.

[9.3X62AL]

I am firmly in Love Life's camp when it comes to adornments on my sideiron, and that goes double for my 1911-series pistols. My Colt Series 80 GCNM shoots wonderfully--reliable and accurate using Colt OEM mags. That Elliason rear sight is a delicate critter, though.......I know it's a target variant, and not adapted to the rigors of field service. Give me the old GM or Commander fixed sights any day of the week, like those found on my SIG P-220. They stay "adjusted"--don't break--and retaining pins don't depart and disappear.

[howe0001]

I had an ATI as my first commander.. good entry level, but I really love my Ruger commander much better
😁

[coalgeo]

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

many +'s
Amongst a number of Colts, I have one of the newer Model 01991 models - nary a hickup right out of the box.

[DougGuy]

Para P16.40 and then get the leade extended a bit so that you can run loads with .40SW brass at 10mm OAL.

I have done a few of those for the Glock guys too!

[Love Life]

I am firmly in Love Life's camp when it comes to adornments on my sideiron, and that goes double for my 1911-series pistols. My Colt Series 80 GCNM shoots wonderfully--reliable and accurate using Colt OEM mags. That Elliason rear sight is a delicate critter, though.......I know it's a target variant, and not adapted to the rigors of field service. Give me the old GM or Commander fixed sights any day of the week, like those found on my SIG P-220. They stay "adjusted"--don't break--and retaining pins don't depart and disappear.

I have read that a hardened steel pin can be put in place of the factory pin and will solve the issue of random...ummm...pin disappearance.

For my carry and hard use guns I much prefer fixed sights with ammo that hits to the sights. I like my ammo to hit right on top of the front sight. Not 4 inches high, and not in the middle of the sight. Load development, judicious use of a file, or a new front sight can make that happen for me!

Off topic-ish alert!- I have a model 28 that I carried all over the place with adjustable sights, and they never broke.

[9.3X62AL]

I have read that a hardened steel pin can be put in place of the factory pin and will solve the issue of random...ummm...pin disappearance.

For my carry and hard use guns I much prefer fixed sights with ammo that hits to the sights. I like my ammo to hit right on top of the front sight. Not 4 inches high, and not in the middle of the sight. Load development, judicious use of a file, or a new front sight can make that happen for me!

Off topic-ish alert!- I have a model 28 that I carried all over the place with adjustable sights, and they never broke.

I have some roll pin and steel pin stock enroute to address the question. We'll see how my intended fixes hold up. I'm just starting to get a shop set up in the garage after a year's hiatus......this is one of several projects waiting in queue.

I have owned several dozen--and still own several S&W revolvers with adjustable sights. The things are bullet-proof. I have in the past upgraded those S&W rear sights with an aftermarket set by Millett that seems to be out of production. They didn't appear quite as rugged as the S&W system, but I never heard of one breaking off, and I sold and installed at least 75 of them--mostly on deputy/officer personally-owned firearms from agencies around my area.