Without going custom,

[madcaster]

who makes the best all around 1911?
Yes,I DO want your opinions!

[billyb]

i will jump and stick my neck out. my limited experience is with colt, para,and kimber. i like the kimber. Bill

[Morgan Astorbilt]

I now own three 1911's. Two Colts, one GI, one Delta Elite, and one Race gun on a Federal Ordnance frame, I've owned several more in my time, and I think my Argentina State Police Ballester-Molina, which I bought as a "cheapie" to keep under my pickup seat, is a better "Off the shelf" pistol than any of them. Excellent slide/frame and barrel/bushing fit, no dumb grip safety, the mainspring housing is part of the frame, and the trigger is a much improved Star/Browning design, swivels on a pin instead of sliding on a strap around the magazine.
Well, you asked for my opinion
Morgan

[Lloyd Smale]

I have owned quite a few of just about every brand. If you asked my heart which was best id say a colt and the colt gold cup i have right now is my all time favorite. But if i had to recomend to a new buyer of a 1911 id say go with a kimber if your budget is under 900 bucks. If you can afford a slightly better choise i go with a sti. Theres may 1911s that cost upwards of 2-3 grand but i just dont see what they do that a sti doesnt and you can pick up a sti trojan for under a grand. the 1911 that has given me the most headaches are the springfields ive owned. I owned 6 of them and out of the 6 only one that ran well and shot well. Seems like they either shot good groups and jammed all the time or ran perfectly but just didnt have the level of accuracy i needed. Ive even had a officers sized kimber cdp that was a 3 inch gun and it shot under 2 inches at 25 yards and never once jammed. I foolishly sold that gun.

[S.R.Custom]

I've had a number of 1911s over the years, swore mightily at most, and the only one I've ever regretted selling was the Springfield Armory "Defender." That gun was cool AND reliable...

...I think my Argentina State Police Ballester-Molina ...is a better "Off the shelf" pistol than any of them.

My current fave is my RIA wide body. Funny how the favorites are the ones that do their job well for less than 400 bucks...

[oldhickory]

If I were buying an off the shelf 1911, it would be a Springfield Armory. I've had a few old colts, (WWI & WWII vintage, both civilian and military) and they worked allright, never wanted a series 70 or 80 though, too many extra parts to foul-up.

I've heard good things about the new S&W 1911, and the Taurus. But, I know the ones Springfield make are good, reliable, and more accurate than the average shooter can hold.

In short, if I were plunking down hard earned cash for a 1911...It would be a Springfield!

[Morgan Astorbilt]

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Ballester-Molina, and are wondering why I brought it up in a discussion about 1911's, it's actually an improved version., and uses many of the 1911 parts, such as barrel, bushing, recoil spring and guide, and magazine. Below are photos of mine, wearing Pachmayer grips and magazine. Most probably won't agree with me, as to which is basically, the better design, but this is supposed to be a learning format, so I thought I'd mention it.
Morgan

[Bass Ackward]

who makes the best all around 1911?
Yes,I DO want your opinions!

Best all around? That's a tough question as the category runs from accuracy to defense.

I don't think that one brand exists today either manufactured or custom that does it all. Get them with tight tolerances so that they shoot accurately and they can get finicky quick. Get them lose so that they function reliably and odds are accuracy goes to hell.

For lack of a better term, this is a trial and error process. You simply have to find one that is for you. And that could be any brand. Or it could be none.

[jawjaboy]

My current fave is my RIA wide body. Funny how the favorites are the ones that do their job well for less than 400 bucks...

The RIA's are hard to beat for the money. I paid $300 OTD(NIB) about 4 years ago. It has'nt missed a beat since. Putting some better sights on it helps for old eyes too. One of my favorites.




The Springfields are nice too.

[felix]

Several years ago I had three new bullseye guns in the house. All were the Kimber full target models. All three had triggers below the quality of what I had remembered from the Dinan and Clark customs of the mid-70's. Two had good-enough triggers for the purpose until the users got the experience shooting to demand better. The barrels shot good-enough, and one was right-on excellent. Took all three guns down to a younger custom guy who happened to have been trained by the high-dollar experts around here (Harrison and Shreveport). Per my instructions he made one of them perfect in ALL regards. Corky got that one, and with a STI trigger. ... felix

[Dale53]

I currently have three 1911's. Two were built up by a master pistolsmith and do everything that anyone could ask. The other is a carry gun, a Kimber Ultra CDP II (3" barrel). It came with an excellent trigger. I assumed it would be lucky to shoot a 6" group at 25 yards (after all, it is a tiny little feller). However, in front of witnesses, the first ten shots at 25 yards, standing, on the 25 yard timed fire target, left me with the worst shots, some NINES! I was surprised as much as the other guys. Didn't hurt my reputation a BIT!!

That was a year or so ago, and vision in my shooting eye has deteriorated with irons that I doubt that I could do it today.

As a result of this little gem, I have been more than a little bit attentive to the other Kimbers in our club (720 members). There are quite a number of Kimbers around and what I have seen, that would be my first choice of a factory gun. If necessary, I would have the triggers cleaned up a bit (don't need much) and call it "good to go". These are BEAUTIFUL pieces also. Kimber knows how to detail a 1911 and that is for sure. I am sure that some of the other brands are good also, I just haven't handled many of them.

I also agree that it is absolutely NOT necessary to spend $3000 on a custom to get a good 1911.

Dale53

[danski26]

My favorite is Springfield Armory. My loaded target model is very reliable and shoots about 3 inch 10 shot groups @ 25 yards with my handloads. A little bigger with hardball factory stuff I shoot.

[longhorn]

My first-ever centerfire was a 1911. I've owned Colt (numerous ones!), Detonics, AMT (!!!), ParaOrdnance, Auto Ordnance, Springfield, and Kimber. Don't currently own a single 1911; if I was buying one, I'd buy Kimber. Incidentally, my current Glock, a short-barreled 30SF, will group as well at 25 yards as any one of the 3 Gold Cups I've owned. Odd trigger feel, though.

[Lloyd Smale]

dale i once used the cdp that i had in a ppc competition just to see how it did. Now im about a 292-294 shooter and i shot a 290 with it and took second place in the expert division. I also had a cdp with the officers grip frame and a 4 inch barrel and that one was even a better shooter. there two guns id love to buy back but there new owners like them as much as i did!

I currently have three 1911's. Two were built up by a master pistolsmith and do everything that anyone could ask. The other is a carry gun, a Kimber Ultra CDP II (3" barrel). It came with an excellent trigger. I assumed it would be lucky to shoot a 6" group at 25 yards (after all, it is a tiny little feller). However, in front of witnesses, the first ten shots at 25 yards, standing, on the 25 yard timed fire target, left me with the worst shots, some NINES! I was surprised as much as the other guys. Didn't hurt my reputation a BIT!!

That was a year or so ago, and vision in my shooting eye has deteriorated with irons that I doubt that I could do it today.

As a result of this little gem, I have been more than a little bit attentive to the other Kimbers in our club (720 members). There are quite a number of Kimbers around and what I have seen, that would be my first choice of a factory gun. If necessary, I would have the triggers cleaned up a bit (don't need much) and call it "good to go". These are BEAUTIFUL pieces also. Kimber knows how to detail a 1911 and that is for sure. I am sure that some of the other brands are good also, I just haven't handled many of them.

I also agree that it is absolutely NOT necessary to spend $3000 on a custom to get a good 1911.

Dale53

[EMC45]

Enjoy my Springfield.

[rugerdude]

I've dealt with Dan Wesson, S&W, Springfield, Colt, RIA, and Kimber. Currently have a DW Pointman that I will NOT be getting rid of. The model I have is no longer in production, but all the DW 1911's I have come in contact with have been great shooters. S&W's have been good shooters and reliable, too. Springfields I have dealt with have been headaches. Have recently had some dealings with a couple of RIA's and they have been absolutely awesome for the money! They are dead reliable and accuracy is definitely good enough for Gov't work. For a bit more money, you really can't beat Kimber. Haven't really heard of a bad one yet. The Colt's I have seen lately are overpriced for what you get.

[MtGun44]

I have been shooting 1911s for 30 years and 28 in IPSC competition, mostly
.45ACP, but some .38 Super, some hi $ custom, some I smithed up from Colts,
some military, Kimbers, etc.

I bought a Dan Wesson Pointman 7 and it is absolutely amazing. Other than the
throat being very tight, which required me to seat my standard load from 1.260"
LOA to 1.250 LOA to get reliable closing, it has been 100% reliable and very
accurate with real quality ammo. The fit and finish and quality have to be
seen and felt to be believed in a gun of this price. In the mid 80s you would
have had to provide a new Colt 1911 and $2000-$2500 to get a gun built like
this one.

Mine has shot 1" at 25 yds with 452460 over 3.8 titegroup with Starline brass.
This one is a real keeper.

Bill

[Bear4570]

My SA loaded has never had a failure to feed or eject since I bought it. It feeds everything, SWC, RN, even a custom Keith type 200 gr. bullet. Best one I have ever owned.

[Echo]

I believe it's STI that makes the Spartan, a no-nonsense gun w/adj sights. I have seen them for $499. If I were in the market for a .45, I would surely give them a close look. STI has a good rep among competition shooters.
A good smith that knows what he is doing will take about 10 hours to completely accurize a stock Colt (or other) for bullseye shooting. Figure the cost of sights and a new bbl & bushing - and you still don't come up to the $2500-$3000 figure. I don't get it...

[missionary5155]

My "BEST" .45 to me is not the most accurate but is equall in reliability to all my .45´s.. It is a Remington Rand made in NOV. 1943... I carried one for 19 months in Germany (72-74) and decided I liked IT... So years later I had the opportunity to buy a same year one and I did. It rattles a bit and looks like it was used as a hammer a few times to bust padlocks off tank turrets... but it has never failed to digest a proper length load. I do use an aftermarket magazine in it. I do not have a picture of it down here.